{Damian, Evita, Edain}
-Family Notes-
This was the book that came with Edain. Edmund was slightly nervous to read it because he knew it's contents would be painful. He didn't want to cry in front of Edain again but he needed to read it. Upon glancing at Edain, Edmund realized that he was asleep.
After a few minutes of mental preparation, Edmund opened the book. There was a mix of writing and mana recordings that had been imprinted on the pages. Edmund swallowed his nervousness and began to read the first page…
....
Pg. 1 - Hello my future baby. I'm Evita Celeste, your mother. This is a journal to keep track of the journey that our family is on. My goal is to fill this one and many more. I hope Damian, your father, agrees with this journal because I haven't told him yet. …
Pg. 2 - I am currently pregnant and ecstatic about it! I have always wanted a family and now I'm going to have one. It took me a while to get Damian to confess to me but now everything is going smoothly. …
Pg. 3 - Damian has agreed to the journal! Though I think he still doesn't really get it, I am very happy! We've also began to think about your name. I'm not too good at names but your father seems to have some ideas. …
Edmund flipped page by page, each one filled with motherly joy and the occasional comments by Damian. Knowing how this family was somehow destroyed made Edmund feel worse with every page he read. Nevertheless, he pressed on.
Pg. 7 - We have finally decided on a name for you! Damian says he based it on a wry important friend who had helped him through the academy and even helped him get together with me. His name was "Edmund" so Damian decided to name you "Edain." Isn't it great! I love the name. …
This page pierced another stake into Edmund's heart. The page went on to tell tales of his and Damian's different exploits in the academy.
The additional fact that Edain, one of the most important things in the couple's life, was named after him brought Edmund immense joy but it came with an even greater amount of sadness.
Pg. 11 - The complications have finally begun. You may not know this but once babies reach a certain threshold in growth, they begin to attract mana to assist in their future mana usage. Normally this would be a normal and harmless process but me and your father have some special circumstances. We are of two opposing species. He has the blood of a demon within him while I have the blood of an angel. I think we're the first couple of this kind, not that anyone other than us knows it. Don't worry though, you mom is strong so I can handle this little amount of pain! …
Pg. 17 - You're finally starting to move! I thought I was only feeling things at first but then you moved again. We are about halfway through my pregnancy. Then we will finally be able to see you in person! I can hardly wait! I bet you will be the cutest thing to ever enter the world! …
Pg. 22 - Damian has raised some concerns about how your body will react to the fact that you are made between an angel and a demon. I think that you will come out as a mostly human child. This is because we are not completely angel or demon. We are mixed bloods. So we think you get our human parts while any remaining parts will cancel each other out. Sound accurate, right? Damian was always the smarter one but I think I'm right on this! …
Pg. 30 - I'm going into labor, to think that tomorrow I will be able to see you makes me so happy. I want the next page to be written on your birthday but I won't be able to write the next page so I'll make Damian do it. …
Pg. 31 - Hello, I am Damian, and I guess I'm your father. I still don't really get this journal thing. Eva is in the process of delivering you and I was kicked out because I was stressing so much. I can't help it, she has been weakening for a while and now has to give birth. I'm sure she'll be fine but I don't think she'll ever get her strength back to it's peak. She has already accepted that though, so it's not my place to complain. …
Pg. 32 - Hi Ed, I'm back writing. Isn't Damian such a worrier. I'm fine after your birth and I must say, I was completely right! You are the cutest thing in the world. Hands down. With your short black hair that is even darker than Damian's dark brown and your soft skin. Not to mention your eyes. You have such intelligent looking eyes. You will definitely be a smart kid. I worry for your future with those looks. …
The following pages were filled with stories about raising Edain and the living relationship of the family. There were also many mana recordings that showed the daily life of the family. It was a truly peaceful and beautiful journal depicting a new, loving family.
That was until the later pages. The numbers disappeared from the pages. The handwriting went from peaceful strokes to rushed, jagged scratches upon the paper. The pages were dotted with dried blood. The words stopped depicting a loving family and began telling the story of how such a beautiful family was torn apart.
...
Damian was riding home in his mana carriage after work. It was a relatively older model but being able to own one at all was an accomplishment. He had little Edain with him. He had just turned one and Damian wanted to test him again. That's why Damian had taken him to his study in the forest.
Ever since his birth, no mana ever came in contact with Edain. This worried the couple so Damian began to run tests on him. What he discovered was that his body had nowhere to collect mana. Normally during pregnancy, the baby would draw mana and it would become apart of their being. This didn't seem to work for Edain. Despite that the family didn't really have any problems. While mana was an important part of daily life, it wasn't absolutely necessary.
The family was even happy because Edain seemingly came out as a normal human boy which meant that he wouldn't attract attention from the nefarious demons and their worshippers nor the excessive angels and their followers.
The father and son were now on their way home from Edain's last test. It was getting late and Evita was likely waiting for them.
They arrived home and paid the carriage driver. As Damian neared the house with Edain sleeping in his arms, he felt an oppressive presence inside. Damian immediately set Edain against the wall. Realizing that Evita should still be inside, Damian burst through the door and ran straight to their room.
