The Reapers Beginning

The warm flickering of the candle's flame gave off enough light to fill the corner of the room at which it stand. Combined with the several other flames flickering throughout the rest of the chamber, there was plenty of light to see. Beneath a table set off to one side of the room, there lay a bundle of blankets that slowly began to move about. From beneath one blanket, a small white labador stuck his head out. His small nose sniffed at the air, as if sensing something. The pups head moved back and forth causing the small bundle of blankets to shift slightly, until he finally stopped catching a scent or hearing a sound. Blankets flew back off the dog as he burst from his sleeping place under the table. The tiny pads of his small feet slid across the smooth marble that the floor was made up of and dashed from beneath the table. Pink tongue wagging out of his mouth, the dog rushed over to a tall wooden door and began to paw at it. His tiny claws made the faintest scratching sounds against the strong oak, but other than the sound, there seemed to be no effect. Never the less the puppy scratched at the door, even more furious than it had before. The tiny pitter patter of a child's feet faintly echoed from the hall beyond the door and the puppy jumped back from the door, the tiniest barks squeaking out of his mouth as his tail wagged back and forth furiously.

"Tobi!!!," a young boy exclaimed from behind the heavy wood. Creaking the door slowly began to open and the small puppy ran to the ever growing crack, sniffing at the young boy behind it, his small tail shaking even faster. The child pressed his entire body against the door and slowly it opened more until it was finally wide enough to allow him to pass through. "Back up Tobi, you know the Master doesn't want you to leave this room," the boy said, using his foot to keep the small puppy from running out into the hall and slipping into the room. The boy seemed to be no more than a handful of years into his life, blue hair resting on his head and a red tattoo marking his face along his right eye. The puppy barked happily, jumping up on the boy's leg whimpering so that he'd get some attention. The small boy happily took the small dog into his arms and hugged him close. The puppy quickly responded in return and started licking the boy's face playfully, happy to be with his young owner again. "Haha, stop Tobi, it tickles," the boy laughed, tossing his head side to side with a wide grin on his face.

Still laughing, the boy set down the small puppy and scratched him behind the ear. "Go get your toy Tobi, go on," the blue haired boy said as he placed his back to the door and started pushing it back closed. The small puppy quickly ran off at his owner's directions and soon came trotting back with an old rag doll in his mouth. Dropping the doll, the small puppy looked up at his master and spun around barking with his eye pitched bark, wanting to play. The door shut with a silent thud and the boy reached down and picked up the doll. Watching the doll carefully the pup moved back and forth, wagging his tail waiting for his master. "Go get it Tobi," he shouted and tossed the doll across the room. Immediately the pup spun around and ran after the small toy, sliding on the smooth marble floor again. A laugh escaped from the boy as he watched the pup chase after the toy and soon he too was running after the pup. They played together, running around chasing the doll, playing tug of war and just had a good time together. Laughter and tiny high pitch barking filled the room, echoing off the marble and escaping through the cracks of the thick door.

The room was but one small piece of a much larger mansion. A mansion that housed more than just the small boy and his tiny pet. The noise traveling from between the cracks of the door echoed down the completely empty hallways, bouncing from wall to wall until it traveled from one end to the other. By the time it reached this point the sound was so quiet that it would have been unnoticable if their had been any other sound at all. But there was nothing, nothing to drown out the noise.  "Hmm?" A man cocked his head gently to the side, turning a ear towards the sound of the happy pair. Light from a single candle flickered from where it stood on a large cherry wood desk, illuminating several reports scattered about each from a guild, both dark and legal, and a few from the Rune Knights themsevles. The man himself though was shrouded in shadows, even the light of the candle seemed to fall short of where it should have. "It seems that the boy really loves his dog," the man spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper, turning from the report in his hand, "well if the boy has time to play, then its time to learn his next lesson."

