[LoneSyndal]

Author's Note: Some of you may remember this. I kept some chapters the same with slight edits because they portray what I was going for when writing this. I have decided to release my books in a specific order for publishing and hopefully it goes well.

The Current Order for Project Leingod Series: Belkan Days, Belkan Crisis, The Crescent War I, The Crescent War II, The Old Kingdom

With that said, I'll be working at my best for this one, using the thoughts and minds of people in RPGs like "The Games" to portray the psychological situations the characters enter. Now for the re-release of the first chapter of one of the starting series I released here.


IMPORTANT NOTE: These will not be listed as Chapters in the official work but in Acts. When a whole Arc finishes, I will mark it as "End of Act I" and so on.
---------------------------------


Chapter 1




“Useless…”

“Worthless…”

The door opened slowly as the bald-headed teacher entered the classroom. He tossed aside his binder and clasped his hands together, breathing in and out until he mustered the confidence to face his high school class of sophomores.

“You have no place in this world!”

“Good day class, as you may have heard, we will be introducing a new student to our cubicle!” his voice echoing without a hint of nervousness from earlier.

He waved his hand towards the door and the new student walked in. He had a brand new uniform – a white dress shirt with black slacks and a tie, short black messy and curly hair, and a pair of eyes that seem to daze off into the distance as if he stared at only nothing. The class only gazed in awe and delight at the new face that didn’t even bat an eye to the rest of the class.

“You think you can match up with your old man?”

“Due to family circumstances, he will be staying in our private institution for the time being, I hope you all will give him a warm welcome. Let’s give our best to Dylan Faust.”
The class broke into applause, brightly cheering for Dylan as he sat down at his assigned seat. With the beginning of the lecture until the end of the school day, the boy had not once strayed away from his awkward gaze into the distance.

“In the end, you’re just trash like the rest of them!”

Several minutes have passed after the ringing of the bell. The classroom was empty except for Dylan, still sitting in the same position and posture. He began to mutter some words softly, even without people around.

“Everyone is better without me, I’m not needed… isn’t that right?”

Tears slowly dripped from his face as he continued, “I want to die… and yet I cannot bring myself to it, why is it so hard?” and he placed his face in between his arms.

The door opened again revealing the teacher who only returned to retrieve his belongings until he caught sight of the boy sobbing at his desk.

“Dylan? What’s the matter?” he asked, approaching the child slowly.

“Am I really that worthless?”

The teacher was surprised and stunned by his words, but as a teacher, he pushed himself to try and find out what was going on with the new student, “I don’t remember anyone calling you that. What seems to be the problem?”

Dylan stood up from his desk, wiping the last of his tears into the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes pierced into his teacher’s and his body emitted a deadly vibe that even made him take a few steps back.

“I am sorry, I seem to be out of it Professor Valesque, I will take my leave for today,” Dylan said, giving off a faint smile as he took up his bag and walked out of the classroom.

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 25 March 2012 - 08:44 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 2


He placed his hand on the doorknob to his apartment. The mailbox was cluttered with letters and bills, a sign that his uncle wasn’t home at the moment. The boy removed a key from his pocket, inserted the key into the knob, and opened the door.

As usual, the room was in a mess. The newspapers and clips littered the floor, the dining table had an empty plate and mug, and the room was completely draped in the dark. Dylan decided to leave the room as is and lay to rest on the sofa, head facing the ceiling. Drowsiness crept its way into his eyes and slowly everything faded.


“Why the hell do I have to bring you in?”

A lone child stood in front of the door, eyes looking towards the floor. An older salary man threw his briefcase into the wall.

“First he takes everything I wanted, and then he leaves me everything I hate about him!”

The child remained silent. It wasn’t like he meant anything like this to happen. It was just that the world took an unwanted turn for the man who stood in front of him.

The child then looked at himself and noticed bruises appearing on his arms and legs. He turned to the kitchen where the dining table was and saw the same man sitting there with his head in his arms. The upper part of his dress shirt was unbuttoned and the man continued to grunt and moan from thoughts he couldn’t bear to say.


The door to the apartment room opened. The same salary man entered the room and placed his briefcase gently against the wall. Without a word, he continued to the sliding door, opened it, and went to his room. Dylan understood this way of life. He was after all, the unwanted nephew forced upon an uncle who hated his older brother.

Dylan rose from the sofa and went to the restroom. He looked into the mirror and saw his reflected tired expression. He decided to leave the apartment and on his way to the door, he noticed his uncle sitting at the kitchen table again.

“Going somewhere again?” he asked without looking away from his paperwork.

“Just a breather,” the boy replied.

The awkward silence afterward usually meant he could go, so he opened the door and closed it behind him. The outdoors was livelier, especially since it’s the night. As he climbed down the stairs, there say a large black cat. It stared at Dylan for a while before it got up and walked away. The boy decided to follow it onto the sidewalk and continued to the intersection of June and July. It was only times like these that he felt truly alive.

