543 Dream

"Huh? Where am I?"

"Oi, Asai you know the drill, hurry up!"

Asai turned around to find a small boy emboldened by his fellow mates who were equally dressed in rags pushing him into the stone cold hallway. Feeling a sense of nostalgia wash over him, a warmth that reminded him of home, he couldn't help but smile as his gaze landed upon Clam, Gary and... Benny.

"Thank you guys, I'm glad I gave you three the chance to redeem yourselves..." "I'm glad I didn't given in to those urges to abandon you lot."

The three young boys still spotty from pimples and acne, slammed the wooden door shut as their usual punching bag was being eerily creepy. With silence flooding into the hallway, leaving only the coldness of stone and the gentle pitter-patter of rain upon the windows to his company, Asai shifted his focus elsewhere.

Through the dark hallways visible only due to the low illuminated afforded by the moon, a young-woman observed him like a cougar would to its supper. Seeing the darkness wrap around her like a veil, Asai pretended to be oblivious as he passed on by the dhan who believed herself hidden with [Hide]

Even without the ring of [Par'Talucca] to grant him clairvoyance, his level now being much higher than the days of Trichia Orphanage allowed him to practically see through all forms of stealth, as long as they were magical in nature.

..

Once the young-Asai was standing once more before the delectable piece of pumpkin pie, he felt the coldness of steel linger dangerously close to his neck. A Katar that reeked of blood, and the hundreds of lives it had already reaped, it lingered for a full 5 seconds before pulling away.

"You should try it, I guarantee you'll love it."

The dhan literally threw herself into the darkest shadows within the canteen hall, her red crimson eyes blazed with confusion, fright and pain. Her pride and total confidence in oneself, her many months and years of being unseen throughout her tenure in Del Lagos had abruptly ended as she scrutinized the young boy's voice and gaze.

"Yes, I can see you. There's no one else here but you, Kozumi Par'Talucca, 4th princess of Par'Talucca, born to a concubine." 

Asai struggled to climb onto the table, as his teenage body wasn't exactly the most tallest or biggest due to the lack of food the orphanage could afford at the time. Seeing as she made no move for the pie, he helped himself, and whilst his child-body loved the pie, his mature-soul found it to be disgustingly sweet. Finding the clashing of emotions and thoughts to be funny, he chuckled as his gaze lingered upon the princess once more.

"So, you tried to kill me in the past? What held your blade? What stopped you?"

"Who are you, and why do you speak with such familiarity!?" Kozumi's feet kept twitching as the urge to vault, to throw out her heaviest ability filled her instincts. However, on the other side, her instincts also wanted to kneel, to salute the little boy who sat like a king upon a cheap wooden table desecrated by years of child-abuse and graffiti. "Nani kore!?"

Seeing as the dhan had no intention to speak, and was increasingly inching closer with her katars, evidently the scales were tipping towards silencing him, he decided to indulge in her curiosity, albeit feeling like he was forgetting something incredibly important...

"Relax, I'm the king of Par'Talucca, Asai-" He raised his palms up in surrender, as fury and rage swirled within her eyes. "I'm not the king as of yet, but when this body finishes maturing and growing, it will become it. To prove my claim... I've already met with granny Sakura No Par'Talucca, who continues to watch over the kingdom even now. So, what stopped your hand?"

Seeing the sheer-disbelief wash away all other emotions and inclinations, as she had never expected to find a single soul within the southern parts of the continent to be privy to such information, Kozumi exhaled a single deep breath in relief and acceptance.

"I'm not the first generation of dhans to infiltrate the southern kingdoms. And as perfect and loyal as we are, there have been some members who weren't able to control their urges, which resulted in loose-ends." Kozumi pointed at the young-Asai who was dressed in rags barely classified as clothing.

"So, what are you doing here, and what do you want of me?" Whilst she didn't believe Asai to be the king, as her father was still very much alive and well, as far as she was concerned. She did, however, believe him to be a vessel that was temporarily utilized by one of the kings of past, to deliver a message or order to her. As such, rather than conversing with a little boy, she imagined herself conversing with a divine-being hidden behind the little innocent kid.

