"Huff... Puff..." In dead middle of the night ran a small child. His steps were neither hurried nor were they erratic. They were fast and elegant, each step complementing the other, allowing for quick paced movements without delay. A cold, drenched white T shirt clung tightly to frame, highlighting a fit and healthy body.
"Damn it." Cursing under his breath, his steps quickened as his heart raced, as of now, his body was still trembling remembering the earlier encounter. A child seemingly the same age of his, a child that he had deemed to be below him was able to humiliate him so much that it damaged his pride.
The sudden boost of strength, hollow lifeless eyes staring at him while those infuriating words streamed out of the grey haired youth's vulgar mouth. Ray couldn't understand.
'I was winning. I had him beat and even though he managed to turn the tides I could've still destroyed him!' Clenching his fists, his silent fury burned within him, the forest grew less dense as he ran. Memories flew past his head as he reminisced of the past that existed only for him.
From the moment he had first turned six years old, he had awakened an ability that surpasses the limits of this world. And with that ability he cut down everything standing in his path. Slowly but surely, secrets were unraveled, lies expunged, truths became twisted and then he arrived at the final step before the end. And it was there that resided a creature that he could not beat.
Those words became a curse forever etched onto one's soul.
"I will make you beg for mercy."
Hearing it coming from a mere human child was a surprise. It was amusing but at the same time, Ray felt a strange omen that he ignored. What could a child do after all? They tend to talk big but lack the ability to back their words up.
And then he was beaten. No, it was a one sided massacre.
And for a short moment, he was taken aback. The child's smiling face superimposed with a figure, the figure of the devil that made him feel helpless, all the while plunging him into an ocean of despair.
"Kuh..." Ray's movement's stopped, pressing a palm to his chest, he sat down for a bit. His chest was tightening, his mind was spinning. He wanted to empty out his stomach. It was nauseating.
"This is really pathetic." He could only chuckle and look at the moonless night sky. Stars still blanketed the curtain of darkness yet their light was not strong enough to reach the world of reverie. Staring at those stars, his mind oddly grew relaxed, and his pain lessened.
He looked at his arms. They were still shivering but it had mellowed down.
ROAR! A loud bestial roar startled him and sent his legs scrambling to move. The ground was shaking, misty mana fumed out of the cracks. It wasn't a good sign.
Dominic Remington. The kid who had defeated him flew into his mind again. He was ashamed to admit but he felt a little threatened and a bit fearful of the child. The resemblance between him and that devil was just too much. They had different appearances yet they both possessed such ruthlessness.
ROAR! It bellowed again. Ray frowned.
"I still don't understand..." Ray opened his status window and focused on the curse that never left him.
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Trait: [The First Light of Dawn] (???)
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Seeing the skill while remembering how it functions irked him. A foul taste corrupted Ray's mouth and he spat on the floor out of discomfort.
"I've been living and doing things again and again for so long that the mere sight of familiar faces nearly sickens me..." He grumbled and reached the village, climbing the stone wall and sneaking past the guardsmen frantically running around. Ray's eyes grew serious and he stared at the village wall from afar, his eyes piercing through them as if he could see the forest where the witch and her grandson resided.
"And yet why do you only exist now?" He clenched his fist as he though of the anomaly named Dominic.
After having lived for so long, and after having done everything again and again, time had wounded his soul and mind to the point of nearly losing his sanity. He had lived a hundred lifetimes each lasting for hundreds of years.
In all those lifetimes, Dominic would always be killed by either a monster, that demon or a lucky guardsman who caught him in the absence of the witch. And even so, the Dominic that Ray knew was vastly different from this one. In some instances before an inevitable death, Ray met with the pitiful child.
Dominic Remington was sweet and caring. A pure child whose eyes were brimming with dreams. A gaze full of joyful light.
Looking back at the one he had fought before. Why was it that their eyes were dead and lifeless?
"Did grandma Antionette deem this one worthy and started teaching him? Or did that demon break his mind?" Ray kept on questioning things. He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice a hand that was reaching for him.
Ray's senses flared up, sending danger signals all over his body but it was too late.
"You despicable little boy! Ray you little troublemaker!"
"Ah! Mother!"
"I don't want to hear any excuses!!! Ray, you are grounded!"
'Damn it!'
Ray screamed out in pain, a soft but powerful hand tugged on his ear with great force that he feared it would be pulled off if the one pulling it were to continue. Not only that but another hand seized a part of his side and started pinching his waist.
"Gah! M-Mom!" Ray wailed pitifully. All the grave thoughts staining his mind were washed away by the pain of a mother's hard love.
The hands let go and ray quickly turned around and saw a tall woman with a body that would cause countless men to fall into sin. Those curves coupled with her luscious rosy lips, silky white hair and smooth rosy skin combined together to radiate a powerful aura of a mature woman.
