"Hey, little shit! What's with the attitude? Aren't you scared?" Traces of smoke slithered out of the guard's mouth as he inwardly chuckled and looked down.
"Answer !"
He saw a statue. The boy's eyes did not waver. There was no response.
"Hey…" The guard suddenly hissed. "I don't know if you're scared, stupid, or deaf, I don't give a fuck! Too late for you now maggot! Now let see you cry and slither like a worm!!" The guard's words bore clear malice, but his expression spoke otherwise. His breathing was erratic, and his smile was sweeping.
Blue light flickered in the shadows, crawling up the giant's legs before condensing around his right hand like a living thing. His fingers twitched as the dim energy exploded into violent crimson flas, painting his masked face blood-red.
Hell ignited in the cell's center. Air vanished. Shadows fled. The once dark cell was now a tempest of fire.
"Damn it!" The girl inwardly cursed, gasping for air.
Heat encroached upon her senses; she could sll her own flesh searing, her feet scorched by the glowing floor. Each breath was liquid fire. She coughed as ash-filled tears stread down her face before she collapsed.
She gritted her teeth and looked up through the wall of smokey flas. However, her vision did not take her far, as she was soon t with another wall—the wall of Zephyr's back.
His neck and arms were charred, a patchwork of red and black blotches. Singed clothes clung to his sweat-drenched skin, and his usually glossy ashen hair was singed at the tips, creating a dim white halo of smoke around his face.
Her mouth unconsciously opened. Almost unable to believe her eyes, she watched as he stood unfazed, as though it were rely the heat of a hot sumr day.
Her fist slamd against the stone floor. She wanted to scream at him—to beg him to stop this foolish heroism, to kneel and end this charade. He was no hero.
But when she opened her mouth, nothing ca. Not from heat or fear, no it couldn't have been. It was sothing else entirely. Sothing that eluded even her.
Her mouth clamped shut, eyes trembling on his silhouette and the flaming guard raising his arm higher and laughing. Follow current novᴇls on novèlfire
"STILL NOT—" The guard's laughter died mid-sentence.
He bit his tongue, and his eyes bulged.
The boy was gone. Only the terrified girl remained, staring ahead with moon-wide eyes.
Suddenly, movent below.
Like a small rodent, the boy had sohow closed the distance. He was now knees bent crouching beneath him, looking up at his towering figure. Those eyes… they were ice that cut through flas.
But quickly, a smile replaced the guard's shock. Instinctively, the guard raised his foot, a euphoric smile peaking under his mask ready to crush the rodent—
But before his foot made contact, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder—
"WHO DARES—"
"That's enough…"
The guard froze, foot hovering mid-air. That voice was unmistakable—calm as winter death against the fiery chaos.
"Mada Warden…"
He gulped, and with almost chanical stillness slowly turned his head. He had not even sensed a hint of her presence entering the cell.
She was a tall, young woman of regal bearing. Her face was completely covered by a black and purple horned helm, yet her purple eyes colder than the iciest blizzard, could still be felt.
She stood there, untouched by the flas, her silhouette contrasting sharply against the crimson backdrop. Her very presence seed to suppress the heat, making the flas around her curl and retreat in reverence.
"What brought upon all this chaos?" Her voice was soft as silk, yet carried absolute authority.
The guard gulped with a twitching smile, trying to find his voice. "He defied—"
"Shut it, that was a rhetorical question," she interrupted. "There are no excuses. These kids are valuable rchandise."
"B—but ma'am! I made sure to only harm the useless ones the—" As he spoke, his eyes fell down under his foot where the boy once crouched…
'HE'S GONE!?'
The rodent he was ready to crush had disappeared.
H—how? Since when did he—'
The injured boy was now sohow watching and panting from the side.
"Such boldness, little rookie." Her voice cut off his thoughts, "To retort in my presence? But don't you see you damaged the goods by going after the trash?" A laugh slipped through her words, "You're very fortunate for my arrival. You didn't do too much harm other than to this one." She waved her hand. "Now begone."
The flas died instantly, leaving the cell in an eerie silence. Oppressive heat beca chilling cold, as if it was a command.
"You are to never approach this cell or these kids henceforth… I'll personally see to it that you are relocated. Understood?"
