Let me warn you, readers, before you proceed to the story: English is not my main language, but I'm working to improve it. I'd really appreciate if you tell me how can I improve. Anything apart from grammar. If you're review-shy, just gimme a private message and that will be more than enough. I can safely assure you that this story will get better in the future chapters, in term of both grammar and plot.

Apart from what I've mentioned above, I am currently in the process of reediting the whole story. I've taken away around twenty chapters, but please bear with me for the meantime; I'll re-post them as soon as I'm done with the chapters, and then you readers will have a better time reading my story!

Anyway, I shall stop here. Off we go to the story.

Chapter 0 : Prologue

- unrevised

Welcome to his story. This was just only the beginning of his never-ending nightmare...

--

A final step was all he needed to make it into the city of wonder. For a moment, the child allowed the amazing feelings to take over his mind when his eyes found the crowded street. He ignored them a second later to force another step forward. Much to his surprise, he found his legs rooted on the ground unwillingly. A weird feeling came about him as he realized everyone was staring at him - their eyes froze him, gazing at him with nothing but suspicion. The child couldn't help but wondered as he looked down at his ragged robe.

It must be my appearance…

The grey silk of his robe was once beautiful and elegant, but not now anymore; the dust had made it their homes. The hood which was covering his neck was now brown in colour, and hiding among beneath the cloth were some dried blood stains. His greasy hair losing its golden colour, soaked with sweat, and he wiped it away from blocking his eyes.

I must leave.

His attempt to squeeze through those people to avoid embarrassment was no avail. The crowds were forming around him, their stares made him uncomfortable.

Then, they began whispering to each other, and two voices caught his attention, of that being the conversation among two women. “I think I have seen him somewhere before.” He turned, his hazel black eyes meeting their suspicious gazes.

Silence lingered in the air for a few second before the emotion finally plunged the child into despair. He darted forward -in a desperate attempt- and held his hands around the woman's waist as he cried out loud. "Who am I?"

Despite of his pleading, the woman got scared and screamed. She raked and she clawed at the child without a second thought just to keep herself away from him. Soon, two strong men came into her assistance and they successfully separated the child away from her. The undignified fall left a gash to the child's elbow. As he tried to get back to his feet, his mind still screaming to figure out who he was, but people had him surrounded. It would seem like they had built a massive wall of barrier that devoured any light which passed through them, concealing the child within the depth of the shadows.

"His messy blonde hair looks awful."

"He stinks."

"The gauntlet on his right arm is stained with bloods. Did he kill someone?"

"What's happening to him? His right leg is bleeding! Must have lost a fight to someone."

"Beggar! Beggar!" Some people started to shout.

Those words left horrible, but gashes that were invisible to the naked eyes in his heart, stabbing them like swords. As the child shoved his hands up to cover his ears, he thought he was freed from the humiliation, but it wasn't. The whisper of devil had just roamed through his bare mind.

You are pathetic, Glidas.

I..I am...Glidas? He replied in his subconscious. Please, answer me!

He waited for a moment without any reply. The physical and mental exhaustion forced the child to curl himself up into a tiny ball, hugging his legs close to his body. When Glidas rested his head above his knees, he allowed the deafening roars to strip his consciousness away. It was at least until the neighing sound from a horse snapped him out of his contemplation.

Glidas' curiosity got the better of him and he raised his head up. What he saw took his breath away; his eyes widened in surprise as excitement pumped through him.

A knight riding on his mighty steed. The gleaming silver breastplate of the knight captured his attention almost immediately, recognizing the scratches around it as the scars of his experience on the battlefield. Looking up, Glidas saw the golden silky hair flowed down to his neck along with the whispers of the wind. To say that the knight was elegant would be a grave understatement.

Glidas stared at him, completely oblivious to the ongoing commotion all around him. His heart vibrated with his newfound amazement. I wish I could be like him...The child wondered as he allowed his pair of eyes to follow the knight after he had dismounted. It was beautiful, a melody of life that rustled every moment his boot formed with the floor. Finally, Glidas found the knight standing in front of him, five feet away with their hazel black eyes met in a single glance. The child, however, couldn't understand why he could seek comfort behind those eyes that glowed with passion.

The knight gave Glidas a smile before patting him twice on the head. "Where are your parents?"

Parents? Glidas delved deep into his memories, and he found none. An extremely uncomfortable look passed over Glidas' face as he fought with his very best against those tears. "I...I-I have none..."

A short pause was more than enough to paint the knight's mind with regret. He understood the pain that this child was going through - that was precisely how he felt when he found his bedridden mother passed away before his very eyes. The soft rustle of the air in and out her lungs was halted forever. The pain, like thousand stabs from dagger, threatened to split his heart apart.

And yet, he managed a calm voice to hide his emotion. "Is there any way I can help you?"

'Help' was the word that Glidas hadn't been hearing for ages. Not even a single person that he had come across in the past would care about him, let alone giving him a helping hand. However, this knight was rather different. His sincere words captured not only Glidas' heart, but also his isolated soul. Glidas looked up, fixed his dark eyes at the knight as his lips quivered in a rhythm to mouth a 'thank you' to him. The knight, in return, returned Glidas with a signature smile of his.

A broad smile spread across the child's face, but that didn't last for long. Glidas was once again, stripped off from his happiness when the same voice came back again. It whispered in a deeper, more resonant tone in his head.

You can't escape from the loneliness. You're bound to it, for eternity.

