Ten years ago, on the outskirts of a large city.
"Ha… hah…" A scared little boy of no more than seven years old runs through dark alleys in the middle of a storm. He's shorter than other children his age, very skinny and pale with an unhealthy appearance. Yet, he has beautiful long white hair and big crystal-blue eyes that, in a way, make him look like a cute little girl.
"Someone, please… Haah…" He's gasping, nearly at his limit as he runs desperately, knocking on every door and window he finds. But besides there being few people in such an inhospitable and poor place, those nearby offer the boy no help at all.
"I need… hel-" The boy stops in front of an old wooden door when he sees a light through a small window up high. But then he hears barking dogs and looks back, seeing the light of lanterns approaching down the alley, a group of men with weapons in hand and dogs.
The boy's eyes widen with fear, and he starts running in the other direction, leaving the alley and entering a narrow street lined with old shacks and filthy ditches. There's no one in sight, and the boy is confused about where to run, but then a quick figure emerges from the shadows and grabs his arm. "AHH! Don't kill me!!!"
"It's me!" The mysterious figure speaks in a friendly tone, and the boy recognizes it, showing a relieved smile as he sees another boy in front of him, this one eight years old, with dark red hair and taller than boys his age.
"Big brother!" The white-haired boy hugs the other one in the rain, tears streaming from his eyes, but then he becomes concerned again and points toward the men approaching through the alley. "They're coming!"
"Stay behind me," the older boy uses one hand to push the white-haired boy behind his tall body while holding a bottle with a flaming rag at the tip and a strong-smelling liquid inside. Wasting no time, he throws the bottle into the alley, which explodes on impact, sending up high flames.
"Whaaaah!" The white-haired boy watches the flames and the older boy with admiration in his eyes, but that boy doesn't seem relieved and grabs the younger one's hand, pulling him to the other side of the street. "Come with me, and don't let go of my hand!"
The older boy leads the younger one into an old building, falling apart and full of holes in the roof where rainwater drips through, leaving him confused. "What are we doing here, Big brother? This place looks scary…"
"We won't stay long," the older boy starts searching the rooms until he finds a pile of burned wood and stacked stones in a corner, then begins moving them aside. "It's here!"
The white-haired boy watches in awe as his Big brother pulls the heavy stones with the strength of an adult. But then his heart starts racing as he hears the barking dogs again and sees the lights appearing at the entrance of the abandoned building through the broken windows. "They found us again!"
"Here! Come!!" The older boy pulls the white-haired one by the arm and points to a small hole in the wall no more than thirty centimeters wide. The little boy glances at the other with a frightened expression. "Big brother? I don't want to go in there."
"It's okay," the older boy gently pushes the younger one closer to the hole. "It's a secret passage, it'll take you inside the city walls, and they won't be able to follow you there."
The little white-haired boy ends up crawling into the hole thanks to his extremely skinny body, then he turns around and extends his hand to the older boy. "Come on, Big brother, they're almost here!"
The older boy clearly can't fit through the hole in the wall, but smiles at the white-haired boy, signaling for him to go. "Go ahead, I'll be right behind you."
"Big brother?" The little boy hesitates to go without the other, but he pulls a board in front of the hole and quickly turns to face the men entering the room.
They are in a group of five, with three large dogs on chains and lanterns in hand, all equipped with rudimentary weapons and armor, classic mercenary gear. The tallest and most muscular man in the group steps forward and throws a cruel look at the red-haired boy. "Where's the white-haired girl?"
"What girl?" The boy returns the hostile glare with a mocking expression, making the mercenary even angrier. "Alright, we'll do this the hard way…" He advances toward the boy, who tries to dodge his large incoming hand, but ends up surprised by the mercenary's high agility.
"AH!" The boy groans in pain as the mercenary brutally lifts him by the neck, bringing his now partially burned face close. "Look what your little trick back there did to me! Now you're going to tell me where that damn girl is, or I'll rip out your guts and feed them to my dogs while you watch, taking your last breaths!"
Even though it feels like his neck might snap at any moment, the boy endures the pain and stares at his attacker with a look of anger, not fear. A yellowish-red glow flashes in his brown eyes, and he spits in the mercenary's face.
"FUCK!" The man becomes even more furious and throws the boy to the ground with all his strength, making his bones crack and his blood splatter across the floor. The man also draws a half-rusted sword and points it at the boy on the ground. "Let's see how brave you stay when I start slicing you up!"
"NO!" It's not the red-haired boy who screams, but the white-haired one, who exits the hole in the wall and stands up with arms spread wide in front of the other, facing the mercenaries with terror in his teary eyes. "I won't let you hurt my Big brother!"
That demonstration of affection and courage doesn't move the red-haired boy emotionally, but it does make him upset and worried. "You! Get out of here before they-" But before the white-haired boy even notices, another mercenary charges from the side and grabs him by the neck, lifting him easily.
"NO!" The red-haired boy ignores the wounds on his body and tries to stand up to help his friend, but the first mercenary stomps on his chest, pinning him to the ground. "Not so fast, boy!"
