《Rise of the Death Lord》 Preface Preface: In the Human Kingdom ¡°Hows my wife doing?¡±a haggard looking man asked a nurse who was coming out of the delivery room. ¡°She¡¯s doing fine sir, please just go sit down.¡±The nurse curtly replied as she filled out some papers ¡°But she¡¯s been in there for hours.¡± the man almost shouted at the nurse in frustration. ¡°Everything is fine there were just some minor complications with the delivery, if you would just wait I am sure the doctor will be done in minute now.¡± She said as she walked away to go and complete her rounds, leaving the haggard man by himself in the waiting room. The minutes ticked by as the man waited almost bursting with worry when a doctor came out of the delivery room and came up to him. ¡°Are you Lord Ignatius?¡± the doctor asked the nervous man. ¡°Yes that¡¯s me, how is my wife doing?¡± ¡°She and your son are just fine my lord.¡± ¡°Can I go see them.?¡± ¡°Yes, right this way my lord.¡± The doctor lead Mr. Ignatius through the glistening white hallways of the maternity ward to a room set off in the far corner. ¡°Right in here.¡± The doctor said as he opened the door. When Mr. Ignatius entered the room he saw his wife holding a screaming baby in her arms. ¡°Milton, look at our beautiful son, what should we call him?¡± ¡°I think we should name him after his grandfather.¡± ¡°So, Ethan Ignatius, yes thats a good name.¡±She said as she smiled blessfully at her son. ¡°Excuse me Mr. and Mrs. Ignatius but would you like to do the test now or later?¡± the doctor asked as he brought in a strange instrument that had ancient runes scattered across it. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Yes, let''s do the test now and see if he lives up to the Ignatius name.¡± Mr. Ignatius laughed heartily knowing that his soon would have a strong fire element. The doctor nodded his head and took the baby from Mrs. Ignatius arms. He then placed it near the strange machine and uttered a quick cantation ¡°ostendis potentiam tuam¡± After he spoke those three words, the runes on the machine began to glow a bright blue as the swirled around the baby, but after a few seconds, they faded and became dull again. The doctor turned towards the expectant parents with a grim look on his face. ¡°I am sorry to inform you but your son lacks the capacity for Mana.¡± ¡°What! How can this be! Is he at least able to use Ki?¡± Mr. Ignatius shouted angrily. ¡°No he also has no potential for Ki cultivation and does not show any sign of being a psyker¡± ¡°So, you are telling me he is a powerless.¡± ¡°Yes, I am sorry my lord.¡± With that, the doctor bowed and left so that the two parents could let the information sink in. ¡°How could this be?¡± asked Mrs. Ignatius, on the verge of tears. ¡°I don¡¯t know but it seems the gods have forsaken this child.¡± ¡°What should we do, if the other noble houses find out we will be the laughing stalk of the Kingdom.¡± ¡°I know, just let me think.¡± Mr. Ignatius stood there for almost half an hour before he had an idea. ¡°Didn¡¯t that demon maid''s son die of an illness?¡± ¡°Yes I do believe so. she asked for a month off to grieve but that was the same month that the pope was coming so you denied her that time off.¡± ¡°Good then, I know just what to do.¡± ¡°Oh and what''s that dear?¡± ¡°We will give that boy to the demoness and let her raise him in place of her son. This way none of the noble houses will know about him.¡± ¡°Yes but what about the hospital records here.¡¯ ¡°We will bribe the doctor in changing the records saying that than was born a still born.¡± ¡°Yes, this just might save our family.¡± Over the next week, Mr. Ignatius bribed all the people that were necessary in covering up his third son¡¯s existence. At that time his wife and son were ready to come home. Once they arrived he immediately called the Demoness maid to his study. ¡°Excuse me master but you called for me?¡± she asked timidly Mr. Ignatius looked her up and down. She had long crimson hair that was a few shades darker than her skin. She also had pure black eyes and a set of small horns growing out of her forehead. Other than that, she looked like a normal human. ¡°Yes, I have in important job for you.¡± ¡°What is that master.¡± ¡°I heard that your son died recently.¡± ¡°Yes he did.¡± The demoness looked to be on the verge of tears remembering her lost child. ¡°Well, good then, I have a proposition for you but you must kept it a secret on pain of death.¡± ¡°Anything master.¡± ¡°As you know my wife gave birth to a third child, the problem is that this child was born without powers.