CHAPTER 1: The nameless boy
The sound of a whip cracking spread across a small room.
A frail boy shrieked, staggering back, his hand clutched tight. Blood seeped out from the gaps between his fingers.
"How many times have I told you not to touch my things while I'm not home?", A woman's voice rasped, thick with fury. Her bulk loomed in the dim light of the room, the whip coiled like a sleeping serpent in her grasp.
"Do my words even reach your ears?", she shouted angrily.
“I-I swear, m-miss, it wasn’t m-me. It was M-Mikey, he-"
The whip struck again, tearing open the other hand. The boy was shaking in fear. Tears mixed with blood as he tried to shield himself.
“Shut your filthy mouth, you damn mongrel!” The woman’s eyes gleamed with spite. “How dare you try to slander my innocent cat?! she raised the whip again, sneering-“You’re nothing but a useless and liar
“I-I’m sor—”
He couldn't finish the sentence as the words died in his throat as the woman leaned closer to his face, her voice dripping venom.
“Now I see why you were priced that cheap. You’re totally I’m going back to the market and getting a refund
…
The richest and noblest city among all the other five cities of the-
As the richest city, Aernight has always been a good place for business. Even the merchants from other five kingdoms often visit this city to find the most unique and rare things. As long as one didn't lack wealth, one could get anything in this city of riches.
a big and eye-catching signboard.
Today at noon, a woman stopped by this trading shop. She came with a teenager, whose face was pale. A closer look would reveal- the boy was trembling, trying in vain to stop his tears. Some signs of brutal torture were also vividly visible in both of his hands. The woman's eyebrows were knitted together. She looked at the pale boy behind her. Then she stomped her foot and let out a cold harrumph.
A while later, she exited the shop. This time with a much younger boy following her with utmost obedience. The little boy had an expressionless face. His head lowered, gaze fixed to the ground. Some faint marks of recently healed wounds scattered around the whole body. Dried lips, dimmed eyes. As if he was already dead. But in sharp contrast to that, the woman's face was full of smiles.
At this time, a tall-healthy built middle-aged man with a thick mustache just went back to the shop after seeing off his customer.
He had a warm smile on his face not too long ago but now, the smile from before instantly disappeared as he furrowed his brows.
This man was Mr.Ron. The owner of,
As the name says, they are the best at trading business among all the shops in Aernight City. However, they are particularly popular for their Over the years, they have always provided the best services in this field. But for the past few months, their name was almost being sullied because of one single slave.
A new slave they brought to their business a year ago is the reason. They had to prepare this new slave for a few months. And after bringing him to the market to be sold as a slave, is where all the problems began. The new slave boy always messes up at his task and stutters annoyingly while trying to explain himself. But gets punished in the end nonetheless.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
After that, the owner comes back for a refund or exchange policy. Clearly not intending on keeping such a useless slave for another second.
Mr. Ron entered directly to his office and sat down on his expensive boss chair.
He slammed his right fist on the luxurious looking desk before him.
"It's the sixth time a customer came back for a refund after buying you.
And this time even a week hasn't passed since… Argh! Forget it, you are just useless to me at this point", Mr.Ron looks at the weeping boy at the corner of his office.
"But since I've already wasted quite a lot of my precious time to make you at least presentable before eyes… I will take compensation for it.", he adds with an evil smile blooming on his face.
The boy looks at the man and barely manages to stop shedding tears.
"B-but, I've n-nothi—", he tries to say that he doesn't have anything valuable to offer but Mr.Ron stops him midway and says,
"Nu-uh! You still have your intact body to be made use of, hehehe. Fortunately, you have arrived at a perfect time.
But don't worry too much though, only asked for two eyes and one kidney this time. So, you'll at least be able to live somehow… probably, hahaha." He emphasized the word like, it was already a given that the boy wouldn't be able to make it through this presented before him. The hint of displeasure from before was washed away from Mr.Ron's face as he spoke those words, eyes shining brightly as if they were excited and expectant.
Listening to these words, the youth bit his lips and started shaking. His hands clenched tightly, the wound from before started to open up and blood started flowing once again.A stream of tears found its way out from the two eye-corners to the cheeks and chin.
Sorrow, anger, as well as all types of negative emotions were swelling up deep within him.