"Let go Tobi," the small boy laughed tugging on the small rag doll. The golden labridor had his teeth sunk on the other end of the doll, pulling it and shaking its small head viciously trying to get it from his master. Another laughed escaped from the boys mouth and he let go of the doll just to watch the pup run off with it then come padding back up to him. "That's a good boy Tobi," he laughed, taking the doll from his mouth without a fight this time. "Takai." The small boy's body instantly went rigged just from hearing the voice call his name. Tobi yelped like he'd been kicked and ran back into his bundle of blankets beneath the table. All laughter and joy from just moments before vanished, warmth replaced with a chill. "Yes Master," Takai said timidly, turning slowly to face the speaker. Even in this room filled with candles and light a shadow engulfed all the detailed features of the Master of this Mansion.

"I hope that you've completed all your chores for the day," his voice came out cold, no compassion as he crossed the room and took a seat in the one cushioned chair in the room. Swallowing nervously, Takai bowed his head and shook it gently in an affirmitive. "Yes Master," with his hands together, a nervous expression written on his face, "I just wanted to play with Tobi for a bit before our lesson." "Did I give you permission to play with your mutt?" "No Master." "Then you shouldn't have been playing here. It's of no consquence now, its time for your lesson. Takai's head snapped up in surprise. He was sure that his master would have been furious with him, not asking his permission to play. For some reason though his master let it slide and it made the small boy very nervous. "Yes Master," the boy said nervously and started heading out of the room.

Shadows surrounding the man's face turned slightly as he followed the boy's movements, "Where do you think you are going?" Takai slowly turned towards his master, fear written on his face, "I was going to our lesson room." "Oh we'll be having our lesson right here in this room," a shadowed hand gestured to the room and rested back down, "and so the lesson shall begin. First bring out your mutt." "Here Tobi, come on out," Takai obeyed immediately speaking softly and gently trying to bring his puppy out from his hiding place. Whimpering quietly, the small labador slowly came out from his shelter, tail between his legs and taking the path that kept him as far from the shadowed man as possible. The boy picked the small dog up in his arms as he came close and craddled him close, afraid of what the master wanted with his pet.

"Good, now hand him to me." The boy looked at his master's outstretched hand and slowly handed over his pup. Tobi scrambled mid air, trying to escape Takai's grip and flee from the shadowed man. It was no use and soon the man held the pup up with one hand, turning the dog around in the air. "You've trained him correct?" The boy nodded, to afraid to speak. "Good, show me what tricks you've taught him," the man said, setting the dog down on the ground. Instantly the small dog dashed from the man's hands and hid himself behind the legs of the boy. "Tobi, here," the boy spoke and pointed at a place in front of himself and the dog slowly moved to where he was told. "Good boy Tobi, now sit." The dog once more obeyed and sat down. Takai continued to run through a series of tricks he had taught the dog and one by one Tobi preformed them. "Very well now its your turn Takai," the man said, placing his fingers together to form a point in front of his face, "show me your control of the magic with in yourself." Takai looked at his master and nodded. It was strange for his master to do a lesson like this, it has never happen before and it made the boy nervous.

Obediently Takai did as he was instructed and slowly began to draw upon the well of magic deep within himself.  Holding his hand out in front of him a small orb of a pitch black magic that had tiny blood sparks dancing along the surface. "Good boy Takai, now do the spell I taught you yesterday." The tone of voice that the shadowed man used was the same as the one Takai had just used when speaking to his pet. That and the copying of the words he had used, there was no mistaking that he was saying that Takai was his pet. Even realizing this, the boy did as he was told and focused the magic in his hand into the spell his master had taught him just the day before. The black and red sparked energy encompassed the boy's hand and formed what seemed like a sharp edge from any angle you looked at it. "Very good boy. Strike the stool over there, I want to see how sharp your magic has beome." Obediently the blue haired boy walked over to the chair and swiped his hand across a chair leg. At first it was as if nothing happened to the leg at all. Then a second later the leg split in a perfect clean cut and it fell to the ground with a clatter. The stool teetered for a second before it too fell on its side to join its removed leg.

