Remembering his past mistake, Armalius unconsciously placed his left hand on his cheek, feeling the stinging sensation of his mother's slap seared into his subconscious mind. Even though he may be young and did not yet fully understand how long a person's life could truly feel at the end, he nonetheless was pretty sure that, at the end, this may become an unforgettable memory to him.
Smiling lightly, albeit somewhat wrily, after his short mental trip back into the past, Armalius returned his attention towards his sister once more. "Mira, do you want to play? If yes, pick anything you want from the box over there." He pointed towards a box filled with toys near his desk.
Spinning tops, a few diabolo toys in varying sizes, small figurines that looked like knights and horses and various other things were inside of it - the only similarity they all possessed, had been that every single one of them was made out of wood.
His father, Arnold, once asked him why he always requested that any toy they bring him, should please be made out of wood. Armalius simply replied that he read about trees and nature a lot, and always loved his Doctor's stories about the various forests she visited, as she used to live there for a while after her birth, due to her own special origin. So to him, when he was touching and playing with things made out of wood, it felt like he was connecting with nature in his own way.
The grin Armalius held on his lips while saying these things that day, enlargened the wound in his parents' hearts once more, thus they vowed to bring him many different toys made out of all kinds of wood, resulting in a room with an abundance of brown colors due to everything being made out of wooden materials - decorations, furniture and toys alike.
"Can I?!" Miranda's eyes glittered with joy, quickly moving towards the box her brother pointed to. "Then, then! Will you teach me new tricks on this? Please!" She held up a diabolo toy and when her brother nodded, Miranda ended up jumping into the air a few times.
Watching this interaction between the siblings with a gentle gaze, Arduo couldn't help but wish that time would stop for a moment, wishing from the bottom of her heart that these two innocent children may receive manifold blessings to help them for and in their respective futures.
The two before her eyes had been playing with the diabolo toy for roughly half an hour, before switching to various other things to play with, spending almost two hours enjoying themselves.
While to Miranda, her brother may be someone she looked up to and enjoyed every moment with, to Armalius, his sister was the only true source of normalcy he had, so far, been allowed to experience. She didn't treat him like a raw egg, she didn't lace her words nor acts with needless consideration for his situation, instead, she treated him like a normal person, something none of the adults would ever be able to give him.
This is why Arduo didn't interfere as long as possible every time she visited Armalius together with the youngest child of the Glacies family. Still, every enjoyment will have to come to an end at some point, and seeing how their playtime came to a natural halt due to exhaustion, the young woman lightly clapped her hands, gaining the attention of the children quickly, who were already used to her doing this sometimes.
"Young Master Armalius, Miss Miranda, I'm very happy you enjoyed yourselves", she said whilst standing up from the desk's chair. "But it is time for the Young Master's treatment, so please lay down on your bed. And Miss Miranda, please don't look so sullen, you two can continue to play afterwards, ok?"
Miranda, albeit reluctantly, nodded and sat down on the chair Arduo had been sitting on until now, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks a tiny bit, blatantly showing her displeasure, but she nonetheless understood that she was not in a position to openly protest, knowing full well what her beloved 'big sister Duo' was about to do next.
After ensuring that Armalius had laid down comfortably, she moved to the side of the bed, placing both of her hands on his chest, whispering something in a way that the words on her lips sounded like a vague murmur. Green light shot out from her hands, enveloping the boy's entire body almost instantly.
"Was that your usual incantation?" The boy's interest was gained quickly. "That's right", replied Arduo. "Could you hear its meaning? Or did it still appear like wordless sounds to you?"
Armalius shook his head at her question. "I couldn't hear anything", his eyes reflected a nuance of sadness at his words. "But I'm sure I will be able to one day!" Grinning with enthusiasm, he picked the route of confidence instead of self-pity.
What a remarkable attitude, thought Doctor Leister. Yet regardless of how much she tried to suppress it, she clearly felt the rise of bitterness within her chest. Whilst it may not be impossible for them, having heard herself of some examples appearing in the last few centuries, it was still exceedingly rare for someone with the Mark of Nothingness to understand the Words of Magic.
