― Flashback ―
Malrik woke up in a room. The room had nothing in it—just a bed he was lying on in the middle. The walls and floor were all white, with not a single speck of blood. The boy clutched his head. The memories of his petrifying victory against the fire-breathing monsters were all coming back to him.
"Thomas," the boy whispered. Tears ran down his face as his death replayed itself over and over in his head. Helpless. He was utterly useless. In that moment, he couldn't do a single thing. Just like his mother, just like his father, he had been sacrificed for him to survive. 'Why do I deserve to live? For what purpose am I still breathing? I am nothing but a kid with no power.'
"Aah, you're awake. Perfect."
Malrik looked up at the doctor who had just walked in. The doctor looked at the exhausted young boy with hunger in his eyes.
"After your magnificent battle, you passed out. Honestly, I was worried you would die—"
"Why am I here?" Malrik cut him off, mustering up his meanest-looking glare. "I am no one. I am weak. I don't get why you insist on keeping me here."
Dr Helmbrecht looked at the boy, studying him. He had a serious look on his face as he walked towards the boy. Malrik didn't flinch, meeting the challenge.
The doctor placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "You are not no one. You presented that beautifully today."
Malrik looked at the man, speechless.
"Malrik Sukui. That's your name, right? From now on, you are a member of the Court of Darkness."
― Flashback End ―
The sun pressed on Malrik's face as he felt his body moving somewhere. The boy opened his eyes, the sun temporarily blinding him. Through his hazy vision, the outline of a girl appeared in his view.
"Dad! He is finally awake!"
Malrik felt whatever he was sitting on stop moving. He blinked, rubbing his eyes; his vision started to clear. His eyes met those of the blonde-haired girl in front of him. He then shifted to the blonde-haired man behind her. 'What happened to me? Where am I? Who are these people?'
Malrik looked around desperately, trying to piece together anything he could remember. However, nothing came to him. He couldn't remember.
The man sitting in front had a serious expression on his face. He examined the scared-looking boy who had just woken up. 'His eyes look different from back at that base. He no longer seems vengeful or desperate. He seems more… innocent.'
Malrik looked around at his surroundings. They were encircled by trees and appeared to be on a pathway. The sun cast a lovely glow over the area. It seemed they were on some kind of vehicle. The metal-like vehicle encased him, except for the top. It had three rows: the man sat at the front, the girl sat in the middle seat in the middle row, looking over the chair towards him, and he was lying down across all three seats in the back row.
Malrik then clutched his head.
"Are you OK?" the girl asked.
Malrik looked at the girl, confused. He opened his mouth, then closed it instantly as he clutched his head again.
"Darling, give him some space. He has been through a lot."
The man pulled his daughter back and moved to the middle row.
"Do you know who you are or what happened back at that base?"
"I... I don't know," Malrik whispered, clutching his head in pain as if he were trying to remember something. The boy was visibly shrinking in his seat.
"What do you mean you don't know? How do you not know what happened? You were literally screaming like you were set on fire," the girl scowled with a glare.
Malrik flinched at the tone, making the man glare at the girl.
"Listen, it's alright if you don't know."
The man gave a small smile to Malrik. "My name is Dain, and this rude little girl over here is called Sarah."
Dain smiled at the boy and stretched his hand out towards him. Seeing the smile, Malrik shook his hand before the man moved back to the front.
"Um, s-sir?"
Malrik watched as the man placed his hand on the smooth, obsidian panel in the middle of the front row, which was shaped like a handprint—its edges faintly glowing with dormant runes. The glyphs lit up with a golden colour, lines of soft light spreading through the dashboard like veins. The vehicle hummed to life before it started to move.
"Hmm?" Dain and Sarah turned their attention back to the boy, who was fidgeting nervously.
"Um, who am I?"
The smile vanished from Dain's face as Malrik asked his question. Replacing it with a serious look, he sighed.
"You're my son." Both Sarah and Malrik widened their eyes.
― Two Hours Later ―
The trio drove into a town. Malrik was at the back, sleeping, as Sarah just watched him.
"Why did you say he was your son?" she suddenly spoke up, making Dain sigh. He knew this was going to come up eventually.
"Two reasons. The boy has no one and probably hasn't had anyone for a while, and now it seems all his memories are gone; he is scared and vulnerable. We can't just leave the kid out on the streets. I imagine he has been through a lot; you could tell back there before he got his memories wiped. Telling him he was my son at least gives him a small sense of purpose or self, not to mention he'll be more inclined to trust family rather than strangers."
He passed a few houses before turning to the left. "As for the second reason—we don't know anything about the Court of Darkness, nor what they did to him. He seemed to know what was happening to him before his memories got wiped, so we need to keep him close in case they come back."
"But he is dangerous. What if he gets his memories back and attacks us again? We need to turn him in before he kills us. That's the whole reason we went after them."
"Correction, why I went after them. You were not supposed to come—your mother is going to kill me."
