Look, I didn't want to be hated. I, Faris Persius, have been living in a life of solitude for as long I can remember, and to be honest, it doesn't affect me. Everywhere I go in the village of Hash, I'm always being met by malcontent from the villagers. For what reason you may ask? Hell, even I don't know the full details. Let me brief you about my past:
Tansho, who is the village's chief, has been raising me pretty much from when I was born. His wife Cherry has done most of the work though. She has treated me from when I was a baby till I learned how to adapt to the world around me. I was told by her that I'm a prodigy because I learn anything after a couple of minutes of practicing. Old geezer only taught me social and survival skills after I reached the age of 5.
The only problem is that the villagers don't talk to me without a humongous wave of insults, but when the geezer is around, they make a small fuss. They've been calling me "son of a traitor" or "demon's child". Social skills aren't made for me anyway. I enjoy being alone. I don't need a reason to go outside to socialize. I'm always reading books that Granny has in her large library. And yes, I consider my guardians as grandparents. They could have been my 'parents', but they're over 50 years old so nope.
She's always telling me that it's not good to stay locked up and read all day but I say otherwise. Anyhow, despite reading, I do sometimes help her out in the house. I usually sweep and mop the floor; I occasionally dust the bookshelves in the library as well. I even cook for my grandparents now and then. You guys might think that being neglected and hated causes me to be miserable and depressed, but no, it doesn't. As I said, I prefer being alone, but nothing makes me happier than having my grandparents and books. I have emotions, ok?
At the age of 10, I was already at a low university level. For years I have been reading and making memories with my grandparents. I knew how to do pretty much every subject in a typical curriculum, and I also learned some combat skills from a book I found. Apparently, it's the same skills that were being taught in the military. But for some reason, I never learned how to socialize with other people. They're very few villagers and children my age who don't know who I am, but I tend to freeze or fail to start a conversation. You can say that I'm 'socially awkward'. Well, that's what I am according to a book called "How to Make Friends for Dummies".
At this age, I still haven't learned how to socialize with other individuals. I only know enough to survive. However, all of this has been very monotonous to me. I'm continuously reading, doing chores, and spending time alone with my grandparents. Although I don't have any problem with it, I want to do something extra-curricular with them. I blame the villagers for causing this; I still don't know what is the main reason why I'm hated, but I never hold anything malicious for them. Sometimes I wonder, who are my parents? I ask grandfather but all he was telling me is that they died in a car accident when returning home from the hospital. I was the only survivor, as I was told. It's really suspicious. They couldn't have died in an accident. If they were, then the villagers wouldn't have hated me. I sighed at this thought wondering if I'll ever learn their true identities. I just got to hope and see.
~•~
It's been 6 years now meaning that I'm 16 and as usual, it has been the same. My intelligence was probably enough to get me a Nobel Prize and my combat skills were perhaps on par with a military commander. I also learned the skill of being manipulative. It sure helped me trying to get around the villager's heads when trying to make a purchase, or simply eat at a restaurant. As I grew older, I've gained more freedom because of my manipulation. Grandma sure had a ton of books, and yet, I haven't even asked how she managed to get all of those books. Anyhow, my grandfather Tansho, is still the village's chief and my grandmother Cherry is still being a housewife. They are both 68 years old meaning they would retire and stay home most of the time. I'm a bit saddened by this and I haven't done much in my life other than reading. I wanted to repay them for their kindness they showed to me, but I haven't had much thought towards it. I mean, I can always buy them something they'll like, right?
I was walking towards a jewelry store to buy my grandparents a token of my appreciation. Here, it's around 7 in the night; weirdly, the village is dead at this time. There's no one around, and only the lights are on. Anyway, if you are wondering how I manage to get some money, let's just say that I won a bet from one of my haters. I entered the store to see it empty. I looked around hoping to see an attendant or at least the cashier, but the store was vacant.
I went outside seeing a villager walking in the streets. I walked up to him and waved, "Hey um, why is the village so dead?" The villager doesn't seem to recognize me, probably because it's a bit dark to properly distinguish my face. "Oh, I've heard that most of the villagers were preparing to overthrow the village's chief reign for giving shelter to a demon" My eyes widened at this. I quickly turned around, breathed in and out, and started to run back home. I can't believe those damn villagers were preparing a coup d'etat. Fortunately, my combat training has drastically increased my speed.
As I approached my house, I immediately saw an enormous amount of people trying to break down the front door. "I better go around and enter through the back door. It will be safer for my grandparents to escape" I murmured to myself while attempting to execute my plan. I hurriedly retreated out of the crowd to avoid any suspicions and went around to the back door. At this point, I was desperate to take them out. When I was about to enter the house, I heard the front door broke open. I immediately entered and rushed into the living room. What I saw brought me to tears, I saw the crowd of people stampeding and beating up the very two people who I considered as my only family. I hid back in the corner, and I dropped on my knees shocked and speechless to see them dead on the floor still being beaten.
