From Makoto's Perspective:
Emptiness. Around me was impenetrable emptiness, filling all space. I was levitating in the middle of absolute nothing, consisting of the absence of light, darkness.
"Who am I?" I asked myself.
I didn't know the answer.
Who was I... Raven? Makoto? As if neither, as if I had never been either. And was I even at all? I don't know, I can't remember.
A strange feeling of rejection filled me, as if my own body was pushing me away. Panic? Fear? Joy? Sadness? I felt none of it. I don't know why, but I felt absolutely nothing, as if it wasn't me at all. I wasn't afraid of the void, I wasn't panicking from not understanding anything, and I was neither glad nor sad. Just... such... pleasant? Emptiness filled me from the inside.
Being in the middle of absolute nothing, I began to notice how it was sucking me in. As if I was becoming one with this all-consuming void until I felt warmth.
Warm tears were rolling down my cheeks, but they didn't belong to me. Raising my hand and touching these tears with my fingers, I felt a discharge running through my entire body. In the impenetrable darkness appeared a ray of light, small and thin, it shone directly on me, illuminating the path. Step by step I began to walk. More and more rays illuminated my way, a warm feeling filled me, starting from my heart and ending at my fingertips. And at that very moment I began to remember who I really was.
I walked, watching as the pictures before me changed one after another. My memories flowed from childhood to the last days. I saw everything,
how Uncle Kirima taught me swordsmanship in the dojo,
how I trained with the other guys,
my meeting with Anna in the flower field,
the burning dojo,
our escape, when I found out the whole truth,
my acquaintance with Satoshi,
the rest of the family,
Anna's disappearance,
the emperor's capture,
my death,
rebirth,
every birthday,
training with my father,
our trips to the forest,
that very pier,
and saving the boy.
Every battle, every death flew before my eyes. Every time the spectrum of my feelings changed: nostalgia, joy, indignation, anger, melancholy, indifference, rage, confidence, disappointment. All these burdens haunted me in the past. I hated that life. Every day in this new life was filled with pleasant emotions. The problems here are nothing compared to what it was back then. People value things only when they lose them. I lost everything to the end, I realized my mistakes and learned to appreciate. At least, that is what I think...
End of memories. I seemed to wake up from an endless dream. Everything seemed so ephemeral, phantom and unreal, as if I was in the middle of a dream and suddenly awakened. The space was filled with a shade of rose gold, with no end or edge in sight. Even under my feet this light shone. I didn't know where to go and what to do. I was overwhelmed by a feeling so similar to my past self, a feeling of melancholic calm, as if everything was fine, as it should be.
The sound of a piano filled the whole space. I was surprised and didn't know what to do. A strange feeling of delight filled me as I listened to this composition. The sound was so beautiful, as if the player wanted to convey his feeling of melancholy, such an ephemeral feeling of airiness and contemplation, but at the same time so fragile and minimalist. It touched me to the core. I silently stood and listened. I lost track of time. Perhaps three minutes passed, but for me they seemed like an eternity and it was very unusual.
"So we meet again." said a voice, coming as if from everywhere and at the same time from nowhere. Such a familiar voice, moderately rough and soft, similar to a male one, not loud and not quiet. It sounded extremely tired, as if we had met hundreds of thousands of times already.
"Who are you?" I asked, trying to be calm, but my voice betrayed anxiety.
"Eh, if only I could tell you everything. But that isn't why you are here." he cut off, sighing loudly. His voice was indeed very tired.
A figure appeared before me. Almost two meters tall, quite broad. At first glance human, but it was impossible to make out. He wore a long black robe that completely hid his body, not even the tips of his fingers were visible.
"So, you saved our Rey Leonhart by fighting with the monster that killed his family... I see. And how? Do you regret that you so foolishly exposed yourself to the poisonous claw?" he asked in a bored tone, sitting down on a chair near the piano that suddenly appeared in the void. So it was him who had played that composition, I realized.
