Chapter 6 Jeremy

His memories are coming back one by one, body and soul healed through care. His spirit core acting as the keystone between these factors. Through this he slowly views his pasts.

He's a child, an old man is teaching him about their family's legacy, walking through the beautiful courtyard of Sakura Flowers and lotuses on the pond their walking past. They slowly walk through as the old man describes many things.

Though his tone is blank, his voice is strangely lively, "Life is built on a foundation that nature is not to exploited. When this is true, advancement may not be a thing of the future."

"But, everyday we are not satisfied. That is why we as mages break this balance for advancement." He, no my voice rang out, though childish at this point my voice is recognizable, "But grandpa, if we bully nature how will it recover?"

His voice turned calm but calculated, "Child, I'm sorry, but nature won't recover. It's us or them." Pausing for an instant he continues, "Nature may not be harmful on it's own, but the cost of us not acting for advancement as a mage is powerlessness."

"And people like us is going to do so regardless of our input." He's soaking up all these words like a sponge. This is his truth, nature is to exploited.

Nature is but a tool. Then, after his realization, the memory breaks apart into the void dropping him into a older version of him. The environment shifts to a park, filled with flowers and beauties of natures.

What is this? The scent of fire is in the air, I see animals and people running and a raging flames chasing after them.

I'm caught in the flames, the pain, it's like my soul is tearing me apart. The first second, my skin is flayed where the flames touched.

Each blade of fire burning off more of my clothing and skin. Then, when I felt the pain couldn't get worse, my arms, then my torso feels like the flesh on me is getting ripped away layer by layer as each second the pain increases.

But suddenly it get's dwarfed by something much greater.

I hadn't known true pain until now, each second viewing a new scene of new man is like the flames but instead of the pain on my body it's ten times greater and on the soul.

The pain is nearly unbearable but I persevere to see what's going on. He can still feel the pain from the flames. But It's inconsequential compared to the pain he's trying to push away.

As I view, a strange man, dressed in another culture's clothing he see's himself talk in an unfamiliar language to himself. I appear to be sad, I'm speaking in a language I don't know. This can't be real.

This is not my past. I'm no sage, that man who dresses up lavishly it's not me. I live simply to advance the future of mankind. I'm a servant of the one who will bring mankind to prosperity.

This thought crosses him, but his pain increases bye factors of tens of hundreds as his entire being, soul, body, and mind is broken over and formed and broken again.

He tries to push away all his memories in hope of dulling the pain. It works but his body spews bile as he coughs.

He sleeps peacefully for quite awhile but as his soul pierces through the barrier between the dead and the living, he's truly come to peace with his pain.

But as night gives way to dawn and dawn gives away to morning, like fall that gives away to winter, he comes awake.

Taking a deep breath he awaken and all he sees is blood, covering all of him. As he processes what has happened he sees some bile, and his left eye starts twitching.

He thinks about his name, his title, Jeremy Authgard, Third in line for the throne of Vasus.

He starts and picks himself up, then his normally melodious voice cracks through the cave filled to the brim with anger he states plainly with many undertones of threats, "That man is not my brother anymore, to make me a separate body and stick my soul in their knowing full well what that entails. He still did it."

"That bastard." He takes a deep breath and calms down, "But before that I should thank him, otherwise I'd never live again."

"But being in that pretty boy's body is annoying, he probably thought that it'd fit in well being he's, 'Average and nothing compared to me!' Well his ego's not that large, it's still close enough that it could a paraphrased version."

"But truly, that politician is so annoying, if he's a younger brother he'd be immensely more tolerable. But he's not, he's not too good this sinful world. That'd be James, he's so cute and sweet."

Sighing deeply again, he gets out of the blanket on top and below him. He puts himself down close to the bed and touches all the parts were blood is. Then he wipes his hand where the bile is. But when he is done with all of this is gone.