Dylan could feel the cold in the night. During these times, he could truly feel the world before him. And during these nights, he would stroll around the district to get rid of his depressive attitude. He thought to himself, “What’s it like to be free?” Without even thinking about returning, he ended up in front of his apartment once again. The chain and leash placed on him prevented him from ever leaving his predetermined fate.

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 16 November 2011 - 09:13 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 3


It had happened again. Maybe it was a predetermined cycle and fate for wherever he went, people who would try to take advantage of him. However, whenever there was conflict, he would give an unusual smile.

Someone threw a punch at him and hit his stomach to the point where he could feel the acid going up his throat with pain flaring in his chest. However, he never once showed or made noises in pain. Instead, he was smiling.

“Is that it?” he asked mockingly. His question was followed by a high-kick into his ribcages and sent him back into the wall.

He felt a rush of energy. His mind was slowly losing its control to a familiar feeling. Unable to remember when he last felt this way, he stood up and wiped away at his shirt. The person he was facing against was another student in school. For some reason or another, he was being targeted and for what, he didn’t know.

“My turn,” and Dylan made a hooking feint with his right and managed to trick his foe, landing an uppercut with his left on his opponent’s chin. Dylan grabbed the student by the neck and pulled him into his knee, hitting his groin and tossed him aside. With his foe on the floor, he did an elbow drop onto his chest and forced the student to release the air from his lungs, choking on the lack of oxygen.

He wanted to do more. His body continued to tingle in excitement. It was the night, his domain. Everything was his, or so he felt, and where he learned all this and the source of his excitement continued to remain a mystery.



When Dylan came back to his apartment that night, his uncle was already home, sitting on the same table in the kitchen. Without looking up, he asked, “Got beat up again?”

Dylan didn’t say anything in response. His uncle, expecting this, said, “Stupid punk, don’t make me deal with any cops now. You’re waste of time as is.”

During his stay here, Dylan understood some bits of the source of his uncle’s anger towards him and his father. Before his father married, his uncle was with a woman named Tristina Celes, his mother. After some time, due to his uncle’s busy work, she fell for his brother instead during her stay as the Faust residence. When Damien and Tristina eloped, he grew furious and left the Faust residence for good, not wanting to be with the man who stole his one love. When Tristina died in an accident, he wept, but when Damien died, he was furious. He was also left with Dylan as a result of his brother’s death. His brother who exceled at everything, overshadowed all his achievements, and took everything he wanted, died and gave him a burden he didn’t want to shoulder.

Dylan went to the restroom and washed away the dirt and scratches, disinfected his wounds, and stared at himself in the mirror. His brown hair was disheveled as is, his face had a large bruise on his left cheek and swollen on the bone, but he noticed something different. His eyes were turning more golden. His once dark green eyes were slowly changing color to this strange golden hue. He looked away and closed his eyes, and opened again to look at the mirror. They were back to normal in their usual green. Was he seeing things? Maybe it was just some delusion from being hit in the head a few times. Not wanting to dwell on it, he washed his face again, wiped his face with a dry towel, and left to his room to rest.

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 15 December 2011 - 07:59 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 4


It was the first weekend after the start of his school life and he was strolling around the city again in the night. The display screens continued to advertise the latest goods, speakers shouting sales to the people, cars buzzing at every corner, and people trotting around as if it’s nobody’s business. This world was the part that Dylan could never be a part of. When his father died, his whole fortune was passed onto him: the Faust Manor, Rosencrantz – the company his father made, and all assets that belong to the head family. Though he didn’t want to admit it, his family was very prosperous, save for his uncle who chose to flee from it.

He stopped in front of his apartment complex. There was a black cat that sat there glaring at him. Dylan thought it was strange because it was at the front of his doorstep and it wouldn’t move away no matter how hard he tried to scare it off. He decided to forget about it and entered his house, locking the door behind him. As he turned to the living room, his body froze in shock. There were cats everywhere, each one staring at him as if observing him from every angle. His uncle wasn’t home and there was no one nearby that he could escape to. They didn’t move, but their eyes did whenever he shifted around the room. He dashed into his room and locked the door and noticed more of those creatures hiding in the darkness of his room.

What was going on? Why is this happening? Fear and insanity flooded his mind and he crawled into his bed to cover his face with his pillow. He didn’t want them there. He didn’t want to be seen or heard by them. Why? Why are they following him?



A car exploded nearby whilst the earsplitting ringing in their heads continued to echo across the city. The woman wrenched open the sewer lid and pushed the boy into the hole, muttering a phrase as she set the lid back, encasing him in complete darkness. Screams, sirens, and alarms roared overhead and in the next moment, the boy felt a large earthquake that flung his body around. Chipped rocks fell from the ceiling and landed into the pool of liquid nearby.

After he regained his footing and posture, he placed his hands against the wall to keep him standing and going on the right path. After what seemed to be an hour, he can see the white light at the end of the tunnel. As he exited, he found himself inside a junk yard filled to the brim with old electrical appliances, vehicles, and anything else that people threw away.

