2 Only The Beginning

"The only path to peace is through fear."

-[REDACTED]

The chauffeur quietly drove the car Xanis sat in. There was little to do and so he forced himself to look at the desolate landscape outside. This was all strange really, that morning the chauffeur had shown up at his door and taken him away at his mother's request. He didn't even have time to pack, not like he had much anyways.

It was all quite unexpected for sure, however, in hindsight he welcomed this strange shift to his mundane life. Anything would be better than plowing the fields around his house endlessly waiting for a seed to miraculously pop out of the ash soil that surrounded the capital. It was the ashlands, a world without light, a land where the sky was coated by a thick cloud of ash letting only the faintest of lights through.

Maybe that was the reason as to why he wanted to go to the capital so bad. It was a great city promising only the most beautiful of blue skies. Although, it was more likely for the reason that he believed that if he could experience the aforenamed "great city" for himself, perhaps he could improve upon the plan he spent so many white nights shaping. The dome was quite the spectacle even from miles away. He could see the mountainous dome of pure white that filled his peripheral.

The car stopped at the entrance, it was a small tunnel regulated by soldiers. A soldier came to the driver's side and talked to his chauffeur. The soldier took a look back at the backseat of the car and then signaled for the car to be let in. The tunnel stretched long, but in entering the dome he did not feel any anticipation. He did not want to sight see or bask in the fake sunshine and blue sky. He was not so childish as to let those trivial things distract him. He felt only the searing feelings of regret that pressed into him. His mother was slowly dying and he was here and not with her. He wanted to be with her in her final moments before leaving for the capital, but she urged him to leave her. She did not want her beloved son to watch the mother he cared so dearly about to pass away. But still, he should have insisted on staying. He clenched his fist in frustration in realising his own failures and wondered if she might already be dead.

"May your soul find rest...mom." Xanis quietly whispered.

A cold numbness ran itself through his body, centering in his heart. He felt hollow. Grief has a way of removing you from the world and it takes real strength to reconnect and weave yourself anew into the fabric of living. Xanis had no shortage of power, but even he failed to compose himself. He let a single tear roll down his cheek, his first ever. It was the bittersweet memories of playing tag with his mother, she would always get caught so quickly and together they would laugh until she coughed out blood. Yet knowing the result she would still play with him. It was beyond hard living in the Ashlands and they only had each other, but it was enough.

Honk honk!

Cars would loudly blare their horns in traffic. Xanis had finally made it inside the dome; the car he rode in slowly made its way through traffic. It allowed Xanis to observe the beautiful streets of the dome.

Carved white marble graced the facade of the city's high rises. Greenery lined the edges of each street along with the black steel lamp posts. They mingled together and played picturesque contrast with the spring sunlight and clear blue sky. The sky truly was as beautiful as they said, even someone like Xanis could appreciate that.

The cafes on the street corners were populated by students, couples, and families alike. Their natural white hair seemingly glowed in the sunlight as they laughed loudly. Each of them carried an elegant demeanor and glasswork delicacy that reflected their upbringing and pedigree. It was only natural considering they were in the high levels of the city. The white haired people, the Blancs were immediate descendants of the original people of the Dome. They were a humanoid race, maybe even human, but they did not consider themselves as such. The Blancs would not come so low as to share even the same race as everyone else or the colored.

Slowly Xanis passed through each district of the highest floor. First the shopping district then into the imperial district. The imperial district's streets were paved with vast delicate carved stones. It was the result of meticulous urban planning. The city hall stood out amongst the other buildings, adorned as it was with the flags of Highdal and the San Balanos Empire. The building was decorated with pretentious carvings of mythical beasts, while the San balanos flag largely pictured a white poppy, a symbol promising peace and prosperity for the country. The Highdal flag had many colors divided by a white line.

Continuing on, a young boy passed the car, he gleefully skipped holding onto his parent's hands. Dressed so neatly, one could only assume that they were going out somewhere. Xanis watched him as he passed the car and spared one last glance at the back of the boy before; he turned back forward, patiently waiting for his arrival. He felt a sense of resentment looking at them, even when he knew he shouldn't. It wasn't their fault, he shouldn't hate them for it.

Xanis was a boy clad in a green collared military uniform. The sleeves were folded to fit his arms and the jacket fell just under his waistline. The uniform was his father's, a man whose face he did not remember nor wanted to remember. He would have burned the uniform if not for its importance to his plan. If he were to gain any respect in the academy a handed down uniform and the mark it held was a start.

Xanis had long messy silver hair that was tied back in an attempt to match the city's meticulous standard, but nothing he could do could make himself look 'normal' to these people.

