Chapter 3: Chapter – 3: The Beginning

Tim stood in the middle of an enormous field, surrounded by greenery with tall trees and grass. Beneath the deep blue sky, the rays of setting sun shone upon the clouds, giving them a look of a golden chandelier.

A truly beautiful scenery to behold, yet Tim remained there motionless, unable to savor any of the beauty. His face was devoid of any emotions, eyes were hollow, mind was empty, heart was empty.

He felt nothing, sensed nothing. No desire, no hatred, no vengeance, no happiness. All his emotions had died as soon as he opened his eyes to see the scenery before him.

"Is this the end?" He mumbled, extending his hand towards the endless horizon.

"No."

Tim's focus shifted behind him, towards the voice. And there stood a thirteen-year-old Tim with a face full of emotions. He was smiling, holding a small stick in his hand.

Tim opened and closed his mouth as millions of questions flooded his brain. But before he could ask any, the boy spoke again.

"Are you happy Tim Walker?"

"Am…I…?"

A broken smile appeared on Tim's face as the words echoed in his mind. From the very day when the stars aligned, and he lost everything, he had never been happy. All the perfect talk was a fake persona he created to hide his true self, to protect himself. He knew that all along.

To hide his cries, he laughed, to hide his nightmares he didn't sleep and to get away from this life he tried to kill himself. But that little girl named Rose saved him. She became a new light for Tim.

He lived for her; not for himself. He had already died together with his family long ago. But now she was also gone.

Once again, he was alone, waiting for an end that would never come.

A single droplet of tears escaped Tim's eyes as the memories of the past surged. He had lost his family but had found a new one where he was at least a little happy, but that too was taken away from him. By the same person who made his life miserable in the first place.

"So, what's your answer?" asked the young Tim again, looking at the never setting sun.

"I want to kill him." Tim gritted his teeth as every lost emotion returned. The feeling of helplessness, the feeling of hatred, the feeling of vengeance. Everything returned.

"Can you?" Mocked the boy. "Are you capable enough to do that?"

"Yes… Yes, I can… I will kill him. No matter the cost."

"No. You cannot. You are that Tim who couldn't even protect himself. Let alone avenge his loved ones." Said the boy in a nonchalant tone, swinging his stick, which glowed yellowish. And soon it transformed into a longsword with strange runes engraved in it.

"I… I…" Doubts shrouded the feeling of revenge, as Tim knew his capabilities. He had money, an awful lot of money, but when needed, it served no purpose. They died before his eyes and he just stood there helplessly.

"I know, Tim. You want nothing but a peaceful life. But you must know that it can't be achieved until you crush the ones, obstructing your path." The boy responded, placing the blade on his shoulder. "You need to burn the world for it to recognize who you are. There is nothing fair here, neither should be you. You need to grab the peace you want; take the revenge you desire. It is never given, neither will it be."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Do whatever you have to. But remember, there is no place for the weak in this world." The boy responded with a wicked grin on his face, lowering the sword and placing it vertically as the tip touched the ground. "If you cannot bend the heavens, then raise the hell."

The deadpan look on Tim's face returned as he spoke in an emotionless tone. "I will kill everyone who stands in my way."

"There is no salvation until he who broke you meets the end."

"Yes."

"Now, wake up."

The young Tim pressed his sword onto the earth, and the very reality broke apart. The ground shuddered violently as the sky shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving nothing except the rapidly approaching light.

***

Tim's eyes slowly opened as the warm rays of the morning sun fell upon his face. He could hear the chirps of birds, feel the icy breeze coming from the side, but couldn't quite make out what he was seeing.

Soon, his blurry vision returned to normal as he looked at the massive canopy above him. Tim tried to rise from the bed, but on the first try, it seemed impossible. But after trying a couple of times, he got up.

His head felt heavy as his vision blurred again. Tim slowly shook his head for a moment, trying to get his view in order, and it worked. Still, the headache remained.

"Where am I…?" Tim muttered while scanning his surroundings, which looked like some royal household. The room was enormous but elegantly simple in furnishing. While the furniture comprised an enormous couch, a tea table, the bed where he was right now and a dresser, each handcrafted out of wood by seasoned craftsmen.

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Observing the room, Tim's eyes fell on his own hands and chest area, which were too smooth and pale compared to what he was used to seeing.

"What the-… wait… this is not my voice." His tone was too young compared to an old man like him. He touched his face, neck, hair, and it all felt totally different. Just what was going on with him?

