'Dear Fritz.
My son.
If you are reading this, then it means that I am already dead!
'Dead, what do you mean by dead, father? Is this another one of your jokes?' Shaking his head, Fritz continued to read on as a feeling of uneasiness grew inside him.
I guess I have failed both you and your mother.
I apologize for my selfishness, son, but I could not continue to breathe the same air as your mother's killer.
Yes, son, your mother's death wasn't natural; she was killed.
'No stop! Please stop! This isn't a joke!' A sheen of sweat appeared on his chin and forehead. The uneasiness bubbled up in his stomach as he involuntary swallowed hard.
Fritz's mother died when he was a month old, and according to his father, it was due to complications she suffered during his birth, yet today he learned otherwise.
For a long period of time, he secretly blamed himself for his mother's death and the pain it caused his father. Steeling his heart, he continued to read on.
A week ago, I received credible intelligence about your mother's killer. This was the chance I had been praying for.
It was now or never since I had already exhausted my potential, while your mother's killer was still full of potential and about to advance to a level I would never reach.
So I took that chance and failed.
"You failed? Does that mean you truly died? Are you really gone, Father?" choked Fritz. He grasped his chest as it slowly tightened. Its tightening caused him to take bursts of short and quick breaths.
"My father is dead."
"No! noo! "Nooooo!" cried Fritz. His eyes turned red and wet before a continuous downpour of tears fell. Fritz painfully wept as his shoulders shook uncontrollably.
The realization of his father's demise stabbed daggers into his heart. With each dagger twisting inside his heart, the pain intensified with each passing second.
Fritz cried for a straight hour before he stopped. His lustrous purple eyes were vacant as he stared emptily into the void.
A few minutes passed before his vacant eyes landed on the letter in his hands. Seeing the tear-stained letter in his arms, he couldn't help but wonder when it was the last time he cried his heart out.
Even though I have lost the battle, I haven't yet lost the war.
'What is the meaning of this? You died, Father, so you lost.'
That chest contains a few things I left for you, but most importantly, a white crown.
Although I don't know what it is exactly, I took it from that bastard before he could ascend to a new realm. In the coming days, the world as you know it will change, and you will have to adapt and evolve.
With this crown, you will have a chance to become one of the most powerful beings in Admetus.
'What is the use of power if I can't even protect you?" murmured Fritz.
In the future, when you are extremely powerful, please do your old man just one favor.
Please avenge us, son.
Please kill that monster, Balphorg.
'Balphorg!? So it's you, you bastard! You took them away. How dare you kill them? How dare you take them away from me?
I will kill you.
I swear in my name, I will destroy you.
This pain I feel—you will feel it ten times—no, a hun-hundred thousand times.
Let this pain fuel my raging flames of revenge!
I swear on my life!
I will kill you!'
Fritz's eyes flashed menacingly with a red glint, his nose flaring as he balled his hands into a fist. Murderous thoughts danced in his head after finding out who was responsible for his parents's deaths.
His hand grabbed the white crown before slowly placing it on his head and continuing to read the letter.
From now on, you are all alone, son!
Everything you need to survive, I have already taught you in preparation for misfortunes like this.
"I will survive. I will not only survive; I will avenge you. I will triumph over them all," proclaimed Fritz. This was his oath—an oath to himself and his resting parents. From this day on, nobody would ever take anything from him.
Please take care of yourself, son, and try to make a few friends for yourself.
For your parents, please don't let our lineage end with you. Hahaha…
I have also left some inheritance in the form of those two rings. Hahaha, that would be enough to live the rest of your life comfortably. Hahaha
Fritz's heart warmed at his father's thoughtfulness; even in death, his father cared for him. Indeed, a parent's love transcends all.
PS: Lastly, there is a whistle attached to a black envelope; don't open it. Once you reach the other side, immediately blow it.
'The other side, huh... I guess I won't be dying soon, huh?
I am so sorry, son! I will be joining your mother now.
'Tell mother I love her with all my heart.'
I will forever love you, Fritz!
'I will forever love you, father.'
Good luck, son.
'Goodbye Father'
Your Father Hadrian'
…
When Fritz finished reading the letter, his body slowly slumped onto the hard floor. His eyes remained wet as he continuously stared at the letter in his hands.
His body lay down without any motivation to move as the reality of his father's death sank in. Like a torrent of water flowing down a broken dam, the memories of his time spent with his father were recalled.
Unbeknownst to Fritz, the crown on his head started to shine as it slowly disintegrated into pieces and flew into his navel.
The crown slowly manifested in another dimension inside his body, where it started its nurturing and bonding process with him.
'Cold' inwardly exclaimed Fritz. This coldness didn't come from the temperature on the floor but rather from the realization that all the warmth and radiance in his life were lost.
Lost forever.
The coldness came from the loneliness and understanding of being alone.
The coldness of being unable to turn to someone you trust to confide in.
The coldness of fully understanding that he was truly alone.
This realization allowed him to focus all his strength on his father's last wishes for him.
So he steeled his heart and bore the pain of loss, understanding that he had a life to live.
He had goals to achieve.
He had a mission from his father to complete.
He had an enemy to kill—an enemy responsible for the coldness in his heart.
He had to seek power and strength—power that would be enough so that no one would ever dare take anything from him.
With renewed vigor and determination, Fritz chose not to give up. He walked up towards the window to observe the coming storm—a storm of change for him.
A storm that would bring him closer to his dreams of revenge and power.
With a wave of his hand, the letter and the gold-platted chest were absorbed into the white ring on his hand.
The Death Cloud swiftly approached Sector 8 with devastating storms, harsh billowing winds, and tumultuous thunderstorms. Its arrival sent the residents into a frenzy, yet Fritz remained unperturbed.
The blowing winds caused his abyssal black hair to flow majestically, and his purple eyes shone brilliantly with cold determination. Faintly above his head, a silhouette of a white crown appeared above his head.
This caused his visage to appear heroic—a lonesome figure of a child standing without fear of the looming harbinger.
From above, Fritz saw the destruction caused by the death cloud; it uprooted tall and thick trees on its way, and the land below crumbled and was upturned.
A sweeping tornado pulled the earth and animals flying towards its center as anything in its path was absorbed by it.
Continuous strikes of thunder hammered upon anything they came into contact with, instantly incinerating them.
Wild fires blazed dangerously as they furiously burned anything within their range to ashes. Huge pillars of smoke and ashes reached for the sky.
The combined sight of all these terrifying incidents been a depiction of a true apocalypse.
His gaze absorbed everything, and his hands trembled in fear at the fearsome destruction he saw.
Yet he remained steady even when his instincts told him to run, to hide, and to give up.
He decided to trust his father.
Today wouldn't be the day he died, but rather the day a new reality would unfold before him. A new reality that would open up a world of opportunity for him to achieve his dreams.
31/12/079 DC >>> 01/01/080 DC
DONG! DONG! DONG!
A loud ringing spread across the entirety of Sector 8, caused by the clock tower that announced the beginning of a new year.
Yet the clock towers ringing welcomed the arrival of the death harbinger this time around, as none of the merry festivities and commotion associated with the new year were present.
The death cloud instantly engulfed the entirety of Sector 8, as, without even understanding what happened, Fritz blacked out.