The Words of Magic were, what one could call, the result of lacing one's every word with magical essence. "Words hold power", was a saying that held much more truth within the world of magic than one may even realize.
Feeling the flow of your personal magical essence, your own unique mana, then uniting it with every word you say, weaving "spells", "incantations" and other creations from this, was a practice every high-ranked Magic User must be capable of or they well never move beyond the level of being third rate in their respective field.
While not every blessing nor the resulting gifts needed one to use spells nor incantations, there were a lot of people who had gained manmade blessings from scrolls and nearly every single blessing gained from them, needed its user to weave a spell.
Those who gained such a manmade blessing, felt the words linked to the scroll's unique gift surging within them naturally. If they then laced their own magical essence on top of them, they were capable of various things, ranging from tiny influences on reality, like casting simple fire magic, making things up to a certain weight float to being able to find lost things.
Some called these "Lesser Scrolls", having their own unique ranks depending on their innate strength and ability, while the scrolls that were capable of granting one abilities that could be called miracles, or even heavenly gifts, were called "Divine Scrolls".
While both types were highly desired, the latter ones rarely came into public possession and due to their rarity, power and price, had become something almost akin to myths to normal people.
Arduo Leister herself had gained various gifts from diverse Lesser Scrolls, like the one she just used on Armalius, called "Scan & Heal". Its ability harmonized well with her own blessing and as its rank was merely in the middle of the Lesser Scrolls, it was easily affordable for her, a Doctor working for a Viscount.
Scan & Heal combined two abilities healers were able to learn on their own, but weren't capable of using at the same time. Some doctors, especially the ones working in remote towns, deemed this as useless and a waste of their money, but to Arduo, it held a unique advantage over using both abilities separately: You could scan the body wholly, knowing what area may need healing, understanding what part of the body may be very close to developing a disease, - thus a healer could pinpoint these and simultaneously apply healing.
This was precisely why Royal Healers all were obligated to possess this manmade blessing. It could save a healer a lot of time and increase their healings' precision and effectiveness. Thus it was natural for Arduo Leister to make it one of her main goals the moment she set out to become a doctor.
Looking a bit proud of how far she had come over the years, Arduo looked at the boy, telling him the results of her scanning and healing.
"It seems that, like usual, your body lacks a lot of the positive influence created from prolonged exposure to sunlight, but I adjusted that part with my healing", she explained casually.
"But this method still has its limits. Aside from that, you don't have any areas of problems. Though, we should increase your training a bit, that would help your muscle development, as you're in a phase in your life where you'll be growing more and more over the years."
Feeling dread well up within him at the words Arduo uttered, the young boy couldn't help but look at the sky through his room's window, wearing a distant look on his face as he remembered her usual spartan training, sometimes even locking up the only entrance to the tower and making him run the stairs up and down until his legs cried from pain for the next few days.
The thought that she might increase his training even more, made his mind face a level of dread no kid his age should ever feel well up within them. Yet protest was not an option, for the last time he tried it, she doubled both his homework and his training for a whole week, quickly snuffing out the flames of rebellion before they could ever truly develop.
"O- Ok, dear sister Duo. If-", stuttering a bit from feeling overwhelmed at the tasks the future were about to present to him, Armalius tried to lift up his body. "If you say so, then I will believe you." He knew very well that none of the things Arduo Leister ever did, were done out of malice; he knew it, yes - and rationally speaking, that was the case. Yet this very serious but truly kind healer had a talent to turn into a demon whenever the word "training" had been uttered by her.
That was exactly why he wanted to complain and run away at the mere thought of having to tackle even more homework and harsh training, but he endured it all nonetheless. In her own way, that, too, had just been another facet of Arduo's kindness.
Seeing the oldest child of the Glacies family look a bit taken aback, yet still willing to accept what she just said, made her very proud of Armalius. Maybe I should increase it even more? I feel like a fire has been lit within him, after all, he never complained to me except for one time, Arduo thought, silently overanalyzing things on her end.
