"What kind of prince steals tea cups?" Throwing himself onto his bed, Adonis inhaled sharply.

{That idiot is a prince?}

"Yes, of the Pugna Kingdom..." He shrugged.

{Odd.}

"I know right." Feeling the exhaustion from the outing catch up to him, Adonis pulled the massive duvet over his body.

{I'm surprised you're sleeping tonight.}

"And why is that?"

{We both know why...}

***

As he lost consciousness, Adonis was transported into one of his favourite memories.

***

Two young boys crawled through a small gap in a large iron fence, successsfully escaping the large van Alexia estate.

"See Lutz, I told you!" The first boy, with short brown curly hair, emerged first, his small mouth curving into a proud smile.

"But won't people notice we're gone?" Following behind him was a second more timid boy, whose contrasting ;golden mane set him apart.

" Of course not, no one's going to be actively looking for us because they'll think we're safe inside."

"If you say so Ozzy..."

"Good. Now, let's go exploring!"

"Okay!" His worries dispelled by the promise of adventure, Lutz grinned.

***

In the woods near the van Alexia estate.

"Ozzy."Lutz clenched his tiny hands tightly, as if he had trapped something precious.

"Look what I found!" His cyan eyes were fixed on his friend, anticipation evident in his gaze, eagerly waiting for Oizys to approach.

"What is it?" Leaping over a small rock, Oizys rushed towards Lutz, curiousity fueling each and every small stride.

"I don't know, it looks like a cool bug!"

"A bug?" Peering over Lutz's shoulder, Oizys's eyes bulged, impatiently waiting for him to finally reveal what he held in his hands.

"Yeah, I think it might be a magic beast." Lutz gleamed, slowly opening his hands.

Inside the boy's hands rested a large cricket, devoid of its usual bright green tone instead replaced by a dull, bland grey tone.

Strangely, instead of long, thin antennae, this insect possessed long horn-like appendages, capable of penetrating through the skin of other creatures within its weight and size class.

"Lutz, I think this IS a magic beast!" His smile stretching to the edges of his face, Oizys patted his friend's back enthusiastically.

"Really?!"

"Yes! Look at its horns."

'Wait... I-it's a magic beast.' As the realization set in, Lutz's smile wavered, gradually transforming into a deep frown.

"What's wrong?"

"KYAAA!" Lutz's reaction was delayed, but when it finally hit him, he flinched, instantly dropping the insect in fear.

TUTUT TUTUT

Startled by Lutz's sudden movement, the cricket spread its large wings and darted toward his face.

Frightened by the beast, Oizys, now also terrified, coordinated with Lutz.

The two boys turned their backs on the creature in unison and began their brisk dash.

Their tiny legs carried them forward, leaping over small branches, logs, rocks, and any other obstacles that stood in their way.

"Hehe!" Rapidly running out of breath, Oizys managed a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny?!" Irritated that Oizys wasn't taking this as seriously as him, Lutz scowled as he continued to run as fast as he could.

"You scream like a girl!" Oizys ridiculed.

"I do not!"

"You do too! You were like Kyaaa."

"I did not say Kyaaa! I scream like a man." His face turning red as a result of anger, embarrassment, fear and fatigue; Lutz continued to sprint.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

TUTUT TUTUT

Now, cloesly behind them, the magic beast beat its wings even faster.

"KYAAA!" Screaming in unison, the scared children sped up.

His breath ragged, Oizys sprinted, his sole motivations being fear and adranaline.

As he continued to run, the boy encountered an obstacle in his path; a large log that blocked his way.

Aided by his arms, the boy gracefully glided over the obstacle, his tiny arms trembling under the weight of his body.

"Ow!"

PANT PANT PANT

Ignoring the subtle throbs in his arms, Oizys rushed forward, not bothering to look back out of fear.

TUTUT TUTUT

"Kyaa!" Hearing the dreadful beaating of the insect's wings, Oizys was instantly refueled with energy, pushing himself to run even faster.

"Hm?"Noticing he was now the only one screaming, Oizys frowned deeply and turned his head to the right, searching for Lutz.

"Lutz?" Realizing Lutz was no where to be found, Oizys gasped.

Succeeding a few seconds of internal debate, Oizys turned his head backward, not only to gauge how close the magic beast was but also to see if he could spot where he might have left Lutz.

Surprisingly, when he turned his head, his eyes didn't meet a large winged cricket or even his blonde close friend.

