Sid was tall, thin, and fair skinned. Dirt covered his body from head to toe from days without proper bathing. Born on the streets by beggars and orphaned young when they died, he had no one close. So, on his own, he did whatever he could to survive, even if that means breaking the law, whatever laws he knew. When young, stealing seemed pitiful. It was easily forgiven. Now, at the age of 18, there were consequences. He was flogged, jailed, and publicly humiliated. But no matter the consequences, he had to continue in order to survive.

One day, while he was being beaten within the alleys, hurdled in a ball with his arms covering his head, his eyes caught a glimpse of a flock of doves out on the daylit street. They were white and small. They hopped around pecking at the bits of food on the ground. Then, three children rampaged through the flock. The birds flutter their wings, jumping toward the sky, only to land a meter or two away. As the children continued to chase the birds, the birds tried their best to collect their meals while avoiding them. The children laughed. The doves cooed. After a while, one of the children, a girl in red, picked up a rock and hurled it at an unsuspecting dove. Bullseye. All the birds retreated while her target squirm to flee. The girl skipped her way to the dove, grabbed it by its wings, and smiled, saying that she'd make her father proud.

When everyone left, Sid stayed on the ground, exhausted from pain. Just as he fell asleep, he heard the doves take off.

He woke in a bed. His eyebrows furrowed at the sight of a ceiling above him. He tried to remember what had happened. Nothing comes to mind. A feeling of uneasiness began to grow within his stomach. He pivoted his head to survey the room. There was not much, simply the bed, a window with white flowy curtains on his right, a light brown table with an ovular mirror on the left, and the door on the opposite end of the room. Light peered through the chink of the curtains and warmed his legs. A feeling he is not too familiar with.

He slid out of bed. The smooth floor felt foreign beneath his feet. He brushed his fingers down the backside of his ear. His fingers stopped to appreciate his smooth hair. It was washed. And so was his body in a new change of clothes.

The girl in red knocked once before opening the door. She called for her father, notifying him that their guest was awake. Soon enough, Sid was introduced inside a noble's home. The girl was Julet. Her father was Ignis. The mother had passed early in life.

Sid was welcomed to stay for as long as he needed. He lived with them for years. Julet begged for him to stay. She was bored year round. Her father allowed it, letting Sid babysit her. That ended earlier than what he wanted.

Julet came to age when her father decided to wed her to someone else. And when she left, Sid stayed behind. Ignis continued to let Sid live in the house. He wanted company.

One day, Ignis decided to visit Oliver, who was his nephew. He believed Oliver's obsession over women caused him to devalue the notions of brotherhood. Sid was invited to assist the experience.

Unfortunately, this evening, Oliver was not in. As Ignis entered the place, he noticed an unsettling silence. People roamed the halls. Some avoided contact with fear written all over their bodies. Others gave challenging glares along with a haughty grunt.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw a person dressed all in black with a mouth covering. He knew such a suspicious person was up to no good. He followed him.

The person entered a room, and after a minute, there was crying and screaming. Another minute passed when the person exited the room with a bloodied handkerchief. Ignis stepped in, inquiring the event that unfolded. Without hesitation, the person shouted for backup. Ignis and Sid were quickly surrounded. As they were occupied, the person escaped.

The backup definitely was not part of the royal guards. They didn't even carry weapons meant to be wielded by them. And they were definitely not going to detain the two.

As the men lunged forward with their blades, Ignis and Sid parried them. Ignis instantaneously knocked one unconscious. Sid kneed another in the stomach. Ignis cut their fight short as he suggested running. He knew the place inside out. He knew the exits and shortcuts. Ignis told Sid the layout of the building as they ran. At the turn of every other corner, they met the infiltrators. They didn't have the leisure to deal with them. A quick knockout or a parry was all the time they had.

The first plan was to exit from the front or back door. That was a flop as the men already barricaded those areas. So, Ignis led Sid to the roof. They had to scale the walls to escape. When they arrived at the top, the enemies were waiting for them. They couldn't retreat since the men were also ascending from behind them.

Ignis told Sid to run to the ledge of the wall. Sid didn't question the plan until he climbed it. Before he could say another word, Ignis pushed him off. Falling, Sid heard Ignis say, "Live." A small droplet touched his face. It was blood. He didn't see anything afterward as he fell through the trees that cushioned him.

Sid woke, oblivious to how much time had passed. When he tried to move, a sharp sting ran up his leg and abdomen. Twigs had peirced his calf and waist. He held his cry while tears ran down his face. Everything was in pain. His body. His mind. The thought of Ignis being alive kept him going. He hid within the woods, recovering and living.

