Chapter 1 – The Precious Watch.
Velmora, Lucentvale Academy – The East Hollow | Night Time
Tucked behind the east wing of Lucentvale Academy—past crumbling stone paths and rusted fencing—lay a patch of half-wild grass and broken gravel.
Huian's face pressed into the dirt.
Daerin knelt beside him, gripping the back of his head.
"Why don't you just die like your coward mother and father?" he spat, then slammed Huian's head down.
Huian didn't resist. His fingers curled faintly trying to hold onto something.
Daerin yanked him by the hair, raised him up halfway—then slammed Huian onto his back.
"Do you think a rat-born stray like you is better than us just because he got better grades than us?" Daerin muttered as he stepped on his cheek and pressed downward, grinding it in slowly.
Beside him stood Kaien, His eyes fell on the watch strapped to Huian's right wrist.
"As punishment for disobeying me, let's crush this garbage left behind by your parents."
Daerin lifted his foot and slammed it on Huian's right hand repeatedly.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Huian's face filled with pain, sorrow, and helplessness as he screamed hoarsely, the sound clawing out of his throat like it had been locked inside too long.
Kaien crouched beside him, took the watch off Huian's hand. He then raised his leg and, with every ounce of weight and force, slammed his foot onto Huian's chest.
Blood spat from Huian's mouth.
They walked away, the watch dangling loosely in Kaien's grip.
Huian didn't move. His fingers barely twitched. His gaze turned to the night sky.
Tears coming out from his eyes as he helplessly watched the moon while his whole body was covered in wounds. Unable to move, his eyes slowly closed.
"See, he is that poor boy who got in Lucentvale Academy through a scholarship."
"Heyy, you know everyone here except you have parents… loving parents. It must feel so bad to not have parents, right?"
"Huian, you would have had a twin brother if he hadn't died in my womb. I'm sure he is so happy to see his twin brother from heaven."
"Huian, eat this as well, you need to eat a lot to become a big man," said his mother and father.
Huian replied, "But Mom, Dad, you haven't eaten anything in a while."
His mother replied, "Don't worry about that, Huian. We already made you suffer so much, we are sorry, so sorry that because of us you have to suffer so much, and we aren't able to provide you what you deserve."
"Happy birthday our dear son. Sorry we didn't have money to get a cake for you," his mother said.
His father added, "Sorry I wasn't able to get a good present for you but I got a watch for you."
Huian replied, "I liked this watch so much. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad. You are the best." He took the watch from his dad's hand and quickly strapped it onto his right wrist. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at them with eyes full of joy, gratitude, warmth, and love, thinking how incredibly lucky he was to have parents like them.
---
They had walked only five to ten meters away from the East Hollow.
Kaien was playing with Huian's watch in his hand as he said, "Heyyyy, we should crush this watch into pieces and put it on his bench so that we can—"
Suddenly, a hand snatched Kaien's collar from behind and yanked him back.
Huian slammed him face-first into the ground.
Thud.
Daerin turned, shocked—
Huian glanced at Daerin, his eyes cold and filled with anger.
Daerin took a step back, quivering and scared. Huian's presence felt as though he was going to unskin Daerin alive.
"You mother…" Without letting him finish what he was saying, Huian grabbed his face and slammed it on the ground, then repeatedly started kicking his face.
He then glanced at Kaien, whose body was twitching in pain. He slowly lifted his leg and stepped on Kaien's knees and repeatedly stomped hard on the side of the knee.
Then twisted his foot sharply outward.
"P—Please... stop! We will not do anything to you again," said Kaien, his voice quivering with breathless desperation, tinged with panic and anguished dread.
But Huian didn't stop, as if a demon had possessed him. His eyes filled with anger but still cold as he went to Daerin, flipped him onto his stomach, grabbed his hands behind his back and began pulling them while pushing Daerin's body forward with his leg.
"AHH!! Let go! My hands!!" Daerin screamed, his cries laced with frantic terror and searing agony.
Kaien saw the watch which had fallen on the ground when Huian slammed him. He screamed, "Please take this watch and let us go! We promise to do as you say and will never do anything like that again."
As Huian slowly glanced at the watch, he seemed to become calm. The anger in his eyes faded.
He stood up and said in a calm voice,
"People like you are the reason the Dravareth continent is like this.
You see someone poor and helpless and treat them like they're worse than animals.
You try to make their lives miserable, like they deserve to suffer just for being born without money.
People like you get everything in life, but still live without purpose—like life itself means nothing—just wasting it all away instead of using it the way it should've been used.
The ones who actually deserve everything—the ones who are actually intelligent, the ones who are capable of changing the world—suffer from the day they're born until the day they're thrown in the dirt. Just because they weren't born with money."
He then said, "One of you, take off your outer clothes and give them to me."
They both replied in unison, "Yes sir."
He then took off his clothes and wore the clothes that Daerin had given him, and handed his own clothes to them and said coldly, "Dispose of these clothes and make sure no one finds them. And if anyone asks, tell them Izaku ran away. That he's headed to Dalven in search of a better life." He then added, "You may leave now."
---
After they left, he picked up the old wristwatch with a worn brown leather strap and a small round face. The glass was slightly scratched, and on the top side of the strap, there's a faint engraving that reads,
"–Thank you for filling our lives with happiness, our beloved son."
He stared at it and said with a smile on his face, "Now that I'm here, you don't have to worry anymore, Mother… Father. I'll make sure Huian lives peacefully even after I 'die'. I'll free everyone from this suffering."
He then wore the watch on his left hand.
He turned, walked towards the wall, after reaching, climbed the wall and stood on it, then looked back at the academy and then jumped from the wall and started walking around the streets.
After some time of walking, he came near a bar and saw a drunk man stumble from a bar and a woman carrying him inside a car parked outside.
Izaku gave a faint smile.
He then went inside the bar and sat on one of the stools at the counter.
The bar was big and lively. Dozens of people sat at round tables or along the counter, drinking and talking—some about their jobs, others about politics or personal struggles. Beside the bar, connected through a narrow hallway, was the owner's residence.
The owner, Jinhai, looked at him and asked generously with a smile, "What drink would you like to have, sir?"
"I don't drink. I came here to ask for a job," he replied in a calm, charismatic, and deep voice.
Why would a rich man like him want to do a job? Jinhai thought inwardly.
Izaku wore a black shirt and dark trousers—that he had taken from Daerin. They fit him well, making him look even better than he used to, so much that the bar owner mistook him for a rich man. His build was average, his posture straight and composed. His black hair hung just above his brows, and his face, pale and defined.
Because of the clothes he had gotten from Daerin and the way he spoke, and how he looked, the owner mistook him for some rich man.
Jinhai said, "I don't need anyone to work at the bar right now, but I could use some help around the house. You can help me here, too. We have a guest room—you're welcome to stay with us. I don't usually hire employees, but there's something about you—your presence, the way you speak... it makes me feel like I've known you for ages, and it fills me with a strange warmth, comfort, and trust I can't quite explain."
Izaku smiled and replied, "Thank you for such kind words. I'd love to help with anything you need, sir." He then added, "I'm Izaku—pleased to make your acquaintance."
He turned slightly and noticed Jinhai's daughter, Aiyu, who was 20 years old, casting a glance at him; upon realizing he had noticed, she quickly averted her eyes.
He murmured inwardly, "You are going to help me free everyone from this suffering."