It's early morning, the sun was already in sky and the storm became silent. The whole sky was filled with red sunlight and fresh air. And happiness was running on the Veylor streets.
But the scene was different in the Graven household. Arin was still sitting beside his mother's corpse. His heart and eyes both were filled with grief and sadness.
"What will I do, mother? I don't have any reason to live. Please give me a reason to live."
Suddenly a message appeared in front of him.
[First installment: 10,000 lives is still due.]
"A debt." Arin wiped his tears. "Is this your debt mother. But I never saw you using powers." Arin wiped his tears. "Okay mother, I don't know what happened in your past but from now on this will be my only goal in my life."
It was not time to question anything, because it's already time to leave her, so Arin holds up himself. And picked up his mother's body with some papers and a red pouch.
Arin went to the graveyard with his mother's body. He entered the graveyard.
The whole graveyard was filled with graves. There he saw an old man, who was digging a grave for someone. That man's white hair and lean body was proof that he was doing this work for many years. Arin approached him.
"I want a grave for my mother."
That old man smirked while looking towards Arin because his clothes were torn, dirty and wet. "Do you have coins?"
"Yes I have." Arin said without showing any emotion on his face.
"Hmm, okay put the body in the grave."
Arin put his mother's body in the grave as the old man said. Arin and that old man threw mud on the Selene corpse and buried her. After that, the old man asked for money.
Arin gave him a bundle of papers. "Take it, these are papers of my house. Those are enough for one grave."
"A old shabby house for a grave. Are you kidding me?" That old man's expression changed from a smile to anger. "These graves are very rare and expensive and you want me to give you this grave in exchange of an old house."
Then that old man picked up his shovel to drag out Arin's mother's body from that grave.
"Wait." Arin said. "Let's make a deal. I have 10 silver coins. I will give you every coin but promise me you will not try to dig my mother's grave again."
That old man stopped and started thinking. "( 10 silver coins for one grave. Wow this will be my two month salary) okay give me that."
After that Arin took out a red pouch from his left pocket and gave it to him. Then Arin said.
"I want you to use your power on her."
That old man's expression suddenly became serious. He casted a spell on Selen's grave.
After that Arin left, he went to the market. He is hungry because he didn't eat for two days and now he doesn't even have money to eat. Arin gave all his remaining money to that old man.
He was wandering on roads. both sides of road were filled with shops and fruit sellers. This was the main market of the Veylor kingdom. It seems that the whole market was in its rush hour because whole place was filled with civilians.
"(What do I do now? I know, i made promise to myself that I will repay my mother's debt but how. I have to pay him 1,000,000,000 to collector and 10,000 in the end of this month.)"
[Blood Ledger activated]
After that Arin looked at people. He was seeing numbers on their head. "What are those numbers 29, 50, 26,38."
There he looked at a man whose number was 0. Arin got shocked because this was the first time in the whole market, who had 0 on his head.
Slice
Someone cut that '0' number man's head in instant. Arin was standing there and he couldn't even see, from where that swordsman came. When the head of a dead man touched the ground, the whole market was disrupted and chaos happened.
"Stop running every one, I am a general Kaelor of our king's Resistance force." That swordsman said while sheathing his sword.
After that more normal army soldiers came to that place and tried to calm down the situation.
Arin didn't understand what happened here; he just went away from that place and went down a dark narrow street. There he saw a basket of fresh bread. So he ran towards that basket and picked up food. He was about to eat but he stopped.
"I can't eat this food. This doesn't belong to me." His stomach was crying to eat but his morals and ethics refused him to eat that food.
Arin put back food in the basket. He took a deep breath, suddenly a voice came from behind him.
"If you are hungry, you can eat this food."
Arin got shocked and fell on the ground when he turned back there he saw a blond hair, beautiful nun standing there. She looked the same age as Arin.
Arin asked while looking at her. "Who are you and are you sure?" Arin lowered his eyes and his voice got lower. "And really I can eat this."
"My name is Lyra vale and yes, you can eat it all ." She said
Arin and Lyra both sat down on the ground and rested their backs on the wall.
Arin was eating bread from that basket. "Why are you in this dark street, Miss."
"There is no need for honourifics. You can call me by my name." Then she smiled. "I am working as a healer in church and I am here to heal a little girl because she was suffering from a heavy fever but she is in good health now."
Arin ate all the bread. After that they stand up and then Arin returns the basket to Lyra. "Thank you, you really look like a good person. Or maybe these breads are already rotten."
Lyra was shocked and her eyes filled with tears. "How can you say that I am a nun and a healer? I serve God and…"
"I am just kidding. I know these are fresh breads because I already know how rotten bread tastes like."
