Nexus's parents let go of him, his clothes soaked in his mother's tears.
"May I ask, what happened to me, mother?" Nexus questioned his mother.
Haruto knew that unlike even his older siblings, Nexus was much more formal, especially to his parents and other relatives. So speaking in this manner would not rouse any suspicions.
"You don't remember, darling?" His mother asked, concerned about her son.
The boy looked at his hand, which had previously been in contact with the bandages on his head.
"No," Nexus answered. His mother placed her silky hand on his cheek, tears still running down her face.
"Last month, you were pummelled by a group of commoners because you touched their ball..." she answered, her voice deepening in fury at the last words of her sentence.
Of course, all of that was a plain old lie. But the way the boys had beaten him, loss of memory would have been a common side effect.
*****
Nexus wandered through the crowded streets of the small city of Velmond. The city was governed by one of the great Duke's houses, the house of Ashworth. The family to which Nexus belonged to as the youngest child.
He had snuck out of the manor; while no one, not even his overprotective older siblings or the Servants and guards had noticed him.
The people around him would frequently give a concerned look at him.
Who wouldn't? The boy wearing overpriced clothes who also looked identical to one of the most powerful nobles, Arthur Von Ashworth, wandering about with no one accompanying him.
The original Nexus; or, in other words, the owner of this body didn't like those looks of theirs. And thus, he turned at an alleyway, where
After a while, a ball came by and hit his feet. Nexus looked at his feet and then at where the ball came from, and saw a group of children, some his age and others older.
Nexus picked the ball up to throw it to the children, but one of the boys began speaking with hostility towards him.
"You low-class noble, give back my ball!" Nexus looked up and saw the oldest looking boy charging at him.
The boy also wore formal clothes, though they weren't as expensive as Nexus'.
"I wasn't planning on stealing your ball." Nexus replied, his voice stern.
The boy snatched the ball from Nexus' hands, his face boiling with rage.
"What did you say?" The boy looked at Nexus with a furious expression. "Do you know who I am? I am the heir of the Ashford noble family!" He said.
Nexus looked at the boy, unimpressed. The Asford noble family was one of the countless families that branches from the original house of Ashworth.
"And?" Nexus asked.
The boy had it. He pushed Nexus to the ground and cried out to the other children.
"Give this arrogant noble what he deserves!" He said.
The boys looked at the noble. They nodded and swiftly surrounded Nexus from all sides. They lunged at Nexus and began beating the poor boy.
Nexus couldn't fight back. They were stronger, bigger, and faster. All he could do was put his hand up into the air to try and block some of the attacks.
No one saw or heard Nexus and his cries of help. He did not know how long he was beaten up for. Though they tried their best, the gang of boys couldn't deal with significant damage to Nexus until one of the older boys grabbed a near pebble.
He threw the pebble at Nexus, leaving a small bruise among the countless others. The same boy continued to throw stones at Nexus while the others beat him up.
Finally, when Nexus thought it was over, his pain increased dramatically, as a larger stone hit the right-hand side of his head.
Blood poured out of the now opened head like a waterfall. Nexus eventually lost consciousness, and before the gang of boys couldn't make their escape, a feminine voice spoke up.
"You come from a branch family of our own and dare to lay a finger on my brother?" The boys grunted.
They looked at where the voice had come from and saw a tall female with dark-purple hair and Magenta coloured eyes, similar to Nexus.
The boys froze at her sight. This was Alicia Von Ashworth, the older sister of Nexus. She stretched out her hand and spoke in a dominant voice.
"Bow, commoners!" The boys did not bother to hesitate.
They instantly dropped to their knees, strands of sweat flowing down their faces.
Alicia walked past the younger boys and knelt down near the brutally injured Nexus.
"Dear lord..." she muttered in shock.
Soon, the rest of the Ashworth family members made their way towards where Nexus and Alicia were.
And Nexus would spend one month unconscious in the Ashworth mansion.
Back to the present...
Nexus let out a puff of air. He looked outside of his room.
'He died...' Nexus, or in reality; Haruto, told himself. 'Those kids killed Nexus before he was supposed to die?' He asked himself.
His parents had already left with the maids and butlers. And now, he was all alone...
He laid back on his bed, an idea emerging in his mind.
"System," Nexus spoke in a commanding voice.
A holographic blue screen popped up in front of him, with bold characters written on it.
『Welcome host to the Shadow Ascension System!』
A smirk tugged on Nexus' face as he spoke yet again.
"Status." The display vanished, and a new text appeared.
『
Name: Nexus Von Ashworth
Age: 6 (16)
Stats:
Strength - 4
Agility - 3
Defence - 2
Mana Points (MP) - 25/25
Mana force (MF) - 7
Health points (HP) - 13/25
Skills:
None
Curse of Eternal Plagues:
A powerful curse laid casted by a sorcerer, which reduces the lifespan of the bearer every time they use Mana. Limits the amount of physical activities that the bearer can carry out.』
'Damnit...' Nexus' frustration built up. 'The Curse of Eternal Plauges was scary upon Nexus?!'
*****
The Curse of Eternal Plagues was a powerful curse cast by a sorcerer. It was meant to harm Authur Von Ashworth, Nexus' father.
The Sorcer placed the curse on Authur Von Ashworth during his last moments. But the Duke was too powerful, and the curse was not able to bypass his defence. Neither one of his children was plagued with the curse because they had already been born. Thus, the curse was inflicted on the Duke's unborn child, Nexus.
The Curse reduces the lifespan of the bearer every time they use Mana. It also makes it hard for the bearer to engage in physical activities.
*****
'Well, nothing I can do about it now.' Nexus told himself as touched his bandage.
He looked at the holographic screen of the system and asked.
"Does everyone have a system?" Instantly, the display changed to answer Nexus' question.
『Yes, every person has access to the system. But, their own systems are only able to show their stats and abilities』
"What's the difference between the common system and the 'Shadow Ascension System'?" Nexus questioned.
『The Shadow Ascension System is special as it offers you faster growth and a guaranteed set of skills normally hard to access』
Nexus rose an eyebrow. "Such as?" He asked.
『Does the cure for the Curse of Eternal Plagues spark an interest?』
This time, it wasn't an answer. It was a question. But it definitely sparked an interest in the eyes of Nexus Von Ashworth.