In the foreboding land of Limus, where the skies perpetually hung with a morbid grey haze, and the air reeked of decay and despair, the ominous Castle Krael loomed like a specter over the desolate landscape. Its turrets and spires reached towards the heavens like skeletal fingers, as if grasping for the last remnants of hope.
Within the castle's cold, damp walls, Duke Bonifacius, a man of unsettling presence, sat upon his throne. His signature white hair cascaded down his back like a river of snow, contrasting eerily with his sea-green eyes that seemed to gleam with an otherworldly intensity. His face was chiseled, with sharp features that seemed to be carved from the very stone of the castle itself. A scar above his left eyebrow twisted his features into a perpetual scowl, giving him a frightening appearance that struck fear into the hearts of all who beheld him.
The look of despair in Arthur's eyes said it all, his eyes devoid of any happy emotions, his eyes showing nothing but pain and anguish. His face, pale and gaunt, was smeared with tears and snot, a testament to the unrelenting anguish he had endured. His small frame trembled with fear and rage, his voice cracking as he screamed, "Why me? Why did you take everything from me?"
He felt like screaming so loud at the top of his voice, cursing this cruel world for bringing so much pain to him, but yet, even the world showed disdain towards his voice, Arthur was unable to scream, his throat dried and sore from his previous screams. "Why me?" He asked weakly, "why do I have to suffer so much pain and anguish? Why did the world take my happiness from me all of a sudden?" He cried weakly, trying to push himself up, trying to fight against the cruel reality that the world has placed on his shoulder, all to no avail. His body had gone limp, there was no strength in his legs.
"Hahahahahaha," Duke Bonifacius laughed maniacally, amusement and satisfaction deeply etched on his face. "As expected," he said melancholicly, "this was more fun than I expected, albeit it ended too soon. But worry not, dear nephew, for I'll treat you well in stead of your loving father. I'll take care of my brother's son, in the best way I can," he said sarcastically.
Arthur's mind raced with memories of his family, their laughter and smiles now taunting him like a cruel joke. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of despair, unable to escape the agony that consumed him. His eyes, once bright and full of life, now seemed like two empty wells, drained of all hope and joy.
"Why...?" Arthur said, tears rolling from his eyes, his silver-colored hair that once flowed gracefully down his back now ruffled and black, looking no better than the hair of a beggar. His perfect sculptured face, his well-aligned nose, and his sea-green eyes, his wonderful pink lips, his well-proportioned body, that screamed regality, was nowhere to be found. All that could be found was a weak boy, who was pained from watching the downfall of his family.
Today was supposed to be a happy day for him, marking his tenth year birthday. He could still remember the loving smile of his dear mother, who wished him a happy birthday, the silly laugh of his sister that toyed with him, calling him a baby who was only ten years old. His childish action of berating her, his naive attitude of picking a fight with her, because he felt she was messing with his ego. If only he could turn back time, if only he could hug his sister and accept her words, if only he could act like a baby brother to his sister, if only he could hold his mom's hands and listen to her telling him stories, if only he could talk to his father, bragging about how he would be an emperor wiser than his father, if only he could play strategic games with his father, if only... Arthur was driven to a near state of madness.
During his birthday celebration, his Uncle, Duke Bonifacius, along with the other nobles, had turned against his father and killed him. They had carried a coup in order to seize the throne, they even refused to give him a peaceful death, forcing him to watch his wife and daughter being played around by countless men, who weren't worthy to love a pig. He watched them play with his wife and daughter till their death. As if that wasn't enough, he was tortured, cut to pieces just for their satisfaction. That's how Arthur lost his family, watching their pains and suffering, he cried and screamed and begged, he struggled as much as
he struggled as much as he could to prevent their pains, alas, he was too weak, alas he had no strength.
It was at this moment that the world made him realize how weak and useless he was. He watched them die, but yet, he couldn't retaliate, nay, he couldn't even lift a hand towards his enemies. Arthur was burning with rage, "I'll kill them all," was the only thought in his head. Of course, his expression did not escape the eyes of his uncle.
"You're far too young to think you can hurt me," Duke Bonifacius said calmly. "Kill me," the ten-year-old boy, who ought to be playing with his friends, listening to countless stories, muttered. "Please kill me, I have no reason to live anymore. My heart, it hurts, it's like it's being ripped apart, my head is screaming at me, it's wondering the reason I'm still in this cursed world."
Duke Bonifacius, as well as the rest of the nobles, watched the poor child say those words with a mixed emotion. They felt sad hearing a boy say that, nay, they didn't, sadness was far from the expression written on their face, their facial expression was ecstatic, adults with kids of their own, showed no remorse after putting a child in so much pain.
"What's the fun of it? Can't have you die now, how can I face my brother in the afterlife? Fret not, my beautiful nephew, I shall treat you with so much care, as I did to the rest of your family. I'll ensure I break you, I'll make sure that death becomes nothing but salvation to your soul, this I promise you, my dear nephew," Duke Bonifacius said. The rest of the nobles smiled after hearing the cruel words of Duke Bonifacius.
"Why... Why did you have to do such things? Father never treated you badly, Mom showed you so much support, even sister used to smile and play with you, what changed uncle? Why do you have to commit such evil that shames even the devil?" Arthur inquired from his uncle, his voice coarse and weak, "why? Do humans need a reason to change? In every man, there's a hidden beast that wants nothing but carnage, a beast filled with endless greed, humanity is nothing but a wolf clothed with the skin of a sheep. Love? Kindness? Compassion? Those are nothing but lies, those are nothing but deceits that humans used to hide their real self, their hideousness is prevented from coming to this world. That's what humans are, pretentious species. Isn't it funny how law makers are nothing but law breakers? How someone that loves you today can hate you tomorrow? You want a reason for my actions? Well, let's just say I allowed my true self to appear in this world. I've been sick of my annoying brother, This Limus Empire, was built through conquest, even the successors of the great emperor Limus, founder of the empire wrote their name in the history of the world through war and conquest. So how dear that weak man pursue peace? What gave him the right to seek peace from those lesser creatures. In this continent, it's either you're a Limux or an animal, and we don't negotiate with animals, we either kill them or tame them in farms. Since the task of managing the empire is too much for him, I couldn't help but place the responsibilities that were crushing my lovely brother on my shoulders, as the one true emperor, a simple advice to you nephew, although you won't need it, weakness is a sin, not a circumstance, it's either you're strong or you're dead, being weak makes you no different than an ant whose life's his dependent on who's passing it's way," Duke Bonifacius said, his expression switching from mockery to anger and then calmness.
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you and everyone that has anything to do with my family's death, I'll destroy this empire that caused me this pain, because I was it's crown prince, and on that day, I'll make sure to give you the same advice. So please do kill me, dear uncle, cause you will regret it if I ever escaped," Arthur said calmly, but his mind was going through a turbulent storm of negative emotions. Duke Bonifacius and the rest of the nobles laughed at the harmless threat of the weak boy.
"That day will never come," Duke Bonifacius said with great assurance before signaling the guards to take the boy away and lock him up in a dungeon devoid of light, plans of how to torture the child already in his head.
As the guards dragged him away, Arthur caught a glimpse of his uncle's triumphant smile, and something inside him snapped. He could feel his heart growing cold and all positive emotion within him slowly dying.