Emerion's POV
"Stop it… stop…"
In a dark cell, I was tied up, and the cold collar was suppressing my magic abilities, making everything worse. Pristilia talked nonsense to me for hours while I remained tied, naked and humiliated.
"Oh, you want me to stop talking? You have no right to order me, pretty boy. Either you tell me your noble house, or this will continue," Pristilia said with a smirk. Her eyes held a strange, sadistic light.
"Then why not just finish me off? Because trust me, I have no intention of telling you my house just so you can manipulate things even more," I said in a tired voice. I hadn't seen the light for a week, perhaps.
"Finishing you off? I don't think so, pretty boy. Where is the fun in that? If a toy breaks, you get nothing to play with, right? So I won't finish you off, and I won't harm you physically because wounds can be healed. But mental suffering? I don't think so…" she smirked at me.
She then sat on a chair in front of me.
"Now, where were we? Oh yes. Once, I cut off the hands and legs of a few merchants who were selling fake gold. You know what I did after? I fed them to crocodiles." She laughed, without showing much emotion.
Stop it… stop it… I hate you… I will never forgive you… If I ever get a chance to get out of here, I will show you..
My eyes burned with hatred.
But suddenly, a cold sensation washed over my body. A white light spread through the dark cell. Pristilia's voice disappeared, and soon her face faded as well.
"What's going on?" I looked around and noticed I was in… the Dawnveil family estate. My so-called family.
But I was just in a cell
I looked at my hands. They were tiny… like a child's.
I ran to a mirror. What I saw was my face it was me, but from when I was little. I stared in shock.
Why am I here? Am I hallucinating?
Suddenly, footsteps echoed. I saw my father approaching with several soldiers. His expression, as always, was serious. He spared me a glance filled with faint disgust.
"Instead of doing nonsense, why don't you practice your magic or learn geography? You can't even tell anyone where your home is," he said coldly.
I remembered how bad I was at academics as a child. I used to cry alone in my room at night, when everyone else was asleep.
"What are you waiting for? Go. You are a shame to a noble. While other children are already learning to fly, you can't even walk properly," he said sternly.
My heart sank again.
It felt no different from Pristilia's humiliation.
Pain is pain you can't compare it.
I ran down the corridor, my hands and eyes struggling to hold back tears. The past and the present were both terrible. The future was uncertain. Lost in my thoughts, I bumped into someone and fell to the ground.
"You should be careful. Are you okay?"
I looked up to see a man with blond hair and a beard, around five nine in height. He extended his hand toward me. I hesitated, then took it.
"Um… I'm sorry. I'll be careful," I said without meeting his eyes.
"Wait," he said as I turned to leave.
"Yes?" A few tears slipped from my eyes.
"Did your father say something mean to you again?" he asked, kneeling down to my level.
"Were you stalking me?" I asked instinctively. I didn't want pity from anyone.
"Haha, no. I wasn't. But you cry every time because of your parents, so it's obvious," he said gently.
I clenched my fists. Yes it was because of them. No matter what I did, they hated me. From tearing apart my storybooks to stopping me from playing with other children.
I hate them.
"I hate them," I said in a broken voice, tears spilling freely.
The man placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Hate is a strong word for a child like you. Why do you hate them?" he asked, curious and empathetic.
What kind of question is that?
"Because they hate me, so I do the same," I replied, as if it were obvious.
The man smiled.
"Is that so? Then tell me what do you desire, if you were given the chance?" he asked.
"I want to do whatever I like. I want to play with other kids. I want to read my storybooks without anyone telling me what I should do. I want to be free," I said excitedly, raising my hands as I imagined myself like a phoenix.
The man laughed.
"Hey, what are you laughing at?" I pouted slightly. "Are you making fun of me too?"
"No, no. You have noble dreams," he said warmly. "It's like a poet wanting to be a soldier, a soldier wanting to be a king, and a king wanting to be a poet."
I didn't understand what he was saying at all.
He noticed my confused expression.
"You want to be free," he continued. "But you won't be free if you carry the heavy burden of hatred in your eyes."
He paused.
"They hate you but do you want to be like them? Do you want others to hate you?"
"No… I don't want to be like them," I answered slowly. "And I don't want to be hated either."
I had never thought about it this deeply.
"Then you must forgive them," he said with a smile.
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
Forgive them? Seriously?
"I know you don't fully understand it yet, and you don't need to rush. The world is full of hatred. People will always hate you for something. But while everyone else's heart is enslaved by hatred, you can rise free. Like a flower blooming in a graveyard of swords." He patted my shoulder twice.
"Remember, Emerion the first step to freedom is forgiveness. It's the greatest thing a human can do. Your heart will feel lighter, and with clarity, you can break the chains of hatred," he said with a gentle smile.
Suddenly, the room lit up again.
What's happening?
Forgive…
I felt the light shift, and once more I was back in the cold, dark cage. Pristilia was still rambling on, her voice echoing through the cell.
This humiliation… I can't change it…
I forgive you…
I said it in my mind. It was hard, but my heart slowly began to feel lighter.
"Huh? Why are you smiling, pretty boy?" Pristilia asked, confused.
I simply shook my head.
I don't know who that man was. I don't fully understand his philosophy. But the word forgiveness it gave my heart a strange relief. That much was true.
Even to this day, I don't fully believe in the idea of forgiveness. But it worked whether to survive Pristilia's humiliation, or my conversations with my sister.
"Brother… brother, the ship is leaving. Let's go."
I snapped out of my thoughts as I stared at the blue sea. I heard my sister Arlienne's voice. Right we were at the port.
"Brother, you were zoning out again. Let's go," she said, pulling my hand before I could reply.
It was the beginning of a new journey.