Opening his eyes, Arthur cleared his throat and stretched. Looking to his left, a familiar sight met him. It was his living space. His bedroom was old, shabby, and dim. Removing the covers from his body, he stood up. After taking a quick wash-up, brushing his teeth, and fixing his hair, the black-haired youth put on his uniform.

He let out a small sigh, "Hahh~ here we go. It's a new year, my last year of high school, and yet I'm still the same."

One day in middle school, he got into an accident.

"Hey, why did you reject her?!.."

"...What do you mean?"

Arthur stood before two girls. The one who confronted him held the other's hand as she stood behind her. The lead girl got closer, yelling louder at Arthur about his decision to reject her friend.

"Well, I just didn't think she was...for me. I wasn't interested."

A slap stung his cheek.

"How could you! She's been crying all day since yesterday!"

"You can't force me to like her...Look I'm sorry, I'm just not interested."

The two walked off.

Arthur stood in class, confused by this encounter. He didn't expect to be slapped over rejecting someone. 

But that wasn't the end of it.

The next few days were a rollercoaster.

Bad rumors circulated his name.

The girl went around school saying he was a heartbreaker who cheated on her friend for another girl. Arthur, being a guy who stayed to himself, didn't get the chance to defend himself against the rumors, as he was shut down by the outspoken students.

Slowly, people started to move away from him. He rejected the girl because he had an actual crush, but after the rumors, she stopped even looking his way. If he wasn't lonely before, he was now.

It's been a few years since, yet the rumor lingers now and then. He was also quite frail, skinny, and gloomy, so he was an easy target to be made fun of.

Arthur isn't bullied violently, in terms of being hit or touched all the time. It's just constant insults, or remarks about his looks, clothes, or face.

 ...

Walking through his school doors, he arrives at his seat and goes silent. This is the usual for him. He sits back, just watching the other students interact, laugh, and study with their friends. Things aren't any different in other classes either, the only thing different was the slight teasing remarks.

"He's a heartbreaking cheater~! Keke.."

He would hear this now and then, but by now it was just annoying to hear. Arthur would roll his eyes, and rest his head on his hands as he watched everyone enjoy their gym time. 

"That was years ago..." He'd mumble.

This is the average life of the loser Arthur.

Until a single day arrived.

August 6th.

He could feel the unease in the air even when he woke up. The clouds covered the skies, preventing the sun's beautiful rays from gracing the land. The birds didn't chirp when he opened his eyes, the insects didn't buzz, from these signs alone he could tell today would be off.

Stepping from the cushioned platform called his bed, he felt his knees go weak. He didn't feel fatigued, just weak in general. It was as if his body was low on iron, yet that wasn't the case. He then held his throbbing head.

"Agh!...the hell is going on? I feel like shit today."

If he could describe this headache he would say:

It felt like hammers being smashed against his skull in a heartbeat rhythm.

'Agh...today is truly horrible. What the hell is happening? Sigh~ maybe I can make an excuse not to go to school today.'

He laid back on his bed.

A voice then called out:

"Arthur! What are you waiting for? If you lay in bed that long then you'll be late!"

"Aghh!"

He stumbled downstairs, his weak knees buckling with each step.

"I-I don't think I can today."

"You look like crap. Are you okay, Arthur?"

She walked over, touching his forehead with her backhand to check his temperature.

"You sure are burning up, I don't see any sweat though."

"Yeah, I know... I've felt like this since I opened my eyes. I just don't think I can today though."

She sighed, understanding how he was feeling.

"Alright. You can stay. Just make sure to turn that game down, and get some rest!"

Dragging himself back upstairs, he flopped onto his bed. 

"Ahhh. I finally can get a day away from that hell."

Then the headache flared up.

A sharp pain struck his skull.

"AGH! DAMN IT! Agh... why am I feeling like this?"

Hours passed.

A sharp pain would strike him in the head every once and a while. And he would start to feel sicker than ever. After laying in bed and just playing games back to back, he grew bored...and hungry.

Again, rising from his bed, he slumped onto the floor.

