Ataraxia Abyss
Chapter 2: The Abyss

Regal who was locked in his room while being watched by his older sister Erina was currently only able to hear the conversation from outside.

In the living room, Klaus and the rest of the family were chatting.

"So what do you want to talk about?"

Klaus finally asked while drinking tea. Aiden then said to Klaus.

"Honestly, I'd love for that kid to be a successful person

But it's still too early for him, we're afraid he won't be able to feel the affection of his family and his childhood is ruined."

Klaus finally nodded and said to them.

"I think you're right, too, even though the talent she has is far greater than her brother's. He's still a little boy..."

Aiden and Martha smiled slightly until they finally put on sad faces again.

"Very unfortunate Captain Knight... But do not be sad, at the age of which I now bet that Hamil can replace Regal."

"That's right! Hamil had talent and he was much older than the young Regal. He will be a good knight once he gets to the capital!"

Aiden and Martha begin to persuade Klaus to take Hamil instead of Regal. Klaus shook his head.

"Can't... Hamil is too young to be Squire. He won't survive in the capital."

Everyone was clearly shocked, Martha then hit the table and raised her voice.

"What is true?! You want to take the younger Regal but won't take Hamil?"

Klaus finally answered Martha's complaint with a creepy flat face.

"If Regal accepts, I and the vice-captain will teach him personally until he is old enough to be Squire.

With that we can make her bring out her full potential, but pregnant huh? More talented people than he is in this kingdom..."

Klaus let out a suppressing aura, until he finally suppressed his aura back and stood up.

"Alright then, I'll be back once you think he's old enough to get away from you. Bye bye..."

Klaus finally went out, Aidan, Martha, and Erina who had just walked out of the room were shocked by Klaus' decision. Yet there was only one person who stared at Regal, a gaze of hatred that was ready to kill anyone.

Hamil saw Regal as the cause of his failure to go to the capital, the eyes that had been blinded by the hatred kept staring at Regal.

———

That night, the knights were gone. Regal was beaten by Hamil and Aiden in the living room with a wooden rod until he fell on the floor.

"Follow you! Because of you!! Because of you!!!"

Hamil kept shouting the same thing over and over again for the sake of satisfying himself. Even after Aiden stopped, Hamil continued to hit until Regal's leg was broken.

Regal did not dwell on the floor, after a short break they continued to beat Regal all night...

As Regal tried to endure the pain in his room, he thought that there was no more happiness he could get and there was only suffering in this house.

It was enough he was optimistic, if his parents wanted him to leave then they should let him go, but seeing them desperately trying to hold him here made him aware...

They want themselves to be miserable, they are not forced to accept it but they want themselves to be miserable.

With a body full of wounds he ran away from the house. Regal with all his strength tried to run to save himself into the forest to get to the next village.

But when he stumbled and fell, Regal tried to take a breath. Until finally his back trembled, hinting something was chasing him...

He tried to look back and it turned out to be true, a wolf that had fur as black as night and eyes like a burning hellfire looked at him.

As Regal tried to go deeper, he suddenly fell into a hole. The hole was so deep, the Regal fell down without knowing when he was about to land.

At that moment he thought, Will death save him from pain? Can he be free from all this suffering? Regal closed his eyes and accepted his fate...

———

When he opened his eyes, he was in a dark cave. It was very dark yet he could still clearly see the ceiling and the ground.

Everything was very dark, no sunlight entered the cave. Regal could see in the darkness...

Regal was once locked up for 1 full month in the attic by his two brothers, without light, without eating and drinking. He survived and his parents fed him and drank.

However, he did not see Erina or Hamel being scolded for the behavior of those who almost killed his sister. They closed their eyes to this incident and they never talked about it again.

But from that bad experience, Regal began to be able to see in the dark. And that's why he can see now...

"Where am I?"

Regal began to stagger while holding his broken left hand. But he began to hear a voice from behind him, as soon as he turned around Regal immediately saw the undead troupe walking towards him.

They were all like humans, but their bodies had already rotted and dried up. Regal took a few steps back until he fell.

As he fell down he could see the undead starting to grab him. But in an instant all the corpses were split into two pieces.

Regal who had run out of energy saw who did that, the white silhouette standing among the undead approached him.

"I don't know if I should call you stupid or brave for breathing in the realm of the dead, son..."

After hearing those words, Regal closed his eyes and was unconscious in that middle of nowhere.

———

In a confused state, Regal woke up in a room. Regal saw that the room had a very nice interior, making him think that he was in a mansion right now.

With his body still weak, he tried to exit the room. And when he came out of the room he saw a pale white woman wearing maid clothes greeting him.

"Ah? You're up already, huh? Sir Adrian is waiting for you in the throne room..."

Regal doesn't know who it is, but he seems to have no choice but to follow the maid.

As he walked following the maid, he saw all the interiors of the place. He felt all this look unnatural, Regal looked around and started asking.

"Are we still in the cave?"

The maid then answered. "Did you come in through the cave?"

Regal nodded and said. "Well, I went into a cave and suddenly I fell deeper."

The maid smiled and replied. "It's not wrong to call this place a cave, but it's not very true either..."

Regal was confused but they both had arrived in front of a large, luxurious door.

"Master Adrian will explain everything. Excuse me first..."

Maid excuse me and finally leave after opening the door for Regal.

Regal began to enter the throne room... There he could see the man who had saved him.

"You're up, huh? Mercifully. Now, let's talk..."

...***...