He lay on the cold hard ground, shivering as he gazed drowsily at the manacles on his swollen wrists. Shario Aliené was too cold and sore to move, with everything in his vision seeming dark. He couldn’t remember the last time his mother had come to get him, leaving him all alone in the freezing cold dungeon. He failed to kill his last target, which led to a severe beating that had made him cry out in agony. Fed up with his incompetence, Shario’s mother threw him in the cell to think about what it meant to be an assassin. It had been a long time since then, but the bruises that covered his body were still a very dark purple that they were almost black. He hadn’t eaten since then either causing his stomach to growl.
“I’m… sorry…” Shario muttered, wishing that his mother was there, hearing him and letting him back out to be with her again.
Since he hadn’t had anything to drink just speaking a few words made his throat ache, causing him to cough. He didn’t understand why his mother was so disappointed in him. When he woke up for the first time, she seemed so happy, hugging him and telling him that she missed him. He shouldn’t have asked who she was, despite not knowing. However, even at that point she calmly explained that she was his mother. His biggest mistake was probably asking what a mother was, or perhaps it was asking her what his name was. She lashed out after that, calling him a failed experiment. Ever since that day, Shario had to suffer from her constant beating for making the smallest mistake.
“Shario Aliené! I resurrected you, so you need to do as I say!” she would often yell. “Oh, no you’re not Shario! You’re just a failed reincarnation with no memory! Useless zombie!”
She always kept Shario’s neck, wrists and ankles in shackles to control him, kept him locked up and only removed him from his cell when she wanted to use him as an assassin. At that point, he couldn’t remember how many people he killed because his mother told him to. He knew it had been a lot, but no matter how many he murdered he could never win her approval, being thrown back into the dungeon after every mission. Most nights he ended up crying himself to sleep.
“Good sir I assure you there are no such things as ghosts,” an older man’s voice echoed through the icy halls. “Everything should be fine.”
“But we hear it all the time sir. It sounds like a crying child, and it’s scaring all of the guards,” another man explained.
“Are you sure there’s no one down here?” the older man asked.
“Of course not, this place was abandoned since you stopped executions, Lord Aliené,” the man replied. “It’s too cold for anything to live down here. We wouldn’t dare hold a person here.”
Shario tried his best to keep quiet as he listened to the two men talk. His mother always told him he must be silent. He was frightened to find out how she’d react if she discovered that people had heard him. Even though he was curious who the other Aliené was, he didn’t dare make a sound. His efforts went to waste as he began to cough again, feeling sicker as he did.
“Now that I heard,” Lord Aliené stated, the footsteps coming to a halt.
Shario coughed again, no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He suddenly felt weaker and thought he was going to throw up.
“Open this door,” Lord Aliené barked.
The next minute Shario could hear the rattling of keys and the door opening. Somehow, he found the strength to look up, only just being able to see the man in the doorway. He was a tall man with snow-white hair and golden eyes. He looked down at him in shock muttering something he could not hear. Just the slight movement made Shario cough violently, he started to shiver more than before and was struggling to breathe.
“Shario!” the man shouted as he ran towards him. He immediately knelt down and helped Shario sit up. “How did you…? When did you…?”
“Who… are… you…?” Shario muttered, weakly looking up at the man.
“Oh, I suppose you won’t recognise me looking this old,” the old man chuckled. “It’s me, your older brother. Elexi Aliené, remember?”
Shario shook his head. His mother had told him what that word meant but never said anything about having siblings, especially one that was most likely several decades older than him.
“Oh, I see…” Elexi muttered, sounding disappointed.
Shario began to tremble in fear, noticing that the man’s expression looked so similar to his mother’s when she found out he couldn’t remember anything. He used all his strength to push the man away, scuttering along the floor until he hit his back on the wall.
“Sorry… forgive me, forgive me,” he mumbled placing his hands on his head and cowering. “Sorry, I’m useless… sorry, please don’t hurt me…”
“Shario, I’m not going to hurt you,” the man claimed walking closer with a sad expression. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
Elexi examined his bruised and thin body, gently placing his hands his shoulders. He frowned as Shario continued to whimper.
“My god, you’re freezing cold. Who would do something so awful to leave you in this place with such tattered clothes?” Elexi asked in horror before turning to the guard at the door. “Go fetch some blankets and be quick!”
