Year 1029 of the Light Calendar.
Moon Continent, Kingdom.
Year 1029 of the Light Era.
The Moon continent. The kingdom of Pandora and its capital, Surge, were located in the Southern region, towards the South side of this land.
It was here in these lands that a mother and child lived modestly but happily in a small house. The mother was a lovely and attractive woman, and her son was comparably cute in an androgynous way.
On one fine summer day...
"Hey, mom. Why do I have Red and Black hair? It was rare for a person to have double colored hair."
The little boy peered up at his mother with Double-colored eyes. One eye is Blue and one is Golden.Boy asked his Mother " Why are my eyes different colors?"
Mother said to Boy " Because my and your father have different colors you got my golden eye and your father's Blue that's why there are two colored eyes .That is why there are two coloured eyes. Because of these eyes you should not lie. If you lie, you will become blind. That is why you should not lie in your life. Do not think that this is a curse, this is just a gift from gods.
Then the boy says that "He never lies in his life because he will always treasure this gift.
His mother has black hair and golden eyes. Indeed, there were no other black-haired people in the capital they lived in. Because of that, the two of them were treated as oddities in their neighborhood.
His mother looked troubled by his question.
"You're right, Leon," she said, taking a moment to answer him.
"Perhaps it's because we came from somewhere far away."
"Do all of the people who live far away have black hair?"
"Yes, that's right. It's not just me. Your father's hair was black, too... and so was your grandmother's and grandfather's hair." Her son, whose name was Leon, had asked so curiously his mother couldn't help but smile as a result as she answered him. Seeing her smile made the boy so happy, making him beam right back at her. To the young boy who had just turned Eight, his mother was his everything.
"Huh! I'd like to meet my grandparents someday."
"...Yes, that'd be nice," the mother replied. "I'll take you to see them when you get bigger. They're in a place called the Northern region." Her smile had become troubled again as she spoke.
"Really? You promise?"
"Mmhm. I promise."
One year later, in the year 1031 of the Light Era. Early spring. In the slums of Moon, the capital of the Pandora kingdom, there lived a small orphan boy. He was curled in the corner of a dark and shabby wooden shack, the air dry and chilly.
"Hah... hah..."
The boy panted for breath, his cheeks bright red. He groaned openly, tormented by his nightmares. The dirty rags he wore on his body were soaked through with sweat; at just a glance, it was clear that he had a fever. There were traces of multiple people living in the run down shack, but none of them were present to nurse the sick boy. Who knew how long the boy had been alone like this? He was alone, left lying on the cold floor in a single layer of clothing. It wouldn't have been surprising if he'd died like this. And yet- At one point, a warm, gentle light began to shine and embrace the boy's body. It was a different kind of heat from the fever that had been tormenting the boy... This heat was warm and comfortable enough to entrust oneself to. Color rapidly returned to the boy's face, and his breathing evened out. For some reason, the fever that failed the boy's body was gone, and the light that covered his body disappeared with a subtle flash.
"Mmh..."
The boy clearly opened his eyes sometime later. Lying on his back, he blinked until his vision cleared and a dimly-lit wooden ceiling came into focus. His mind was still hazy, as though there was a fog preventing him from thinking clearly. The fever was gone, but not without consequence. He was still weak, and had yet to recover his strength and stamina. Overwhelmed with fatigue, the boy stared blankly at the ceiling. His mind managed to recover to a point where he could process his thoughts again; pushing his weary body up into a sitting position, he started to wonder about his situation.
"Ugh..."
A dull pain ached in his muscles, making the boy wince. It might have been a result of the cold he caught, or perhaps from sleeping on the hard floor. A glance around at his surroundings revealed a dismal room with some shabby furniture and medical equipment placed in the middle. This is…
A room he was not familiar with, the boy thought... And yet, something inexplicably felt out of place. He doesn't know how long he has been living in this room. All he remembers is that someone saved him from a fire... but he was also seeing it for the first time. It shouldn't have been possible, but it was almost as though there were two people's consciousnesses within him... Something just didn't feel right... rather, something was muddled with his memories. As he looked around the room in a daze, a sour smell suddenly pierced his senses. The boy noticed the rags he was wearing were soaked with sweat. He furrowed his brow, mind now awakened. With a deep breath, he collapsed back on the floor; he felt like lying down for a little longer. He lifted a hand to place against his forehead - but in the next moment, he gasped loudly and stared intently at his hand.
