... ... ...Note: This story is Entirely Fiction. Any Character, Place, or Event, mentioned in this story, has nothing to do with the Readers" World. If you cannot convince yourself of this, please turn back and search for a series full of bunnies and blossoms.
... ... ...
An ominous blue light flashed through the dark clouds in the sky.
In a room inside a mansion, in the mortal city of Haradur, a beautiful woman"s face showed a terrible expression of struggle. She screamed, as her body was held down against a bed by the nearby nurses.
Soon, a baby"s cry sounded in the room.
After the umbilical cord was cut, one of the nurses wrapped the newborn baby up in a blanket and wiped him clean.
Ignoring the mother who had just finished her labor, whose fatigued gaze had fallen onto the baby that was just born from within her, the nurse carried the baby out of the room. No one noticed the spark that had momentarily appeared in the baby"s eyes.
That spark had disappeared in the shortest of seconds, before the baby opened his eyes, wide to the world. There was a depth in those eyes that no mortal could understand.
Those eyes closed shut, and the baby fell asleep.
The nurse carried the baby to a study. After knocking once, she waited outside the door for a long time before a low voice sounded from within.
"Enter."
The nurse turned the k.n.o.b and went into the room, careful not to make too much noise as to avoid annoying the person within the room.
After she went in, the nurse bowed her head, not daring to look into the person"s eyes.
"Lord Zefer, Lady Aki has birthed a son." The nurse said, her tone as formal as can be.
Hearing that the newborn is a son, the lord of the Zefer family, Merab Zefer, took his eyes off from the business reports on his desk. His eyes, devoid of any love, looked to his newest child from where he sat.
"...A son. Well done. My third son… his name shall be Seth."
…
11 years later...
The Zefer family is one of the three great families currently ruling over Haradur city.
This was a city built over 3 hundred years ago. Rumors had it, that it was built by a group of bandits that had decided to settle down.
At the beginning, there was one ruling family, a bunch a small family clans under that ruling family, and countless slaves under those families. Over time, the first ruling family was overthrown. Some of the smaller family clans rose, and then, later on, one way or another, those same families were defeated as well.
All the chaos over the years has led to the current situation, where there are 3 major families sharing sovereignty. Of course, this co-governance was not something they were very willing to do. Disputes would erupt almost every time members of these 3 families encounter each other in the city.
Seth Zefer is the third son of the lord of the Zefer family, birth by the lord"s second concubine, the woman referred to as Lady Aki.
Lady Aki was born in the Molley family, one of the weak family clans residing in Haradur City.
Aki Molley had married into the Zefer family, but she felt no love for her husband.
That was because he had obtained her by force.
Back then, she was 16, less than half that man"s age. She was a beauty adored by all the members of her family, and there was a plan to marry her to someone in an immortal city. Compared to living a life in a mortal city, life in an immortal city would have been much better. However, that bright future was robbed from her by Merab Zefer.
After one look at her, he decided to s.n.a.t.c.h her. Her father, who had tried to defend her, suffered a wound terrible enough to turn him into a cripple. All of her other relatives were too scared to resist. He gave them some cheap compensation before dragging her away.
For Lady Aki, her husband is a hateful figure, a person that appears in her nightmares and in her reality. Her hate for her husband negates any love she could have for the children she was forced to bear for him.
While she carried that man"s children in her womb, many a time, she would think of ending them prematurely. However, she didn"t dare. Any act of defiance from her, would lead to a punishment being delivered unto the Molley family. For the sake of her true family, she couldn"t escape. She couldn"t even kill herself. She could only force herself to endure this h.e.l.l.
Time had pa.s.sed.
Her first child, a daughter, was married off to another of the ruling families in Haradur city. Within the mansion now, Lady Aki"s only remaining blood-relative is her 11 year old son.
Towards her son, Seth, she would never refer to him by name, by the name that evil man gave to the boy.
…
Since birth, Seth had never felt any love from his mother. She had never even carried him. But because he had overheard her circ.u.mstances, he would never blame her.
