SYSTEM ASCENSION

FLASHBACK

”My Lord?”

”My Lord!”

Fog covered the entire forest that morning, but wasn’t enough to stop the boy searching through the forest.

This boy was Roche, bestowed with the most ridiculous task in black empire, to babysit the young Lord, Elias.

”My looooooooooorrrddddddd!”

His voice echoed back to him.

”Damn it! I can’t even see anything!”

”What?”

The sudden voice behind startled him. He jumped, tripped over a branch, and landed face first.

”Urgh!”

Little Elias tilted his head, wide untamed hair spilled across his face and neck.

”What do you want?”

”What do you mean by what do I want?! It’s time to learn letters!”

Elias clicked his tongue. ”Return home. I don’t want to learn.”

Roche sat up and rubbed his face.

”How are you going to know how to read and write if you don’t learn?!”

”I don’t want to read and write. You can do all those boring stuffs!”

”How would you lead if you don’t understand what you’re being told?”

”I’m not interested in leading.”

Roche frowned.

”You’re not really born with any hope huh? You’re hallow.”

”Are you insulting me?” He turned around, disappearing into the fog.

”You’ll know that it’s not an insult if you learn!” Roche followed him, reaching blindly.

”You’ll read and write for me. That’s your job.” His voice sounded.

Tracing his voice, Roche grabbed his hand.

”We’re not seeing anything. We should return.”

He sighed. ”I can see just fine. Follow me and you’ll fine.”

Roche ended up following him blindly. After minutes of walking, they arrived at a hillside, were the fog was strangely cleared off. They both took a seat.

From this spot, you could see a chunk of the spiky houses.

”Why?” Roche muttered. ”Why are you different?”

”Huh?”

”You’re different from a normal person.”

Elias scoffed. ”And what makes you think you’re normal. You’re sitting close to me.”

Roche gasped. ”No! You have rub off on me!”

He chuckled and looked away. ”I want to leave this place. My place is outside. I have to leave.”

”Black empire?”

”Yes.”

Roche smirked.

”Did you forget how old you are? You can barely open your own door, you short runt.”

”What?! You’re only two years older!”

”But I’m tall!”

”So what?! I’ll get taller!”

”Not in a hundred years!”

”Are you insulting me?!”

Roche pat his head. ”Alright. When you’re ready to leave. We’ll go together, my Lord.”

___

It never happened.

The incident that seperated Elias from his home happened a year after that. Now, meeting each other after seven years. It has only been a week and a day, and Elias was now staring at Roche’s body.

Elias’s eyes locked unto the boy on the ground, expression unchanging until the rest arrived.

Yvonne gasped and staggered back.

The boy, Roche had his hands and legs melted off completely. Breath had left him a long time ago.

”He’s...” Lisa body trembled.

Laura burst into tears while Quil looked away.

Yvonne eyes travelled to Elias. He look calm, almost like he was watching the scene not participating in it.

He stepped forward and bend down. He raised his hand and brushed the soft hair away from his eyes, or at least where eyes are supposed to be.

”Heavens!” Quil recoiled.

Elias hand went over to his cloth and pulled it down from the collar. His chest was empty.

The most valuable part of a Black-eyed is the sealing stone worth billions around their necks and their eyes. Both of Roche’s were gone.

The person who had done this was after his Black-eyed status. Roche had been under a disguise from the start, and only revealed himself because of Elias. This only meant that Elias’s was originally the target, and Roche was collateral damage.

”Oh.”

That was the only sound that escaped his mouth.

He stood up and turned around.

”Let’s return to the serpentile territory. We can spend the night there.”

”What?” Quil stepped forward. ”Your friend just died.”

”Well...yeah.” Elias shrugged. ”Let’s carry him back.”

Quil lost it. He stepped closer and grabbed Elias by the collar, almost raising him off the ground.

”Are you kidding me?!”

”Wait! Don’t fight!” Laura stepped forward to seperate them, but Quil just shrugged her off.

”He was your friend!”

Elias eyes moved left, then right and back at Quil. ”Well now he’s dead—”

His legs left the ground in a second. Quil hurled him off the ground and smashed him straight into the river.

”Quil!” Yvonne stepped forward. ”What the hell are you doing?!”

”He’s a piece of shit!”

”Don’t just throw him!” Lisa snapped.

They glanced at Elias who slowly forced himself up. His hair, that was carefully arranged by Roche a night ago, scattered over his face, shrouding his expression. He reached up for the bind Roche used in tieing but found it missing. Slowly, he bent down again and began to search the water.

”We need to leave this place.” Lisa muttered.

She stepped forward and bent down, ignoring the urge to puke as she carried the body.

Quil stormed away, and soon the rest followed, returning to the serpentile territory.

Yvonne however, stayed behind. She tapped her feet, and the ability he used to shield her feet from the scorching sun disengaged, returning to leg rings. She got into the water and began to search for the bind with him.

Silence settled between them, with only the sound of kicking water. Her hand shook as she searched. She occasionally glanced at him, but couldn’t say anything.

Finally, after a couple of hours, she pulled out a black familiar bind.

”I found it!”

He froze up for a moment, then turned around.

She closed the distance between them, grabbed his hand and pulled him to the shore.

He followed behind like a lifeless doll, until they sat on the grass and didn’t even react when she brushed his hair away from his face.

”I...um...” She raised the bind, and tied his hair with it again. ”I’m sorry.”

His expression didn’t change. It was like she was the only one affected by the situation. Her hand traced the line of his face. He felt cold.

”Let’s...head back.”

He didn’t react.

”Elias...”

Nothing.

She sighed.

”You said you saw a baby crawler on a foggy afternoon, and you killed it with your bare hands. Since then, all the children avoid you. You only had one friend. That, was Roche right?”

His eyes flickered slightly, but he said nothing.

”You also said the body die fast, but the soul linger a bit more. Don’t you think he’ll want you around him before his soul is gone?”

His eyes widened. His fist clenched and unclenched, then he gritted his teeth.

She reached out to him.

”Let’s go. Don’t let him die alone.”