"Very good boy, you've been practicing your magic haven't you," the man said as he stood from his chair and gestured for the boy to follow him, "Come and bring your mutt with you, its time for your next lesson." Shadows moved long the man's figure like a mantle as he approached the table that lay against one wall, the boy faithfully following the puppy at his heals. With them all next to the table, the shadowed man bent down and swooped up the dog in one smooth motion that happened so fast neither the dog nor the boy could react. "Now for your lesson," the man said as Tobi did his best to scramble out of the man's grip, "you love this dog correct, then I want you to show me how much you love it." Setting the dog on the table, the man stared at Takai with a grin that even within the mantle of shadows the boy could make out. Tobi on the other hand was huddled on the table, with his tail in between his legs, shaking with so much fear that he couldn't move. "What do you mean show him that I love him," Takai said, looking up at his master with tears already building up in his eyes. He already had an idea what his master meant by it but he didn't want it to be true, he didn't want to do what his master was going to command.

"I've shown you diagrams of animals before and detailed ones of the particular spieces your pet is," he spoke as he placed a hand on Takai's back and pushed him up to the table's edge, "so I want you to show me how much you love your dog and kill him. After all if you love a thing its only right to set it free." Tears building in his eyes started to fall as Takai looked at his best friend in the world, his only friend the puppy huddled in a shaking ball on the table. "No Master, please don't make me," the boy pleaded, his tears streaming down the sides of his face, "he's my best friend don't make me do that to him." The back side of the shadowed man came out of now where and struck the boy hard against his face. Takai flew across the room landing hard against the marble floor and sliding back against the wall. "You'll do what I tell you boy," he snarled at Takai as he took one small step forward, "you're alive by my pleasure only, and while you live you'll do what I say or I swear you'll wish that I left you dead in that village along side your parents." "Now," the man said, grabbing the cuff of Takai's shirt and pulling him to his feet before shoving him to the table's edge once more, "you'll do as I say and kill your mutt. Kill him and in the way I've shown you."

A large welt formed on the side of the bawling boy's face as he looked at his pet, his best friend. "I'll do as you say master," Takai said in a voice barely above a whisper. Reaching out, he took Tobi in his hands and pulled him from the table top. For a boy as small as Takai it wasn't a simple task but soon he had Tobi set gently on the floor. Large brown eyes looked up at the small blue haired boy, the tiny tail slowly wagging back and forth. The puppy could sense something was wrong and nuzzled up against his owner's hand in an attmept to cheer up the weeping boy. All that did was make Takai cry even harder as he pet Tobi, for the final time. As his hand came back up to the dogs head, the boy slowly pushed the dog down onto the ground. Tears splashed onto the marble floor and the golden fur of the small dog as the boy leaned over him, magic swirling around his hand. "Scythe Strike," the boy sobbed between the heaves of his crying body, solidifying his spell into its shape. The puppy looked up at his master as he began to struggle against the tiny hand that held it down, tiny whimpers escaping its mouth. Tear after tear fell from his eyes, his hand held shakily over the small dog's body. "Do it boy, do it now."

Takai rolled the dog on its back, small paws kicking furiously at the air and body kicking back and forth in attempts to escape. Squeezing his eyes shut, tears still streaming down his young face, Takai made four quick cuts with his hands. Even with his eyes closed as they were, his cuts were precise and the intention he meant from them worked exactly as it should. All four legs stopped their movements and the pup began to yelp, every tiny flexing of the muscles make him suffer that much more. Takai opened his eyes to see the crimson liquid pouring out of the four cuts in all the tendons that controlled the movements of each of his legs. A fresh wave of grief poured over the small boy as he looked at what he had done to his friend. "You're not finished boy, no breaks until its over." There was a clear threat in his master's tone of voice and the pain of the large bruise forming against the side of his face became anew. Blood seeped from the wounds, staining the sides of Takai's hands and fingers, the warm liquid forcing a small gag in his body. Still he continued.