However, what neither the boy nor Mr.Ron noticed was that, at this time, something unnatural just happened in the boy's eyes for the briefest moment. Within the shedding tears of the youth, a glimpse of darkness was mixed.
…
the great forest of Aethelgard.
Aetherwood was bordered by the western part of Aernight City.The great forest Aetherwood is considered to be the most mysterious forest among all the other six great forests of six kingdoms. Sometimes, it is even said to be connected with the-
A hammering torrent pouring from the sky.
All the animals across the forest were trying to take shelter at the nearest possible location.
At this time, a group of three men wearing black robes came to the edge of the forest and threw away an almost dead body of a teenager into the wild.
After making sure that nobody saw them, they turned to leave while sighing on the misfortune of the young boy they just threw away.
“How unfortunate! To live like this without any purpose in life.", one of them said while letting out a sigh of pity.
"Hahaha, his life wasn't without any purpose though! We got to fulfill our order of eyes and kidneys for this week all thanks to him!", another one said with a tone of mockery in his voice.
"Yeah. And besides, it's useless to worry about him anyway. With the condition he is in now, that boy is doomed to die out of excessive blood loss and later serve himself as a dinner for the wild beast.", the other of the three agreed with the second man and seemed to let the matter of the youth to come to an end while purely believing on the of the boy.
Due to the lack of any response and movement, the three men had thought the boy was unconscious, while in truth, the boy was half-conscious. He vaguely heard everything. But this time, he didn't feel anything inside him anymore. As if he simply didn't have any emotions left to feel. His mind went blank due to excessive blood loss. But somehow, he was still alive.
…
A few hours passed by.
The sky was slowly returning to its normal color.
The rain slowed down.
The soil,mixed in the rainy water turned into mud at most of the area.
A not too tall human figure could be seen crawling its way through the mud under a giant tree. The sound of weeping escaped from his mouth, trying to dodge the raindrops from time to time.
"Argh! M-my head, my e-eyes, my whole b-body hurts..."
The nearly-dead figure, covered in mud, tried to move its head towards the sky. But facing the sky, he sees… Because today he has lost both of his eyes and as well as a kidney.
He wanted to look at what is in front of him, he wanted to know if - he is actually dead while his spirit is hallucinating in this scene. Most of all, he wanted to know why he is how he is.
But he has no idea. He lies there for a while, unmoving as a corpse.
In his mind, he asks himself,
‘Is there any meaning in living a life like mine? Was I born with a fate to never live a life? And just to suffer? Why do I always suffer?... I can't even remember any memories of my childhood. I don't even believe that I had a childhood anymore…’
After thinking to this point he suddenly laughs at himself,
'Hah, as if I even know what a normal life is to begin with… I never had a name either. I should be dead. I don't wanna live anymore in this world where I have to exist for the sole sake of suffering.’, he paused for a moment while trying to gather his scattered thoughts.
‘But… if there's a next life… Please, … please don't let me suffer anymore. I've already suffered enough… I don't want to live a life where I will only know how to suffer.’
With this, he closes his eyelids covering the empty eye sockets.
Unknown to him, a black figurine has been watching him from the time he was thrown out in the wild.
…
A while later…
The rain had long since stopped, leaving the forest soaked and restless. Every branch dripped, every shadow stirred.
In the mud beneath a giant tree, the boy’s broken body barely moved. His chest rose once, shallow, trembling—then stilled.
The scent of blood carried far. It caught the attention of a wild beast nearby. Suddenly a tiger-like beast got its eyes fixed on the dying meal before it. The beast started to reach the boy, each step was careful and eager. Its jaws slowly open.
But then…
The beast was startled. And it froze.
Something seeped from the boy’s forehead. Not blood, not steam but black smoke. Writhing and alive.
The forest grew still. The air became heavy. A suffocating feeling grabbed onto the beast’s heart.
The beast’s ears flattened. Its instincts screamed. What crouched in the mud was no prey. It was something else. Something…
The shadowed figure rising from the smoke had no face, no flesh, yet its presence pressed down like a heavy mountain. A sinister and evil aura. As if, it was an emissary of
The beast groaned and fled with its tail between its legs.
And the nameless boy—lay unmoving, blind and broken. As if none of it had ever happened.
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