Chapter 282 Volume V - Prologue
--Volume V: The Breaking Seals--
When I first heard the word 'festival' and found out what it was... I thought it would be something beautiful.
Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun in the series I saw on our TV in that hidden forest with my family. So... I was looking forward to the day when I could join one of them.
But... then, that happened. A man with long smoke-colored hair and glowing purple eyes visited our house and made my whole life a living hell.
In my life spent in the dark corners of the streets, in the sewers, and in all sorts of dirty places, stealing from passers-by, trying to kill someone, or begging, I had forgotten the word 'festival' even existed.
So... when I heard the words 'Foundation Festival', celebrating the founding of the kingdom, my old memories came back and I couldn't help but get a little... excited.
It bothered me that Aiden wasn't going to be there, that he couldn't join us at this festival, but... I thought that at least this way I could relax a bit. Spending time with my friends would be good for me.
And it did. The festival started off lively and enthusiastic. There were different events celebrating the founding of the kingdom, and I spent time with my friends, just as I had imagined. And in the end, the festival was over. Everyone had a lot of fun. When the festival was over, everyone had a smile on their face, a sweet smile from the fun time they had had.
But... there was someone else waiting for this festival- No... waiting for me.
An organization that had just announced itself to the whole world, and with that announcement and the changes that came with it, they had managed to sow fear in the hearts of almost everyone, no matter who they were.
Aren't festivals supposed to be fun? Then why is the whole place... in ruins?
Aren't festivals supposed to bring people together...? Then why is everyone running away...?
Isn't this festival supposed to give me peace of mind, to relax me? Why do I... why do I find myself again accomplishing nothing? Just a few minutes ago I was walking calmly with Julian, Sue, and Lucia... How did I end up in chaos in just a few minutes...?
Why is there blood all over my body? Why is it hard for me to even take a step? Why do I feel like all my bones are broken? Why... just why?
My lungs contracted with difficulty, coughing up blood as I painfully expelled the air inside.
Gasping for breath, my whole body writhing in pain, I clenched my fist. I slowly raised my head upward.
With people's screams echoing everywhere in the flame-engulfed area, I tried, with difficulty, to focus my blurred eyes on one place.
I tried to take a stance to defend myself, looking for my spear that had flown who knows how far away from me. But... just then, someone's voice echoed in my ears from far away. In a calm, cold tone. As if... he didn't care about anything around him.
"Do you have the strength to fight yet, Adrian Caleo?"
I narrowed my eyes even more, clenching my teeth so hard that I gritted them involuntarily, my nails digging into my palms. The pain brought another sensation with it.
My fault, as always. This is happening because I'm here...
"Apparently not... then let's end it here."
I'm sick of it... literally... I'm fed up.
I've had enough.
I pushed my body one more time, as I had been doing for minutes. I staggered backward, trying to stand up with difficulty, almost falling once more, but... I managed to keep myself together.
"Oh, do you still have willpower?"
I couldn't make out the man, his image was obscured by the blur of my eyes. But his voice and silhouette were clear.
After the blood and sweat dripping from my forehead, I took a very deep breath, maybe the deepest breath I had ever taken in my life, and the exhalation was just as heavy. But... it gave me some relief.
"Then-"
"Pft..."
The man's step toward me and the word on his tongue were suddenly interrupted. An intense silence descended on the area. The gleam in his violet eyes, somehow evident even in my blurred vision, squinted for a moment.
"Are you... laughing?"
I finally stopped holding back, my laughter echoing through the space. Tears followed, along with blood from my eyes.
"Ahahahahahahahahah!"
In the midst of my laughter, the man who was my opponent reacted with surprise to my momentary laughter. When the only thing we could both hear was the echoing sound of laughter coming out of my mouth, I finally slowly calmed down. I spoke with a smile as I slowly ended my laughter.
"I get it... I get it now."
I narrowed my eyes, released my clenched fist, and looked directly into the shining, violet eyes of the man in front of me. Without any hesitation.
"I was sick of it, you know? Every time I decided to be a good person and I ran into an obstacle, every time I couldn't save anyone... I blamed myself over and over again. I was sick of it, I was sick of being powerless..."
The man's expressionless face tilted slightly to the side.
"So?"
"So... I was right!"
I slowly raised my hand, the blurred silhouette of the middle-aged wiera in front of me suddenly solidified his stance, and I slowly reached for something under my shirt as he tried to comprehend what I was doing.
"I'm saying... it's my fault. It always has been, even now..."
I clutched my necklace tightly. As my lips curled upward, finally grasping what I had to do... I felt unreasonably happy.
"So... I'm going to stop making mistakes."
As I watched the last thing I had left of my family, my necklace, warm up, officially responding to my feelings, something else slowly happened.
First, the mana in the atmosphere fluctuated, then it began to heat up, just like my necklace. A faint blue glow slowly began to surround my body, followed by something else, colorless, but distinct in its intensity.
"I won't hold back anymore, I won't care about the consequences, I'll just... do what I want."
All the mana in the atmosphere slowly awoke. As I reached out and reacted to my emotions, to my desires... I reached out to it. I reached out not only to the mana in this area but to so much more.
I pulled my necklace, took it off my neck.
The mana in which we stood, and which reached much farther, listened to my desire. I finally flattened my lips and squinted my eyes as the accompanying blue glow slowly intensified on me along with the mana.
"So... try not to die. For I have a lot of questions for you."
With a violent shockwave, reminiscent of a heartbeat, the whole world lit up with an intense glow. For the first time, I saw the monotonous, serious expression on the face of the man in front of me change.
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