For hours upon hours, Takai made small precise incisions into the body of the small puppy. Every time he made a cut, every time his magic split open flesh, Takai could feel his best friend's soul slipping farther away. Not only could he feel it, but sight granted to him from the magic he was born with, he could see it as well. The perfect pure spirit of this precious animal slipping away by cuts made by the one that was meant to protect him. Warm liquid spread out from the body, the pool growing with every second. The cold marble floor gave it no room to which to seep so instead it spread, the pants that Takai wore soaking up the precious life liquid that he had spilled. What seemed like an eternity later the boy was finally finished. There was no longer any movement from the dog. No cries of pain, no whimpering of a tortured animal. All that was left was the mutilated body of what was once Takai's best friend. Everything was done with delicate precision. Not the exact precision of a hand that had practiced for years and perfected the art, but precision that was astounding for someone so young.

Takai's arms lay limp at his sides, his eyes without any glimmer of life in them as he stared down at the bloody mass. Tears still streamed down his face but there was no emotion to them anymore, they just poured down. There was no weeping, no heavy sobs. "Haha, good, good," Takai's master laughed deep and wicked laughs, staring at his young apprentice, "you've done well. That will be the end of today's lesson. Don't worry, I'll get you another dog soon enough so that we can have another lesson just like this down the line." The words hit Takai like a sledgehammer and his eyes widened out of mixture of horror and fury. Slowly his head turned, like a machine, and blank eyes stared at his master. Creaking of the cushioned chair and the shadowed man stood from his seat, brushing off the front of whatever clothes that he wore. Fury struck the small boy again and he jumped to his feet, charging at his master with a roar. "I"LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!! SCYTHE STRIKE!" The same magic he'd just used on his pet envoloped both of his hands and the boy jumped at his master. He never saw the blow coming. One moment he was in the air, swiping a hand at his master's face and the next he was sprawled on the cold marble floor in the pool of warm blood.

"Understand this boy," the man's cool amused tone was gone and replaced with the anger that he'd shown before, "I am your master and I will always be your superior. Even if you live to be a hundred years old, I will out class you as a wizard, even if you live to be a thousand, your power will only be a small fraction beside my own." A boot slammed into the boy's gut and he flew across the room, slamming his back into the table, shattering the wood. "You'd best understand that boy, or you won't live to regret it," Takai's master, hovered over the small blue haired body, hands curled into tight fists, "clean this up, all of it and tomorrow we'll have another lesson." With that, the shadowed man turned and left Takai alone, crying and in more pain than he'd ever felt so far in his young life. The pain wasn't only physical. His eyes went to the mass of flesh and bone, to his best friend and he threw up.



Word Count - 3421

"Takai, it's time for another lesson." Light from the flickering torch light in the hall cut a beam through the dark room from the opening in the doorway. From the corner, the blue hair boy sat up from his bed, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. This had become a regular thing for the past four years, ever since Takai had been forced to kill his pet Tobi. Lesson's at random times. They could be at anytime, in the middle of the day during his chores or in the middle of the night while he slept. The thing was the lesson never changed. Oh sure Takai still learned new things from his master but this particular lesson happened at least once a week since that day. "Yes Master," the boy said as he rose in his pajamas and followed the shadowed man from his room. The steps from both Takai and his master echoed down the torch lit corridor as they headed to the room that Tobi once lived.

The room that had once been a filled with light and warmth, even in this cold Mansion, was now just as frigid as the rest of the building. Walking into the room, Takai's eyes immediately glanced to the spot on the floor that Tobi's body had once lay. It didn't matter how many times he entered that room, he always looked towards it, he always remembered what he. Then he wouldn't care and continue on with the next lesson. It was the same lesson he had that day but the victim always changed. First it was Tobi, then some other animals, then Takai's master started choosing people from who knows where. Adults children, it didn't matter. He would bring them and then Takai would use his magic to cut them open like he had with Tobi. Takai's master led his young pupil over to the table that had laid across the top a pretty young girl probably about seven years older than Takai was. Her arms, legs, and body were strapped down tight so that she couldn't move. A gag was placed over her mouth so she couldn't make any noise but her eyes were open staring at both Takai and his master.

