Chapter 1: The Murder

Fourteen year old Eden Satire stared down at his hands. He blinked. 'Why are my hands covered in blood?' He turned to his left and saw his mother's dismembered head which made him jump. 'W-What happened?' He thought while his body shivered. A mushy feeling was underneath his foot and he looked down only to see that his foot had stepped on his father's arm that was still bleeding out continuously like a waterfall.

Eden walked towards the mirror that was near his father's dead body and stared. His once azure blue hair was dyed red with blood as it dripped down onto his pale milky skin. The wretched color stretched far and wide onto his clothes which consisted of a once-white T-shirt and jeans.

His galaxy-like pink-purple eyes shined brighter than ever except it looked duller like a dead fish's eyeballs that were recently fried. Dry blood laid atop his pink lips. Eden was sure that wasn't his blood but rather his parents. He brought his cold fingertips and tried wiping the blood off of his lips.

He realized something as he glanced at his feet. There was a bloodied knife. He began panicking. 'Did someone murder my parents?' He looked around the dimly lit room, finding nothing but himself in it. Out of instinct from watching too many murder documentaries, Eden decided to take a towel that was soaked with blood—presumably, his parents'— and wiped the knife clean. He didn't know why he did it but it felt like he was supposed to do it.

The scenery was that of a massacre just like the movies he had seen. He could feel the cold dark abyss enveloping him from behind, stretching its long arms as it crawled on the cold floor. Oh, how Eden hated that feeling. He wanted to vomit right then and there. Chuckles echoed in what was once called home for Eden.

Eden turned around and saw no one but the chuckle got even louder than before. It sent chills down his spine as he desperately searched for the voice but to no avail, no one was there. That was when he stepped on something mushy and a crunching sound can be heard once again.

He swallowed his cowardice and looked down, only to see his mother's bashed-in head. Her skull was broken into huge chunks that now lay on the carpet and he had just stepped on what seemed to be her eyeball and some small shards of bones. It seemed that a blunt object was used alongside the knife he was holding.

Blood oozed out her empty eye sockets, eyes that were once living and able to see...now gone...eyes that once stared at him lovingly. It was brutal. Cold sweat trickled down his face as he tried to get away from their corpses.

His father's legs were stabbed repeatedly until they bled out like coke with mentos added in. His bones were shown, some of them even have cracks. Eden looked to the side and saw a rather...interesting-looking mark on the back of the book lying dormant near his mother's body.

The mark looked like a birdcage with a doll in it. He thought for a moment before concluding that he had seen it somewhere before. A few seconds after he saw that mark, it quickly vanished afterward. But then he remembered that it was a story his parents used to read to him as a child. His heart tightened as if someone was grabbing it by force, trying to tear it out.

He wasn't acting like himself and he was aware of it. For some apparent reason, he wanted to wipe the blood clean. He tried to stop himself but, Eden was too late. His hand reached over for another towel.

He knew that this method didn't work courtesy of all those movies and books he's read and seen, of course. He wiped the knife yet again.

He was about to take another towel from the cupboard when he heard the police siren. He kept a straight face at first but deep down he was scared. Eden didn't know what to do...after all, this was the first time he's ever been to a crime scene.

Eden wasn't himself because he poked both of his eyes using his fingers and began crying from the pain he inflicted on himself. He's confused. Who did this? A warm feeling tightens around his chest, oh...how he wanted to bash the murderer's face in as an act of revenge.

Suddenly his head began spiraling in pain. Fragments of his suppressed memory appeared in a flash leading to him screaming. He's now drowning in his own memories as that same abyss enveloped his body with a snicker.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

"Eden?! Drop that knife down right now young man!"

"What did you do to your own mother?! "

"Son of a bitch, that fucking hurts."

"I'll fucking murder you."

"ELIZABETH! WAKE UP!"

"Bella—call the cops!"

"D-DAD!!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK!"

"Hello—? Please help. A murderer is on the loose in my house and he's my brother!"

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, EDEN?!"

"Please don't kill me!"

