Chapter 1: The loss of self

"Hahaha I had such a great time at the banquet bro, who knew food could even taste like that?"

"You can't count it as a good time you silly goose! We were only able to serve people, it was nice to get the scraps…" Another voice chimed in after the first.

A third boy looked at the other two, and simply nodded with a cheeky grin.

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"Hey its those three midgets again…wanna go mess with em a bit?"

"I still truly wonder how we don't get tired of beating them up all the time…sigh, I wish they would fight back at least it would make it more interesting. Everyone bullies them, so its not like were doing any wrong. Why not, let's go beat em up again. I don't like that they are happy, those smiles just don't look right on their faces." A tall teen standing next to his friend spoke up as if thoughtful and reminiscent of his devious acts.

"Yeah? I was hoping you were in the mood, my back has been aching and I really do need to let out the stress" A third teen walked up to them, and with the gazes of the other two on him anyone would realize he was the leader of the group.

They slowly tread upon the ground with a leisure and followed the three boys who were on their way back to an orphanage where they lived. The only one in the large city it resided within.

Unknown to them, these teens unlike others who had bullied them would incite the greatest amount of revenge and hatred the world has seen. Shedding blood for thousands of miles, and killing kings. It was this fateful night that snow began to fall, as the winter settled its old bones across the land. Shining everything in a cold glow under its auspicious gaze.

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"Huh?" One of the boys turned around and looked back down an alley. His brothers were still chatting, but he had pretty good hearing and thought he had picked up on a sound. However, when he looked down the alley not a single thing was in sight except for trash bins, grime, and rats.

"Must've just been the snow settling on something…" Hearing this from his mouth, the other two boys looked at him with inquisitive gazes.

"Azrael…don't spook us like that haha…you'll unsettle my tummy full of good food" The largest boy of the trio said with some sarcastic anguish.

The other boy even in height with Azrael nodded as if to confirm that fact. He patted his brothers shoulder and smiled, and they continued walking down the alley.

"Were almost there!" The biggest boy said.

Each of them could see a bustling street full of merchants just a quarter mile ahead of them. They of course didn't live there, they lived just on the other side a ways of that main street.

The street was called 'Night Lane' as it was a lane that was used day and night by merchants to pettle basic supplies, materials, items, even beasts. Of course, this could also be considered attached to the red light district of prostitute houses as well as gambling and fighting halls. However, to these three young boys they only say opportunity in the Night lane and not the foul air that always hung around its every corner.

"You guy's want to see if we can snag a couple fruit for the other kids?" Azrael asked.

The other two smiled, Azrael was always thoughtful of others. He was beyond kind, he always took care of the other kids even at a young age. If a baby was left at the orphanage, he would be the first to volunteer to watch over them. He did his best to break the fights up between other kids, and never ate too much so that the sickest in the orphanage could get part of his share.

Unknowingly he had given these traits off to his brothers as well.

In reality the three were each only 8 years old, but like any kid near to the streets they had seen the vast majority of death and decay. Kids could be easily neglected by adults, bullied by richer kids families. They never complained though, even when a travel noble had stomped them down and pissed on them. When they were offered a job out of pity by his wife watching this scene they stood and bowed to the man instead.

The man brushed it off as a brush of anger to his wife, who happily nodded that she understood because she of course was a noble as well. These kids were still peasants and less then dirt in her eyes, in fact she was even more vile because she wanted her own kids to beat these boys up. Why? Because she saw they could take a beating and still say nothing, they were perfect candidates to let stress out on.

The world was disgusting.

So, for the last several months they had been tormented.

Yet, they had been given 1/100th of the pay they were told they would receive. Instead of a tiel of silver to the three, they were given 3 copper. They didn't mind though, it wasn't hard work and kept them warm and their bellies full. If anything, they ate more than a tiel of silver every time they worked. The three copper were used for the other kids of course, at the behest of Azrael which his brothers instantly agreed to.

"Almost the…"

The biggest boy was about to repeat himself again, but was silenced.

Azrael turned his head with a smile still on his face but it soon froze as he saw blood pooling from his brothers head.

"You hit him too hard you idiot, how am I supposed to make this last a while!" A tall teen said to two others beside him.

One of the teens rubbed the back of his head, "Eh…sorry about that, if they weren't so weak I wouldn't have to try to hold back so much…sorry about that…heh…"

Azrael looked to his other brother who had a fierce glint in his eye, one that he hid well but that Azrael could always see plain as day. It was a killing intent; a deep seeded one from a long life on the streets.