It was definitely his hand... the small hand of a Nine-year-old boy. But it was... weird. There was something strange about it... Ignoring the headache pounding in his head, the boy kicked his hazy brain back into gear. A child's hand...? I... Wait, I?...
Leon was the boy's name. He was an orphan living in the slums of Moon's capital, sworn to take revenge on a certain man. That was why he had grasped at straws to survive up until this point, That should have been the entirety of Leon's existence... So why did he have another person's worth of memories? The memories of a person living in another world, in an unfamiliar civilization, with technology that he didn't recognize... Broken images of various scenes flashed through his mind... They seemed all-too realistic to be written off as just the imagination of a Nine-year-old boy. They showed the life of a completely different person. Someone named Riyaan singh. According to his memories, he was a Nineteen-year-old university student. No even now, Leon was living that life, as if those memories had happened to him just moments ago. A strange unsettled feeling fell over Leon, causing him to shake his head violently. What am I thinking? Riyaan singh...?
The set of dual memories left Leon feeling confused. He looked down at his hands, as if he were trying to escape reality. But it wasn't the unblemished skin of an Indian child who grew up well provided for in the age of plenty. These were the hands of someone that was underweight from malnutrition; the skin was dry and rough and covered in a thin layer of grime.
Of course... According to his memories as an orphan, he hadn't had a bath in Year.
Seriously...?
It was so unhygienic. Leon grimaced. The tattered clothes he wore were stiff and made of hemp, and he couldn't remember he did not remember this, he would have worn these clothes . And of course, he didn't have any proper socks or shoes, either... But he should be grateful he had something to wear at all, he guessed. His hair was disheveled and pretty damaged, too. But he could tell that his hair color was red and black.
He knew that something had happened to him. He was thinking, "How am I alive? I was forcefully given poison."
"...Phew."
Leon breathed in and out, deeply, trying to calm himself and organize his memories. He placed a hand against his mouth in thought. He was Leon... and he was apparently the university student Riyaan Singh well, with Eight years worth of memories from living in Moon's capital and Nineteen years worth of memories from living in India. But no matter how much his memories were doubled, he wasn't Riyaan Singh. If he were Riyaan, he wouldn't be a little boy right now, much less in a place like this. And if his memories were correct, the young man named Riyaan Singh wasn't even alive.
"In my memories, I died on the bus with Aryan Kumar ... I think?"
He remembered being on a bus that hit something, and he remembered being in extreme pain, like his limbs were torn apart. He couldn't remember what happened after that, but it was hard to imagine recovering from something like that.
"Where am I right now...? Is this a dream? The afterlife? Was I... reborn?"
He listed off every possibility he could think of, but there was something too raw about this reality to write off everything as a dream. It was hard to imagine that this was the afterlife, too. Although... this place, while definitely not heaven, was as close to hell as it could get.
Which meant he was most likely reborn, Leon suspected. Could such a fantastical story be real? Did this Riyaan Singh even exist?? Had these memories in his head actually happened? But no matter how much he wondered, no one would tell him the answer. There was no answer. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was Leon, not Riyaan.
As time passed, the different memories and personality within him confused him more and less, and Riyaan's persona merged with Leon's. Their two different memories and personalities showed on the surface, but blended together without conflict underneath. Riyaan showed up more intensely because he'd had far more life experiences, but Leon was able to accept that part of him. That was why they were able to perceive each other's memories as their own experience and still remain sane over the situation at hand. Even so... Leon thought it best not to think too deeply about how strange it felt. But right now, he has a bigger problem...
Rrrgghhhh. The sound of an empty stomach echoed throughout the room, and Leon came to the depressing realization that he was starving. He sighed; the hunger he felt made him feel a bit lightheaded. There were a lot of things on his mind: whether these memories of another life were real, why was he reborn if so, and why did he only get those memories now?
But Leon knew full well how futile it was to ask those questions. Instead, he shifted his thoughts to trying to break out of his dire situation. Riyaan's memories and personality played a big role in how he was thinking so calmly right now. If it had been Leon and only Leon ,he would have died a death as an orphan, with no prospects for his future.
That would've been the worst possible outcome... and it would have been unacceptable, for Leon had a goal to fulfill. He couldn't afford to die here.
