2 Lonely Boy

I plan to update this story three times a week. So based on the schedule, this chapter will be updated tomorrow. However, I have an out-of-town trip tomorrow, so there's a big possibility that I won't be able to update the new chapter.

Therefore, I am updating this chapter today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will be vacant.

Just give me stone and read my other story especially my new story : Pendant of War.

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25 years ago.

Ilisia was a kingdom located in the West Blue.

It was an old kingdom that had existed since the formation of the World Government.

Led by King Thalassa Lucas, a kind king who could be said to possess noble qualities. However, he was politically weak, as evidenced by the numerous rebellions that occurred during his reign, turning Ilisia into a kingdom filled with unrest.

The continuous wars gave rise to many children born out of wedlock from parents killed in the conflicts.

Orphans begging or becoming hoodlums became a common sight in this kingdom.

Women with eyes deader than fish could be seen on the streets, their bellies swollen with pregnancies of unknown fathers from the dozens to hundreds of men they slept with to earn a meal.

One of them was a fishmonger woman currently cutting her merchandise. Her face looked pale, but her hands kept moving, swinging the cutting knife like a robot. Her bulging belly indicated a pregnancy of more than nine months.

She didn't know when she would give birth, it could be today or next week, she didn't care.

She would discard this child along with the fish waste into the pier behind her. Like the other baby before this.

Unexpectedly, her prediction was correct; she felt the familiar pain and kicks in her abdomen. The woman quickly sat down and spread her legs.

She didn't need a doctor or anyone else to assist her. In this matter, she could be considered more experienced than even a town midwife.

With a multiple forceful push, the baby she carried was expelled from her vagina. With swift movements, she immediately clamped the umbilical cord and cut it.

She stood back up with the same expression, ignoring the unfortunate baby lying under the table, mingled with fish waste.

From her experience, she knew the baby wouldn't cry because the pungent smell around could cause fainting. Even if the baby cried, she didn't care because no one in this slum market would care.

Dumping newborns into the pier was a common sight for them.

But luck was on the side of the newborn baby, and misfortune befell the woman.

A newly graduated Navy officer assigned to this island was walking through the market to explore. When he passed by the fish stall, the previously calm baby began to cry loudly, as if calling out the only ray of his survival.

As the naval officer's innocence mind disappeared, the baby was given to an orphanage and the mother was hung in the centre of the plaza.

The baby grew up to be a boy among other orphans in the orphanage.

Despite appearing to have found his fortune, the reality was quite different. The boy was very peculiar; he couldn't speak, and every day he would sit silently, gazing at the sky.

This behavior made the other orphanage children stay away from him and sometimes bully him. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they hit him, there was no change in expression or response from the boy.

However, the orphanage he lived in had its own dark background. It was one of the facilities owned by one of the largest rebel leaders in the Ilisia Kingdom, Caesar. The purpose of establishing this orphanage was to recruit new rebel warriors who were loyal only to Caesar.

When he was five years old, rebel soldiers came to the orphanage and began selecting children to recruit as if they were choosing vegetables at the market.

The boy was chosen because, despite his silence, he had a larger and stronger body than the other children.

But a peculiar thing happened during the registration session.

The rebel soldiers conducting the registration asked the boy for his name. But as usual, he remained silent and couldn't answer, as if he were mute.

The soldier immediately became angry and wanted to hit the boy, but one of the orphanage children came to his aid.

The child's name was Teka, the only orphanage child who wasn't afraid of the boy and sometimes came to accompany him. Unfortunately, Teka also didn't know the boy's name.

The orphanage caretakers usually referred to the boy as Brat, Trash, Mute, Impudent, etc. While the other orphanage children called him Idiot, weird kid, scary kid, etc.

So, Teka was at a loss for words and panicked when answering the rebel soldier, who by now had a flushed face due to anger.

"His name? e... e... eto..." Teka stuttered, scratching his head, with cold sweat soaking his back.

"Okay, Eto, that's it. Go now, don't let me see your face again!" nodded the rebel soldier, waving his hand dismissively before he lost control and struck the frozen face of the boy.

Teka could only nod while pulling the hand of the boy.

That day, the nameless boy became known as Eto.

After that, they were taken to a training camp in the middle of the desert.

Although called a training camp, ultimately its purpose was to weed out the weak from the strong.

These children underwent inhumane training.

They were ordered to swim against the river current, where sharp spears awaited at the end of the stream. Not one or two children ended up as corpses impaled on those spears.

Various deadly exercises were also carried out, such as climbing cliffs without safety gear, swimming among vicious crocodiles, or being left in dangerous forests with only a spear on their backs.

They were also instructed to fight each other and were not allowed to stop until their opponent was either dead or unconscious. There was no surrender for the rebels; they would only end up victorious or dead, as their trainers emphasized.

In addition, they were taught loyalty to Caesar, which ultimately amounted to brainwashing these children.

Eto endured all of this every day without complaint or change in expression on his face. Despite being injured, sick, or tortured by his trainers, Eto only furrowed his brow without a single sound coming out of his mouth.

Three years later, when Eto graduated from the training camp, he earned the nickname "Stone Face."

Besides Eto, Teka also managed to graduate from the training camp, but out of all the orphanage children who participated, only five survived until graduation.

Immediately after graduation, Eto and the other children were thrown into battle. With spears on their backs and rifles in their hands, they fought and killed their enemies.