The other man nodded and ran out of the room, his metal shoes clanking down the halls. Elexi then turned back to Shario as soon as he started to cough once more, leading him to place his arm around him and stroke his matted strawberry blonde hair. A few minutes later the second man returned with a bunch of folded blankets in his arms. Elexi immediately grabbed one and wrapped it around Shario’s frail body, continuing to comfort him.
“What is the meaning of this?” a female voice echoed through the cell.
Shario became stiff as his mother walked into view. She had her long strawberry blonde hair tied back revealing her displeased expression on her face. He was terrified with what her reaction would be seeing him looking so weak.
“That’s what I should be asking you mother,” Elexi growled. “What were you thinking? You know that resurrection and reincarnation magic is forbidden. And to treat the poor Shario like this? Answer me honestly.”
“I was just trying to bring our strongest warrior back to life, to hell with what’s forbidden,” his mother scoffed. “But it was a complete failure. Instead of Shario, I got this wimpy seven-year-old child with no memory of the person he once was. He may look my son, but he’s just a useless zombie version of him.”
“That is no excuse to just abandon him down here,” Elexi snapped. “He’s still your child and my little brother, even when he’s like this. But to leave him here without food and in the cold is just horrible.”
“Oh please, it’s only been three weeks,” his mother growled, rolling her golden eyes. “If was any good at being Shario, he wouldn’t be this ill. Besides I was always going to come back and get him. He’s been my personal assassin for seven months now.”
Elexi shook his head with a heavy sigh, returning his gaze back to Shario, who was still shivering from the cold. He then grabbed onto the chains connected to the manacles around his feet and snapped it into two, then doing the same with the ones on his wrists.
“Do you think you can walk? Or did you need one of us to carry you?” Elexi asked.
Shario nodded and attempted to get to his feet. However, he was so weak from the increasing sick feeling in his throat he fell. Luckily, Elexi was able to catch him and stop his trembling body from hitting the ground.
“You’re very sick and beaten, aren’t you? To be resurrected only to endure this. I’m so sorry Shario,” Elexi sighed. “You don’t have to worry though. I’ll be looking after you from now on.”
“You can’t do that. He belongs to me,” his mother snarled. “There’s no way I’m letting you…”
“That’s enough Elizabeth, the last time I checked I was still the Earl of Aria,” Elexi barked. He then turned the guard still lurking around and clicked his fingers at him. “You there,” I’m taking Shario upstairs to somewhere warm and comfortable. I need you to alert some doctors so we can get him the care he needs.”
“Yes, Lord Aliené,” the guard bowed.
Elexi picked Shario up and carried him out of the cell. He closed his eyes to avoid seeing his mother’s expression. He didn’t dare open them again, afraid of what would happen if he did.
Just as Elexi promised, he took good care of Shario for two whole months. The Earl of Aria cared for his wounds himself, gave him everything he needed and taught him the things he didn’t know on a regular basis. Shario learned about who he used to be before he died, Elexi explained how resurrection magic worked and why his age had reversed, he also heard stories of the great heroics of the Eighty-Year War. He had learned more in those two months than he ever did with his mother and he enjoyed the time he spent with his previous life’s older brother. Elexi was a wacky old man, was absent-minded and got himself into more trouble than Shario could count but his nurturing and kindness allowed him to make a full recovery. He still thought about his mother often as he hadn’t seen her at all, making him think that she may have left for good. He wouldn’t ask Elexi about it after he asked once causing a very dark expression to appear on his face. It made Shario sad to think he would never see his mother again, but he also felt a little relieved because he could live peacefully with Elexi without having to kill people anymore.
However, that peace was short lived. One night while he was sleeping in his bed, he heard the door crack open as someone barged their way into his room. He turned his head and opened his eyes to find his mother standing over him.
“Shario, get up, we’re leaving,” she growled. “Hurry up and get dressed. Don’t make me wait or there will be consequences.”
Shario didn’t even try to argue, he knew what would happen if he did. He quickly got up, threw on whatever clothes he could find, grabbed his jacket and ran out of the room. As soon as he went through the doors, his mother grabbed him by the wrist. Her nails dug into his arm as she started pulling him along.
“Mother that hurts,” Shario said quietly.
“You think I care?” she barked. “Just keep moving.”
