Prologue:
It was like déjà vu- haunting, inescapable. But this time, Sulien was terrified.Why? He shouldn't be. He's higher ranked than her now. She no longer held that power over him. Not anymore. And yet… He couldn't shake the feeling. It clung to him like a shadow-warm, aching. Affection. A feeling he couldn't deny. A feeling he didn't want. A feeling he couldn't stop. Then came her voice-soft, trembling, final. Just like how he remembered.
"I'm sorry, Sulien. We cannot be together, even if we wanted to.
You are a higher rank… and our people are going into war with each other.
It's probably a bad idea." The words cut deeper than any blade. Not because they were cruel- but they were true.
CHAPTER 1:
The date is the 27th of June 2025. In the country, Japan, there lived two main protagonists who begin their on-going story. Read in to find out their story.
Suddenly, the doors to a lavish dressing room slam open with a dramatic flair.
"KAMARIA!! ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE PARTY?" Touka practically screamed, bursting in like a hurricane of energy.
Kamaria jumped slightly, curling her plumped and glossed lips into a forced smile. "Oh Touka," she groaned, brushing her long pink hair, "I need to get ready in peace. You're bursting my eardrums, and i'd rather not be deaf before my grand entrance. Touka giggled, completely unbothered. "Sorry, Kam! I'm just so excited! You know so many people are gonna be there and you know who else is gonna be-" "Yes, I know who's going to be there," Kamaria cut in, spinning towards her mirror with a sparkle in her ocean blue eyes. "And I'm so excited. Maybe this time… he'll see me instead of that disgusting hag-looking freak clinging to him like a leech!" She squealed, unable to contain her excitement. Touka bounce beside her like a fan girl at a concert. From outside the room, a mature voice called out, elegant but amused, "Girls, you're going to be late for your party! You don't want to leave a bad impression, do you?" Kamaria rolls her eyes smirking at her reflection. "Yes we knooow," she and Touka replied in unison like cheeky twins while putting their jewellery on. "It's not some high-class wine-and-cheese event like yours anyway," Kamaria added with a laugh. "Besides, bad impressions are still impressions. right?"
*
Knock. Knock. The door creaked open. A gentle figure stepped in, her eyes tired but full of warmth. "Sulien,dear… your school's having a party tonight. Why don't you go?" She says softly while playing around with his snowy white hair.
"Maybe… make some new friends?" Sulien didn't turn away from his computer. "Hmm…Nah. Those parties are lame. Just people pretending to be cool, drinking cheap alcohol, blasting music so loud it could crack a wall." He sighed. "Besides, I'd probably the only one sober- and the only one getting laughed at. Again."
His mom hesitated in the doorway.
"Alcohol…?" "Yah, you know how these teenage parties are nowadays. Loud, messy, fake." She tried to smile. "It doesn't matter what they're like. I just… I just want you to go out. Talk to someone. You've been alone for so long." He let out a tired breath. "Just leave me alone, Mom."
There was pause.
"Please?" she said softly. "Do it for me? Your mommy?" "Ew, please never say that again." He grimaced, but there was a small smile beneath it. "Ugh, fine. I'll go. But don't expect any miracles. I'm not staying for long." "Atta boy," she said with a weak but proud smile. "I hope you make a friend soon, no matter how long it takes." He stood, walking over to wrap his arms around her. "You're still cringey you know." She chuckled into the the hug. "I love you, Li." She says as she looks deep with motherly love into his stone grey eyes. He hugged her tighter. "I love you too… Mom," Looking back at her into her purple eyes. She pulled back, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, baby. I don't have any new clothes for you to wear. Rents been tight… and my hours just got cut again. You'll have to wear something you already have." Sulien shrugged, grabbing a black hoodie off the chair. "It's fine, it's not like i planned on impressing anyone." He tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
*
Sulien shouldn't have come. He knew that the moment he stepped through the door. Loud music pulsed through the floor like a heartbeat he didn't share. Laughter echoed from glittering, groups, the air thick with perfume, cologne, and all the things he couldn't afford. He stood quietly in the farthest corner, sipping from a lukewarm plastic cup of water, head down, hoodie up. As always, invisible. Forgotten.
Until she arrived.
The entire room shifted when Kamaria walked in. The music didn't stop but it might aswell have. Heads turned. Whispers followed. The gold satin dress clung to her like it was tailored by sunlight itself. Her heels clicked like punctuation marks. Her purse shimmered with luxury. Her hairpins, studded with tiny opals, sparkled with every confident toss of her head. And her smile? It was a weapon. "Oh hi, Daevlon." she purred, her voice laced with flirtation as she approached the most popular guy at the party, the one every girl secretly chased and every guy envied. He turned, eyes widening with practiced charm. "Kamaria. Wow. I'm really glad you came tonight." She stepped closer, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder. "Oh, is that so? Well, you wouldn't mind having a drink with me then, would you?"
