Testimonium Noctem | TBATE

The Kid with No Soul

[???, Slave Camp]

"Son!" I yelled, pushing away one of the elves. I turned to give a quick apology, but didn't stay there to hear what the elf had to say before I continued running. I was a simple elf among elfs - I used to be a guard at the portal, but I wasn't particularly strong or skilled, so I decided to start a small forge.

It's there I met my wife, Elisen. Everything about her was perfect in my eyes - the way my name, Lathai, rolled off her tongue each time she said it. The way she looked at me as if I was her knight in shining armor. The way she clung to me whenever I came home was always endearing, and in the end she gave me a son and a daughter. It's the best world a man could ask for, a loving wife and kids to tell stories to.

And I thought it was all ripped away from me. I went to the Forest of Elshire with my son, who wanted to use the material of a beast to make a gift for his mother. I only came to guard him, yet I failed. We fell to the capture of slave owners, and I thought I would never get to see any of my family again. This brief time I had with my son would be gone once we were sold off, and I would never see the beautiful face of my wife or daughter once more.

Yet I couldn't explain how happy I was when the human child burst through the captains door and began taking on the guards, who were all mages and could take us elfs in battle without trying, as if they were pieces of trash to be tossed away. The way he fought was mesmerizing - his skills refined, looking like those of a seasoned warrior who fought thousands of battles. But how could that be possible? The kid looked much too young to endure those kind of challenges.

I snapped out of my thoughts as a force rammed into me. My 5 year old son sniffed on my pant leg, and I quickly took him into my arms and hugged him. God, to see my family once more is the greatest gift that could be given to me. He doesn't care if the boy was human - he could be an eldritch amalgamation of the worst nightmares of the royal family themselves and I still would not care, for he has given me one of the best futures to see.

I gave a dirty look to one of the guards who was trying to convince the others to rebel while tightening his hold on his son. Whoever the person who could go against the boy was, hopefully the boy won against. The way the boy just rammed into the man and sent him through the dungeons wall was insane - strengths like that I couldn't even hope to replicate as a Light Red Core augmenter.

Suddenly, the guard fell to the floor, a hole through his brain. I shielded the eyes of my son from seeing the corpse, then looked around for the one who killed us. The attack was too fast for anyone here to catch, but he would be damned if he went down without a fight for the 2nd time.

"No need to worry, it was I who killed him. I hope that gives the correct message to the guards, of what will happen if you try to proceed in his footsteps." The boy said, an emotionless look in his eyes. I shuddered at his words and gaze - it looked devoid of life, blank, the same kind of look you see on the elders who lost everything in the last war, from their families to loved ones, and never have they healed from it.

It's as if the kid had lost his soul.

"To make some simple introductions, my name is Mernir Nyrus. If that bothers you that I am a human, you can leave and I won't try to stop you." Some of the elves fidgeted at that - I could see some of the older ones, those who were still children during the war, wondering if they should try and take that offer. "But I assure you, navigating the Beast Glades alone is no easy task. I live here, so I can lead you to where the Elshire Forest starts. From there, I am sure most of you would be able to find your way back."

The elves around me and throughout the entire dungeon fidgeted, probably trying to make a decision. Why was it such an issue if the boy was a human, though? It was clear that if he wanted to, all of us would already be considered slaves once more or dead on the floor.