Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.1 Innocence

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Six years ago. Old houses surround the country long walls of the capital. Dim light of oil lamps filled the homes of the residents of the Outer wall. Inside one of the homes. A group of children sat on the wooden floor, a robed man sat in front of them, his cloak being bright snow. A symbol of crossed blades were stitched on his shoulders. His eyes were calm navy.

"A place beyond the walls and curses. Endless horizon of salty waters with who knows what's on the other side. It's known as The Sea from historical books in the capital."

"That's the world outside of our country and it's real!" He shared towards the children as he slowly pulled out a grey sea shell from his pouch. The children's eyes gleamed with the dim light of the fire place's warmth.

Among the children is young Nathaniel. His gaze focused on the sea shell.

"So what do you think kids? I, Kenneth, the knight. A great mage to reach so far right?" The man named Kenneth expressed with a proud smile onto his face.

The children nodded in response as they question more and more about the sea.

"Salty? Salt is crazy expensive! Merchants will take them all!" Nathaniel said as the other nod in agreement.

"Yeah! You're such a liar Mr. Kenneth!"

"Is that really true, Mr. Kenneth?" Two children blurted as the others anticipated for Kenneth's response.

Kenneth smiled softly as he shook his head.

"Yes. The sea is really big! Merchants will never have enough time to take it all!" He proudly claimed.

"Woah..." Nathaniel muttered to himself as he imagined the endless horizon of salty waters. He stood beside Kenneth, poking the sea shell with his finger.

"...Are there people? Across the sea?" Nathaniel asked, before Kenneth could open his mouth. The wooden door clicked. A tall and muscular man walked inside the dim room, carrying a heavy sack of potatoes on his shoulders.

"...The neighboring children are still awake?" He asked to Kenneth, placing down the sack as he made his way to the fireplace, adding more firewood. "I was just sharing stories to them, Ethan." Kenneth explain as he stood up.

"...I knew you were the best, Mr. Kenneth." Nathaniel expressed as he continuously poke the sea shell.

Kenneth ruffed his hair softly. "You understand? You're such a good boy, Nathaniel."

"Would you like to be a knight when you grow up?" Kenneth asked as he hid away the sea shell back to his pouch.

"...No! I don't wanna be trapped in the Outer wall or the Inter! I'll become an exorcist and fight curses and see what's really out there!"

"You sound just like papa. Why can't I become one now!?" Nathaniel asked as he crossed his arms. Ethan stole a glance from young Nathaniel, a sight that made him carve a small smile.

"...Well, if that's what your father says too you should ask him why yourself." Kenneth replied as he lifted his hand off Nathaniel's hair.

A kid among the group raised her hand.

"...Something isn't right, Mr. Kenneth. My grandma told me stories too! She said beyond the walls are just endless lands and curses. There's nothing ahead at all." She expressed as she fidgeted her fingers.

Kenneth brushed his beard with his fingers. "But that just makes my stories all greater?"

"A proof of a strong mage." He stated, immediately getting cut off by the same girl.

"But strong mages fight curses beyond the capital, exorcists!" The girl proudly said as a light blush appeared onto her cheek.

Kenneth crossed his arms, making a x, gesture of disagreement.

"No no no. Not all mages fight curses with magic. People like me preserve humanity, knights." He pointed his thumb on his shoulder, all the children's gaze shifted, gazing at the crossed blades sowed onto his polo. A symbol of knights.

Suddenly, the children started to laugh among each other. "Hear that?" "Yeah." It even made little Nathaniel confused, and even Ethen couldn't help but smile from the scene.

"...What's so funny?" Kenneth finally asked. "Everyone says Mr. Kenneth is just afraid of curses. That's why he is watching over us in the outer wall."

"He patrols around our village to find any suspicious people but slacks off in the end."

"...We're not even being attacked by curses thanks to the fortresses across our storie"

"That is thanks to the exorcists." The children shared their thoughts with cheeky smiles.

"W-What kinds of lies does your parents tell you? Kenneth ruffled Nathaniel's hair once more. "But you believe me right, Nathaniel? He added with an irritated smile on his face, a short silence followed as Nathaniel pulled away from Kenneth's grasp with a doubtful expression on his face.

Kenneth sat down once more, his head gazed at the wooden floor, like a defeated little kid.

"...Why can't anyone trust a man who doesn't fight curses." He muttered with a low tone.

"....W-Well, if papa says you're a strong mage. I believe him." Nathaniel said as he fidgeted his fingers.

The children teased him even more. "Look he's sulking." One kid blurted. "What a cry baby." Another followed.

Kenneth marched to the fire place, casting a shadow underneath Ethan.