His skin was pale and he carried a scar across his eye. He had dead blue eyes that lacked the innocent sparkle that one would expect from someone his age. The way he generally carried himself around, even the way he sat in the car, lacked a bit of class. He looked to be peasant in the entire sense of the word, but that was only in appearance. He remembered well into his past, even the many books crammed into his house's small study. He was sure he could at least act like these people.

"Young master, we are here." The servant announced.

A young woman driving the car turned around to face the boy.. Xanis stared at her as her transparent emerald eyes tore off him. She had sharp facial features with shortcut grey hair that curled slightly. The hair came down and perfectly covered her right eye. She looked rather tomboyish, yet she still held onto her feminine charm.

The woman promptly exited the car to open the door of her young master. A woman of stature she stood tall above Xanis, and if not for her maid attire it would be rather intimidating standing before her. She was outfitted with black dress with a white trim and a full skirt hid her build and only emphasized her most feminine features.

The boy exited the car as she opened the door for him and looked up at the house he was to stay in for his foreseeable future. Set far from the gated fence that removed it from the rest of the buildings around it, the house was a staggering size. The house was born of an architect's plan, lived and breathed upon the rock, foundations perfectly sound, all set to stand for generations to come. The house had large arched windows with elegant free flowing patterns engraved in their wooden frames. Through these windows light flowed through all seasons, gracing the air without favour, illuminating the sweet-toffee browns of the wooden floor inside. Towers stood tall at the edges of the house, having vines crawl up its cracked stone walls. This was the famous Evergreen mansion.

"Are you feeling alright, young master?" The servant asked.

"Yes, I'm ok." Xanis replied.

The boy took a deep breath and followed the maid to the entrance. The garden they walked through was well kept, which surprised him as no one had lived here for the past couple of years. Anywhere he looked from the stone path he walked on he saw vivid flowers of all sorts of colors stretching open to show off their brilliance with the trimmed brushes playing in the background.

'Mother would have loved to see these'

"Miss…."

Xanis called out to the maid, but he quickly paused, realizing he had yet to learn her name.

"You can call me Zero." said the maid, noticing Xanis's hesitation to call out to her.

"I see, Zero… have you been tending to this mansion all by yourself?"

Xanis was curious about the extent of the staffing the household held. He would have assumed someone else would have come to the car to greet Xanis, unless Zero was the only servant of the household. An idea that brought some questions to Xanis's mind.

"As a servant of the Evergreen household, it is my given duty to make sure that this mansion is kept in a suitable condition for Master Falgar to return." Zero replied.

Falgar Evergreen...

Hearing his father's name caused Xanis's mind to shift and he wore a deep frown. Even the slight mention of his father would bring about strong feelings of displeasure. A sudden urge filled him to use his power to set the garden on fire in a fit of rage, but he composed himself in an act of regression.

He stared up at the blue sky, or at least what appeared to be one. He knew it was a Phantasm, but knowing this did little to draw away from its beauty. A fake blue sky was better than no sky after all.

The dome shielded the city's people from the harsh landscape of the ashlands, but more importantly it hid the imperfections their country held. Imperfections the people were ignorant of. This wasn't their fault, needless to say, the government controlled the media and very little information was taught outside the stringent schools regulated by the Headmaster.

Zero cleared her throat as they reached the door, snapping him back to reality. Zero stood aside next to the door letting the boy get a good view of the magic circle imprinted on the door. It was engraved into polished dark wood and each symbol was beautifully carved by hand.

The boy reached out and rested his hand on the circle. An orange glow spread through the crevices of the engraving starting from under his hand. As the glow slowly spread more and more, the glow shone brighter until the glow had spread throughout the entire circle. The boy then backed off to watch the door slowly open, the door which looked to be one singular piece slowly unraveled as the audible gears turned somewhere deep within the walls.

Eventually the door completely opened leaving the empty house open for him to finally enter. The boy walked in the lights turning on above him as he walked deeper into the house. Various hallways and stairways going in each and every direction left much to be explored, if he were to stay here for years to come he doubted he could ever explore every room. It was all far too much for one man, but in the end it was meant for only one man.

"You share your father's Phantasm, you really are one and the same."

Suddenly a red spark passed Zero and into the distance behind her.

Thoom.

The bolt ripped through the air next to Zero's ear. It broke the sound barrier several times over and if she was human she would have certainly been permanently deaf. The explosion hit several seconds later, miles away outside the city, but that didn't stop it from shaking the walls of the house.

"DO NOT COMPARE ME TO MY FATHER!." The Xanis bellowed. His voice carried volume if anything, but Zero's expression did not change. In fact her facial expression had remained the same since she had picked him up in the ashlands, emotionless.