Shario said nothing after that, knowing that if he said another word, he would be in trouble.
They left the castle and continued to walk until they crossed over the border from Aria to Luminea. They travelled for two straight weeks, not stopping for a single night’s rest. It snowed a lot during that time, whenever it did, Shario’s mother forced him to use his weather manipulation magic to stop the snow from getting anywhere near them. He did well at first, but as exhaustion started to creep in the snow started to hit his mother, making her furious. To avoid it from happening again he only focused on keeping his mother out of the cold. Shario ended up falling ill from constantly using his magic and being exposed to the awful weather. However, no matter how many times he begged to stop and complained about feeling sick, she wouldn’t listen and forced him to keep moving. One day, his mother claimed she was tired and decided to head into a town to find a place to stay. It was a clear morning, so Shario didn’t have to use any magic as they walked into Asteria. However, he felt terrible. His nose was blocked, his throat was sore, and he was extremely dizzy. The only thing that kept him going was his mother holding his hand properly for the first time, gently leading him as he struggled to walk straight.
“Mother? Where are we going?” he asked, wanting nothing more than to lie down.
“Oh, please be quiet Shario. I don’t want you getting sicker than you already are,” she said nicely. “You’ll be able to rest soon.”
Shario nodded, he was glad that his mother was being so nice to him. He began to think that she really did care for him and that all of the poor treatment was mostly his imagination. He was so busy watching his hand that he didn’t notice what building they walked into.
“Hello, how are you today?” an old man greeted.
The man was quite a bit shorter than Elexi despite looking to be around the same age, and he had a lot less hair too. When he caught Shario staring at him the man smiled.
“I’m Isaac Tooronga, master of Twilight Heart,” he continued. “Can I help with anything?”
“Hi, I know this is a lot to ask, but I don’t suppose we could stay here for a night or two? We were chased out of our home,” his mother lied with a heavy sigh. Shario didn’t know why she needed to lie to the man, but he knew better than to question her.
“Could you tell me what happened?” Master Isaac asked. “We may be able to reclaim your home if you like.”
“We come from Aria, so that would be impossible,” she replied, letting go of Shario’s hand as she shook her head. “We’ve been walking for weeks and we really just need somewhere to rest, but we have no money or anything.”
Without his mother holding his hand, Shario felt so dizzy that he fell to his knees. He started to have a coughing fit, and he no longer had the energy to get back on his feet. Despite being in the cold for so long, he began to feel really hot as his vision started to blur.
“Sweetie are you okay?” she asked, kneeling down beside him and placing her arm around him. With another sigh, she turned her gaze back to Master Isaac. “Please, my son is very sick. I really need to find somewhere he can rest and recover.”
Shario fainted a few seconds later, his exhaustion catching up with him. The last thing he could remember was his mother embracing him and enjoying her gentle warmth for the first time in months.
Shario regained consciousness a few hours later, his head feeling heavy and his throat felt sore. He felt hot and cold at the same time and just thinking about sitting up made him feel dizzy. He looked around as he lay in a somewhat comfortable bed. It was dark so he couldn’t see very well, but he could clearly see his mother sitting beside him.
“Ah, so you’re awake now,” she muttered, moving the seat closer to him.
“Where are we?” Shario mumbled, watching his mother closely.
“An infirmary in the Twilight Heart guild we entered today,” she replied.
“What is that? Can you…” Shario asked, having no idea what his mother was talking about. Before he could finish his sentence, he began to cough which caused his mother to sigh.
“I’m not explaining it while you have a fever like this,” she claimed. “Your face is very red, are you feeling alright?”
“I’m just a little under the weather,” he muttered. “I’ll be better soon, then I can go back to doing what you want.”
His mother chuckled and started stroking his hair. It felt nice, her being so kind and caring was a dream come true.
“Who would have thought you being sick would have been so useful,” she claimed. “We’re only here because of you.”
“Sorry…” he muttered.
“There’s no need to apologise, we need to be here,” his mother said. “I have a job for you, anyway.”
“A…job?” Shario asked. “You mean killing?”
“Yes, I want you to kill all of Twilight Heart for me,” she said with a wicked smile. “The CSOG will pay us a lot of money if you kill them. The best part is they won’t see it coming. No one would expect an unwell little child to come and end their lives.”
