A long series of painful, preserved memories repeated: wars, battles, blood, and death. Alongside them came many conflicting negative emotions: hatred, anxiety, fear, and a longing for a piece of that agonizing past.
These chains and feelings formed countless nightmares, dreams that Takeshi had dreamt most nights of his life, trying to find some peace and comfort, only for his harsh past to haunt him even within his sleep.
"Just another nightmare…"
Takeshi woke up after another long night, facing a bright new day. Golden rays of sunlight filtered through the cracks of his small, decaying cabin to illuminate everything inside and drive out his long, cruel darkness.
Takeshi adjusted his posture immediately upon waking; he was a 19-year-old youth with a hard, strong build forged by days of suffering and intense training. Takeshi scratched his messy, spiked grey hair, which he hadn't cut in years, and stared with dull eyes toward a sword lying beside him.
It was a sword of medium length, narrow width, and a sharp blade, with a hilt stitched in tough leather and an old, tattered scabbard that hadn't been changed in a long time.
Nearby, a small pile of old books lay in the corner. On top of them was a book with a blue cover—or rather, it was half a book, for it was torn and its final half was lost. On the cover was a large title: "The First Generation of Aura."
In this harsh world, every sentient living being like humans acquired what is called "Aura," which differed from one person to another, varying by talent and hard work.
The essence of Aura itself was emotions; whether positive or negative, both were fundamental pillars of Aura.
The story of the appearance of Aura and its source branched into several different tales and narratives carrying contradictory themes and concepts, making those serious stories seem like tales parents tell their children before bed.
Most likely, the book "The First Generation of Aura" was among these books.
Most likely…
Aura had many uses, among them obtaining a special ability or trait under certain conditions and times. Therefore, those distinguished by abilities were somewhat rare compared to the general public. While it's true that anyone distinguished by Aura could obtain one, the path to acquiring it was difficult and filled with hardship.
This placed people with powerful abilities and noble blood at the top, while at the base of the pyramid were the rats of society—people without talent, noble blood, or money.
Takeshi raised his rough hand and focused on it, trying to sense anything hovering around it.
The result was nothing.
Takeshi gritted his teeth and said: "No hope in that…"
Takeshi carried his sword and stepped toward the worn wooden cabin door, where four consecutive numbers were carved, starting from 964 to 968, symbolizing the years Takeshi had spent in isolation.
An isolation without meeting or speaking to anyone; even in his nightmares, his ability to speak was limited, forcing him to talk to himself sometimes, and at other times to his sword, which he considered the last surviving member of his family.
Takeshi struck the door, causing a slight vibration, then said after leaning his head against it.
"4 years without doing anything meaningful… 4 years without pursuing my goals and dreams…"
As soon as he finished his desperate words, the door opened slowly, leading outside.
Trees surrounded him from all four directions; they were tall pine trees covering the damp ground with their shade and blocking the sunlight, creating a pitch-black darkness.
This vast forest was called the Great Pine Forest "Vargrim," located in the Autumnland of Orival.
Takeshi had remained alone for years inside this desolate forest because of his anxiety about what lay beyond the borders of its darkness.
Near the cabin, before the high forest trees, an iron pot lay on the ground beside a wooden stove surrounded by a few medium-sized solid rocks. Takeshi passed by them, heading into the dark depths of the forest, whispering to himself:
"The same routine every day…"
***
After minutes of continuous walking, Takeshi reached the bank of a vast, clear lake. The lake was distinguished by its transparency and shimmer from the bright sunlight, even though the day was cloudy.
The source of this massive lake was a small flowing waterfall connected to a river that cut through the entire forest called the "Cloud" river, named for the permanent reflection of clouds on its running waters.
Takeshi knelt before the lake, plunging his hand into the clear water to bring out a handful to wash his face and drink.
'This lake is the only thing that redeems the gloom of this cursed forest…'
Takeshi thought, and his thinking was logical; among all the areas in the reaches of the Vargrim Forest, the lake was a rarity with a positive character.
But his thoughts were interrupted the moment he caught a glimpse of a shadow on the opposite bank of the lake. Takeshi raised his gaze to see a brown bull with large, sharp horns drinking a vast quantity of water.
Takeshi had found a meal that would last him for days; he only had to hunt it.
And that is what he decided to do.
Takeshi drew his sword, focusing on the bull's neck from afar. Once he was sure he was in a complete blind spot for the bull, he lunged rapidly toward it in a circular path along the lake's edge.
As soon as he got close enough, the bull caught sight of a fast body rushing toward it, but it couldn't manage a quick reaction to the situation, leaving it frozen, waiting for its inevitable fate.
SWOOOOOSH!!
Takeshi swung his shining blade across the bull's neck. Only a few seconds passed before it fell to its right side, its blood splattering intensely from its neck. A long, thin wound decorated it, from which a waterfall of blood surged, reaching the lake water and turning it from clear transparency to bright red.
Despite this direct injury, the bull did not die; it merely looked at the human standing before it, who raised his sword high to deliver a final blow.
"I intended to end all this with one strike… so you wouldn't feel pain and the guilt wouldn't haunt me for the rest of my life, but it seems I failed…"
Takeshi said before swinging his sword again, ending the massive bull's life with a final strike.
