The moon hung high in the sky, gazing down at the inhabitants of Earth. Families laughing, children begging on the streets, cults and guilds planning and plotting. The night was filled with much excitement and atrocities. For Malrik, the chaos wasn't out there – it dwelt behind his closed eyes.
― Flashback ―
Malrik followed Dr Helmbrecht inside another white room. Looking around, the little boy wondered why every room was white. In the middle of the room sat a chained man. He was wearing hospital robes and had blood dripping from head to toe. The man looked up and spat in the doctor's face. Malrik looked on in disgust as he watched the doctor lick it.
"Seems you are still a lively fellow. Never knew ants could still move after being smashed in so much." The doctor was smiling darkly, sending chills through both Malrik and the beaten-up man. There was not even a single emotion other than excitement written on the man's face.
"What the hell do you want?" the man breathed out, glaring daggers at the doctor in front of him.
"Oh, you're asking me?" The doctor walked out of the room and then returned with a chair in hand, his smile never leaving his face. "That's simple, I came for a show." He then looked at Malrik, who stared back in confusion. "The question you should be asking is, what is he doing here?"
The man shifted his gaze towards the scrawny little boy. He looked him up and down, wondering what a child was doing in a place like this.
"I don't know this kid. If you're looking to get some information from him about me, you're going to be sorely disappointed."
The doctor laughed, waving him off. "Oh, I know, I know. After all, it's not every day trash meets talent."
The man scowled at the doctor.
"I don't need any more information from you, so you don't need to worry about being tortured anymore. It was fun while it lasted, though."
The man shivered at the expression the doctor was wearing. It felt as if the doctor already missed their torture sessions. However, he didn't dwell on that.
"So does that mean you're here to let me go?"
"Bingo." The doctor gave him a thumbs-up, bringing a smile to the exhausted man's face. "My little star here is here to accomplish that for us. Malrik, draw your sword."
Both Malrik and the man looked at the doctor in shock.
"Uh, wha–what do you mean?"
The doctor smiled at Malrik, unsheathing his sword and handing it over to him.
"I mean, you've got to end this ant's life. How about this?"
Dr Helmbrecht brought out a key. Walking towards the chained man, he unlocked them. Freed, the man tried to punch the doctor; however, it was easily sidestepped.
"Attack me again, and I can end you myself. However, kill that man, and you can walk out of here with your body still intact. Your choice."
The doctor walked over to his chair and brought out a packet of crisps. "Knock yourselves out."
The man looked over at the shaking little boy, tears in his eyes. "Sorry, kid, but I've got my own daughter waiting at home for me."
Like an animal, the man charged at him.
― Flashback End ―
Malrik screamed, terror in his eyes as he shook violently in his bed, trying to escape. He grabbed a pillow, pointing it in a random direction like a sword.
"Get away! Get away! Please!" He repeated those words over and over. He started kicking his legs, as if he felt the shadows out to get him.
Sarah, who woke up to get a midnight snack, watched this from outside the room. Seeing Malrik, screaming with panic, scared her. She hesitated before calling out to him.
Hearing the voice behind her, the boy grew more afraid.
"No! No! I don't want to kill you! Don't make me do it!"
He crawled back onto the bed and away from the door. Sarah quickly turned on the lights, bringing light into the pitch-black room before rushing over to him. The light blinded Malrik and only served to make him more afraid. She quickly embraced Malrik, enveloping him in a soothing hug as he struggled to get free.
Malrik looked at his hands and saw blood. An image of a dead man's face flashed in his eyes.
Malrik clutched Sarah's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The girl placed her hand on his head, rubbing it like a mother.
From the door, Elara appeared, and Sarah looked at her worriedly.
"Did you have a bad dream, dear?"
Malrik nodded as Sarah grimaced.
Elara walked up to both of them and gave them both a hug, halting Malrik's cries.
"Come on, let's get you some hot cocoa. That always helps someone sleep peacefully."
The woman walked out of the room, her face serious at the new mission she had tasked herself.
Sarah just sighed in slight embarrassment.
"She is a little weird, but trust me, her hot cocoa is the best. Let's go."
She pulled Malrik out, not waiting for a response. Malrik let himself be taken away. He shivered as a voice rang in his head.
'"Mark this day, child. The day you chose survival; the moment your fear became action — that's the birth of greatness."'