Her eyes stared at him softly with worry and anxiousness, her pouted lips portrayed a sense of sadness as she crossed her arms together under her plentiful chest. She looked to the side and sighed as her eyes turned misty.
"Ray, do you really still want to head deeper underground?" Tinged in sadness, her voice both soothed and pained Ray's heart. Her mother desired nothing more than to see him safe and happy.
Did he wish to delve further into the crust and play their silly game again? Ray hated it, he hated being powerless, he hated the feeling of being toyed with.
"Mom... Its the only way." Ray shook his head and hung it low. Gaze blurring at the sight of cobblestone underneath, bitter memories resurfaced to threaten his sanity again. Ray looked up at his mother. His lovely mother who possessed such a dangerous allure.
She was a flower blossoming amidst a chaotic time.
"Ray... Is something wrong?" Her mother bent forwards, extending a hand to touch his cheeks. She wiped his eyelids and it was there that Ray came to know of the tears which broke free from his eyes.
Elena Dawnsorrow. A flower unlike any other...
She was a flower mercilessly plucked. Tainted by the hands of men. All he could do was watch, a testament on how pathetic he was.
'No matter what. I will definitely kill them. Every single one.' Through gritted teeth and bleeding palms from his fingernails digging into flesh. Ray took a silent vow and walked forwards, wrapping his arms around Elena. An embrace so warm and tight that it seemed like the woman would vanish if he were so to loosen his hold.
"I will protect you this time." His lips parted into a soft whispering mumble.
Elena's eyes squinted faintly. A giggle was all the could be heard before she hugged her little child. Her long legs took the pair into their home after closing the door.
Carried by her mother, Ray's mind relaxed. His body had stopped shivering. Warm, it was so warm.
This warmth was the only thing that kept him going. No matter how many trials, no matter how many repeats. He would always seek this warmth protecting him from the coldness named time.
"If so, then you don't have to fear loneliness anymore. I will use you but I won't break you. If you follow my words then I will support you."
Lifting his head up, Ray stared at the door. Curiosity nagged him to go and investigate the foreign element as much as he can. Discomfort dug into his skin and eventually made their way to the marrow. Thoughts riddled the mind of the golden haired youth, all involving Dominic.
'Should I kill him now?' There was plenty of ways to do so.
Ray would admit that he was shamefully no match against the child. He was stronger, but complex internal reasons prevented him from being able to fight at full strength against the witch's grandson. To lose was the only outcome if he were to fight head on.
'I could use time. I could use that monster... The terrain.' His mind flashed with answers. In this area, no one knew the land more than him. All the secrets and hidden pieces, all were revealed to his eyes.
"Ray... Did you fall asleep?" Elena's voice tickled Ray's eardrums.
Ray let go of his thoughts of murder, opting to nuzzle his cheeks against his mother's back instead.
"No mom... I'm hungry."
"Then eat up. I made your favorite dinner."
Ray's eyes twinkled, he jumped off Elena's back before hurriedly rushing towards the kitchen. Whereupon Elena entering the place, her little child was already sitting down on the wooden table with two plates, forks and spoons ready.
Elena's smile sweetened.
"If only this could go on forever." She sighed. Things were bound to become a living nightmare. And she wasn't sure if she or her child would survive cataclysmic storms summoned as the gods willed. She was just a mother, though she knew how cruel the world truly was.
"We're just toys. And they're spoiled children who would often not mind breaking us."
Such was the fate of each thousand year cycle.
Ray glanced at his worried mother. Unconsciously, his fists tightened their hold on the steel utensils until they soon bent and twisted into a crumpled mess of metal.
"I need to get stronger... We need to get out of here soon."
Everything was still peaceful. Ray knew wiser, this peace calming the hearts of many was but a mere calm before a storm. A storm in the form of bloodied blades and sickening smiles. The village was beyond saving at this point even if they prepare, there was too many and he had zero intentions of sacrificing his life for other people. In this world, only Elena and himself mattered.
The secret of Cain Village and the two shunned individuals slapped Ray hard upon remembering it. Grinning, he fixed the spoon he had bent and stared at his own reflection on the metal's surface. For a brief second, Dominic's face twisted in shock and denial replaced his own.
"That guy... I wonder what he would do once he finds out?" Interest scratched at the regressor's mind akin to an unbearable itch for he knew things about Dominic that even the latter could never expect.
It was only a matter of time after all. Given the capabilities of the witch's grandson and the chaotic state of the world. What lies underneath shall be brought to light at an unexpected time.
"After eating, do the dishes and sleep early!" Elena advice, she set a plate full of Roasted chicken complemented by a side of aromatic grilled bread slices fitted with cheese. The lovely woman yawned then left her child to his own antics, intent on sleeping.
Ray dined on dinner, slowly eating, relishing the taste of her mother's cooking. If he said that Elena's cooking was number two in the whole world of reverie and someone dared to claim number one, he would choke that person to death.
The night deepened. Demonic howls coming from the witch's forest sent unease into the hearts of many.