"Ethan! These kids are mocking me! Tell them about the the truth, they'll believe you!" Kenneth expressed with an irritated tone yet it sounded humorous to the children, even to Ethan.

"...Don't be so childish." Ethan replied as he stood up, patting the dust off his broad shoulder. "It's getting late. Take the kids back to their homes." Ethan suggested as he helped the kids stand up from the wooden floor.

Some rubbed their eyes with light yawning and some still wanted to hear more stories. Eventually, Kenneth left, carrying an oil lamp in hand with the children.

In the distance, a shadowy figure stood, dragging its feet on the grassy plains, leaving a trail of blood on the grass as it held its bleeding arm, panting heavily with the cold breeze of the night

After a while, Kenneth came back to Ethan's home, they sat across each other on the wooden floor while young Nathaniel fell asleep on his father's lap. The rustling of the burning wood of the fireplace gave off a relaxing atmosphere despite their topic.

"...A special grade appeared again by the nearest fortress?" Ethan clarified, his hand rested on Nathaniel's hair.

Kenneth nodded in response. "That's right. They keep appearing more consistently. If this keeps up. The Outer Wall wouldn't be safe from curses." Kenneth stated, followed by a silence as his gaze trailed towards an open window, getting a glimpse of the poor state of homes outside.

"...The Outerwall is already fucked as it is, with us knights dealing with human traffickers and shit." He added with a sigh, propping his elbow on his thigh. Ethan could only ruffle Nathaniel's hair as he listened to Kenneth's words.

"Then again, you're the reason why this small part of the Outerwall is at least safe from troublemakers."

"Just who exactly are you?" Kenneth asked, his gaze shifted onto Ethan, who was still glancing down at his son with the softest smile on his face.

"...I'm just a humble father living with his son in the Outerwall, that's all I could say for now."

"When the time's right. I can tell you more, about a failure's story." Ethan expressed, his words were heavy yet he looked so calm, watching his son sleep peacefully, without a care in the world.

The hours burnt slow. Nathaniel drifted into a dream. A dream where a cold yet salty breeze hit his face. He glanced down, he felt taller and indeed he was. Perhaps he embodied an older version of himself, he stold on wet sand as gentle waves hit his shins. The water felt cold yet comforting.

He lifted up his gaze, pointing at the endless horizon. His mouth instictively opened.

"...A world of peace, beyond the horizon." Words came out yet Nathaniel didn't let out a tone, at least that's what he thought. He remained in his dream until his mind grasped back to reality.

Birds already chirped with the warm morning light. Young Nathaniel and Ethan sat across each other, eating stale bread, Nathaniel kept on taking big bites as if he's in a hurry. "Papa" He blurted as he swallowed. Ethan shifted his gaze onto Nathaniel's small grey eyes. "What is it, son?" He asked as he drank some water. "Is the sea...real?" Nathan asked, his tone filled with curiosity and doubt. A minute of silence followed before Ethan opened his mouth.

"...Yes" Ethan answered. "Can you take me there!?" Young Nathaniel immediately followed. Ethan stood up as he made his way beside Nathaniel, ruffling his hair. "...Maybe when you're older." Ethan replied with a soft tone. Nathaniel stood up as he pulled away from Ethan's grasp, his lips carved into a pout. "Papa's a cheapskate! I'm going to play!" Nathaniel expressed as bolted out of the house. Ethan could only sigh as he watched his son disappear.

Ethan tidied up the table before he prepared gardening tools. He laced his boots before stepping out of the house. Immediately, his nose took a whiff of something cold and bitter, blood. Ethan cautiously made his way to the back of their house, a potato patch could be seen, in the distance. A worn down shed, he felt unease as he shifted his gaze down. The dirt mixed with dry droplets of blood.

Each crunch of his boots became louder and louder. Ethan stood in front of the shed's door. The broken chains that bind the handle laid on the dirt. His fingers wrapped handle, he slowly pushed it open. The morning light slowly filled the dark shed.

Ethan's eyes widen in shock, only to see a hodded person, laying down on sacks of potatoes, their cloak soiled in blood as their arm is dismembered, still seeping out blood. Ethan immediately knelt down in front of it, casting the cloak aside.

It was a man, with a youngful body, a symbol of exorcism stitched on his shoulder. Ethan's gaze darkened as he caught black veins creeped on the man's arms. A symptom of corruption.

Nathaniel walked beside Kenneth, passing though the neighborhood. Kenneth's gaze was busy lingering around every dark corner.

"Hey Mr. Kenneth, what you said last night. How much of it was true?" Nathaniel asked as he continuesly kick a small rock as their boots dig on the path.

