Liam Mason

A glass bottle. This was the object Hans Mason used to unleash his anguish on his own son, Liam. For his part, Liam remained silent.

Everyone stayed.

The neighbors, who loved Liam, his smile and the way the child acted, fell silent.

Hans' colleagues sometimes tried to intervene by hiding Liam, but the boy was always left in the lurch at the end of the day.

Then everyone fell silent.

From local authorities to villagers, no one was putting their hand in the fire. After all, who would be crazy enough to raise their hand against a colonel"general to protect a Le Fay?

In Egon, the largest empire on the continent, many years ago there was a woman accused of witchcraft. Acting as a false prophet, 'Morgana Le Fay' suddenly disappeared, leaving only traces of her existence in her descendants.

Everyone who carries the surname Le Fay is judged like their ancestor, regardless of their actions. These children were soon excluded, having almost no rights in society. Except for the nobility, of course.

But what led Hans to behave this way? After all, until Liam was four years old, the relationship between father and son could be summed up as; 'a perfect relationship'.

Everything changed when Liam was four years old. One summer morning, he received the news that he was going to have a little brother or sister.

The child's eyes shone like the sun that morning. He even developed anxiety about the long wait, which almost didn't pass.

When the 'perfect day' finally arrived, the lives of the two men in the family took a turn for the worse. Mavie Müller, Liam's mother, died suddenly during childbirth.

At the time, young Liam couldn't fully understand what had just happened; he just watched his mother from behind a glass window.

As for the child, she was a little girl who lived long enough to get the last smile out of Liam. The two brothers came face to face, but just a few minutes later, the little girl passed away too.

Like a four "year" old child, he didn't understand what had just happened.

It was obvious to Hans.

Liam carried the Le Fay blood, which is why his wife and daughter died. Liam was cursed. He blamed the boy for something he didn't even know about.

Hans forced Liam to train like a military man, throwing away his entire childhood and adolescence to do 'something good'.

Until he was fourteen, Liam was beaten daily by Hans, who used a glass bottle to cut his son's face. He learned to swallow his tears and keep to himself, not talking to anyone more than necessary.

Hans subjected his own son to a 'mental reprogramming' program, where he would be brainwashed.

Liam had no right to choose. His mind, knowledge, thoughts, everything was blank. A blank sheet of paper ready to be rewritten at the army's whim. At sixteen, he was forced to sign up to become a soldier.

It was during this period that he began to show himself capable as a soldier and was quickly assigned as lieutenant of the third squadron. This title he held for three years, until the day Emperor Egon visited Liam's camp.

The emperor's carriage caused a circle of soldiers to gather around it, surrounding him and gloating.

The emperor's two older sisters stood next to him, looking only at the most beautiful men and winking at those who caught their eye. Until they both looked at Liam: he was tall with straight, long, blond hair. His blue eyes stood out against his white skin and the scars on his face gave him a more mature appearance.

"Hey, look at that one. If I didn't have so many scars, I think I'd go for it."

"They must be battle scars... Maybe I want him."

His sisters had been talking about the soldiers' appearances for several minutes, so the emperor got bored.

He closed his eyes and clicked his tongue, preparing to oppress them, but for some reason, Kaiser Egon looked at Liam. His eyes widened when they met the grimacing soldier. The two weren't that different in age. Kaiser was only three years older, and had just inherited the throne from a recently deceased father.

Because he was noble, he was revered. Because he came from a victorious lineage, he was treated as a hero even though he had never achieved any of these feats. Kaiser was the opposite of Liam. While one suffered, killed and was traumatized to reach that step, Kaiser had always been there. Without any wounds or scars, both in body and soul.

The Emperor jumped out of his carriage and stopped in front of Liam. Ignoring the squadron captain, and also the colonel"general, Hans Mason, the emperor ordered the lieutenant:

"You, introduce yourself."

As Liam was looking at the floor, it took him a few seconds to answer. But when Hans nudged him back to reality, Liam replied:

"Liam Mason Le Fay, lieutenant of the third squadron."

"Your age and ethnicity."

"Nineteen, Egorian."

"Nineteen?" one of the sisters whispered, her cheeks flushed.

Kaiser pulled Hans aside, trying to talk alone.

"You know what that means, right?" said James, the sub-lieutenant of Liam's squad.

Like his lieutenant, James was a Le Fay. Unfortunately, he had the same experience as Liam. It brought them closer together, even though they were distantly related to the witch Morgana.

"No," whispered Liam.

James threw his arm over Liam's shoulder.

"You see, we are cursed because we simply haven't inherited anything from anyone. Nobility, on the other hand, has some hereditary characteristic…"

"I know, you idiot."

"Let me be expository!" James scratched his throat. " They say that the characteristic of the Egon family is the eyes. The former emperor could detect his connection to Morgana, that's how he chose his closest soldiers. As for Kaiser...

The sub"lieutenant eyed the Emperor's sisters and the Kaiser himself, trying to put more distance between them.

"You can see the flow of mental energy that resides in each of us. Something beyond what the physical world can deliver. The brighter you are, the easier it is to die in combat. However, the darker your Weltna, the more powerful you are. This is impacted by the mindset and strength of the individual."

"What must that mean for me?"

"Kid, look at your life. You've killed several of Mikoto's lieutenants and won unimaginable duels within Egon. You witnessed the massacre of Xianzhu. How do you think your Weltna will be for the emperor?"

The void.

In Egon's eyes, Liam was covered in a line of black energy. A stain, to be more specific. That was what caused the emperor so much admiration.

"Colonel," said the Emperor, looking at Liam with a smile on his face. "Your lieutenant, from today, will serve me. Perhaps he'll become a general in a few years."

'Yes, I've become...' Liam thought briefly. 'The strongest of them, but in exchange for... what?'

In fact, it had become. He had become something so great that it had been proclaimed 'absolute'. The first and only man to be divinized in Egon.

Killer of colossi. Savior of Zhuang. The legitimate son of the universe.

For Liam, they never stopped being just terms. After all, that's what they were. Nicknames wouldn't relive the deaths caused, nor would they take away the non"existent regret.

If you stop attacking, you're dead. This was the motto that Liam carried on his shoulders. And this was the reason for his sudden death.

Her eyes were heavy, her stomach was bleeding and an immeasurable chill enveloped her. Everything around her was filled with a deafening silence.

The memory of every battle and every death he had caused fell like rain into Liam's eyes. The crimson glow of the blood moon had turned into the blood he had spilled.

On his deathbed, Liam didn't even know who had hurt him like that. He wasn't that surprised that he felt no pain and no fear of death, because it was something that Liam begged for every day.

'Liam Mason Le Fay...' whispered a hoarse, imposing voice.

An icy mist gripped him, touching his almost exposed insides.

As on their deathbed, it is natural for people to repent of certain things and have their sins forgiven.

However, incredible as it may seem, Liam doesn't feel that way. He doesn't regret any of the lives he's taken, any of his actions; he doesn't regret anything at all.

"I know you're watching me from above, and you must hate me since you won't let me pay for my sins…" He joked, looking up at the sky. "I hope there's no hell after death, I don't want to live again."

His eyes were heavy again and Liam could let out his last breath in the world, but they remained open, with his last sensation being that his body was being pulled against the ground.

"What a weight…"

The feeling of death was... Ethereal.