Chapter 1: The elf found the Disaster Star.
****
"What a waste. He had such a fine body," a man said, laughing crudely as he passed.
The boy stood frozen, watching as the bloodied mass was carted away.
A slum prostitute.
A life lived at the very bottom.
Sick and suffering, beaten to death by a man whose name she never knew.
Now, just a lump of meat, a worthless life discarded.
It was his mother.
"Ah…" he breathed.
Shoved roughly, the boy's face slammed into the dirt.
He dully turned his head.
The man with the crude laugh stood there.
"He had such a pretty face," the man chuckled, his eyes roaming over the boy's body.
"I bet he'd taste good, too."
The boy ignored him, looking up at the sky.
Gray. More storm clouds. Despite the lightning flashing within them, it didn't look like rain.
-Rumble…!
An unwelcome thunder rumbled.
At the sound, the boy instinctively reached out, as if to draw the lightning into his hand.
"Tsk, just like a little idiot. So boring," the man scoffed.
-Flash!
"Aaaaagh!"
The man shrieked, falling back onto his backside as lightning suddenly struck.
Who wouldn't be startled by a bolt of lightning striking right in front of them?
He tried to calm his racing heart, staring at the unbelievable sight before him.
"Wh-what…?"
Electricity crackled around the boy's unharmed body. He'd clearly been struck by lightning, yet…
"That idiot is lucky."
"What a waste! We could've been rid of that face."
Unlike the others who laughed, mocking the frightened man, he sensed something strange.
The boy's unsettlingly dark hair and eyes.
The violet electricity crackling around him was strange enough, but that wasn't what he meant.
"Shit…"
A chilling grin spread across the boy's face, his eyes fixed on the man.
****
That day, a slum was found burned to the ground.
The charred and mangled corpses caused a stir, but as always, public interest waned within a week.
****
The boy walked endlessly. He was surrounded by trees.
Crushing the grass underfoot, he suddenly looked up.
"Ah…"
The black sky was now blue. Night had passed, and morning had arrived.
Growl…
His stomach agreed.
He picked up a stone and looked around.
-Rustle.
A faint sound.
He threw the stone.
-Squeak!
A short, dying cry.
The boy walked over.
A rabbit lay there, trembling and then it died.
The boy picked up the rabbit, violet sparks crackling across its fur. Then,
-Crunch!
He bit into it whole, chewing thoroughly.
The half-cooked rabbit was decent food, except for the fur that got in his mouth.
Chewing mechanically, the boy had a sudden realization.
"Ah."
If the fur was bothersome, he could just remove it.
He tore the rabbit's skin off, starting where he'd bitten into it.
The amount of meat decreased, but at least the fur was gone.
He nodded in satisfaction and was about to bring the rabbit back to his mouth when…
"Oh my?"
Electricity sparked in the boy's eyes at the sound of a voice.
His mind grew hazy, like back in the slums.
-Crackle!
In a flash of violet electricity, the boy vanished. He reappeared in a tree. Wreathed in lightning, he swung his arm.
-Rumble!
Thunder and lightning crashed, blackening the leaves.
Yet there, seemingly unaffected, stood a figure.
"Oh… you poor thing. Born under the curse of the Disaster Star," the woman said, her brow furrowed as she looked at the boy.
But the boy only snarled, baring his teeth.
"Grrrr…"
Electricity crackled around his hand.
-Crack!
He vanished again, reappearing behind the woman. He swung.
"There's no helping it."
-Thwack!
The woman lightly deflected the boy's hand.
He reacted instantly, twisting his body. His foot shot up, aiming for her stomach. And then,
-Thud!
He was struck in the back of the neck and collapsed.
The woman sighed, picking up the child.
"Ha… I've never raised a child before."
She began to walk and thought,
First, a bath was needed and then some food.
****
The boy opened his eyes to the sky. It sounded crazy, but he was definitely in the sky.
"Ah?"
He looked around in a daze. A gentle voice spoke.
"Are you awake?"