Arthur crawled over to his closet. He put himself In a baggie hoodie and some slippers. He grabbed some loose cash in his drawer and headed for the door.

His mom was already gone and at her job. By now he would still be in school and they usually would return home by the same point in time, but today was different. 

He swung open the door and walked out, closing it behind him with a lock.

Arthur didn't want to walk because of his sickness, but he had to since he had no other choice of transportation. A store was just a block and a half away, he had been going there since he was younger and had a deep connection with the place.

It took about 15 minutes to reach the building. When Arthur managed to get there, he was feeling as tired as ever. He knew it was only due to feeling so ill, any other day he would be perfectly fine.

A "Ding~ Dong~" tune met his ears as he stepped through the doors of the small store. The cashier raised their hand in a wave with a smile. 

"Oh! Arthur, you doing good?"

"To be honest, not at all. I feel like shit."

"Oh, what a bummer. Well, hope you get better man."

He had also become friends with a few of the cashiers, this guy was one of them. He's been working at the store for about 2 months now, so Arthur has run into the guy countless times. 

Arthur just went for some snacks to appease his grumbling stomach and weak body. He grabbed some fatty foods, but he didn't mind all that much, since it's not like his body would magically become fat after being so frail and skinny since his younger years.

After filling a bag with all of the things he wanted, he went to the counter.

"...!!"

A girl looked him right in the eyes.

It wasn't a furious, sad, or even happy look.

Arthur described it as: sultry.

"H-Hello?.." Arthur said.

She had emerald-colored eyes, blonde hair that extended beyond her shoulders, and curves that made you look twice. 

The girl got closer after his greeting, "Hello~" she said back.

"W-Why are you...?"

"So close?" She finished.

"Yeah."

"Because you're cute."

"Ahh...I see. This must be some prank. I don't get it, what do you get out of this?"

"No. I'm serious! You're my type."

"And you're type is the skinny, ill-looking, loser type?.."

She nodded, as she gave a cute, "Mhm." 

"Uh-huh..?"

'Well, I can't lie. She is pretty. No, she's beautiful. Where did a girl like her come from?'

"What are you thinking about with those red ears? Is it me? Are you thinking about me?"

"What?! No...! No. I was just, thinking about eating all of this food..."

"Aww man~ I wanted you to be thinking of me."

Arthur was so confused, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy such a pretty girl to be acting like this over him.

'Honestly, just who is she? Now I'm curious.'

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" She replied.

"W-What's your name?"

She looked into his eyes, her naturally pink lips curving into a small smile.

"Anya. That's my name~!"

"Anya.." Arthur repeated.

'That's a pretty name.'

"Hey! Take down my number."

Arthur began to stumble on his words, "I-I wha...? Ah! Sure."

"You get flustered easily y'know."

"Sorry. I'll try to work on that..."

"No, I like it. Makes you seem like a real person, all of the other guys that have talked to me always try the nonchalant crap! So lame~"

"Ah, yeah."

'Other guys?.. Wait, I just met this girl. Get your head out of the gutter you idiot.'

Anya smirked as she watched his face, "You think a lot."

"And you always seem to know when I'm thinking."

"Well, you're just so easy to read."

"Oh yeah, my number."

He took out his phone, exchanging info with Anya.

She walked off, turning around with a pretty smile, "Thanks."

Ding-Dong~

The doorbell rang as she exited.

Arthur's heart was beating like crazy.

"What the hell just happened? Damn it. I forgot all about my sickness. No, it seemed like it went away when I met her."

'Why is that?..'

He scratched his head, "Just forget it, let's not overthink about the useless."

...

At home, he enjoyed his snacks, just watching TV to pass the time.

"I'm feeling oddly better. I felt like I was dying earlier though. Weird."

[Ding!]

[Your vessel is awakening...]

[You have discovered a fragment of the Dark King's true power.]

[You have been chosen as the 'Dark King's Heir'.]

[Due to your weak physical, and spiritual state, the system will help guide you on a path of power until you are capable of fully wielding the Dark King's abilities.]

[Welcome, Dark Prince Arthur.]

Arthur would have never guessed just how greatly his life would soon change from this point onward.