Chapter 7

Two years ago, after the Breakdown Disaster, White 000 found himself in a corner of an alleyway. He has no memory of how he had gotten there or how the Breakdown disaster had ended. The last thing he remembered was killing almost everyone in Grade, then getting ambushed, and then nothing.

He felt a bit of discomfort on his neck when he reached to see what it was. He felt a choker, with a lock on it. What is this? Why is there a lock choker on him? When he tried to remove it, he felt the choker around his neck tightens. It was literally choking him.

As he was walking around, he saw that his hair was black on a car's window. That's weird, he hasn't had this color of hair since he was 10 years old.

He also felt like his ability had become weaker. He couldn't check his class anywhere, since he had no identity. The only place he could check for this is an illegal underground battle arena, but if he checks that would mean he has to fight. Which he did, and he won. But he got what he went there for. His ability class went down to S-class. That's low. His ability was higher than this.

He created an identity for himself using his old name, Levi, and his mother's last name Solace.

He was barely fifteen now and it would be difficult to get a job. The money he had won from the underground arena, had already been used up for his necessities, he rented an apartment for a cheap price, and bought a few clothes, as well as a phone, hence, he had no other form of money; as for food? He grew his food using the plant abilities he had copied from one of the Emeralds so he wouldn't starve. It didn't matter, though, because he had no appetite most of the time. He also had a part-time job in a café, but this job couldn't solve his money problems, so he had an undercover job as an assassin.

During this time he had managed to break into double S-class. His ability was stronger, soon he'll be able to restart his goal.

He was content enough with the life he was living. Well, that was until he was suddenly contacted by the head of the Solace family. He says that he is the son of his niece, who ran away many years ago to be with a man.

How he had confirmed it—well, he looked into Collin's school file and saw his ability. Copy. This ability has been around in the Solace family for decades.

The reason he had finally reached out to Levi, well the reason remained unknown, Levi could care less.

Levi didn't believe this; he has seen enough liars to know one. Although what the man said was true. He confirmed this after they met for the first time. He collected the old man's DNA sample and confirmed it.

The man in front of him is his mother's relative. Although the man seemed nice on the outside, he could tell what he was like on the inside. When they first met, Levi felt an immeasurable amount of greed coming from him. This meant he wanted something from him. But he's in one of those situations where he's desperate for affection and will take whatever is offered to him, no matter how fake or bad it is.

When his grandfather had asked about his ability level, he had purposely answered with a single A rather than his original level, which was a double S. And with the way the old man looked at his neck... The disappointment was evident.

Although the way he looked at his neck was weird though.

The rest of the family wasn't happy, and with him being an A-grade, being a part of the noble Solace family was a disgrace. At least they didn't treat him horribly.

He returned to the Solace family home for a month, he couldn't stand the hateful stares every day. He got a luxurious apartment not far from his school. Two months later, he was forced to attend social events with the family, although he clearly stated how unhappy he was with this. "For connections," his grandfather said. He always rolled his eyes at the thought. He has more connections than the old man could imagine.

It was also during this time that he met David Levine, an arrogant boy who had challenged him over and over again. He finally agreed to spar with David when his grandfather asked him to; if not, he would have continued to ignore him.

They were probably expecting him to lose, and he was going to live up to that expectation. Until he got tired of it. "Seriously, can't you try any harder? Are you sure you are an S-class fire user? You seem more of an A-class," he said, making David angry, the temperature of his fire got hotter, and the red flames slowly became blue. Unfortunately, this was useless against Levi. It was a bit difficult, but he made sure he was swift when defeating the boy, only leaving him unconscious with his arm dislocated and his face swollen and bloody.

He truly held back, and he even helped David. David's fire was getting hotter, and the foolish boy didn't protect his body while using his flames. His ashes would most likely be sent back to his parents with a sorry note and a sad face.

After this incident, David's parents vowed never to make contact with the Solace family again, and Levi was punished. His allowance for the month was revoked. Levi could only roll his eyes. The old man thinks he's his other grandchildren. Does he think that revoking his allowance would do anything to him?

At least that David boy would have learned his lesson to avoid him in the future, but just a week later, David somehow found where he lived and barged in demanding a rematch.

