Father of Despair [HIATUS]

Arc 1 Chapter 5 - "The Noveda estate's battle."

Part 1

Zorian's night was both short —yet again...— and plagued by nightmarish visions. In only three and a half hour of sleep, he woke up three times with cold sweat running down his back, as if his mind had forcibly awoke him each time, afraid to be observed even in the confine of his highly and densely protected room... something he would've thought absurd a few days ago.

On his fourth time, he was surprised to catch his sister by his side, sleeping tightly pressed against him on the other side of the bed. Such display of affection was rare, if not nonexistent, from her. Like everyone in the Kazinski household, she tended to be rather self-centered and without much care for her surrounding on a surface level. Zorian wondered, in the dead of night, why their family had turned out like that. How such a trait was seemingly shared by each and every family member.

Their parents, Andir and Cikan Kazinski —father and mother respectively— both, probably, loved their children deep down. Unfortunately for their progeny however, they only granted their warmth and devotion to those who could match their expectations, meaning those who would help their family name gain power.

The eldest sibling, Daimen Kazinski, twenty-two years old, was currently the only person enjoying such boon from their parents. As a renown treasure hunter, genius, skilled and charismatic, he was the favorite child by a landslide. Their father often joked that Zorian inherited Daimen's skill and Fortov his charm. Though he appeared kindhearted and selfless at first, Zorian knew him enough to say that this is only a facade he puts on. He was, and still is, just as self-centered as the rest of them.

The middle son, Fortov Kazinski, sixteen years old —just one year older than Zorian— was hardly even worth mentioning nowadays. Their parents hoped that he would become another Daimen, putting him under a tremendous amount of pressure. When they realized that they hadn't birthed a second genius, they seemingly brushed him off to the way side, letting him do as he pleased with his life without acknowledging him further. Their handling of Fortov and its education had brought them an irresponsible, lazy and selfish child, despite him being plenty smart and charming in his own way. He was even a pretty good violinist. The only thing he and Zorian shared in common was their hatred for their eldest brother... actually, Fortov might loathe Daimen even more than Zorian did... though Zorian didn't really knew the exact reasons why. Nor did he cared.

And finally, as Fortov lost the good graces of their parents, and with Daimen away on another continent, all their parents' attention turned to Zorian and Kirielle, the unwanted brood they often felt like. Among their family, the two on them were by far the closest, even though they would hardly ever admit it out loud. Zorian might find her annoying, but he can't deny that he is very protective of her, as she is the only part of their family that he genuinely enjoy. That was why, when he had learned that their mother had barred Kirielle from practicing her drawing skill and shot down any attempt at magical education, Zorian had lost his temper. He decided that their parents didn't have their best interests at heart, and had vowed to take Kirielle anytime he could to Cyoria with him. And when he would leave this damned world of In-Between, he would do everything in his power to keep their parents from tormenting her any further with their narrow-minded vision of the world. Even if he had to take her away.

Kirielle's clutch tightened slightly around Zorian's stomach, as she moved in her sleep. She seemed peaceful. Zorian gently caressed her hair, as he continued to think.

It wasn't hard for the boy to understand why she had come sleeping with him: Zorian was rarely home in this iteration of the timeline, he didn't even speak much when he was —preferring to use his time to sleep—. He seemed more and more exhausted as time passed, the dark bags under his eyes sinking further and further each day were proof enough. And he knew that his sister had caught up on the fact that his demeanor had somewhat changed. Zorian was never very expressive, but the anxiety of this loop had made him far more colder, distant and somber than he used to be.