V1.C2 The Pain, Memories
Leo's eyes darted around the place — pitch black darkness everywhere with no ends. Even the place where he stood.
He plopped on the somewhat cold ground and tried reaching out to tiny stars.
"What's wrong with me? Why do I feel better after dying? I don't hear those whispers anymore."
"Just where is this place? It does not look like hell.
Suddenly, myriads of colors exploded in the sky and a massive kaleidoscope appeared within its center - stretching through the skies, the kaleidoscope ends couldn't be seen.
As he gawked, the kaleidoscope spun and a sudden tugging sensation enveloped his whole body, breaking him out of his stupor.
His surroundings changed and he found himself in a place filled with vivid colors. He was inside the kaleidoscope.
The temperature rose as if the air itself burned. A painful scream left his mouth. His entire body felt as if burning alive in the lava.
His throat became dry from screaming. However, nobody heard his cries filled with despair.
This all stopped after what felt like an eternity. His legs gave away and he fell down with tears streaming down his cheeks.
But his nightmares had just started. The Kaleidoscope spun yet again. The realization dawned on him, twisting his face in sheer horror. He turned and tried to run, only to get pulled back in.
What did I do to deserve this? Who is doing this to me? Why am I here? WHY? WHY? WHY?
The intensity of pain increased this time.
Every time was different torture, repeating over and over. Each time it stopped, he sat there motionless pondering what the hell was going on.
Until a day something broke inside him as his figure started fading.
---
A silver-haired woman gazed at Leo's figure flickering between the physical and spiritual realm. She came over and yanked him to his feet. Receiving no response, she slapped him hard, again and again. Leo's eyes stared back, carrying nothing but emptiness.
"It's time to use 'that' or his soul will scatter," she whispered and walked away.
The Kaleidoscope spun once again. Leo gazed at everything with seemingly dead eyes.
Familiar images showed up around him — showing a black haired girl with spectacles and a blonde woman smiling brightly.
Something warm welled up in his chest — bringing tears to his eyes.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
He lied down and heard his heart beating again. He curled up and cried like a child.
No one knew the reason for his tears.
A couple watched the child — their faces morphed in anguish. The female figure reached out to him. However, she couldn't touch him.
"Please forgive us," she wiped her tears and disappeared from the place.
Leo ignored everything and slept.
***
After an unknown time, Leo opened his eyes and pressed his right hand against the chest. His heart thumped calmly.
He couldn't believe someone so cruel existed. But the inhumane things he witnessed throughout his life brought this thought to an end.
The humans had committed far more cruelties.
Just remember this no matter who you are, I'll kill you someday. It'll be my revenge.
Leo was once again taken out of his body. This time what appeared before him were his memories.
The precious memories of his life.
***
11 years ago.
Leo was just a six-year-old normal kid with a normal childhood.
His father, Albert Evans, a strict and loving father and his mother, Emily Evans, a gentle and kind mother, loved and doted on him.
He was glad to have such parents.
As famous archeologists, they only stayed with him for a few days every month. Still, it only increased his love for them further.
However, all of this ended when his Uncle told him about his parent's death.
The six years old ran to his room, cried, and prayed to the Gods and hoped for them to return. However, nothing changed. His prayers couldn't bring the dead.
Yet, this wasn't the end.
That night, his dream showed something unimaginable. The sight of an old man butchering his parents made him scream at the top of his lungs.
It was a nightmare that might as well be torture for a six-years-old.
From that day, he refused to sleep. His eyes filled with exhaustion and fear as the devil's whispers echoed in his head.
"Avenge them."
"Take it from them."
"Torture them."
"Kill them."
Leo made a choice that day.
---
The next day.
Leo went to his father's room and searched every nook and cranny. The thing he searched for laid in the drawer.
An ancient-looking book wrapped in a black cover.
He once overheard them talking about its importance.
It's not important.
He gritted his teeth and poured down oil on it and burnt the book. Watching the wind carry away its ashes, tears burst out of his eyes.
After cleaning away the evidence, he went out to his uncle Max's house and rang the bell — not a moment later, a tall and muscular man opened the door.
"Uncle Max."
"Hey, kid. Come in."
Leo nodded and followed his uncle to the dining room. He took a seat on the chair.
"Uncle, can I ask for a favor?"
"Shoot it, kiddo."
His uncle seemed to be in a good mood. He formed a serious expression unfitting of his age and asked, "Uncle, tell me who killed my parents?"
Max's eyes slightly widened. He shook his head and answered with a wry smile, "No kid, you are wrong. Your parents died in a car accident. Who lied to you about this?"
Even as a kid, he knew the things he experienced were anything but normal. So he refused to reveal it.
"I just know it."
"Kid, stop looking for these things and focus on your future," Max said and ruffled his hair.
"B-But, mom, and dad won't be there. I-I want to avenge them!"
Max pointed at his eyes. "Can't sleep anymore?"
"I-I can't. I see an old man killing my parents every time I sleep."
Max's wide smile froze before his eyes stretched wide.
"Do you really want to do this? There will be no turning back after this, so think hard and tell me."
Huh? He agreed?
Leo wiped away the disbelief and resumed his act.
"Please Uncle help me, I won't be able to do it without you."
Max released a sigh and nodded. "So you knew I was a secret agent?"
Of course, he knew it. His chatterbox parents revealed everything once they got drunk.
"Yes."
"Fine, I will train you first. The results will depend on you." Max's narrowed his gaze with a stern look. "Don't expect me to go easy on you."
Leo nodded his head while laughing inside his head. "I will do anything!"
"Okay, kid, come to my house this evening, we'll start your training."
---
Three years went by, Leo attended school while at home, he focused on training. His Uncle taught him everything from martial arts to firearms. The whispers still plagued his mind, breaking him more.
Still, he refused to tell anyone about it.
Finally, he beat his uncle in a spar, who praised him as a prodigy.
Nobody saw the effort he put in to reach here, the pain he suffered from overexerting his immature muscles.
The whispers in his head fueled his rage, allowing him to demonstrate something scientifically impossible. His uncle never asked him and he wasn't the one to talk over something so insignificant.
---
Japan.
Leo came here to kill his first target, a member of 'The Apocalypse', playing the role of a local drug dealer. The very organization that still stayed the lead suspect in his parent's murder.
He sneaked into the mansion and went on a killing spree, receiving minor injuries that magically healed overtime.
His target lay in a pool of blood with eyes still stricken with horror. Yet, he felt nothing.
No sense of satisfaction he had hoped for.
No disgust.
No fear of killing.
Nothing.
Instead it dragged his mind further to darkness. The crimes he saw in that building would always be carved in his memories.
The way they treated the girls. He could only clench his fists in anger.
With an exhausted mind, he returned to the room his Uncle rented for him and sprawled on the bed. Rolling around for hours, he couldn't sleep.
The image of his mother kept flashing in his head, overlapping with the face of girls that suffered.
He glanced at the clock showing 6 AM and decided to do some morning exercises. He went out of the simple yet luxurious apartment and wandered around aimlessly on the streets.
After crossing several streets, he stopped in front of a bridge. A gentle breeze caressed his cheeks and the warm sunlight tickling his face. All tensions released from his body as he found himself slowly healing.
*Clunk!*
A sudden noise stole his attention. He followed the noise to the bridge. A little girl around his age tried her best to climb up the bridge.
He ran over to her, grabbed the metallic rod of the bridge, and pulled himself up.
"Here, take my hand."