One (A SPM AU BASED ON LN2)

The Prologue

~ Present Time ~

(During the events of SPM)

I often forget the first person to ever show me kindness.

I hadn't thought of him in such a long time. He actually hardly crossed my mind at all anymore, truth to be told. After all, he was no longer a part of my life. He hadn't been relevant to me in many, many years. He had no role in the prophecy. He had nothing to do with anything anymore. He was simply irrelevant. 

But for some strange reason, there I was, finding myself thinking of him anyway for reasons I could not tell. Perhaps it was because I had spent so long feeling grief, I spent so much time feeling nothing but pain, that I had decided to try and look for the good things which used to be a part of my life, which was sadly limited. 

I could only ever recall truly feeling happy a few times. Most of those either being with Timpani... or with him.

Both of whom were long gone with no chance of returning.

That person, that one forgotten person, was the first of many things for me. The first person to smile at me, the first to offer friendship, and the first generally selfless person I had ever met.

Selfless people were rare. Finding one was almost like finding gold. Precious and valuable. 

...But everyone wants it, so it's hard to keep away from prying hands. Perhaps he knew that. Perhaps that was why he was so determined to keep himself hidden from the world. 

Or, perhaps he hid from the world for other reasons.

I didn't think of my childhood often since it was so dark and cruel. There were so few good memories that I didn't see the point in looking back. Looking back only ever hurt. 

The world was different back then. Yes, this world was still dark and cruel with little to no redeeming qualities, as it has proven time and time again that it had the power to take any and everyone I have ever loved, but back then the world was... a different kind of dark.

It was an unfair world, setting people up for failure from birth. It was filled with so much violence. So much blood. So many screams. It was so dark. 

I could never even remember seeing the sunshine.

To this day, the sun has never touched my home dimension. 

Before him, I had lived my whole life completely in the dark. It was just dark and only dark.

That person, that first person to show me kindness, was a light in the pitch-black darkness. He was a kind soul in an unkind world.

While everyone around me had nightmares, he had dreams. He saw the good. He promised hope.

He didn't deserve what he got.

But, of course, I didn't think of that person often anymore. It was a little strange that I was thinking of him now. Especially with everything else happening around me. My mind should be in the present, looking towards the future. Not reflecting on the past. The past already happened. It could not be changed. With the Chaos Heart beating strong and the void growing darker, there wasn't much time for me to waste on this.

I didn't have time to think of that first person to show me kindness. After all, that person was gone. I let him go, so thinking about him would do me no good. I was busy enough grieving Timpani, I couldn't bear grieving him too. Especially when he had been gone for so much longer.

I had given up on him returning to my life long ago. A part of me always knew he'd never return, just as I knew Timpani would never return. 

There was no point in thinking of him.

However, once my mind was set on something, it was hard to stray from that topic. Throughout the day I found myself looking through my memories, treasuring the few I had with this person. And by reflecting, I found myself feeling more like my old self. My true self.

I found myself in my room, simply sitting on my lone bed while I thought of the first person to ever show me kindness. The first hero I had ever met.

Count Bleck would never waste time just sitting and remembering like this. But... I would. The Blumiere still in me would.

"...I miss you, One," I breathed, looking down at my gloved hands. My gloved hands, which were going to destroy all worlds. Which had already broken so much. I didn't even speak in third person this time because it wasn't Count Bleck speaking. It was me.

....

The world... as I mentioned, was a different kind of dark back then. When I was young, no one smiled. No one loved. No one laughed.

No one did any of those things, except for him.

He did.

Truth to be told, this story isn't even mine. I'm not the main character of this story. I'm not the protagonist or the hero.

This isn't my story.

It's his.

I'm just the only one left to tell it.