Panas, Estate of Rysen.
More than a week later.
The weather was gloomy; dark clouds had gathered in the sky above, and the wind was exploding with energy as it was blowing anything in its way.
The trees bent under the force of the wind while animals such as rabbits and mice rushed back into the earth to find shelter, saving themselves from the wrath of nature.
Swoosh!
Similarly, the roads had been left empty, and some people rushed back to their houses to sit in the warm confines of their home and share a meal with their family.
In one such family, a particular family sat in the dining hall in silence.
The hall was warm and fancy―a fireplace was built in one of the walls, and the fire burned gently as the wood slowly turned into ashes and flew up, escaping from the chimney.
A long table stood in the middle of the hall, wooden chairs on both sides―a white cloth draped over the long table with different kinds of food laid on it.
Clatter~
The room was silent, and the clattering of the utensils echoed in the quiet room. The silence was not pleasant; it was suffocating and felt... unpleasant while the servants stood over without uttering a word.
Clatter~
The sound of a fork hitting the knife or the knife hitting the porcelain plate echoed.
Raising his head, David looked at his family's faces and the chairs. There was food for five people on the table, yet one of the chairs was empty, and the food was untouched, sitting there as if it was waiting for someone.
The faces of his son and daughter were gloomy and pale, with faint dark circles hanging beneath their eyes like a bag. If one didn't know what might have happened, they might mistake it for being just sick.
And his…
Shifting his gaze to the side, he looked at his wife. Her complexion was the worst, with sunken cheeks, eyes a bit hazy, and a large dark bag around her hazel eyes.
The spoon in her hand was moving toward her dried lip while it was trembling imperceptibly, making the soup within the spoon spill a little.
He lowered his eyes and looked at his own food. There lay a fine piece of meat, juices coming out of it and spices over it, yet only a small section of it was eaten.
He didn't feel like eating; his taste buds had gone dull.
There was a time when he was just like his current self. Life was dull, colored in shades of grey, black, and white. Everything felt boring and mundane; every day, he had to struggle just to find a loaf of bread.
But then…
It all changed.
He was discovered to have amazing talents and was admitted to one of the military academies. The standard of his life changed, but it was still as dull and lifeless as it was in the past.
The world was still colored in shades of grey. He felt nothing when someone died or when he was in pain. It was as if something within him had broken that refused to let him be like normal kids around his age.
Time passed, and he became more powerful.
The academy he attended deemed him worthy and deployed him as a soldier on the front line to fight against the horrors of the fallen world.
Each day passed with him waking up, eating, fighting, eating, fighting, shitting, eating, and then sleeping again.
He didn't know how his days passed.
He just lived for the sake of living.
He never had any enjoyment in life.
Any hobby…
Nothing.
He just…
…Existed.
That was until he became the youngest commander at the mere age of twenty.
He was called back to the Empire and was given a noble title. It was the lowest, but still, it was a title, and with it came a surname.
Yet…
What changed his life was none of them.
It was just a simple girl.
She was neither nobility nor did she have any talents.
She was just a simple daughter of a baker.
She brought light to his dull life with her smile and painted the grey shades with a different palette of colors with her antics.
He came to know happiness—and to keep that happiness, he strived even harder. He built connections with other people, made friends, and did what he could.
He married that girl and had their first children, who were twins, with one being a girl while the other a boy—they were happy, and to add more to that happiness, he got a second son.
It was going all nice and well.
Until…
That happened.
The kidnapping,
It was abrupt and too swift; before anyone could understand what happened, they were gone like a mirage.
After everything had settled down, they found that two people were gone.
Lifting his gaze, he saw the untouched food. Looking around, he found himself alone in the dining hall. He didn't know how much time had passed since he drifted into his thoughts.
"Haaa…"
It hurt.
He didn't know this feeling before, but now…
'It hurts to not be able to do anything.'
He felt it.
He understood what it means to feel pain. One that hurt more than physical pain― pain―physical pain could be alleviated with lotion and magic, but this one.
It hurt so much worse, and there was no way to cure it.
"Is this how it feels when someone loses someone dear to them?"
He asked himself, and his voice reverberated through the confines of the room, ringing back into his ear.
He knew the answer.
And it was… yes. This is how it feels to lose someone precious to them, and if he had to describe the feeling…
"It feels like shit."
He finished his meal, and taking a cloth, he wiped his mouth, cleaning it, adjusted his cloth, and pushed his chair a little bit back before standing up.
He headed for the door; his hands reached for the knob, but before he could turn it, he gave a furtive glance at the untouched food.
Click~
The door of the room opened with a low click sound, and his last remark reverberated into the now-empty dining hall.
"I need to pull myself together to support my family."
Clack~
The door shut, and the room remained silent except for the cackling of the fire. The fire burned gradually, receding until only the ashes of the wood remained, and a complete silence overtook the room.