The man holds his sword in his right arm, pointing the tip in front of him as he quietly observes the person in front of him. He tries to figure out how to save his son without putting him in any more danger.
A few minutes pass as the moon continues to illuminate the frontier between the two people.
A quiet howl of the wind slowly echoes through the tree's leaves, beginning the tragic performance.
The man dashed towards her and positioned his sword in front of him, beginning the attack.
The woman casted the same circular shield in a hurry, still protecting the baby for some reason.
The man quickly closed the distance between them in an instant, slashing the shield. Although the shield didn't break, another slash would appear.
The second slash continued with a series of fast and heavy blows that weakened the shield as each hit went by.
"At this rate, the shield will-"
By the fifteenth slash, the shield completely shattered, but even so, the man stopped attacking. He looked at her cold, but did nothing as the woman created distance between them once again.
"Tch." The woman soon went on the offense with the baby still in her arm. She soon realized the baby and quickly glanced at him. "Why am I protecting him...?" She gritted her teeth, going along with the momentum of protecting the baby while defending herself.
Two magic circles appeared behind her, letting out a dark mist as it formed into a lance. After a second of it being casted, she threw both lances with precision towards the man's direction.
He put both his hands on his sword and positioned it in front of him. The sword was soon covered in the same black and blue mist from the bedroom. He dashed towards the woman once more, destroying one of the lances while dodging the other one.
The woman moved her free hand and directed the lance that passed him towards his back. The man soon felt the impending danger and faced the magic head on. One strike, and the lance was destroyed.
The woman dashed back and began to run in the opposite direction.
"Is running all you can do!?"
His body was soon engulfed by the blue and black mist and dashed towards her again, but much faster.
She continues to cast the same lance magic towards the man while running, keeping the baby in her arms tightly in her chest to protect him. But... protect him from what...? From herself, or from the father...
The man continued to try and chase her, but didn't dare to attack, only defend... A sudden thought crossed her head. "... Does he know that I'm protecting the child? But why does he continue attacking me? Why put both the child in danger-"
She freezes at the thought. "He's only been defending and chasing me, not really trying to attack me... Is his only target the baby? Is he trying to take him back?"
She gritted her teeth once again, throwing multiple amounts of magic towards him before placing her hand back on the child with the same magic she was going to kill him with. He quickly noticed her intention and dodged the magic before closing the distance in an instant.
The man put the mist that was surrounding his body into the sword, trying to decapitate her and save the baby at the same time before the magic touched him.
The woman widened her eyes. "Crap, how can I avoid that!?"
She saw the baby in her arms, and an idea came up.
The woman faced the man that was about to slash her and put the baby in front of the man.
The man's eyes widened as he saw his child in from him. To stop the momentum of the sword that was about to slash the child, he forcefully stopped his movements using all his strength.
He managed to stop his own attack but was unable to do anything for a split second due to the rebound of overexerting his muscles.
"An opening!"
The woman suddenly put up a shield while she hugged the baby in her arms with all her might, once again protecting the child instinctively.
A small magic circle appeared between the two people, soon a bright light followed by a small explosion occurred. The woman rebound due to the explosion and her shield colliding, she widened the distance between the men during the explosion and waited for the smoke to clear.
She kept looking in front of her as the smoke still lingered in the room. Once the smoke begins to vanish. The man was standing there. Black dust remained from the explosion. His left arm was injured and covered with blood, but the rest of his body remained unchanged.
She looked at the surroundings. It was only filled with dust, but no damage was caused.
The woman widened her eyes as she saw the amount of damage she barely caused to the man.
It seemed like he used one of his hands to shield the attack so that the surroundings were not damaged.
The man stared at her. His expression filled with a mixture of sadness and disdain. "Please... stop. I can tell that you don't want to harm him..." He extends his injured hand towards her, blood slowly trickling down to the floor. "Just give my child back."
For a moment, the woman was willing to give the baby back to him. But if she does, she will fail her mission.
Failing her mission means... that she will be killed...
"I can't..."
He narrowed his eyes with anger, pointing his sword at her. A Black-blue aura emits from the sword once again, but this time much fierce. "I see... I'm afraid that I must kill you then..."
The man waits for the woman's action, and tries to find the perfect chance to strike her down without putting his child in danger.
The woman begins to position herself to expect the attack from the sword.
But even if she uses all her intellect to predict the attack, there's no guarantee that she will avoid the attack, much less deflect it.
If she goes near him, her neck will get sliced to prevent injury towards the baby.
If he gets near her, he will sever her limb carrying the baby, followed by a second slash towards her neck.
If she tries to stop his attack using magic, he will dash towards her while she tries to chant her magic and strangle her to death.