The widespread rebellion prompted the Ilisia Kingdom to deploy their forces without hesitation. These royal soldiers showed no mercy, not even to rebel children.

However, Eto and the other children faced not only royal soldiers but also other rebel forces who refused to obey Caesar's orders.

Ultimately, Eto and the other children continued to fight every day. The number of enemies Eto killed was countless, yet it still failed to carve an expression on his face.

The number of orphanage children surviving began to decrease one by one. From five, it became four, then three, and now only two remained: Eto and Teka.

Until one day, a major battle between the rebels and the royal forces erupted on a hill.

The battle began with the rebel forces launching a surprise attack at night to destroy the royal forces' logistics. Initially, the attack plan went smoothly, and they succeeded in destroying the royal forces' logistics. However, the rebel forces never expected it to be a trap set by the royal forces.

The rebel forces were then trapped from both sides, making them easy prey for the royal forces.

However, the brainwashed rebel forces had exceptionally high morale.

They continued to fight, knowing that this could be the end of their lives.

The battle, which should have ended quickly, dragged on until the fifth day.

The casualties on both sides had reached thousands, yet none of them seemed had enough to stop.

In the midst of the deadly battle, Eto and Teka stood back-to-back, protecting each other's rear. The two children did not look well; blood drenched their bodies, whether from their own wounds or from the enemies they had killed.

*Boom!

A cannonball exploded near them, sending them both flying.

Teka rolled on the ground, feeling one of his ribs crack. He quickly patted out the flames on his burning clothes while crawling to retrieve his rifle that had been thrown away.

"ETO!" Teka shouted softly.

He continued to crawl, trying not to be seen by the rebels and royal soldiers fighting around him.

He managed to find his rifle, gripping it tightly while continuously calling out Eto's name softly. But to his dismay, he saw no sign of his only friend.

Tears began to well up in Teka's eyes; he felt a pang of sorrow as Eto was the only orphan left from the orphanage.

Although Eto had a stone face and never spoke, the bond between them was still felt because they came from the same place.

Suddenly, Teka felt danger from behind. With quick reflexes, he turned around and aimed his rifle. But before he could fire, a royal soldier's spear pierced his abdomen.

*Stab!

"Ugh!!"

Teka's shot missed and only grazed the soldier's cheek.

Feeling death looming over him, the royal soldier's eyes reddened. Seeing Teka still breathing, the soldier quickly choked the life out of the rebel child.

Teka, whose body was only half the size of the royal soldier try to fight back. But, the severe bleeding from his abdomen drained his strength even more.

*Dor!

But before death could claim him, a bullet suddenly pierced the royal soldier's head.

Wide-eyed, Teka quickly identified his savior.

Eto pushed the lifeless body of the royal soldier away from Teka to prevent it from falling on him. He saw Teka's pale face with furrowed brows.

"Eto... You save me again, man... hahaha... Cough! Cough!... ha… ha… Looks like I won't be able to repay you in this life..." Teka said, blood trickling from his mouth.

Eto remained silent, his furrowed brow the only expression he showed.

Then he lowered his gaze, looking at Teka's exposed chest, pierced by the royal soldier's spear.

From the open wound, Eto could see fair skin and two mounds of flesh higher than what is typically found on a man.

"What are you looking at? Oh... hahaha... you know, even though they're not much now, just wait a few years, and you'll be amazed," grinned Teka.

Eto remained silent, this time observing Teka's usual grin-filled face.

Eto knew he couldn't save Teka again; the spear had pierced Teka's lungs. He lacked the knowledge, equipment, or time to perform any operation on Teka.

But it seemed Teka didn't know what Eto was thinking, "Forgive me for never telling you this, Eto. It's not that I wanted to keep it a secret, but I didn't know how to explain it.

"When I was little, I could easily hide them, but over the years, it became increasingly difficult, and I had to bind them tightly...

"You know, Eto... one of the things I fear most is people finding out that I'm a woman... Not because I'm ashamed of my gender, but because I know I won't be able to protect myself anymore... I saw our captain rape a female soldier before... She got pregnant and had to leave the force..."

Eto didn't know how to feel, but his hand reflexively tightened around Teka's, which was now growing cold.

"Eto... I just didn't want to end up like that... do you know what I mean? I don't want any child to be born into this world like... us... I don't want my child to feel the loneliness I feel."

Teka's voice grew softer, and her eyes seemed heavy. Eto had to bow down to hear her.

"Eto... when we went to the city to stock up, I peeked into one of the houses near the boat workshop... You know what I saw? A family... yes... a father, mother, and two children..."

For some reason, Eto's heart felt unbearably heavy, and his eyes stung. He held Teka's hand tightly, which now felt like ice.

"Eto... at that moment, I felt envy and at the same time, I had a dream... Eto... I want to have a family... I want a complete and warm family... I want to see the smiles of my children when I kiss their foreheads goodnight... but now..."

"Eto... what's… your… dream?"

Teka then breathed her last. Eto stood there in silence his ear pressed against Teka's chest. Although his friend's body had grown cold, he felt an inexplicable warmth.

'What's my dream?' Eto wondered silently.

He raised his head to gaze at the cloudy sky. Unbeknownst to him, tears had started to wet his cheeks.

"Teka... I don't know..."

And for the first time, Eto's voice was heard but it quickly drowned out by the sounds of the surrounding warfare.