¡± The demoness gasped slightly. For many magical creatures like her too be born without magic was the worst possible curse. ¡°For that reason he can not be allowed to join our family so we have chosen to give him to you to replace your lost child.¡± The demoness was overwhelmed by what she heard. At first she was sad remembering her son''s death, but then she became angry because the lord believed that his child could so easily replace the one she had lost. Then, she felt revenge begin to burn in her breast and she began to plot out what she would do. She would cause as much pain as possible to befall this child in place of his family. ¡°I would be honored my lord.¡± ¡°Very good, Mary please bring in the maid¡¯s son.¡± Mrs. Ignatius walked into the study carrying the child. When she came up to the demoness, she practically threw the child at her. The Demoness did all she could to not drop the baby. ¡°There you go. Have fun raising that wretch of a child.¡± with that, she and her husband left the demoness alone with the baby not looking back. The demoness looked at the tiny babe she held in her arms. She couldn¡¯t help as the feeling of burning revenge she had faded away as she looked into the child¡¯s eyes. They reminded her of her lost son. ¡°Hello little one. My name is Sanguine Serkan, and I am your mother.¡± she said as she smiled faintly at her new son. Part 1 Part I October 7, 9478 Ethan walked home in the downpour completely oblivious to the fact that he was becoming drenched and wounded. He just kept walking not changing his pace looking at the ground in front of him. ¡°Today couldn¡¯t have gotten any worse.¡±He thought as he stumbled along catching himself on a wall. Flash Back: Ethan woke up when his mother shouted, ¡°Hurry up Ethan, or you''re going to be late!¡± Ethan rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he stumbled around the messy living room trying to get to the closet to find clean clothes. After hurriedly getting dressed he ran to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast before rushing out the door. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you have to help with the garden this afternoon!¡¯ ¡°I won¡¯t, by mom!¡± Ethan ran as fast as he could trying to eat the toast as he went. He knew that if he missed the bus even by a second he would have to run the 2.5 miles to school. Turning the corner he saw the bus stop but to his dismay, the bus had been early and all of the other children had already gotten onto the the bus. He got to the bus right before the driver closed the door. He was breathing heavily and could barely stand without the help of the rail on the bus stairs. He was about to climb when another teen about his age pushed him hard enough that he fell out of the bus¡¯s open door. The second Ethan landed on the ground, the bus driver pulled away and drove off leaving Ethan in a trail of dust. He got up and dusted himself off, looking around to see if anyone else had seen that but no one else was around. He just sighed and started to run towards the school. (Run Forrest, Run!) Thirty minutes later he was slowly walking up to the front doors of school drenched in sweat. When he got to the doors he looked up to find the school¡¯s principal staring down at him. The Principal was an elf that had lived for the last 2000 years all of which he spent running this school. He was a sour despicable man that thought the only real thing you needed to keep kids in line was the stick and not the carrot. He despised most of his students but he absolutely hated humans and demons. Above all, else he despised humans that had no powers. So, to him, Ethan was the greatest stain to ever exist on the name of his good school. ¡°I see that you are late once again Mr. Serkan,¡± the principal said with a sneer. ¡°Sorry sir but I missed the bus.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame your own failure on the bus.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was doing sir.¡± The principal held out his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t care. This is the tenth time you have been late in such away. I am sorry to say but this plus the rest of your record is grounds of expulsion from this school, goodbye Mr. Serkan,¡± the principal said as a cruel smile appeared on his face ¡°But my mother already paid for the full school year!¡± Ethan shouted. ¡°Calm down Mr. Serkan or else I will have you escorted from the premises.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do this you -------!