His pupils trembled as his vision switched from one to the other, and his breathing turned ragged as a sharp pain spread from his chest all over his body.
His muscles spasmed lightly as he tried calming his breathing, which gradually turned to hyperventilation.
Mom, Dad, why?! He glanced at their corpses again and again before glaring at Haniard, who panted heavily, his bloody body in high contrast to the clear heart within his hand.
He wore a twisted, excited smile on his face as he placed the heart into a glass box that contained immense amounts of mana, and he rubbed it gently before placing it into his spatial ring.
I finally have the Crystal Heart! It was so hard to obtain that I didn’t even bother putting it in my plans but now… He gloated inwardly as he straightened himself. To think they’d be so foolish as to stay in MY kingdom, all for a…
His head snapped toward Kai, who trembled like a terrified cat as he lay against the wall. I should get rid of him… this brat’s a variable I don’t want. He thought as he walked toward Kai.
Kai watched helplessly as his parents’ murderer calmly approached him, brandishing his bloody sword as he looked at him with a piercing gaze. The sound of his footsteps got drowned by the scarlet rain, and it reminded Kai of that day ten years ago.
Once again, backed into a corner, powerless to do anything but watch as his life was about to be taken away once again. His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as his face flushed red, and in his despair, he shut his eyes, trying to remember a simpler time.
…
Somewhere on the edges of a small city stood a small, crude house, it looked abandoned, ready to fall apart at any second. The walls were made out of cheap, crumbled stones while the wooden supports were filled with holes and insects.
The kitchen had little to no appliances, only a sink filled with dirty dishes and a nearly broken-down fridge. A small and old window frame stood on the southern walls, patched with some rags in hopes of stopping the chilly air from coming in.
A woman sat at a table, smoking a thin cigarette, tapping off the ash in an ashtray filled with a few dozen butts. She held a bottle of wine in her other hand, of which she took big gulps before placing it down on the table.
She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and her beautiful brown hair already showed some white spots, and her face had a few wrinkles. Her emerald green eyes glowed with a faint luster, and despite her current appearance she still showed signs of a young beauty.
Next to the kitchen was a bedroom, on which a boy, no older than five or six was drawing something before he got up, running toward the kitchen with a piece of paper in hand.
“Mom, look! I drew a dinosaur!” He yelled as he ran into the woman’s embrace, handing her the drawing. She looked at her son, and gently caressed his black hair after putting her cigarette down.
“That’s great baby, you’re such a good artist.” The boy closed his eyes as he placed his head on her lap, and she continued gently caressing his head, looking at him with a tender gaze.
The boy opened his eyes, reaching toward his mother for a hug. However, they weren’t in the kitchen anymore, but in the bedroom. It was nighttime, and he struggled to keep his eyes open as he looked ahead, to where his mother was.
Her hands were clenched around his neck, and she wore a maniacal expression on her face as she tightened her grip “It’s your fault, all of it. If only… IF ONLY… IF ONLY YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!
…He would still be with me, loved me…”
“Mo-mom…” The boy’s teary eyes squinted as he said weakly, looking at his mom with a pleading gaze.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The woman’s pupils widened in horror as she seemed to have woken up from a daze, realizing what she had done. She let go of the boy, which she quickly took into her embrace, tears flowing down her cheeks as she apologized.
“I’m sorry baby, mommy didn’t want to… please forgive me… please… mommy loves you…”
The boy’s eyes snapped shut once again, and the next time he opened them it was already daytime. He looked into the bathroom mirror as he brushed his teeth. He was a bit taller than before, and his unkept hair had grown longer as well. He seemed to be about eight years old now.
He walked into the kitchen, and a man at least twice his size stood before him with a bottle of beer in his right hand. A strong, nauseating stench of alcohol escaped his body as he stared at the boy with a hateful gaze.
“Damn, it… to think I have to raise a bastard child like you.” He said, bringing his hand up to his face, and sighed before he continued. “But your mother’s a babe and has a job so I guess…” he lingered on his last words as he made a clicking sound with his tongue.
Suddenly, his foot rose up and struck down at the boy, who curled up into a ball to protect his organs.
Endless signs of abuse revealed themselves through his tattered clothes, bruises littered his body, and his body trembled incessantly as the man hit him over and over again.
“Why don’t you just die already? Eeeh? It would help us a great deal if you would just drop dead…!”
The man raised his hand and smashed the bottle against the door’s frame before aiming it at the boy, whose eyes had already widened while trembling in fear.
“No!” A sudden cry erupted from the side as the bottle was about to pierce the boy’s back. A hand hit the bottle, sending it away, and fresh blood began to drip down the boy’s back.
His mother stood above him, her frail hand cut open by a deep wound that reached the bone.
The boy remained speechless as he looked into his mother’s horror-filled eyes. His consciousness faded away as the sound of a loud slap rang in his mind…
…
Kai opened his eyes halfway as he blinked rapidly, vague memories, nearly impossible to understand flashed in his mind, but all he could see was a bottle of pills and a woman’s dead body.
A soft luster appeared in his eyes as he completely opened them. So something like that happened… Both lives flashed before his eyes as he stood up, lifting his head and looking at his parents’ bodies.
Grief, despair, sadness, regret, indignation - A myriad of emotions washed over his body as a shiver ran down his spine. He steeled himself and decided to face his enemy, even if he was weak… powerless… even if his odds of victory were small, he decided to fight.
I’ve been cowering long enough…
He locked eyes with Haniard, who took a step backward as he sensed Kai’s strong will and a faint smile appeared on his face as he quickened his pace.
Kai inhaled deeply as he calmed down, his heart beating slowly but rhythmically, and with each pulse, he could sense large amounts of energy spreading throughout his entire body.
Strong gusts of wind circled him and the ground beneath his feet started cracking under the pressure. Silver scales appeared all over his body at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his nails morphed into sharp claws. His feet grew bigger and slowly another pair of claws manifested as they tore apart his shoes.
His fangs grew longer, thicker, and sharper and his pupils became thinner, akin to those of a cat. His silver hair grew even longer and two horns sprouted from the top of his head, pulling the mana from the environment toward him.
He glared at Haniard as his hands clenched into a fist, and his muscles tightened in an unnatural anticipation for the fight.
Haniard halted his footsteps, panicking slightly as he choked. Amazing… he was in awe at the sight before him, and his eyes shone greedily as he looked at Kai. This brat’s bloodline awakened at such a time, not even the former king had done this!
A creepy smile manifested on his face, and he chuckled to himself as he thought, To think I’d be able to obtain two treasures… Once I extract his bloodline and fuse it with mine, and together with the Crystal Heart I will be… unstoppable!
His body shivered in excitement as he imagined himself ruling over the whole continent, he marched forward as his lips parted. “Not bad, kid, to think you’d have such talent…”
Kai didn’t reply, instead, he stretched his limbs, and as he got accustomed to the transformation, his skeleton let out loud noises as his bones creaked. He cracked his joints in rapid succession, the loud bangs ringing like thunder in Haniard’ ears.
His lips parted as he let out a primal scream, akin to an angry dragon yelling at the heavens. He looked hatefully at the man before him, and without concerning himself with inspecting his body… he moved!