Daevlon scratched the back of his head, glancing awkwardly towards a girl across the room, Kotori, his girlfriend.
"Yeah… just let me tell Kotori-"
Kamaria's eyes narrowed, her smile curling into something… sharper. "No need for that." Her voice dropped to a lower, silkier tone. "I'm sure she won't mind you being gone for just a few seconds." As she pulled Daevlon away by the wrist, she casts a quick glance back a flicker of teeth behind red lips. Heer gaze locked with Kotori's. And that smile?
Villainous. Cruel. Possessive.
She's just another name to be erased , Kamaria thought. If i don't distract him now she'll cling to him all night like that parasite she is. I won't let some second-rate girl steal what's supposed to be mine.
And the came laughter. Sulien turned his head at the sound, already bracing himself.
"Yo guys- check it out! Look who actually crawled out of his nerve cave." One of the boys pointed with mocked awe, snickering. Sulien looked away, shoulders tightening. He sipped his water and adjusted his hood. "He even came in that same busted hoodie! Bro, you wearing the uniform of poverty?" Another added, loud enough to draw attention. A third voice joined in. "Man, does he even own other clothes, or is this his default skin?" The laughter grew- cruel and careless. And then Daevlon's voice rang out, louder than the rest. "Careful, guys- don't roast him too hard or he'll run back to the only thing that'll hug him… HIS MOMMY'S LAP!" The group exploded into laughter. Kamaria and Touka were among them now, Touka practically wheezing. Kamaria fanned herself with her hand, her ocean blue eyes practically filled with tears as she pretends to cry from laughter. "Ahaha! Oh my God, Daevlon, you're terrible but also soooo right." "You see that hoodie?" Touka snorted. "It has an actual tear in it. He's basically a walking charity case. I'm surprised he didn't show up with a food stamp." "Or a donation jar," Kamaria added sweetly, the cruelty behind her voice like venom behind perfume. Sulien's heart pounded.
He bit his tongue. The room was spinning , the mocking echo of their voices louder than the music. He tried to swallow it down, the rage, the shame, the heat behind his eyes. But the sting of humiliation settled deep, tightening like a fist around his throat. He then ran away to a different part of the party. Slipping through the crowd, he ducked into the hallway, past the noise, past the light, past the girl who hadn't even looked at him until it was to laugh. He found a dark stairwell and sat down on the steps. Alone. Again. He pulled his hood tighter, not to hide from them but from himself. His hand clenched around the cup until in cracked. But still no tears. Not yet. Just silence.
*
The party soon came to an end, but the night wasn't finished with them yet.
Kamaria stood near the edge of the pavement in her gold satin dress, arms crossed as she waited under a flickering streetlamp. Her chauffeur had cancelled last minute due to some flu or whatever and now she was stuck like a commoner. "Come on Kam, just walk with us!" Touka whined, tugging on her wrist. "You've got me, the girls, and Daevlon. No one's going to kidnap you. Unless they're into a high-maintenance princesses." Kamaria raised a brow, "I don't know… maybe i should just wait for my dad?" Touka groaned. "He won't be back before three, Kam. It's just past midnight, you seriously want to wait for that long?" "Yeah," Daevlon chimed in, sloping an arm around Kamaria's waist like she was already his. "C'mon Aria. It'll be fun."
Kamaria blinked, "Aria?" "Yeah." Daevlon grinned. "New name. Fresh start. Y'know to help forget that clinging, insecure little maggot-" "That's enough Daevlon." One of the girls cut in, though she was still half-laughing. "We get it. She's clingy."
Kamaria smirked, letting the name linger. "Fine. I'll come."
They walked together down the street, their laughter echoing too loudly in the quiet night. They kicked gravel, shoved eachother playfully, shouted lyrics to songs no one asked to hear. Rich, golden, untouchable. And then… they saw him.
Sulien…
With his head down, hands in his pockets, alone. The hoodie- faded black, too small at the cuffs, with a thin tear under the right arm, it looked like it had seen better years , not just days. He walked faster when he heard them. He always did but not fast enough. "Oh my God girls! Look who it is! He's clearly following us," Kamaria sneered loud enough for him to hear. "He's too poor to even afford his own car." Kamaria bursted out laughing. (I don't know why Kamaria is talking she doesn't even have one herself plus her driver called in sick the writer adds) "Kam.. i'm not a girl…" Daevlon said absently. "Oh sorry Daevlon," she said with mocking smile. "I'm just so used being around my girls that's why." Daevlon chuckled. "Yo, look he's picking up the pase. Someone catch him before the roach scatters."