¡± Ethan had lost control of his emotions when he saw the smirk on the elf¡¯s face. He lost his head and decided to wipe the smirk of his face. Ethan lunged at the elf trying to hit him. To his surprise he actually succeeded because the principal had not been prepared for Ethan to strike him. Ethan hit him in the throat causing the principal to kneel and gasp for air. (Critical hit) When the Principal recovered, he got up with malice in his eyes and used a spell to conjure up vines that twisted around Ethan¡¯s arms and legs. ¡°Now, you¡¯ve done it you powerless whelp. Did you really think you could fight me you damn weakling? I¡¯ve been showing you pity since you arrived at my school.¡± The principle practically growled at Ethan. ¡°What pity? You¡¯ve only extorted money out of my mother since I came to this school.¡± ¡°Yes and I should have done much worse. We can¡¯t have a powerless walking around this campus besmirching the school''s good name so I will leave you with a parting gift.¡± Right after saying that the principle punched Ethan in the gut hard enough that ethan coughed up a fine mist of blood. With just one punch the principal had incapacitated him.(KO) ¡°I hope you now see the difference between one with power and one with none, learn your place weakling.¡± The principal spat on him as he walked away. Ethan lay groaning on the ground trying to stand up but failing as blood trickled out of his mouth. He slowly crawled to the side of the building waiting for the pain to stop but it never did. Very slowly he began to lose consciousness. His mind filled with blackness and all around him; shadows swirled and mixed with blood red and sickly green lights. Out of the darkness Ethan could hear voices. It started as a whisper but soon grew into a dull roar. It sounded like thousands of people all chanting at once. ¡°It is almost time, soon you will join us, soon you will be apart of us.¡± ¡°What, what are you?¡± Ethan shouted out nervously. ¡°We are you and you are us, we are the legion, for we are many, but we are one.¡± ¡°What do you mean, What legion?¡± Ethan asked even more confused. ¡°It is almost time, soon you will join us, soon you will be apart of us.¡± The voice grew louder and louder. Ethan tried to shrink back but they were all around him. No matter where he turned, he heard the voices growing louder and louder until they seemed to be right on top of him. His heart started to race when he heard another voice cutting through the darkness driving the other voices away. ¡°Ethan, Ethan can you hear me? Wake up Ethan!¡± Ethan felt someone shaking him as he regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes he saw a half elf girl about his age shaking him to wake him up. At first his brain couldn¡¯t comprehend the situation, but then it seemed to work again when he recognized her as the girl he had a crush on.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Ethan, can you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes Annabeth, I can hear you just fine. Please stop shouting in my face.¡± Ethan said trying not to let the pain he felt show in his voice. ¡°Thank the Goddess when I heard that the principal had physically disciplined you. I was worried that he might have accidentally killed you.¡± ¡°Thank you for the concern but it takes a bit more to kill me than a punch.¡± ¡°Yes, yes you see that pest there is like a cockroach.¡± Someone behind Annabeth said. When Ethan looked behind her he saw a sight that made him want to vomit. It was a boy just a year older than him. This boy was about a head shorter than Ethan but at the same time he had about twice as much muscle. He had flaming red hair and brown eyes. ¡°What do you want Jake?¡± Ethan asked almost spitting out the name. ¡°Nothing with you. I came to pick up Annebeth.¡± ¡°How come?¡± Ethan asked worried about what the response would be. ¡°Not that it''s any of your business but my parents and Annabeth''s parents are arranging a marriage proposal for us.¡± Jake said with a smug look on his face his smile growing with sadistic glee at seeing the despair that soon filled Ethan¡¯s eyes. (mwahahaha) Ethan was angry enough to start throwing punches but he didn¡¯t since he probably would die if he fought in his current condition. ¡°Come on Annabeth let¡¯s go, it seems he is fine.¡± ¡°Sure, just give me a second to cast a healing spell on him.¡± She said ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Go with Jake.¡± Ethan said pushing Annabeth away.