Serena shivered as the cold chains that bound her brushed against her skin. With no window in sight and engulfed in complete darkness, she had lost track of the days since she was taken away from Vailee.
‘He’s probably thinking this is all his fault,’ she thought sadly. She couldn’t forget Elric’s frightened face. ‘He was only trying to protect me!’ Ashamed of her own naivety, silent tears fell down her face.
Just as her tears began to fall, a brilliant light pierced through the darkness, blinding her for a moment. When her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, she found herself in a vast, dilapidated dungeon.
“I see you're still alive and well,” said a familiar voice.
Raising her gaze, Serena found Leonard, the young master of the Simmons family, standing in front of her. He wasn't alone; Jasper and several soldiers stood behind him.
Serena attempted to speak, but her throat was too sore from endless crying.
Leonard approached her, a smirk playing on his lips. “Are the chains a bit too tight?" he mocked, glancing at her restraints.
"What do you want from me?" She managed to croak out, her voice weak but defiant.
Leonard chuckled. “What I want from you? You think something as insignificant as you can ever give me anything?”
Serena's mind raced as she processed Leonard's words. He didn’t want anything from her? Then why go as far as to kidnap her?
“You see,” started Leonard, “Elric didn’t properly fulfill his duties as a toy. Now he must deal with the consequences.”
Toy? Duty? Serena's confusion grew as she desperately tried to make sense of the cryptic words he spoke.
“I’ll do anything. Please, just don’t hurt him,” she replied in a defeated tone. Even if she was naive, it was clear the noble in front of her wanted to greatly harm Elric. How could she face Elia and Maurim if such a thing happened?
Leonard chuckled darkly once again. “Are all nerics stupid, or is it just you? If there is nothing I want from you, surely there’s nothing you can do for me.”
Serena frowned.
“Well, there is one thing. A projection of all he holds dear.” Leonard extended his arm and gently caressed Serena’s face. “What if I were to destroy that?”
Destroy?! Serena’s face paled.
“We can play with her a little before, right?” asked Jasper, vulgarly licking his lips.
Leonard scoffed and opened the dungeon door. “Make sure to leave her recognizable.”
As the door shut, Serena's piercing screams became muffled.
* * *
Six hundred years ago, the world underwent a disastrous war.
Flip.
The mortals, forsaken by the Zodiacs, turned away from them and began worshiping the Gods. This significant change infuriated the arrogant Zodiacs, prompting them to plot the destruction of the Gods. The mortal existence hung in the balance as the transcendent beings turned the continent of Amea into their battleground.
Flip.
Humans at this time were different from other mortals. Unlike the elves and dwarves, they did not possess mana cores. That’s why, compared to other mortals, they prayed the hardest. When the war had reached a stalemate, the strongest god, Ymer—the Sky Goddess—rewarded humans for their strong devotion.
She forged mana cores for all devout humans and granted a man named James Selis the privilege of having him and his descendants serve as apostles of her power. However, not all humans received Ymer’s blessing. When Ymer and several other gods found themselves back in the midst of war after the stalemate, the unfaithful humans who had not undergone the forging of their mana cores were labeled as nerics.
Flip. Flip.
The results of the war were disappointing at first, as the Gods brutally lost against the Zodiacs. But then, mortals found solace when the Zodiacs failed to reappear in the mortal realm—Gaia. James Selis had become a king and established the Kingdom of Selis. It was a kingdom that unified all humans, passed down the powers of Ymer, and rivaled Egon, the dwarf kingdom, and Vozar, the elf kingdom.
Flip.
The name of the war was the Celestial War, and it marked the origin of the neric curse.
‘The neric curse.’
‘Neric curse.’
“We’re cursed, huh?” said Elric as he glared at the first history book his mother ever gave him.
He tossed the book onto the inn’s kitchen floor, burying his head in his hands.
‘Four days. It’s been four days since she was taken away.’
Elric had tried reading to take his mind off the forceful capture of his aunt, but that only seemed to worsen his mood. The introductory history book, detailing early Selisian history and condemning his very existence, felt like a cruel reminder of his current situation.
‘It seems like waiting is the only thing a cursed neric can do,’ Elric thought bleakly.
Knock, knock.
Elric jerked his head up at the sudden sound.
‘Could that be–’
His legs moved quicker than his thoughts, and in no time, he eagerly swung the door of the inn open. His smile dropped as he found no one there.
‘A prank?’ Elric wondered. ‘Who would joke with me during a time like this?’
Venturing further outside, there was still no one. Elric took a deep breath and raised his head to gaze at the night sky, once again finding comfort in the unchanging stars. This night was the first time he had stepped out in four days.
As he turned back towards the inn, his countenance shifted dramatically, and any comfort he had felt vanished and transformed into despair.
To the far left of the inn's entrance, wearing only a burlap sack, Serena lay lifeless on the ground.
With staggering legs, Elric approached her, sinking to his knees as he cradled her unmoving body with his trembling hands.
Tears streamed down his face.
“What are you doing, Aunt Serena? We have to go somewhere far away, remember?” Elric whispered, his voice choked with grief. The last ten years flashed before his eyes—the warmth of Serena's smile, her infectious laughter, and the tender moments they had shared.
Breathing became difficult for Elric. The weight of the loss pressed heavily on his chest. In response, he hugged his aunt even tighter, and as he clung, he could sense a familiar wetness. Slowly raising his trembling hand, Elric saw that it was stained with blood. His gaze traveled down his aunt's legs, revealing that her entire lower half was covered in the crimson fluid.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Elric's agonized scream shattered the silence of the night, jolting the entire village awake.
"Heuk…heuk…." An anguished cry uncontrollably escaped his lips—the most intense cry he had ever experienced.
Such a cry was Elric’s first.
And it would be his last.
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