If I die now, that man... He recalled his deep-seated hatred for the man and gritted his teeth.
Leon's father died shortly after his birth, and his mother was killed when he was still small. And I also don't know how many days have passed since that day passed.
His parents were both immigrants from a faraway land. They were adventurers that planned their lives around their travels. But when Olivia Stark, his mother, was pregnant with Leon, she temporarily withdrew from adventuring. This left the financial burden of their livelihood on Leon's father, Minato Stark, who was a skilled adventurer. Unfortunately, he died not long after Leon was born. Despite this, Olivia continued to raise Leon admirably; she lived a modest life and dug into her savings in order to raise her child. But their peaceful life together ended when Leon was only five years old.
Olivia was an exotic, foreign beauty. She may have had Leon, but she was still young enough to be targeted by vulgar men and their obscene looks. With the still infant Leon as a weakness, Olivia was easily swallowed up by the evil around her and brutally murdered in front of Leon's eyes.
He could still remember that moment as clearly as day. From that point on, he swore to take revenge on the person who killed his mother, living every moment from then on for that purpose. That reason for being remained carved into Leon's soul even after Riyaan's memories cropped up... but now, he had Riyaan's morals, too. While he truly detested his mother's killer with every fiber of his being, Riyaan's morals within him questioned whether revenge was a necessary evil...
But Leon's morals and desire for revenge burned too strongly. Just the thought of that man made his emotions turn an ugly black. Revenge is evil? What empty words...
Leon scowled, clicking his tongue in irritation at the conflicting opinion coming from within.
Just then, the door to the shack was yanked open. Leon pushed his exhausted body up so that he could look at the doorway as several men Two kids and one woman crowded into the small wooden shack.
The time that woman was talking to Leon and said that " You are awake".
What "Hmm? Oh, Leon! Are you finally awake?" asked one of the men standing at the front of the group as he spotted Leon in the dimly-lit shack. The boy doesn't know him.
"Huh! So you actually survived. Thought you were a goner... Hey, boss! Leon's still kicking! We thought he was as good as dead before..." the man yelled. His eyes were wide with surprise as he directed his voice toward the back of the group where a giant man stood over the rest.
Ha! What a lucky brat. You were almost keelin' over from yer fever for some days ...We were gonna toss you out if you were still sleeping' today, "said the giant man who had been referred to as boss.
He sounded impressed.
"...Yes somehow" Leon replied, holding back a frown.
These men were a group of Jack of all trades here in the slums. They had a large circle of influence and earned their money working as outlaws for hire and by taking requests for all kinds of evil activities. Human trafficking, illegal trading, robbery, swindling, extortion, transportation and disposal of stolen goods... even hit jobs. The list of crimes they were willing to get their hands dirty for was endless.
To these men, an orphan in the slums was like a convenient disposable pawn. Easy to obtain, use and throw away which they often did. Leon was one such pawn that these men had picked up off the streets of the slums.
Before though he lived in a shack with his mother. Because of his distinctive Double color hair Leon and his mother were avoided by the other people, except for one man.
One year ago Leon's mother was murdered right in front of him and he was powerless to do anything because of the poison .
But these guys picked him up when he was in coma, but his whole survival depended on them. In fact he survived this long by them.
"Hey, it's cold here. Let's celebrate and warm ourselves up!" said the other underling.
He walked to the shabby wooden table in the middle of the room and placed some food and alcohol down with a thud.
"Good idea. Hey leave that in the corner being drugged to sleep, so Don't wake him up." ordered the leader of the group of men.
One the underlings moved to a place with a sack with their spoils on the floor. Then, in high spirits, the men had the sole woman in the group pour their drinks, and they began to eat.
"But ten gold coins was a great haul... right, boss?" One of the underlings cackled.
"Hmph. It's ten gold coins for a cargo transport. Can't be anything good... I doubt it's just a slave inside. Probably some noble kid or something."
Before though he lived in a shack with his mother. Because of his
distinctive Double color hair Leon and his mother were avoided by the
other people, except for one man.
One year ago Leon's mother was murdered right in front of him and he
was powerless to do anything because of the poison .
But these guys picked him up when he was in coma, but his whole
survival depended on them. In fact he survived this long by them.