¡°I¡¯ll be fine. No point in wasting your mana and time. Bye.¡± Ethan slowly walked away supporting himself by resting a hand on the wall, grimacing in pain with every couple of steps. He slowly walked away from the school and through the streets trying to get home as dark clouds rolled in. End Flashback: As he walked some more he saw a store that he had never noticed before. The exterior looked old and worn, the paint was flaking off the sides, and the windows were covered in a thick layer of dust. He could barely make out the the faded sign but from what he could see it seemed to say something about a new life. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to go into the store since he didn¡¯t have anything else to do and it would get him out of the rain. When he opened the door a small bell rang announcing his presence but no one came out to greet him. The first thing he noticed about the shop was its smell. It didn¡¯t smell bad, it was quite the opposite. The place had a fragrant herbal smell to it. He looked around the dimly lit shop. Jars filled with powdered plants and other things lined the wall, while dried plants hung from the rafters and a rack in the back was filled with leather bound books. Ethan looked around to see if there was anyone there, but it seemed liked he was alone. He walked around the story when he felt a curious pull leading him to the bookshelf. He looked over all of the books. Some of them seemed very old with dry and cracked leather covers. As he looked over the books, he felt the pull grow stronger until he spotted a book bound in all black. He unconsciously reached his hand out to grab it when a voice stopped him. ¡°What are you doing lad?¡± Ethan jumped around and saw an old man dressed in a black robe with a snake twined around his arm standing in the shadows. ¡°Sorry, I just came in to look sir.¡± Ethan said politely trying to find a way out. As he stood there, the man let the snake slither of his arm and onto a tree stand. ¡°Well, if you were looking to get that black book I can tell you right now that it has nothing to do with magic.¡± Ethan was confused at what the old man said since he had never thought the book had anything to do with magic. ¡°That¡¯s ok. I can¡¯t use mana so it doesn''t matter.¡± Ethan told the man as he tried to leave but the old man stopped him. ¡°Wait a second lad. Are you hurt?¡± ¡°Maybe, why do you want to know?¡± ¡°If you''re hurt why don''t you just use your ki to fix your body.¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t have any ki. Can I go now?¡±Ethan said getting very annoyed at the curiosity of the old man. What gave that old man the right to question him? ¡°Hold on, if you don¡¯t use mana or have ki does that mean you''re a psyker?¡± Ethan almost exploded at the old man ¡°No I¡¯m NOT a psyker, nor do I have ki and I can¡¯t use mana! I¡¯m powerless! Is that what you wanted to know!¡± Ethan was a bit surprised at his outburst. He had never blown up like that before but the old man¡¯s questions combined with what already happened just pissed him off. ¡°Sorry about my outburst.¡± Ethan said remorsefully. The old man just laughed. ¡°It''s alright, why don¡¯t you come with me and see if we can¡¯t fix you up.¡± The old man turned around and then walked into a back room. Ethan didn¡¯t know what else to do so he followed the old man into the room. The room looked like an old doctor''s office. There was a medicine cabinet to one side and in the middle of the room was a wooden table with a thin mattress on top of it. The old man was crushing something in a mortar with a pestle. ¡°Sit on the table please and remove your shirt so I can see what''s wrong.¡± The old man said without turning around. Ethan didn¡¯t respond, he just took off his shirt and sat on the table. When the old man looked at his chest, he saw a large read splotch that was in the same area where the principal had punched him. The old man came over and quickly looked the wound over. ¡°Hmmm... There seems to be some internal bleeding but nothing that dangerous.¡± He muttered as he went over to the table and started picking different herbs that hung from the ceiling. He then put them into the mortar and began to crush them up. After crushing them, he placed them on a white cloth over a jar and poured some boiling water over them. This caused a tea like liquid to form in the jar. After that he plucked a mana crystal from a formation growing on the wall and dropped it into the jar. The brown liquid in the jar began to glow and turn red. Curious, Ethan asked the old man a question. