"In this world there is a cost for everything, life is just a repeated process of gaining and losing. And for that exact reason, for me to live I must take a life."

~~~~~

Inside the top floor of a worn down building, housed a family of two. A child around his early teens and a fairly tall woman with white hair.

Currently the child was being beaten by his mother, scars could be seen on his hands and torso as he cuddled himself on the floor. His raven hair was disheveled had bits of white that could be seen at the tips of his hair.

Having finished venting her anger the woman made are way back into the bedroom as she left her son bleeding on the floor.

Upon hearing the sound of the door close, Kassius remained motionless for a while before beginning to stand as he proceeded to drag his battered body to the kitchen.

Feeling the slight stings that radiated from his body, Kassius groaned

"Shit it's worse today, isn't it?"

Recalling the events that had just transpired, he pushed his body into the chair as he stared at the door that lead to his mother's room

She was sick, yes his mother was sick although she wasn't dying it made her mind deteriorate over the years. If he could remember correctly, it started a couple of years ago.

Compared to her current state of mind and behavior, she seemed like an angel. Since she lost control of her mind Kassius had been fending for both of them.

'I should probably meet up with Mr. Granus,' he thought to himself

He got off the chair as he walked towards the door leading out of the building, upon stepping outside Kassius was immediately assaulted with the mixture smell of rotting a corpse and smoke.

It was choking to just breath in this environment but over the years he had gotten used to it, after all this was the air he had breathed throughout his whole life.

Walking through the streets, the soles of his feet sunk into the ground at every step he took as the mud beneath dirtied it, moving on a droplet of water fell on to his face

He looked up to see the darken clouds that signified it was probably going to rain. "I should have brought an umbrella," he said whispering to himself

After half an hour of walking he found himself in front of a small shop, going through the back he knocked before a rough looking man with thick breads opened up.

"Kass, you fucking idiot. What did I tell you about coming in through the back door."

Kassius looked at the middle age man, who shouted at the top of his lungs using his hands to plug his ears.

"With the way you're shouting people will find out about it, you old geezer. And aren't you on your last legs anyway", Kassius said as he walked into the shop.

Granus frowned staring at the kid, "I'm in my fifties boy, and who gave you permission to touch that".

Quickly dropped the herb in his hands as kassius whistled turning his head to the other side.

Granus sighed stepping into the shop closing the door behind him, ever since he meet Kassius his days had gotten a lot busier.

The kid wasn't as bad as he initially thought, though he tried stealing from him during there first meeting.

Kassius's mother had a flower shop just two shops after his, she was a beautiful and kind woman. It was rare to find such a woman in the outskirts.

But a couple of years ago that all suddenly changed, her shop closed down and Kassius rarely came around. Until one day he appeared looking roughed up begging if I had any herbs to treat sickness.

I had so obviously I gave him, he left immediately after that. A couple of days later I had found him stealing from people and shops.

Of course that was normal in the outskirts but, it was also normal for people to be found dead in the back of alleys.

I decided to help the kid, I told him to work as my assistant and I'll provide him the medicine his mother needed for her sickness.

It didn't take him long to accept after all that was the only choice he had. Since then he's been working under me while I thought him some things about the herbs I kept.

Granus snapped out of his thoughts as he asked, "Kassius get ready to work, you'll be learning how to …."

The wooden door of the shop opened as a customer entered, that signified the beginning of the day as Kassius got to work.

******

The day easily came to an end, greeting granus goodbye. I collected the herbs needed before heading back home.

Walking back in the rain, I felt the cold creeping into me has I heard a sudden commotion up ahead. Upon getting closer I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.

I stared at a man dragging my mother as she tried her best to resist, my mind went blank as I dashed at the man throwing my whole body at him.

The man staggered to the side as I fell unto the floor, quickly regarding his footing he focused his attention on me. He expression changed to that of annoyance before he delivered a kick to my stomach.

I winched sliding a few feet back, tears built up in my eyes as I tired looking up to find my mother.

"Fuck…., not now", I cursed as my gaze landed on the person I was looking for holding her head, a look of confusion flashed across her face as her eye brows knitted together show casing anger and sorrow.

It was the look she gave before beating me each day, I know it wasn't her fault but I couldn't help but hate her for it.

I snapped out of my thoughts as the man grabbed my shirt lifting me up, "You stupid brat, do you know the punishment for harming a knight"

My mind couldn't register what the knight had just said as my focus was suddenly directed to the insignia that was embedded on the handle of his dagger.

"ARRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH"

The brown haired knight turned to the side to see the woman he was just flirting with suddenly scream.