His father would rarely pay attention to him, seemingly busy with one matter or another all the time.
The only trouble he felt growing up, originate from his father"s official wife, who viewed the sons of her husband"s concubines as threats to her own son. But little could she do, other than look spitefully at them and curse them.
The reason why was, because for some unknown reason, the lord of the Zefer family had few male heirs. Among all the children he sired, legitimate or illegitimate, all the way up till now, he only had four sons, and yet, as if cursed, he would have many daughters. In fact, whether it"d he his wife or his three concubines, all of the children they had first granted him were female. One of them didn"t grant him any sons, even up until now, disappointing him greatly.
Thus, as long as they didn"t show no talent whatsoever, he would view each of his four sons as important potential heirs. With the constant strife inside and outside Haradur City, he would never know when one of his sons might suddenly die. Therefore, he would have the strongest of his sons be his heir, and his other sons be his backup heirs. He even elevated the status of the son he had with a mistress to be on the same level as most of his other sons.
Up till today, the son that Merab Zefer had highest expectations for, the one that he favored the most, was his first son, Fabin Zefer.
Fabin was the strongest of his four sons, not only because he was the oldest, but also because his talent in martial arts didn"t lose out to any of his peers in the same generation. He could compete with the sons of the other two ruling families, of the same generation, without causing his father any shame, allowing his mother to feel much pride.
But all that changed on this day.
Fabin had failed a business venture, due to the meddling of the Bilin family, one of the other two ruling families of Haradur City. When he got back home, he was scolded harshly by his father. If he hadn"t gritted his teeth, then surely, they would have been knocked out.
After he came out from meeting his father, he had a belly full of anger, anger at the Bilin family, anger at his useless subordinates, anger at his father, anger at everyone and everything!
He had to find someone to vent his stress on.
And the unlucky fellow who had entered his sight at that moment… was Seth.
The young Seth was walking along through the yard of the mansion, chatting happily with a cute young girl slightly older than him. The smile on the boy"s innocent face caused the girl to blush. To the servants of this mansion, this scenery is like a drop of clear water falling into a muddy pond. In a heartless place like this, only he would dare to smile in such a carefree way, as if a fool who doesn"t know his place.
Fabin Zefer looked down on this child. Other than the illegitimate son of his father, the other brother that he would bully the most is this one, this fool who doesn"t know that smiling in this strict household is the same as asking to get beaten.
Due to his mother"s influence, Fabin never had any brotherly feelings towards his half-brothers. Instead, all he felt from them was annoyance and a tiny sense of rivalry. Why couldn"t he be his father"s only son? If he was, his value in his father"s eyes would be as high as the sky, and the Zefer family might as well be his possession. There is no need for any "back-ups".
Grinning evilly, Fabin walked toward Seth, who immediately noticed his presence by the sound of his footsteps.
The smile on Seth"s face disappeared. Hidden deep within his eyes is a trace of ridicule.
Towards the unguarded Seth, Fabin didn"t act polite. He directly lifted up his boot and kicked at the boy"s chest!
Seth was knocked down. He clutched his chest as he curled up on the ground in pain.
The grin on Fabin"s face grew wider.
"Laughing so loudly in the mansion, are you not afraid of disturbing father!?"
He kicked the boy again, causing the boy to groan painfully.
"Flirting with girls, wasting your time, if father sees you, what will he say!?"
He kicked again.
"If you have time to play, then you have time to train. How else are you going to be a worthy son of the Zefer family!"
The line that he said just now was one that his father had said to him once before, when he was caught playing in the garden when he was young, before proceeding to beat the young him.
Fabin kicked the boy again and again. Despite how merciless he seemed, he didn"t go too far. He stopped the moment Seth started coughing up blood.
If Fabin were to kill him, his father would without a doubt severely punish him, since his father doesn"t view this third son as trash just yet.
After venting his stress on the young Seth, who is now lying unconsciously on the ground, Fabin retracted his foot and looked around at his surroundings.
The servants, the witnesses, who met his gaze cowered.