He looked into the direction he came from and watched as that district of Belka burned to the ground. His ears were muffled with the loud ringing noise once again and as he held his head in place, he can see the windows of every building shatter in an instant. One by one, they would collapse and slowly, his vision faded away once more…



Dylan woke up and remembering what happened earlier, he jumped from his bed and looked around for more of those cats. Alas, they were no longer present. He exited his room and found everything to be free of those cats. He couldn’t comprehend what had taken place. However, he noticed a note lying on top of the desk. When Dylan got closer to observe, he noticed that it was addressed to him. He picked it up and opened to read:


I found you.

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 5




“Okay class, I’ll be writing excerpts onto the board and you will have to read in front of the class. This piece is important to our founding fathers of this kingdom and written by Lucan Belka I.”

Professor Valesque began to write on the chalkboard. The rest of the class paid attention to him, all except Dylan who has been unable to focus on anything. The sound of chalk scratching the board only made the pain worse. Since he woke up, his head felt light, his body ached all over and sweated unusually. His breathing went out of sync frequently, his heart was beating fast, and now he began gasping for air.

The professor looked at his attendance list and then picked a name from it, “Dylan, can you please stand up to read?”

Dylan got up from his chair and tried to look at the board. The words he was able to read so clearly before suddenly blurred from view. His head began to sway, and he fell over to the side. Students panicked and then everything slowly faded away.



There was a wooden chair set in the center of a large white empty space. No one was around and the world contained only him. As if acting on a natural instinct, he walked to the chair and sat on it. Some reason, he was crying. The tears wouldn’t stop, and continued to flow.

“Father… please, look at me…!”

His voice echoed from somewhere within the empty space.

“I didn’t do anything wrong… so please…”

Before him was the silhouette of a shadowy figure sitting in an office chair. The man sitting in the chair never once turned to look at him.

“Why did you bring me here?”

The question seemed to be aimed at himself. More questions followed, but never once did the man turn to look at him. Something blinded the surroundings and enveloped everything within its light.


“Why did you let mom die?”



Dylan opened his eyes to the dry boards of the ceiling. The window had its curtains covered with a bit of sunlight peeking through the thin opening between the layers. He could hear nothing but the stillness of the atmosphere and the ringing of silence. He turned his head to peer around the room to only find out he was alone once more. The aches from earlier were now very minor and after scratching away the drowsiness of his eyes, he could see clearly once again.

The door to the nursery opened. A girl from his class had entered with a filled brown paper bag, “I see you’re awake.” She then set the bag aside. “I’ll inform the nurse,” and she left. Dylan then let rested on the bed and waited until the nurse entered the room, followed by the girl from before.

“Thank you Hyuka, you’ve been a great help today in treating him. Why not take a break?” the nurse suggested. The girl nodded and left the room and the nurse turned to Dylan, “I can’t believe you would show up to school in that condition. Don’t your parents or guardians know how to treat a sick child?” She continued to scribble some notes onto the clipboard.

The words seemed to touch him somewhere, but his body or expression didn’t show it. Dylan turned to the side, “Even if I was home, it wouldn’t be any different.”

Her hands froze in midair, expecting him to say more. When no words came, she continued to write a few more notes, “I'll be giving you a form to give to your guardian. At least it will notify them.” She got up from her chair, left the form on the table, and before exiting the room she stopped, “Even if you’re alone, it doesn’t mean there aren’t those who will try to help.”

After she left, Dylan could feel his chest tighten. He felt insecure once more as he sat there encased by the pain of loneliness.

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 03 December 2011 - 10:25 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 6




Dylan never took that form home to his uncle. It wasn’t like he would care anyway. He would always reply with, “Waste of time as usual.” And not bother looking at it. Also, his uncle wasn’t home and has left a note stating he would be gone for a week on a business trip. It was just him and the apartment. The day was still up, but there was nothing for him to do anywhere.

The outside air was fresh and cool. East Belka District was always considered the most green amongst the five main districts. The main part of the city was closer to the Central Belkan District or Central for short. Everything that happened usually happens in Central.

However, his destination was just down the road from his apartment complex on June. At the intersection of June and July was an old club called The Dawn. To many people, it was just another bar or club to attend to. To Dylan, it was a location he felt most at home. Upon his entry into the wooden hull of the club, the bartender glanced at the door and asked, “The usual?” Dylan nodded.

On the table nearby, a group of men were playing cards. The atmosphere surrounding them seemed intense - their eyes seeking for the others’ weakness, a round of betting that forces a person to speak without stutter, and a final result with each of them silently accepting their loss. The last time they caused a ruckus, the bartender threatened to shoot them out. One particular thing Dylan noticed was that amongst the group of people playing cards was a child around his age, maybe younger. He was staring intently on the cards and then at the people. Whose child he belonged to was a mystery; none of them looked alike or shared any resemblances to one another.