Touka and the other girls giggled, skipping forward. "Hey, wait! Where are you going? We just wanna talk hoodie boy!" Touka jeered, grabbing Sulien by the shoulder. He flinched. "S-stop… please… don't touch me." But they were already pushing him. One of the girls pushed him backwards. Daevlon joined in, laughing like it was a joke. "It's banter, bro. Grow some skin, will you?" Sulien's voice cracked as he backed up, heart racing. "P-please… stop.." Kamaria stepped in now. Her expression had changed, the fake demeanour gone. "What did you say?" Her voice cold and sharp. She threw a punch at Sulien. Sulien looked up in despair, her beautiful face now became intimidating but he couldn't stop looking at her eyes that were glistening in the moonlight. "Do you even know who you're talking to?" She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. Then the kicks began. They didn't even notice that they weren't on the street anymore but in the main road.
It was just the about the crowd, the laughs, the moment, cruelty for cruelty's sake. Sulien was on the ground, gasping for breath. Touka laughed until she coughed. "He's gonna cry again! Like a little baby. Gonna run to mommy?" But then. A blinding light. A car coming full speed. Their plan was to leave Sulien but before they could all run, Sulien grabs Kamaria down with him- Headlights. Screeching tires. The sound of something hitting something else hard. Then silence.
*
Sirens. People shouting. Lights flashing. Kamaria lays bleeding on the pavement, her golden dress now stained with dark red. Her vision was a smear of street lights and chaos. She couldn't feel her legs. Could barely breathe. Everything hurt. Her was there now- screaming, shaking her. Obviously her father wasn't there, he was probably too busy to show up. "Kamaria! Kamaria, my sweet doll! Wake up! Please , oh God, please wake her up! WHO DID THIS TO HER? WHO? DOYOU EVEN KNOW WHO MY HUSBAND IS?" Kamaria blinked, barely making out her mother's long pink hair and tear filled blue eyes. Her now beautiful green dress stained with her daughter's blood. Her friends hovered nearby- Daevlon pale and trembling, Touka sobbing uncontrollably. "Kam- please. You can't die now. You promised me! You PROMISE ME we'd rule this place together!" Touka cried, clutching her hand. Kamaria tried to speak- tried to say she was sorry. Or maybe not. Maybe she just wanted to scream. But nothing came out. She was lifted into an ambulance, but it was too late. As the doors shut, took her last breath
Meanwhile.
Sulien laid farther down the road with no attention. I don't think anyone even noticed him. He was flung like a rag doll onto the cold asphalt. Everything inside him screamed in pain- ribs shattered, legs twisted at unnatural angles, skull cracked open just enough to leak warm blood down his cheek. He tried to speak. He couldn't breathe. Then… a voice. "SULIEN!" His mother. Her face blurred, but his mind filled the details; the brown hair in a low bun, her soft face, the worn red-and-grey dress, the eyes- those purple eyes, now filled with pure terror. She was screaming in grief. "SULIEN! SULIEN! Please, don't leave me! Please! My baby boy! I should have NEVER let you go! Please, just stay with me. I only have you left my boy. Just don't leave me. I'M SORRY!" But her words were getting fainter. Somehow he managed to move his arm to her face, he then wiped her tears and began to speak in a shaking tone. "M-mom? Please take care of yourself, I love you-" His heartbeat began to slow down. "NO SULIEN." His mother cried out on the top of her lungs. He felt his breath shorten and his heartbeat slow down. Right until he couldn't hear it anymore and the he took his last breathe.
They were both gone. One was mourned by a crowd.
The other held by the only person who ever truly loved him (Or so he thought)
But in those last moments, something changed.
A light. A warmth. A whisper between worlds.
*
"She's so adorable! Look at the soft pink hair! I wonder where she got it from?" A voice was heard, an unknown voice, something that Kamaria hadn't heard before. "I think she got it from my late great-great-great-great-great grandmother." "Oh- She's opening her eyes! Hunny! Come quick!" As Kamaria opens her eyes she sees two people looking down at her, they had eyes so soft and tender. They were as if one was looking at a mild, little baby or child. Kamaria tried to get up and say 'mom' or ' mom i'm here no need to worry' but all that came out were coo's and babble. Am I a baby? Kamaria thought to herself (i don' know how this is possible but okay the writer adds..) She had no control over anything in her body, the only way she could communicate was by crying or cooing like all babies do.
"Oh, your finally awake? Welcome to the world, my little prince. You look so beautiful." A sweet voice was heard. Sulien opens his eyes and sees; eyes, a face, nose, lips, things he doesnt recognise. Where am I and who is this lady holding me? "I'm your momma and this is your dad." The sweet lady said. "Hello son, I'm your father." Father? But I died, didn't I? This isn't mom and definitely isn't my dad, my dad was gone way before i was born. "Oh dear look at him he looks so confused." "I'm sure that's what happens to babies when they're born." The dad said. Baby? Born/
HAVE WE REBIRTHED? Kamaria and Sulien shouted. (obviously in their minds).