Five years later in the kingdom of Adele, at the McLean clan's headquarter can be seen a strange sight. It was not the clan members practicing martial arts in unison that caught the eye, nor was it the phenomenons produced by the clan members when studying the mystical arts and skills; rather it was the sight of a thin framed, fair complexioned, five-year-old boy.
This youngster was shorter than most children his age, with sapphire blue hair, and if you could see them, his eyes are just as vibrant. But right now he was sleeping in what appears to be a lounge chair with four wheels attached to it, instead of legs; being pulled like a wagon by a skeletal rabbit made of shiny metallic bones, wearing a tattered black hooded robe, while carrying in its' right hand a miniature scythe. The speed of this rabbit was astonishing, a cockroach of comparable size would be jealous of how quickly it was scurrying about.
The carriage was shaking violently as it careened across the ground tilting this way and that, giving off the impression that it was about to dislodge the occupant at any moment; but the odd thing was, it never did. The boy continued to sleep as soundly as he would in his own bed, even the sheet draped over him was motionless.
Bystanders can be seen observing this tragedy in the making, with horrified looks upon their faces shouting, "Stop that rabbit!" A few moments later the same individuals felt ashamed of themselves for yelling such an absurd remark when they should have just helped.
The clansman, young and old, who heard the shouts attempted to stop the rabbit from it's reckless dash; each one held in their greedy hearts, the ambition to be the first hero to save the fourth young master from—what they perceived to be—his plight. Their heroism stemmed from many aspects; respect for the clan leader, worry over such a small child, but mainly how filthy rich the young master was. No one knew where his gold and spirit stones came from, but they have witnessed it flowing through his hands like water being strained by a sieve.
However, each time they attempted to grab or block the rabbit, it would simply be out of reach. One-second it was within reach, the next it was a carriage length ahead or behind them; and then proceeded to go around the pursuers towards its' destination, evading all obstacles with ease.
A few moments later the wagon arrived at the front door of the child's home, where it proceeded to knock on the door waiting for someone to open it for him. A young lady in a maid uniform opened the door, and then she made way for the wagon to enter. This time the rabbit was much slower and more careful of its' surroundings in order not to break things as it pulled the young boy toward the dining area.
When they arrived at the dining table, the rabbit proceeded to unharness himself from the wagon and then scuttle to his master side. He shook his master shoulder and said, "Eek." But the boy remained asleep. The rabbit shoulders and chest rose up and then slumped down, as if he was giving a silent sigh. Then he raised his left hand swept it forward and it appeared as if an invisible force pushed the boy off the lounge chair as he fell to the floor with a flat thud. In a monotone voice the boy said slowly, "Ouch," he was now alert after that rude awakening so he followed it with an indignant, " hey, Death of Rabbits, why'd you do that?"
"Eek," was the only reply from Death of Rabbits as he put away the wagon and scythe in his storage ring.
If anyone observed this conversation they would find the rabbit's response less than satisfying, but to the young boy, Aster McLean, it must have conveyed a lot of information because he replied back, "Oh thanks, I was getting hungry," as he rushed to his seat at the table.
As he observed his surroundings Aster noticed something was off, although it was not unusual to have no one else sitting at the table for lunch, it was odd that there was no food in sight, the view left him quite alarmed. He turned back to Death of Rabbits and accused, "Hey, I thought you said lunch was ready."
With a shrug of its' shoulders, "Eek," came the response from the hairless rabbit, somehow managing to look embarrassed.
"Oh, then where is she?" queried Aster, looking around as if the rabbit was hiding his mom from him.
Just at this moment the door was heard opening and four females entered. Aster was happy to see all of them.
The first to enter was his mother Lucia who appeared to be around twenty-four years of age, but looks can be deceiving, he knew she was eighty-six years old. She has midnight blue hair that comes down to her waist and sapphire blue eyes, the same as her son.
The next was a tiny girl not quite four yet, his little sister, Lilith. Lilith was a spitting image of their mother in miniature.
The last two were maids holding trays leaden with food which peaked Aster's interest greatly.
Aster ran to his mom, the first thing he said was, "Mom, what's there to eat?"
His mom hugged him back with a warm smile and chuckles, "Is this how you greet your mother? The first thing out of your mouth is about food?" she teased, "You'll find out shortly, now go wash your hands."
"Oops... sorry, I forgot mom," Aster said while reaching his hand to pat his sister's head, "Come on Lilith, you too." They then proceeded to race towards the water basin together. While Death of Rabbits removed a humongous spirit stone cut into close appearance of a carrot, placed it into his mouth, squatted down and began to absorbed spirit energy while in meditation.
When they returned they tucked into their modest meal most of which was bland in taste, but Aster savored every bite, blatantly refusing to take for granted any sensation that he feels.
As if he was broaching a difficult question, Aster asked tentatively, "Mom is dad still looking for me?"
"Are you still hiding from dad?" his little sister asked him.
"Lilith, I was asking mom the question not you, and I'm not hiding from dad. If we're both looking for each other, we simply miss each other along the way is all," he responded to his sister.
"That's a lie! When you asked me where dad was last time, I told you, and you went the other way. That's hiding," she said indignantly and we all started to laugh.
"That's enough you two, no bickering. Aster, your father will be in his office soon," said Lucia with amusement in her voice. Although she was concerned about her youngest son she did not pressure him. She still remembers the time when he was small having nightmares over and over. Waking up in the middle of the night just to hear him scream, "I don't want to kill anymore," or "I quit." She remembered thinking, what could have happen to make her son have such nightmares. When she asked, he never answered, he just laid in her arm until he fell asleep again. Although she knows that in this world, her sons and daughters will need to pick up weapons in order to build a future for themselves, despite this, she still can't bring herself to ask him to.
"Sorry… thanks mom. I'll go see dad now," Aster said sounding a bit subdued. Death of Rabbits came out of his meditation, stowed away the carrot, and pulled out the wagon, then proceeded to harness himself. When Aster boarded, they both left for his father's office, wanting to just get this over with.
When Aster arrived at his father's office, he knocked oh so softly on the door and waited. If his father doesn't answer, he's leaving having tried his best. Unfortunately for him his father heard the knock, "Come in Aster."
"Hi dad, uh… how did you know it was me?" asked Aster a little befuddled, while looking at his dad, Roy McLean. Roy has the same sapphire blue hair as his son, but unlike Aster, he was a large man with a chiseled muscular physique.
His father chuckled and said, "It's because you've tried this soft knock trick on me before, remember, and I also felt your presence outside the door. But funny enough, I didn't sense you approaching the door, was that the doing of Death of Rabbits?"
"Not sure dad, I guess… He's sneaky that way," Aster replied.
"Well, I'm a bit surprised that you were able to summon him at such a young age. But I'm very happy and proud that you were able to contract him as your summoning beast," Roy said with a smile while flicking his left hand as if shooing away the topic. "Now, I asked you to come see me so we can talk about your training. You're a little over five now and children your age have already started training, some of them have begun to enter the first level of the dungeon and doing quite well."
"Wait a bit dad," Aster rudely interrupted, "Can I have a little bit longer to decide? There are some other jobs I want to try before choosing." With that, Aster ran away unable to take it any longer.