Kenneth clicked his tongue. "How much? All of it was true!"

"But I won't talk to someone who doesn't believe me." Kenneth replied as his gaze still lingered around the neighborhood.

"Okay. Let me be an exorcist, if I see the sea. I'll believe it." Nathaniel said as he gazed up at Kenneth.

"That's not what believing means Nathaniel."

"If you want. You can just ask your dad to take you there. He's stronger than you think." Kenneth stated as he slowly shifted his gaze onto the blue sky, clouds drift by with the warm breeze of the morning.

"Papa's stubborn. He doesn't want to take me there, 'you have to grow up first.' That's what he says about everything I ask for." Nathaniel uttered with a sulky tone, his lips curved into a pout.

"He isn't stubborn, you are. Ethan thinks you're not strong yet to face anything beyond the Outerwall." Kenneth followed, a gust of warm breeze carried his voice.

"...Beyond the walls, are endless landscapes, full of powerful curses."

"Why do you think, Alexios the Archon of Preservation built the walls five hundred years ago?" Kenneth asked as his gaze lingered onto the tall walls the reached the clouds. A moment of silence lingered while young Nathaniel did the same.

"...To protect us from the curses?" Nathaniel replied, Kenneth nodded almost immediately. "That's right. If Alexious' judgement wants us humans to survive. We need to stay inside the walls, away from the curses and whatever's beyond the walls."

"...Yet people drive others away from the safety of the walls, here in the Outerwall. Where the rejects and outcasts strive."

"And that's why Knights and Exorcists are the sword and shield of the people." Kenneth expressed, his words carried some weight that young Nathaniel didn't realize.

"...You're lying." Nathaniel expressed as his gaze lingered onto Kenneth's eyes. "You're such a liar Kenneth! Papa wouldn't let anyone drive him away! He isn't an outcast!" Nathan ran away, breaking his gaze from Kenneth.

"I'm going to ask papa why we live here! You're a liar! I hate you!" He expressed before his voice and figure slowly disappeared from Kenneth's gaze. Rubbing his temple, Kenneth sighed.

The corner of his eyes caught something in the distance. A herd of horses with carriages rushed towards the Outerwall, people in black robes could be seen, carrying a heavy atmosphere.

Nathaniel ran and ran, his boots crunched on the rocky path as the villagers stole occasional gazes as he passed by their homes.

He reached their home, the door already open as he peeped. "Papa—" Before Nathaniel could finish his words. He saw Ethan reviving someone on the wooden floor, pumping his chest. The atmosphere felt tense and heavy.

"...Who is that, Papa?" Nathaniel asked as he slowly made his way to Ethan, his boots creaked on the wooden floor.

"...An exorcist." Ethan managed to utter as sweat ran down his face. The man on the floor coughed, Ethan paused his chest compressions. Immediately, he held the man's cheek, slapping it repeatedly.

"Hey! Tell me your name!" Ethan yelled. The man's eyes slowly opened. His olive eyes gleamed weakly. "...Brandon." He weakly uttered.

The black veins slowly creeped up onto Brandon's neck. Ethan grinded his teeth, young Nathaniel never saw his own father this puzzled before. He couldn't speak, he fidgeted his fingers nervously as he watched, the atmosphere becoming more dense by the minute.

"...Where did you come from? Where were you going?" Ethan asked, his tone became more soft and gentle.

Brandon gazed deep onto Ethan's figure, his vision was blurry. He could only see Ethan's silhouette. "A-Am I...being sent back?...To the fortresses?..." His voice shook in each words.

A long tear ran down from the corner of his eye. "...I-I don't want to...fight curses anymore b-but...but I have no where else to go." The black veins reached Brandon's eyes, his schlera turned black. Nathaniel felt scared, he hid behind Ethan, his fingers gripped on Ethan's clothing.

Rushing footsteps broke the silence. The wooden door busted open. Ethan and Nathaniel's gaze both shifted onto the open door. It was one of the villagers.

While Kenneth stood in front of the Commander, a chain wrapped around his right hand, holding it like a whip.

"What's the meaning of this, Drake? Why not enter the gate already?" Kenneth asked as he crossed his arms, gazing behind the Commander named, Drake. Exorcists of both genders could be seen on top of their horses and carriages, tired and souless. Even some missing limbs being hidden underneath their cloaks.

"Begone from my sight you mere knight. This is no matter with you. I have a reason to this part of the Outer wall.

"There is an exorcist, who abandoned his duty. Hiding among you." Drake replied as he stood in front of Kenneth, his denim gaze were sharp and fierce.

End of Chapter.

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