Prologue: The Pale Wanderer

Chapter 2: Pale Wanderer

"I'm sorry."

While he plucked out his scythe on the floor, rested it on his back, and turned around to see Charon executing a gentleman's bow.

"Charon."

Charon raised his head, understood what he meant, nodded, and replied,

"Yes, sir."

Following this, Charon pressed his hands to each other, folded them, and mumbled,

"Fire Essence, Pale Flame."

He split his hands, erupting a massive ball of blue flames between them and sparking flames on his sleeve. He spread his hands wider, dividing the flames into ten sections. He tossed them upward while waving his hand to put out the embers on his sleeve.

Afterward, the ten blue flames soared far into the air until they reached the top of the sphere. They circled, their flames intensifying while they approached and fell one by one, illuminating the area.

Azael gave him a nod of approval, and Charon bowed once again before Azael took a step forward. However, after a few steps, he paused, turned around, and asked Charon.

"Charon, is this the only way that she'll agree to bring them back?"

Charon nodded at him, and his face darkened. After that, he grabbed the key on his chest, gazed at it, and mumbled,

"To save your light, you need to step into the darkness, huh?"

He clenched his grip before releasing it and walked up to the door.

He stood still in front of the door and stared at its doorknob hesitantly. Seeing his master's reaction, Charon approached him and inquired,

"Sir, if you can't handle this, may I?"

"No, no, I can handle this myself. Just wait here." he said, waving his hand at Charon.

Azael clenched his fist, grabbed the doorknob, and pushed it open...

...…

"Hmmm..." he grumbled at the sight.

While standing at the doorway, he noticed a bunk bed pushed against the wall and an open window beside it, through which the Pale Flame flowed and illuminated the entire room. This was probably used by someone to escape.

Azael looked out the open window before turning his attention to the closet. It shook, indicating that there were people inside.

Azael couldn't help but let out a smile while he approached it, halted in front, and knocked at the door.

"I know that both of you are here,"

"Eikk! It knows we're here, big brother. What should we do?"

"Shh, keep quiet, Ma said, monsters can't go inside unless you invite them to come in."

"Then.... then... Are we safe, big brother?"

"Yep, so shhh, it will just go away if we ignore it."

As Azael listened to their babbling, he scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to do. He let out a sigh and opened it gently, revealing two small children, about 5-7 years old, with blonde hair and green eyes.

One had short hair, while the other had it back in a ponytail. Azael scratched his head once again, since their appearances were identical. However, he noticed they were both dressed in pink and blue pajamas.

Azael pondered for a moment when he gazed at them, but the little girl shrieked...

"Eikk! Big brother, it's the Pale Man Wanderer!"

When he heard his sister's cries, the little boy hurried to her side, embraced his sister, pulled a quill from his pocket, and pointed it at Azael while his body trembled.

"Wha…. Wha… What are you? Get… Away… From… My…. Sister…" the boy said while stuttering.

"Woah, child, put that down. I'm no monster and..."

After he uttered those words, the little girl interrupted him and poked her head out, and replied to him,

"Then then.... if... if you're not the Pale Man Wanderer, who are you, and what did you do to ma and pa, hmmm?"

"Get back in there, Nadia, stay still. Ma said, don't ever, ever talk to strangers, especially adults."

With his free hand, the brother covered her eyes and firmed his grip on the quill while he swung it in random directions. Azael couldn't help but face-palm while he stared at the boy, and memories flashed across his mind.

He remembered a period in his past when two children were in the same situation, trembling in fear and embracing one another. It was the same situation as before, except... Azael shook his head, bringing him back to reality.

Afterward, he plunged his scythe aside, sat on the floor, crossed his legs, removed his cowl, and threw his mask on the floor.

The siblings both gasped when they saw his face.

"Haaa??? You're a kid too!?"

Both of them exclaimed The little girl and boy stared at him. Both of them were wide-eyed in disbelief.

