In a small orphanage built halfway up a rural mountain, Damien and Van grew up. The director of the orphanage, who had lost a son to war, took in war orphans. The director was wealthy, and occasional donations ca in; at a glance, the orphanage seed to be in decent shape.
Well, if you excluded the fact that the director was a violent psychopath.
"Damn brat! Act like Willer, youre supposed to act like Willer!"
Willer was the na of the directors deceased son.
The director had taken in the orphans for one reason alone: he couldnt accept the fact that his son was dead. So, he raised substitutes. He called all the children in the orphanage "Willer."
Both boys and girls had their hair cropped short and were forced to mimic Willers mannerisms and speech.
If anyone deviated even slightly,
Whack! Whack!
They were beaten senseless.
"My Willer wouldnt act like this! Youll be punished until you beco Willer! Its your fault! Understand? Its your fault for not being Willer!"
The children in the orphanage all bore slap marks on both cheeks.
This was because, when administering discipline, the director would slap each cheek alternately. Their lips were split, teeth knocked out, and cheekbones bruised.
"You know Father loves you, right, Willer?"
After the discipline sessions, the director would gently whisper as he personally applied dicine to their wounds.
The children, trembling in fear, still yearned for the directors love.
In this small world called the orphanage, the director was a god. If they didnt receive his love, they received his hatred instead.
Among the children, Damien was hit the least.
Because he resembled Willer the most.
Naive in deanor and acting respectful due to fear, Damien was favored by the director. Damien, too, did his best to accommodate the directors whims.
On the other hand, the child hit the most was Van.
Because she didnt even pretend to try and be like Willer. Van openly defied the director and got beaten every single day.
"Even if the director beats all day, Ill never beco Willer. In fact, I cant."
Unafraid of the directors beating, Van always shouted defiantly.
"I am Van! Not your dead Willer!"
Damien couldnt understand Van, who rebelled and got beaten only to be put in solitary confinent.
You could avoid the beatings by bending just a little.
You wouldnt be in pain if you just beca Willer, even a little.
One day, after Van had been severely beaten and left in the storage room, Damien approached her and asked why she endured it like that.
Instead, Van shot back with a question.
"How can you live like that?"
"Huh?"
"Youre not Willer, youre Damien. Shouldnt you live as Damien?"
Speechless and stunned, Damien looked at Van, who then offered a sly smile.
"Even if it kills , Ill live as Van. Just watch."
...Her words were powerful, but ideals were distant while the directors beatings were near. Van got beaten every day.
Secretly, Damien would heal her. The boy had a power to heal wounds. They grew closer over ti.
"Heh heh..."
Every ti he healed her, Van would always put on a tough front.
"Heh heh... This doesnt hurt at all. Is it , or are your blows getting weaker, Director? Or maybe Im just getting tougher?"
It wasnt that she was wrong; she was growing faster than most of her peers. But even so, she was still a kid.
Despite being beaten to a bloody pulp, she always boasted that it didnt hurt.
One day, Damien grew curious and asked,
"Why do you act so tough?"
"Its not an act."
"Youre clearly pretending to be strong."
"Its not pretending," she retorted, stuffing a cloth into her bleeding nose.
"Later on, I will beco really strong and powerful. Im just acting like that future version of myself."
"...?"
Damien tilted his head, not fully understanding. She gave him a half-smile.
"Whenever you reach a point where you cant stand it anymore, just pretend to be a stronger version of yourself like . It might help."
"So, should I chuckle like you? Heh heh?"
"Heh heh, exactly! Thats where you start!"
If I act tough like you, can I be brave like you? Can I stand up to the Director, to this cruel world?
Damien didnt know. He didnt even have the courage to try.
***
Ti passed. Among the rapidly growing children, she stood out for growing exceptionally fast.
She had beco the tallest among the orphans. Her chest filled out, and her bodys shape changed.
When they were younger, the boys and girls all had their hair cut short, so it was hard to tell them apart. But when puberty hit, there was no hiding the differences anymore.
The girl was steadily becoming an adult.
Her growth and her knack for drawing the Directors ire ant that she took on various chores around the orphanage. She worked her body to the bone, staying mostly in the storage room.
That allowed her to stay out of the Directors sight.
Just as Damien had a talent for healing magic, she had a talent for swordsmanship.
She practiced every day with a crude wooden sword, careful not to get caught by the Director.
