"Disappointing."
This was the first word used to describe the birth of Nevaris Aurelion. A robust middle-aged man leered down at the infant wrapped in swaddling cloths, his expression a mask of indifference and disgust.
Without another word, or even a glance at the pale woman hanging at death's door beside the child, he left the room. Leaving behind the image of his cold, rigid back.
The woman lay there without a single change in expression, as if she had expected nothing else from the man who had so coldly dismissed her and her newborn son.
She reached out to the crying infant and brought him to her chest. Even with her pale face and silver hair matted to her forehead with sweat, she held a grace and beauty that seemed almost ethereal.
"My baby…my Nevaris. Mother is sorry. Sorry you are born into such cruelty. I swear, no harm will come to you my beloved. Mother will always protect you."
A single silver tear fell from her eyes as she made her vow. She gazed at the boy with eyes full of boundless love, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead that instantly stopped his crying.
She smiled slightly before looking up. The motherly love and care gone from her face as if it had been only an illusion, replaced by a look of cold determination.
"Elizabeth, I need a favor.."
…
Caleum didn't know how long he had spent in memories of Nevaris. From his point of view it had been years. Years of watching another man's tragic life.
From the day he was born, to the moment Caleum had taken over the reins of his body. Nevaris's life could be summed up as one simple word.
Agony.
Nevaris's mother was the third princess of the dragon race. Her mother had died early on in her life due to palace conflict, leaving a young Selunara to fend for herself.
And fend she did. Over the centuries of abuse and assasination attempts, Selunara had clawed her way up to be one of the strongest beings of the dragon race. But the birth of Nevaris had changed everything.
The dragon race was proud. They had every right to be, after all whether in terms of magical potential or combat ability, they stood at the forefront of all races on Elysium.
So when their famous, respected princess came home from an excursion pregnant with the child of a member of the titanboa race, the entire continent of Vyrngard erupted in fury.
The King himself, her father, wasted no time to strip her of her position and banish her to a border city in disgrace, wanting her as far from his sight as possible.
As Caleum watched, he felt an unknown feeling of irritation and disgust. Seeing Nevaris's spineless behavior as he was bullied by anyone and anything that could reach him, Caleum nearly spat flames from his mouth.
But he kept silent, grinding his teeth as his expression grew colder and colder. The years flitted by quickly and the same cycle repeated itself endlessly. Getting beat up, ridiculed publicly, and then locking himself away in his room. Year after year of the same disgraceful routine.
Until this year, when Nevaris turned 18 and was formally engaged to his fiancees. By this point he had become a complete recluse, never even leaving his bed due to how weak and decrepit his body had become.
Unwilling to suffer the idea of ridicule from his supposed brides, he grabbed an ancient artifact from his mother's collection and made a wish. The artifact in question?
The cube.
And that wish became the catalyst of Caleum's rebirth.
…
As the memories finally ended, Caleum shut his eyes slowly. Not even a single flicker of emotion could be seen on his face.
Seemingly talking to the emptiness around him, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "You know, I have never hated anyone before."
Unbothered by the lack of response around him, he continued without pause, "While I certainly found some individuals…distasteful. It was never to the point of hatred. But you…"
Opening his eyes, a cold, merciless light diffused from their depths like a scythe. Locking onto the empty void before him.
"You…I utterly loathe your entire existence."
There was no response for a long time. Caleum didn't seem rushed, his thoughts were clouded with a complex storm of disgust, indifference, and an emotion even he couldn't identify in his current state.
Just when it seemed like he would get no response, a silhouette appeared from the darkness. The new arrival did not seem shocked or wounded by Caleum's words. Instead, a self-deprecating laugh left their lips.
"Hahaha, yeah, figured you would say that. But a bit harsh don't you think? I'm even letting you take over my body for gods' sake, cut me some slack Caleum."
There was no need to guess, as the malnourished figure made itself visible, Caleum and Nevaris, two souls bound to one body, met at last.
"Cut you some slack? Hahaha, do you think you deserve it!?"
Nevaris' face revealed no hint of emotion, his eyes filled with a dull, lifeless light.
"I don't want to hear any judgement from a weirdo who let some random guy break into his house, convince him to leave behind everything he loved, kill him for a gag, and then dip."
Yeah, Caleum had no comeback for that one.
Seeing his aggressor's speechlessness, a spark of life flickered in Nevaris' cold eyes for a moment as he chuckled.
"But I don't hold it against you. My life was a shitshow from the very start, I recognize that. But what could I have done, I was weak. I wasn't even born a True Dragon like my mother. Instead, my deadbeat of a father decided to leave me with one last fuck-you and made me a Wyrm. Haha, pathetic right?"
Listening to Nevaris' self-loathing and misery, Caleum, instead of lashing out, looked at him impassively.
"...you don't understand anything."
Nevaris' expressionless face finally changed. As if finally finding an outlet, years of repressed anger, hatred, and unwillingness exploded all at once.
"And what do you understand? What could you, someone who never had to fight just to survive, possibly understand about me!? You grew up in an orphanage without parents, and no family. Big fucking whoop! You still got all that in the end didn't you!? And you still walked through life like some freak with a superiority-complex, thinking you're better than anyone, while still doing fuck-all to earn ANY OF IT!! From the moment I was born, I was a target. The mockery, the harassment, and the jeers…somehow everyone decided that every bad thing in this world was my fault due to me simply existing! So what if I gave up? So what if I stopped trying!? Was it my fault I was weak!? Did I ask for ANY of this!?"
By the end, Nevaris' pale face was flushed an unhealthy red from exertion. His eyes gleamed with a sinister, hateful light that seemed to want to watch the entirety of reality burn to ash.
The entire time Caleum remained silent. The coldness on his face now coalescing into an eternal frost. The complex light in his eyes now washed away entirely, settling on one, very clear emotion.
Contempt.
The silence between them held. For a time, the only sound to be heard were the ragged, labored gasps of Nevaris as he struggled to regain control of his breathing.
Just as Nevaris' emotions began to settle, a jarring, grating cacophony of laughter echoed through the void. Causing his body to go completely rigid.
"GAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Caleum's laugh was unhinged. The mockery, pity, and contempt within brought a strange dissonance that grated on Nevaris' ears.
"W-why are you laughing?"
But Caleum ignored him and continued to laugh until tears filled his eyes. After what felt like a painful eternity, he wiped his eyes but the sadistic amusement in his eyes remained.
There was nothing warm in his look—only a glacial, venom-laced intrigue that crawled beneath the skin.
"You are one of the most pathetic insects I have ever had the displeasure of coming across, Nevaris."
Nevaris' face paled in shock and humiliation. He wanted to retort. To deny his words, but Caleum continued with an apathetic tone.
"You're right. I was an orphan. I never knew true familial warmth, but I was provided for quite lavishly. Hell, I even had the luck to meet two great friends in my life. The world I come from is full of humans, and while there was poverty, war, famine, and disease. It was relatively peaceful around me. I didn't face the persecution that you experienced. Not to mention that as a human, I was born weak compared to the races of this world. All of this is true."
"T-Then why-"
"But do you know what's worse than being weak? Being weak, and doing nothing about it."
Nevaris' face turned a shade paler under Caleum's words. The ugliness of his cowardice, the truth he tried to hide under excuses now laid bare.
"And there is nothing I hate more than a coward. Your existence…is unacceptable."