1 Wilted Leaves

Sparks flew, swords clashed, and a river of blood ran across the ground. The silhouette of a man chopping another man's head off could be seen atop a hill of corpses.

"Arch, without purpose and a goal, this is all you are. Nothing but a killing machine, with but a consciousness that's too weak to control it's own body..."

"Get up, kid! Don't even think about begging for mercy! Boys, don't let up on him, beat him until he passes out!" A man ordered with a sadistic and arrogant expression on his face.

His filthy eyes glared at Archiasis, whose black hair covered his expressionless eyes. The numerous men beat Archiasis unceasingly for an unknown amount of time before leaving.

Archiasis lied on the uncomfortable concrete ground that was covered in blood. He was on the verge of fainting as he looked to the sky and spoke.

"To be born weak, in such a world, is the worst punishment from the heavens you can receive. Luckily, the existence of forma ensures the struggle of the weak to at least not be in vain. Even the smallest of wolves can eventually become the pack...leader..."

He passed out just as his gaze landed on a trash bag next to him. It was torn open and amidst the variety of trash and whatnot, a black book lay, undisturbed and clean. It was an odd sight, but Archiasis dismissed it as a hallucination because of excessive blood loss...

'It's still there.' He thought to himself after opening his eyes and looking at the trash bag again. The book still lay amongst the trash, just as he saw it before fainting.

Subconsciously, he reached out and grabbed the book, which in return, emitted a bright white glow that blinded him.

Archiasis struggled to shield his eyes with his other arm, but the light still pierced his eyes.

'What's happening?' He thought as the light completely shrouded his view and he lost consciousness again. Before he could panic, his eyes closed against his will...

"Passing out two times in the same day, not to mention right after recovering from the first faint." He said as he opened his eyes for the second time. Archiasis was curious about the book, but when he looked near the trash bag, it was gone.

This confused him, but when he thought about it, strange information would appear in his mind, regarding the book.

"~Fate Devouring Sword~" Archiasis muttered to himself. The strange book appeared within his mind, and a title appeared on the cover that gave him a miraculous feeling.

Upon reading the title aloud, the book opened, and an unusually low amount of words decorated the first page. Archiasis slowly read the words on the page, curious about the book and everything inside of it.

'Sharpen your Forma until it's as strong as a sword. Strengthen your body until it's great enough to touch fate.'

Just by reading the words within his head, a few lines that seemed to be instructions flowed into Archiasis's head. He read the instructions and his pupils slightly contracted as he acknowledged the profoundness and greatness of the book he encountered.

'Such power...I've been given a chance to change our lives.' Archiasis thought as a picture of his lighthearted sister appeared in his mind. Though, just as the picture appeared, his sister's eyes lost meaning and her expression grew dim.

Just like his.

"I shall devour fate." He said as he stood up. Despite the wounds on his body being rather grievous and open, he stood up anyway. Archiasis slowly left the alley that he was brought to, and headed home...

"I'm home." He quietly said while turning the lights in the house on. It was small, about the size of a two-bed apartment, and the kitchen was connected to the living room.

A red cotton couch with multiple scratch marks sat in the living room, along with a cheap lamp next to it. Archiasis looked down the hall at the two doors, one was his bed, and the other, his sister's.

He turned the light in the living room back off and approached his sister's room, which was on the left. Without knocking, he opened the door and looked at his sister.

She was in a bad condition, her hair was disheveled and her skin was too pale. Not to mention her body looked slightly malnourished, and her eyes were devoid of emotion, as if she had been robbed of her very being.

Archiasis didn't bother greeting his sister and instead sat on the bed and looked at her. Their expressions matched, yet something was different about the two.

One had a goal, while the other didn't. They were both tired of living, but for two different reasons as well.

"I've found a second reason to live." He said as he placed his hand on his sister's head. She never responded and kept her head tucked behind her legs, as if she were a child that was sad.

Although she acted like a child, she was older than Archiasis.

As he looked at her disheveled hair, frail body, and emotionless face, his eyes seemed to have darkened as a memory he'd rather want erased resurfaced in his head.

"Everyone has their fate. Everyone has their beginning, and everyone has their end." Archiasis said as an almost unnoticeable expression appeared on his face.

It was one of pure madness and regret.

Though, the moment it appeared, it disappeared as if it had never existed to begin with. Archiasis locked away his emotions against his own will, not letting them be exposed.

With but a consciousness that's too weak to control its own body...

Archiasis's sister finally moved, she looked up and stared into his hollow eyes before speaking.

"I want my light back. It was stolen from me and I want it back." Despite his sister having a blank face, the expression in her words was as apparent as a river in a forest. She grabbed Archiasis's arms with all her strength as a sorrowful expression appeared on her face.

"I'll get it back. It's one of the reasons I'm still alive after all."