"The outside world… can be a cruel place," Axel told her.
Daphne watched as all the pedestrians on the street surrounded little Axel in the memory.
"Hey! I was just returning it! She dropped it!" Little Axel tried to tell everyone the truth of the matter, but it didn't seem like anyone believed.
"Yeah, yeah, you were, weren't ya?" Said one of the men sarcastically. "Stealing from an old lady, don't you have any decency?!"
The other people also began condemning Axel, not at all listening to what he had to say. He had already been Branden the thief, no matter what.
Little Axel knew he was in trouble. He threw the purse and tried to run, but couldn't run far with his injured leg before he tripped and fell.
The 'Chivalrous' men surrounded him, wanting to punish him even when he had already thrown away the purse.
Little Axel curled himself in a ball as punches and kicks rained down on him. Unlike his future self, he had almost zero special abilities and skills. Even his tolerance to pain was very low, causing him to grunt and groan with each blow.
Daphne couldn't watch it. "What are they doing?! You were just a kid! Who beats up someone as young as that?!"
Axel had learnt something the hard way. "People don't hold back no matter the age. A thief is a thief," he told her.
"They're monsters!" growled Daphne. "I still don't understand how they can do it."
Axel shrugged. "All these people, they've all got a lot of aggression inside them. They just hold it back because of the rules. But when they catch a criminal, especially a thief… it's like they're given a license. They stop thinking of you as a person and just unleash their aggression," he explained. "Their conscience is clear, since the thief clearly "deserves it"," he said, looking at himself getting beaten to a pulp. There was hidden bitterness in his voice that Daphne was able to discern.
Tears began falling from Daphne's eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to go through." She hugged him, unable to see the scene anymore. "When will it stop?"
Axel didn't answer, only looking at the scene with cold eyes.
Once the crowd was satisfied, they dumped him into an alley, but not before spitting on him and hurling obscenities.
"Bloody bastard!"
"Stealing from an old lady! Deserves every bit he got!"
"Think twice before stealing, you son of a whore!"
'Son of a whore?! They're saying that to the Prince of Atlantis!' Thought Daphne, positively murderous by now. If she ever encountered these people someday, she wouldn't hesitate to kill this time.
Axel shook his head. "It's what I believed at that time, That my mother was a whore who didn't want the burden of a son." he said, reading Daphne's thoughts. He had heard such insults so many times that he had begun to wonder if they were true. "It made sense. It would have messed with her business, right?"
Daphne only felt more sad by that.
"Tell me you got medical help after this." she said, looking at his condition with heartache.
Before Axel answered, something happened in the memory.
"Well, well. Look who it is," someone said as rowdy noises came from the end of the alley. People emerged from the darkness, and it didn't seem like they were there to 'help' him.
"You've GOT to be kidding me," said Daphne, completely flabbergasted. Axel has just been through hell, and it's still not the end?!
Axel nodded. "Exactly my reaction every time it happens," he said, glad to have someone else feel the absurdity for once.
Kid Axel, who was barely conscious, desperately tried to run, but all he managed was to drag himself a few feet before he was surrounded again.
"Uh-huh, not so fast at running now, are we?" Asked the person in the lead. "Scars has been trying to find you."
Kid Axel didn't say anything. He just looked at the sky, as if finding someone to curse for his shitty luck.
"Scars?" Asked Daphne.
Axel shrugged. "My mortal enemy at the time. He used to be a gang leader. Of course, he's dead now."
"... Of course..."
In the memory, Little Axel said something in a low voice.
"Eh? What was it? Didn't quite catch it," said the leader, leaning down.
"Tell scars… to go fuck himself," he said more clearly this time to the man who had bent down, as he smashed a piece of concrete lying around into his skull.
The man cursed, falling to the ground in pain. Axel tried to fight more, but he was quickly overwhelmed. And this time, the blows were even more merciless.
Fortunately, the police sirens sounded not long after, causing the men to run away in a hurry, leaving Axel lying in the ground, beaten to an inch of his life.
Daphne was crying, and her head was buried in his chest. This was too much for her.
"Do you see now?" Asked Axel, raising her head. "There's more."
The scene shifted into the one where a scarred man was slashing Axel's face, who was being held down by a group of thugs. The Axel in the memory screamed, and the scene shifted again, this time he was being beaten by a group of coppers. The scene shifted again, and again. Slowly at first, but then it got faster, before they split into different scenes, each of them containing a younger Axel getting beaten, or suffering some kind of torture.
Axel looked at Daphne, who had a blank look on his face upon seeing just how many there were. "My life still wouldn't have been ideal. It would be much worse than it is right now. True, I might have suffered less, but I would still be alone, unable to trust anyone," he told her. Even though it hurt, her eyes greedily devoured every bit of knowledge they could gain about Axel's past.
Axel stopped it before it got too much, as they returned to sitting in the Greenhouse.
"So," he said. "I've stopped blaming third parties for whatever happens to me. Because there are just far too many of them. The ones I blame, are the people directly involved, and me and my shitty luck.
The only thing I care about from that incident? It's that the person directly responsible is dead. It's that I am now strong enough to even handle 10 of him. It's that I came to Hogwarts due to that incident. It's that I even bothered talking to you because of our mutual hate for the man. It's that... we would never have been friends if not for that incident," he said, as Daphne wiped her tears.
Daphne nodded. She understood now. But she found difficulty breathing as Axel's screams still rang in her mind. Holy shit… Holy fucking shit. She knew Axel's past life was bad, but this? It is beyond her comprehension how he is even standing alive and well right now.
Daphne shook her head, clearing her thoughts. What was she doing?! Overwhelmed just by just witnessing a fraction of his pain? Pathetic!
