Chapter 2 : The Boy who never knew freedom.

My sleep was disrupted by a blast that wasn't on my bingo list.

Though I was someone used to very little ounces of sleep. I woke up with a heavy head as though mist had engulfed it entirely. Groggy as you may have called it.

I had 0 recollections of the day itself but surprisingly was tired and my body ached as though it had undergone some extremely daunting work which again, I wasn't aware of.

Suddenly a strong scent of burned flesh caught my nostrils.

So, I tried to peek outside my cell just to see strong orange flames engulfing a side of the forest. It was still quite far from my place.

"Maybe they are doing the ritual already."

I sighed. Resigned but I was taught to not feel anything. This was my fate. This was what I was born for.

My growth was entirely orchestrated by the people who took me from the land I initially belonged to.

The spiral of thoughts was still there. Despite what I thought, my head was becoming groggier. If I accepted those things, there was no reason for these sensations to escalate yet they did.

The escalations were a natural part of my routine hence I repeated the words in defeat.

"You are a raw material not a human." "You don't have the right to have a choice." "You don't share the same sentiments as humans." "Your fate is to be destroyed eventually for the greater good of humanity." "Freedom derails you from your role."

Lies, I hated them. I was self-aware yet these thoughts were ingrained subconsciously.

No, actually these were the very thoughts that kept me alive.

I repeated these words as chants. The words had a certain comfort to them.

I went back to my poor excuse of a bed. Till my ears caught a sound so loud I thought my eardrums would explode.

Before I could even get up, my body flinched.

My cheeks burned a little and when I looked to see the source, they were embers.

The smells of burned flesh grew stronger.

Several bats flew to the source in hopes of purging whatever was causing the commotion. They opened their mouths to shoot the basic spells they were designed for. However, before they even reached, the remaining embers started expanding.

My eyes couldn't keep up with the speed at which these former splinters started engulfing the space and the bats with them.

I heard blasts.

And colors that mimicked the brightest of fireworks.

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick.

The embers detonated as small bombs and in the midst of it, I stood still in my cell.

"You are a being without curiosity or desires."

The lines repeated. But no number of subconscious thoughts could purge my urge to see this source.

And then entered, a person…

Red in the most spectacular way. His demeanor…. So bright that I…. thought…. the sun itself had descended.

But his smile was wide. Disturbingly so. As though he was looking forward to this…

His clothes looked plain but even for a travel build, I could recognize the quality. His entire demeanor screamed that he was some sort of a noble.

He glanced towards me with those scarlet eyes of his. And in that moment, I felt a sense of intimidation. But also, something I couldn't really name.

Maybe it was what people called warmth.

"HEY, YOU ARE THE GUY FROM OUR CLASS DEMONSTRATION AREN'T YOU!?!"

His voice was as loud as his magic.

"I have no clue what you are talking about."

He probably was referring to a period when I wasn't in my senses clearly.

"Eh?"

His expressions were both of shock and disappointment.

"Is that really the reason you caused such a huge commotion? To ask me something you didn't understand or the queer nature of the entire whatever demonstration you might be referring to?" I inquired.

"You are not a Masalvanian, are you?"

"I mean isn't my skin color a giveaway to that factor?"

"Interesting."

He moved closer to my cell. Slowly walked and stopped just as he reached the bar.

"Are you a human being?"

"What do you mean?" I asked as though confused.

"Do you feel pain? Do you experience hunger? Are you prone to emotional outbursts? In short, are you of Humankind?"

"What else do I look like?"

He flinched, taken aback.

"Then why didn't you scream or even show any signs of pain when you were in that great peril… The spell which drains life?"

I was confused.

But he looked even more disturbed.

"Aren't you aware of who I am?" I asked him.

"No not at all."

I sighed and took a deep breath.

This guy for all his splendor might have just been an Idiot.

"I am the slave of goods. In other words, a raw material to perform magic."

And that was the first time I saw a tinge of sweat on this young man's forehead.

"I am not aware of my history as of now or where I came from but just as you have observed, I am not one of your people. All I know is that I need to be the material for the greatness of…."

"So, you are also someone who cannot do magic??"

He interrupted in the most hurried fashion.

"I can. You cannot become a raw material without a certain level of proficiency."

"So why don't you escape? Why stay willingly?"

I stayed quiet on this one cause the answer was a matter of simple observation.

"Wait don't tell me… you….. are a SLAVE!?"

I nodded.

"But slavery is illegal and still why don't you esca..."

"On paper. Not in practice, and slaves are placed under a seal… A pact that doesn't disappear unless:

The master is killed. The master willingly frees. Or they are killed."

The color left this bright lad's face. As though the entire excitement was met with something he didn't anticipate.

"I don't think you need to be concerned about me."

I opened my arms in an extended arc.

"It's my role in this thing you call the world."

I didn't know what expression I wore but I saw pity on his face. As though he was seeing someone who was an elaborate case of tragedy.

But that didn't make any sense to me.

Cause.

"I am a raw material." I iterated.

"Pretty much the person designed for the betterment of society." My tone was indifferent.

"Why didn't you react when you were under pain?"

"What pain?"

He made even less sense with each phrase.

"Like I said I don't even remember what you are talking about."

"Let me answer that very question, Dear pupil of mine."

A third voice came, that of a middle-aged man.

He walked slowly with external support of a cane. Making his way towards us.

"But I must say Igna, you kind of laid waste to a lot of my things… And it's very unbecoming of a commendable student like you yourself."

Oh, so his name was Igna…

Igna who didn't utter a single word in response. He didn't acknowledge it, didn't even turn his head when this pointed man called him.

"Is he your master?" He asked me in a tone, almost as low as a whisper.

"Yes." I simply answered straightforwardly.

"You know it's very inappropriate to ignore your teach…"

"You fiend."

Igna cut him short.

"Right now, you are in the presence of the royal prince. If you utter any more disrespect towards me or my subject here, you shall face very dire consequences."

Ah it made sense to why he was so extravagant before.

"My prince surely…"

"Silence, filth!!"

His tone was cold. That of a commander. Devoid of any childlike curiosity that he had a minute ago.

But my master simply sighed and took off his glasses to wipe them.

"Now, before I decide whether to burn you to ashes or not, tell me why??? Why something that illegal in my law is happening beneath my very…"

"Not your law, I am afraid."

Igna froze.

"And don't make the silly mistake of attacking me, my 'prince'. I am, after all stronger than you."

Master said so in a mocking tone.

"If you value yourself and your life, I suggest you go back and come to academy tomorrow like the good little student you are. That is if you value yourself."

"You know you are disrespecting royalty and that means tr—"

"Treason? HAHAHAHA. You are a funny one. I think you haven't grasped the picture yet so let me be clearer….

You are not the important one in this room."

He paused.

"You are a mere prince who has deluded himself into thinking the world is his playground." He continued.

"If anything, you are no different than the slave right there. Shaped by our agendas, raised under a specific criterion …..OUR criteria! You have a role to play. Just like I have my duties here to make sure the goods are safe."

A thought occurred to me in that moment… Slavery was an extremely funny word.

"I refuse." Igna whispered… But it was a loud one.

"Oh, but you…"

"Are you deaf? I REFUSE."

The me then surely thought he was an idiot. Someone who was deluded. Someone naive. Someone who didn't understand his place as a pawn in the hands of someone larger than him…

But I couldn't have been more wrong…

Because you see… at this very moment. The one who was wrong wasn't him… It was us…

"Well then." He straightened his robes. "Prepare for the consequences."