The Past: Rebellion

In the dungeon, Fenrius languishes in one of the cells filled with criminals. He leaned against the corner wall. Without speaking at all. His face never showed its light again after passing (surviving) the endless torments—perhaps he would rather die rotting, and make this prison his grave. He even forgot what it was that kept him alive in this hell. His mind never slept because he was too focused on surviving the next ordeal. However, if he had been fighting for his life only to die in execution—it crossed his mind to give up on life.

"Hey, look at him, from the first time he entered the prison until now, I have never seen that boy speak."

“Same, what did such a small brat do to become a prisoner like us? Killing? Hehe, no kidding…”

“Shhh, the guards are heading this way...”

A loud bang against the cell bars startled them all. Two guards opened the detention cell. The guard slammed the hilt of his spear down and call out, “Everyone, go to the execution chamber! Enjoy your last day!”

The prison guards led the prisoners into a room full of corpses, but there were no torture instruments and pools of blood there, only a cauldron of green water in the middle. All around them, the speared Atria soldiers led by a warden watched as well. One resistance from the prisoners, they will not hesitate to punish with a few sharp spear thrusts. One by one the prisoners marched towards the cauldron.

A lieutenant soldier approached the only boy in the room, “Hey, Fenrius, do you still remember me? Want to negotiate?” in a slightly whispering voice.

Fenrius knew that he was Lieutenant Jack who tortured him often. Thanks to the Atria soldiers, he had learned a lot about life in the Runeverse. The rules in prison make them not dare to provoke a commotion. Since it was Fenrius' last day, with his usual calm demeanor, the boy simply ignored him.

“Hey, you haven't spoken to us in almost a month, two days ago, The Witching Night Boy was acting up again! Royal supplies have been stolen for the umpteenth time in your absence! If you find out who he is, I promise to release you from this prison!”

The boy still looks the other way from the lieutenant's words. Still steadfast in his stance.

"Well! Then, enjoy your last seconds towards the afterlife that you desire!” Jack snapped.

The chief warden, one in a black uniform that was different from the others, ordered a prisoner to come forward, and handed him a cup of green water from the cauldron, "Drink, don’t resist if you don't want to die tormented," demanded the warden.

The prisoner raised his cup, before drinking it he sneered, “Soon you rebellious kingdoms will be destroyed at the hands of the Empire! Astoriamus will curse you all! And I will enjoy it from up there…!”

After saying his last words he drank the green liquid. His body hardened and paralyzed to the ground. The effects of the poison worked rapidly in his body. The soldiers dumped his dead body into a pile of corpses.

Now it was the turn of the second prisoner to come forward. He picked up the cup, lifted it up, and shouted, “Long live The One King!”

He drank the poison. His mouth foamed then convulsed and collapsed to the ground. His body twitched for a moment, even though the poison didn't work fast, but he died slowly until his body didn't move a muscle.

The third prisoner is advanced. Taking the cup from the warden's hand roughly. He brought the cup to his lips as he took a sip, then stopped it. The Atria soldier sighed anxiously. That person glared at all of them as he vowed, “There is only one king in Runeverse! He's a Zesperia! He is immortal! He was protected by the Divines! He has unified the Runeverse! And only Astora Pendragon meets those requirements! The One King of Runeverse! For the sake of The Empire!!!” he yelled as he dropped his cup to the ground and pulled a knife out of his shirt.

The soldiers were shaken as the man lunged at the warden with a sharp knife. However, his head suddenly exploded. Blood spurted everywhere. His knife-wielding body lay on the ground. Everyone in the room was surprised to learn that the warden had a secret weapon that could shoot a prisoner in the head at any moment with a Magnum pistol in his hand.

"Next prisoner, come forward," ordered the warden.

The fourth captive, the only boy in the room, Fenrius. His gaze surrendered. He picked up the fallen cup and filled it with poison in the cauldron. Before he drank it, the warden stopped it with a hand motion.

“Hey, kid… Any last words?”

Fenrius didn't reply. He was silent as a lamb and stood still like a stone.

“Sir Draxus, it's useless. The boy hadn't spoken in almost a month. His will for life is gone. Now, he's just a walking corpse."

“Lieutenant Jack, fine then. Boy, carry on…”

The boy Fenrius, drank the poison into his mouth. However, an oddity that astonished the soldiers happened. The boy's body remained standing, not paralyzed, not convulsing. It made them wonder why poisons capable of killing adults didn't work on young children? This is the first time this has happened in the history of the prison. As crazy as criminals and strong captives are, they will not be able to do what the beggar boy did.

“Damn that boy! I knew something was wrong with him! No matter how many times he was put in the cage of a monster with sharp fangs and claws, he still managed to live!”

"Hey, kid! What makes you want to stay alive?!”

"It's useless! He won't answer. He has been silent for a month!”

“Sir Draxus! Let's just blow the boy's head off!”

Sir Draxus thought, ("What happened? That boy should have died even if he drank that bit of poison. His body must have endured the excruciating pain, but his face showed no emotion. That boy's resilience is great.")

“Next prisoner, advance!” Sir Draxus' orders.

The warden handed him a cup containing a little poison. Seeing the great endurance of the boy after surviving death, made the fifth prisoner drink it with confidence. After a while the poison began to work, his head was dizzy, and his body wobbled. He inflamed, “What poison is this! I-I... can... n-no..."