"Your Phantasm is not a toy young master." lectured Zero.

Hearing that, the boy stormed down one of the halls, he didn't come here to be lectured and furthermore he did not enjoy being treated as a child. Xanis had tried his best to remain kind to the maid, but his short temper would hinder him from doing so any longer.

'I am not like my father and I will never be anything like him.'

The boy despised his father for what he had done, even staring at his corpse as a young boy he felt nothing. No remorse, no sadness, not even a single tear was dropped from his face. After all, what kind of man would cry over the death of a monster? Once upon a time Xanis wanted to believe that his father did what he did for some reason,but as he grew older that reality dawned on him that there was no redemption for his actions. Greed, pride, envy, lust, wrath, sloth, and gluttony, He could see no other words to describe his father better.

The boy ran down the halls further and further into the house running past a constant cycle of doors and paintings. Until he was finally met with a door unlike the others. It carried the same symbol of the crown guard's insignia and was large enough to fill the end of the hallway.

Xanis tilted his head in curiosity, the mysterious door was something he had not accounted for and it fascinated him. Something about it drew him close and enticed him to open the heavy door.

Opening the door Xanis had entered the manor's trophy room. It was ornamented with many jewels and treasures from the battles in the farlands. But the colorful gleam of these gems were not the beauty that drew in the eyes of the boy.

Looking far across the room the boy saw six exquisitely beautiful women. Each stood idle atop of an assigned pedestal which bore their supposed name. The boy looked on in amazement as he slowly approached the women. They each uniquely encapsulated the beauty of foreign lands.

The boy had never seen real foreigners before so he circled each of them looking at each of their distinct features. The color of their skin, their oddly colored hair, even the shape of their body he looked at it all with a grin. It was fascinating.

He waved his hand in front of one of the women, but she was unresponsive. Was this magic, a Phantasm? or something else…?

He reached out to touch one of them, but he was stopped when he heard a voice come from behind him.

"Please do not touch the dolls, young master." Asked Zero.

The boy quickly turned around to face the maid.

"Dolls?"

"Yes, these were some of your father's first creations so they are very delicate. Please do not touch them." Zero yet again lectured.

The boy pulled his hand away and shoved them deep into his pockets. He no longer held any curiosity for the so-called dolls, if it was something his father had created, they had no right to be respected or admired. He had read about these things in his house's study. They did not share the same design or name, but he knew what his father's creations were. They were his only creations and perhaps that was for the better. No. It was for the better, his genius was frightening and who knows what he could have achieved if his life wasn't cut so short.

"Fine." Xanis said.

"Now please unpack you may choose any of the rooms and as a reminder dinner will be served at 7pm." Zero reminded me.

The boy was about to follow Zero out the room, but not without taking one final look at the dolls. One especially caught his eye. She stood most right from the others and he hadn't noticed it before, but she was slightly different from the others.

One could view these dolls as an especially strange creation made by his father. Beautiful maidens with the power to destroy acres upon acres of land, a strange combination to say the least. Years ago the dolls were created with a revolutionary technology that used both science and magic. They were humanoid shells made by the likes of science and fueled by magic. Each being inhabited by the altered souls of the dead and in doing such they would forever be in command of their master. They were the trump card of the Alba Republic in their war against the San Balenos Empire, but after a tragic series of events the dolls were shut down and the republic was overrun. The country itself would be a fool if they forgot them though, their power scarred the land. Leaving much of the land outside the dome of the main city to be burned to blackened ash.

The doll's purpose, however, wasn't originally meant to be used this way, his father's vision was to create something that would be both unrivaled in beauty and servitude. An innocent goal to create a maid that could be sold to the higher class and make a fortune, but how far this idea fell and how far his father fell along with them.

So Xanis knew the beauty these dolls were supposed to initially represent, it was odd that one of the dolls would look almost, flawed. To call the doll ugly would be an overstatement, but the creation failed to uphold the same perfect beauty that the other dolls shared. However, maybe this flaw is what drew the boy to prefer this doll to the others.

"Young Master!" called Zero from the hall.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming." he replied, annoyed by the maid's persistence. He no longer carried any kindness in his voice. His mood had been spoiled and he no longer cared for the maid's opinion of him. If had come to realize that if she was a servant he did not need to gain loyalty through kindness, all he had to do was order and she would follow.

After returning to the lobby to pick up his belongings, the boy went and picked the smallest of the mansion's rooms. He cared not for the comforts of luxury and in wishing to simulate his room back home he picked the smallest room.