But as he's about to leave, a woman carrying a insignia of the vampires come in. Dashing and instantly crossing the distance. Pushing her down and holding her forearms. Then, pointing his spare hand and tensing it for it to act as a knife.

With coldness and calmness he said what she considered a death sentence, "When I count to zero you will die, I'll start from ten and will stop counting when to explain your race, why you have that book, and why are you here."

His aura of a man back from back from the dead frightens her badly and she started to freeze up, "Ten." He continued, "Nine." Her sweat goes further.

"Eight." All her muscles cramp as the shadow of her death lingers over her.

"Seven." Her expression morphs further in fear as his finger closes in on her neck.

"Six." She tries to shake her arm to move away but his grip is like steel and doesn't move at all to this.

"Five." He's counting down faster, she tries to unplug the fear so she can say wants she wants to say.

"Four." Her breathing nearly stops but she braces herself from the fear.

"Three..." He's interrupted by her frenzied voice, "I'm a human like you! And I got the book from you when I was taking care of you when you were unconscious please don't kill me."

He freezes up in guilt and slowly takes his hand off her and stops tensing his body in defense of what he thought was a threat.

His guilt trips up and he asks her with a shivering voice, "H-How may I compensate you for that? Little transgression."

She's checks the place where he held, breathing a sigh of relief, it's bruised but fine by her standards and fuels his guilt further as she asks, "Oh, nothing! Just somethings about yourself." The pain behind it's peppy and cheerful tone explodes his guilt past it's breaking point.

He freezes up and sighs as his body relaxes as he sits on the ground relaxed almost lying down, he smiles.

His tone is also very relaxed, "Well sit down for this one, it'll be long. And which one do you want? My fake one prepared for me? Or my real story?"

With shining eyes she plops herself down and asks, "Both please!"

Smiling awkwardly, he starts the story, "Well it goes like this, I as a royal prince, The Third in line for the throne, and if I don't get it I'll still have duke ship."

"Like the Heaven Dou Empire?" In confusion he asks her, "Where's that?" She responded with, "Here of course! After all it's the nation where in silly!"

Not offended by this he continues on, "After I was born my memories are pretty hazy, mostly running away."

Her starry gaze prepared him for all he needed to know, "No I wasn't chased for being royalty, that is my younger brother. I was chased by my older brother to indoctrinate me into worshipping our eldest sister."

With question marks in her eyes he doesn't address any of her questions as continues on, "Afterward when most of our siblings are irrational and worships our eldest sister. I went on and became a monk so I don't have to worship her."

"Then, when I started learning all the texts. Though slow I eventually learned all of them, and going through meditation I had achieved enlightenment. I really don't want to speak more about it as my trauma won't allow me to."

She come closer and speaks about some of her doubts, "Is this really all true? It does sound farfetched and what is enlightenment?"

He first moves away and then chuckles, "Well, enlightenment is not something I can but into words, but I guess if it was translated into words it'd just be the ability to empathize with anything and everything."

She twirls her head a bit and comes to her conclusion, "That sound lame, no offense but enlightenment sounds like something hard to achieve. While empathy comes naturally to everyone doesn't it?"

He smiles at her innocence but corrects her, "That's mostly true but while it is lame, that empathy won't let anything harm me, the universe won't let it."

"I can also discern every lie or half-truth. Halve-truths are still lies, it's just different as such I can still discern it."

"That's why I found you weren't lying at all. And that's why I'm grateful to you. But my orchestrated history is just some mage, but we all know magic is false. But that aside any other requests?"

She stays in daze thinking about it's implications, "Are you from another continent? I mean there's no other reason your a prince, The Star Luo royalty has blonde hair and so does Heaven Dou. Though I don't know Sun Moon's royalty's characteristics."

"Their likely blond. And I doubt you'd be lying with your level of strength." He blinks a few time and nods his head a few times, "Yes, yes it's correct what you just said is completely correct."

"Eh, besides the point, can you help me find a ring for me." He blanks out and considers the implications and stays unmoving in silence.