"Here is your next test," the shadowed man said as he placed Takai right in front of the edge of the table, "You are to keep her alive as long as possible as well as remove the face into one solid piece that I can use as a mask." The girl stared at them will horror in her eyes, looking back and forth between the boy and the shadowed figure. Takai looked down at the girl, really looked at her. She was pretty with long blonde hair, fair features and big eyes that seemed to look straight into a person. While the girls eyes appeared to see a person's soul, Takai's actually could. Her soul was pure, clean like every other person that his master had brought here. His eyes traveled away from her face down her slender body to the white shift she wore, blood staining one side of the white clothe. The blood had been there for so long that it had dried and turned black, but Takai couldn't mistake the sight of blood even if it had changed color. "Yes this one is a great beauty isn't she, Boy," his master, stroked the side of the girl's face as he spoke. The girl jerked her head away and the horror that had been there was replaced with anger as she glared at the shadowed man.

"You have spirit girl," Takai's master laughed as he trailed his hand down the girl's neck to her breasts then to her stomach, "but don't worry, I'll take that from you soon enough. Boy get to your lesson." Takai's master gripped the shift as the girls stomach and ripped it off her, leaving her completely naked before the nine year old boy. Takai's eyes lost all sort of emotion from them, all sympathy or any kind of human quality. He looked at her with the look that a wood carver gives a block of wood before setting to work on it. "Scythe Strike." Holding a hand over her body as he spoke the name of his spell, his magic swirled around it and encased his hand in its power. "Oh Boy one more thing." Takai stopped his hand just before he was about to begin his initial cut and looked to his master, waiting to hear the next instructions. A shadowed hand reached out and pulled the gag out of the girl's mouth. "I'll see that you die a thousand deaths, I curse you and the demon's that spawn you. I'll cut off your manhood and force you to eat it. I'll-"

A tendril of magic shot from the man's hand and immediately the girl stopped speaking though her lips kept on moving. "That is quite enough of that," Takai's master said before turning to the boy, "You may continue, I just wanted to hear the girl scream." Without so much as a response from Takai, the boy turned back to the girl and dropped his hand down to the valley between the mounds on her chest. A crimson drop appeared at the point of which he placed his finger. Tracing his finger down to her navel, the drop of crimson turned into a line. The magic placed on the girls seemed to stop her from speaking but what ever spell it was didn't keep her screams from filling the room. The cut had been perfect, just enough to sever through the lays of flesh but not damage any of her vital organs. A second line appeared across her body just beneath her breasts as Takai's hand drew across her a second time. The girls screams continued without pause as the boy began to draw back her flesh and expose her those organs not meant to be seen. Leather straps creaked and groaned as the girl tried to pull free but to know avail, all it did was make the pain she felt even worse.

Hour after hour Takai tortured the girl. Her screams that once filled the room had died to nothing, her body too weak to do anything other than lie there and feel the pain. The nine year old boy never noticed that. In fact, he didn't notice anything as he kept his eyes on his work, focused on his task like someone who had done it a thousand times before and he was just going through the motions. One by one her organs were removed, the least vital first and slowly moving to the more vital ones until at last his cut the arteries and veins that led to the heart and releasing the spark of life that had once filled the body. The still beating heart slowed as Takai pulled it from the girl's chest and set it down on the table next to the other organs. Looking within the Hallow cavity that was her chest, Takai knew there was but one last task he would have to do before this lesson was complete. His eyes went to the girls fair face, unmarked in any way though pale now from the blood loss she had suffered. This last part was a new task that his master had thrown in. Takai had never attempted to remove just someone's face but set to it with a grim determination to follow his master's orders.