Levi forcefully kicked him out of his house, hurting him in the process. When he saw he had hurt David by mistake, he quickly brought him in and healed his wounds.

"Fight me again," David said after he had finished healing his wounds.

Levi couldn't help but twitch in annoyance. "Do you have a death wish!"

Unfortunately, David had deemed him his rival, and they agreed to spar every week or so in David's home since Levi wasn't going to be doing this in front of an audience.

This was a good thing for David because this meant that his rival was taking him seriously, but it wasn't exactly a good thing for Levi.

You see, ever since the Breakdown Disaster, Levi noticed that he had a limit to using his ability, he feels very dizzy, and sometimes faints, it happened a few times when he was still in S-class, due to him being constantly pushed past his limit. And the fact that David had managed to advance into double S-class didn't help him much because it meant they were on the same level.

So when they fought again, David and Levi were almost evenly matched with Levi having an advantage in experience, combat, and speed.

But after the battle, David quickly learned and caught up to him. Once or twice, Levi was caught enjoying the battle, having a wide smile on his face whenever he sparred with David.

Once he was pushed to his limit and had to use a lot more power than he usually does. Levi still won, but in the end, he usually ends up going unconscious.

By the time he woke up again, he saw David by his side. When David saw that he was awake, he hugged him. Levi was stunned by the hug. It was a bit awkward for him since he has been shown physical affection since his mother died.

"I'm so sorry," David apologized. Levi was stunned again.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I pushed you way too far, and your ability became unstable that's why you went unconscious," David said looking very sorry.

Levi was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asks.

"Your ability is unstable, that's why you wear the lock around your neck," he pointed out. Levi touched the lock choker.

"I didn't know that was what it was for," he said. Now he truly questions what happened on the night of the Breakdown Disaster and why he can't remember.

After the incident, David decided to stop asking Levi to fight and instead asked him to be his friend. This seemed weird to Levi, and he was skeptical about making friends or getting close to people since they all end up dying or abandoning him.

But with time, the both of the became good friends. With them hanging out on a normal basis.

It was also after this time, that he decided to open himself to new experiences. Like falling in love.

Isabella West was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. It was obvious she didn't like him and was uncomfortable with him, which was too bad for him since he had genuinely liked her. With hair as black as coal and aquamarine eyes, one could get lost in them.

She was the perfect girl for him: beautiful, strong, and intelligent. Unfortunately, he wasn't the perfect partner for her; his cousin, Ben Solace, was her ideal partner. Ben isn't even as strong as he was, although she never knew. So he decided to win her heart through monetary means, buying her the most expensive things he could afford. He spent a lot of time and money designing and building a car and buying encrusted jewelry and custom-made clothes. Every time, he always found the cloth or jewelry in his mail, and the car, well he never found the car again...

His heart shattered when he learned that the car had been re-gifted to Isabella's older sister. For crying out loud.

No matter what he did, he could never suit her taste. But things turned out great for him. Isabelle got kidnapped. One of Rose West's business rivals made this little plan. Rose West is the CEO of a very successful fashion company and Isabella's older sister.

Levi had saved her, of course, he loved her. Why wouldn't he save her? He has connections with everyone, and a few weeks later the companies announced bankruptcy. The satisfaction of seeing your enemies crumble was there, and it felt amazing. He couldn't stop grinning for days. He even brags about it to David.

David seemed a bit skeptical about what Levi was doing because it was as clear as day that Isabella was in love with Ben. But Levi didn't care, after all, he gained Isabella's affection. She kissed him on the cheek when they met again. His face was red for the rest of the time she was there. When he asked her out on a date, she agreed.

Levi had never felt this happy before in his life.

After that day, they went on several dates together, before finally becoming a couple, Levi was the perfect boyfriend, spending time with her whenever she wanted. He was also caring and attentive. Although he has one flaw, Levi is more beautiful than her, so she urged him to wear a mask to cover his face whenever they went out, this made a lot of people who hadn't met Levi to thing think he was not good-looking.

He was happy. It's been so long since he's been this happy. Unfortunately for Levi, happiness was never something he had the privilege to keep. He always learned the hard way.

