hush-hush~
The wind tore past someone ears as he ran—no, fled—from the tower.
Each step slammed against the stone path like a desperate heartbeat, uneven, frantic. His breath came out in ragged bursts, his chest burning as if something inside him was clawing to get out. The towering structure behind him loomed like a silent witness, its shadow stretching long, as though trying to drag him back.
Survive…
That was the only thought he clung to at first.
Just survive.
But the mind is cruel. It never stays empty when you need it to—
Memories began to seep in.
——————
Just minutes ago, inside the tower—
Kira and Riya had left.
Left him.
Elvin had stood there, frozen, the echoes of their departure still lingering in the cold air. The tension, the chaos… everything had collapsed into silence.
His face. His expression was indicating that anytime soon he will cry by the cold words spoken by Riya to him.
You truly are pathetic.
The words echoed into his minds—
Into his brain.
He remembered thinking then:
This isn't my fight.
I just need to live.
Yet even as he decided that something deep inside him had resisted.
——————
His feet hit uneven ground as he descended further, but his thoughts pulled him back again—this time, much further.
Years back— When he was a child.
When he was ten.
A small boy standing under the blazing sun, hands bruised, eyes burning with determination.
Master Draves.
That name alone had been enough to ignite a fire in him.
Elvin had trained endlessly—day and night—pushing his limits, breaking them, and forcing himself beyond. All for a single goal:
To be seen.
To be chosen.
To be acknowledged.
"To become his student…"
The memory tightened his chest.
————————
CRACK—
Elvin's foot slipped against loose stone, his body jerking forward—but he caught himself just in time, stumbling before regaining balance.
His breath hitched.
And another memory surged forward.
——————
Hall of trials.
The Trials of a curse child.
That cursed moment.
The arcanist who is willingly wanting to teach curse one is none other than me.
Those words were spoken in that moment by Draves.
The words which shocked everyone present in the Hall of Trials.
Elvin was one of them~ Shock, Surprise and fills with many emotions.
Why the fuck he would be.....
Those were the words which came through his mouth.
A boy with purple hair and black cloak muttered.
The moment burned into Elvin's mind like a scar that never healed.
The cheers. The awe. The recognition.
Everything Elvin had worked for… handed to someone else in a single instant.
His fists clenched unconsciously.
Why him?
Why not me?
Jealousy.
Raw. Ugly. Consuming.
It twisted inside him, mixing with something even worse resentment.
And beneath it all…
A quiet, suffocating emptiness.
———————
The past shattered like glass.
Elvin burst through the massive gate, the forest opening before him like a dark escape. He didn't look back—not at the tower, not at the people inside it.
Lisa.
Oryn.
Eren.
He had slipped past their sight.
For now.
Branches whipped against his arms as he ran deeper into the forest, the ground uneven and treacherous.
I will prove my worth...
I will help them and will become the strongest.
Even without the help of you, Draves.
I will become the strongest. The one who will become a angelic commander...
No... the one who will become the ruler.
The declaration was made by the lone warrior or perhaps a lone boy who is love by the devil itself.
Elvin Warier, the boy who came from a rich high-class family made a declaration surpassing beyond the logic of Dreams. He sees himself as a man sitting on a throne.
"I will—!"
His foot struck a jagged rock.
His body lurched forward, crashing hard against the ground. Pain shot through his limbs as dirt and leaves scraped his skin.
For a moment, everything went still.
Only his breathing remained.
Heavy.
Shaking.
Then—
Step.
A soft sound.
Not his.
Elvin's eyes widened as he slowly lifted his head.
Through the haze of pain and exhaustion, he saw… someone approaching.
A figure.
Slow. Calm.
Unhurried.
White feathers drifted gently around her, as if the air itself bowed to her presence. A cloak concealed her face, shadows hiding her identity, yet there was something unmistakably unnatural about her aura.
She stopped just a few steps away from him.
Tilted her head slightly.
And smiled.
A soft, almost amused voice slipped through the silence—
"Oh…"
The single word sent a chill down Elvin's spine.