A faint rustle stirred as Pride sensed someone approaching. The assassin's steps were slow, deliberate. 'What should I do?' he thought, his infant mind racing. In a split-second decision, he loosened his grip on the pendant and tossed it into a dark corner—hidden from sight.
The man loomed over him, knife glinting ominously. Cold, empty eyes glanced over Pride's fragile form. He raised the blade.
"Stop it!" the other assassin barked, his voice sharp, strained. "We've done enough wrong today. I won't harm another innocent."
A tense silence followed. Reluctantly, the man lowered his knife, scoffing. The second assassin scooped up the lifeless child lying nearby—Juily's son—and signaled for them to leave.
As they vanished into the night, Pride felt a crushing sorrow for the woman who had sacrificed so much. 'I don't know who you are… but your sacrifice binds me to you. I will live as your child and fulfill the duty you've given me.'
He took a deep breath and cried out. "Uwah! Yah!" His voice echoed in the small room, raw and piercing.
Juily, who had fallen into a trance of grief, snapped back to reality. Tears blurred her vision as she crawled towards him. Her heart was in chaos—mourning her child, yet instinctively reaching for this small life before her. She clutched him, weeping uncontrollably.
Pride remained silent, resting against her trembling form. Time passed unnoticed until, finally, the first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks of the old wooden house.
Her tears spent, Juily sat on the edge of the bed, Pride nestled against her. A soft rumble echoed from his tiny stomach.
"Are you hungry?" she asked with a bitter smile. She gently removed her cloth and began to feed him.
Pride flushed with embarrassment, but soon, instinct took over and he focused solely on nourishing himself.
"My name is Juily," she whispered, as if trying to convince herself of her own existence. "I'm a caretaker at the Elfred Orphanage. I always wanted a big family—a husband, children. But life never gave me that… yet, when I see you, I feel like I've been given a chance. Will you be my child?"
Her words trembled with fragile hope, a desperate grasp at meaning.
Pride listened in silence. His infant body could not answer her fully, but his soul understood the weight of her plea. He reached out, grabbing her finger and patting her chest gently in reassurance.
Juily's tears returned, though softer this time. "I always dreamed of a boy," she chuckled through her sobs. "But now… seeing you… I want a daughter. I want to hold you forever."
Exhausted, she leaned back and drifted into sleep.
---
Pride, lying on the bed, gazed up at the cracked ceiling. 'This woman needs me… I have no right to hesitate.'
He closed his eyes, letting his breath slow as he fell into deep meditation. It was an ancient breathing technique he had mastered in his past life. But this time—something was different.
He felt it. The world resonated with him.
'What is this? This never happened before…'
Opening his eyes, Pride saw the flow of energy itself—currents of life, invisible to normal eyes, yet clear to him. He reached out to it, willed it to move.
"Flame," he whispered.
A soft, childlike voice echoed through the room. A flicker of fire appeared, smaller than his hand yet undeniably real.
'This isn't magic,' he realized. 'This is… life energy. Pure and unrestricted. This world lacks the suppressions of my previous life.'
He chuckled internally. 'If I can access this power now, even as a child, then all the techniques I learned before will manifest with even greater force here.'
Despite using only a fraction of his strength, the possibilities thrilled him. He resumed his breathing exercises, strengthening his body and refining his energy control.
---
By evening, Pride had already managed to stand, his tiny legs trembling but resolute. He was near Juily when a knock echoed through the quiet house.
"Knock. Knock."
"Juily, are you in there?" A woman's voice called.
Startled, Juily woke with a gasp. Remembering the horrors of the night, she scrambled to her feet, lifted Pride, and swiftly changed his cloth wrap to hide any trace of what had occurred.
"Yes, Aunt Liana, I'm here!" she called, opening the door with a forced smile.
"Sorry to bother you, dear. Must be difficult, your first time alone," Aunt Liana said kindly, handing her a small loaf of bread.
"Thank you," Juily replied, her arms tightening around Pride instinctively.
"You need to rest well, Juily. You have to work hard now… you're a single mother, after all," Liana added gently before departing.
Once the door closed, Juily sighed and returned to the bed, cradling Pride. "I don't know who you are, but… from today, you're my child. Do you… want to be my child?" she asked, her voice trembling between hope and uncertainty.
Pride could feel the fragile strings of her heart unraveling. She needed him—not just as a child, but as an anchor.
He moved his arms and legs energetically, crying out softly, "Uwah," to show his will.
Tears sparkled in Juily's eyes as she embraced him. "You know, I always dreamed of a family—a husband, a daughter. I'll give you everything I have."
After feeding Pride, exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she drifted into sleep once more.
Pride lay beside her, eyes sharp with determination. 'If she wishes for a daughter, then I will be that for her. The name Darkness… it may sound cringe to others, but to me, it represents the hidden strength, the secrets I must carry.'
He reached into her mind, weaving thoughts gently with his energy. 'I am your daughter. My name is Darkness. Forget your pain, and remember me as your child.'
The process drained him, but it was worth it.
"Phew, that took a lot more energy than I expected…" He rested for a moment before resuming his daily training, silently preparing for the path ahead.
---
Days passed, and Juily introduced him to the Elfred Orphanage.
"Woah, is that your child, Juily?"
"She's adorable!"
"So small and beautiful."
Children gathered around, playing and fussing over the newborn Darkness.
"Children, get inside!" a stern voice called. The children dispersed in an instant, leaving Juily standing with Darkness in her arms.
"You should place her with the others and return to your duties," an elderly woman—Juily's superior—said.
"Yes," Juily nodded, her heart heavy but resolute.
The Elfred Orphanage was a humble place, run-down and overlooked by the nobility. Ten children lived there, including three newborns. Corruption and exploitation were rampant in the kingdom, yet the elderly caretaker, Aunt Liana, Juily, a man named James, and the absentee noble owner kept the place afloat.
Despite the odds, this place became Pride's new home. Surrounded by those struggling, yet filled with kindness, Pride—now Darkness—resolved to repay them all. He would grow, hidden beneath this identity, silently honing his strength until the day he could change everything.