Azael reached for his cheeks and caressed them, then replied,

"Hmm, I guess you say that."

Azael responded, his voice sounding more like a prepubescent child. He appeared to be a 6-year-old child, with snow-white skin, dark hair, crimson eyes, and a black-red horn on his left forehead, resembling a ram's horn.

While they both gazed at him, he moved his lips to smile at them, but it turned into a sneer, prompting them both to roll back, and the boy again raised his hand to aim his quill towards him.

Azael couldn't help but sigh in response to their reaction. He cannot believe that his beautiful smile could trigger a response with such hostility.

'By the Aeons! Am I really that ugly?'

He placed his hand on his chin while caressing it. He pondered for a bit, and an idea came to his mind, prompting him to snap his fingers.

"Aha!"

He unintentionally summoned his Black Chains, which sprung from the floor, causing the children to crawl back and tremble when the chains approached them with their pointed edges.

He rushed between them, extending out his hand to reassure the children and gesturing for the chains to be relinquished. Azael shifted his gaze to the unharmed children and lowered his legs onto the floor while letting out a deep sigh of relief.

After the close accident, he wiped the sweat from his brow and reached inside his robe for what seemed to be a chocolate bar, opened it, and took a mouthful.

Meanwhile, while he relished the flavor of the chocolate, the two children stared at him, their mouths drooling from the scent of chocolate.

Azael noticed them and tilted his head, confused, and he took another bite of it.

'Task failed, successfully.'

He retrieved another one from his robe and stretched it out to them.

"Do you guys want some?" he said, sneering.

The kids' eyes narrowed at him, prompting him to open it, take a bite, and reach out again.

"Here."

The brother gazed at Azael, reluctantly lowered his quill, and reached out to grab the chocolate. After this, he divided it in two, narrowed his eyes at it to verify the overall balance, and gave the other half to his sister, and they both took a bite. They both smiled ear-to-ear, and their eyes beamed while they savored the true essence of the chocolate.

"Aiden, this is incredible!"

"Ma's sweets are delicious, but this stuff is out of this realm!"

When he observed their innocent smiles and comments about his favorite snack, Azael chuckled.

'Innocence truly is a luxury.'

While they relished the snack, Nadia, the little girl, turned her chocolate-covered face to Azael and inquired,

"Hmmm, is it alright for you to be out this late?" Her tone was gentle; no hostility could be detected in her voice.

"Yeah, exactly. Where are your parents?"

Azael only gave them a faint smile and a shrug. Seeing that he was unwilling to respond, Nadia continued,

"Haven't you heard? Ma said, a Lone Pale Wanderer is roaming around at night, and if you don't go to bed early, he'll abduct you and punish you for eternity!"

"Didn't your parents tell you that?" Aiden added.

Azael's faint smile remained on his face while he stood up, approached them, grabbed a chocolate bar, and tossed it to Aiden. Afterward, he caressed both of their heads, which made them tilt their heads in confusion before turning around to walk to the open window, whose glass glittered with light from the pale flame outside.

"I'm afraid that parents are a luxury I cannot afford," he replied, while he climbed up to the window seal and sat on it, casting his shadow on the two children on the other side.

"Then are you an orphan?" Nadia inquired, with a curious tone.

Azael shook his head and said,

He changed the subject. "Would you like to hear the real tale of the Pale Man Wanderer?" he asked.

When the siblings heard what he had just said, they gulped, and Aiden stood up and inquired,

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, what do you mean? Does that mean he's not scary at all?" Nadia followed up after her brother's words.

Azael waved his hand at them, implying their query was neither wrong nor correct, while covering his mouth while he chuckled before saying,

"Whether you view him as a monster at night or a forsaken soul depends on your perspective."

Azael shifted his gaze to the blazing pale flame at the window and continued.

"There was once a pale young boy who seemed very lonely. All beings that draw breath avoided him, and you know what the funny part is?" he asked the twins.