Another hour and a half later and Takai turned to his master, blood coating his arms, the front of his clothes and splotches all over his face. Nearly in perfect condition, Takai held out the removed face to the shadowed wizard, blood and gore dripping slowly from the sides of the removed face. "Very good Takai," his master said as he shot out magic that enveloped the fleshy mask. The blood and gore that had one been dripping froze in place. The skin itself no longer felt soft and squishy but had hardened as the magic solidified around it. The darkened hand reached out and took it from the boy. "Do you know who the girl was, boy?" Takai was almost shocked by the question. His master had never asked him before who the person was, nor had he bothered to tell the young wizard. "No Master." "She's Minerva Silvershield." The way that he had said it, it was if just by saying the name Takai should know who that was, which meant it was someone important. Though his lack of explanation was a clue for Takai that his master was expecting him to ask a question. "Who, Master?" "Minerva Silvershield. The heir to the Silvershield estates and fortunes, well she was until I had her entire family killed about a week ago," Takai's master spoke as he looked at the mask in his hands, "I only kept her alive for you because she put up a rather good fight against the Rune Knights that I had paid to kill her family. A special treat for you and one for me."

The shadowed man tossed the human mask to the wooden table and stood from his chair. "You did well today Takai, you may skip your chores today and do as you please," he spoke as he collected a small crystal from the side of the table that glowed green, "her soul belongs to me know and the mask belongs to you. We'll both take something away from today and remember it forever." Takai's looked to the motionless face that stared at him with empty eyes and quickly turned away. "Thank you Master, I will treasure it," Takai replied remembering his courtesies before retrieving the mask and returning to his room. His heavy wooden door closed behind him and Takai threw the mask away from him as if it was a serpent trying to bite him. Four years he had been doing this and after all this time he always felt queasy afterwards. The feel of warm blood between his fingers, the soft flesh as it was sliced open. Takai quickly shook his head to clear those thoughts from his mind. Now wasn't the time for that. He had the day to himself which meant the need to use every moment of it.

Throwing the drop bar to his room down, Takai rushed over to the tub that sat off to one side, stripped down and quickly washed himself of blood and gore that still stuck to him. He was in a hurry so he didn't bother with washing his hair or anything else but cleaned himself off as well as he could and hurried to dry off and get redressed. By the time he got to his secret stash, his hands were trembling from the rush of adrenaline flowing through his body. The book he pulled from the hiding spot was old. Not that it just looked old, it actually looked in very good condition, but the actual contents of the book seemed to be older than the building in which he stood. It was a book of magic. More specifically it was a book on His Magic, which meant he could learn from what was in the book. He had found it within his Master's library and stolen it for himself. As far as he knew, his Master had never noted its loss. The book was full of spells meant to be used by the those with Reaper Magic, and while most were far to advance for this young boy, there was one that he had been practicing every chance he had for the past year. A teleportation spell. It was his way out, his one escape from the horror that his life had become since he was brought to this place six years before.

Placing his hand on the book mark he had left in it, Takai opened the spell book and brushed a hand over its page. "The Reaper's Pathways," Takai read the spell's name allowed as he glanced over the spells instructions for the thousandth time. Today was the day, today he was going to escape this hell hole and find his real family. "Don't kid yourself," the boy muttered to himself, "you know what he's like. If he took you, their dead." For a nine year old boy to face the truth like that was difficult. But Takai had seen far too much to be able to fool himself anymore. He knew the way of the world, how it really was. There was no happy ending like that for him. The best he could hope for was to escape and live something like a normal life away from here. Taking a deep breath, Takai closed his eyes and began focusing, calling the magic from within himself. Blood red lightning sparked from a place on the floor. Then a second bolt shot out followed swiftly by a dozen more as a black seal with a red glow formed on the ground. Small at first slowly opening up to be large enough for three adults to stand shoulder to shoulder in it. Disbelief was plain on the boy's face as he looked at the magic circle laying on the floor. It had worked. IT HAD WORKED. Takai had to contain himself from jumping up in the air and shouting with joy. He could escape now, he could be free. Reaching out with his right hand, he slowly slid it forward to rest above the seal that was on the ground. He could feel the power ready to wisk him away to some far away place where he would be free.