He was meant to take Isabella on a date to her favorite restaurant, and give her a custom-made diamond-encrusted necklace.

He decided to surprise her with a visit before taking her out because he read on the internet that girls love surprises.

When he got to the West's family manor, he saw Rose. He greets her politely, after all, she is his future sister-in-law and Isabella's legal guardian. "Good afternoon, Ms. West," he greets her.

Rose raised an eyebrow at him, "You are?" she asks.

Levi blushed in embarrassment. "I-I-I am I-Isabella's boyfriend, ma'am," he stuttered nervously and she looked confused.

"You are her boyfriend?" she said in surprise. "Then who is the other guy in her room?" she asked.

Levi immediately ran up to Isabella's room with Rose. When they tried opening the door, they saw that it was locked, fearing that she was in danger Levi kicked the door with full strength, sending the door straight across the room and breaking the walls of her room. This stuns Isabella and Ben who were making out on the bed.

When Levi entered, he was surprised to see Ben and Isabella on her bed, both were shirtless, with their arms wrapped around each other.

Levi's face quickly turned from surprise to disbelief, and then to expressionless.

"Levi," Isabella said in surprise, pushing Ben away from her. She tried to hold him, but Levi evaded her.

He saw Ben walking towards Isabella and immediately lifted him with telekinesis and slowly twisted his arms and legs making him scream in pain.

Isabella ran to Levi. "Stop!" she screamed, Levi looked at her with cold emotionless eyes, they looked colder than usual, and like those of a killer. This made Isabella shiver in fear.

When Levi saw that Isabella was afraid of him, his eyes softened a bit, and he released Ben. Luckily Isabella managed to stop him, if not Ben's arms and legs would have been twisted right off, and would have gone for the head next. When he dropped him, Isabella ran to Ben's side to see if he was alright.

Levi left without saying a word, he doesn't need to.

"Isabella," Rose said in disappointment before leaving. She could never have imagined her little sister would turn out to be such a person.

Levi was hurt. Isabella has never loved him and will never love him. He was only in the way of her and Ben's ever-growing affection for each other. He should have known he could never have Isabella's full affection.

He returned to the apartment he kept himself locked himself in, refusing to come out.

Isabella visited him alongside her sister a week later. Levi looked a bit disheveled when she saw him. His normally neat hair was a mess, and he looked like he hadn't eaten well.

He welcomed them in and sits them down. He lies on the couch in front of the TV and begins to watch a horror movie. Isabella and Rose sat in silence, as they watched Levi watching TV.

"If there's something you want to say, just say it already," he said coldly. "You are tainting my home with your presence."

Isabella didn't say anything, but her sister nudged her and glared at her sharply. "I'm sorry," she says in her most sorry tone, but Levi interrupts her.

"Don't say sorry if you don't mean it," he says.

"But I truly am!" she said.

"No, you're not," Levi replies, his eyes not leaving the TV, they got to the scene where the killer was torturing his ex-girlfriend who had broken up with him. "Because if you were, you wouldn't have done it in the first place," he said. Then he begins to laugh, this laugh was a bit frightening. "You know Isabella, I was truly in love with you, I like you so much I erased all my principles just to be with you," he said.

"I had three principles," he said, his eyes still glued on the screen. "The first was to never fully invest my emotions into any form of relationship, and yet I did so with you. The second was the next person who betrays me no matter how close they are to me wouldn't see the light of day if I ever see them again after the day of their betrayal, and yet here you are still alive and breathing with your body intact," Isabella shook in fear and tried to hold unto her sister, but her hands were slapped away with her sister looking at in disgust, "the final one was to never allow a person to be my weakness, I cared too much about your opinion," he said before finally turning to her.

"You know David was skeptical about me dating you because apparently, you were in love with Benjamin. I suppose he was right, I was the fool all along,"

This time around it was Rose's turn to apologize, after all, her younger sister had offended a dangerous man. "I am sorry for my little sister's behavior. I am her guardian and I didn't train her well, I am immensely sorry for that," she said.

Levi smiled politely at her. "You don't need to apologize for your sister's behavior," he said.