Tim frantically got out of the bed and tried to find a mirror but couldn't. He was only able to take one step before falling on the hard marble floor with a thud, hitting head first.

Within seconds, the prickling sensation increased throughout his body. Every part of himself felt weird, as he forced himself to get up. And after some rounds of limping, he was able to walk.

Tim went up to the dresser where a large mirror was tucked in, and upon a glance, he was more surprised and confused than he could ever be.

Black hair, black eyes, pale white skin, and a handsome face with a well-built body. Except the hair, nothing matched Tim's previous appearance at all. He touched his face, his ears, nose everywhere, and his reflection also did the same. Indeed, it was him, but not him.

"Is it some kind of 3D simulation or what?"

Tim moved away from the mirror towards the closet. Opening it, he found some extravagant clothes, amongst which he recognized nothing.

Next unlocked the glass door, which led him to a balcony from where a vast, well-maintained garden was visible. It was so good looking that at first sight Tim thought it was a picture, but soon saw leaves blowing in the air.

Closing the door, he walked towards another gate inside the room, which was a bathroom. An overly luxurious bathroom with many things he had never seen before. Like that too curvy golden tap over the too large sink or the too big bathtub made of beautiful ceramic metal. From the window a beautiful scenery was visible, but Tim didn't pay any mind to that.

All of these seemed like some sort of deception carefully designed by Charles to get him under control. And that was more than enough to push his already messed up brain to the verge of collapse.

Tim was already getting overwhelmed by the built-up rage and hatred. His decisions were not rational anymore, and soon his actions became more brazen.

With an overly annoyed expression on his face, Tim walked a couple of times inside the room, trying to piece everything together, but the only thing that came to mind was the bloodied face of Rose lying on the burning floor.

And that was enough for him to lose the least amount of reasoning he had.

"Aaaaa…." Tim grabbed the tea table and smashed into the ground. Pieces of wood flew everywhere as the breaking noise rang through the room. But he didn't stop there.

Next, he lifted the entire couch with bare hands and flung it to the other side of the room, where it hit the wall and broke into pieces. Then he moved towards the enormous bed and half- lifted it up off the ground before throwing it to the side.

The bed didn't break into pieces, but the impact was enough to shake the entire room as if an earthquake hit it. Tim neither knew nor cared about how he was doing all this, but certainly it was twisting his mind even more.

His anger didn't go down even in the slightest and he moved towards the dresser, but before he could throw it, the door to the room was hung open and a woman, probably in her mid-thirties, wearing a maid dress, entered.

"Milord, what are you doing?" yelled the lady, looking at the situation in the room and moving closer to Tim, but stopped once she saw his face.

Tim walked towards her and stood right before her face. She was a little short as he looked down into her eyes.

"L… Lord…" She shuddered as her eyes widened with fear seeing the terrifying expression of Tim, up close.

Tim tilted his head slightly to the right, asking what mattered the most. "Where is he?"

"Who… are you talking about?" answered the maid, taking a couple of steps to the back, but Tim followed her without breaking eye contact.

"You really don't know, huh?" Tim mumbled as he slowly caressed her cheek before suddenly gripping her throat and lifting off the ground.

His grasp was so tight that she couldn't mumble anything, and within seconds, she was choking.

"Where the fuck is Charles?" Tim's eyes glowed golden as he roared, clutching her throat even more. For him, it all looked like an act, and she was involved in this. And his hatred towards Charles had crossed every bound. He would kill everyone who stood in his way, and that was a promise.

"Leon… you are… hurting… me," muttered the lady, mustering every ounce of courage she had left.

Hearing the word Leon, something snapped inside Tim as his headache rose to its peak. It felt like his brain would literally burst apart.

In the next instant, Tim let her go as he screamed in pain, clutching his forehead. She fell on the floor and he stirred away.

Blaring in agony, Tim hit himself on the head multiple times like a madman, to control the pain, but there was no sign of any relief.

As the pain went past the bearable limit, Tim pounded his own head, screaming on top of his lungs, but there was no sigh of relief. The pain didn't subside but increased until he saw his world spiral. Soon his head felt lighter as he fell backwards onto the floor, having no control over his body.

Tim lay on the floor with eyes wide open, witnessing the woman approaching him with teary eyes. He couldn't quite make out what she said as his senses faded into nothingness.