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Hmm...oh I¡¯m making a healing potion for you.¡± ¡°Really? Thanks!¡± Ethan said cheerfully now that he didn¡¯t have to explain his injures to Sanguine. Yes she was his mother but sometimes she could get really, really scary. Then, Ethan thought of something and his smile quickly faded. ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t afford a healing potion.¡± ¡°Oh be quiet. I¡¯m doing this as my one good deed a century.¡± the old man said sounding amused. ¡°Well I can¡¯t except that.¡± Ethan said as he got up grabbed his shirt and made for the door. ¡°And why not.¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to be in your debt sir.¡± ¡°Well, You won¡¯t be in my debt because after this you''re going to be working for me.¡± The old man stated as if it was a decided fact ¡°What¡­... what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Sit down or I¡¯ll tell your mother you got kicked out of school.¡± Ethan immediately sat down and waited for the old man to explain. ¡°First off, my name is Alexander Mot, what''s yours?¡± ¡°My name is Ethan Serkan.¡± ¡°Ok Ethan, let me explain. You see, I have been looking for an apprentice to learn my craft but no one was ever drawn to it. No one that is, until you showed up¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean by an apprentice? I don¡¯t even have a power.¡± ¡°First off, don¡¯t interrupt me Second, you not having powers is a good thing for it is required for my craft. So, from now on you will be my apprentice. This means that you will come to this shop every day as if you were going to school. For the first part of your training you will learn alchemy. Then, when the time is right you will start to learn my craft. Agreed?¡± Ethan sat there and thought it over. ¡°If I agree to this, I will have an excuse for Sanguine and I will gain a power over a certain craft it seems. The only thing I don¡¯t like is that I don¡¯t know what the craft is. Damn it, who cares. It will be better than any future I have.¡± (Unlimited Power!!!) ¡°Alright master, I will become your apprentice.¡± ¡°Good. Your first job will be to take this book home. Don¡¯t open it until the new moon of the winter solstice.¡± His master gave him the black book that he reached for before. ¡°Now, go home.¡± The old man said as he ushered Ethan out the door Ethan got home right as the street lamps turned on. His house was pretty small. It only had one bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room, but it was still home. He tried to sneak in but the moment he opened the door he heard his mother yell from the kitchen. ¡°Ethan, is that you? Why are you coming home so late?¡± ¡°Sorry mom but I went to go find a job after school and it took longer than I thought.¡± Ethan shouted back ¡°Oh really, did you find one?¡± ¡°Yeah. Its at this small alchemy shop in town.¡± ¡°That''s just great dear, but remember I want you home before dark okay?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Ethan navigated his way through the mess of a living room they had. Even though his mother was a maid, the house never seemed to be clean. He left his school bag and the book in the living room and headed towards the kitchen. When he entered, he saw his mother standing over the stove cooking something in a pan. She looked like a twenty five year old women but in reality she was around two hundred and fifty years old. (Great Scott!!) ¡°What are you cooking?¡± Ethan asked as he looked into the pan. ¡°Your favorite chili.¡± ¡°Really? How come we almost never have meat.¡± Ethan asked surprised at what his mother told him. Ever since the reawakening, meat had been something only the rich and nobles could eat. ¡°Well, you see, the Ignatius house had some left over that would have gone to waste so I took it.¡± his mother explained cheerfully. Ethan on the other hand became more gloomy at the news since it reminded him of what happened this morning. ¡°So, how was your day at work mom?¡± Ethan asked trying to change the subject. ¡°It was ok but that girl was being a spoiled brat again.¡± She said ¡°Do you mean Kaitlyn Ignatius?¡± ¡°Yes, she made me clean her room three times claiming that I just made it dirtier every time, which made me late to cleaning the dining room so the mistress became upset.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± ¡°It''s alright just go set the table for me, ok.¡± ¡°Yes mom.