"Sorry, Eden but I'll have to—"

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

And the memory sequence ended abruptly leaving Eden to question what happened. He took deep breaths as his heart beats a million miles per hour. Eden tried his best to recollect his thoughts but he was still panicking and breathing frantically.

'Kukukuku...this is getting exhilarating!' An unknown voice whispered to him. Strangely enough, it sounded exactly the same as the chuckle he heard a few moments earlier.

'They have no choice but to believe us...' that unknown voice whispered to him. "Who are you?!" He yells feeling frustrated about the whole thing. And a chuckle emerged from behind him.

Eden looked behind him and saw no one. "Get out of here you c-coward!" He tries to swallow his fear and act courageous but fails miserably as he stutters.

'Oh poor you...you have no recollection of the incident at all!' The voice laughed while mocking him. Eden feels confused. Everything doesn't make sense. First, he woke up next to the pool of blood with his parents' dead bodies.

Next, he was in pain from the memories of the traumatic experience even if it was only fragments. And lastly, this being appeared and is mocking him.

"What the hell is going on?" He muttered and surprisingly, the being responded with a sinister remark. 'You murdered your parents.' A yawn came from the unknown voice.

"There's no way I'd murder my parents like that! They're extremely kind to me so there's no reason for me to even kill them out of spite." His voice echoed in the house and that's when he realized that this wasn't a dream. He was truly alone now. His sister is missing and his parents are dead.

No response came. "B-Bella! Are you here?" He heard shuffling in the attic and knew exactly where she would be. 'She's probably in our secret hideout.' And he walked forward towards the attic.

'You know your sister very well...' The voice congratulated him. 'It can hear my thoughts?!' Shock overwhelmed the teen's body as goosebumps emerged all around his body, sending shivers down his spine.

'Yes, I can hear everything that you think of, Eden my boy.' Disgust. That's what Eden feels when speaking to the voice. He can feel the malice that is laced within his voice and that is what frustrates him.

'Just kidding~' the voice continued. Eden ignored the voice.

He was about to open the attic entrance door when a yell was heard. "DON'T COME NEAR ME YOU MURDERER!" Eden's heart was shattered into pieces. A dark gloomy expression appeared on his face and he stopped advancing to his sister's location.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you?" A giggle was heard. "Who are you even talking to..." Eden heard Bella whisper and looks at her in confusion. "Do you not see him like standing right here?" He asked and pointed to an empty spot, supposedly where Azrail is.

'I forgot to mention something...only you can hear me...kukukuku...' he heard Azrail chuckle while chains were being dragged across the floor.

"Not only have you killed our parents, but you're also turning insane," Bella said and was about to grab a knife on the floor when his body moved on its own to kick the knife away from her grasp.

'Eden' picked up the knife and twirled it around like a horse on a merry-go-round. "Kukukuku...how fascinating! You, a weakling trying to kill me? How exhilarating this has become!" Eden covered his mouth right afterward.

Bella stared at him in disgust. She looked like she was about to vomit. That's when she got up and ran towards the window.

Like a flash of light, Eden caught her and held her firmly, making her trapped. She yelled for help out of the window but nobody heard her, after all, this is a small town. "Scream more and you're dead." Just like before, Azrail spoke on his behalf, holding the knife up to her neck.

Bella smirked. She had outsmarted her brother as always. Police sirens rang in the background as she begins to laugh. "Even if I die here, you get to rot in hell, murderer." Her laugh echoed throughout their house, Eden's heart stopped.

He didn't even commit this murder yet he was going to be framed for it. Eden cursed under his breath and let her out of his grip. That was when they all hear the police kicking the door down.

'Leave it to me, Ed. I'll help you get away with murder.' With that Azrail took control of Eden's body and poked their eyes making the body cry. "For the last time, I didn't kill anybody!" Eden yelled in frustration while Bella watched in amusement. That was when she fled the scene.

2 police officers appeared after breaking the door down, gun in hand, fully loaded with some backup outside. A woman began approaching him.

"T-The murderer...h-he...he f-forced me to watch m...my...parents slowly die...they were screaming...their b-blood spilled...o-on me..." he murmured and clutch his head like he was in pain.