“Kid, here’s your drink,” the bartender pushed a ceramic cup in front of Dylan. He looked at his cup of roast coffee and sipped it. They even added the sugar and cream to his drink to his liking, making it a reason for him to attend to the club frequently. Dylan thanked the bartender and continued to drink as he listened in on the television’s broadcast.

“This is John Makers from BBN reporting live from Central bringing you the latest news. Today marks the start of the Royal Coronation Ceremony and the royal family has appeared out in public for the preparations at the Lucan Palace….”

“Shit!”

Dylan and the bartender turned to the table where people were playing poker. “You cheating scum! There’s no way you can get that kind of hand three times in a row!” the man exclaimed out of frustration. The others motioned their colleague to calm down to no avail just as another customer entered the club, an old man with a bowler hat lowered to just cover his eyes. His head turned to the frustrated man and he placed a hand on his shoulder, “You should really calm down.”

Without a single form of resistance from the frustrated man, he sat down and calmed himself, “Sorry about that.” The old man nodded and continued through the club and sat along the counter just a few seats away from Dylan, “Give me something strong. This gentleman here today needs to relax a bit, so I’ll take something to help with that.”

The bartender tended to the old man just as Dylan finished his cup. Dylan took out a few coins and placed it along the counter before making for the door. Upon exiting, there was that black cat again, staring at him. He looked around; there was nobody else around to see it. Dylan remembered that time at the apartment and shivered at the thought. Is it them?

He darted across the intersection and went straight to his apartment complex, only to find another cat sitting on the stairs. When he looked around, the black cat was gone. This orange one on the stairs belonged to the landlord, but the other one was a mystery. When he didn’t see any other one, he passed by the orange cat and saw a note sticking to the door that he didn’t see last time.



Here Kitty Kitty

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 15 December 2011 - 07:39 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 7


“Dylan?”

Everything snapped back to reality. For a moment, he dazed into a lingering thought in the midst of class. He turned his head to the side to see the girl from the nursery before talking to him.

“Are you daydreaming again?” Hyuka asked.

It was only a while ago that she started to talk to him. Whether it was out of kindness or pity, he didn’t enjoy the company too much. “Something was on my mind, that’s all,” Dylan replied.

“You say that every time, but I can see it clearly that something’s troubling you. Why not tell me?” she sat at the table beside Dylan and had already started on her lunch.

“It’s those cats,” Dylan murmured slowly and softly.

“Cats?” she raised a brow.

“They keep staring. There’s one on the podium,” he pointed to the professor’s podium in front of the classroom. Hyuka didn’t see anything there.

“Are you ill?” she asked as if Dylan was being delusional or just joking.

“No… I see them everywhere though, like if they’re watching my every move,” Dylan got up from his seat and approached the podium, “But when I get close enough, they flee. Why is it just me?”

“Should I call the nurse?”

For some reason, Dylan began feeling irritated, “No, just... leave me alone for now.”

Understanding what his words meant, Hyuka stopped talking and quietly ate her boxed lunch.




The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. As Dylan left, more cats appeared in his view just outside of the academy’s gates. For some reason, he didn’t fear them as he once did before. They didn’t give him any hostile intent and remained docile. Even though he knew it was strange, he thought maybe there was something behind it. The only thing he couldn’t get out of his head were the notes left behind by the unknown sender. Each of them were written with him in mind. The person was stalking him and even knew of his location. Then he thought maybe, just maybe, the cats were there to keep him safe. Why he felt that way, he wasn’t sure of it himself. Maybe it’s the similarity to his lifestyle, being free in the night.

Dylan stopped in front of the bus transit station and waited for the right one to come by for pickup. While waiting, his phone started to vibrate and he pulled it out of his pocket. The number was blocked. He picked it up anyway and answered, “Hello?”

The sound crackled for a moment and then the phone cut off. When Dylan peeked at his phone, it said the call failed.

“Are you getting any good reception here?”

Dylan turned and saw an old man. The bowler hat made him immediately recognize that it was the same one from the club the other time. He looked at his own phone and noticed he had no service in the area. “Reception seems pretty bad at the moment, not getting any service.”

“I see… wasn’t just me then. Was about to use a payphone to contact my service provider, but I guess it’s alright now.” The bus arrived at the stop. The two entered at the same time when the doors swung open and somehow, they were sitting next to each other due to how crowded it was. However, the only strange thing that happened on that bus ride was the cat that crawled up to Dylan’s lap. It just sat there and stared at him. The other people on the bus didn’t notice it at all.

“Where did he come from?” the old man asked as he looked at the cat. Strange, he was the only one to notice. Maybe…?

“Not sure, I’ve been seeing quite a lot of them recently,” Dylan’s curiosity grew with anticipation. He wanted to know if this old man was the perpetrator.

However, as soon as the cat meowed, everyone turned and saw it. People began talking about the cat on his lap and Dylan became disappointed.