¡± Ethan took out a two bowls and some silverware and went to go place them on the old rickety table that sat off in a corner of the kitchen. After doing this, Sanguine took some of the chili and served it to each bowl before storing some of it to eat for tomorrow. When they finished dinner, Ethan cleared the table and cleaned the dishes. He then went to the living room and pulled some blankets out of the closet and set them on the couch. ¡°Night mom.¡± ¡°Night.¡± After saying good night, he laid down on the couch and fell asleep right away. Part 2 Part II When he opened his eyes, sunlight was already streaming through the blinds of the living room. He yawned and got up before he went to the bathroom and changed into some clean clothes. He then went to the kitchen and grabbed some breakfast. After eating, he got his backpack. He then walked out the door and locked the house up since Sanguine had already left for work. Ethan felt pretty happy today, mainly because he didn¡¯t have to go to school or face the other students who would bully him. As he walked down the street, he watched the world going on around him. It was a bright and sunny day which was uncommon for fall and ethan was enjoying the cold bite of the air as he walked. His mood though drastically dropped when he turned the corner and saw a group of kids around his age hanging out there. They all wore the school uniform for Moonbeam Magic School, which was the school Ethan had been kicked out of the other day. Ethan was worried since the group of kids in front of him had been known to bully and steal from commoners. ¡°Hey look. Isn¡¯t that the commoner the principal beat up?¡± the tallest one asked the other two that stood with him. ¡°Yeah it is. What''s he doing here?¡± asked a short stubby kid that stood to the right of the tall one. ¡°I don¡¯t know but he made a mistake in entering our territory.¡± the one with glasses said as they all started to move closer. ¡°Get him!¡± Glasses shouted as the other two charged forwards. Ethan didn¡¯t even have time to react as the tall one and Fatty grabbed onto his arms. They held him in place so that he couldn¡¯t run as Glasses started to talk to him. ¡°Alright, now you''re going to give us any money you have on you and not tell anyone about this or else we¡¯re going to have a problem. You got that?¡± Glasses asked Ethan as he sneered in his face. ¡°What is this? These noble born bastards, who have all the money they need, still have to steal from those who can barely pay to stay alive¡± Ethan thought before his anger began to rise. He was about to spit in Glasses¡¯ face but something stopped him from doing it. All of the burning rage he felt towards the nobles had consolidated and at that point became something else. No longer did his rage burn like an inferno. Instead, it had become cold and hard turning into hate. He loathed the nobles and everything they stood for. ¡°I have no money on me.¡± Ethan stated in a low voice that was just above a whisper. ¡°What was that, can¡¯t you talk or are you to scared of me.¡± Glasses asked in an arrogant way as he laughed with his friends at Ethan¡¯s predicament. ¡°I said that I have no money.¡± Ethan once more replied in a calm tone while tilting his head up so that he could look Glasses in the eyes. Glasses almost jumped back when he saw Ethan¡¯s eyes. He had expected to see him with eyes full of fear or with eyes full of rage, but what he saw sent shivers down his spine. Ethan¡¯s eyes looked like they promised death. Glasses knowing that his two goons had seen him jump back in fear immediately struck out at Ethan. The force of the punch and the way it landed caused the skin on Ethan¡¯s cheek to break and it started to bleed, but Ethan didn¡¯t make a sound he just turned his head and looked Glasses in the eyes again. Glasses panicked and started to hit Ethan over and over again. He was trying to get those eyes that seemed to stare hungrily at his soul to close. Those eyes that filled him with dread. Why won¡¯t they close? he thought as he continued to pound Ethan until Fatty grabbed his arm. ¡°Hey man. Look, he¡¯s almost dead. Let''s get out of here.¡± Fatty said a little bit shaken at Glasses¡¯s reaction. ¡°What...Yeah, let''s go.