The policewoman walked towards him. Eden flinches. The policewoman drops her gun and hugs the bloody weeping teen. "It's okay...you're going to be okay....we're going to take care of you and protect you from that murderer..." she whispered into his ear. For a moment, Eden wanted to believe her.

Dirty blonde hair flowed alongside the icy cold wind of the night. Her deep ruby eyes stared into his soul as she whispered comforting words into his ears. He wasn't sure what to do so he looked at her face one more time.

Her hair was messy and she tied it into a low-hanging braid. A mole lay underneath the right side of her bloodshot eyes. Her expression was that of worry.

Azrail hissed at the woman. 'She's tricking you!' Said Azrail as he growled like an animal. Eden didn't listen and hugged her back signifying that he trusted her. The woman smiled softly and picked him up.

"Come on, Rosemary. We need to get the kid to the hospital. Reinforcements will come to investigate the scene." Said the purple-haired policeman. "Fine, Jacob." Said Rosemary as she hurried to the car. Jacob entered the driver's side and drove them to a nearby hospital.

Eden stared at the man who said this. He had his forehead exposed with a couple of hair clips. His purple-pink gradient hair was shining like a highlighter.

'What a bad hair color if you're on a mission to spy on someone.' Eden scoffed and continued to examine this strange man's features. His thick purple eyebrows seem to grow even thicker the longer he stared at them but it was only because of his anxiety that was making his vision wonky.

His brown eyes were staring at Eden with a rather cruel and uncaring expression. His star-like pupils glowed subtly and Jacob quickly turned away from him.

That was when Eden noticed their uniforms. It was more like a suit than a uniform but it was still fashionable. The black jacket wasn't long enough to reach the waist but was instead stretched downwards only till where the lungs were situated.

There were also strings that were attached to the bottom of the jacket to make it unable to flow in the wind. They both were wearing pants that looked like it was made from the wools of Arkanas (sheep in Pelirose). It was dark, extremely dark but it radiated light from the moonlight very well as the pants looked as if they were white.

Eden was hugging Rosemary and didn't bother to listen to their conversation. Little did he know, that was the wrong decision to make. "We're going to question him, right?" Asked Jacob who used a filtering device made by the legendary Wendy Golding.

"Yes...since child murderers' rating in this time around is high....he might kill his parents...I feel sorry for the little boy." Rosemary responded with a solemn expression

She strokes Eden's rather soft hair. Azrail is trying to grab a hold of Eden's body in order to bite her but Eden didn't allow him to.

'I know she's lying to you! Child murderers' popularity is getting higher and higher so she suspects you.' Said Azrail as he crosses his arms. "How would you know?" Eden scoffed. This time, Azrail stayed silent.

'You'll see.' A chuckle followed. Eden could feel the smirk climbing up Azrail's hollow mouth. Eden was about to reply to Azrail when the car came to a halt. "We're here..." Rosemary told Eden who wiped his eyes.

He was sent to room 3 on the first floor. He got new clothes—hospital clothes—and an old bunny plushie. He sat on the hospital bed as Jacob asked him questions regarding the murder of his parents.

He let Azrail take over to answer the questions for him. Azrail is an excellent actor as well as an expert pathological liar. He's glad he let Azrail act instead of himself for he will obviously mess up.

"T...There was b-blood everywhere! It...s-soaked my clothes....I-I...I was scared...he might kill me b-but...h..he told me that I...I wasn't worthy of being k-killed..." Said Azrail as fake tears poured out of his eyes.

Jacob looks away and began to bite his nails. Both Eden and Azrail felt a change in the air as soon as the door opened. A man with blood-red hair, emerald eyes, and an eye patch above his right eye walked into the room. He looks like he's in his early 20s. He smiled at Eden.

That was when Eden continued his observation. A deep red dye lay within this man's hair as dark green emerald-like eye stared back at him. An eyepatch lay on his right eye, covering for what has been lost to time. His thin eyebrows were quivering at the sight of Jacob's uncaring expression. This man was angry at how horribly Jacob had treated a child.

Of course, he didn't show this as he quickly put up a façade and smiled cheerfully.