“It had to be a real one…”

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 07 December 2011 - 08:37 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 8



“So they sent you to me? He must’ve been pretty damn desperate.”

Dylan was standing at the door of the apartment room. His uncle stood by the hallway to the bedrooms, hitting against the wall and still unable to vent his anger.

“They should’ve just shipped you to the damn orphanage!”

He hit the wall again. There was an imprint of his fist in the spot he hit the wall with traces of blood.

“Just get outside…”



The only reason why he remembered that first meeting was because today was the day his uncle would return to the apartment. His business trip outside of the kingdom lasted for a week. For some reason, he felt that he should wait for him there. The clock above the television wall ticked at eight-forty-two. After his uncle left, the room was less of a mess. Dylan had cleaned it up slowly day-by-day until it became nearly spotless. The kitchen was mopped properly, dishes clean and sink empty, the tables were cleaned with magazines and books ordered on top, and the sofa was left as is. He didn’t bother touching his uncle’s bedroom in fear of touching something important or seeing something he shouldn’t have.

Another fifteen minutes have passed by before someone came knocking on the door. For some reason, he felt excited to open it so he rushed to the door and peered through the peephole. There was an officer standing by the door with his professor from school. When he opened the door, the officer pushed his way in with his gun held up scanning the room.

“No need to go that far,” the professor assured the officer who then withdrew his handgun, “Greetings Dylan. Sorry to intrude like that.”

Dylan stood there puzzled. He wasn’t sure of what was going on at all.

“No need to be alarmed. We’re searching for a fugitive and your uncle is apparently tied to an incident. I came by because I was the only one with information on the Faust residence,” Professor Valesque explained, “And so we-“

He was interrupted when a familiar figure shoved him from behind, “The hell you doing at my house? Isn’t this trespassing without a warrant?”

The officer raised his gun at the uncle, “You’re under arrest for assisting a fugitive’s escape from the Kingdom’s grasp.”

“And what proof do you have to offer? I was at a company meeting at one of our alliance kingdoms, Cephran. If you want, I can even give you the number to call directly to Crown Industries Human Resources Department Manager, Rudolph Reyes,” David replied without hesitation, even with the gun pointed at him.

Crown Industries was a major company that financially supported most of the kingdom and its alliances. It was a corporation that developed new technologies and advancements. Everything in Central was powered by Crown. When the professor and the officer heard of David’s alibi, the officer withdrew his gun.

“That’s much better. Now, what do I owe you from this intrusion? There must be a reason why you suspected me and came directly here,” David began interrogating the two.

Dylan could see the officer’s legs shaking. Judging by the way he held his gun and his brash actions, he must’ve been new or recently trained. However, his professor didn’t seemed troubled one bit, keeping off his simple and plain expression as if everything happening was normal.

“We have footage of someone who has the same description and features as you appearing at the scene of the crime. There aren’t many individuals who have the right to enter the high-security prison, Purgatory,” Valesque explained, “Your name was on the list of individuals who was allowed into-“

“Do you have any records of me being there? Even if my name is on the list, it doesn’t mean that I was there. They keep checks on who goes in and out. So tell me, what reason you have to be here.”

“I… never mind, we will take our leave... right officer?” Valesque seemed disappointed.

“Right…,” the officer was unable to shake his gaze from David’s. Just by looking, he could feel the intensity and power from just his glare and the anger from intruding his home. The two left the door and down the steps and disappeared from the corner.

David turned to his nephew who was unable to understand what was going on and said, “You should go to your room. I think you’ve had enough for now.”

The tone he gave was different from before. Was he being considerate? It was much different from the past where he would just tell him off by trying to push him away with threats. Without any word of reprisal, Dylan walked to his bedroom and closed the door.

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 14 December 2011 - 04:07 AM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 9


The first sign of snow brought about the winter season. Dylan watched through the window as he ate his cereal before heading off to school, finding the snow not-so fascinating as many would see it. His uncle came into the kitchen and grabbed a mug from the cupboard without a word to his nephew. He lifted the coffee pot from the maker and poured a warm cup of the black liquid into the mug. After gulping down a large portion of his drink, he looked at his watch.

“Something’s come up so I won’t be home for another few days. Better not trash the place,” he said in an unusually comforting tone.

Dylan thought it was strange. He still wasn’t used to his uncle talking to him in this manner. His uncle left the apartment shortly after finishing his coffee and left Dylan behind once more.

When he finished his breakfast, Dylan left the building as well. He trotted down the steps and happened to see Joe, the landlord, tightening the leash on his hound for a walk. The landlord gave Dylan a wave of hello in which he returned. Down the snowed pavement was the bus stop. Several people were already lined up for the seventy-three; the same bus that took Dylan to the academy every day. Dylan tightened his scarf and his uniform’s winter jacket and waited along with the others until the bus finally arrived to take them.