If she tries to run away, he will dash towards her and sever her head immediately.
"There's no way to survive this..."
The man continues to stare at her dimly. A mixture of sadness, like he understands her current situation.
He gripped the sword tighter into his hand. "I can tell that you're being used... I always had a keen eye on people. I already suspected that you were going to do something..."
He slowly blinks, trying to figure out the emotional state of the woman in front of him. "But still... Seeing that you're still trying to kill him... I must end your life."
The woman begins to shiver at the sight of aura being ejected from the sword. She saw it when he got angry earlier, but this time is filled with the intent to kill her.
"... I won't survive this, will I?"
The woman with no name begins to accept her fate, but she still notices that she has the mana child on her arm.
She stares at the baby and realizes what she must do. ".. I can't give up yet. Even if I die, I need to guarantee her safety!"
She looks at the man again despite him still emitting his aura in his sword. She looks at him with sadness and places her hand near the child's face, and begins to chant the same thing she has done since earlier.
Once again, her hand begins to emit a black mist. She turns her gaze from the man to the baby while still having her hand near his face.
"Black magic... The concept itself has many meanings. They can raise the dead, call for the devils, contract evil spirits, and..."
She pauses for a moment, undecided if what she is doing is the correct thing. "... and it can inflict curses..."
She places the hand even closer to the baby's face.
Even when her hands are near the baby face, the man continues to stand there with a saddened expression. "Yes... I am well familiar with what black mages are capable of. They're all... the same..."
The woman closes her eyes as she speaks her mind out one last time as to accept her death.
"All the same... Well, it's not like I wanted to be a black mage... I was just a child... with mother and sister... enjoying our happy life... even when we were poor. But they came... and took us away from mother... I tried so hard to survive and bring my sister back... with mother..."
She slowly opened her eyes and finally decided to conclude this battle.
"The spell that I was talking about earlier is the same one I'm about to use. I will die either way, so I'll make sure to take the target with me at least..."
"At least she'll be freed..."
She immediately puts her hand in the baby's face. The black mist begins to cover the entire baby.
Slowly... A blue light began shimmering from the baby's body. It flashed brightly, blinding anyone that saw it. Shortly after, a light-blue ring wave expanded throughout the whole corridor. The red gem of the bracelet the baby was wearing cracked before turning black.
Her pupil dilated as she saw the baby still alive and breathing soundly.
"... How did it fail...?" She looked at the bracelet before her eyes turned emotionless. "I see... so from the beginning... you anticipated this... You already knew that I was a black mage... You knew that I didn't have the courage to kill... a child..."
The man slowly walked up towards her.
Feeling helpless, she falls to the floor, still carrying the baby into her arms as tears fell down her face. "... No... I can't fail here... Not until we're finally free..."
The man slightly leaned towards the woman and carefully grabbed the sleeping baby from her arm.
He checks the condition of his child. After confirming that there is no external injury, he faces the woman once again. He sheathes the sword with his right hand once again and positions it near the neck of the woman.
"Who sent you?"
The woman didn't respond. After a while of silence, she lifted her head up and looked at the man. She spoked the identity of the man who sent her to accomplish the mission. Upon hearing the name, the man gritted his teeth. His eyes bloodshot with rage.
He tightened his grip to not swing his sword out of anger.
He closed his eyes and began breathing in and out to calm his anger. He opens his eyes once again and stares at the woman with no remorse.
"... What's your name?"
The woman looked down at the floor before answering the sudden question.
"I... don't remember..."
The men look at her solemnly. "Where are the other magicians who were sent with you? The large-scale sleeping magic that you have casted is impossible for a Magician of your caliber."
The woman didn't answer. The man closed his eyes before deeply sighing. Silence continues to fill the eerie space as the woman refuses to answer and looks helplessly at the ground.
The man opened his eyes once more to ask the last question. For someone who refused to answer his questions, and even tried to kill his child, he couldn't help but wonder why she followed through with this plan. She reminds him of his own pathetic past. Someone who lost all reason of existence.
"... Did someone force you to do this?"
The woman flinched towards the question. Did she do this out of her own free will? If she did, for what reason? If she didn't, then should she still suffer the consequences of death?
The woman looked down, trembling as she didn't know how to answer his question.
"... I don't know... I did this to save us, but if I didn't do it, we would've suffered... I did this out of my own choice but at the same time I didn't... I wanted to be with her... I never wanted to kill people... I never wanted to become the person I am now..."
She looks up at the man once again, but this time with an expression showing her true sadness within her.
"I just wanted to be free!"
She knows that showing sadness won't escape her fate of death. But it wasn't for some measly reason...