Takeshi moved his sword quickly to flick away the blood sticking to it. Once he returned it to its scabbard, he noticed two bodies moving in the dark forest from afar.
It was a medium-sized cow looking at the cruel scene with trembling eyes, and beside her a small calf that had barely learned to walk in the previous days.
As soon as the cow realized Takeshi had noticed them, she turned her body, gave her back, and fled, leaving the calf alone staring at his father's corpse. But the survival instinct overwhelmed him and drove him to flee in turn.
Takeshi averted his gaze and covered his face with his hand—or rather, he covered his forced smile indicating his pain, and said in a faint, barely audible voice.
"Another memory preserved inside my mind… Damn it!!"
Takeshi possessed another weapon besides his sword and his fist, a weapon that, most of the time, flayed and tortured him instead of torturing those who stood in his path.
It was his memory.
Takeshi was distinguished from others by his photographic memory, which made him a person who remembered all the details of his life perfectly without forgetting; he remembered every pain he tasted, every soul he took, and every nightmare that haunted him.
In fact, his cursed memory was the cause of his nightmares and his fear of the unknown.
And this wasn't the only effect of his memory.
At certain times, especially when he was completely shattered, he would begin to imagine people he knew or didn't know; the point was he had seen them before and they were etched in his memory. Before he could show any reaction, blame would be cast upon him by those phantoms, and then they would vanish once Takeshi became more broken.
Takeshi even thought the cow and her calf were just phantoms from his imagination, wanting to destroy him further, but the footprints they left behind made him certain of their actual existence.
Which only made matters worse.
And now he had to remember everything that just happened. And continue his repetitive life as usual, or so he believed.
From a distant place, a shadow hidden behind the tall forest trees watched Takeshi with great focus as he carried the massive bull and walked with small steps to return to his cabin.
Once Takeshi disappeared among the forest trees, that person whispered after a wide grin appeared on his face.
"I found you, you Pest!!"
***
Takeshi reached his area after minutes, carrying the bull on his shoulder, which indicated his physical strength.
After a few steps, Takeshi threw the massive bull in front of his stove and then sighed with relief; carrying a bull like this for such a distance was extremely exhausting.
One of the things Takeshi never changed was the paths he took; he never searched for another shortcut to the places he usually went, sufficing with what was in his memory without actual change.
As soon as Takeshi emptied all the air in his lungs, and his stomach made a long sound indicating its longing for food, Takeshi pulled part of his blade to begin cutting the bull's meat for cooking. The sound of footsteps treading upon the fertile earth without mercy filtered through.
Takeshi turned suddenly toward the source of the sound, only to see an unfamiliar face before him.
It was a man in his thirties with long hair and a trimmed beard, staring at Takeshi intensely with his green eyes, with a wide grin indicating his ill intentions. He wore a white robe covering most of his body, decorated with a badge resembling a bare skull.
The moment Takeshi saw him, he stopped in his tracks for a moment, then the man raised his hand and said:
"Hello, you have a beautiful sword, boy! You are nearly the same age as my son."
His grin grew and his eyes widened.
"You carry all the relevant specifications! Do you know what this means?"
Takeshi couldn't respond.
Rather, he wanted to respond, but his tongue—or rather his whole body—had frozen; he had actually met a human after this long isolation that had lasted 4 continuous years.
But the years before his isolation had taught him well not to let his emotions control his actions.
Takeshi turned fully, then swallowed his saliva, saying:
"You are real… I haven't seen you before. Who are you!?"
The stranger let out a quick laugh.
"Of course I am real, or has the isolation you're in made your mind this scattered?"
"Huh?"
Takeshi's eyes widened; no one knew of his existence in the center of this forest except for a few people who harbored hatred and malice toward him, and Takeshi deduced the person before him was indeed from that village.
But his thoughts were interrupted.
"Sorry, I should have answered your question first. I am Yamikaji, a member of the Royal Skull Gang."
Yamikaji raised his hand slowly and pointed toward Takeshi's sword, saying in a thick tone:
"And I have come to take that piece of tin!"
His sudden words provoked a feeling Takeshi hated most, which was anger. The glimmer of hope vanished from his eyes, replaced by a terrible void and silence.
Takeshi considered his sword his most precious possession and the last thing remaining from his family, so how could it be called a piece of tin? And how could a person like a stranger want to take it?
Takeshi gritted his teeth and said:
"My expectations were disappointed. I thought I had found the hope of leaving this isolation, but the thing I found is a doll on which to vent my anger."
Takeshi drew his blade fully from the scabbard, and at the same time, Yamikaji raised his other hand with complete coldness.
Yamikaji shook his head, saying:
"Thank you for making things go as I want. I hope you are a worthy opponent for me to kill!"
As soon as he finished his words, the ground beside him shook, and suddenly the earth cracked and brown tree trunks and branches erupted directly toward Takeshi, who indeed managed to show a quick reaction and was able to avoid some of them, swinging his sword to cut the rest.
'Does he have an ability?'
That was the only correct expectation; Yamikaji possessed an ability enabling him to use tree branches and trunks to his advantage. Against Takeshi, whose total reliance was on his physical strength and his sword… and his memory at certain times.
And now Yamikaji had ignited the fires of battle between them, so that Takeshi's routine life would change in a single moment...