Ares slowly began to regain consciousness and opened his eyes to see that he was inside a cage. He tried to get up but was suddenly hit by a sharp pain at the back of his head.
"Ugh," Ares let out a muffled moan but soon forced himself to look around to see where he was.
The cage with various fungi and moss growing out over the dirt fool, and the walls seemed to be made of concrete, however, his observation was soon cut off by a voice.
"Are you awake little one?
"!" Ares immediately got up and moved as far away from the voice as he could, he was still traumatized by his last encounter with humans.
"Oh, I'm sorry. My voice sounds a little scary but look I'm harmless" said the voice while lifting his arms in the air as a sign of peace.
Ares, who assumed that this was some sort of attack move, too, lifted his hands in the air.
"..."
"..."
"Pfft" the voice suddenly started laughing while Ares was bewildered by the weird sounds he was hearing. After a couple of seconds of chuckling, the voice regained its composure and began to move his face out of the shadow that covered him.
There, a man who seemed to be in his late fifties had white hair with streaks of black, a fluffy beard, and wrinkled arms, sat cross-legged against the hard concrete wall.
However, for Ares, appearances didn't matter, no matter how harmless one looked, because to him anything can be deadly as long as it's used properly.
"It seems you can't speak or understand me, huh? Most kids your age should be able to at least speak a word or two." mused the old man without knowing Ares was born just 5 days ago.
"Ba.Ba.Ba.Aa." Ares, who thought the old man was using his weird sounds to intimidate him, decided to also try out this tactic on him.
"Awww, you're so cute." However, this had the opposite effect on the old man as he found those sounds adorable.
Ares felt the change in atmosphere and panicked about what to say but his thoughts were cut with the sound of the cage's door opening.
*CLANK*
Both Ares and the old man turned their attention to see a guard bringing in two bowls filled with soup and what seemed to be leftovers from other dishes.
The guard moved toward the old man to give him his bowl and then turned to give Ares his bowl, however...
"Hm?" the guard was left puzzled when he saw the boy who was right next to him somehow just disappear. He looked around the room but to his shock, the boy was just gone!
'I had the door open, sure, but I should've at least sensed his presence leaving the room. Am I getting sloppy from this damn job? Or is the kid's innate ability?' thinking this, the guard pressed his earpiece and spoke "A demon has escaped from his cell. It is a male child who may or may not specialize in hiding his presence."
Saying so, the guard slammed the cell's door shut and began to rush toward finding the demon child.
The old man, however, had seen what Ares had done and was completely bewildered "H-he turned invisible?"
****
Millions of purple particles, invisible to the naked eye, were navigating through a vast underground network, with each one going to different routes and coordinating with one another in which routes to eliminate and which ones hold the most possibility for escape.
Ares assumed that escaping would take him less than a minute considering the amount of particles moving around with each matching an adult human's speed but to his surprise, no matter how far the particles went or which possible route they took, there was no end!
Ares's innate ability, [Fragment], only lasts 2 minutes so not long after he had to return to his original form.
"Haah... Haah..." Using [Fragments] hurt Ares's mind due to the numerous subconsciousness his mind split into, but even so, Ares gritted his small baby teeth and began to run.
Despite having the body of a 2-year-old and being born just 5 days ago, Ares's speed was slightly above the average adult with an astonishing sense of direction.
"Hey, I found him!"
"!"
But unlike when using [Fragments], one wrong turn will also be the last turn you will make.
Suddenly, nearly 15 guards teleported right next to the guard that caught him and began to chase him down.
Knowing the men would sooner or later catch up to him, he chose the only option he hadn't tried yet.
Ares jumped at an astonishing 3 meters above the ground, just enough to reach the ceiling where he used his right hand to dig into the concrete while using his left hand to clench into a fist which he punched towards the ceiling!
*BANG*
*Crack*
Unfortunately, a single punch wasn't enough to break through the ceiling so with his bloodied knuckles Ares punched again and again...
*BANG**BANG**BANG*
*Crack**Crack**Crack*
Just as the guards were about to reach him, Ares, whose hand was completely shattered, used his forehead to smash the same place where he had been punching.
*CRASH*
Finally, the ceiling broke, and without hesitation, Ares pulled himself onto the top of the roof and began to look around for the quickest route for escape, however...
Water.
Everywhere Ares looked around was filled with water and he was filled with shock.
Shock, not from the futile struggle of escape but a reminder he had been trying to forget about these past few days after his birth.
He had lost someone. Someone important whom he would never see again. Someone whom he wished to know more about but would never be given the chance due to a tapestry that is known as life. Though in the future he may forget her face, her voice, who she was, and what she represented, these waves would always serve as a reminder. A reminder that there was a set pair of blue pearls that never wavered, even at the brink of death and insanity, to look at him with gratitude and a 'Thank You' for being born.
"Ares." thus came the first word that Ares spoke, a display of appreciation to the lady who had given him warmth despite him never being able to give the same warmth back.