I gasped as my eyes opened, to my dismay, I was on a snowy road that was outside of Veri. I frowned and got up, there were no people out and everything was in ruins. "What happened?", I frowned as I began to look around. I heard the whining of horses and headed that way, my lips formed into a deeper frown as I noticed that it was a black carriage with a group of soldiers. "What's going on?", I demanded. The men didn't even react to my voice so I sighed and began to get closer, that's when I saw him. A tall man with ice blue hair, he slapped a child and the poor boy fell to the ground. "HEY!", I cried and ran over to the boy. I knelt down but the boy didn't react to my touch, I looked up and my eyes widened as a pair of bright green eyes looked down on the child next to me. "Pathetic... To believe my sister gave birth to such a weak child...", growled the man. He reached down before gripping the boy's hair to pull him up, I tried to separate them but it was all useless.

What's going on?! Where am I? Why can't I attack this man who's hitting this boy!

Something in my mind clicked as I looked at the man with more attention, those features he possessed were no more than traits of the infamous tyrant in the history books of Veri. The man before me was none other than Victor, The Tyrant of Veri.

Why am I seeing Victor?! This man was killed off years ago...

The King smirked at the boy, I looked at the boy who bored his red eyes into the Tyrants green ones. The man threw the boy against the ground and lifted his foot. I felt useless as I could only watch how the man tortured the child. The man stopped and I looked over to see a familiar face smiling at the Tyrant. "Sire... Please forgive the child... He is still young and a bit useless to be your stepping stool.", said Mark. He was the same as always except that his eyes were red and his hair was black instead of his familiar brown hair and blue eyes.

Mark! What's going on!!?

The Tyrant scoffed before he shook Mark's hand away from him, Victor removed a whip on the side of his waist. "Then you won't mind the punishment of not only protecting the child but also speaking when not being spoken to.", growled Victor. I saw the man who was my butler clench his fists before lowering his head in acceptance. The boy looked at the men and tried to speak but Mark gave him a stern look and the boy became still as one of the guards came over to pick him up. I followed the guard and saw how he began to tie the injured child to the back of the carriage. "Please forgive me, sire...", whispered the guard. His eyes full of pity and sorrow looked into the boy's eyes. "Please stop the king!", begged the boy. His voice was weak and hoarse probably from the lack of water. My gaze went back to Mark and the Tyrant but that felt like a mistake. The sight before me was devastating, I had met Mark when I arrived in Veri to train with Techno and noticed that he always wore long sleeves. My explanation for that was that he wished to keep his skin from tanning but at that moment I knew the truth.

As Mark knelt there on the snowy and muddy road did the truth reveal itself to me. His entire body was covered in scars, from old ones that looked like he received in a war to whip lashes that were being given to him by the Tyrant. Anger boiled in me as the Tyrant laughed while whipping the man that was one of my people. The guards all looked terrified and just stood there while Mark was being punished. "Why won't anyone do anything...", I whispered. I knelt next to Mark and felt tears fall down my face as I saw how his face contorted in pain, voices cheered inside the carriage and I glared over to see many men that looked to be mercenaries.

If I could I'd kill this man and all of those disgusting people inside that carriage...

Once the punishment was over and the Tyrant entered his carriage, Mark was tied to the back of the carriage alongside the child. The boy sobbed quietly as he looked at the fresh wounds on the man. "You always protect me... Why?", sobbed the boy. I also questioned why Mark would protect the child. I saw Mark smile even though he was clearly in pain, he winced as the carriage was getting ready to depart. "Guards... I ask for a humble favor. Tie my waist and allow me to carry the boy, I swear on my name that I won't run away...", said Mark. The guards looked ashamed but immediately did as the man asked. After that, they didn't say anything and lowered their head in shame as they followed behind. "It's because your mother begged me to protect you, Techno...", whispered Mark, carefully hiding Techno. I could see that Techno wanted to sob as he wrapped his tiny arms around our butler.

Techno... I'm seeing Techno's past... That explains why I cant interact with them...

I followed quietly as they traveled away from Veri, I wondered where Victor was taking them. My thoughts ceased as Mark spoke. "Don't worry, sire... It's less painful than it looks...", he whispered. My eyes noticed how Techno tried not to bother the new wounds on the man's back. That's where a saw peculiar symbols around Mark's neck, those were old death symbols used for dark magic. I examined the guards and noticed that they also had them, which meant that even the citizens of Veri had them while Victor reigned over them. My attention went back to Techno and Mark, the Blood God mustered a smile and thanked Mark. The man nodded and kept a firm hold on the young boy. The same guard that had tied Techno came over and told them that they would be resting soon. Mark thanked the man before reassuring Techno that everything would be okay. The guard took Techno and tied him back up while another guard tied Mark back up by his wrists.