"If you people mention any of this to my father, I will punish all of you as well!"
Although if he kills too many of these servants, he would earn his father"s displeasure, killing one or two as a warning should be fine. It"s not something that he"s never done before.
"Seth!"
Suddenly, the young girl who was scared to the point of crying tears ran to the unconscious Seth, taking hold of him. She wanted to check his injuries, to confirm that he is still alive.
Seeing this, Fabin unhappily frowned. His anger hadn"t dissipated yet, and the lovey-dovey scene before him stirred in him a feeling of annoyance. Other than his mother, no woman has ever shown HIM such concern.
"...Useless b*tch!"
As could be expected from a family led by a rapist, the women here are treated as nothing more than possessions. They are items to be sold off when the need arises, and targets for the l.u.s.t of men.
The young girl, who heard Fabin insult her behind her back, was startled.
This young girl, is in fact, one of Merab Zefer"s daughters. Her mother is the only one among all of his concubines who was unable to birth a son, which caused her to be valued lowly by the lord. The low status of the mother was also wordlessly pa.s.sed down to her daughters, causing them to live quite the oppressive lives in the Zefer family.
"Ah!" The young girl screamed.
Fabin had grabbed her hair and dragged her toward him. Strands were plucked out, and her knees sc.r.a.ped against the floor, but she didn"t dare to fight back.
Not to mention the great difference in strength between her and Fabin, with their difference in statuses, if she were to anger him too much, she could be killed. Her mother had repeatedly told her, not to offend the men in this family. After all, there were no rules in this city that would defend them.
Fabin lifted the young girl up into the air by her hair, causing the girl to feel the skin on the top of her head about to tear off, and the rest of her body below her neck being heavier than it ever felt.
Fabin looked up and down her body.
"…A little immature, but I need to punish you for getting in between us brothers. I shall teach your body the consequences of provoking a man of the Zefer family."
Although the young girl didn"t know what Fabin would do to her, the evil grin on his face, containing both l.u.s.t and violence, filled her heart with dread.
This young girl is only 12 years old, while Fabin himself is already 19. In a more civilized city, mating with a girl so much younger than oneself, is publicly recognized as an immoral act. If someone does something like that, and the news spreads, that person"s reputation will surely fall, and he would become a subject of ridicule and spite. In a more lawful city, without sufficient backing, those perverts would get arrested.
However, in Haradur city, which has neither policemen, nor a court for trials, few people would say anything. The common sense of the majority here is just so much different from the common sense of a morally good population.
Fabin wasn"t a pedophile, so normally, he wouldn"t be interested in such a young girl, but at this moment, the lingering anger he felt from being scolded by his father caused him to not care less. All he wanted to do was vent.
He also knew that his father wouldn"t care too much, even if he found out about one of his sons raping one of his daughters. That man would only be annoyed that one of his daughters" value had dropped due to having lost her virginity. As for incest and whatnot, only a city far more luxurious than this one would care about that.
Right now, all Fabin could think about was... what kind of face would Seth make when he wakes up to see his little lover being brutally raped? The thought of it caused Fabin to grow increasingly excited.
With his other hand, Fabin reached for the girl"s clothes.
He viciously tore the fabric off of her, eliciting a scream from the young girl, a scream that caused Fabin"s sadism to grow even more excited.
But before Fabin could do any more, he felt a small hand latch onto the calf of one of his legs.
"Did that kid wake up? That he still dares to hold me back, means he want me to beat…"
Before Fabin could finish his thoughts, he couldn"t stop himself from screaming out in pain! Tears welled up in his eyes, his back grew wet with sweat. He couldn"t help but stumble down to the ground pathetically. The moment he felt that excruciating pain, he had reflexively released the young girl from his grasp.
Fabin looked back behind him. First, he saw Seth standing there expressionlessly, showing no sign of the injuries that were inflicted upon him. Within one of Seth"s hand, was something wrapped partially in cloth, something dripping red.
Next, Fabin looked down at his own body. What he saw matched with the pain that he felt. The calf of one of his legs has been largely ripped off.