"Hey, it's cold here. Let's celebrate and warm ourselves up!" said the other
underling.
He walked to the shabby wooden table in the middle of the room and
placed some food and alcohol down with a thud.
"Good idea. Hey leave that in the corner being drugged to sleep, so Don't
wake him up." ordered the leader of the group of men.
One the underlings moved to a place with a sack with their spoils on the
floor. Then, in high spirits, the men had the sole woman in the group pour
their drinks, and they began to eat.
"But ten gold coins was a great haul... right, boss?" One of the underlings
cackled.
"Hmph. It's ten gold coins for a cargo transport. Can't be anything good... I
I doubt it's just a slave inside. Probably some noble kid or something."
"Wait, what? You lot better not be doing anything dangerous again," the woman pouring the drinks said with a disapproving expression.
"Well... yeah."
The giant yanked the woman closer to him and snorted with a smug smirk on his face.
"But ten gold coins for a side-job like that? It's freaking amazing."
"Yeah"
The leader took a large gulp of his alcohol and a ferocious bite of his chunk of meat. Leon watched on from the side, swallowing his saliva hungrily. The topic of their conversation was ominous, But he was far more interested in the food in their hands. While it was evident they weren't doing any decent work.... If Leon had helped even a little, he would have been given something to eat. But this time around, Leon had been sleeping because of his fever, so the chance of them feeding him was extremely low. It wouldn't happen unless they were in a good mood...
The relationship between Leon and these men was simple: the strong and the weak, the exploiters and the exploited.
They'd shelter him as long as they could exploit him, then mercilessly throw him out once he was done. Leon had seen them do that to many other children already. But even so he persevered, all because he is an avenger. While he didn't intend to keep their relationship forever, he was just a Nine year old child. Only the fittest could survive on the streets of the slums and he doubted he could live very long on the streets without them. But at the moment the smell of the food was unbearable for his stomach.
I'm hungry...
it was what he could think about at the moment. He was too tired for anything else. Leon let the men conversation wash over him, only half listening as he sat in in the corner, resting his body, when suddenly -
"Hey,Kid ,Kid!" One of the underlings called out Kid.
"Yes?"
"Your fever sweat stinks like crap, Go wash yourself up, you're running the food and the drinks."
"...Okay."
He'd hope that they would give him food, but that was just his wishful thinking. The underlying pinched his nose and made a shooting gesture with his hand. Apparently, the sweat made Leon's body odor a lot stronger than he realized.
"I'm sorry."
After taking a bath, when Leon went near the door, he heard a question, "Captain, will we give food to that child too?"
The captain says no to food and the child, we will sell him to the slave market. Haven't you seen how different his hair and eyes are? If it is true that he has mythical eyes, then he will be worth a lot of money.
After listening to these words, Leon goes away from there quietly. Leon does not know which place it is and which day it is.
When Leon came out of that place after hiding, he did not know which way to go. There was a woman who helped Leon to run away and she said to Leon not to come here again "OK". As soon as he came out, he went some distance away from there and sat down hiding at a place. Some people came covering their faces with black clothes and he saw that some of them were coming towards him, out of which a girl came to him and asked who are you. Leon did not say anything and kept sitting but the girl smiled and told him her name, "Celia" will you not tell me your name now?
Then he said to Celia that "My name is Leon". When Celia saw that his clothes were bad and he was very tired. Then Celia gave him some gold coins and said that you can eat something with this. Then Leon said that I do not want your gold coins, I just want to know where I am and what day it is.
Then Celia said that this is the year 1031 of the Light Era and you are from the Pandora Kingdom. Then Leon said "What , I was unconscious for a whole year .I was unconscious for a whole year. Hearing this, a girl standing with them started getting scared.." I looked back and saw a girl standing there. Then Leon asked the girl. Who looked like his childhood friend Kristina.
Leon said "Kristina It was you". Then Kristina saw Leon and fainted .The people standing there were shocked to see this. One of them said, "Hey boy, what did you do to our princess?" Leon said, "I did not fool her, I just asked Kristina, is this you?" Then Leon heard some people's strange voices saying, "Leon, please save that girl who is with those bad people." Then Leon said yes to them and ran away from there to save that girl. Celia Said " where are you going". Leon ran from there and reached the same place from where he came back to those bad guys. And the leader of the bad guys laughed and said look who has returned.