"TAKAI!!!." Takai jumped two feet in the air when he heard his name roared out. It sounded like the roar of some monster. Worse than a monster but more like a Demon itself. It wasn't a demon though, Takai knew it was the enraged roar of his master. Fully casting this spell must have used enough magical energy that he could sense it and now that he knew, there was no turning back. Takai glanced back to the barred door only for a moment and jumped into the magic circle. Magic swirled around him, inside him and bit by bit it started to rip his body apart, turning his child body into wisps of smoke. His eyes looked up to the door again then back to his body and all of a sudden everything went black. It was a strange sensation feeling your body broken into millions of pieces soaring through nothingness. Moving through this blackness, Takai realized something really important, something he should have thought about before he had even cast the spell. He never choose a landing place for the spell. Suddenly Takai started freaking out. Where would the spell take him? Would he end up in an Ocean, on top of Mountain, or worse he could end up right where he had left from. Then there was the thought that he might never land but be stuck in this nothingness place forever. Luckily that wasn't the case.

In the clean golden light of an early morning, the black seal opened up in the sky and the small blue haired boy fell out. Takai felt a little relief to no that he wasn't in the ocean or on the top of a mountain, neither was he anywhere near the mansion. What didn't make him feel better was the far drop down to the tops of trees that littered the earth below him. "WHOOOOOAAAA," his voice cut through the quiet morning air as he plummeted downwards. His arms wave wildly and the trees rose up to eagerly bring him crashing into their limbs. There was nothing for him to do but to do his best to catch himself on one of the outstretched branches. Out reached hands brushed against one but he wasn't able to take a holder. That small brush though sent Takai's body into a back flip. Takai cried out as his back slammed into a branch caused from the sudden flip, thus sending him flipping forward right into another branch. The hard wood struck Takai's head and darkness took him.

"Don't crowd the kid. He had a bad fall, he doesn't need you all smothering him while he's still passed out." "But papa, look at him. He's got a weird tattoo over his eye." "Hush child, you shouldn't stare at people like that." "He's the first new person we've seen for ages, how can we not stare at him." Takai could hear all the voices around him but they all seemed as if they were far off, like they were in a another room not standing right around him. "He maybe new, but with the way you all are hovering of him like that, I'm surprise the boy can breathe." It was sort of funny, listening to this family argue back and forth. Takai's body began to still a little and that sense of being far away from everyone started to fade. Bit by bit, Takai was gaining more and more control, able to move his fingers then his hands. This continued until finally his eyes started to open, flickering for a second to adjust to the light. "Papa, he's waking up."

Takai opened his eyes and immediately started looking around the room. It was small. Not much space for the bed he laid on let alone the bed and the six other people standing around him. The boy shot up from his bed, surprised to see so many faces all of a sudden. Pain shot through his body and Takai knew that it was a mistake. "Relax son," an older gentleman said, standing off to one side, "You're injured, don't go making to many sudden moves." Laying back down, Takai noticed the many bandages wrapped along his body as well as cast encasing his left arm. "What happened," Takai asked, looking at the face of each person standing around him. Older gentleman looked at the young boy with a slight wrinkling smile. He had a very kind face to him and that's wasn't something Takai had ever experienced before, at least not that he could remember. "We were actually hoping that you could tell us young man," the old man said, "we found you laying out in the woods..." "I found you," a young girl standing on Takai's other side interrupted, grinning wildly. She had to be only a year or two younger than Takai was and quite cute. A shy look crossed her face as she noticed that Takai was staring at her.

A cough from the old man and Takai returned his attention to him. "Yes Celia was the one that found you," he continued, "we brought you back here and bandaged you up, tended to your broken arm." The crowd of people nodded in turn and all started speaking at once, telling him all their own parts of the story. A hand was raised and the crowd was silenced by the old man. "To be honest, we weren't sure that you'd wake up, you were beat up pretty bad." Takai looked around at everyone then back to himself and the bandages around his body. "Thank y.." "No need to thank us boy," the old man cut in, "you just get some rest, we'll bring a bit of food into you so that you can eat. Now everyone out." Everyone shuffled from the room except for the cute girl name Celia who stayed next to Takai's bed for a moment longer. "You know I was really scared to see you lying in the forest all injured like that," she said and quickly leaned over and gave the blue haired boy a kiss on his cheek, "get better." She darted out of the room before Takai could even respond. His eyes stared at the door for a long moment.