She looked at the looked at the boy in his arms, whispering to herself she said

"Yo... You…. You took them away, I should have died then. I should have died back with my family"

"Let me go you bastard," I kicked around the knight's body seeing as he was distracted. he threw me unto the floor stepping in a bit of panic, all he wanted to do was indulge himself. He didn't sign up for this madness.

"I'm done with you and your deranged mother, brat"

A wave of relieve washed over me, seeing the knight leave my body ultimately relaxed. Unfortunately, it was short lived by the vivid sense of dread that overcame me feeling my body getting pushed unto the ground.

My battered body lay in the cold dirty mud of the outskirts as I stared at the being that brought me into this world, it seemed I was destined to die today.

Her cold skinny arms choked me as she looked into my hollow eyes devoid of life. "Mother….", I whispered as I felt the darkness draw closer.

"Hmm…. Where could he be," an ebony haired man said.

The man was kind of blurry as my eyes was wet but still I could identify the black cloak that covered the man.

"I didn't expect any less from the outskirts, but for you to try and kill your own son", I heard the hoarse voice of the man as he approached.

Even though I was at death's door, I could still see the insignia embedded at the side of the man's cloth. It was the same as that of the knight that had gotten me into this situation.

His eyes traced through my Mother before landing on me, "Is this your decision, do you really want to die here?"

Even if I couldn't answer him, my lack of struggle showed I had resigned myself to fate. She had already pinned me down and I didn't have any strength to fight as I was already exhausted before coming here.

And after all I had been through, death wasn't really something I feared. living in the outskirts I had encountered it more than once before meeting granus.

But this time it was different I had always fought to overcome it, even if it wasn't for myself then atleast for her.

She had been the only reason I had survived this long, and now that was the same person pushing me towards death's door.

I closed my eyes as the cold embrace of death pulled me closer, and not long after everything turned black.

...

….

…

.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE…"

My eyes burst opened has I looked towards my left at the dagger the chestnut haired knight dropped when I kicked on his body.

My body moved on instinct as my hand moved in a diagonal motion after grabbing the dagger, a sound cut through the air as the dagger slid across her neck.

For a moment the world seemed to pause, as my mothers eyes turned clear right before I dropped the dagger that was now dyed in red.

I felt her scarlet blood splash on my face, as she choked on her blood struggling to breath. I watched her hold her neck trying her best to survive just before the light faded from her ember eyes.

Frozen by the strings of events that had just transpired, I stared up motionless as the rain washed away the blood of my mother that laid next to me.

My mind had gone blank, devoid of any thoughts. Turning my head towards my right, I was faced with the hollow eyes of my dead mother.

The reality of what I had done just settled in as my chest felt heavy, it was as if someone was pulling on my heartstrings. Breathing became hard as my eyes turned blurry, I tugged on the sleeve of her cloth as I apologized

"Mo… mother, …..I'm sorry

Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up.", I kept repeating like a broken record as I lost all reasoning

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH", I wept tugging on my chest as I fell onto the floor. I was hyperventilating, I could feel my body shutting down on its own, at that point my mind could be called nothing less but fractured consumed by the weight of the sin I had committed.

The ebony haired man stared the scene unfold as he remained motionless just a few feet away from Kassius.

Unknown to Kassius the sclera of his eye had been dyed black as his violet eye's became radiant, he had taken the first step into a world much bigger than he could ever imagine.

But all those aside the unending rage that hid behind those eyes were evident, the world had taken someone he loved and for that he was ready to set the world ablaze.

The ebony haired man stared at the boy as he completed his metamorphosis. Each passing second he waited the dense purple ammas that radiated from Kassius's body increased.

Truly marveled at finding this kind of potential in the outskirts. The ebony haired man had no intention of letting the boy go, after all he had just killed his own mother where else could he possibly run of to.

"I'm sorry about your mother kid", the man said.

"You probably aren't even in the right state of mind, but you have to forget that for a moment. People have gone through worse, so I would probably call you lucky

The only thing that separates you from them was you decided to take, instead of been taken from".

Barely standing I looked up to the man as he downplayed my circumstance, I didn't count myself as special in the first.

They were thousands of kids in the outskirts who had it worse but all that didn't matter as I didn't even register his words in the first place.

Although I was out of it I knew he probably didn't mean any harm even if he did I wasn't really in any state to fighting back.

"What is your name?", he asked as his piercing golden eyes stared daggers into me

"Kassius…", was the last thing I uttered as exhaustion took over me, he continued speaking but I couldn't process anything as my consciousness faded.

But just at the brink of passing out I heard a name,

"... ALTAIR".