¡± Fatty had snapped Glasses back to reality which also showed Glasses what he had done. Lying before him was the broken body of Ethan. He had bruises already forming all over his body and blood was pouring out of multiple cuts, but the worst part for Glasses was that Ethan¡¯s eyes were still staring into his soul. The trio of nobles fled from the scene of the crime as fast as their feet could take them. Leaving Ethan there to bleed out on the side of the road. Once they disappeared from sight, Ethan slowly started to crawl towards the alchemy shop. He could only use one arm. His other one seemed to be broken or had a fracture because every time he tried using it, he felt excruciating pain. So, he dragged himself across the sidewalk with only one arm trying to reach the alchemy shop. Many people passed him but none stopped to offer him assistance. They all walked by him or over him trying to ignore his existence the best they could. Finally, he reached the alchemy shop but he didn¡¯t have the strength to even lift himself up to knock on the door. He just laid there hoping that Alexander would open the door and see him. He waited for what seemed like a long time as darkness began to fill the edges of his vision. Ethan tried to move once more, desperate to do something before he lost consciousness but it was in vain as his eyelids slowly shut.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He was once more surrounded by the swirling colors of Black, Green, Purple, and Red. But now there was a new color mixed in. This one was a dark midnight blue. He just floated there and watched the colors swirl around each other when he heard the voice again. ¡°Yes, come join us young one, become one with the Legion!¡± They shouted over and over again ¡°What do you mean by join you? What are you?¡± Ethan yelled out trying to figure out what was going on. ¡°We are you and you are us. We are the Legion!¡± They shouted back in response ¡°If you can not tell me what you are, then you can at least show yourselves.¡± Ethan demanded. For a few seconds the voices died down and Ethan thought it was over but just as he was praising god for delivering him from this madness, the swirling colors disappeared and what stood before him absolutely terrified him. An army of shadowy figures numbering in the thousands stood before him. He couldn¡¯t make out the figures of any of them other than the fact that they all had a human silhouette. What really terrified him was the creature standing in front of all of the shadows. It must have been at least eight feet tall and it appeared to be just a black skeleton wearing black steel armor. The Most disturbing thing about it was the fact that instead of eyes or empty sockets it had balls made up of green fire. Then, it did something that Ethan did not expect. It started to walk towards him and began saying ¡°We are the Legion and we have waited for your arrival.¡± It slowly got closer and closer to Ethan until its skeletal hands wrapped around Ethan¡¯s throat. ¡°Now, you will join us!¡± It shouted as it tightened its hold on Ethan¡¯s neck. Ethan did the one thing he could do and started to scream at the top of his lungs. ¡°aaaaahhhh ahahahahah ahahahahah¡± Ethan shot up into a sitting position and looked around the room he was in. Relief flooded through him as he saw that he was once again in the back room of the alchemy shop resting on the wooden table. ¡°Quit your shouting lad, you''re scaring away customers!¡± Alexander said gruffly as he entered the room. ¡°What happened?¡± Ethan asked still confused by what had occurred when he was unconscious. ¡°You tell me lad. I came back from gathering some rare herbs and I found you battered and bloodied lying in front of my door.¡± ¡°Sorry, when I was coming here I got into a little bit of a fight.¡± Ethan didn¡¯t say anything more than that, not wanting to drag Alexander into what had happened. ¡°Hmm...well if that really is it, I guess that means we can get on with today''s lessons.¡± Alexander said as helped Ethan to stand up. ¡°Really, what am I learning today¡±? Ethan asked hoping for it to be something interesting. Alexander smiled a little at Ethan¡¯s eagerness as he lead him towards the roof of the alchemy shop. Once they got to the roof Ethan saw a small herb garden growing in front of them. ¡°Today you will be learning how to care for herbs.¡± Alexander said as he tried to hold back his laugh at seeing Ethan¡¯s face dim a little bit. ¡°Is this all I¡¯m learning today?¡± Ethan asked a bit disappointed. ¡°I told you for the first four months, you will learn alchemy and to do that you need to know how to care for these plants. Ok?