"... I see."
He stays motionless, looking at the saddened woman before sighing. "If you were like the other assassins... I would've killed you before you had the chance to grab him... but... Why did you hesitate? Even after knowing beforehand, I still don't understand why you kept protecting him."
The woman stood silent once again. Her mouth slowly stammered before responding. "... I never killed a child before... Part of me just... wanted him to live... he didn't do anything wrong after all. He should have the chance... to grow up... and live..."
She painfully breathes in once more before solemnly smiling back at the man. "... But either way... I would still die if I fail my mission... so I tried to kill him in the end... to at least guarantee her freedom... but I guess I must repent for all my sins now..."
The man slowly sighs before he removes the sword from her neck, positioning it diagonally on top of her while looking emotionlessly.
"I pity you... You must've had your reasons, but that doesn't excuse your actions."
He grips the sword tightly. The same black-blue aura starts to appear in the sword. But rather than emitting fear and anger, this time the aura emits a calming and peaceful sensation. Rather than it is going haywire and spreading pressure to its surroundings. It looked like the scene of the night sky that makes one person calm, yet sad.
Behind the man was a window of the still looming night sky with the full moon. The aura and the scenery created a complimentary background scenery, with the beautiful man in front of it being the main object of awe. Hair that was black. Eyes as red as ruby, and a cold but alluring face. The view that can be called a painting of death.
As his eyes shimmer with the ruby red color, he finally finishes all preparations on what he's going to do. "I cannot forgive you and the person behind this incident. But at least I'll give you a painless death... because that is the only thing that I can offer."
The sword that was on top of her slashed through her body. From the left shoulder all the way to the right pelvis.
A fast and swift full slash that is impossible to imitate unless the person has experienced many battles.
The man turns his back and walks away from the woman with the sleeping child still in his arms.
She begins to fall on her back. Then a black and blue spark of light begins to emit from her body. It began on her legs. As the light spread, part of her body began to disappear with the blue and black particles.
As she followed where the light was going, she began to see the night sky. Still falling to her back but still able to see through the window.
The light particles and the scenery once again complemented each other. The particles around her soon went through the window and spread around the sky. The night glowed with aesthetic colors all around. Just like the stars in the sky.
"... Beautiful..."
Half her torso had already disappeared, but despite losing her body, she wasn't in pain.
'It feels like I'm finally free...'
Once the light reached her neck, she closed her eyes and shed a tear.
"... Sister... I'm sorry, but it seems like I'll be going first..."
Half her face was covered in light. She opened her eyes and saw a figure ahead.
A beautiful girl with pink hair and white skin that looked in her teens. Her eyes were not visible, yet you can see the happiness from her face regardless. A simple white dress, and small flowers in her hair that seemed to have been put on someone.
The sister she wanted to be free with must live in this cruel world alone.
She looked at the moon once more. She closes her eyes. A tear ran down her face, but she smiled through the sadness.
"Let my souls guide you to peace... and hope no more suffering befalls you..."
The light filled all her face.
And she dissolved into the night sky, the white moon that shone through the window to only show the broken glasses of the once living girl on the floor.
She's finally free…
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ .
A room that was filled with toys and items for a child. A light blue, with a mixture of white, crib in a corner that looked luxurious, yet comfortable, with a hanging ceiling decoration filled with cute and adorable items for the baby to look at.
The man entered from the door and walked slowly and quietly towards the direction of the crib.
Once he was in front of the crib, he looked down towards the baby that was in his arms. Still sleeping peacefully and quietly
You wouldn't have thought that he almost got killed by an assassin.
He gently caresses the infant's hair for a few seconds before stopping.
"What a failure of a person I am..."
The identity of the one who sent the assassin is known but not yet disclosed. The same person who keeps on sending assassins to the duke's wife in the past, now aims for the baby for an uncertain reason.
He puts the child on the crib gently, once he confirms his child's wellbeing, he closes his eyes. He clenches his hand tightly while looking down on the floor with his eyes still closed.
"... I have failed as a father already..."
He stares at the ceiling with a sad expression on his face.
"My wife and everyone working here were all put to sleep..."
He began to facepalm his forehead while covering his eyes.
"... I'm still weak... If I can't prevent the same incident that happened to my parents, then what's the use of having this power?"
He looked at the sleeping baby in the crib. Infant hair as white as his mother's. Pale skin, his left eye hazel brown, taken from his mother once again while the right being white due to the mana's blessing.
The complete imitation of his lover was portrayed on this young child.
The man smiled sentimentally to his child.
"I'll make sure to do anything within my power to protect you and your mother from any danger."