Come 7pm the boy ate the maid's meal which was far above anything he had ever eaten before. It uplifted his mood, despite how short the feeling stayed. It was a highlight of his day. With the family name he held, he now carried it's riches as well. He was sickeningly rich, even being able to eat real meat. The rich juices trapped within it gushed out with every bite, he had savagely ripped the meal apart, but now he laid in his bed doing his best attempts to fall asleep.

'Why the hell are the pillows and mattress so soft? I can't sleep like this.'

Hours had passed since he had first entered his room, but unable to find a comfortable position to sleep he watched the ceiling counting the discrepancies in the paint and fantasizing about tomorrow's opening exam.

Xanis thought of countless possibilities of how he could defeat his opponent and with each idea being more cruel than the last he giggled like mad.

Creak

The boy jumped up onto his bed hearing the sound of the loose floorboard creak nearby. He had loosened them early to warn him of any hidden intruders in the future, but he had not expected one this soon.

"I know you're there, show yourself." Xanis confidently called out.

The boy watched on as the body of a little girl slowly materialized in front of him. She unsheathed a sword and was covered entirely in black exposing only her eyes which shone a crimson red.

"A little girl? You lost?" Xanis taunted the girl, she looked to be the same age as him, but her short stature was something he thought he could commedically exploit to anger the girl. But his taunting raised no emotion and the little girl stayed silent staring down at the boy in pure concentration.

"Fine, come at me then." Xanis, unsatisfied having received no reaction, gestured to the girl to attack him.

Xanis jumped down from his bed putting his hands behind his back, he could tell the girl was skilled, but still untrained. Her stance lacked a proper form and her weight shifted too wildly.

The girl pressed her feet into the wooden floorboard gripping onto her sword. She dashed at the boy pulling the blade behind her and letting out a wide swing at the boy's neck, ,but unfortunately she was far too slow. Xanis easily slipped to the side, he watched the blade slide by his face. The girl stumbled forward. She had largely expected her sword to hit something, but that thought was her greatest mistake. Xanis waited for the girl to turn around before kicking her through the wall and outside. The boy followed her, jumping high above her to kick her once again to the ground below.

The girl slammed into the ground, the impact cratered the ground and left her bones broken to pieces. She coughed up blood as she struggled to get back up. Her vision was blurred, but she couldn't tell if it was a result of a head injury or tears streaming down her face. Pain was the only thing she could feel. Sharp, searing pain.

'Help!'

She wanted to scream, but she was stuck gasping for air. She tried getting up, but she couldn't move. Her fingers twitched, they grasped in poor attempts for her sword. The girl had danced with death before, every mission she took held the possibility for her to die. Maybe it was her confidence or perhaps it was just plain ignorance, but she never thought this day would come. She felt cold and empty. Her very being, her spirit, hollowed out by despair.

That bastard Hyakinthos didn't tell me he would be this strong. Shit. I don't want to die…please. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

The girl cried to herself in her head, she did not want to die, of course no one did, but the image of her two friends flashed in her head causing her to feel even more dread. They wouldn't even know where she was or how she died. She had snuck away to complete this job, but now she regretted everything.

Xanis walked over to the girl and loomed over her smiling. Seeing this the girl's eyes widened in anguish.

No…please.

"Don't worry little girl I won't kill you...but I do have a request" Xanis exclaimed

The boy palmed the girl's head lifting her broken and bloody body up into the air. Leaving gaps between his fingers to allow her to see his lips curl into a smile as he stared into her.

"Tell whoever hired you that Xanis Veritas has arrived."

After saying this Xanis threw the girl's body to the side and walked back to the mansion laughing hysterically. He didn't expect them to send someone so soon, but it was amusing for sure. If the Red Circle was this weak it would be much easier for him.

It wouldn't even matter if they tried to stop him, he would see this country burn to the ground. He was certain of it.

"Everything you built, this system you created, I will destroy it all." The boy murmured to himself.

The house being made purely of magic repaired itself as soon after the hole was created. It forced Xanis to walk back to the entrance to enter the house. But once inside he was met with bodies piled atop each other on the floor.

"You missed one Zero." Xanis called out.

The maid Zero walked out of the darkness wiping her bloody hands on a rag.

"My apologies young master, it has been a while since I have last fought."

He looked at the bodies, each of them was killed with mechanical proficiency. A deep hole punctured deep into their chests, evidence of Zero having ripped their hearts out.

"Anyways Zero, there is a little girl outside. I broke a couple ribs and punctured a lung, however I need her for something so could you heal her?"

"It will be done young master."

Zero bowed before leaving outside to go find the girl. After watching Zero leave, Xanis let out a deep sigh and walked across each body and closed their eyes.

"Your deaths will be the start of my plan. Be honored."

Xanis let out a large smirk, it brought him great pleasure that there would be no time wasted and his plan would be put into action the same day he arrived.