Years passed, and all the news he heard were from random people entering and exiting the city. Somewhere along the time, a new leader was in place. When that happened, the nobles were exiled. Sid watched from the shadows, hoping to get a glimpse of Ignis.

Nothing.

One day, as he was cooking a rabbit, some guards found him and detained him in the royal cell. Faustus visited him that night. He told Sid that anything and everything on the land belonged to him. If Sid was hunting the animals, then Sid was essentially stealing from him. Sid apologized for his ignorance, though he didn't really mean it since that was an unjust logic. Faustus scoffed and told the guards to release Sid in the morning due to the rain. And so, Sid was set free.

Sid moved back into the woods and continued his life. Again, eventually, he was locked up. He got another visit. This time, they mocked one another.

"Are you such a fool not to understand what I had told you?" Faustus exhaled with a tone of disappointment. He rubbed his forehead. "Or are you purposely upsetting me?"

"Are you such a fool to lock yourself inside when you have a vast land to walk?" Sid sneered. "Everyone else seems to, except you."

Faustus raised an eyebrow. He was intrigued by the brash reply. It was different. And so, it was relieving. No one dared to make any remarks, especially snide ones to him. Yet, he couldn’t let it slide. He ordered the guards not to release Sid under any circumstance.

That night, as everyone fell asleep, Sid lock picked his way out of his cuffs and cell.

This uncalled game of cat-and-mouse repeated itself several times over the years.

The second to last time was when Faustus was about to marry a girl. Sid didn't know much of the details since all he heard was possibly just rumors. On the day of the marriage, he ran into the bride. Like how Ignis told him the exits, he did the same to her and her lion.

The last time was when Faustus was not in the mood for their game. Faustus ordered his men to bind Sid's limbs as they all went to a cave. They threw Sid inside the rock prison. As they rolled a boulder over the entrance, Faustus threw in a ring of keys.

"Try escaping from this cell," he scoffed.

The light was cut off. Darkness surrounded Sid. He felt the ground for the keys. He needed to unbind himself first. Moments later, he succeeded. None of the keys actually worked. Lock picking was the only solution.

Next was the entrance. He pushed the boulder. It did not budge. Unbeknownst to him, they also barricaded the outside, wedging the rock in place.

Night passed. Day came.

Faustus returned to free Sid. Despite his annoyance, Sid seemed to be the only person to entertain him. He didn't want to lose whatever relationship they had.

Upon arriving, Faustus saw an aura of magic radiating from the cave. He was confused and surprised. There was no sign of magic yesterday... unless someone or something entered.

He ordered the quick removal of the boulder.

A wretched stench fumed out. Everyone covered their noses. Faustus shoved himself to the front.

Light revealed Sid kneeling. At a closer look, he was dead. There were keys, one each, in his eyes. Blood pooled around him. The last dropped fell.

Faustus was more confused. If Sid was dead, then how was magic pouring out of him. Faustus approached the body. Blood squelched beneath his steps. His finger prodded the corpse on the shoulder. He called for Sid. The aura intensified. Faustus retreated.

Sid's body convulsed. And like a butterfly from its cocoon, a deity ethereally emerged from his back.

He was mostly made of metal. A white button-up covered his torso. And a set of suspenders holding up a pair of black pants with a half kilt made of patchwork. The shirt sleeves and pant legs were rolled up, revealing his limbs. He had no feet. His legs ended in a point. His metallic fingers were thin and long like needles. His face seemed to be the only part of him that was human. Black beady eyes showed little to no emotions. Thin lips blended to his angular jaw with a sharp chin.

"What are you?" Faustus exhaled with astonishment. He couldn't believe his eyes. The emitted aura was blinding.

There was a brief silence.

The being glanced at Faustus. With a grin, he spoke: "Certainly not you."

Faustus eyes scrunched with offense. "Capture him." He commanded.

Despite some hesitation, his men did as told.

The being dash towards. Just before they collided with one another, a door erected from the ground, separating them. Within seconds, the door disappeared, and so was the deity. Everyone was left dumbfounded.

Faustus saw the last trace of magic vanish.

¡¡¡ |□|¡

Hexice eyes shot opened. The yellow diamond radiated a brilliant light. Shivers roused every inch of his body. "What is this divine feeling? It is too much... I can't handle it! Yet...! This is everything I want. Everything that I need. ParaVi! Tell me what is happening!" There was no answer. "ParaVi? Are you there?"

The choir from Pathalias answered instead: "He requested to be disconnected from you for the time being."

Hexice gasped. "The audacity!"

ParaVi glared at his Oculli. He read the bloody message Sid had left on the walls of the cave:

"Liberty is in the mind. When one can no longer think, it is when one is truly trapped. I shall relinquish the cage that is my skull. I will be free once more."