"I don't remember Ma saying that he was funny."

"Is there really a funny part in the story?"

They're both skeptical. However, Azael ignored them and continued,

"They all came crawling back to him in the end. However, this does not imply that he was a well-known or renowned individual. Oh, no, no, far from it. As the History of the Seven Realms of the Heavens implies, Kings, Emperors, and even some Deities feared him, for if they faced him, they would lose their legacies."

"Then he is scary, and what are deities? Ma didn't mention that word to me before," Nadia commented.

"Yeah, if even kings and emperors who ruled countries feared him, just like Ma said, he truly is scary," Aiden added.

Azael shifted his gaze to the babbling children and said,

"Yeah, but to be honest, there is quite a twist to this story."

"What is it?"

They both spoke at the same time. When he saw them leaning forward, he sneered and continued.

"He was not always like that, but they shunned him, called him names, and became the folktale that made the children not go out at night, as you heard from your Ma, and every being that draws breath hated him for existing alone, and that made his existence become a living nightmare as a result of this because…."

He paused, and Azael leaped out of the window seal and walked toward the siblings, before adding,

"In order to save his family, he needs to sacrifice a piece of himself."

When he drew near them, he halted and gazed down at the object he had stepped into. It was his mask. He knelt and scooped it up before turning his gaze to Aiden and asking...

"Tell me, child, what if you lose the people that you love, then you learn that you can bring them back? What will you do?"

Aiden felt a shudder run down his spine. Afterward, he pulled back the quill with his right hand and shoved Nadia towards his back with his left hand, and Aiden raised his hand and aimed the quill toward Azael before saying,

"Stay.... away!" his voice cracked while trembling.

Azael sighed in his reply and murmured,

"Wrong answer."

Following this, he shifted his gaze to his mask, put it on, and walked towards his Scythe before continuing,

"You see, for me, I'm willing to tarnish my reputation, lose a piece of myself, and even shed innocent blood, just to see their smiles again, because I..." His tone was deep, and no longer belonged to a child.

He grabbed his scythe's handle and plucked it from the floor. Its edge shone while it reflected the two children, shivering in fear as their fates were about to be sealed.

"Big brother!"

"Nadia!"

Both of them trembled while hugging each other and closing their eyes. While Azael watched their embrace, his grip on his Scythe loosened, and he bit his lips beneath his mask.

But when he remembered his people's laughter, he strengthened his grip on it and swung the scythe...

The wind could be seen divided like the red sea when the Scythe sliced through it and its edge plunged to the floor. Azael stood there staring at them while a single tear fell, sparkling like a diamond when it dropped to the floor.

He let go of the Scythe's handle and grabbed the key that was dangling around his neck and examined it before mumbling.

"Because I... because I'm..."

He firmed his grip on it and pulled it out, destroying the chain on it when he raised it into the air, reversed his grip, and plunged it to the floor.

"Death's Essence, Dark Harvest!!!"

A howling black mist emerged on the floor, bringing with it a tremendous gust of wind that shattered the window glass and wrecked the door where Charon stood. Charon ran in after this, his palm protecting his face from the intense wind.

He saw the howling mist. He clapped his hands and folded them, but came to a halt when Azael raised his hand, encouraging him to stop. Following this, Azael twisted the key, causing the black mist to wail even louder, and he approached the two trembling siblings in the closet.

"Ahhh! No, no, getaway! Ma help!"

"Let go of me, let go! It really is true. You are a monster!"

It shaped itself into two sharp needles and pierced both of their hearts, executing them in a fraction of a second.

Their bodies lay motionless on the floor. Two blue orbs emerged from their bodies, and when Azael turned, the key returned to its original position. The Howling Black Mist and Two Souls got absorbed by the key.

Azael stood and approached the two lifeless bodies and mumbled,

"Because I..."

He knelt, clenched his fist, and continued,

"Because I'm willing to take risks in order to reclaim what is rightfully mine!"