But what he saw stopped him in his tracks. The room was in shambles and Evita was limp, being held by her throat. The man holding her had dull beige hair and cold grey eyes. As he saw Damian walk in, a look of recognition flashed in his eyes. He tossed Evita's limp body into him. Damian caught her and fell to the ground. Her body was cold and her pulse was nonexistent. She was dead. Damian felt his world shatter and he fell into a daze.
Damian couldn't comprehend the situation. The always loud and joyful Evita, now quiet and still. Her beautiful green eyes, now dull and lifeless. Her soft skin and hair, now rough and messy.
While Damian was dazed, the man began to speak in a fake sorrowful tone, "Shame. Her death I mean." There was a slight joy visible on his cold face. He was enjoying this. "It's your fault you know. She was 'tainted'. By you. She had a relationship with a filthy demon. Do you know how much of a crime that is? It's blasphemy." As he spoke he walked laps around Damian. "She had good potential too. And she was really nice. You know all this, don't you. I mean, you were married after all." His face could no longer contain his joy as a smirk broke out.
Damian was still in a daze. Staring at his wife in his arms. She was his purpose in life. His everything. Now she laid limp, cold. Damian slowly looked up toward the man. The man looked back down upon him.
"Kill me."
This made the man frown. "Shouldn't you fight for your life? It'd be more fun for me that way."
"Kill me."
"Do you have nothing?"
"Kill me."
"Not a single thing in your life other than her?"
"Kill me."
"You really have nothing."
"Kill m-" Damian's eyes landed on Edain's blankets. He regained some clarity as he was brought back to reality. There was on thing left in his life. One joy. One reason to live. One reason to run. The pride and joy of him and his wife. Their son. Edain.
"Ahh, I knew you'd have something in you!" The normally emotionless man let out a joyful shout. He was loving tormenting the demon. "Go! You get five minut-" before the sentence was even finished, Damian grasped a pile of planters and bolted out the door. He grabbed Edain while running and began wrapping him in the blankets. A red glow formed around Damian's hand in he pushed the energy into Edain. This put Edain into a deep sleep.
Damian was speeding down narrow alleyways to the village wall which he jumped in one motion. The second his feet touched the ground, he propelled himself north. From behind, he could sense a number of pursuers. 'It wasn't just the man.' Damian thought with a frown. The additional pursuers seemed weaker than the man but there were enough to easily take out Damian.
"Times up!" A shout was heard in the distance. A orange arrow pierced Damians calf, causing him to tumble through the snow. He immediately shot back up and continued running. He was bleeding, but he didn't care. A few more arrows whistled past his head. He ignored those as well. He was only focused on getting as far as possible with Edain.
A man suddenly appeared to his left wielding dual daggers. He slashed at Damian's shoulder hoping to remove the whole arm but only left a deep wound. Damian spun around ad delivered a kick to the man's side. The man was knocked a few meters away. Damian didn't pursue the man and continued on his way north.
Eventually Damian stopped in a small shack. At this point he had gain a decent distance from the attackers. He pulled out a small book from his back pocket. There was a pen attached to the book. Damian picked up the pen and began narrating the events of the day. He was bleeding badly but continued to write.
'If I leave Edain in here, someone will eventually come in. The spell I casted should preserve his life for a few weeks. I just need to run as far as possible. I'll be caught and killed but they shouldn't realize that Edain even existed.' As Damian concluded his thoughts, he suddenly leaned down as if to avoid something. Immediately after Damian ducked, the shack was horizontally split in half.
"Damn! Once you gained the will to live you could really run!" The grey eyes man saw the book in Damian's hand and scoffed, "Ha! Is that what gave you the will to live, a book, maybe a memory album." Damian dodged once again as a sword slash once again bisected the shack. He grabbed the bundle of blankets and stuffed the book inside.
"Haha! Yes! Yes!! Keep running! Keep this game going!" Damian pointed his free hand backward and gathered his mana. A small red flame appeared on his palm before exploding toward the man.
The sudden attack forced the man to retreat back a bit and by the time the explosion subsided, Damian was already gone. "Tsk. What a way to ruin the game." The man glanced behind him at his unit. In a voice once again devoid of any warmth he simply commanded, "Kill him."
....
Damian was caught in an encirclement. Constantly taking damage from every angle. The attackers grew comfortable due to the weakness he was displaying. Seeing a slight opening, Damian shot forward, taking a hit on both sides. He persevered through the pain and continued north.
After a few minutes of suffering. Damian found his hope. Someone who could save the only thing that mattered in his life. A man in the distance with light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. It was his friend. It was Edmund.
….
Edmund closed the journal. His eyes stung as tears ran down his cheeks. Luckily Edain was still asleep.
Now knowing what led up to his meeting with Damian, Edmund was crushed. Especially after hearing him talk of his wife in his last moments. Knowing that he watched her die made Edmund feel even worse.
Edmund looked up to the ceiling and let out a self deprecating laugh. 'I've cried more in these last few months than I have in my whole life…' Edmund sat like that for awhile before slapping his cheeks and standing up. He wiped his tears and began to clean the house. He now had a child to raise. It wasn't time to be complacent.