As the carriage stopped, Mark smudged mud and dirt on Techno before the King came around. "Looks like you've learned your lesson...", mumbled Victor as he looked down at the duo. He turned to face one of the guards. "Give these two some bread and water then tie them back up.", he ordered. The guards saluted the man and did as they were told, the men that served as guards didn't just give them water and bread, they managed to sneak some ham and cheese for the two. "Thank you...", whispered Mark as he cleaned his hands with his portion of water. He prepared something and began to feed Techno, he looked weak and feeble, he was nothing like my husband.

He had a horrible childhood... I knew he did but not to this extent...

"Where are we going, Mark?", whispered Techno. The man drank some water before he explained that they were headed to the Forest of Alieus. "There's a witch that lives there... The King wishes to bring them back to serve him...", frowned Mark. Techno also frowned and began to question why the Tyrant needed a witch when Veri was already powerful enough to win wars against the other kingdoms. Their conversation went mute in my mind as the previous sentence echoed in my mind.

A witch? Did the Tyrant want Kristen?? Or maybe Philza??

The night came and Techno snuggled against Mark as he received treatment from one of the guards. I sat there and watched as the small God fell asleep, my attention went to the guard and Mark as they looked at Techno. "We have failed you... I'm sorry, Your Maj-", the guard stopped talking as Mark glared at him. "I told you... You could lose your head if you call me that... Only refer to me as Mark. Do not say that again... You all have no choice than to listen to that maniac's demands...", whispered the man. I questioned why the guard was referring to Mark as royalty, I began to think he was perhaps a descendent of one of the four kingdoms that Victor was using as leverage during the war that was currently unfolding during this time.

The next morning I could see the lushness of the trees of the magical forest, Techno gasped and whispered at Mark. He began to tell him that if they ever escaped, they could build a cabin in that forest and live off nature. Mark smiled, it wasn't a vague smile that he always wore. That smile that I saw was a genuine smile that had blossomed due to the innocent and kind words of my husband as a child. Before Mark could answer Techno, the carriage stopped and the King got out, his lackeys all laughed as they joined him. "Sire, if that child really is a witch then we have no reason to fear her!", laughed one of the men. The men all nodded and one of them rubbed his hands. "You could even keep her for your personal use.", smirked the man.

The Witch is a child... I was the Witch they were after...

I saw how Mark, who was next to Techno, tense up before his eyes had a mixture of anger and disgust. The guards were also disgusted by the King's glee of getting his hands on a small Witch. "It's for the best, I'll bend her at my will.", laughed Victor. He turned to look at Techno and a wicked smirk was plastered on his face. "Those peasants won't let anyone in and we can't attack them, the rage of the Gods will descend upon us. I'm sure they'll let an injured brat in...", he sneered. He walked over and grabbed Tecnho by the hair, Mark lunged at the King and shouted as the ropes restrained him. The King smirked at Mark and untied Techno, he dragged him away towards the entrance of the forest. I felt my heart stop as Victor reached for his sword, his lackey all began to laugh as Victor unsheathed it. Much to everyone's surprise, Mark attacked Victor and tried to take Techno away from him. "GUARDS! DETAIN THIS MAN!", roared Victor as his lackeys managed to pry Mark off him.

Mark shouted as the other soldiers pinned him to the ground. Techno growled and punched at the King as he grabbed him once again. "Oh Mark, you thought I didn't know you would try to save your son by hiding your identity?", laughed the King. I felt time stop, not only for me but for Techno as well as his gaze looked over at Mark. The man looked shocked that Victor had said that to the boy. The truth began to reveal itself to me, the Ice Queen of Veri and the man that was my butler had been love and from that, my husband was born. Everything made sense now, the reason why Victor went mad and killed his twin sister. The reason why the guards respected Mark and Techno even though they were both dressed as commoners. Yet, the most important thing that made everything make sense was why Mark did anything possible to protect Techno from the Tyrant. My attention went back to the events that were unfolding when Victor spoke again. "To think my sister slept with her underling to create such a weak child sickens me...", spat the Tyrant as he gripped his sword. Techno was in so much shock that Mark's words didn't make a sound in his ears.

