The Sweet Embrace of Darkness

Kyrian woke up from the noise of a television, not that he knew what it was, but there was someone talking in the background. His head was still ringing from the pain that assaulted him before he passed out, and his body felt like it was on the verge of breaking down.

"—orting from the news that brings you clues; Andrea Nembhard is here to cover the disaster of Zara. Here we could see the crater from the explosion that shook the whole Republic."

The boy tried to lift his hands to his face and remove the residual eye gunk that had stuck on the side of his eyes to see who was speaking, but the pain stopped him from doing so.

Without a choice, he listened to the person who was talking in the background. The seriousness of the news was apparent and the somber voice of the speaker made anyone who heard her will feel emotional.

"As of now, the casualties are estimated to have reached tens of thousands of people. It is suspected that the perpetrator was the Demonic Order and the now wanted, Paul Oakhand. We pray for the souls of the departed and the brave Phoenix Corps who tried their best to capture the criminal."

"As you can see in the background, the only thing left behind from the bustling city of Zara that was formerly known as the city of dreams became a city of desolation. The smell of burned corpses and dilapidated buildings spread across the whole city."

Kyrian couldn't see what the woman was talking about, but he heard that death and destruction spread aplenty. The boy wasn't unfamiliar with death, he had seen it personally. He stared at it. He was almost taken by it. But as fate would have it, he was flown away to a faraway place, more welcoming, but still far from home.

Death had taken his mother in his arms, slowly dissipating while the first rays of the dawn shone on his face. Similarly, as he was listening to the news of thousands of people dead, he couldn't help but think of the people the dead had left behind. There were thousands of loved ones who had lost their family in that tragedy.

The dawn reminded him of his own tragedy. From the eaves of the windows, the curtains had failed to fully cover the window and through its slight opening, and the first rays of sun shone on his face.

He tried to cover his face with his arms, but the pain hindered him again. This time, he didn't mind the pain and pushed his body to the side to avoid the sunlight.

Darkness was much more comforting to him.

In darkness, there was no one to bother him.

In darkness, his tears could be hidden.

In darkness, he wouldn't see anyone dying.

There must be something with the light and death, darkness and life, he laughed at the incredulity of his conclusion.

"You're awake, Kyrian."

The familiar voice of his master sounded in his ears. From his hoarse voice, he must have been looking for him the whole night without sleep. Needless to say, mages of his caliber might not need sleep for a long time, but the stress of waiting for his recovery might have contributed to his stress.

"Master, can you fix the curtain? It's hurting my eyes."

Horace stood up from his seat and abruptly opened the curtains, contrary to the request of his disciple.

"Ahh! Master!"

"It's morning, get up. You'll feel better after getting some sunlight."

His master's tone wasn't the jovial attitude that Kyrian was used to. Although he hadn't spent a long time with Horace, it was enough for Kyrian to figure out his master's attitude.

This time, it was different.

He felt that there was something wrong with his master.

—

Kyrian forced himself to get up despite the pain that he was feeling. Horace said that it was the side effect of the potion that he had been given. Thankfully, he ingested the potion immediately and a rune user who specializes in aether healed him while he was asleep. There was no long-lasting damage from his impatience, and the only thing that bothered him was his master's attitude.

"Master, did something happen?"

"No. Nothing happened. Tell me when you feel better, and we can continue your lessons. For now, take some rest and spend your free time like a real four-year-old."

Kyrian finally confirmed that there really was something wrong with his master. What's up with that 'real' four-year-old? His master had never treated him like this before. He behaves like a peer when I'm with him. Now, it's so different.

Kyrian thought hard and the only information available to him was about the deaths in Zara. His master must be upset that his territory was attacked by the Demonic Order. It's normal for him to feel bad.

The platinum blond haired boy nodded as he thought that he had finally figured out his master's bad mood.