Chapter 16: Quinn Edward

Chapter 16: Quinn Edward

The young man's body shook with uncontrollable sobs, his cries echoing off the prison walls. Mark patiently sat beside him, offering words of comfort and reassurance. It took over ten minutes to calm him down, but eventually, the young man's tears subsided, replaced by a deep exhaustion.

Mark took a deep breath and began to tell his own story. "I lost my parents when I was just a kid," he said, his voice laced with a mix of sadness and nostalgia. "I was all alone, and it made me an easy target for bullies. They would constantly pick on me, and I felt like I had no one to turn to."

The young man listened intently, his eyes fixed on Mark's face. Mark continued, "I was brought to Central Gate by the military. They promised me a better life, but it's been a struggle ever since."

Mark intentionally left out the part about Alexander and the mysterious silver-purple substance. He wasn't sure how to explain it, and to be honest, he didn't fully understand it himself. But he hoped that by sharing his own story, he could help the young man feel less alone.

As Mark finished speaking, the young man looked up at him with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. For the first time, Mark saw a sense of connection between them, a sense of understanding that went beyond words. And in that moment, Mark knew that he had to help this young man, no matter what it took.

My name is Quinn Edward, I'm the son of the previous queen of this tribe and a fallen angel. It all started twenty years ago on a cold winter, we received a strange visitor in our tribe and this visitor was a man, we don't really know much about him except for the fact that according to my mom he was an adventurer, my mom then was just appointed as the new queen so she's kinda young and too inexperience so she accepted him.

Midnight that same day that man wash not only our tribe the whole dark village was wasted with blood that day, my mom and all the warrior head with their commanders combined could not withstand the terrifying power of the man, so to save our village my mom turn herself in and offered it to the man to spare our village and surprisingly the man accepted and that was how this tribe was save.

a few months later my mom was pregnant and after two years she gave birth to me. that same day she gave birth to me all the crops and livestock we have in this village died, the darkness that permitted this place became more than a hundred times worse and no one could see, because of that a lot of people died of hunger and some by accident from this village, then a prophecy started moving around that I'm a cursed child and once I'm been sacrificed to korvus everything would go back to normal.

But when my mom heard about it she took me and ran away from this tribe into the vast expanse of the mountain were I grew up, everything was going well with us there.

The memories seemed to flood back, and Quinn's voice cracked with emotion as he continued. "Well, that was until twelve years ago... my mom and I were captured by a hunting team in the Netherworld Pit. My mom tried to defend and protect me, but it was no use. The hunting team was too strong, and their leader... I later found out he was the head warrior of the tribe."

Quinn's eyes flashed with anger and helplessness. "We were captured and brought back to the tribe. The elders and that hypocritical grandfather of mine that called himself a priest... they said I couldn't be saved, that I was cursed, and that anywhere I went, all the people I interacted with would experience bad luck. I didn't understand what they meant back then. All I wanted was to be with my mom."

Quinn's voice broke, and he paused, collecting his thoughts. "But... nothing good comes out in life, right? The priest ordered my mom to be used as a sacrifice, to appease the gods and save the tribe from the supposed danger I posed. Though I was just a kid... I didn't know what was happening, but I knew I couldn't save her."

The pain in Quinn's eyes was palpable, and Mark could feel his heart heavy with sorrow. He reached out, placing a hand on Quinn's shoulder, offering what little comfort he could. "I'm so sorry, Quinn. No one deserves to go through that."

That night, she was to be sacrificed... this is the prison she was brought to," Quinn said, his voice cracking as he gestured to the cold, dark cell around them. "This place, where I'm sitting, is where she was chained."

Quinn broke into tears, his body shaking with sobs. "I want to save her that badly, even though I was just a kid back then... but nothing... I could do absolutely nothing to save her."

As he cried, Quinn's hand instinctively went to the necklace around his neck. He clutched it tightly, as if it were a lifeline to his mother. "She gave me this... she told me it's called Bio-chemical Beast. It's hers, she extracted it from within her and gave it to me."

Quinn's eyes welled up with tears as he remembered the moment. "When I looked into her eyes, I saw the tears streaming down her face... then she told me to run away from here. She said I should run, no matter what happens, I should never come back."

The memory seemed to overwhelm Quinn, and he buried his face in his hands, overcome with grief. Mark sat beside him, offering a silent presence, as Quinn mourned the loss of his mother and the pain of his past.

Then, two warriors came in and started dragging her away," Quinn recalled, his voice trembling. "I ran to them, calling them uncles, begging them to let go of my mom, but one of them turned to me, raised me up with one hand, and threw me away."

Quinn's eyes welled up with tears again as he relived the traumatic moment. "They dragged my mom away, and I ran after them, but... but I was too late."

He took a deep breath, composing himself before continuing. "I appeared in a spacious room, and in the middle was an altar. My mom was chained to it, surrounded by the elders and the priest of each tribes. Then, the my grandfather raised up his staff, and they all started singing and worshiping the gods in a weird language."

Quinn's voice cracked as he struggled to hold back tears. "After a short prayer, the priest... the priest raised his staff up, and when he brought it down... my mom was set ablaze."

Quinn burst into tears again, his body shaking with sobs. "She writhed, cried, and begged, but there was no response. Instead, they were all cheering, laughing, and dancing while my mom was being roasted alive."

The horror of that moment seemed to overwhelm Quinn, and he buried his face in his hands, overcome with grief. Mark sat beside him, offering a silent presence, as Quinn mourned the brutal loss of his mother.

As I watched my mom being burnt to death, I wanted to run and help her, but I was held back by one of the warriors," Quinn recalled, his voice shaking with emotion. "I cried and hit him, begging him to let me go and meet my mom, but he was unyielding. He squeezed me tight in his hands while I cried."

Quinn's eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in the horror of that moment. "That was when everything changed. As I watched my mom being consumed by the flames and I couldn't hear her voice anymore, something within me clicked. I lost my consciousness, and I didn't know what happened after that."

Quinn's voice trailed off, and he paused, collecting his thoughts. "When I woke up, I found myself here. At first, I thought I was dreaming, so I started calling for my mom. But when my hand touched the necklace around my neck, I realized it wasn't a dream. My mom is dead and gone."

Quinn's expression turned haunted. "I went outside and saw many dead bodies, both kids and adults. Even the warrior who held me the previous night had his head sliced in two. I was filled with terror. Then someone spotted me and pointed at me, calling me a monster. Before I knew it, I was brought here, badly injured, not knowing what I'd done wrong."

Quinn's eyes dropped, and his voice barely above a whisper. "But deep down, I feel like I'm the one who might have killed all those people. I don't know why, but that's what I thought. I became scared because once in a while, I go crazy and become violent. I don't know what's happening to me."