¡± Alexander said as if it were all a joke, but Ethan could hear the seriousness laced into his voice. Ethan knew what meant so he obediently followed Alexander around the garden watching what he did. Alexander showed him how to trim the plants so that they would be healthy. He also showed him how much water each plant needed and which ones needed to be picked periodically or else they would become poisonous. At the end of the day when Ethan was about to leave, Alexander told him, ¡°From now on when you come here in the morning, your job will be to tend to the herb garden, and to add some incentive, I will no longer tend to the garden. This means that if you fail in your duties, you will hurt the livelihood of this shop.¡± ¡°Why would you give me such an important task on the first day?¡± Ethan asked astonished at what he was supposed to do. ¡°Because I trust you and I see great things in your future.¡± was all Alexander said before ushering Ethan out of the store. Ethan walked away from the storing feeling tired but at the same time happy. He was happy because he was learning something that he could actually use in the future. He was also happy because even though he wasn¡¯t going to school, he could still help Sanguine with the house because he earned some pocket change. He was also happy because his new master,\Alexander, wasn¡¯t like the teachers in school who would mindlessly scold him. Instead, Alexander encouraged mistakes so that he could learn from them. Ethan got home. As he walked up to the door, he saw that the lights were on meaning that Sanguine was home early. Sure enough, when he tried to open the door it was unlocked. He entered the house and smelled the chili that was being reheated. ¡°Mom I¡¯m home!¡± Ethan shouted from the living room as he shrugged off his backpack ¡°Welcome back. How was school?¡± Sanguine asked in her usual cheery voice. ¡°It was okay I guess.¡± Ethan replied he hated lying to her but it was important to keep the fact that he got expelled a secret or else he would go through her full wrath. ¡°That¡¯s good why don¡¯t you eat dinner, I¡¯m going to bed since today was such a hectic day for me.¡± She said as she walked out of the kitchen and headed straight to her room. Ethan could see right away from the tired but wound up look in her eyes that something was stressing her out. He immediately wanted to know what it was since his mother almost never seemed upset about anything. ¡°What''s wrong mom?¡± Ethan asked sounding worried ¡°Its...its..it''s nothing dear just go eat your dinner.¡± His mother stuttered as if she were surprised to hear his voice, but she immediately left for her room without giving him a reply. Ethan waited for a bit before shrugging his shoulders. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t want to talk about it then she doesn''t have to.¡± He thought as he went and ate dinner before turning in for the night. Sanguine''s POV: She sat in the dark on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs rocking back and forth crying. ¡°Why, why did it have to be this way.¡± She thought as she kept crying. She remembered the moment as if it had just happened. She had been cleaning the Ignitus¡¯ living room like normal when the mistress and the master had called her to the office. When she got there she found the master sitting at his desk with the mistress standing behind him. The master looked up ate her with an angry look on his face. ¡°Do you mind telling me why I keep hearing about that useless brat?¡± The master asked clearly holding back a lot of his rage. ¡°Wh..what do you mean master?¡± Sanguine asked nervously because the master was known for his extreme temper. ¡°What I mean is that brat has been causing some much troubled for the last two days that more and more nobles are looking into him, first he gets kicked out of one of the most prestigious schools in the Kingdom of Man then he gets into a fight with the Principal. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough he got into a fight with three noble boys just the other day!¡± The master shouted making Sanguine flinch in surprise. Her mind was racing ¡°What does it mean that Ethan got kicked out of school, where did he go this morning?¡± ¡°Since you can¡¯t seem to handle him then you¡¯ll have to get rid of him. You have 6 month to do it if you are unable to I will have someone deal with both of you. Do you understand?¡± Mr. Ignatius asked. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Sanguine said as she left the room. Now she was stuck in her room crying. She had raised Ethan for all of these years treating him as if he were her own son and now she was told to kill. How would she be able to do this. That night she cried until she slipped into sleep. While Ethan slept blissfully unaware of his death sentence.