The Brutal Start (I)

In a town far away, from a behemoth-sized tower, a frail boy sleeps in a room with multiple other people. The numerous people with unkempt appearances and their tarnished clothing have been this way for decades. The atmosphere of the room seems to impoverish but taking the conditions out of the room, they were living in a luxurious mansion.

However, the setting betrayed the true reality of their conditions, it could be assumed that they were slaves.

- 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖗𝖚𝖙𝖆𝖑 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙 (I): 𝕬𝖇𝖚𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝕮𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖉 -

It was a tough night to sleep in. The dreadful stench permeated throughout the storage closet made it increasingly difficult to sleep. Unfortunately, it seemed like Astrid was the only one who had trouble.

He had shed tears, skin, and blood work for the mansion but the end result was half of a pence a day. It seems unbearable knowing that it will take me about 27.77 years until I obtain freedom. However, there is no possibility that they will even grant Astrid freedom in the first place because everything here is illegal.

The job that we all work on is mining mana crystals which is the main energy source for every element of technology today.

Astrid tosses and turns until he hears the dawn jays chirping towards the tune of the crickets. The closet door swings open and a beam of sunlight bursts through our open door. Know it's another day of grueling work with ethical moralities issue challenging their way.

This all started when Astrid was much too young. It was just his mom, Astrid and his sister living there live with serene tranquility and peace. Then Astrid's father racked up a debt that was undeniable abhorrent.

With no way to pay it, we succumbed to the debt. My mother, my sister, and my father were all slaughtered. Since Astrid was young and healthy was taken to work at Hubert Mansion where everything happens now.

I get up and head out into the brightly shined hallway where they are alternating black-white checkerboard patterns painted on the ground. Walking outside the house we head to a cave the reeks of a musty odor.

A sharp pain surges through my side as another young boy in fancy attire sends me flying into the cave. I crash into my wall as my body began to bruise and turn purple.

"You lazy slaves, get on do your job."

He was the young master of the dreadful manner as he loved to abuse the poor slaves. Anyone who would dare fight back to him would get dozens of lashes against their back with a leather sjambok.

I myself never fought back because of the three utmost significant rules that I taught myself.

1. Never fight back and do whatever they tell you

2. Stay in one group

3. Never look them in the straight into their eyes.

These rules are the most important especially today. Because tomorrow is the day where I make my escape. Though the escape is nothing grand with little balloons and banners stripped around the manor.

It's most important to account for the guards. There are trained awakened abilities who have inherited power from the bloodline or are people who awakened with luck.

It's clear that I haven't awakened yet and they have put us at a humongous disadvantage. The front doors and the back doors where happens have the most amount of guards, which is pure common sense.

Tomorrow is the day when I will escape and make my dreams come true. Hopefully, there is a time where I can destroy this whole manor and brought all injustices to light. Though that is the only time where I can only dream of getting revenge and climbing the tower.

When I was small, I had always dreamed of the tower. It was a tower that only the strong could attest to and the weak would be left in the shadows. They could only hope of surviving was the tower was gaining an ability. Such a towering behemoth had hidden dangers lurking in our corner. As everyone usually had an ability from the day they were born. Around the age of 13 was where these dormant abilities awaken from their ethereal slumbers. The same time was where we were gain an ability.

The next day the plan was set into motion. Around 5:00 Am, before any songbirds have woken up, I awakened and headed off. Passing by the senior maid, I asked if I could clean the chimneys. Usually, I had a decent relationship with her and I knew that it was around spring.

Winter was a time of bitterness and the lack of heat required the constant use of the fireplace. The continuous use built up a layer of ash and dust that required rough labor to purge its contents. Also around a certain winter, a certain someone managed to take a key from an unexpected guard while he was at his break.

I headed over to the main living room to clean the chimney. I had been trying to train myself to climb. I was as frail and bony as I could fit the chimney. Placing two feet against the wall. I jumped through the chimney. Finally, minutes later I climbed out of the chimney to survey the view on the manor. The manor was itself was dark and dreary and far away from the eyes could see.

No one would know about this place if they wanted to and no one wanted to come here in the first place. I had already noticed that the north of the manor and the south of the manor had the most amount of guards. However, the west gate had the least amount. There had been rumors here and there about the forest that borders the manor.

The forest was incredibly dense and thick. Not a beam of sunlight could make it through its bushy canopy as it was quite un-luminescent.

The north and the south already had an incredible amount guards. However, they were only a few guards stationed around the gate due to the issue of unnecessary. There was a dangerous forest on the east and west as rumors have been told that they were monsters beyond comparable in the forest that even guards could fear. Therefore, no one would escape through it in the first place.

However, that was a malignant mistake that could cost them a slave.

I had to take the risk but there was no other way. If I was going to escape this was the only way out. Climbing slowly down from the manor I used the wooden posts and the metallic bird hangers as my foothold.

Finally, there was enough distance for me to jump. Jumping down I made a breakthrough. Using the key I unlocked the side door and made a break for the woods not before slamming the gate shut again.

Slam!

I closed the gate behind me because I had to leave as little evidence as possible.

Through the threshold of the tree, I pushed myself to the limit where I could run as afast as possible. Tired, I kept going as I leaped into the trees and the bushes.

I was free as I thought, as I wound through the bushes. For moments of running, I thought it was going too easy.

BANG

A scorching fierce pain ravaged my side as I collapsed in pain. My leg ravaged with pain as I crawled forward, desperate to keep moving. That was no ordinary bullet. I looked at my leg and there was a large hole from both sides of the leg.

Gaping in fear, I could feel the bile and saliva rise up through my throat as fear was etched onto my face. Covering my mouth with my hand as the other tried to cover the gaping hole, I could feel my eyelids start to droop.

The pain was overbearing as I drifted into the shadows just before I saw a holographic screen pop up.

I must be hallucinating I thought as it read. Yep, I'm hallucinating.

[Do you seek power?

Yes or No]

It must be a dream. Sadly it was all coming to an end. As tears fell from my face, I agreed. I wanted the power. The power that can make my pain go away and make my dreams come true.

I drifted into the darkness as an warm feeling washed over me.