― A Week Later ―
Dain, Sarah and Malrik were out on a small family trip. They crossed the border of Lulia and were on the pathway to the next town. Both Malrik and Sarah sat in the middle row while Dain sat in the front with his hands on the black panel, glowing with a golden colour. Sarah and Dain were talking about whatever Sarah could think of, while Malrik just stared out the window, taking in the fresh air and staring at the green environment full of trees and bushes.
"Remind me again, Malrik and I are leaving the comfort of our own house again?" asked Sarah as she looked over at the boy next to her.
Dain sighed, getting tired of his daughter's constant bickering. Children could be such a pain sometimes.
"You already know about your mother and my business. We've got to transport these weapons and equipment to the guild," Dain explained as Malrik looked over in confusion.
"I know that already, but why must Malrik and I tag along?"
"Three reasons. One: This is punishment for us set by your mother, because someone decided to follow me on a mission they shouldn't have been on." Dain glared at the girl, who just looked away and mumbled an 'oh yeah'. "Second: your mother thinks it will be good for Malrik to get some fresh air, and third: the guild needs to run tests on Malrik for his amnesia, and we need to see if we can get any of his memories back."
"Wait, so there's a chance that he might get his memories back?"
Malrik noticed the girl looked almost sad. He grabbed her hand.
"Don't worry, sis. Even if I get my memories back, I'm not going anywhere."
They both looked at each other for a second before Sarah started blushing in embarrassment.
"Sh-shut up! Who told you to call me 'sis', dummy!"
She quickly pushed Malrik away to the other side of the car. Landing on his butt, the boy started laughing. Sarah growled before hearing her father chuckle.
"It's not funny."
She crossed her arms childishly, digging into her chair and looking away in protest.
Dain was about to talk, but he stopped himself. Something felt wrong. He looked around, eyes darting from tree to tree. Sarah noticed this and asked her father what was wrong, but there was no answer.
Malrik subconsciously looked around, too.
"Don't you feel it?" he said timidly.
"Feel what?"
"That… magic. It feels sinister."
Suddenly, something could be heard flying through the air, and BOOM! A large bomb exploded under the car, setting the whole area on fire.
Three men appeared from the right, smiling in victory.
"We did it, boys! We murdered the great Blinking Star!"
The three cheered, each wearing menacing smiles. They were all wearing dark robes and had different coloured hair. The man in the middle, had red, crimson hair, while the other two had blond.
"Is that so? I didn't realise I was dead."
A voice rang out, halting the three's cheers. They looked to the left and widened their eyes, staring at the unscathed car they had supposedly destroyed. Dain was out of the car, leaning on it with a sword in hand. Sarah and Malrik were still in the car with Sarah in front of him, ready to protect him.
"What! How did you escape my explosion?!" the red-haired one asked.
Dain just chuckled. "If I had a dollar for every fool who thought they could kill me, I'd be rich."
In an instant, the red-haired man stretched his hands out. Dain could feel magic rise from beneath and acted quickly. Grabbing the car, he blinked away, appearing up in the air. Leaving the car in the air, he used it to propel himself at them.
His eyes glowed with a golden colour. He looked at the middle man and, hovering over his head, read the yellow words: The Exploding Fool.
'So, he is an Awakened.'
He was about to read the others when the red-haired man suddenly threw some cubes at him. The aim was weak and passed him; however, as they were, they exploded, covering the air with thick smoke.
Quickly, the blond-haired men grabbed the black-haired man and threw him into some kind of portal.
Soon after, Dain appeared in front of the red-haired one. The man was about to explode on the ground below, before Dain embedded a fist in his stomach, knocking him out.
He didn't stop, though – he moved towards the blond one, who took a gun and shot. Dain was too fast, though, disappearing out of sight and reappearing behind the man.
The blond looked everywhere in panic, before he felt a tap on his back. He turned around only to meet a fist to his face, knocking him out.
Dain sighed before he suddenly remembered something. 'Wait, there were three!'
He quickly looked around, scanning the area before hearing a scream. Looking back in the air at the car, he saw a large dog ready to pounce on Sarah.
The dog had saliva dripping in large amounts, dropping on the terrified girl. The dog raised its claw, ready to kill, before a punch suddenly sent it flying.
Malrik leapt after the dog, holding a black sword. He drew it as an image of a bleeding man cut from the stomach flashed in his mind. Shaking his head, he hardened his resolve with unbridled fury.
He raised his sword into the air before swinging downwards, drawing blood from the dog's torso. As they fell, the dog transformed back into the black-haired man, dropping to the ground with Malrik after him.
Malrik looked at the man. His eyes were looking for death. He raised his sword into the air.