"Jacob, you can leave the questioning to me." He greeted and asked Jacob who sighs. "Thanks." Said Jacob as he drank some water. "Now please leave the room." The man ordered. Jacob got up from the chair and quickly left the vicinity. Before leaving, he turned back.

"Do whatever you want. Just don't leave a trauma on the kid. He's been through a lot." Said Jacob as he finally left the room leaving Eden alone with this man.

'Something isn't right....' Eden thought and hummed a tune his mother sang for him back when he was a toddler. "The name's Adrian. Now let me ask you some questions." Said Adrain, grinning with a notebook in hand.

Eden's instinct was right after all. This man—no, Adrain—is dangerous. "Don't lie, alright?" Adrain's grin widened as his aura shifted from being friendly to emitting his threatening aura.

Eden gulped. There was no guarantee whether Adrain will kill him or not. 'Be careful.' That was what Azrail told Eden as his tone shifted.

After a couple of minutes, Adrain got up and left the room. Jacob was waiting outside. "How is it?" He asked. Adrain just shrugs and left.

'Eden...Adrain's not normal...his behavior...' Said Azrail as he appeared beside Eden. He freaked out and fell off the hospital bed.

"Ow!" Said Eden as he rubbed his poor—injured—butt. 'Sorry...I recently got the hang of my powers and wanted to show you!' Azrail apologized while grinning sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's fine..." Said Eden as he got on the bed once again. There was a knock on the door. "C-Come in!" Said Eden feeling a little startled as he rubbed his pained butt cheeks.

The door opened to reveal Rosemary. She walked in and gave in a hug. "I'm sorry..." She was crying. Eden's mind stopped working for a moment.

"What am I supposed to do?" He whispers softly to Azrail but he didn't reply. Eden turned to look to the right where Azrail was. His eyes widened as Azrail seemed to be crying.

"Mom...dad..." he mourned in his monotone voice. He doesn't know what to feel. Azrail smiles sadly. Eden was numb for some unknown reason.

'You can barely express your emotions...I'm the opposite...follow Rosemary's actions and you'll seem normal, dumbass.' Said Azrail, pointing to Rosemary.

Eden mentally nods and tears started to fill his vision. He cried silently with Rosemary. "I miss them." He told Rosemary who sobbed.

"You shouldn't cry over a stranger." Said Eden as he stopped crying. He wiped his eyes with both his hands. "Stop wasting your tears on me." He said sternly. Rosemary cried even more. She kept on repeating the words "I'm sorry" over and over.

"I'm sorry...I promised your parents yet..." she continued sobbing. "They—They took care of me since I was young and...I promised them..." Eden's eyes softened and he continued to hug her.

Eden has no choice but to cry with her and so he did. He let his emotions take over just this one moment. Oh, how time flies by. Memories of when they were still a proper family flashed before him. His chest tightens as tears fall.

Eden could feel regret and guilt approaching him from behind. They jumped on him and melted. They were sticky and attached themselves to his body. They're suffocating him. His eyes have fully become a waterfall as more and more tears fall landing onto Rosemary's shoulders.

It hurts. Why does his heart hurt? Eden longed for warmth and comfort but he knew he'll never be able to go back to the good old days. It's too late. Time will never wait for him now. Meanwhile, Jacob waited outside, having no idea how to comfort the weeping teen and woman.

'Also...I just realized that you're an idiot 'cause wiping the blood off with a towel won't get rid of the evidence...' Azrail spoke up and Eden curses. "I had no other choice dumbass." He whispers angrily.

Little did they know, a boy with a scarf watched through the cracks of the door with Jacob. He smiles. Adrain is behind that boy. He pats his head and walked away. "I can finally meet him!" The boy smiled softly.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

A boy jumped down from the window sill and watches as the policemen collected fingerprints and evidence around the murder scene. A smile crept up to his face as everything turned dark that night.

*CLICK*

A polaroid was taken. The unknown boy's smile faltered and he threw the photo inside the open window of Eden's home. The polaroid dropped down on the ground and his smile was back. "Good luck."