Medieval

Chapter 4: Tears

Leaving the door ajar, Damian ran to the stairs and slid down the rail to sprint across the street, he ran as fast as he could to reach for the tollbooth underneath where his home was situated. As he got to where the tollbooth was found, he saw smoke rising above the buildings. He turned around the corner to see a crowd surrounding a roaring fire from the ground which was supposed to be the place under which the Underworld was located. Stumbling forward, he ran with quick breaths to take a look at what had happened. As he pushed in through the crowd, he saw a blazing vision of the road crumbling to the underground, and under that rubble were building engulfed in flames.

This site was too much to take for Damian. No matter how many people he had slaughtered. No matter if he had killed many children and the elderly in the process. He was still a child to the fact that he would lose the only place in the world he called home. He lost a person who was like a father to him. The only place where he would ever tend to smile was taken away from him in one night. He screamed his lungs out until he felt pain in his throat. And finally, for the first time in his entire life, he felt tears trickle down his face.

He hadn't cried when he was abandoned by his family on the streets. He hadn't cried when he had to go through the training that his weak body couldn't bear. He hadn't called when he was forced to kill a person for the first time in his life. He hadn't cried when he had seen the lives of innocent underworld citizens being slaughtered by the high society. He hadn't called when he killed a child the same age as when he was abandoned by his parents. Yet at the moment, when he could feel complete defeat. When he could feel complete sacrifice from the people he cared for, he couldn't help but let those feelings out of him.

All these years, he had taken his life to be a regular progress of killings and mercenary operations. But he was now facing the unexpected, a part where his life would take a huge turn. As he remembered all the pain and agony, he had to go through because of the actions of the high society. The tears of pain started to become tears of rage, the tears of anger, and the tears of hatred. Even if it was a typical incident for the people around him, it was a tragedy where he had just lost his family.

From that moment on, he decided to infiltrate the roots of the high society from the inside. He is going to blend in with them and destroy them from within. There was no point in dwelling over the things that have passed. He stood up from the ground, looked over the flames, and turned around to have his back towards them. He slowly walked away, leaving his past behind.

As he walked through those streets, he saw memories flash before his eyes. Regret and hatred filled him. What if he had never left? What if he had spent one more moment with the person who had been with him his whole life? What if he had not been in a hurry to leave, knowing this would be the last time he would ever meet Selvon?

But then he remembered the words of Selvon when he had called. That Selvon stood no just chance against the 12 crescents. That meant that Damian had to get stronger. Much stronger than he is now. Strong enough to beat the ones even the Butcher couldn't. He reached his apartment building and saw the Janitor standing in front of the reception. He walked towards him and patted his shoulder, "It's ok, by the way, I am Justin. From now on, I'll take care of you. I promised Selvon to help you lead a better life."

As Damian heard these words, his face twitched with anger, and he said in a sore tone, "It's not about my life anymore, it's about vengeance. Enough is enough." He glared into Justin's eyes, waiting for an answer. Justin smirked and replied,

 "Of course it is."