"Heh heh, just you wait. One day, my swordsmanship will slash that broad forehead of yours wide open."
She continued to grow, but her signature bravado never waned. Not even on the day she took the bla for a cup that Damien had broken, and was beaten black and blue by the Director.
"Do you think Im so weakling? I could take a beating all day and it wouldnt hurt anymore... Ahhhh! Ow! Heal gently!"
Even when the daily beatings left scars on her cheeks,
"Dont these look like cute cat whiskers? Heh heh, hey, not bad, right? Kind of charming?"
In this orphanage where every day was a nightmare, she put on an act.
She pretended to be strong.
And so, she truly beca strong. She stood firm, unwavering, defending her own na.
Damien wanted to be like her.
He liked her that way.
***
Smack!
The incident occurred when Damien and she turned fifteen.
"Act like you have so will, dammit! Are my words just noise to you?!"
In a corner of the orphanages storage room, the Director once again raised his hand against her.
Wiping her bloody lip with the back of her hand, she shouted,
"Get a grip, Director! Look at properly!"
Van pointed to her own body, where the curves of a fully-grown woman were evident.
"Look at ! I am a woman! Im fundantally different from your deceased son!"
The directors body stiffened.
Illuminated by the moonlight, Vans body had grown mature without him noticing.
"So... Youre not my son Willer, but soone else..."
The directors eyes took on a sinister look.
"Then theres no reason to treat you as my child."
"What...?"
Vans shoulders twitched.
Not bothering to hide his lecherous intentions, the director took large strides toward Van.
"Ive fed you and housed you all this ti. Ti to pay up, eh?"
"Dont, Director."
In a desperate move, Van grabbed a wooden sword from a shelf in the storage room.
"Dont co any closer."
Ignoring her, the director closed the distance between them. His looming shadow engulfed the young woman.
"Take one more step and Ill strike you down with this!"
With her eyes tightly shut, Van gripped the wooden sword with all her might.
"Please...! Dont co any closer...!"
Through years of training and innate talent, Vans swordsmanship had reached a considerable level. If she truly committed to a strike, the director wouldnt walk away unscathed.
But,
"I dont want to be Willer; I want to be your daughter, Van..."
Despite any abuse, despite being treated like subhuman trash,
The director had raised her. He was sothing akin to a father.
Unable to bring herself to strike, Van hesitated. The director reached out to her just as he closed the gap between them.
Thats when it happened.
Thud!
The door burst open and a young boy rushed in, pushing the director away and shielding Van. It was Damien.
"Willer!"
The flustered director bellowed.
"What are you doing, Willer? Move away from your father!"
"I... I am not."
With a trembling voice, Damien stamred.
"My na is not Willer. Its Damien."
Looking up at the director, Damien finally managed to spit out the words.
"And youre not our father; youre the director of this orphanage."
"!"
Blind rage filled the directors eyes.
Slap!
The directors massive hand struck Damiens cheek, lifting him off his feet. Holding him in the air, the director continued to strike him.
"What sort of backtalk is that, Willer! You are Willer! You must be! Ill correct your manners, right from the start!"
Slap! Slap!
In no ti, Damien was covered in blood. The director roared and raised his hand high.
"If you cant be Willer, then just die!"
Just then,
Crack!
Vans wooden sword forcefully struck the back of the directors head.
"Ugh...?!"
The sword splintered in the middle, and along with fragnts of wood, the directors large body collapsed, unconscious.
Panting heavily, Van looked down at him.
"Haah, haah, you piece of shit..."
Imdiately after, she turned her gaze toward Damien.
"Are you alive, Damien?!"
Damien lay motionless, covered in blood. Van rushed over to him in desperation.
"Damien, answer . Please! Damien!"
Tears glimring in his eyes, Van muttered sothing under his breath. In response, a faint sound erged from the motionless Damien.
"Heh heh."
"..."
"Dont worry, Im fine... heh heh."
Damien grinned with a bloodied face. Seeing that forced bravado in his smile, Ban burst into relaxed laughter.
"Ahaha, ahahaha... Stop laughing like that! It doesnt suit you at all!"
"You too, its never suited you... haha."
"Its so unfitting that its ridiculous, ahahaha!"
The two bloodied youngsters looked at each other and laughed for a while, tightly holding each others hands.
That day, they reclaid their nas, Damien and Van, realizing they could no longer stay in this orphanage.
***
The two decided to escape from the orphanage.
They had been preparing for so ti, but the opportunity never seed right.