"You… What did you do…"
Looking at the child Seth, standing there expressionlessly with one hand holding onto his b.l.o.o.d.y calf, Fabin felt fear rising up within his heart. He felt that he had suddenly fallen into a nightmare, but the constant pain coming from his injured leg kept telling him that this was reality.
Was this the same gutless, foolishly cheerful brat, that he could always bully as he wanted? This demon that could so casually rip off a person"s flesh?
Seeing the expression on Fabin"s face, a smile appears on Seth"s, the same foolish smile that would usually cause Fabin to look down on him. At this moment, how could Fabin possibly see that smile as anything other than the smile of a demon?
"I did to you what you would have done to Nala. I tore a piece of your flesh. Only… the piece I tore off is just slightly bigger."
"You… when father hears about this, you will be punished. He"ll… he"ll definitely kill you!"
Fabin couldn"t even tell, that he himself was panicking. This wasn"t supposed to happen. His body that has had its flesh refined by elixirs couldn"t be hurt by a child, much less ripped apart. He quickly tried to stand up, but much to his dismay, he fell back down.
That was only natural. With one of his calves torn off, how can he deliver any strength to the foot of that leg. Blood ran endlessly out of that wound.
"Must close it. I must close it." Fabin uttered as he took off a layer of his clothes and wrapped it around where his calf had been. That cloth was soon drench red, but Fabin"s pale face still heaved a sigh of relief.
"What are you all looking at! Call the medics!" He yelled at the servants.
"As for you!" His bloodshot eyes turned towards Seth.
He definitely wouldn"t let this matter go. No matter what, he would find a way to kill this boy, to get the revenge that he deserves!
"Nala, don"t watch."
But when Fabin looked to Seth, he saw the boy nonchalantly shooing away the trembling young girl. He didn"t care whether the girl listened to that order or not, he only felt infuriated seeing Seth"s nonchalant, guiltless, and fearless, att.i.tude.
But when Seth finally turned back to look at him, with a carefree smile on his face, Fabin felt his heart beating erratically.
"Eldest brother?"
That voice was an endearing voice a child would use toward his family. That look was a look of innocence that one wholly ignorant and untainted would have. But no one here would ever feel such innocence from that look ever again.
Feeling nervous, Fabin gulped. "…What?"
"You said that father will kill me?"
"…Yes."
Fabin remembered that he did say that before, though he was panicking. He knows that his father wouldn"t really kill this son of his, as his father considers himself to have just barely enough heirs. His father would probably just severely punish this boy. If he wants Seth killed, he would have to kill him himself.
"You won"t ever be able to see me dead. Do you know why?"
"…why?"
Then, the answer came with the biggest smile the boy has shown from the day he was born, to this very day, a smile so wide that it seems like it spread across his entire face. With a creepily elated voice, the boy said:
"Because you will die today!"
What followed next was a one-sided slaughter.
When one of the servants, whom were acting as mere bystanders, could no longer bear watching this any further, he fearfully ran to the lord of the family to report.
Merab Zefer was angered by the servant"s sudden disturbance, and was ready to punish the servant with a thousand flogs, but when he heard from that servant what was happening in the yard, he rushed out to the scene.
By then, it was already too late.
"Greetings, Father."
A boy drenched in blood, upon catching sight of his father, bowed respectfully. This action is the same one he would perform whenever his father pa.s.ses him by. His father would usually not care. That this son was able to show respect towards his own father is something he would take for granted, but if this son didn"t show him any respect, then he would punish him.
Today however, in front of the very same bow that his son would always perform in front of him, the bow that he would always disregard, Merab Zefer felt a completely different impression.
The image of his 11 year old third son, bowing respectfully, with clothes and hands, and even the very ground below, smeared with blood, with the corpse of his 19 year old first son lying behind him, unrecognizable due to having all of its flesh torn off, leaving only a b.l.o.o.d.y skeleton surrounded by meats and entrails... This image, was forever smeared into his memory.