Chapter 4

"What did you expect from dirty blood..."

"I heard he was disabled..."

"I don't understand why they're keeping that bastard here..."

Hadeon tried to ignore the whispering people as much as possible. He walked away from the area without lifting his eyes from the ground. He didn't have any parent accompanying him, so there was no reason for him to wait around. His dawn-colored eyes were lost in thought as he walked straight towards the annex building. Karaş's mocking was just the icing on the cake...

'My My, what a talentless brat you are, I knew I was right when I said I've never seen someone as useless as you. Not even a gram of mana was produced. Perhaps you should surrender your body to me, then I can show you your true power.'

As the god continued speaking with haughty words, Hadeon was aware that he was just trying to manipulate him. Karaş was simply trying to turn the situation in his favor, and Hadeon knew that. But he couldn't manage to free his mind from the dark thoughts. His mood was completely stuck. The first thing he encountered when he entered the annex building was an angry redheaded woman. This was Hadeon's 'mother', Larillis Phasnis.

The woman looked so angry that her normally milk-white face had turned bright red. Larillis quickly approached Hadeon and slapped him, causing Hadeon to fall to the ground. Unable to understand what was happening, Hadeon curled up like a ball, trying to avoid the pain from the blow to his stomach, but Larillis didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. The angry woman continued to kick and curse. Then she threw the wooden box in her hand at Hadeon, and after a few more kicks, she started to walk away, cursing.

"Such a useless thing can't be my son! That little bastard!"

As Larillis walked away, a few tears fell from Hadeon's eyes. This was not because of Larillis's attitude towards him, but because of the burning, unidentifiable and very painful fire within him. Although he didn't understand it now, this fire was not true fire, but the sparks of anger. But when he understood this, many things would change...

When Hadeon opened his eyes, he realized he had fainted. The air had already darkened, and the crickets had started making their usual sounds. Hadeon had a great deal of pain all over his body as he struggled to get up. Especially the back of his head, where the wooden box was thrown, was throbbing badly. He generally didn't have the energy to move, but he knew he couldn't stay there. Trying to get support from the ground, he stood up and walked slowly towards his room.

'Looks like someone disappointed mommy dear, huh? This was to be expected from you. No wonder she doesn't want you, who would want a useless, dirty-blooded son like you?'

Karaş had recently started making moves targeting Hadeon's psychology. He was throwing the child's flaws in his face much more often than usual, instilling in him hopelessness and anxiety. In this situation, he couldn't be blamed for not realizing Karaş's plan. He was just a nine-year-old child, ostracized and abused by society, forced to act as if he didn't exist.

When he reached his room, he opened the door like a zombie and went in. His aching muscles were begging him to sit down. He slowly approached his bed and threw himself on it without thinking again. If he could sleep, if he could fall asleep just once, he would be away from this pain for a while. But it didn't happen as he had hoped, sleep didn't come to his pain-filled body. Hadeon's only action was to toss and turn on the bed in agony and prevent the tears from flowing...

About four months passed since the mana test. Hadeon's life had returned to its old routine, aside from the beating sessions he was accustomed to. At the end of these four months, Hadeon had finally found a more effective way to develop his mana. What he used to do was just circulate the mana in his body to improve his control. Now he was using a breathing technique he had developed himself - he had chatted with the god Karaş to get a few clues. This technique involved taking in the low amount of mana in the air with each breath and processing it until his body could handle it. Hadeon wasn't sure if such a technique really existed. Because mana usually grew in proportion to age and only became developable after the age of 12. Being completely unaware of his peers, he didn't have much to think about right now. The only downside of this technique was the amount gained. The mana in the air was already a tiny fraction, like 1/100. When Hadeon tried to absorb and process this fraction into his body, the amount decreased even further. It was difficult, but with just two hours of meditation using this technique, he could add a point to his mana.

[+1 point added to Mana attribute.]