“But…” Shario mumbled.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“It’s just that… they were nice enough… to let us stay here. I think it’ll be mean… to hurt them,” Shario explained, finding it difficult to stay awake. “Besides… I don’t think I can…”
“Oh, never mind then,” his mother sighed. “It would seem you’re too sick anyway.”
“Sorry…” Shario said again.
“Whatever get some sleep,” his mother said bluntly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
It didn’t take long for him to fall back asleep. He was that worn down and ill he slept deeply for a long time. When he woke up thinking that the next morning had come, his mother was no longer by his side. He still felt a little sick, but the dizziness had died down allowing him to sit up. He looked around the empty room, but his mother was nowhere to be seen. He got out of bed and began to search for her. He walked through the halls calling for her, but there was no response.
“Where did she go?” he muttered to himself, looking at his feet.
While his gaze was down, he ended up bumping into something. He looked up to find he had run into Isaac Tooronga.
“I'm sorry,” he apologised immediately.
“It’s fine, it’s good to see you’re awake,” Master Isaac smiled. “You’ve been sleeping for three full days, are you feeling better now?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgtZTOqGmS
“I slept for three days?” Shario asked, feeling sick in the stomach. He knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble for sleeping for so long and was dreading what would happen to him. “Ummm do you know where my mother is?”509Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNO2ssedrLO
“I believe she’s downstairs,” Master Isaac replied, offering his hand to him. “Would you like me to take you to her?”
Shario nodded, taking Master Isaacs hand. The old man led him down the stairs and into the main hall where all of the Twilight Heart members were hanging out. He looked around the room trying to get a glance of his mother. He finally found her by the door, preparing to leave.
“Mother,” he called running up to her. He stopped not too far away, keeping his distance in case she got mad. “I’m sorry for sleeping for so long. I feel better now so I can go back to doing whatever you want me to.”
She turned to him with cold eyes, it was the same expression she often had before he ended up getting disciplined. He froze, knowing that she was without a doubt mad at him.
“Really? Well, I don’t need you anymore,” she said darkly. “You’re completely useless if you can’t follow the simplest of orders. Dragging you around will be a nuisance and completely aggravating, so I’m getting rid of you now.”
“D-did I do something wrong?” Shario asked, trembling with fear. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll do as you say, I swear. I won’t do it again.”
“No. You’ve failed me for the last time,” his mother snarled. “That was the final straw, so I give up.”
“But I…” Shario began.
“I knew I shouldn’t have bothered with you,” she growled. “You always disobey my orders, and you’re too frail to do anything right. I’m leaving, and you are not to follow me. Understood?”
She turned away in a huff and began to walk to the door. Shario ran after her since he didn’t want her to leave him again.
“Mother! Wait!” he called, grabbing onto her arm.
His mother shoved him away. Her push was so strong it sent Shario hurtling to the ground. His head hit the floor, making him feel dizzy as he sat back up. He looked back up at his mother to find her watching him with a hateful expression.
“You’re a useless failure, and I’ve had enough of you,” she spat. “You will never be anything more than a stupid zombie. You will never be my son.”
She stormed out of the building slamming the door behind her. Shario just sat there, unable to process what happened. He wanted to cry, but he was too shocked by her words that he couldn’t. Everyone around him began to whisper, most seeming to blame him for his mother leaving him. He agreed with them, if he were the assassin his mother wanted him to be and killed everyone he told him to, she wouldn’t have left. He wouldn’t have been alone if his resurrection hadn’t failed.
“Are you okay?” Master Isaac asked as he walked towards him.
Shario shook his head getting to his feet. He looked up gloomily at the man who gave him a forced smile to try and comfort him.
“Don’t worry, we’ll look after you,” Master Isaac claimed, bending down to the same height as Shario. “You don’t need her if she’s going to leave like that. I’m afraid I don’t know your name, could you tell it to me?”
Shario opened his mouth to tell the small old man his name but closed it again. He wasn’t really Shario, his mother had made that perfectly clear. Going by his real name was an insult to the person who he was supposed to be but died. Not only that but hearing people call him by that name would be painful, constantly reminding him how pathetic he was. Since he didn’t want to be reminded of what he should have been, he decided to go by a different name.
“Blaze…” he muttered, saying the first thing that came to him. “My name is Blaze Aliené.”
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