As they said they would, the family soon brought him in a tray of food. It wasn't much just some soup and the girl Celia fed Takai since at the moment he was down an arm and the other hurt horribly. Takai eat silently, listening to the girl talking nonstop during his entire meal. He didn't mind. It was nice for once to be around people other than his Master and not be cutting into them. He finished his mean and the old kind man ushered the girl out. The room fell silent and Takai was left alone. He didn't feel tired but as he lay there, Takai soon was taken by sleep and drifted off into the deepest parts of his mind to dream and rest. The dreams that came were not dreams at all but nightmares. He relived the endless tortures and murders he committed. Each cut, every organ removed, every soul stolen by his master.

Takai shot up from his bed, pain shooting through every wound but he hardly even noticed. The nightmares were still fresh on his mind and they dulled the pain of his body to nothing more than dull aches. "Hello Boy." Ice crept through Takai's very veins at hearing the voice that he knew all to well. A shadow moved off to the right and Takai's master emerged. "You thought you could run from me? Run from me using one of my own spells? That's right Takai, I wrote that book, how hard do you think it was for me to follow you after you used a spell I made." The shadow moved to the edge of the bed and took a seat. "You know it hurt that you would want to run from me Takai, after me taking you in, teaching you how to use your magic, making you strong," his voice was flat wicked, there wasn't a trace of pain in it, all he was doing was spurting words for his own purpose, "If you want to run that's fine. I'm not going to take you back with me. You can run, run for as long as you'd like. When you get tired though you just have to stop running and come back."

The shadow stood up abruptly making the bed bounce, sending a fresh wave of pain through Takai. "Oh before I go, I meant to give this back to you," the Soul Reaver said as he dropped something in Takai's lap. Without even looking at it, Takai knew what it was. It was the fleshy mask that Takai had made, the girl named Minerva. "I wanted to make sure you had that so you could remember our time together and the fun we had." another object fell onto Takai's lap, but this one confused the boy. He looked up at his master, wondering what it was. "That is a little gift of my own so that you remember who taught you everything and who is going to be watching you closely till you return." Takai picked up the object and flipped it over. The face of the young girl Celia stared at him with hollow eyes and a empty mouth. It was a mask just like the one made from Minerva. "You know she seemed like she loved you even though she only met you and you were going to get married. It was so cute that I waited to kill her last so I could take my time making that mask for you. I hope you enjoy running Boy." Takai stared in horror at the mask in his hands as his Master's wicked laughter filled the room and faded away slowly along with his Master.

They were dead, the entire family that took in the strange boy was dead. Murdered because they helped him. Takai already knew it, he didn't need to see the evidence, but he moved from his bed anyways. It took a long while just to get up and cross the tiny room, his many injuries forcing him to take his time. By the time he made it to the next room he had wished it had taken even longer. Blood was everywhere and the smell was overpowering. His master must have put a spell on his room to keep him smelling it. Every body of the family was scattered across the room. Not that each person was laying in a different place in the room, but their bodies had be torn apart and thrown about that it was down near impossible to place a foot down anywhere without stepping onto someone. The only body still mostly intact was the young girl, faceless but other wise whole. He had removed her face while she was still alive. Takai's knees hit the ground regardless of the blood and gore all around him. It was his fault, this was going to be the price of his freedom. Anyone he met, his master would kill. It had felt to easy the way his Master had let him go and now he knew way. A scream erupted from the small boy filled with pain unlike any he had ever felt before. He had to run, he knew it, but during his flight he'll have to remain alone as well. It was his price his cost and he would pay it till he could find a way to kill his Master.




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