"But ma—"
"Un—der—stood…?"
"..."
"Yes… Understood… Ma'am…" The guard nodded obediently, hiding his face. He did not dare et her eyes.
Soon, he disappeared, and the cell stayed as if he were never there.
Alone, the warden then turned her attention to the boy. Crouching down, she t him at eye level, extending her right hand without saying a word.
The boy's eyes widened, then imdiately squinted before reaching out his right hand and touching her palm.
Soft green light enveloped him. Charred skin returned to normal hue. Pain faded from his features. He was fully healed.
"Can't allow my rchandise to be broken now, can I?" She giggled softly to herself, but before she stood, she heard a response she never expected.
"Why heal ? Am I not weak and useless?"
'To think he'd ask why I healed him instead of thanking ? Not a sign of fear on that boy… What a peculiar child.'
"Oh yes! Very weak! Very useless!" She turned back around, amused. "But… don't worry, I'm sure I'll get a good price for you…"
She strode toward the door, stopping abruptly. "The rest of you should suffice with this."
*Snap*
Green sparkles rained down, enveloping the cell in warm, soothing light. The girl, mouth gaped, examined her skin as cuts and burns vanished, leaving unblemished flesh.
"Before I leave..." The Warden turned from beyond the bars. "I didn't want to say this in front of that oaf, but don't act stupid, little boy. I won't save you next ti. Provoking Urslan was nothing short of brain damage of the highest degree. You're a weakling. Next ti, shut up and know your place. Okay?"
Her footsteps echoed through stone corridors until silence swallowed them.
Finally…
Silence…
All alone…
Yet her stare always seed to linger…
'Provoking Urslan was nothing short of brain damage of the highest degree.' Those words repeated in Joseph's head. 'You think I don't know that, woman!? That wasn't ! It felt like I was a spectator in my own body!'
What kind of being possessed to do sothing so utterly stupid!? If I weren't lucky, I would have probably ended up already dead!
Joseph's mind reached the height of confusion since entering this new world. Out of everything that had happened to him, this was what bothered him most. As if it weren't hard enough, randomly spawning into a new reality, here ca this unknown elent.
What was it? Who was controlling ?
His heart crashed against his chest.
He was a calculated man, yet here ca sothing completely out of his control, influencing him like he was a puppet.
"Hey… Zephyr…" That was when he looked up, his train of thought cut off.
It was that sa white-haired girl once again—her expression completely transford.
"What is it, mistress?" He spoke with a asured breath.
"Why did you do all of that?"
There was a long pause before Joseph looked up, finally responding.
"I— I just wanted to protect you," He lied as naturally as he breathed. "I would never be able to live with myself if—"
"ZEPHYR!! HOW MANY FUCKING TIS HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT SHIT!?" She kicked him in the stomach, reorganizing his organs as he grunted.
"USE YOUR FUCKING HEAD!! A FILTHY CREATURE LIKE YOU DARED TO CAUSE TO GET HARD!? !! RAYAH VENDYMION! HOW DO YOU FEEL!?" Another kick sent him skidding across rough stone.
"I feel awful mistress Rayah…" Blood filled his mouth, yet his tone remained calm.
"Well feel more awful!" She kicked him on his left arm, oddly feeling no pain or sensation as his face slamd to the ground. "My life is already bad enough in this shit hole and you just have to make it worse! Why the hell were you screaming!? Was it because of that 'nightmare' you had huh!? Who the fuck is Nina!?"
Joseph's expression changed for the first ti as he heard her na once again… "Nina…" He muttered in a low voice. 'I must have been screaming her na before I woke,'
She was his dear little sister, his one and only reason.
He smiled. "She's… A beautiful woman I saw in a dream…"
"YOU'RE FUCKING PISSING OFF!! Why so smug now huh!?" She kicked him in the lungs before her bare feet skimd his chin.
'Smug?' He pondered calmly. A boy abused by a deranged master every day in such a way wouldn't get used to it? Or is this just a psychotic episode that I should know about? No matter what I do, I can't seem to read her…
The punishnt continued with incessant screaming. The entire reason that guard ca was her abnormally high volu—entirely her fault, yet she refused to acknowledge it.
'This girl is a giant ignoramus pain in the ass. This had to end.'