I am sure I should increase it even more than I initially planned to. The books outside indicate his thirst for knowledge and he always faces my training sincerely. I planned to double it, but I'm sure the Young Master will thrive even more if I increase it by six times the usual amount. Thus, without his knowledge, Armalius' fate had been sealed that day.
Had he complained much more often, she may have gradually adjusted his training, but taking his option of choosing silence and endurance over rebellion as him approving of her methods, flipped a weird switch within Arduo Leister, a monster that firmly believed in the following words: 'If words nor kindness help to solve the problem, then it all comes down to survival of the fittest! Just knock them out before they can knock you out!'
A belief many may deem unfit for a woman so delicate and truly dedicated towards her work as a doctor and healer, yet once one knows of her past, having lived in the slums for a few years and being picked up as a teen by Lady Almalia Glacies alongside a few other children at the time, it explains her view on some things a bit more.
Miranda, watching her beloved brother and big sister with an impatient look on her face, finally shot up from the chair the moment she saw her brother rise from the bed, and walked up to the two.
"Can we play more now?!" Grabbing hold of Arduo's white sleeve, the girl asked with a lot of vigour.
Sighing at Miranda's reaction and smiling in a way as if it couldn't be helped, she simply nodded at the question, walked back to the chair Miranda had used until now and sat down on it herself.
Both Armalius and his sister began to play once more until the sky had gone past its, by then, already orange hue, making way for the twinkling stars to adorn the night together with their beloved companions, the three crescent moons, each owning a unique coloration: one was indigo, another was turqouise and the last moon had been clad in magenta, giving the night an obscure yet enchanting shine whenever they stood in full moon.
Having laid down on his bed again after Arduo took Miranda back to the estate with her once they all realized how late it had become, Armalius was now spending his time watching the night's bewitching sky through the tower's window, his eyes being hidden behind his white mask, but still being capable of sight thanks to the mask's ability.
To him, this was a time of peace, a time he didn't want to spend with others. Watching the stars slowly move due to the passage of time, enjoying the occasional appearance of the moons and the colors their light gifted upon his room, it was a time where Armalius felt like he was a part of the whole world, not just a part of this tower.
It was a glimpse into a freedom his heart longed for, but that his mind forbade him. If he could, would he leave? 'Yes!', was at least what his heart wished to shout, but having been tamed by his rationality, it opted to remain silent. Death lurked outside of this tower, suffering and pain waited to bestow upon him their icy cold embrace and never let him go, - after reading many books brought to him by his family and being taught by them well, he, too, had understood all too well just what kind of world he was living in. It was a world so beautiful, it might keep ones eyes and mind occupied for years without end if one simply gazed upon its wonders with child-like innocence and curiosity.
Yet it only showed this side to those with the adequate blessing. People like him, those with worthless blessings and especially those with the Mark of Nothingness, were facing challenges so hard, the devil himself couldn't have made them more cruel.
"If only I was born with mom's or dad's blessings", Armalius whispered to no one in particular, his hands reaching out towards the sky as if he was trying to embrace the stars themselves.
The child, always trying to show proper etiquette when addressing others, sometimes threw away this habit in times of vulnerability. Feeling his consciousness slowly drifting off due to his body's natural desire for sleep, his thoughts finally started to rest alongside the rest of his body.
In this way, another seven years had passed, allowing the Glacies family to enjoy a form of peace they all had taken as granted at some point. Until, at the bureau of the Viscount himself, a letter had been delivered. Its content creating panic even within the always calm and collected Arnold Glacies, he slammed his fist into his desk, shattering it rather effortlessly.
"Why now?" His voice shaking, both from anger and frustration. "Why does that scum have to come for a visit now, after all these years?!"
His eyes turned serious while addressing his personal butler, - an old man of white hair and wrinkled skin, wearing glasses due to his age taking its toll on them - someone Arnold held great trust in, as he had served the Glacies Viscounty for decades.
"Have everyone prepare for a visit from Lord Loreus Glaciano! Make sure everything will be to his liking and tell my family to gather in this room, now!"