"Hehehe…" The second mercenary reveals a sadistic smile as he tightens his grip around the white-haired boy's neck. "Look, Boss, it's not a girl after all, but a damn boy."
"A boy?" The first mercenary looks at the white-haired boy with the same cruel gaze. "But he really looks like a girl… Well, I know some perverted nobles who would pay very well for a cute little pet like this."
"He's not a pet!" The red-haired boy shouts as he struggles beneath the mercenary leader's metal boot. "You won't take him! I won't let you!!"
"Oh?" The leader throws an even crueler glance at the red-haired boy as he presses harder against his chest. "And what are you going to do, brat?"
The boy resists with all his strength, but that only makes the mercenary press even harder, slowly crushing his chest, breaking his bones and causing horrific pain throughout his body. Blood begins to leak from every opening, especially his nose and mouth, but he keeps a fierce expression. "I… I'll kill you… all of you!"
"Hahahaha!" The other mercenaries start laughing mockingly, but not the leader. That man stares at the red-haired boy with an irritated expression. He then moves his foot from the boy's chest to his neck and begins pressing down slowly. "No… you won't stop us, you're not strong enough."
The red-haired boy feels a horrifying, suffocating pain, but worse than that is the feeling of being unable to help the one most precious to him. From the corner of his eye, he sees the white-haired boy hanging by the neck, crying in terror.
The mercenary leader notices that, which makes his expression even more cruel as he looks at the red-haired boy. "Want to know what's going to happen to your friend after I kill you? I'm going to sell him to a very sadistic noble, the kind that will turn such a cute little boy into an object, draining all the life, all the happiness and love out of him…"
The man tightens his grip more and more around the red-haired boy's neck, until even his eyes begin to bleed. But the yellowish-red glow starts to light up within his bloodied eyes, awakening an uneasy feeling in the mercenary. Yet, he doesn't stop. "And you know what's the worst part? That boy will never forget his Big brother… the one who failed to protect him… who didn't save him from the hell that's about to come."
That kind of torture makes even the other mercenaries uneasy, and one of them tries to stop it. "Boss, what are you doing? That kid isn't bad either; we could get a good price for him, too."
"No!" The leader shouts while fixing his gaze on the boy on the ground. "There's something bad inside him, I can see it… I think it's some kind of evil, and I have to put an end to it now."
While choking on his own blood, the red-haired boy feels rage grow inside him like living flames. In fact, the glow in his eyes grows stronger, and his blood begins to boil, making a strange smoke rise.
"What's that smell??" One of the mercenaries asks as a sharp scent of burning fills the air, and they all widen their eyes when the boy's blood starts to catch fire. "The hell?!"
"He's a demon! Kill him now, Boss!!" The mercenaries shout, and the leader forces his foot down with all his strength against the boy's neck, but it feels absurdly resistant. "Die, devil!!" the leader yells as he draws his sword and drives it into the boy's chest.
Crack
The sound of bone and flesh giving way echoes as the boy's blood splashes over the mercenary leader, burning his skin far more intensely than any fire. The boy extends his hands and grabs the blade as all that blood ignites over his body, covering him completely in flames.
"I- WILL- KILL- YOU- ALL!" The boy's voice sounds deep as the flames grow out of his control, devouring everything in their path.
BOOOOOOOM
A massive explosion completely destroys the building around the boy, evaporating even the water in the sky above them. Everything goes dark from the boy's perspective, and he only wakes up some time later, when raindrops begin to fall onto his face again.
"Ah…" The boy feels no pain, only confusion. He looks at his body and notices all the wounds are gone, even touching his face and finding no scratches. "What…"
He looks to one side and sees what remains of the mercenaries' armor on the ground, only the metal parts, almost completely melted, with no sign of their bones, only ashes everywhere. A sense of guilt grips the boy's heart, and tears flow together with the rainwater from his eyes.
But then he looks to the other side and sees something that makes him breathe in relief: the white-haired boy lying on the ground. He seems unconscious, but his body and clothes are intact, and there is a translucent bluish dome around him.
"Hey!" The red-haired boy gets up and runs to the other. As he approaches the dome, he notices white flakes inside it, looking like ice floating around the boy. It's also strangely cold around it.
The red-haired boy extends his hand, a little afraid to touch the dome, but as soon as he does, that translucent barrier begins to crack rapidly and turns into white dust that becomes water on the ground.
The red-haired boy worries about his friend's condition, but then the white-haired boy slowly opens his eyes and gives him a beautiful smile. "Big brother…"
…
"Big brother?" Theo hears those words again after ten years. His gaze turns pale as if he's seeing a ghost, but instead, it's a beautiful white-haired young man with a delicate and feminine appearance right in front of him, holding books and a cloth backpack.
The young man waves his hand in front of Theo's face at the exit of the alley where he and Sarah were a second ago. The young man wears a curious smile as he stares at Theo, with a gentle glow in his blue eyes. "Are you alright, Big brother??"