A toned young man, about 19, with tanned-skin and dyed, pink hair was sitting in front of a table. The room he is in, isn't your ordinary room, but the 'White Room.' Everything in it is white —clothes, the lighting, furniture, and the food he is given is also white.
Those who persecuted him had hope that with no color or stimulation, he would go crazy after a few hours or minutes like the rest —as a last resort method since cutting his limbs was useless, because they returned to their original position in the next second. Little to their expectation, however, the young man endured the White Room for two full years.
Today, the youth was humming to himself, gazing at the plain porridge before him —he didn't dare touch the food given to him by those who want his life.
Taping his feet on the ground, the young man grins, looking over to the ceiling, "So, that fucker has met Lucien? I wonder if I can possess Lucien's body to talk to him?"
***
Tsukino was flustered with the occurring events: one minute she is screaming in pain; the other she has a nostalgic feeling wrapped over her arm.
Looking at the light blue hue, Tsukino creases, her rage palpable, "What did you do to me?"
"Just punch anything near you and see."
Lucien answered half-heartedly, his gaze searching for a place to sit.
Not taking his words seriously, Tsukino performs a light punch to her side.
Boom! A tree that was nearly one hundred meters away from her fell to the ground.
The young lady's mouth drops in bewilderment and shock, her eyelids slapping each other at a rapid speed.
"Wha....what happened?"
Seeing no reply from those near her, she grabs her kitanas, and just like she expected: light blue painted the blades,making it seem like it was like that before; surprising enough, her birthmark was written on the side of the blades.
Although she didn't know what is happening to her, Tsukino produced a crazy thought, deathly looking at Lucien's back. However, she didn't act on it as the light blue chroma vanished, living her drained.
Thud!
She fell to the ground as if her bones had dislocated. Not only that, but Tsukino felt tired enough that she couldn't gather the energy to sleep. Even, shutting and closing her eyes had become arduous.
Her flimsy gaze slowly moves to Lucien for answers. The power was great, but the fatigue was too much. Before she could say a thing, Lucien moves his lips first:
"Snake Boy what is your real name?"
Tsukino wanted to ask what was that, but a stunned voice chirped loudly from behind her, "Lucy-san you know my nickname?!"
Lucy wanted to say that he is getting revenge for being called 'Silver Hammer' in chapter three, but dropped it.
"My name is Lucien Derniere Etoile by the way."
Ten nods, scratching his head.
"Phiri Tento, you can call me Ten." (1)
Lucien turns his head, his brows wide open in shock. How could he not know about that family name? Taking a second to compose himself, he asks:
"You're from the same family as the First Tama-Artist?"
Ten chuckles lightly.
"My big brother says so."
Tsukino listening on the sidelines didn't know the Villain Rehabilitator had a name. She read the story because her little brother was obsessed with it. She, on the other hand, saw the story as a made up fantasy with a crazy lead.
However, what took her breath away is that Lucy seemed interested in talking with this person who periodically gets bullied by her slaves.
"Come, sit with me."
'Am I dreaming?'
Tsukino pondered, thinking the fatigue was getting to her, but the heatwave told her otherwise.
'So much is happening today.'
Her gray eyes followed Tento who happily went toward the shed Lucien was heading. Although the 5 feet 2 youth had started developing some fat from when he joined the age regiment, Tsukino was sure the pink hair could be knocked by heaven winds.
'Does Lucien want to kill him?'
Although her thoughts were utterly inane, Tsukino's skepticism grew, inciting her to listen to their conversation.
"I do see you train occasionally, but the reason your body hasn't developed is because you have been having the wrong diet."
"Oh, I see."
"You can come to my place for a meal."
Ten chuckles lightly, hiding his blushing cheeks with his hands.
From his evaluation, Lucien didn't look like someone to randomly ask someone out on a meal. Maybe heaven is helping him, or maybe his big brother possessed Lucien?
Shaking his head to remove the ridiculous thoughts, he replies, "Please don't mind me. I don't want to trouble you."
"It's not trouble, we always cook more. Also, I need to repay you for giving me water that one time, I was really thirsty."
—I didn't know Lucy-san repays a drop of kindness with an ocean of love.
Tento smiles.
"Then, I wouldn't mind."
'Is the sky green today?' Tsukino couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Lucy engaging in small talk with a stranger! It seemed like a bad omen to the world, and worse it didn't stop there.
"You appear stressed. Is something bothering you? Perhaps, a bully?"
—I'm always stressed.
Tento face became a little gloomy, looking at the space in between his geta.