Dain shuddered slightly, fearing his wife's wrath. "Also, I went to catch criminals, not victims."
"He is a criminal, Dad. You didn't fight him. The way he attacked... I can tell he was ready to kill me."
"But he didn't."
"But he almost did! Not to mention, he outright admitted to killing all those children who were captured. Did you see how he was shooting at that person? The man wasn't even alive," argued Sarah.
Dain sighed as he guided the car into a parking space right outside a large blue house. He stopped the car and turned back to his daughter.
"Look, Sarah, I know you don't like this, but this is a boy who watched his mother murdered by that very man he desperately tried to take revenge on. He is a boy who has been exposed to murder and evil organisations at a very young age, with hatred at the back of his very mind."
Dain glanced at the sleeping child, eyes softening. "Hatred is all he's ever known. I don't know what horrors he's seen or done—and I don't need to. What matters is, now he has a chance to let it go. To start fresh, without all those memories poisoning him. Because if hate takes root too deep, it will destroy him."
Dain placed a hand on Sarah and smiled. "And maybe, just maybe, he has a chance to have a sister to protect and teach him how to live in a world full of light, and not darkness."
Sarah looked at Malrik gravely. "But—"
"No buts. Your dream is to become a Champion like your father, right?"
Sarah nodded.
"Well, Champions protect people… so protect him."
Dain walked inside the large blue house, leaving Sarah alone as she watched Malrik sleeping. Sighing, she decided to wake him up.
"Hey, wake up, dummy. We are home."
Malrik's eyes shot open before he sent a left hook towards Sarah's face. Widening in surprise, she quickly dodged the dangerous punch and pounced on the boy, holding him down as he desperately tried to escape her grasp.
"Hey, relax!" Sarah shouted.
Malrik's eyes darted everywhere, taking in his surroundings. His tensed muscles started to relax, and his eyes lost their mindless fury. It reminded Sarah of their previous fight, and that slightly scared her. Breathing hard, he finally calmed down.
"Wha—where am I? What happened?" The boy looked terrified. He clutched his head in pain as he tried to recollect any memories.
"Hey, it's alright, you just fell asleep, that's all." Sarah pointed at the large blue house. It was surrounded by green grass and a large white wall with a brown door connecting it. "This is your new home."
Malrik looked around, staring at the multiple different houses surrounding them. "Where are we?"
"That's simple. We're in the city of Lulia." She raised her hands to the air, showing her pride in the city she grew up in.
"City?" Malrik asked in confusion as he continued looking around at the uncharted area.
"Mhm. Do you not know what that is?" Malrik shook his head, answering her question.
She sighed. "Man, you are stupid. Listen, there are three types of places people live in this world: Towns, Cities and Capitals. There are only six Capitals that are based in the heart of each of the six regions. And surrounding those Capitals, there are several different cities. Right now, we are in one of those cities surrounding the Capital of Ragenbird. You follow?"
"Uuh, no." Sarah groaned, glaring in annoyance at the boy.
"Look, it doesn't matter. Can we just go inside? I can already tell Mum is making her famous mac and cheese." Sarah started skipping to the door at the prospect of having some delicious food.
"What's mac and chees—"
"If you keep asking me questions, I am going to hit you!"
The two walked in through the gate. Malrik marvelled at the house. Somehow, it looked better inside the garden than outside. The house was fully blue, and the ceiling was white, while the door was black. Malrik could see wooden swords and shields scattered across the green garden floor and a tiered water fountain between the house door and the garden door. The place looked colourful and lively.
Malrik suddenly heard a barking voice as a dog ran up to them. Backing away, Malrik hid behind Sarah, fearing for his life.
"What kind of creature is that?"
"It's not a creature, idiot. That's Fluffy—he's a dog." Sarah bent down and started rubbing its fur, making the dog pant happily and turn over on its back.
"Good boy, Fluffy. Look this is Malrik."
"What! Wait, my name is Malrik?"
"… Fluffy, this is the new stupid member of our family. Feel free to bite him whenever you want."
"Hey!" Malrik complained, before a hearty laugh rang out in front of them.
Malrik and Sarah looked forward, seeing a black-haired woman standing next to the water fountain. She was wearing a white silk shirt with a black ribbon tied at the top. Her curly black hair flowed down to her waist, where her long black skirt hung. Her yellow eyes seemed to pierce through Malrik's black eyes.
"You shouldn't tease your new brother, Sarah." Her eyes never left Malrik, who was staring at the beautiful woman, stunned.
Sarah bowed her head. "Sorry, Mother." The woman walked towards Malrik and knelt. She touched his forehead, making the boy blush in embarrassment, his breathing quickening slightly.
"You have a temperature; you must have been through a lot. Come, follow me." She dragged the boy inside without waiting for a reply. Sarah sighed, rubbing the door before following.
The woman smiled at Malrik as she pulled him along without consent.
"My name is Elara Aurelion, but you can call me Mother."
The poor boy could only nod. For some reason, this felt right.
"Alright… Mother."