The tearing of flesh and the blood spraying everywhere made Techno react. Mark shouted at the King to stop as he continued to injure the boy. "Run, boy. Unless you want the head of good ol' Mark rolling in the dirt.", sneered the King before he slashed at Techno's face. It was a nightmare, the bloody scene before me was a nightmare that I didn't wish to see anymore. Techno was greatly injured before Victor threw him into the forest, the boy looked back, focusing on Mark. That man that had protected him had resulted to be his father, someone that Techno most likely thought had abandoned him. It wasn't clear to me what had happened after the assassination of the Queen but I me ntally noted that it was something that I needed to speak about with Mark after I saw what I needed to see. Techno began to run into the forest the best he could when the symbols around Mark's neck started to glow and the man screamed in pain as the curse started to cut his neck.

Techno ran, not knowing where he was going; all that was probably going through his mind was that he needed to get help. An arrow pierced into his shoulder but he kept going. I looked back to see one of the men that served Victor raise his bow and try to hit the boy once again. He missed and laughed as the men began to chase Techno deeper into the woods. They stopped as the boy disappeared from their sight. What they didn't know was that Techno had crossed a barrier that my village had placed to hide us from foreigners. I ran to find Techno passed out on the outskirts of our village, he was carried away by one of the villagers and taken to my parents' tent. My throat began to close as I saw my mother enter and begin to fix him up, healing him to the best of her capacities.

When Techno opened his good eye, my mother smiled warmly and began to reassure him that he was safe. It took the boy a moment before he jolted up and cried in pain, my mother frowned and told him that he needed to lay down. Since my mother didn't possess a great amount of magic, she couldn't heal him that well. "N-No, you aren't safe... Please listen... The King of Veri is coming here for your Witch!", shouted Techno, sitting up more and looking around. My father entered and frowned at the commotion. My parents began to call the people for battle, telling them that there was potential danger coming towards the village. "-she's most likely with her Masters...", whispered my mother. My father nodded and reassured her that everything would be okay.

I was safely tucked away in the forest while my village was attacked by Victor...

"No matter what happens, if things get bad, run and don't turn back kiddo.", smiled my father. Techno got up with my mother's help and they headed towards the entrance of the tent. "Stay here, love... Something isn't right...", she whispered. A sudden pour of rain resonated on the tent; Techno looked at my mother and she frowned. "Listen... I want you to take this and run...", she said, handing him the sword she always used. The sudden screaming of people made them look outside to see the Tyrant and his lackeys killing the villagers.

"HAND OVER THE WITCH AND THE BOY AND NO ONE ELSE DIES!", laughed Victor. Techno had the urge to run out so the massacre would end but my mother stopped him. "Listen, get out of here now...", she whispered, giving Techno a reassuring smile. He didn't have the heart to protest; she walked out and demanded that the Tyrant leave. "Insolent peasants!!!", shouted one of the men. Victor's sword was raised as he aim for my mother, the blood sprayed everywhere as my father blocked the attack. "Shey! Get the village evacuated! Get the boy out of here!!", shouted my father. He grunted as he tried his best to block the way into the village. Everything happened so quickly, my mother gave the order yet arrows poured down on the villagers.

My people...

Techno ran and took hold of my mothers wrist and began to guide her away from Victor. They both froze as my father's body was thrown in their direction, he was dead and full of wounds. "Tristen!!!", cried my mother. She growled as turned around to attack the men with a spell that threw them into a tree. She kept attacking but the men still overpowered her, Techno took her hand and dragged her into the forest. They both looked exhausted, Techno because of his wounds, and my mother due to the fact that she used all of her magic to attack Victor's men.

A horrifying cackle was heard, it was one of the lackeys. His aim was on Techno, everything was hurting and he knew he was going to get hit. "Watch out!", shouted my mother, pushing him away. Techno watched in horror as the man cut my mothers chest open. She had sacrificed herself for him, her face showed no regret as she looked at him on last time. She only whispered a quiet 'Go...' before Techno ran away from them. Techno was hyperventilating as the wounds started to open, the blood of my mother was on his clothes. He was now in a clearing, looking at the grey clouds that roared with thunder and flashed with lightning. "Everyone's dead because of me... Mother... Father... Those villagers...", sobbed Techno.

No... No Techno! It wasn't you! Please...

My focus returned as I saw a small figure begin to drag Techno out of the rain; her labored breath was noticeable after dragging him. A small girl started to clean his wounds and reassured him that he was okay.

I see... We had met before Triox...

I watched as my younger self smiled at Techno before he passed out. When he came back to his senses, I was gone yet he noted that he was fully healed. The red cloak I used to cover him that night was carefully wrapped around his shoulders as he got up. Techno began to run towards the place he last saw my mother and all he found was the sword she had given him before they ran. He carefully picked it up before he hugged it close.

"I'm sorry for causing your death..."

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