A Story of Evil

Chapter 82: The Dream

"Ma'am do you want to trade?" A small boy with unkempt black hair came in front of a young Olivia.

"Oh? What would that be?" She asked, looking at her surroundings and making sure that it wasn't a trap. The slums always exploited children after all. In any an all things that they could think off.

"It's a bucket of worms. I picked it up the whole day and put them together. They're still alive and highly nutritious." Olivia examined the child's hands. The nails were long and dirty and so were the hands in general. The boy himself was filled with dirt and, had signs of having been beaten up.

Sadly however, she didn't know of any way to help the child. Yet, as if from pity, she still asked him.

"What do you want in return?"

The boy's face brightened up immediately. He pointed at the basket of the woman filled with some harvest.

"I want half of your bread. Considering the protein you can gain from the worms, I think it's a fair trade."

"Indeed it is. How about I trade the moldy part of the bread?"

"UhI can give you half of the worms for it?" Olivia chuckled at this. Seeing a young boy doing business with him using a can of worms made all the pain of her husband's beating go away momentarily.

"Where are your parents? Wouldn't they be worried that you're here?"

"I don't have any. I live by myself." The boy said with a stoic expression. Something about this just made Olivia feel bad about the moment. Patting the boy on the head and giving him a warm smile.

"Tell you what. You can keep your worms and come with me. I still have some soup left at our house." She said, making the boy's eyes widen and, his mouth watery.

"Okay." He answered without hesitation. Still offering the can of worms to Olivia.

"Don't bother. I don't need anything from an orphan." She remarked. Making the boy hold on to his can as she finally asked for his name.

"My name? It's Solomon."

"Solomon huh, I'm Olivia Bloodbourne. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Solomon met up with Eve and Miss Olivia in the cafeteria. They ate together and, since Sol couldn't move, Alice and Cain were the ones to feed him. An act which proved to be lethal for him as the two competed on who could feed him more. Stuffing two spoons in his mouth at the same time and almost choking him to death.

The group enjoyed their time together. Alice and Sol were both centers of attention at that point. With Eve and Miss Olivia praising them for their victory and, the change they brought to the Void. 

But then, a single question suddenly put a halt to all of this.

"What do you plan to do now?" 

Miss Olivia only had pure intentions when she asked this. She simply wanted to know if another goal was on the bucket list of the two. Winning the Culling in itself was already a lifetime worth of achievement after all. All who reigned as champions on this had luxurious and easy lives. With some even being aristocrats while others used the fame to start their own business. 

Yet none of this could be seen on Alice's face. Her goal was still the same. She simply wanted to make her parents regret abandoning her. She also knew that they would've been watching the entire fight and, that they would've seen her almost flawless display of battle skills. But the real pleasure was yet to come. She still needed them to grovel at her feet.

Alice didn't mention any of these however. She simply said that, she wanted to have an "easy life" which everyone thought to be a valid reason. Especially for a Void orphan in the slums.

"I see. That's actually good for you honey." Miss Olivia gave a warm-hearted smile.

"Yeah. I wanna grow up like big sis too!" Eve said.

"You mean with all the bandages?" Cain teased, getting Alice's full attention and irritation.

"Okay, that's enough from you Cain." Miss Olivia furthered, diffusing the tension and turning everyone's attention to Sol next.

"Sol honey, how about you?"

"Yeah big shot what do you have planned?" Cain, just like everyone lese, was eager to hear the boy's reply.

All who were present at that moment knew him after all. He is the boy who always has plans and, even has plans that backs up his plans. It wouldn't be that much of a shock if they heard something grand at that moment. And that was probably the most surprising part about it.

"I actually have none."

"There you see! I told you he haswhat?"

Sol was blank. He had nothing planned after the Culling. Initially, all he wanted was to win and prove the whole Void wrong something which he already did. He conquered fate with his own hands. But other than this, there was nothing for him. 

"Life in the slums isn't that great, even for an orphan like me who has a shelter to come home to every night. There's always that fear lingering at the back of my head. Telling me that it's all over or that, things won't get better."

These were things that Sol never said out in the open. Negative thoughts had no room in his fight for survival. Not while he was desperately thinking of a way out of poverty. But since he already secured a safe future for the Bloodbournes, he thought that, there would be no harm in finally coming out in the open and saying it.

"Now that I am free, everything feels like a dream. Like I'm slowly waking up from a long and eternal nightmare. What life has to offer for me after this, I actually have no idea." 

"Sol"

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out eventually. I always do."

The air was getting dense because of Sol's words. All of it was true. But, by actually coming out and saying it, the Bloodbournes actually felt guilty about it. Although they did give him shelter, Solomon was still the one who pulled them up from the depths of hell.

This causing his body to be in its current state. Beaten up, unable to move from where he sat. With his mana veins in an almost unrecoverable state. Olivia, bearing this weight the hardest, was the one to speak up at that point.

"Solomon, do you remember what I said when I found you?"

"Of course Miss Olivia. How can I forget. You told me that you don't need anything from an orphan."

"Yes I did. And do you know what that means?" 

"That I need to work hard and prove you wrong." Olivia chuckled at this and patted the boy's head. All that time, Olivia thought that Sol understood what she meant. As it turns out, the boy had it all wrong.

"No honey. You do not need to be indebted to me nor to my family. You are your own person. Having no family name makes you as free as could be and the world is yours. Open with endless possibilities."

"You may feel out of focus and without direction right now. But that is normal. You are young and things don't need to be rushed. All you need to remember it that you are Solomon. Whatever path you chose, you will still be you."

With just her words, the aura calmed down again. Solomon looked at the woman who took her in, feeling the warmth in her smile that never went away. Always caring and always kind. It wasn't like he didn't understand what Olivia meant. He simply refused to. Because he wanted to pay her back and, give that same kind soul a future that it deserves. Something which he was even willing to stake his own life for.

"Thank you. I think I'll be fine now Miss Olivia." Solomon said.

"You're welcome honey." Were the soft words of his gentle benefactress.

With this Sol began thinking again. They were still eating but, he was suddenly hyped at searching for a reason to live. "With the Culling done, what is there that's left for me?" These were the words running through his head as the torture of being double fed by Alice and Cain still went on. Arguing with each other.

"Hey don't feed him too much."

"Shut up, you're the one stacking up food."

"Stacking up?" The argument of the two sparked a memory inside Sol. One which was still fresh on his head. About the realm of the dead and, the strange woman's words.

"Your king has stacked up a bunch of lies right in your face." It was far from a goal but, Sol had a momentary purpose. To understand what this meant and, doing so meant that, he needed to meet the king.

That is why, as soon as Solomon finished breakfast, he asked Alice to bring him to king Jubilee. Cain was left behind because, audience with the King wasn't something any normal person could gain. With this, Sol and Alice left the Bloodbournes. Navigating their way through Pentagon to meet the Void King.

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