The bus was crowded today, mostly due to people not wanting to walk or drive in the snow. There were laws that prevented people from driving in certain conditions, so people may be trying to get used to commuting using public transportation as to not clutter the streets. However, Dylan’s uncle didn’t have a car. The one time he did see his uncle enter the car was when he went to work in a corporate vehicle bearing the emblem of Crown Industries.

The bus made its stop at Wayward and Dylan exited the vehicle. Down the lane covered in a light thicket of snow was the academy. The gates were still open. He checked his phone and saw the display for eight-o-four. He dashed to the academy where he just caught the guard reading his daily newspaper in his post and continued until he entered the main classroom building. The building was oddly silent and Dylan believed he was late until he tried to open the door to his classroom. It was locked and the door window had no light coming from in the room. Another professor exiting a classroom from down the hallway glanced at Dylan and scratched her head.

“Do you have any business here today?” she asked, enunciating her voice from down the hall.

Dylan approached, slightly out of breath after his rush, replied, “No one’s in school today?”

The professor giggled, “Didn’t you get the memo? There will be no classes for another two days due to the coronation event.”

“Oh…,” Dylan felt stupid. He rested his back against the wall, “I don’t remember that at all.”

“If you want, you can go to Central and see for yourself. There won’t be another one for a long time.”

Dylan pondered at the thought. Seeing as he had nothing to do but not want to be in a crowd, he decided, “I think I’ll pass.”


He had left the school and out through the opened gates of the academy. The sky was its dull gray and the snow somehow glistened underneath its impurity. Dylan opened his hand in front of him and saw a speckle of the white dust land in his palm. Before he could close his hand over it, the piece of snow melted and left his hand open to the cold air.

“You’re an interesting one, aren’t you?”

Dylan turned to the side and his eyes met with a monstrous sight - a towering man with a body build that seemed fit and yet unreal under the guise of a large suit. His hair seemed to be dyed to its unique purple and black shades. Like his uncle, his eyes carried an intense gaze and atmosphere and for the moment, they were observing him.

He didn’t reply, but the man continued, “You made a wise choice not go to the coronation ceremony.”

Dylan didn’t understand what he meant by that until the loudspeakers all around the district roared at several times its volume.


“This is an emergency! The Royal Coronation Ceremony has been cancelled and we’re now entering danger level five. I repeat, this is not a drill. The heir to King Salim II has been assassinated…”


He turned to the side and noticed the man had already gone.

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 15 December 2011 - 07:56 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 10


“Please live on, for the both of us.”

The woman shoved his body down the manhole and the lid closed up from above. Chaos echoed off the walls of the sewer with panic, screams, and gunfire. In this dark place was only him, and yet he could see clearly in this abyss. The path he saw continued to lead him further away from the chaos until he saw light at the end of the tunnel. The sewage that ran through the soles of his shoes rushed out before him into a creek of dirt and stench that flared his nostrils until his eyes drew tears. Past the creek was a junk yard which was located just outside the outer walls. Knowing the location, he turned around to face the Northern District.

Strangely shaped jets littered the sky above the Northern Belkan District. He squinted and saw something open up from underneath one of the jets, dropping several large objects onto the district below. He covered his ears as the sound and sight of explosions deafened and blinded him. He continued to cry for that woman…



Dylan woke up in his living room and quickly glanced around for anything suspicious. He couldn’t remember the other day all too well besides the district lockdown. The King’s Army declared the lockdown and the streets were littered with soldiers patrolling at every corner. The death of Prince Salim III shook the kingdom to the point that all companies and people must remain stationary until the matter is dealt with.

He got off of the sofa and entered the kitchen for a glass of water. Dylan opened the cupboard and retrieved a small glass cup and froze when he heard a cat meowing from nearby. He looked back and saw a black cat sitting on the kitchen floor. “When did he come in?” he thought.

Someone knocked on the door. Dylan placed the glass on the marble counter and approached the door. Through the peephole, he saw his professor standing there. It was strange to get a home visit, especially in a time of crisis. However, he opened the door to greet his guest.

“Good afternoon,” Valesque said as he entered. Dylan noticed his eyes quickly scanning the room before grinning back at him.

“Is there any reason for your visit today professor?” Dylan asked.

“I was supposed to meet your guardian today, but I guess I’ll wait for him here.”

“Why? Was it regarding your last visit?” he just took notice that the professor was alone today.

“Yes… you see…,” Valesque removed a handgun from his pocket and pointed it at Dylan, “This is the only way I can force him to take action.”

Dylan froze in panic and fear. The handgun was pointing at his chest and Valesque took his cellphone out with the other hand and began pushing numbers. When he finished, he placed the phone at one ear and continued to eye Dylan.

“This is the fisherman, I just picked up the bait,” he hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket, “Sorry for doing this, but I knew it had to happen sooner or later.”

He didn’t want to say anything. Even if he did, the fear that took hold of him wouldn’t allow it.