Chasing the young boy was no longer just a mere unranked magic beast; instead it was now a large horde of magic beasts.

The large group consisted of a wide variety of magic beasts, including Sonic Wolves, Grey Wolves, Arbor Abominations, a strange crow like creature and dozens of other types of magic creatures. Their total count being over one hundred, but what was even stranger was their condition.

These creatures weren't in the slightest healthy; in fact, they were all mortally wounded, bearing various sword or blunt force injuries.

To make this bizarre situation even weirder, the leader of this group of zombified magic creatures wasn't just an ordinary magic beast.

Infact this creature wasn't even a magic creature.

This entity was unmistakably human, or atleast that's how it seemed...

Although the figure was greatly distorted, Oizys recognized it instantly.

It was Wendy, Wendy Carty; the first and only human he had ever killed, while the magic creatures behind her were all beings Oizys had exterminated during his time at the outing.

"What?" After he removed his gaze from the creatures that chased him, Oizys noticed his body had underwent a transformation.

"Ozzy..."

His previously short, brown, curly hair had grown long, now covering his entire face and obstructing his vision.

"Ozzy..."

His once small frame had transformed, becoming much larger and into a beautiful muscular physique, devoid of any scars exept for a stitched-like marking that wrapped around his neck.

"Ozzy..."

In this naked and teenage body, Oizys dashed forwrd. This new form proving more physically capable than his previous immature form, allowing him to maneuver with agility and speed through the forest.

" Ozzy..."

"What the fuck is happening?" He whispered, his voice now both deeper and colder.

Using his hand to sweep away the hair obstructing his vision, Oizys dashed forward, skillfully evading the slashes that Zombified Wendy aimed at his back.

SLASH SLASH

"Ozzy..."

Wendy slashed once more, her movements devoid of intelligence or any martial skill.

"What the hell do you want from me!" Narrowly avoiding the attacks on his back, Oizys sprinted.

SLASH SLASH

As he continued to run, he noticed something weird in the forest's vegetation a few hundred meters ahead...

It seemed to stop?

Not in the sense that the forest's path led to a river or a path back to civilization, but rather the forest and the entire world seemed to simply cease to exist...

There was simply no matter, instead it was replaced by a chilling darkness that called out to him.

"Ozzy..."

As a consequence of running for a bit longer, he finally reached between the forest and the 'void'.

The vengeful spirits were unable to cross into the space between the 'void'and the forest, halted by an unseen force.

The teenage boy abruptly stopped in that space realizing he had two options:

Be consumed by the vidinctive creatures lead by Wendy, the very people he had killed and who were rightfully angry.

Or...

To dive into the void, accept his status as a killer and embrace the unknown, following a path that would undoubtably lead him to becoming something menacing.

***

As he stood in the midst of this crucial decision, he glanced back at Wendy and the magic creatures.

"Every single one of you..." His eyes hidden by his overgrown hair, Oizys gazed upon every single creature, a hint of recognition flashing in his eyes every time he locked on to a different being.

"I ended your life, without mercy."

"I stabbed you."

"I sliced you open."

"I decapitated you."

"Gutted you."

"Ripped you open."

"Blew open your skull."

"...I killed you." The last moments of each life flooded into his mind, creating a whirlwind of emotions within him.

"Every single one of you..." His face straightened, transforming into a deep scowl filled with hatred and anger, replacing the once-present pity and sympathy.

"You attacked me with the intention to kill ..."

"You were all gunning for my head first I never approached you. You were all driven by malice, and you all acted on it."

"I simply responded with my own malice..." The boy shrugged, his eyes flashing with a strange silver color for a brief second.

"I'm not saying it's not my fault..." His brown eyes returned to their regular tone, although now they lacked their usual gentleness.

"Infact, it is my fault... There was another way..."

"I could've caught you or even i temporarily ncapacitated you... "

"That would've achieved the same effect, yet I still did it..."

"I chose to kill you."

"You should be angry, hell you should loathe my very existance..."

"Fuck, I'm the same... I was killed yet because of my hatred for my killers here, I'm here..."

"So I won't blame you for being angry at me."

"But..."

"What I will blame you for is getting in my way.You threatened to end my life, threatened to get in the way of my goal..."

"And that, I can never forgive." He said sternly.

"I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."

Turning away from the creatures with a blank expression, Oizys fell into the darkness, his form becoming lost in the endless abyss.