"Mmm... As your king, I order you to ensure my survival. Help me, assist me, and join me. In the future, I will be fighting against the blue-calamity, the dekans. Steer me into the correct path, ensure my rise as soon as possible as I'll be in need of an army of my own."

Asai tapped upon his chin a few more times in contemplation. He didn't believe the information he was bestowing to the young-Kozumi would retain and become reality, as he was certain that what he was currently experiencing was all but a fleeting-dream. But, it couldn't hurt to try, and as such, he spoke what he believed to be allowed, whilst keeping the finer details of future events to himself.

"I know not, whether either of us would be allowed to keep these memories, but... Kozumi, thank you for doing what you did. And I apologise for what I did to repay your sacrifice, in return for your kindness..." "I had you imprisoned and jailed, caving into the voices and demands that noblesse-oblige demanded of me... Even now, there are still noble households and people demanding for your execution."

With the grace of a monarch, Asai leapt off the creaky-table and bowed to the princess in respect and appreciation. 

As he rose and met her gaze, he bit into his own thumb, tearing the skin and causing droplets of blood to leak.

"Drink, trust me."

The princess hesitated, but obeyed, suckling upon his thumb as his strangely sweet-essence blessed her body with [Healthy] 

"Duke!" Within the rising of rain, the droplets that fell from the heavens and clashed into the old orphanage, a voice echoed its desperate pleas. "Do not falter! Arise!"

Asai struggled to understand the echoes, as his eyelids became increasingly heavy, his body weak, his mind ablur.

"My king!?" Snapping out of her daze, as his thumb fell out of her mouth and his body collapsed, Kozumi gazed upon the young boy that was prophesized to become king. Gently carrying him back to bed in a princess-carry, she left a kiss upon his forehead, committing herself to remembering his facial-features, traits and voice. Planning to return in between her missions, as she still had much work left to do.

The rain showers began to subside, the heavy clatter of noise weakening as he struggled to recall who the voice belonged to.

"Prove thyself worthy-    sword of humanity-    ARISE AND FIGHT-"

His body feeling light, cold and greatly weakened. His eyelids broke apart as he willed them into action, ignoring their demands and desires to further sleep.

Pushing himself off the fragments of bone, off the cold-water that covered the floor, and rising to witness the prince of humanity, Victor Del Lagos with tears streaming across his cheeks, and the blood that fell from his lips. His memory finally returned, his purpose was not yet accomplished, his path treacherous, filled with suffering and challenges that would've broken many men of high calibre, but he wasn't alone.

He chuckled as he recalled the last time he had seen the prince suffer from such defeat, spitting out the water from his lungs, he soldiered on, as time waits for no man.

"Your Highness, Goddess Loha sends her greetings..."

[Song of Einhoren]

Level Requirement: 75

Requirements: [Del Lagos]

Stats

[Goddess' Wrath] 

Smite thy foe, with fury unbounded, gloriosam victoriam.

Seeing the majestic weapon imbedded into the ground before him, just like Excalibur, he ignored whatever the prince was screaming and utilized every muscle fibre possible to pull the mighty blade out.

"THERE!"

..

Kozumi sat upon the crooked old roof of the orphanage, this was the first ever time she had failed to uphold her oath to the kingdom of dhans, her first failure of an assassination. Ignoring the rainstorm that bounced off her radiance, she remained entirely still, as she tried to commit the night's event to memory. However, it was fleeting, strangely so. His face, his voice, his words, his overwhelming presence, and the taste of his addictive blood. It was all slipping through her fingers like sand.

By the time sunrise arrived, and the rain was no longer, as if it had cleansed the world, Kozumi could no longer recall why she had sat there for so long.

Feeling extremely confused, left dumbfounded, and horribly sore in the behind, her gaze fell as a young boy dressed in rags ran through the fields and into the garden-shed. Emerging back out with a broom in which he quickly removed the tool, utilizing only the rod as if it were a sword as he swung it in training.

Unsure as to why, but the princess felt a strange longing, a pull of sorts, towards the young boy.

[Chloe's Faith]

Targets that willingly consume your essence +10 loyalty

A weird urge to assault the boy kept playing itself within her mind, perversions she was trained to be without, feelings, emotions and desires a professional assassin should be in completely control of, ran loose.

"W-why do I want to tease him so much?"

kophzi