After they left, David arrived with a lot of ice cream and snacks to comfort him. Although Levi didn't show it, he was hurt. What Isabella had done was like taking his heart and passing it through a shredder. It hurt more than any torture he had to withstand in the past.

Luckily for him, David remained by his side. His grandfather didn't care as long as David didn't stain the family's name to affect their influence, and the rest of the family would rather focus on the heir who is in the hospital thanks to him.

He should have known that Ben's parents wouldn't let him go for hurting their son. Of course, they got back at him by arranging a kidnapping.

The kidnapping was organized and there wasn't a single flaw, attacking him when he had accidentally bumped into Isabella. She wanted to talk to him, but she was ignored. He is not in the mood to talk to her.

It was almost like they knew that immediately after he bumped into Isabella, he wouldn't be in the right state of mind.

~~~~

He was immensely tortured physically, with a lot of deep wounds, and broken bones. He could have escaped if he wanted to, but he was injected with facultairita. This is an ability-canceling drug that is illegal all across the Empire, alongside some diinfermia that drained his strength.

After the kidnappers saw that he was abandoned by his grandfather, just like Ben's parents had planned. When they asked what they should do to him, they replied. " Search his mind. Collect any useful information from him, then kill him,"

This wasn't going to be a good thing for either of them, because Levi currently isn't in the right state of mind, he was in the middle of being rational, and committing mass murder.

Isabella made him remember some things he wished to forget about his past

Levi was forced to remember memories he had locked up at the back of his mind. He was unconscious while the telepath snooped into his mind.

The woman in his mind was forcefully pushed out after a few minutes. She was shaking in fear. "I-I-I don't think I can do this," he stammered. He was asked to pick out useful information, but the boy's mind was filled with so much chaos, and when he checked his memory, he discovered a few dark secrets, before seeing a white human figure with its hair floating, and its eyes completely black behind her.

A knife was held to his face. But the woman refuses to go back into his mind. "The boy's mind is too chaotic, he is going to kill me, he is going to kill me," she said.

A strange phenomenon happened. Levi's hair turned silver, and he opened his eyes. He broke out of the straps and stood up, looking completely normal. He walked towards the woman, who had read his mind.

The woman scurried away in fear. One of the people who had kidnapped him who was an S-class energy manipulator shot, an energy blast toward Levi.

The blast created a hole in his chest, but he didn't fall. He still stood like normal and looked at the large hole in his test and puts his hand through it to see how large.

It was very large, and his entire arm can fit inside. He was forced to remember every memory of his life. There were very few good things that happened in his life, he had also locked them up alongside the bad things that had happened.

The hole in his chest closed up, and it almost seemed like the hole had never been there. "My turn," he said, and snapped his fingers, and all the kidnappers' hearts exploded before falling to the ground. "I thought that would be a lot more inhumane," he said in disappointment looking at the woman on the floor. She wasn't one of the people who kidnapped him. And the people on the floor were only a fraction of the people who had kidnapped him. Only six people, minus the woman in front of him, are present. He remembers about fifteen people attacked him before going unconscious.

She's the older sibling of one of those kidnappers. He wouldn't have kept her alive. But he needs her help with something.

She managed to uncover a small part of his memory, something he was unable to do. She is the only telepath he knows at the moment. He uses telekinesis to bring her closer to him.

The woman felt a lot of pressure being applied to her neck like she was being choked to death. Levi looks at her with cold, dead eyes. "I'm not going to kill you now. You are useful to me, I need you to unlock some forgotten memories," he said. "It's not like you have a choice though, you are only here because of your older brother, who is dead, now look where it landed you," he released her, making her gasp desperately for air.

"You are too weak to uncover my memories for the time being. Get stronger, I'll come back," he said before leaving.

He has decided to make himself happy, he never realized it till now, but his life was mostly filled with misery. As for the Solace family? He would leave them alone for now. Lock another bad memory until he's ready to deal with them. Until then, let them enjoy the luxury they have because once he's done, death would become the next luxurious item for them.

He changed his name to Collin Scotts, luckily he had a few properties under this name. He sent an anonymous message to David not to worry about and made plans to start a new, happy, and peaceful life until the Emperor halted his plans.

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