The prisoner's mouth was vomiting blood, his throat was sore. His body slumped. His hand wanted to grab something he could reach and it fell with his last breath. The warden felt that his prediction was right. The boy's immunity was too high. He seemed to have been bitten by dozens of snake venom. Ordinary poison can't kill him!

"Kid!" call Sir Draxus. “Because of your high survival desire, then I will reward you with an honorable death! A one-on-one duel against the Atria soldiers! This is a wheel battle, if you win, then another soldier will serve you until you die!”

Fenrius nodded his head in agreement. Sir Draxus broke into a smile. He arranged the soldiers to line up in a circle like a battle arena, their facial expressions being contemptuous in disgust at the little beggar for being given such homage. Sir Draxus threw a sword which Fenrius greeted. Lieutenant Jack plays with his spear challengingly while entering the arena as the boy's first enemy. Fenrius entered the arena without armor, only with the sword the warden had given him and determination. The boy stared intently at his enemy.

The lieutenant said, "I brought you here, and I will end it here, boy!"

Sir Draxus exclaimed, “The fight begins on the count, three… two… one… Start!” while firing his Magnum upwards.

The soldiers cheered. Lieutenant Jack took the initiative to attack first. Fenrius was the opposite, the boy ran around the arena to get away from his enemy. Everyone knows that if their strength is contested, then the power of a child is no match for the strength of an adult soldier. Fenrius continued to dodge the battle while looking for an opening.

"What's the matter with you Fenrius? Don't you have guts?!" Jack provoked the boy even though he didn't respond.

The boy moved swiftly to dodge Jack's attacks. The Atria soldiers were amazed, as was Sir Draxus who thought that if the boy named Fenrius was trained as a soldier, maybe he could be of use to the kingdom, but if the boy stayed alive, maybe it could also threaten the kingdom.

It was in Lieutenant Jack's mind that he wanted to sell Fenrius as a slave to the kingdom. He was so impressed because the beggar boy was able to survive his torment for a month. Incredible endurance and mental fortitude. A strong slave must have a high price. Jack pulled his spear back while poised, then thrust it forward at such high speed that it nearly hit Fenrius' small body. The boy had a hard time reading his enemy's fast movements.

“Why do you keep silent? That's what made us decide to just kill you! If you talk, maybe we'll lighten your load! Answer me Fenrius!!!” he ranted while attacking horizontally despite being dodged by the boy.

Now it was the boy's turn to attack, but his slash was blocked by Lieutenant Jack's spear. And the spear pushed Fenrius completely to the ground. His physical strength could not match the Atria soldier. The cheers of the soldiers grew louder, the prisoners felt sorry for the boy's futile struggle. Sir Draxus thought to himself that this was the time, the death of the boy. Lieutenant Jack shouted loudly in Fenrius' face.

“Speak Fenrius! Beg me as you did before!"

Fenrius' hands trembled with the hilt of the spear whose tip nearly hit his neck. Jack grinned sinisterly. His gaze radiated a thick, murderous aura. However, he choked on seeing Fenrius' calm gaze even though his life was on the line. The boy spits out the poison that had been in his mouth for so long into the lieutenant's eyes. Sir Draxus and the soldiers stared dumbly, the captives gaping in disbelief.

Jack's vision went blind. His hand dropped his spear. He groaned in pain and rubbed his eyes. Before he knew it, the cold iron had touched his jugular vein, then slashed his throat. Blood flowed from Fenrius' sword that had managed to kill Lieutenant Jack.

This is the moment, the decisive moment of Fenrius' triumph in his lifetime. Just one chance. One-shot. One goal! He picked up Lieutenant Jack's spear on the ground, aiming at the warden as time progressed slowly. In his mind, he knew why the third prisoner was so desperate to attack the warden suddenly with the knife he kept. He knew why the prisoners were so afraid of the warden, not the spearmen. He knew the warden's lethal long-range weapon was the key that had absolute power to regulate prison conditions. He knew what he wanted to do from the moment he entered the prison.

Fenrius threw his spear that shot into the warden's chest. Sir Draxus vomited blood. His hand took the Magnum pistol in his pocket, aiming it at Fenrius. The boy threw his sword while rolling forward as Sir Draxus' shot missed him. The sword throw hit the warden's head which killed him instantly and dropped his firearm.

Fenrius took the warden's gun, then aimed it at the head of the Atria soldier who charged at him with a spear. The prisoners also rebelled. Some of them had secretly kept their sharp weapons and attacked the soldiers, helping Fenrius who was shooting at his enemies with a high-caliber Magnum. Dozens of prisoners attacked fiercely despite the lives at stake. Do it or die, their fighting spirit is fiery, in contrast to the Atria soldiers who are getting shriveled to know their leader has died first. The commotion lasted a long time.

“Fenrius boy!” called out one of the captives guarding Fenrius' back. “We owe you! If you want to run away, you can entrust the weapon to me. I promise to escort you out of here!”

“No,” answered Fenrius in a flat and emotionless voice. “Fill this room… with blood and guts.”

"Hey! Then we are all in line!”

On that day, in the dungeon of the Atria military base, there was a great rebellion. Hundreds of Atria soldiers were systematically killed. All prisoners, criminals, or former soldiers of The Empire had escaped from prison. The information spread like a gust of wind that reached the kingdom of Atria, pinching the ear of the King who hit the ceiling and became more furious.