Chapter 19: Back then…

There was a time when I could do things normally and some would say not be an asshole. I was quite some time ago. I would say when I was 11 or 10. Man has it already been 10 years since that incident. My family lived in a pretty secluded place and would only ever go into town to buy food and other things. My brothers said that Mom and Dad had to build everything from scratch while they watched since they were too young to do anything. I always wondered why we lived so far from people, but I would only get vague answers from Mom and Dad. I was going to the store with my 2 brothers and sister. I was the youngest and only semi-related to them. Miguel being the oldest, after Johnny, and the second youngest Teresa.Their mother died, after which our father met my mom and I was conceived. I got along well with everyone and soon it was like we were all related by blood. They all treated me the same as if I was completely related to them. On the way to the store I saw a strange man who I felt was glaring at us. I glanced at him and on the way back there was a big crevice which couldn't be jumped over. Miguel had always carried rope on him after he fell down a well and had to wait multiple hours for rope to arrive to get him out. He always told us, "You never know what'll happen." I didn't always understand the life lessons he tried to teach us, but I respected him. Johnny would constantly play pranks on me while Tere would be the one to shut us both up. Johnny was sort of scared of her after she punched the shit out of him. Miguel grabbed rocks and tried his best to make a way across the crevice and against all odds, as well as some help from us, it actually worked surprisingly. Once we made it across our home was only about 5 minutes away. I started smelling smoke and so did the other 3. We saw our whole house on fire and next thing I knew I was in the burning house. My siblings weren't anywhere to be seen. The strange man I saw was there with blood all over him. My mother and stepfather were burned from what I could tell when looking around with a few stab wounds. 

     "Your mother was special, and so was your father. Your father was once an incredibly powerful swordsman who could rival almost anyone. Your mother was from a special bloodline who could enhance their proficiency and power with their specialized weapons. The eyes could also allow them to copy skills by either getting hit by it or by analyzing the skill and what it does to replicate it. The replication is only possible if your stats are high enough, but if not you'll start bleeding from the eyes and blindness is possible if overused this way. The skills would just be copies so they wouldn't be as strong as the original alone, but with buffs it would so it kinda evens out. The eyes would change the colors of the pupils and sclera. It would make her sclera purple while changing her pupils to red in the shape of a spear. Who knows if you will be able to awaken the weapon eyes, but I now have them and thanks to a couple inventions by a certain inventor I can replace my eyes for these. Your mother was the easiest to kill from that bloodline as she left the sacred village which gave her protection for stupid love. I might have died if your father was in his prime or not caught off guard, but I'll let you live because you're too pathetic to kill." The man left in an instant while I cried in the burning house for a bit after which I escaped from the house. I vowed that day that I would get stronger and kill that bastard. I spent the years before I found him training in what my father taught me. He would pretty much teach me basic moves along with some advanced techniques, but never taught me his swordsmanship style. All I could think about in that time before I found him was how merciless I would be. I wanted to make him suffer 1 million times what my family did that day. Once I finally found that bastard after a few years, he robbed me of the satisfaction, before I could kill him and take my mother's eyes back, he self-destructed leaving no trace of my mother's eyes. I had just lost one of the only things that kept my family alive, but now I find out my sister is alive and in the same moment I kill her. I got my revenge, but I knew that the person I was before was no longer who I was now and I didn't care. The day that bastard died I made a new vow which was to become so strong no one would dare try something like that again. I would become the strongest no matter what. Love was what got my family killed and I didn't want any part of it. Although I tried my best to get my mother's bloodline ability I never could and I didn't know why. I wanted to be closer to my family so I would carry the rope my brother used and made a red and black cloak with materials that were from my family's clothes which were the same. I upgraded it to the best defensive piece of equipment with as many defensive abilities as I could. I lived my life without knowing that I still had a living family member. I wish that I had known because maybe things would have turned out differently. I always thought to go to the village that the asshole talked about, but no one could tell me where they were. There were always conflicting directions and I was never able to find it. Was there any point to life anymore? My family was gone, I had no friends, and I could no longer create bonds without thinking the worst in my head. I had some people who I cherished and who I needed to protect no matter what. I couldn't let this incident bring me down right? All I can do now is move forward protecting everything I had left.