When she was about to leave that street, suddenly a tall man with ripped muscles entered that dark street. His hair was red and his white shirt's upper two buttons were open and his both hands in his creamy colour pants, and he was carrying a sword in his waist.
"Ohh, Miss Lyra, you are here and I am searching for you in whole market."
"I am sorry Mr. Kyris, that time I have to leave church in an emergency."
"I know that because a kind person like you can't make a person wait. And leave a patient for yourself." He walks towards Lyra and stands up in front of her then he leans towards her. "So what's your answer? Miss. Lyra."
"I understand your situation Mr. Kyris but my answer is still the same. I can't join you, because I already dedicated my life to God and people's of Veylor."
Arin is standing a little far behind her. He murmurs. "(Is this her default settings?)"
She started walking outside from the street. When she was about to cross Kyris he held her hand forcefully because of that her basket fell on the ground.
"So you dedicated your life to God and people then what about me." He licks his lips. "I am also a citizen of Veylor. Can't you help me."
She looked into his eyes with a gentle look and a smile."Of course you are the citizen of Veylor but God is above everyone. So I can't join your guild."
"Then what about joining me?" He shouted.
"What do you mean by joining you?" She looks confused.
"By becoming my wife." He said.
"Sorry Mr. Kyris, I can't become your wife because I already promised my life to someone else."
Arin again mocked her in his mind. "(Ofcourse to her so-called God.)"
"I promised myself to not touch another woman today without her permission." Kyris looks with leech eyes towards her. "But I think I have to do it again."
Kyris put her on the ground and captured both of her hands with his left hand. He torn her upper cloak and smiled.
"Woah, you really got the angel figure miss. Lyra."
She started crying and yelling 'help, please someone help' but whole street was empty. There was not a single life form that could help her. Her tears were falling down on that dirty road.
Kyris held her mouth with his right hand. And about to kiss her. "You will be my slave, Lyra."
Dump
An iron rod struck Kyris' head and a lot of blood was falling down from his head. His grip loosened on her. So, she pushed him and then she ran towards Arin and hid behind him.
Arin was standing there holding an iron rod in fear. Lyra was hiding behind him while covering her upper naked body.
Kyris saw Arin with a rod. He understood that he was the one who attacked him. So, he pulled out his sword from his waist. But his vision was still blurry and couldn't see Arin properly.
Still Kyris attacked on Arin, but Arin moved backwards and Kyris missed. He did again swung his sword left to right. But this time Arin barely dodged that sword by moving backward.
Arin looked at Lyra. She was hiding behind him. She was still crying and hiding her body with her hands.
Arin got a flashback of her mother when he was eight years old. "Dear, why did you fight with those boys? Look how injured you are."
He wiped his tears. "They were harassing my friend Nina. So, I beat them but because of my weakness, I lost. I can't even save her properly."
Selene graven laughed and her eyes filled with tears. Then she hugged him. " I am proud of you, my son. And you don't have to look down on your weakness. Because your pure heart is your real power."
"Really mother." A smile came on his face.
"Yes my dear."
Arin hugged her through her neck.
***
Arin was holding that iron rod with full force and then strikes at Kyris' chest. Whole iron rod passes through Kyris. While Kyris holds his sword above Arin's head. Arin's eyes filled with fear then Arin pushed him back. Kyris falls to the ground but he is still breathing.
Arin removed his torn shirt and gave it to Lyra. She wore his shirt and covered herself.
"Th..Thank you Arin, you really saved me today."
As a reward for saving her life she kissed Arin cheek, picked up her basket and ran away while crying from that dark street.
"I hope you won't think I am dirty now." She murmured while running away.
Arin got flushed because this is the first time when someone other than his mother kissed him, Arin heard heavy panting. His flushed face turned serious and scared because Kyris was still alive and panting there on the ground. Arin came closer towards him. There Arin saw Kyris' sword lying on the ground. So, he picked up and put that sword point exactly on Kyris' neck.
"You insult a lady. You disrespected her. Now you do not deserve to live."
Arin presses the sword. It passes through Kyris' neck and now Kyris is dead.
[Congratulations on first kill]
[First installment: 9,999 lives]
[Blood Ledger → Life drain.]
[Touch corpse to drain life force.]
[New Passive: Blood manipulation]
"What is it? it means this debt is not a coin but someone's life."
Now Arin's adrenaline went back to normal and he realised that he killed someone. He fell on his knees in front Kyris body then he saw Kyris lifeless body pierced with a sword in neck and with iron rod in chest. He falls back and starts vomiting.
"What have I done?" After that Arin fainted on the ground in a dark street of Veylor.
[Corruption : 5%]
To be continued…