"Who wouldn't be stressed in this situation? Although, I'm grateful to Scholar-san for making things at the camp easy for us. I'm still worried about that female Tama-Artist. Who knows when such a beautiful woman might do something to us. As they say, 'evil girl's have the prettiest faces."
"You're right." Lucien replied looking at Tsukino.
Not knowing, that Lucy was saying Ten is stupid, Tsukino felt offended by the statement, roaring in her thoughts.
'It's tall and cute guys who are evil and heartless!'
Not caring what she was cooking in her mind, Lucy asks again.
"Has someone been troubling you?"
Ten anxiously rubs his shin, struggling to come up with words.
"I wouldn't call it troubling... more like seniors education a junior since I'm the youngest. I do take care of them, but it's pretty much..."
"Annoying."
Lucien finished Tento's statement, inciting the young man to nod.
"Yes."
"Then you're being bullied. You make it look normal to avoid the pain. Worse, it's those seniors who want you to see it like that, so they can exploit you more. Next time, tell them to come to me, I'm good at being bullied."
Tsukino didn't miss the small cringe in Lucy's face on his last sentence, but what bothered her was Ten's gaze: it was filled with reverence for Lucy.
"You're really the Lucy-san. Guys like us want to be cool like you: strong and handsome."
'Cool?! There is nothing cool about him!'
Tsukino couldn't even think handsome, because in the camp Lucien can be placed among the middle range, even Tento is better looking than him.
'Something is wrong with this kid's mind! How can one like a man smasher like Lucy?!'
—Wait!
'Didn't he say he takes care of those who bully him?!'
—He is the one who has been killing people not Lucy!
"Ahhh!" Tsukino screamed at her own revelation, pulling her hair for her lapse in judgement.
Scrutinizing her, Tento somewhat flinches, his brows contorting:
"You did tell me that sometimes beast get possessed by those that want to kill us, right?"
Lucy nods, and Ten adds:
"I think she has been possessed, since she is brainless."
Tsukino's screams intensified, scaring all the birds in the area.
Ignoring her, Lucy turns his head to look at the young man next to him
"I'm interested in this brother of yours. Does he have a birthmark on his left wrist?"
"Yes."
Ten nodded, his face becoming gloomy again. His brother is someone he is not comfortable talking about —the bastard robbed him the chance of being a Tama-Artist!
"What does it say?"
Ten blinks his eyes several times, recalling all the theories he had about that birthmark.
"It translates to Zero Holy, or Holy Zero."
Lucien flinched. How could this kid understand the words? His shock, however, didn't end there, as Ten continued talking.
"Looking at it, one might think it's something that lacks holiness: an impure creature that must be eliminated. However, I think it's closer to holiness than impure."
"Closer to holiness?" Lucy repeats the words.
Tento nods.
"Yes. Think about, every number is born from zero. Being closer to zero means, you're closer to the genesis.
"If my hypothesis is correct, then the birthmark must mean something closer to the Origin of this universe that is holy.
"In other words, the universe is declaring whoever has that birthmark to be its own, maybe because it has plans for them like the Tama-Artist."
Lucien nods, clenching his fist.
'Could this be what my mother meant when she said you'll suffer in that vision. Does that mean in the future I will be experimented on like the First Tama-Artist?'
Dropping the issue, Lucien decides to entertain the guest who had come to his mind a while back. On the other hand, Tsukino was having a nose bleed, everything Tento said made her head throb in an otherworldly pain.
'Just what is this birthmark?'
____
1 - Tento is a fusion of three languages —Italian, Japanese and Greek— meaning, the last piece of destruction, or chaos, or entropy.
Phiri is Shona; it's pronounced as 'Piri', not Firi. The 'h' adds the sound to 'P', making it sound like 'Pii.' Also, the name is an ordinary surname, but in some branches of Shona the word can be associated with 'piri', meaning two or second.
So, Phiri Tento means: the second, last piece of chaos.
-----[A.N]-----
Thank you ladies and gentlemen for reaching this stage in the story. Some of you have left, but likewise, EntropyF appreciates those who stayed with us.
As you have noticed, the story consist of a variety of characters, it doesn't focus on Lucien Derniere Etoile and Phiri Tento only. And, the author found it rude to not show insight into other characters. However, EntropyF promises the VILLAIN REHABILITATOR family that this right here is the start of the story carrying numerous plots that will either change the world or the characters.
Also, EF'll focus on the First Tama-Artist (Villain Rehabilitator) and First Human later since they both contribute more to the story, especially the former since his name is the novel's title.