“My, my, so you’re it?” Dylan turned to the familiar voice of the old man in the bowler hat sitting on the chair in his kitchen.

Valesque’s expression changed. Dylan could see the cat sitting before the two, but for some strange reason the professor was scared of it.

“W-what is this? G-get away from me! He was pushing savagely at the air, as if plucking something from his coat and he dropped his gun. Valesque’s back hit the wall and he slumped against it. He cursed and swore, but from Dylan’s view, the man was playing with the air. Before Dylan could say a word, the old man said, “I don’t think you would like to see what he’s seeing.”

The old man waved his hand and the black cat from before leapt onto his lap, “Sorry to scare you before. It’s just the way your uncle told me to keep watch over you while he’s away. He should be almost done with his job now.”

Dylan looked back at his professor who was now oddly quiet. His professor had passed out with foam at his mouth. He turned back at the old man and asked, “What job…?”

“He’s going to turn himself in for what your professor did just quite recently,” he snapped his finger and the television screen flicked on.


“After a desperate struggle, David Celes has been apprehended after taking down fourteen soldiers before being captured by the Army. He has admitted to the assassination of Prince Salim III and will be set on death row-“


“You see now?” the old man asked.

Dylan grew angry after hearing the broadcast. He had no idea what was going on. His house, his school, his professor, this old man, his uncle, and the stranger from the other day – he could not figure out a single thing out of all of it.

“I’ll be cleaning up here,” the old man got up from the chair and tipped his bowler hat up to reveal his glowing green eyes. He approached the professor and managed to lift him over his shoulder, “Your uncle is a great man and we all respected him for what he has done. I hope you’ll do the same when it’s your turn.”

The door swung open and the two exited, leaving Dylan alone in his room, unable to say a word at what just took place.



-END OF ACT I-

This post has been edited by LoneSyndal: 29 December 2011 - 10:35 PM

[LoneSyndal]

Author's Note: The start of Act II.



-------------------





Chapter 11


It was as if everything was tied to the winter. Every winter, something happened in the Kingdom of Belka. On the second month of winter of 023 N.C. (New Century), the Northern Belkan District was destroyed. The following year in 024, Farland breached the Treaty of Valheim, a peace treaty made for all neighboring kingdoms, and declared war on Belka. In 025, all kingdoms that still support Valheim proposed sanctions that forced Farland to return to the table at the cost of its military power. 026, Damien Faust, the head of Rosencrantz Industries, died to illness and left the fortune to his son while keeping his company run by his executives. Present time, 028, David Celes assassinated the Crowned Prince of Belka and was executed without trial. Ever since then, the Kingdom of Belka claimed the winter season as “The Season of Fate”.


History class continued on. The new professor that replaced Valesque continued the usual boring lecture. Since that day seven months ago, Dylan had been living a secluded life at the usual apartment using funds from his father’s fortune. Nobody knew of his situation, not like they cared or bothered. Well, maybe except for one. The annoying Hyuka was always there asking him questions he didn’t want to answer. When the class bell rang for lunch, the room emptied quickly. Only a few students remained and this normally included Dylan, Hyuka, Julius, Deva, Urek, and Violet.

Julius had a large build with naturally dark-skin. He was the seed for many of our sports teams varying from baseball and all the way to the combat sports. Deva was the abnormally quiet one. Many think she’s shy but she isn’t and usually only speaks when spoken to, but because no one approaches her, she didn’t have to say a word. Dylan only knew this because he had to ask her for some papers when he went around asking for notes when he forgot his own. Urek was the rowdy one of the bunch. He appeared flamboyant with his unnatural red hair, loose collared and buttoned shirt, an egotistic personality, and very prideful of himself. It turns out he only stayed behind because of Violet, as she seems to have a grip over his behavior. Whenever he did something out of place, Violet would be there to snap him back into normality. Last is Hyuka, the one that Dylan believes is just there to annoy him by being too caring for her own good. He didn’t need her help, but she offers all the time. It got bothersome at times and when she knew of it, she would stop and quietly exclude herself. Dylan couldn’t tell if she did it out of obligation or if that was just how she was. These were the usual kids that hung around after class in class four, year two.

Dylan had already opened his boxed lunch that he made for himself. It had the usual two egg-salad sandwiches and a bottle of milk. For some time, he had an insatiable thirst for milk. When he sees milk, his mouth suddenly runs dry and his eyes sharpened to his thirst. When he finishes a bottle, his body felt enlightened from just drinking and he became satisfied and relaxed... until he saw another milk cartridge. Hyuka has taken notice of his strange behavior and has once asked him when he took such an extreme liking to milk. He couldn’t answer of course, Dylan never understood it.

“No! I lost again!” Urek shouted with his gaming device in hand, “I was so close too…” He sighed and slumped his back against the chair. Violet was holding the same gaming device and was still concentrated on the screen. Dylan assumed they were playing against each other in their usual game, The Tower. It seemed really popular recently amongst the teens that carried around their RTG’s, Real-Time Gamepads. Julius was sleeping in the corner of the classroom, his head slumped on top of his arms, and made and almost inaudible snore. Deva was filling out the paperwork as the professor’s assistant, and Hyuka was talking to some other girls by the door to the classroom.