Azrael looked to the teens, "If I willingly let you torture me will you let them go?" The three teens perked up hearing this and deviously smiled.

Their brother on the ground even began to slowly pick himself up after hearing this, "Never…" he was furiously kicked towards his two brothers from behind before he could finished his sentence.

"Why would we want that huh?" One of the teens spoke up after some deep thought.

The second brother was bent down clutching the rags for clothing of his beaten brother and staring daggers up at the teens.

"Because…I scream the loudest" Azrael looked at his brothers clutching each other, and felt an ache in his heart. The brother holding the biggest brother shot a look over at him, "You can't….do not. I would rather us die here together then have them do that to you."

"How bad is the wound?" Azrael asked, eluding to something.

"No…i…" Tears began to roll down his face.

"Listen…the three copper we have should be enough to get some bandages from the healing shop down the road…while I stall them, take him over there to have him treated okay?" Azrael began walking towards the teens who welcomed him with open arms slung around his small shoulders.

"Azrael NOOO!" The boy shouted but couldn't move as his other brother was on top of his legs, "Don't…let them…take him…he'll die…" His brother choked out before his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"AZRAELLLL" A roar that should have choked the hearts of any man, was ignored from the bustling street full of snow and feet merely 20 feet away.

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*shuffle*

*scrrrr*

*shuffle*

*scrrrr*

"Ahh!" A small boy was pulling his brother through inches of stood, eliciting scoffs from nearby nobles and merchants paroling the streets. Many had kicked him and yelled at him for tarnishing their good walk. He didn't stop and got back up quickly.

Half an hour passed before he saw a familiar shop and raced inside, soon after an old woman followed him out.

"Oh my boy…" She looked at the boy on the ground with heart ache in her chest. She was someone who was kind to these boys, as they would always come to her with cuts and bruises. She knew the reasons why they had them, but she herself could do very little about it. She picked the boy up from the ground, and seeing that the third of them wasn't here went to ask the other boy where he was but as she turned he wasn't there.

"Oh no…" Her throat clenched up, she looked at the bloody dangling child in her arms and raced into the shop to heal him.

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"AZRAEL! AZRAEL!"

A croaking voice called for his brother endlessly as he called for hours out into the snowy air. His feet and hands blistered from the cold, red from the lack of blood.

He had ran straight back to the alley Azrael had left in, and searched every inch of it. He then ran beyond it and traced back the route they had taken, he had searched the joining alleys and looked in every trash bin.

"Azrael…" Tear's began to stream down his face as his heart dropped into his stomach. He struck the ground with his knees and wailed into the air.

"Stop interrupting my sleep with your shouts!" A man from nearby peered from his window and threw an object at the boy.

The boy had closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come, but only heard the object strike something soft and then bounce off the ground. He slowly opened his eyes to see Azrael smiling at him.

"Brother…" Azrael collapsed on the ground next to him. His brother moved his trembling hands over to his brothers disfigured face with anguish. Crimson drops of blood spread across his hand, as he peered into the only eye left that Azrael had.

Teeth were missing, fingers were gone, countless bruises dotted his body and bare chest. Needles and spikes still poked out from his flesh.

"AHHH" The boy yelled into the sky again as he clutched his brother in his arms.

"Take care…of Alex…" Azrael's sole eye began to slowly close, but his smile still hung on his face.

Solomon yelled into the sky, "I WILL AVENGE YOU AZRAELLLL"

A spirit slowly floated up to the sky, drifting back and forth amongst the snow as time seemed to stop. It looked down to a boy clutching another dead boy in his arms, his face frozen amidst the shouts of anguish he had let loose. With the snow frozen in place, the people mid stride amongst the city frozen in their journey it was almost serene.

"That's…me?" The spirit asked itself.

"Yes…" a voice spoke out near him. The spirit turned to see an old man in a white shroud looking at him with sadness in his eyes.

"I am…Azrael…" The spirit mulled over the memories that were hard to process, as if his mind was cloudy.

"Yes…you…were Azrael…" The old man titled his head down in anguish.

Azrael began to choke, not because he needed air but because his spirit was quivering.

"I…can't leave them just yet…I need to take care of them, they are my brothers…" Azrael sobbed, but tears did not fall from his eyes. The old man flew forward, and held the spirit of the boy in his arms. He didn't say anything but stabilize the boys spirit as he sobbed in his arms. The old man was sobbing as well, for this was his grandson. Yes, this spirit of a dead boy Azrael was his grandson.