It was not that he could not bear the damage. He was more than confident he wouldn't die. But, if another guard were to co now and he was possessed to ignorantly fight them as he did before, death was a more than likely possibility, and that warden woman was certainly not going to save him again.
"Mistress… I believe it would *AGH* be best to quiet down… We—"
"FUCKING SLAVE ZEPHYR DARES TO—"
"He's right. Back off Rayah," An unknown voice erged from behind.
"Arthur?" She turned, gritting her teeth.
There are others… Hm, Joseph's lips twitched with amusent.
He'd seen glimpses when the room blazed, and the Warden's words about 'the rest of you' confird it.
"Arthur!? Who are you to tell how to discipline my slave?!"
"He's right… Quiet down… I don't care about you, or your slave… But that's enough of your foolish tantrum; you're implicating the rest of us… The only reason that guard ca was because of your screaming… So quiet down now and leave this be before I co over there and discipline you instead…"
"F—fine! But I swear to the 'High Priestess' I will never let this down!" Although he couldn't see her face, her voice carried a great undertone of reluctance as he heard her steps fading away.
"As for you..." Arthur's voice lowered. "You have more guts than sense."
"I promise... it won't... happen again..." Joseph struggled to speak, still staring at the ground.
"Good. Because then Rayah would be the least of your worries."
"Understood…" He coughed. 'Arthur…' His mind turned, thinking of how Rayah simply stopped and obeyed his orders. 'What is their relationship? He at least has so sliver of common sense,'
He coughed yet another mouthful of blood before he felt his body suddenly rise. Soone picked him up. He still had so energy to fight back, yet he did not resist.
"Are you okay, Zephyr?"
He dazedly looked up. It was yet another small girl. Strands of her long, red hair fell on his face and her smooth pale skin seed almost translucent as she smiled warmly in the darkness. Just looking at her visage, he knew there was absolutely no malice.
"Yes... thanks to you..." He blushed before hiding his face, hearing a distant stomp.
She took a few monts to respond…
"It's my pleasure... I'm so happy you finally woke. And it was so brave, what you did... just like you..." She lowered him gently against the wall. "We were all so scared..." She tore a piece of her prison garb.
Oddly, she paused for a mont, blinked several tis before slowly wrapping it around Joseph's many bruises. "But you were different… I wish I was like you…"
"Huh? Like Arthur said, my actions were ignorant and put us all at risk. You should be scolding too,"
Silence, then she spoke…
"Not at all!" She bead, wrapping his bandages more delicately. "Zephyr is my hero…"
"R—really?" His face flushed outwardly once more, but inwardly:
Hero? What is she trying to get at? His gaze narrowed down on her reddened, smiling face. We have past history? Is she trying to manipulate ? Or is this simply the stupid innocence of a child? No, it's most likely we have so sort of history…
Even as a kid, Joseph never acted like this, and from his fragnted mories, neither did his best friend Allen. Yet he knew they were far from normal. The only other child he frequently talked to was Nina, but even she was an anomaly.
"Yes… really… of course… … OH! Sorry!" She panicked slightly. "I dosed off and wrapped your wooden arm… I'm sorry…"
"Oh, that's okay…"
Wooden arm? He looked down towards his left. No wonder I couldn't feel anything there and why my Ki didn't reach there either. But other than that, it felt almost real. But now looking at it closely and moving it around, it was clearly wood.
The realization struck him harder than ever—he was a child in a magical world unlike anything before. Too many unknowns and unpredictable circumstances lay ahead. He had to hone his senses and consider the unconsiderable, predict the unpredictable. Information gathering was paramount, all else could wait.
Ignorance was man's greatest downfall.
His eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting. Six others shared this cell: Rayah, his 'master' in a corner with legs tucked to her chest, the red haired girl who helped him, Arthur, two others around him, and one last figure silently sitting in shadows he could barely make out.
So this is where life starts again… huh, Joseph looked around, slowly taking everything in.
'Live, brother! live!' Nina's voice replayed in his head, bringing a visible smile as he looked beyond the cell bars.
Wait for ... I can feel you looking down with grace, little sister! No bars have ever been able to bind ... For your sake, I will find the truth... Let's see what this new life has to offer.
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