"You tried to hurt my sister. For that, you should die."
The boy drove his sword down as Dain and Sarah screamed for him to stop. The sword impaled the man through, spraying blood onto the boy.
The car dropped to the ground as the light left the man's eyes. Dain and Sarah stared in shock as Malrik breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled at the dead man.
"That's what you get for trying to harm us."
He turned around, the smile never leaving his face – until he looked at both father and daughter.
The boy stared at the two. He saw shock on his father's face and fear in his sister's. Sarah covered her mouth, her eyes shifting from the dead body to Malrik over and over again.
Dain looked almost… disappointed.
"Wha–what's wrong? I stopped him. Aren't you guys happy?"
Sarah looked away from him, refusing to even look at him. Dain looked at the two children before sighing.
"Look, Malrik, I'm glad you stopped him and protected your sister, but…" Dain's eyes fell to the lifeless body. In his mind, he could still see Malrik's smirking face from just moments earlier. Calmly, he walked over to the boy, who instinctively took a step back. Dain knelt to face him, placing a steady hand on his shoulder.
"Still, killing someone isn't always the answer. You cut the man clean through his torso—he was already down and couldn't fight back."
Malrik's eyes narrowed, his tone defensive. "Yeah, but if I'd left him alone, he might've tried to hurt Sarah again. He was a bad man. I just stopped him from doing more evil."
Dain simply shook his head. "But if you kill like that—when it's not necessary—you become no better than him. Killing changes you, Malrik. It hardens the heart. Even if you forget the act, something inside you always remembers. Look at him."
Together, they looked down at the corpse. The man's eyes were still open, frozen in fear. Malrik's own eyes widened.
"You should never smile after taking a life. Not even when it's necessary. Not even if they were bad. Because when you smile, you start to believe killing is natural. And it isn't. It never should be."
Malrik said nothing. He only gave a small, broken "sorry," his eyes still locked on the body as shame washed over his face.
Dain sighed and gently ruffled the boy's hair. "You did the right thing protecting your sister."
Hearing that, Malrik allowed himself a faint smile before running over to Sarah. She stood a short distance away, shaken.
He stopped in front of her and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry."
Sarah gave him a little push, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's alright." Then she climbed back into the car without another word.
Watching her, Dain exhaled heavily.
"Hey," he called to them, "How about we cancel the trip? We've all been through enough for one day. Let's go home."
Later that afternoon, Sarah sat on the garden balcony, quietly observing Fluffy, who was chasing butterflies in the sunlight.
The garden was huge—white-tiled paths twisted through flowerbeds and led to a large garage at the rear, almost half the size of the house. A small lake shimmered nearby, ducks gliding across its surface while birds nested lazily in the trees above. It was the kind of garden fit for a Champion's family.
Malrik stepped out and stood beside her. "You guys really do have a cool place," he said. "Sometimes I still can't believe I forgot living here."
Sarah clenched her fists. Her lips twitched, caught between truth and silence. She wanted to tell him. To scream that a monster like him never lived here—that he wasn't her brother.
But something stopped her.
"Well," she said stiffly, "That's what happens when you've got amnesia... idiot."
Malrik chuckled awkwardly. "Of course, silly me." He looked at her, more serious now. "Hey… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill him."
"Don't lie," Sarah snapped, rising to her feet. "You did mean to. It was all over your face."
Malrik quickly grabbed her arm. "Wait!" He fished something out of his pocket—a white leather bracelet, glinting with small diamonds. The letter S sparkled in pink at the centre.
"I asked Mum to help me get this for you. It's not much, just… something to say sorry for earlier." He held it out with a hopeful look.
But Sarah wasn't looking at the bracelet. Her brows were raised in disbelief.
"You bought me a gift after killing someone?"
Malrik's eyes widened. Realising how it sounded, he started stumbling over his words. "W-well… I didn't think about it like that…"
Then—laughter.
Sarah was laughing. Holding her stomach, shaking her head.
Malrik blinked, utterly lost.
She gave him a light punch in the arm. "You're hopeless," she muttered, then held out her hand expectantly.
Malrik stared in confusion for a beat too long—until he realised she meant the bracelet. Gently, he fastened it around her wrist, making sure the S faced up.
Sarah looked at it with a soft smile. Then she raised her pinkie to him.
"I'll accept the murder gift," she said, "but you've got to promise me something. If you ever kill again… never smile like that. Ever. You hear me? Keep that and you can call me sister."
Malrik nodded quickly, linking his pinkie with hers.
"Deal!"