Raelith opened his eyes in a strange place, unlike anything he had ever witnessed. He was inside a prison-like space. The walls were carved in strange blue bricks from which blue radiance would emanate. There was no way out, no way to the outside. Aside from Raelith and his mother, there were people he didn't recognize. They had tattered clothes, black circles under their eyes, unnatural gaze as if they had lost their hope to live.
They appeared as if death, they stared in the blank space, their eyes seemed heavy, their shoulder slouched, bearing burdens far too heavy. They had become thin, barely any flesh, akin to a skeleton.
Little Raelith endured his hunger and thirst beside his mother. His mother would often say to her son, "Everything will be okay." That alone was enough to give Raelith the strength to endure. In a dark space like this, sometimes words alone were far more effective than anything. Raelith had a single ray of hope in those darkest depths of the abyss; it was his mother, Lyra. There was no sign of help from the outside, who could help it was time of war. The war that was waged stripped many mothers of their title, many son lost their fathers, and people across the continent lost their dearest.
Days went by, and slowly, more people were brought inside that cage. In their prison, at one point, people started to believe this place would be their grave and never see the outside world. Never return to their family waiting. Many had wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and people dear to them. But they were caged, enduring such twisted fate. The beings who brought them didn't provide them with anything. Some didn't have clothes, but in a situation like that, shame, dignity, and honor didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was their survival.
"Survive, no matter what." That's what their instinct told them. Weeks wend by, then months. People started to collapse from hunger, thirst, and longing. They could not help but be caged, among them were awakened of rank S+, but they too couldn't do anything to harm those walls. It was as if they were cursed beyond saving.
The only thing they understood was that from the inside, the walls cannot be broken down; some outside force was required, but they didn't have such options.
People started to die one by one. Raelith was skin and bone. Amongst the crowd, one instinctively started to devour their own brother in arms who had died. Following that, more people did the same, and slowly the number increased. Even Raelith's mother had lost their mind. Rationality and taboo didn't matter there. Where survival was priority, traditional honor was an outside matter. But Relith watched everything unfold, not moving from his place from the moment he arrived. His face darkened with every event in that confined prison.
Slowly, people started to get infected by unknown diseases. Blue markings formed all over their body. Day by day, they started to swell the soul, the exception being Raelith alone. Perhaps it was his sanity that kept the diseases far away from him, or perhaps he didn't eat his own species meat for desire and hunger. What may be the reason it cannot be denied that Raelith was not affected?
Soon, the blue marking became masses of grotesque flesh, strange liquid forming within them. Then, without warning, the diseased ones died strangely and horrifyingly, every one of them. When Raelith opened his eyes the next day, he saw from their stomach a hand protruding, not human but something vile.
Then Raelith was dragged into a strange room by the same shadow. It was like a hospital. Raelith could barely make out the figure's face standing beside him. They had injected tubes all across his body. They injected pain beyond reason. The pain made Raelith lose consciousness. From these tubes, a strange purple liquid flowed into his body.
Later, the soldiers found Raelith in that exact room, barely alive. They were shocked to see him alive without food or water. The rescue team was led by Raelith's father, Amon Graywet. The scene horrified him. The rescue team could only rescue a single child, and everyone else was dead, of course, Lyra Graywet too.
Amon personally took care of his son after that, and the top doctors worked tirelessly to treat the son of the Supreme Commander. About 3 months after Raelith was treated and well, a part of him was missing. He had lost all his emotions and went cold from that moment on. He had faced trauma beyond reason, and as a child, that incident had carved a deep wound in his chest. A would not be visible or incurable injury. Even if they were priests, saints, healers, or doctors, they couldn't heal a psychological wound.
- - -
- - - Raelith Gaywet's Pov- - -
Yeah, I clearly remember. I had lost my emotions, but I took the initiative and learned to express myself so that people won't feel awkward around me.
I stood up, went near the mirror, and wore my true expression. The expression except me and my father, the whole world, and I didn't know. My eyes' luster has vanished, placed with my black obsidian eyes, not my golden dazzling ones. This one was much darker and terrifying.
"I wonder how Ed would react if he saw this expression," I let out a self-deprecatory mocking laugh.
My scarlet bright hair started to become paler. It had started ot become black. The change was noticeable. It had started to lose its luster and was devoid of life.
"I wonder if that strange liquid they had flowed in me back there Is it reacting now. What's gonna happen to me, hey tell me…" I said plainly.
"Freyrith…I know you're there, bastard!"