But now, having knocked down the director, they had no idea what he might do next. They had no choice but to make their escape imdiately.
Theyd tried to persuade other kids to join them in the past, but all had refused.
All the other children had already beco Willers. Only the two of them had resisted and found their nas.
In the early dawn, when everyone was still asleep, Damien and Van quietly treaded the creaky corridors of the orphanage.
Although they occasionally saw other servants employed by the director, they managed to evade them without much trouble.
The escape had been rehearsed dozens of tis, so it went smoothlyuntil they reached the final obstacle.
The main gate.
The only passage connecting the orphanage to the outside world had an enormous, rusty lock. Except for when the director opened it, it remained closed.
Van drew her broken wooden sword and stood before the lock.
"Ive been waiting for this day."
Taking a deep breath, she swung down hard, shattering the lock.
Looking down at the shattered, rusty lock, Van grumbled.
"...I shouldve done this to that old mans head yesterday."
"Lets go, Van."
Damien pulled Van.
"The noise would have been heard. The director might wake up soon."
And true to his words, it happened.
"WILLER!"
Just as they kicked open the main gate and started running, heavy footsteps thundered from behind.
It was the director. They had tied him up and locked him in the storage, but hed been roused by the sound of the lock breaking.
"Where do you think youre going, Willer! Its dangerous outside!"
Chasing after them, the director yelled as they fled towards the back mountain.
"You are my children! You shouldnt leave this place! Willer! Willer!"
Ignoring him, they raced up the back mountain of the orphanage.
Every once in a while, the director would bring the children for a picnic on this mountain.
However, the picnics always ended halfway up the mountain.
A tall fence was erected there, like a double-layered prison bar, as if to prevent the children from escaping.
The director never showed the children what lay beyond. To those who expressed a desire to go to the summit, he would always say...
Beyond that mountain lies a horrific nest of monsters. The world out there is a hellish place where even surviving is a struggle.
Well, lets head back to the safety of our ho, Willer.
Crack!
Vans wooden sword shattered the lock on the fence.
The boy and girl sprinted, breaking the Directors prohibition. They reached the peak of the back mountain in no ti.
"..."
"..."
Both of them paused, breathless.
They were just standing on the summit of a small, rugged mountain, yet
The world breaking dawn was incredibly beautiful. Under the endless sky, the vast land stretched infinitely.
Their small world confined to the orphanage shattered in that mont.
"Its vast..."
Van tightly gripped the mumbling Damiens hand.
"Damien, make a promise with ."
"Huh? A promise? What kind of promise?"
"To explore this entire outside world."
Van grinned brightly.
"Lets take in this vast world entirely with our eyes."
"..."
Swear to God, Damien had never seen such a beautiful smile in his life.
Her sunburned skin, her short, boyish hair, and the scars on both cheeks from being beaten by the Director every day.
All seed beautiful, bleached white under the blinding sunlight and her even more dazzling smile.
"Promise!"
"Uh, yeah, promise."
And so, without even thinking, he nodded his head.
Van, who was already smiling, grabbed Damiens face with her hand and
Smack.
She kissed him.
"...?!"
Frozen stiff with surprise, his face flushed, Damien was speechless. Monts later, Van triumphantly shouted.
"That was the seal of our promise!"
"Dont people usually pinky swear or sothing...?"
"Heh, thats for kids!"
Though she herself was a kid, Van took Damiens hand and led him forward.
"Lets go, Damien!"
The path down the other side of the mountain was treacherous, and it was unclear where it would lead.
"Until the end of the world, together!"
Nevertheless, the boy and girl joyfully leapt into the outside world.
It was a dawn where the sunlight shone dazzlingly bright.
***
"You must have had a good dream, youre grinning ear to ear. Ti to wake up, student Damien."
A sudden snarky voice flew into his ears.
Startled, Damien opened his eyes.
"Did you sleep well, sleepyhead?"
He saw Ashs face, sitting next to his bed and looking down on him. Damien mumbled in confusion.
"Your Highness? Where am I..."
"Youre in your room at the temple."
Damien, taken aback, quickly sat up. As Ash had said, it was his familiar room.
And then
Clank.
Strange chains and shackles were installed on the wall.
The shackles restrained Damiens wrists. Dumbfounded, he blinked at them. Whats going on?
Observing Damiens reaction, Ash let out a small sigh.
"Do you not rember what you did yesterday?"
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