Chapter Text
Lennard Corvin had never liked the ocean. Maybe it had something to do with the creatures that lurked within, but he felt as if there was more to his intense repulsion than just that. The air was always pungent, and reeked of salt. And he didn’t dare think about the roaring sound of the waves as they crashed against the rocky foreshore.
As a child, Lennard--better known amongst his peers as ‘Leo’-- had opted out of any water-related activities, which often resulted in him spending his days alone.
It was his intense fear of the ocean, and of mortality, that made him realise that he was far different from the other children his age.
~~~
A large gathering of townsfolk stood atop the ragged cliff that overlooked the endless watery abyss, and shrill cries of disgust and fear echoed through the canyon.
“Devil Worshipper!” “Cultist!” “Kill him!” “Throw him off the edge!” Their voices carried, even down to the rocky depths below.
Leo snapped back out of his thoughts as he was forcefully pushed to his knees by a guard. Normally he would have had a playful quip of sorts prepared, but he had never seen a sharper spear in his life. And he was surrounded by spears.
“Move away from him now, gents.”
The voice rose high above the crowd, and their bickering came to an abrupt halt. The gathering of guards cautiously lowered their spears as they disappeared into the gathering.
The Ignis Emperor’s son, Chen Gao, stepped forward. The sharp heels of his boots made a loud clicking sound as they forcefully struck the fragile earth below.
“So you’re Lennard Corvin, the famous ‘Devil Worshipper’ of Northern Sidus.” There was amusement in his voice as he looked down at the haggard boy below him.
‘Not a ‘Devil Worshipper’...a Cultivator,’ Leo thought to himself, but he knew that any rebuttal he had planned would not suffice. Instead, he had allowed himself to be physically and verbally dragged through the mud.
“I must say I’m rather surprised. I truly expected you to fight back with one of your stupid little Incantations,” Chen Gao did not wait for an answer, “though I suppose a child like you is incapable of any talent. You’ve quite the reputation, you know, I was actually quite nervous about this encounter."
Leo slowly lifted his head, and held the older boy’s gaze with a playful gleam in his eyes.
“So you’ve been keeping tabs on me, your Highness? I’m flattered, really I am.”
He was met with a forceful blow to the jaw, which sent him flying him backwards.
“The fact that you still have the audacity to talk down to me is rather astonishing. Have you forgotten who gave you those wounds?”
Leo no longer had the strength to look up at the boy that towered over him, so he kept his eyes fixed to the ground. The playful gleam in his eyes became no more as he realised there was no way for him to get out of this.
Chen Gao pulled him to his feet from behind by a fistful of his matted hair. Leo winced and bit his lip, drawing a small streak of blood that trickled slowly down his chin.
The surrounding crowd had already begun to roar in excitement, their shouts polluting the air once more.
The older boy leant in close to his ear, a sadistic grin tugging at his lips.
“It’s a shame, really. What will your precious sister say when she finds out that her reckless brother has perished in No Man’s Land's merciless waters?”
Leo now had a clear view of the ocean that he hated so dearly. He watched the waves lapped at the sharp rocks below, and listened to the whistles and howls that soared high through the stingy air.
The boy sighed as he closed his eyes in an attempt to pull his mind away from what was to come.
“Get it over with then,” Leo said suddenly, causing Chen Gao to startle, “but I’ll be back. And I’ll never leave you alone.”
“Rot in hell, Corvin!” Chen Gao spat. And with that, he pushed the boy over the edge of the canyon. The crowd stood in silence as he watched Lennard Corvin plummet towards the dark, blue abyss.
A couple of guards sheepishly made their way towards the edge of the cliff, and peered down in shock.
“Sir...what would you like us to do with the body?”
“Find it. Find it and burn it to ash!” Chen Gao’s voice was panicked.
He took one more look at the rocky shore below and then made his way back to the gathering of people, thinking hard as he went.
‘I could have sworn I saw that boy smile after I pushed him.’
~~~
In the raging ocean below, Leo’s seemingly lifeless body sank deeper and deeper until it hit a gritty bed of sand and rock.
All was silent, until a red light crept from the pendant around his neck.
Lennard Corvin’s eyes snapped open. But they were no longer the eyes of a mortal boy, and they would never carry the spark of carefree youth again.
His lips crept into a crooked smile as he faced Lord Death.
“Took you long enough.”
~~~
Chen Gao's men searched through drought and flood, but Lennard Corvin's body was never recovered.