"WHY???!!!!" was the only word I could think of. I cried in horror as I saw the villagers beating up my dead grandparents. I looked at them furiously till the point my eyes were about to pop out. I blinked and all of the villagers were turned to bones. Saying that I was dumbfounded was an understatement.
"What the hell happened?" I asked myself as I stood up and headed towards the massive pile of bones. They were not ordinary bones; there were human skeletons all over the place. My eyes still feel as if I'm straining them. I tried relaxing them but nothing. Was it because I was crying? No, that's not possible. My eyes would have felt extra teary and have a burning sensation, but all I'm feeling is the strain.
I went to the bathroom to wash my face and still shook about my family's death. I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed some weird color and shape in my eyes. My iris is dark blue with a red shape in the middle that outlines a......hourglass? If an hourglass is used to count time, then the logical solution is that my eyes can reverse or accelerate time on an object. I'm quite surprised that I have some kind of visual prowess, but I'm not going to make a big deal out of it like those kids who recently learned how to draw out chakra.
I went back to the pile of bones and focused my vision on it. When I put the thought of reversing time in my head, I saw the bones turning back into all the villagers that I 'killed'. They are still dead; however, their bodies are still intact. I sighed knowing that I couldn't bring anyone back to life. I look at my dead grandparents out of pure guilt, knowing that I never said thank you. I then noticed a piece of paper in the back pocket of my grandfather. It read:
"Hello there Faris. If you are reading this, then that means I'm probably dead. I want to thank you for being the grandson my wife and I ever had. Ever since I found you, I knew you would be someone special in life. You've been both a prodigy and wonderful son in our eyes, and never once we've considered you a demon......unlike those damn villagers. I assume you want to know your true origins. The truth is that your parents weren't humans. They technically are but they have some special powers in their eyes. I don't know much about it other than that it can be awakened by sudden spikes of emotions. It's also called the Oculus. I undertake that you have already awakened it. Well, that's good, as your grandfather, I expect you to use your eyes for good and not for evil. Anyway, I knew your parents very well. They were like family to me, but the main reason why they were killed is that I ordered their assassination. They wanted to overthrow my reign because they wanted power.
They were angry by my refusal, so they killed my 2-year-old son. I was furious, and it led me to their assassination. I went to their house to confirm the kills, but then... I saw you. I saw you in a little crib beside your parent's bodies crying. I was extremely saddened because I left you without parents, and that's when I decided you raise you in secret. Everything went well till one of my subordinates saw you. He betrayed me and told the village about the situation. From there, you know what happens next. Before writing this letter, I sent a message to my best friend in a place called Hydra City. I told him to enroll you in a prestigious high school including some dorms. His name is Charles Warbston and is the chairman of the school. It's the only high school in the city so don't worry about getting lost. Look, I know that you're extremely smart and talented, but as my last wish, please enjoy a typical teenage life in high school. You're probably thinking that I don't deserve to make any wishes after I've done but that's fine. You live the life you want it to have. I'm hearing the villagers approaching the door, so I'll leave it off here. I'm sorry for everything and take care of yourself. Remember that we always love you."
"You stupid old geezer. I understand. I forgive you. I'll fulfill your wish as you asked. It's the least I can do after raising me for so long." I said crying in tears wishing that there was another way to avoid their deaths. I wish he would go into specifics about my parents. It would be nice to at least know their names. Typical old geezer, always leaving the most important things out. I went to my room and sat down on my bed. According to the letter, my eyes are also called the Oculus, and it responds to my emotions. Well, that explains why it awakened. I managed to deactivate my eyes by simply relaxing; I must have calmed my emotions a bit after sitting down. I focus my vision on the wooden door in front of me, and to my amazement, it looks cleaner and 'younger'. If I can reverse time on something, I wonder if I can see things in slow motion. I picked up my pillow and threw it. I quickly focused on the pillow and thought of seeing it move slower. That worked as well it seems. At the moment, I don't need these powers, so I'll use them when necessary. I immediately deactivated them, but I noticed something completely off about me. My emotions feel dull and I feel older. My physical state remained the same but mentally, it seems that I got older. I won't die because there's no information my brain can process to let old age kill me. Tch, this will be a pain to go through. I'll start packing and hitch a ride to Hydra City as soon as possible. Let us go meet this Charles.
~•~
So yeah, that is what happened. Sounds tragic, but I try to put it behind me. At the moment, I'm about to leave the house and head onto the road. The villagers seem oblivious about the situation, but I could care less about them. I turned all the bodies back to powdered dust to avoid any suspicions. Sadly, my mental health is getting a lot older. I'm probably around my 30s. Anyway, it's around 9:30 in the night, for your information, so I guess I'll be leaving Hash Village to meet Charles. High school is going to be a huge pain in the ass.