Go out
Lock moved down the stairs. He came out of the terrace on the second floor and found no one. From somewhere, he heard the playful giggles and voices of the kids.
"I can't stay in this place anymore." He mumbled.
He closed his eyes and could still hear the voices of the kids. His heart and mind felt conflicted, and he didn't know why, but he walked towards the edge of the terrace and peeked at the kids playing.
His eyes were so sad as he watched them.
"If I can remember them right, that red boy is Kinde. That pretty young girl is Venus. That blonde boy is Ash…" Lock gulped in frustration. With that, he spent twenty minutes watching them playing, get tired, exhausted, and finally took a break.
'How could I be heartless? I obviously can't just leave…' he thought, but he knew that hesitation still lives deep in his consciousness.
By the time he knew it, he was blankly staring at the kids and all of them were looking at him.
"Oi! Good morning!"
"It's a good afternoon!"
"OOH! He finally awakened!"
"Stupid, do you think he's really sleeping?"
A blonde boy and crimson haired boy quarreled against each other.
Lock really did not know what to do. He just blankly stared at the scenery and found that a few of them were actually waving at them with wide smiles. Finding it necessary, he smiled and waved back.
As he felt the air brushed through his pale skin, he thought of several things.
It was then.
He thought that he actually didn't belong anywhere anymore. Was he still the Third Prince Harold of the Kingdom of Lethora? He was not. Then was the orphan Lock Axe of the Borderlands? He was also not.
"Then who am I?" he asked. Unfortunately, no one could answer him. Who would answer him to begin with? Should he confess that he actually killed Lock and took his body for himself?
"Maybe that's for the better…" He said.
But deep in his heart, he actually felt more scared than he would be hated. If he told them the truth, he was very scared and fearful he would be hated. Perhaps, because he knew he got nowhere to go, he was hoping to cling on to what was only remaining for him. Even if it was not his.
At that moment of realization, Lock's eyes became so sad and lifeless. This situation he was forced into was too much to bear mentally for the original 10-year-old prince.
He glared at the sky, and his eyes were moist. He thought that if there was a God, how could he make this happen to him? He basically had no one to turn to. In this place, he was completely alone. More alone than when he was in the royal palace. Back there, there was simply nothing for him, too. His concubine mother died right after she gave birth to him and his King father was simply no father. As for his uncles and aunties, all they cared about was leeching off his status.
"I'm really unlucky," Lock mumbled sadly and weakly smiled.
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Two days passed. Lock decided not to leave the orphanage. But he just felt more and more guilty he was doing so.
For him, the two days went as painful as possible. Lock shut himself up in his room crying at night and mornings, but he did so in a manner that her sobs were not heard by anyone. From time to time, Aunt Hilda and Owen would talk to him about what was going on and that they never hated him.
The kids too always visited and would play in the room. Lock just let them be and couldn't help but smile from time to time. Perhaps, because they were only kids and they were all just a little younger to him, he felt a little at ease.
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Lock was curled up in his bed with shallow eyes that seemed completely devoid of life. He thought of committing suicide, but his rationality always stopped him from even trying. No matter what, suicide was a cowardice act. It was obviously wrong too if he just killed himself when he was only in someone's body that he had had stolen.
Lock contemplated a lot. What was he waiting for, exactly? He would never approve of suicide but he also refuses to live, so what has been keeping him? This question might be unclear to him, but he knew the answer… somewhat.
"I'm really shameless…" he gritted his teeth. In his heart, he knew he still wanted to live, but cannot find any excuse to do so. Lock didn't know, but he mindlessly glanced around the room. He then saw the wall and something just erupted in him.
Buog!
He punched it so hard that his fist bled. He felt the pain but did not showed any expression, he just lowered his gaze and sobbed.
'I should go out.' He then thought.
Clenching his jaw, he walked outside the room and went to the second floor terrace. He saw that nobody was around who can see what he was about to do.
Finally, he jumped from the iron railings.
He unexpectedly landed to a safe platform. It was clear he was attempting to sneak out unnoticed. He narrowed his eyes ahead and saw the branch of a tree in the way straight. He sprinted forward and jumped with control, grabbing the branch and controlling his equilibrium as he landed to the ground outside the orphanage.
Splash.
Unfortunately, there was a puddle of water in the area he landed.
"Oh, sorry, dude." A boy with a shaven head apologized.
Lock stared at the boy, who was casting water splashes, but turned away quickly. It seemed like a boy was practicing his magic.
"Sorry, big bro!" he bowed.
Lock ignored him and the water on his feet. Instead, he turned his attention to the people walking in the streets and then slowly stared at the sky. The sun was currently hiding behind the clouds, so the surroundings were not sunny at all. If anything, it was gloomy and dark. It looked like a storm was coming.
Not minding anything. He clenched his jaw and suddenly sprinted.
Pant, pant.
He continued running past everyone in the streets, not minding anyone who knew him or called him out for some reason.
"Oi, isn't that Lock?" a slender, pretty girl said.
"Must be. Tsk, Tsk. he's as rude as ever," a fatty boy with a red bandana said as he munched to a barbecue they bought in the nearby food stand.
"He must have been in a hurry." A blonde boy with a sharp-looking gaze explained as he keenly watched Lock from the distance.
"He's always getting into trouble." The fatty said, and then shouted to Lock running away, "OI! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"
Lock did not care about anything. He just wanted to be left alone. Before he knew where his feet were taking him, he finally slowed down out of exhaustion and stopped at a little stone bridge to rest his lungs.
Pant, pant.
The river under was so tranquil he felt a little calmer. At this moment, his position was in the East district of Sentri and it was near the gates, out of the entire place. Indeed, he already ran too much as the Orphanage was located in the North District.
Phew, phew.
He was catching his breathing as he mindlessly placed his hand on the stone bridge while observing the water in motion. He noticed two carps playing gleefully and smiled, but then they disappeared, no, startled by something.
Laughs, laughs.
Lock's face darkened, and he glared at the people who threw the stone at the fishes. A group of three boys were laughing at him.
'System. Scan the targets, and determine the most efficient method of killing.'