Chapter 64: Amphoreus
At 3 years old, you understood that you couldn't call them what other children called their parents. You could only call them "Uncle" and "Aunt," even though they didn't seem pleased by it either.
Your black hair was ordinary, but your golden eyes seemed to make them particularly uneasy and disgusted. Your "brother" began to brazenly call you "little monster," sometimes even secretly pinching you before quickly running away.
At 4 years old, your "brother's" bullying became increasingly blatant. Aunt's gaze when she looked at you grew more and more like she was looking at something dirty and ill-omened.
You longed for closeness, but when you tried to approach Aunt, she would avoid you as if you had the plague. When you tried to talk to Uncle, he was always perfunctory.
Other children were held by their parents, while you only had cold walls and your own shadow. You didn't understand why you were treated this way.
At 5 years old, one day, you were playing alone in a corner of the garden when you accidentally overheard the servants whispering while they worked.
"…Did you hear? There's fighting again in Januspolis! It's those 'Chrysos Heirs' causing trouble again!" A servant trimming flowers lowered his voice.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! They're god-slaying monsters!" Another servant sweeping the floor looked around nervously. "The Kephale's divine revelation says they're to… to 'strike down the Titans'! Heavens, they're even going to kill the Titans who created us, isn't that against natural law?!"
"Isn't it though… Ever since they appeared, the world hasn't known peace. How many people died in that 'Golden War'? There was blood and fire everywhere! How many city-states were destroyed! It's all their fault!"
"I heard they… they're not like us! They're not human at all! They're a symbol of disaster! Whoever gets involved with them will be unlucky!"
"Enough, enough… What if the young master hears us…"
They glanced uneasily in the direction of your room, their eyes full of fear and disgust, then quickly dispersed, as if they had mentioned something forbidden. You listened to these fragmented words, not quite understanding what they had to do with you.
That afternoon, while playing in the garden, you tried to reach a high flower and accidentally pricked your finger on a sharp branch. Golden blood flowed out. You watched curiously, then licked it; it tasted a bit like rust.
Just then, your "brother" suddenly appeared, trying to snatch the flower you had finally managed to get, all the while loudly scolding you: "Golden-eyed little monster! Get your dirty hands off it! You don't deserve to touch it!"
The long-suppressed grievances made you erupt. You pushed him hard. He lost his footing and fell to the ground, hitting his forehead on the stone steps. Crimson blood instantly flowed out.
You froze. Red… His blood, why is it red? And mine… is golden?
Uncle happened to come home, saw this scene, and without a word, grabbed your arm, lifted you up, and loudly reprimanded: "You wretch! How dare you hurt my son!" His grip was strong, pinching you painfully.
Aunt rushed out at the sound, and seeing her son bleeding, immediately pounced like a madwoman. But she stopped a step away from you, seemingly a little afraid of you.
She pointed at you and shrieked: "Monster! I told you he was a monster! He'll bring disaster!"
"Look, now he dares to hurt people… The blood flowing in his body isn't human blood at all!"
She turned to Uncle, her voice shrill: "I've had enough, I can't stand it for another day! We must send him away! This jinx! Otherwise… otherwise I'll report us to the opposition! Tell them our family is hiding a Chrysos Heirs! Let them judge him!"
Uncle's face changed drastically, and he angrily said: "Shut up! Do you want our whole family to be ruined?! If he's gone, what about these properties? Do you want us to have nothing?!"
Chrysos Heirs… divine revelation… golden blood… monster… Amidst their quarrel, you finally pieced all the fragments together—that golden blood was not the norm for everyone. The reason you were considered a monster, that ominous person rumored to slay gods… it turned out, referred to you.
You are a Chrysos Heirs. A Chrysos Heirs who was not desired, and even regarded as a disaster by your closest relatives.
You were not ultimately driven away, because Uncle's greed overcame Aunt's fear. But from that day on, your situation at home became even more difficult.
You were locked in a more secluded room, your food was often cold, your brother's bullying became even more rampant, and Uncle and Aunt completely ignored your existence, unless it was to ensure you were still alive.
Loneliness, hunger, pain, and an endless sense of humiliation entwined around you like poisonous vines. And the seed of hatred had quietly been planted, beginning to grow wildly in the darkness.
Indeed, with the Chrysos Heirs setting, it's highly likely to be Amphoreus. But this family… they're truly rotten to the core. System, quickly give me options, I can't wait to wipe out their whole family!
At 6 years old, you reached the age to attend school. Your "brother" had already started, but you were still confined to that gloomy room.
Uncle and Aunt refused to let you contact the outside world; they were more like guarding a dangerous item than a child.
But a cage cannot restrain the thirst for knowledge. After countless days and nights of exploration, you self-taught yourself the skill of lock-picking. You began to sneak out of your room when they were asleep, exploring the mansion.
You found Uncle's study, where there were many books you couldn't understand. At first, the words were like a heavenly script to you, but you flipped through them again and again, and relying on illustrations and context, you actually began to understand their meaning. You greedily absorbed knowledge.
At 7 years old, long-term malnutrition always left you feeling hungry. The servants didn't dare to give you more food, so you could only sneak into the kitchen late at night to steal cold leftovers.
One night, as you were stuffing a piece of bread into your mouth, a figure appeared at the kitchen door—it was your "brother" who had gotten up in the night.
He was startled at first, then a cruel and excited smile appeared on his face: "Good! Monster! Thief! Not only hurting people, but also learning to steal! Let's see how I punish you!"
He grabbed the cleaver next to the wall and swung it at you! In the instant the knife swung, you seemed to see countless ways to react.
You chose the simplest one: when he charged again, you lightly tripped him with your foot. He lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground. The cleaver flew from his hand, and by an unfortunate coincidence, its sharp edge cut his thigh.
He froze for a moment, then burst into ear-splitting wails.
Uncle and Aunt were awakened and rushed over, still groggy with sleep. Seeing the bloodstains on their son's leg and the half-eaten bread in your hand, they immediately blamed you for everything without asking any questions.
"It's you again! You jinx!" Aunt shrieked, wanting to hit you but not daring to get close.
Uncle's face was livid, and he announced the punishment: "You're grounded, no food for a week! Let's see if you dare to do it again!"
You didn't cry, didn't argue, and didn't even show any expression. You just raised your head, and in those golden pupils, there was only bottomless hatred.
At 8 years old, after that conflict, your situation went from bad to worse. Uncle seemed to realize that ordinary locks could no longer keep you in. He added a heavy padlock to your room door.
This time, you couldn't open it from the inside no matter what. Now, going without food for days had become the norm. Hunger burned your stomach like fire, and you could only curl up in a cold corner.
On the fifth night without food, you were dizzy with hunger when you suddenly heard a very faint sound outside. You struggled to crawl to the door and peered out through the narrow crack.
A dark shadow swept across the rooftop, as agile as a cat. It stopped on a building, which was Uncle's treasure vault. You held your breath.
You knew that Uncle's most prized treasures were hidden there, including a legendary priceless gem. That building was heavily guarded. You usually didn't even dare to walk on the path in front of it, for fear of causing trouble. This thief… was too bold.
You watched nervously, but the anticipated sounds of a struggle didn't occur. After a while, the figure silently climbed out again, seemingly holding a small bag. You felt it was incredible.
But what shocked you even more was that the figure didn't leave immediately. Instead, it lightly jumped off the rooftop and walked directly towards the most secluded corner of the mansion, where you were located.
Footsteps stopped in front of your door. You heard a few crisp "clicks," and that large lock that had made you despair was easily opened.
The door was pushed open a crack, and a hooded face peered in.