The sickening, squelching sound of a person being impaled by a sword rings in the air. The room is otherwise silent.
A singular horrified face pales among a sea of people, their faces stone-cold like statues. A figure with a blood-soaked chest falls to the ground with a thud, a long knife extruding from its back. They lie there, completely motionless. Everyone in the room stares at the body on the ground, the expressions on their faces unchanging.
The horrified face belongs to a small child with hair as yellow as the sun. He sinks to the floor, head buried in his hands as he begins to weep. "Mother!"
The rest of the group watches, again, with unchanging faces. There isn't a hint of remorse amongst them. The people are all dressed in black clothes, with hair slicked back and swords hung at their waists. A plain-looking woman steps forward, retrieves the knife from the body on the ground, and uses a black cloth to wipe the blood from the silver blade. The lady then steps to the side, letting a tall, muscular, red-haired woman take her place.
The young child raises his head, tears dropping onto the woman's shiny shoes. "... Why?" he chokes out through sobs.
The woman shoves her hands into her pockets, looking down at the child with a disappointed expression. She ponders for a moment, wondering if it's even worth explaining herself to a child. After a long silence she says coldly, "because you're a very special kid. And your mother was a very selfish person. She wanted to keep you all to yourself. But listen" - she bends down and places a large hand upon the boy's head - "you're going to save the world one day. So just think of me as your mother from now on, hmm? What do you think, Nai Soari?"
Nai wakes with a jolt, a thin sheen of sweat across his brows. He blinks several times, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the morning light that seeps into the room through the windows. Sighing, Nai looks to the side, staring at a sleeping 'Noah'. He hadn't had a dream like that one in ages. Maybe the thought of family last night made the dream resurface?
Noah's eyes flutter open and he rubs them, yawning a little as he wakes. A small smile appears on Nai's lips, but he instantly winces. A tiny stinging pain has formed on his lips, and when he raises a hand to run across the outside of them, they're tender and swollen and chapped. Nai's brows furrow. How odd. However, this wasn't the first time he had woken and had sore lips. He just has to carry on with his day - while he shops for parts to fix up the house, he'd better buy some balm.
"Nai," the little child whispers, startling Nai from his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Will you ever tell me about your past?"
A chuckle escapes Nai's sore, tender lips. "Well, good morning to you, too! What a sudden question. Has it been on your mind?"
Noah nods.
Nai sighs and shrugs. "Maybe when you're older. All you need to know is that I'm never going back to how things used to be ... I have you now! My days of fighting demons are over.
...
The woman's name was Anari. She was the captain of the human army in the North. She was a devote believer of the prophecies of The Sun to the point where she became obsessed with it. Her obsession was so strong she killed Nai's mother when she said she did not want her only son on the battlefield and declared herself Nai's 'new mother'. She was a brutal woman who didn't care for Nai's own well-being. Nai's memory of his first healing was one of the worst:
Nai and Arani entered a small, dimly lit room, flanked by two guards. In the room, a sickly-looking man lies on a bed, covered in a white sheet so only his face can be seen. But to such a young, innocent child, maybe his face wasn't meant to be seen. There was a large dint in the side of the man's head, big enough that Arani could have placed her fist into it. Nai gasped quietly, noticing the gentle rise and fall of the man's chest. How was he still alive?!
Arani grins from ear to ear, placing a hand on the child's back, gently pushing him forward, closer to the man. "Nai, meet Namir. Six months ago he was fighting off a powerful demon lord while stationed in the East. He was hit on the head pretty ferociously and he's been in a coma ever since. He has a wife and seven children and also has to house his parents as well as his wife's. So it's hard for them to live without him. But today, we're going to do something fun, and you're going to wake him up, okay?"
The small child nods shyly, wishing to crawl away and let someone else stand up. But no one else can do this. For he is the only Blessing from the Sun.
"In the prophecy of The Sun, it is said that the Blessing can heal the injured in any circumstance except for death. You'll need to learn how to save the lives of your brethren whilst on the battlefield. Human numbers are low compared to the number of demons out there; we also aren't as tough. So, it's your purpose to save lives so we can keep on killing demons, yes?"
Again, Nai nods, fiddling with his fingers. His heart started racing as he became fixated on the dint in the man's head. If he couldn't do it, this man will probably never wake, and will most definitely die. All of the people who depend on him will be distraught – who would bring financial support to this family if not the man?
Nai takes cautious steps forward until he's close enough to put a hand on the man's chest. He looks back at Arani and asks, "How do I do it?"
Arani shrugs, all traces of her smile gone. This matter was too serious to fake smiles. "You're gonna have to figure that out yourself."
Nai's attention refocused' on the unconscious man. The arm he places upon his chest starts to shake with fear. Fear of failure.
It happens in an instant.
A sharp electric feeling sparks in Nai's hand, and shortly after, a painful throbbing in the side of his head has left Nai screaming.
"AHHHHHHH! IT HURTS, IT HURTS! ARANI, PLEASE!" But Arani didn't have time to do anything – not that she would have helped anyway – for Nai had dropped to the ground, completely silent and still. A large dent has formed on the side of his head.
Arani steps forward, observing the unconscious man who's head-dent had finally disappeared. The man's eyes slowly peel open, blinking as he adjusts to the light. Arani claps her hands together in celebration and lets out a strong huff, smiling broadly. She then turns her attention to the young boy on the floor as two nurses tend to the man on the bed. She watches Nai intently as the dent on the side of his head starts to disappear. The tears on his cheeks had dried by the time he woke up.
Nai's eyes blink open, but he remains motionless, staring up at Arani with fear in his eyes.
Arani stops smiling and turns to the guards at the room's door. "Take him back to his room. Make sure he gets some rest. There are more people to heal later."