[Status Window]

[Name: Hadeon Caelum Phasnis] 

[Title: Simurg of the Bloody Moon]

[Current Conditions: Karaş's Curse, Primal Fire, Physical Weakness, Mana Restriction, Batur Han's Blessing]

[Skills: Fire Flower, Fox's Perception, Simurg's Wrath]

Strength: 31

Agility: 42

Endurance: 52

Mana: 29

Spirit: 9

Perception: 77

Fury: 20

Seeing how much he had progressed relieved him a little. This was probably the only thing going well in his life, but he managed to overcome it somehow. In not even two years, he would join the training to become a true sword master. At least, that's what Raksa had told him. The brown-haired man occasionally visited him and talked to Hadeon about things he had never even heard of before, with prattle much more entertaining than Karaş's. So at least the things Raksa mentioned were beneficial to Hadeon. Just then, there was a knock on his door. Almost everyone would barge into his room without knocking, knowing he wouldn't be able to respond. Except for one person, Raksa, who had started visiting regularly recently.

Soon, the person behind the door seemed to remember that Hadeon couldn't speak, and opened the door. As Hadeon had expected, it was none other than Raksa. The man's sharp hazel eyes scrutinized him as his usual indifferent expression adorned his face. As always, he sat directly across from Hadeon, who was sitting by the window, and accompanied the child gazing outside for a while.

"Hey kid, you're looking better every day, you know?"

Hadeon pulled his eyes from the window and gave Raksa a sideways glance, nodding with a small smile. He was used to Raksa's usually non-rhetorical questions or comments. Most of the time, their body language was enough for their communication.

"I can't stay too long this time. With hundreds of people the director needs to manage, there's not much time left for me, really. But to make up for it, I brought you a gift." Raksa said, extending the package in his hand.

Hadeon took the package with an even wider smile and began to examine it. It looked like a normal gift package, square in shape. There didn't seem to be anything remarkable about it. As he was inspecting the package, Raksa got up to leave, turning back at the door.

"Take care of yourself, little one."

Hadeon nodded and gestured to Raksa with his hand, as if telling him to take care of himself too. As Raksa left, Hadeon caught a glimpse of that rare smile on the man's face. Then he focused his attention completely on the gift package.

'As if him just showing up wasn't enough, now he's brought you a gift too? Pah, since he's given you a gift, he must either be out of his mind or this isn't a gift, but a prank.'

Hadeon completely ignored Karaş's comment and tore open the gift package with his small fingers. A red book was sitting in front of him. Hadeon tried to read the title of the book, but the letters were meaningless symbols to him since he couldn't read. This was the first and only book he owned. No one had bothered to teach him to read since he couldn't speak.

'Hmm? A weak human technique, eh. Brat, I must admit that man has given you a truly interesting gift. What are you waiting for? Open it and take a look.'

"..."

'Don't you dare ignore me, you wretched mortal! Open that thing already!'

"I can't..."

'What do you mean you can't!?'

'I just can't. I don't know how to read...'

'You... don't know how to read? You can't be serious, Kid.' Karaş said in a tone full of disbelief.

'I just don't...'

'Haa... Okay, just turn the pages. I'll read it for you.'

'You? You'll read it for me?" Hadeon asked skeptically. He knew Karaş wasn't someone to be trusted.

'I may be the god of darkness and anger, but I'm not a demon, you brat!'

'...'

'So, do you want me to read it or not?'

'I do. I mean, could you please read it for me?'

'Hand me the book, boy.'

Hadeon did as Karaş said, flipping the red cover and going to the first page. A few seconds later, Karaş's voice continued to echo in his mind.

'Fire-Attuned Mana Control, Chapter 1: Mana Combustion...'

Thus, the God of Darkness had, for the first time, helped this child trapped in his soul. Who knows, perhaps he did it not out of pure kindness, but to satisfy his own curiosity. But this time, Hadeon was truly grateful. He still didn't trust Karaş, but the impression of him being a demon had faded.

'Mana transformation is extremely difficult, but for this...'

For several uninterrupted hours, Karaş read the book for him. As he read, Hadeon also tried to understand the words. After reading a quarter of the book, they both decided to stop here. By then, Hadeon had at least learned to read a few words. He was a smart child and quite quick to comprehend things. After the night had fallen, he curled up under the blanket and thought to himself before falling asleep.

'Thank you...'