Hyuka made her way over to Dylan, “It seems one of them wants to ask you something, Dylan.” She looked quite nervous and her eyes shifted away from him. He nodded and got up from his seat and went towards the door to meet them.

“Is there something you wanted?” Dylan asked.

One of the girls looked towards the floor. He could easily guess the next few words that would come, but he decided to wait for it to happen anyway without breaking their confidence.

“Well, um… you see…” the shorter girl spoke nervously, still unable to face him. Her taller friend edged her on. “I was wondering if… you’re seeing anyone.”
Dylan scratched the back of his head for a moment, “Well, I’m not seeing anyone… had been single for as long as I can remember.” And for a moment, he felt a tingling sensation run down his spine, but he brushed it off anyway. He knew already.

“T-that’s good… then would you mind walking home with me afterschool today?” she asked.

“Sure, what’s your name? I don’t normally like going out with people I don’t know by name.”

“Susan…”

“Then I’ll walk home with you afterschool today, Susan. Meet by the gate.” When Susan heard him, her face turned red and she left with a nod and her friend followed.

It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. There was no one waiting for him at home. Even that old fart hadn’t come by for a while. When the two girls left, he turned to see Hyuka giving off a not-so-caring expression.

“Seems you’re quiet popular, Dylan,” she spoke with a hint of jealousy in her tone as Dylan sat down at his desk.

“And here I thought you were going to remain a bystander.”

“It hurts you know… and more so that you’re not showing any interest in them and yet still do something like this.”

And this is why Dylan didn’t like talking to her. She always butted into his business. “Just leave me be,” he said. As he looked towards the window again, he saw the black cat sitting on the windowsill, staring at him and he knew that the time had come.

[LoneSyndal]

Chapter 12



The night was always filled with freedom. Its children basked under the moonlit glow and pranced around without a care. The night hid away their differences and made them one with nature. It was only during this time that he truly felt alive. In the dead of the night, Dylan was humming happily to himself as he strolled around the quiet road of Verona until he made a sudden stop.

There was a playground nearby in the center of the park. A child sat on top of the slide and stared at the moon, but that wasn’t what made Dylan stop. He noticed something peculiar about the child. Under the moon’s radiant glow, he could see the glistening red eyes. He was mesmerized at the sight, because he thought he was the only one with such a strange gift. However, this child before him proved otherwise.

Dylan made the first move and approached the child who only stared at the stars. As if by instinct, the child noticed his presence and turned to him. The deep red glow became more pronounced in the dark.

“Are you… one of them too?” the strange child asked.

Dylan nodded, as if he understood what the child asked, because under the glow of the moon the child could see his golden eyes.

“Are you here to kill me too?”

He froze at the question, “Why would anyone be here to kill you?”

The child looked back at the stars with an emotionless expression, “Because… I’m a demon.”

Dylan pondered for a moment and then said, “That would make me a demon too.” But the child continued to gaze away into the distance, unfazed by the reply.
His cellphone vibrated. Dylan pulled the phone from his pocket and noticed how late it was. He looked back onto the playground and the child was nowhere in sight.


When he got home, he noticed the black cat sitting on the couch. It was that time again and he felt the burning sensation in his body. His stomach churned and his head became weary as he took a few steps forward and fell to the couch. It was much worse than a fever. His whole body felt as if it were in an oven. The cold sweat drenched his shirt. His breathing became faster and heavier. Just before his eyes faded, he saw a familiar hand reaching for him.



Her mouth was muttering something, but he couldn’t hear any words coming from it. They were holding hands, walking down a familiar street. The cars passed by as they waited for the light to turn green. A normal day was what he thought.

“I…”

When he heard it, he turned quickly towards the woman he held hands with. Her expression became solemn as she stared into the sky. It was always the sky that they stared at, but he saw what everyone looked at. A cloud hovered over the city and quickly sunk into the ground. His mouth was then covered and he was being rushed out somewhere.

“I am…”

A car exploded and he knew that the woman covered for him. The scent of blood was strong and fresh.


“I am sorry…”


The man sitting in the chair never turned away from the window that oversaw the city. The dark office room was faintly illuminated by the city lights. A child stood before the desk, shivering as he stood.

“Please… look at me.”

But the man in the chair never turned around. He remained silent as he sat there, but the child knew what he felt. He could feel the sadness that filled his heart. Even the room couldn’t light the sorrow that engulfed it.

“Why… did she have to die?”


The answer never came. He knew the man was the cause, but he never answered or looked at him even once. Was it guilt that made him unable to speak? Was he shaken by the sadness so much that not a word could be uttered to his own son? All that remained unanswered.


“Dad… I am sorry…”