"You know, not really to be honest, at first it was upsetting that I rushed in, but here my inattention played a bigger role, the boy wasn't to blame in any way, if I hadn't decided to test my lightning spell, maybe everything would have been different. Well, what is done is done, you can't turn back time. I am not a hero who rushes to save others, but looking at him, how his parents died, I felt sorry for him. He reminded me of myself. The heart of a person is such an ambiguous thing, you know with your head that you should not, but the heart says do it. And you do it, even if you didn't want to. Such is human intuition. What I regret is only that I quarreled with my mother before my death, I am afraid my mom is the kind who will blame herself for not going after me until the day she dies. I should have apologized to her at the end." I answered him calmly. Now I wasn't exactly afraid of death, I accepted it as it was.
After all, the law of equivalent exchange is like this. To get something, you have to give something in return. I saved that boy, so my life had to end, unless the payment was taken from that monster I killed.
"Ah, so you think you died? Right, I completely forgot... You didn't die." he said detachedly, resting the hood-covered head on his hand.
"What do you mean not died?" I was surprised.
"Well, how to put it, your mother managed to come and save you a couple of seconds before your heart would have stopped beating. Although, even if it had stopped beating, you would have still opened your eyes, though why am I saying this. You see, Raven Hard, or should I now call you Makoto Barasu? I still need you, don't ask questions, I won't give you answers. It's time for you, we will see each other again." he replied in a tired and bored voice, after which he disappeared.
A few moments later, a discharge of warmth spread throughout my body. Not understanding what was happening, I began to feel as if I was being pushed out, when suddenly everything went dark.
The ringing in my ears subsided, I felt the smell of food and the breeze touching my cheek. I opened my eyes, such a familiar ceiling. It was my room. To my surprise, my body didn't hurt at all, as if nothing had happened.
Sitting up from the bed and looking around my room, I saw my mom sleeping in a leather chair in the corner on the right, right opposite my bed. For a few seconds I just watched my mom snore. Remembering everything that had happened, I felt awkward and ashamed. Finding nothing better, I just approached my mom and hugged her. After a while, my mom opened her eyes. Rubbing her eyes from sleep, she looked at my bed not seeing me, and then noticed that I was hugging her. Her hands slid along my shoulders, when suddenly she pressed me to herself and whispered,
"Makoto, don't ever do that again."
My heart tightened at her words, I felt her quiet crying, which made me feel even worse inside.
"I am sorry, mom, forgive me, please." I said in a quiet and trembling voice. I couldn't promise her that I wouldn't do it again, I couldn't lie to her, not now.
"It's all right, son, the main thing is that you are okay. That is enough for me..." she whispered, sobbing. It was very painful inside, it's not right to bring your mother to tears.
Some time passed before she stopped hugging me, got up from the chair and asked,
"Makoto, are you hungry?" she asked softly, looking at me while we walked to the wooden stairs.
"Very!" I answered her with a smile.
Going down the creaky oak stairs and turning right into the hall, I saw an ordinary picture: a large gray sofa by the wall in the middle of the room, a round wooden table close opposite the sofa and a lamp that illuminated the room, though it was light outside.
"Mom, where is dad?" I asked loudly to my mom, who was cooking in the kitchen opposite the hall.
"He went to put Kuro and Shiro to sleep, he will be home soon. Why do you ask?" she replied questioningly, lighting the stove and cracking a couple of eggs.
Making sure everything was as it was, I turned around. Walking almost the entire corridor and turning left, I came to the kitchen to my mother to ask something:
"Mom, what happened yesterday? What about that boy?" I asked her, hoping for an answer.
Putting a plate with scrambled eggs and a metal fork, she answered:
"Mako, yesterday a pack of Karos attacked the village. It's unknown where they came from and why they attacked, and where the guard was looking, but the fact remains. That boy you saved ran to us, asking for help, pointing to
the place where you were lying in blood unconscious next to the body of one of them. That boy was unharmed and is now safe thanks to you." she answered measuredly, looking at me.