Glidas' lips pulled back into a sneer as he stifled a laugh. Dangerous aura began to develop around him and forced the crowd to retreat. The coldness, once again, surfaced into his eyes as Glidas glared his eyes around. The same old glares, the same old looks. They stared at him as if he was a monster.

"Can't escape from the loneliness, you said..."

The people around started to gasp and shriek when they found the air around them turned dense, stifling their breaths. The knight, however, was staring at Glidas' changing form intensively.

"Are you not feeling well?" Came the knight's voice, cutting through the child's attention. Glidas turned his body around, just enough to look at the knight, who was still giving a sincere smile regardless of the chaotic state of his.

No, that's definitely wrong! With one final rang of voice beside his ear, it set Glidas into a mental breakdown. The feelings washed over his body and forced Glidas to run his way through the dense crowd without speaking a word. The knight chased him down.

"How could he be running so fast? He's injured." The knight chanted -not very cheerfully- as he noticed the wound on the child's knee. There was still fresh blood coming out from the opening. "Damn, I'm losing him." There were too many questions struck into his mind, however nothing but blankness answered. An instant later, a far larger question loomed up, erasing the previous ones. Where was this child going?

After what it seemed like an eternity, the knight finally caught up with the child. If Glidas hadn't made the mistake of turning into a dead end, then he would not have be able to catch up with him. The knight gasped from his long run, every nerve of his muscle exploded in agony.

"What's going on?"

A certain aspect of Glidas had caught the knight's attention. His eyes. The knight felt like he was falling into those crimson orbs - those red eyes which were full with anguish and sadness. He could see it all now, the emotions that the child had hid beneath his eyes. The knight pitied the child and a part of him wanted to ease his pain by giving him all the kindness which he could've offered to him. When he figured Glidas' top lips curled permanently into a tiny sneer, he knew that the option was not valid anymore. No human, no child would let out such an evil smile.

They said nothing but stared at each other, at least until Glidas began to speak in a voice that was not his own. "Sir Varlek, you shall die." Glidas' eyes flared with the lust to kill, and there was no mistake to them. The child charged at the knight's direction.

"Excalibur." Varlek looked down to his scabbard which held a glowing sword. I have no choice but to defend myself. The cheerful smile on his face broke away and his face became very serious. When Excalibur was unsheathed, the darkness around was ate away by the very existence of light that soaked the alleyway. Glidas, upon closer look, let his wicked smile grew a bit more with his desire of killing. Curling his right steel fingers into a fist, Glidas threw a punch at the knight.

The hit connected with the metal of the sword, resulting in an even greater outpour blazing hot light. Varlek recoiled, surprised and slightly dazed; Glidas refused to let the knight recover. He charged forward for a jab with his right fist, but the attack never came. A stream of white fire roared at Glidas' direction, and it sent the child flying to the dark corner of the alleyway. Varlek heard a loud snap as the threatening aura vanished from the thin air, his body voluntarily dashed forward in order to allow him to check out the child's condition. A pang of guilt washed over his stomach when he saw the limp body of Glidas.

"Oh, please...don't die!" He shook and turned the child into facing him. Varlek was eased, like a heavy stone being lifted from his shoulder, when Glidas looked at his direction.

"Father?" Seas of confusion flooded into those hazel eyes before Glidas fell into the depth of blackness.

--

Am I dead?

Glidas didn't want to die, but the darkness in front of his very eyes were not convincing him that he was still alive. A sudden pain struck his abdomen, making him to moan in pain and jerked his head up.

A dead person couldn't feel pain. The quick thought ran over his mind.

"You're awake!" Came the knight's surprise voice that was vibrating with his happiness. Pulling himself closer to the child, Varlek settled beside the bed. "How are you feeling?" Glidas had no response to the revelation; his confused eyes stared only at the candle on Varlek's hand.

"Who are you?" Glidas asked the first question that came into his head.

The knight's jaw clenched, his eyes furrowed and gave Glidas a deadly-seriously look. He couldn't be serious! They had just met two hours ago, and wait...

Was he suffering from a short-term amnesia? Was it possible?

Varlek struggled inside to his mind on which possibility made most sense to him. Maybe they needed a talk. A small talk.

"You don't remember me at all?"

Glidas shook his head no, his eyes continued to stare at the knight venomously. Varlek sighed as he placed a hand on Glidas' shoulder, tried his best to be friendly. "Well, I am Varlek, the Knight of-" The introduction was cut short when he saw the fear that crawled up on Glidas' face, his eyes widened in surprise. And then that fear gave away another emotion - nervousness.

"No! I'm not supposed to be here!" Glidas tried to turn around, but Varlek grabbed him by the forearm before the child could leave. Forcing Glidas back and pinned him against the bed, he said "You aren't going anywhere." The child had no response. He waited for the knight to continue. "You're supposed to stay here."

The long awkward silence lingered in the air for a moment before Varlek continued with his speech. "After all...you're my only son."

Varlek had no choice but to shut his eyes; that was the worst lie he had ever told in his life. A part of him yelled at himself for cheating, but another part of him accepted, approved his own sentence. He and Resha had been dreaming of having a child.

Glidas did nothing but stare at the knight, eyes still wide open. A moment later, a warm feeling slowly built up in front of his chest, and a smile had actually taken over his sulky face. In the sudden burst of joy, he let loose every bit of his emotions, allowing the passion to take over his body. A hug was all he needed. "Father." Tears welled up around his eyes as the father-son embraced.

It felt like a long dream had finally come true. Varlek was happy, very happy to the extent that a drop of tears rolled down of his cheek.

However, little did he know that this was only the beginning of everything. The clock of the doom had just begun ticking...