Roan saw the walls of the capital from his carriage and remembered his past. When he had been fat, he lived like a merchant—not poor, but as wealthy as a noble. Their business was booming, and everyone knew them around the small area of the capital city.
One day, several academy students came with professors. Roan wasn't at his house—he was playing around with others—when an explosion erupted near his home. He saw people gathered around his house.
Roan stared as the academy people beat his parents, who were bleeding and had no power to fight back. They were torturing his parents while he watched. His parents looked back at him, but he couldn't move from his position.
Roan tried to move toward his parents, but couldn't. He wanted to scream but was unable to make any sound. He could only watch as his parents were tortured by the academy students and professors.
Tears dripped from Roan's eyes, but he couldn't move. His parents continued to be tortured by those academy professors and students.
Roan witnessed his parents' end with both eyes while other people stared at him. The academy students and professors also watched him crying over his parents' bodies.
A professor looked at Roan and asked another professor, "What should we do with him? Should we kill him too?"
The other professor looked at Roan and said, "No need. Our quest is finished. We won't get any extra reward for killing him."
The students also stared at him. They felt slight guilt in their hearts, but those feelings were ignored in favor of the quest rewards.
Roan stared at his parents, then turned to the people who had killed them, memorizing every single student and professor. He decided he would kill them, but he wasn't talented yet. I will kill them and let the academy know they'll regret attacking my family. I'll take my revenge no matter what happens to me. No matter if my parents were wrong, no matter if the world is wrong, no matter if people are wrong, no matter if I'm wrong—I will kill them.
Roan had nowhere to live, and people from that area didn't want to see him anymore. He left the capital with money and went to Verdan territory, where he trained his body.
His fatness hadn't disappeared when he met Alice. She was traveling with three men, and Roan had noticed her before—she looked beautiful, so his eyes always went to her.
And one day, she came to him and said, "Hey, fatty. Become my dog." Alice's direct approach shocked the other three, but they didn't doubt her judgment.
Roan stared back at her and said, "Fuck off."
Alice was shocked by his words and felt anger toward him. She dragged him to a corner of the valley and started beating him. Roan couldn't fight back—he had recently started personal training and didn't know any fighting skills.
So he started screaming for help, and then they all heard the sweet voice of a girl coming from the valley, Alice and the other three saw Lira. They were mesmerized by her beauty—even though she wore beggar's clothes, her clothing couldn't hide her beauty.
Lira locked eyes with Roan, shook her head, and stared at the three men. Alice gazed at Lira, amazed by her talent and beauty, and wanted her too. So she ordered her three men to attack, but they were beaten.
Alice understood she had no chance of defeating her, so she left Lira alone and didn't think much of it. But Roan saw her skills and wanted to learn from her.
Lira glanced one last time and left. Roan followed behind her, wanting to speak with her, but she disappeared. He followed his instincts and reached a place where fire burned everywhere.
When Roan arrived, some guards saw him and captured him. The guards found nothing on him, so they decided to make him a scapegoat. All the guards had seen his growing talent, and if they let him go now, he would come for revenge.
So the guards sent Roan to the royal knights, and he entered the Prison of Dungeon.
Roan's carriage reached the capital gate without any restrictions—everyone had disguised themselves. Aeren didn't disguise himself, but no one cared and let him enter the capital.
Aeren looked at the capital and saw festivals everywhere, with everything shining throughout the city. Guards had increased, and his wanted poster was visible in some places. He stepped out of the carriage and started walking through the city, spotting his poster and others.
Standing opposite his poster, Aeren said to the next person—who looked like an adventurer or bounty hunter—"Does he look like me?"
The person turned his head, looked at Aeren, then at the poster, and said, "Nah, he looks handsome."
Aeren examined the poster again. It showed black hair, black eyes, and his face looked more detailed and better than his real appearance.
Aeren nodded. "Yeah, you're right. He looks kind of like me."
The person looked at the poster and Aeren again, starting to believe he was telling the truth. He looked somewhat like the wanted man, but the person didn't think he was the Aeren they sought.
The person stared at him and said, "Yeah, man. If there weren't so many guards around, I might have believed you were that Aeren person."
He smiled, looked at Aeren again—still having doubts as his instincts screamed this was the same person—and looked around at the city guards stationed everywhere.
This festival happened once every 16 years. They joined with other kingdoms, and everyone had started preparations months ago so they wouldn't miss anything.
He looked at Aeren again, who was now examining other wanted posters. He was about to raise his hand when he heard a voice:
"Aeren, what are you doing here?"
A girl in a black hood appeared, and the next moment, the person beside Aeren had his heart pierced, though no one could see what happened.
Aeren stared at the dead body, which was still standing in place but hadn't dropped to the ground.