"And where is he now?" I asked her, I was curious what was happening with him now and where he was.
"His house was destroyed, like many other houses, and he has no relatives left. So we agreed to take him in. After all, we were quite good friends with his parents. He is now with your father and the children." she explained, poking the fork.
"I see, well that is good." I answered, finishing my portion.
Washing the plate after myself, I heard the front door open, and a voice was heard:
"We are home." Not loud and calm.
Going out into the corridor, I saw my father with a stroller in which Kuro and Shiro were sleeping, and behind them stood a boy, that very blond boy with emerald-colored eyes. Except there was one but, he was looking with an indifferent gaze into nowhere. It reminded me, that indifferent, almost lifeless look, when you no longer want anything.
"Makoto, son, don't scare us like that with your mom anymore." said my father in a soft and warm tone, hugging me as soon as he saw me.
A lonely feeling of guilt filled me. Just if I imagine that I had died, I can't even imagine what my parents would do and how they would feel.
"Dad, is that him?" I asked a little awkwardly, pointing at the blond, who was just looking down at his feet with an empty expression, to which my father nodded in agreement.
Approaching him and circling around to look: short messy hair the color of millet, emerald eyes, pale skin, gray shorts and a white T-shirt, a small nose and pronounced aristocratic facial features. The boy will grow up handsome, that is for sure.
"Hi, I am Makoto Barasu, and what is your name?" I asked the boy, who seemed to be in a trance, warmly and with a smile extending my hand.
The boy looked at my hand with a glassy gaze, but shook it and replied:
"I am Rey Leonhart." He said it quietly, as if by force, with a lump in his throat.
Looking at Rey, I felt as if I was out of place. In my head I understood that a boy who had just lost all his relatives and who was forced to temporarily live with other people wouldn't be glad to anyone who spoke to him. He reminded me too much of my past, I didn't even know what to say. Actually I could persuade Rei that he needs to become stronger and take revenge. In that case he would definitely become very strong, but why should I strangle the boy with what I myself went through, and as I know, it doesn't end very well. And why should I even interfere in his life at all? Let him do what he wants. Such foolish thoughts I had in my head, I thought to myself.
"Rei, let us be friends?" I asked the boy, smiling and looking him in the eyes.
Rei was surprised at my words, it seemed even his gaze gained life.
"Let us." Rei answered in a trembling voice.
It seemed as if the boy was about to burst into tears, but he held on firmly and with dignity. Not everyone can withstand the hardships of being an orphan. The hardest part lies ahead. People are rare bastards. A stranger doesn't care about your problems, because everyone has enough of their own. Everyone suffers in their own way, for someone to eat is already a victory, and someone counts gold coins and is sad that there are so few. People's heads are always filled with certain "problems", which is why they often don't see the good. People will be prejudiced against him for being an orphan, and that is a fact. People will always have insults regarding his parents, no matter what kind of person Rey is. There are no people who don't have haters.
"Are you hungry?" mom asked, looking at Rey with a smile.
"Yes." he answered quietly and modestly, looking at his feet.
"Then I will cook now. Rey, is there something you don't eat? Or maybe an allergy?" mom replied and immediately asked, already taking out the pan and lighting the fire.
"No, I don't think so." Rey answered shyly.
"Rey, I am in the yard!" I shouted to him, hiding behind the big wooden front door.
When Rey finishes eating, I would like to learn more about him. A walk would be just right.
Some more time passed, and the door opened with a creak.
"Boo!" I shouted to scare Rey, who was coming down the steps.
Rey was very frightened and breathing heavily. For a moment he remembered yesterday, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Sorry, Rey, I won't do it again!" I said as soon as I saw his tears, in a guilty tone. I felt ashamed that I hadn't thought about his psyche.
"It's all right, let us go." said Rey, wiping away his tears.