The man walks towards the door and leaves the room silently. He begins to walk towards the direction of all the servants and his wife that were passed out due to the magic. Once he finishes, he will peruse the other magicians that were conspiring with the incident and capture them alive to interrogate.
After stopping in the middle of the corridor, he looked at the window. Outside was filled with blue and black particles that blend with the night.
He stares at the night sky with a discontented face as he recalls the event that recently happened.
He stares at his left hand that was still injured and covered in blood. "... This is quite... sad..."
He looks away from the disdained injury that recalls the moment, and soon he continues to walk towards his destination.
Forgetting of the woman who he just killed, to not worry his wife and all the servants who are residing here of the threat. Everyone will forget this uneventful night.
But not him. He will use this opportunity to improve in protecting the one he cherishes and those loyal to him. He won't let such a situation as this happen again.
The night sky begins to be filled with the early sunset that shows the morning.
A new day comes forth out of their misery that took place in this mansion.
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ .
"-llo...?"
A voice keeps repeating in my head. Saying the same thing over and over, but what exactly is it...? My head feels numb, I can't move my body as I want it.
Ah yes... I'm an infant right now...
The situation still feels unfamiliar to me... Who knew that the process of transmigration and reincarnation will occur to me after death.
I opened my eyes. Once again, I'm in an unfamiliar room. A stuffed bear next to me while there's a hanging ceiling decoration on top of me. A room for a baby it seemed.
I turned my head towards the side and looked at the toy bear.
I gently try to touch it. Unknowingly, I then grabbed it and began hugging it.
'... It's soft...'
Being able to touch the toy bear with such sensation means this is not a dream.
Did I really die...?
I looked up at the ceiling decorations. A star in the middle, another on the side that looked like a fairy, and another one that looked like a half-crescent moon.
Weird, I just dreamed about the moon before, and many beautiful and shiny particles floating and dispersing into the night sky. It was beautiful. I wished that I could show my siblings such a beautiful scene.
Siblings...
I keep wondering... What are my siblings doing now? Are they sad that I passed away? Are they missing me while I'm in this world?
I have so many questions, yet no answers that I can look up into.
So, this is sadness...
A tear begins to run down the face of the infant. No sound was made as the infant continued to cry. He already cried once, but this time he knew why.
"Crying while ignoring me, huh? Isn't that quite displeasing."
The same voice that repeated in my head earlier is talking again. But where is the voice coming from? I don't see anyone here?
"Trying to find me? Sadly, for you, I don't have a body right now."
Suddenly a light blue flame flew in front of me. Just like a fire, but without the generation of heat.
I'm not sure... but for some reason my hand begins to reach out for the flame. Is it a baby's instinct to touch everything they see?
As my hand got closer to the flame, it suddenly flew farther away from me.
"Woah. Courageous, aren't you? What would've happened if I was a real fire? Hmm?"
The baby suddenly smiles and begins to laugh heartily towards the flame.
"... seems like you're still not assimilated into the body..."
Assimilated? So, did I possess someone's body?
My heart shook at the fact that I took someone's life...
The flame in front of me seemed like he knew what I was thinking about.
"Don't worry. It is not what you think. You're currently the true owner of this body, so no life was forsaken."
True owner. What does he mean? Does he know the reason why I'm in this state?
Soon, voices can be heard in the corridor near the door.
"Seems like I don't have enough time to talk about your situation. Maybe next time I'll be able to explain things to you once you fully assimilate."
The blue flame suddenly disappeared, leaving behind some sort of light fragments. My body responded by trying to capture the light with my bare hands. But they only pass through them and soon dissolved along with the wind. Shortly after, two people entered the room. The male and female that I first saw when I entered this body.
They walked towards me, hand in hand. The woman looked nervous as she kept getting closer, while the men next to her kept reassuring her.
They finally reached where I was. They saw me still hugging the bear from before. The woman looked at me with admiration before smiling so gracefully.
I was surprised. That's an emotion I've never seen directed towards me other than my siblings.
'Weird... Why am I getting warm?'
The baby smiled brightly while trying to reach his small, subtle hand towards the woman.
The woman was surprised for a bit. She then gently placed her hand near the baby. The baby reached out his left hand and grabbed her pinky while laughing.
The baby looked at his hand and saw a small bracelet in his wrist, a small continuous chain made of gold with a clear blue sapphire gem conjoining both chains end.
The woman laughed with the baby. The man smiling behind them from the laughter of the ones he loved.
The woman placed her other hand gently in the baby's head. She silently stopped laughing but continued to smile towards the baby.
"... Lysander... Oh how grateful I am that you are here with us..."
... What?
My name is... Lysander?