He turned his head. There stood a woman who resembled the forest.
The boy reached out, mesmerized. The woman smiled gently.
"Isn't it amazing?"
His hand went to her ear. A long, elven ear, unlike a human's.
He marveled at its soft yet firm texture, then remembered again that he was in the sky.
"Ah…"
Above, below. Everything was blue.
He reached out to the clouds drifting past, then looked down by his hip.
There was a sword, flying.
The woman sat on it, and he was in her arms.
"What's your name?" the woman asked.
The boy looked into her forest-green eyes.
"Ah."
"Ah?"
"Uh…"
The woman didn't press him, simply stroking his hair.
After they passed three clouds, the boy hesitantly spoke.
"E-Enoch…"
"Enoch? That's a wonderful name."
The woman smiled, but she thought it a tragic thing. A child born under the curse of the Disaster Star, named Enoch.
Enoch, a name meaning "dedicated to God."
It didn't suit a Disaster Star, one prophesied to tear apart even the heavens.
Or perhaps…
Perhaps it was a fitting name, for a child blessed by the Disaster Star.
After all, wasn't he a pitiful being caught in the whims of that divine entity?
"My name is Rionne. Rionne Estor. You can call me whatever you like."
"…Rionne?"
"That's right. You're so smart."
Rionne stroked Enoch's hair, and he flinched. She smiled, looking down.
"We're here."
She lifted Enoch and jumped off the sword. As she fell, the sword flew to her side and sheathed itself.
"Whoa…"
Enoch gasped, feeling the wind against his face, his cheeks puffing out, his hair fluttering.
Rionne smiled at his delight.
Thump!
Landing lightly, Rionne set the boy down and spread her arms.
"Ta-da! This is our home. What do you think?"
It was a cozy dwelling nestled amongst the trees.
Various vegetables grew in a small garden, and the sound of running water drifted from nearby.
Enoch smiled wordlessly. Rionne scooped him up.
"First, a bath… Oh."
She'd forgotten something.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down her cheek.
"…Enoch, where are your parents?"
Given his curse, it would be difficult for ordinary parents to raise him, but wasn't taking a child without a word kidnapping…?
Anxiously, she waited for his reply. He shook his head.
With a mixture of relief and pity, Rionne hugged him tightly.
"I see… Don't worry anymore."
At least until Enoch became an adult, he would be safe in her care.
****
After a bath and a meal, the boy started to doze.
Rionne put him in her bed, then went outside and stared blankly at the sky.
"What should I do…?"
She'd brought him here, but she had no plan.
She'd never raised a child, and she didn't know much about humans.
Moreover, her own situation was precarious.
[Rionne, you're an idiot. Why did you pick up something so ominous?]
"Undine, you shouldn't say things like that."
Rionne glared at her tiny friend.
The blue water spirit puffed out her cheeks sulkily, flitting around Rionne.
[It's ominous just to be near him. Don't you know what a Disaster Star is?]
"Of course I do. I saw the last Disaster Star with my own eyes."
[And yet you brought him here?]
"He's just a child."
[Idiot.]
-Hmph!
Undine landed about a foot away from Rionne, her way of expressing anger.
Rionne chuckled at her friend's cute sulking, but she was also troubled.
In her long life, there had been a few shocking events.
Among them, the memory of the Disaster Star was certainly not a pleasant one.
'…It was a disaster.'
So much blood had been shed.
The rampaging Disaster Star had killed roughly one hundred thousand people that day.
By the time Rionne, sensing the ominous energy, had arrived, several cities lay in ruins.
'Was that about two hundred years ago?'
Rionne shuddered at the memory. It had been a terrible ordeal…
To prevent this child from suffering the same fate, she needed to educate him well from a young age.
Until he reached adulthood… roughly…
'Will one hundred and fifty years be enough?'
It wasn't that long a time.
****
"Dwarves are wicked thieves."
"Enoch, the Disaster Star that blessed you is a wicked creature, like those little dwarves."
****