She now understood why Axel never talked about his past. Because he knew that people would look at him like he was some sort of pitiful creature. But, he had shared it with her, because he trusted her. He trusted her enough to take the information and understand his point of view. And not judge him for his past, or get overwhelmed. He's strong and independent. He doesn't need her pity, just her understanding.
"So," said Axel, holding her hand as he smiled. "You still blame yourself?" He asked playfully. "Still want me to torture you, Miss 'Hurtme' Greengrass?"
Daphne shook her head. She felt so embarrassed right now.
She looked at Axel. Really 'looked' at him. The past him looked like a completely different person now. Now his eyes were more alive than ever, he was in a much better place, and most importantly, he was happy.
It gave her such contentment to see the vivid changes. She felt like the time she spent trying to break his she'll, even after getting rudely dismissed, was worth it.
And now, thinking about her guilt, an ironic smile came upon her face. "I was too naive," she murmured, wiping her tears.
"After the things you've been through…"
She understood now. After the things he had been through, he had simply stopped caring whose fault it was. He has been through so many such situations that he'd rather just blame his luck than every person involved.
It was a bleak mindset, but it was realistic, considering the number of times it has happened to him. If he even started involving third parties like her for every case, then just how many people would he have to hate? It would drive anyone crazy.
Daphne sniffed. "My guilt does seem rather absurd, now that I see it from your point of view. And I understand why you would laugh when I was calling myself responsible for what happened to you..."
Axel sighed. "Well, as long as you understand."
"But...." Daphne's eyes suddenly narrowed as she pinched his hand in annoyance. "It wasn't a funny situation. I was about to lose all the memories once more! If I had to go through that all over again. . .I swear I would have killed myself this time!"
Axel winced. "Yeah, about that, I wasn't really worried about it. Sorry."
???
"Because I have the cure to your curse now."
!!!!!
The world stopped for Daphne. "What did you say?!"
Axel nodded. He had finally found the final ingredient. "You heard me. I can remove that curse of yours. Forever."
Daphne's mouth remained opened. Her eyes became unfocused as she fully comprehended the meaning of Axel's words.
She shook her head. "Axel, it's not funny to even joke about it. Don't give me hope, you know I'll trust anything you'll say."
Daphne would believe anything Axel says. Because Axel really doesn't joke around about such things. But this... this was simply beyond the realm of possibility. For generations, many have tried and failed. But all they've ever managed is to deal with the form it has manifested into. At the price that it would return any time, maybe even manifest into something else.
"That curse..." she said. "It's not like other bloodline curses. Others disappear after a few generations. But ours has been in the family since forever! No one in the world can fully cure it."
Axel nodded. "I do know the extent of your family curse, you know. It's from a different world, right?" He asked, as if it was not a big deal.
Daphne widened her eyes. "Did my mum tell you that? It's unbelievable, right?"
Axel shook his head. He checked the system interface once again. Surviving through that ordeal definitely had its rewards.
[Congratulations on beating the overwhelming odds and surviving.
Approval rate: 50%
Rewards:
Congratulations. New feature unlocked: {Alliance}
You can now form Alliance with the people you select and help them get System's perks through you.
[Current Allies: 1
Daphne Greengrass (default)
Class: None
Status: Curse Afflicted]
[Congratulations. You have unlocked the Bloodline feature.
Current Bloodline:
Atlantian Bloodline: Awakened 21%
Can be awakened further by going to Atlantis
Ally's Bloodline
Daphne Greengrass:
€¥$ק∆¢ Bloodline: Dormant, but on the verge of awakening
Can be awakened by lifting the curse.]
He had gotten a new feature. An Ally system. He can help them get some benefits of the system with it. For example, Daphne can now get a class too. As she can get a custom training of her own.
But of course there are limitations. She wouldn't get a system. Every new training knowledge and skill the Ally unlocks would have to be passed to them through him, everything they learn would be visible to him, and he can terminate the alliance anytime. Finally, the Ally must not hold any serious ill intent towards him, or he'd be informed.
And lastly,
[Bonus Reward: The Curse's Cure.
The Greengrass Curse is not an ordinary one. Its origin can be traced back all the way to the Aetherworld, the Cradle of Magic.
The Final ingredient to activate the ritual is the wood of the World Tree, which can only be found in Aetherworld. Fortunately, your wand happens to be made out of it. Congratulations, you have all the ingredients.]
It felt like the system was trolling him. He had the ingredients all along. And he only gets them when Daphne already has her memories.
Axel smiled at Daphne. "Shall we get rid of that curse already?" He asked.
Daphne was still in disbelief. "Can we really?" She grabbed his hands in hers, which were practically shaking with nervousness right now.
The curse. It had affect her whole life.
It was not a secret in the high circle. Everyone knew that the Greengrass family was a ticking time bomb, they just never said it to her face. From childhood, she was taught Occlumency, not because of the benefits it gives, but to be emotionless all the time, so that the excess emotions don't bring out the curse.
Seeing the impact it had on her dad and Astoria, Daphne had decided to never marry, to never have kids would have also had to live a cursed life like theirs.
She had spent her whole life scared of it, and was resolved to spend the rest like that too.
And now, can she really… get rid of it for good?
"We can." Axel nodded. The knowledge on the exact procedure on how to do it was in his mind, along with the detailed explanation about the reason behind each and every minute detail and he had thoroughly analysed it to be safe. "I won't joke about this," he said seriously.
Daphne nodded, overjoyed. But the smile slowly drained from her face when her gaze went behind Axel.
"You little bitch! Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?!" A voice exclaimed in anger, causing Axel to turn around, his good mood leaving him.
Someone could not wait to get what they had coming.
