Black String of Fate

Xavier pulled back and hurriedly rubbed his tears off. He felt like he wasn't supposed to show such tears as their big brother, he was supposed to be a steadfast pillar. While these were the excuses he made to himself, he was still very uncomfortable to show another person his vulnerabilities, more so a sick young girl.

'I cannot let it end like this. I can't let my actions be a taint in their deep bond. I have to make this right, no matter what...'

"Hey Ava, I'll be back."

"Huh? It's going to be dark soon, where are you going?"

Xavier did not answer and headed toward the door. He did not look back, as he didn't want to show anyone his face right now. Luke, all this while, was standing on the side and not interrupting, but he knew what his big brother was going to do.

"As Ava said, it's fine-"

"Luke."

"..."

Ava was confused at the cryptic conversation that took place between the brothers, but the confusion was soon cleared.

"Ava, Luke... No one is sleeping hungry tonight. I'll bring back something good for dinner."

Ava immediately understood what his brother was going to do, but before she could stop him, he had already left. She had never seen her brother so serious before, so she was worried that he might do something extremely reckless.

"Please... stay safe. That's all I want..." Ava muttered under her breath as she watched Xavier run down the alley. Luke, seeing her worried face, moved closer to her in order to reassure her.

"Don't worry too much, no matter how dire the circumstances become, he pulls through and comes back in one piece. I'm sure he will do the same this time." Luke spoke in a confident voice, even though he was just as worried about Xavier. He had to show a strong stance, as the only other capable member of the family.

Back to Xavier, he now dashed away from his house and somehow reached the main street. He stayed hidden from the crowd and lurked around the gullies, scouting the food stalls and abiding his time. He knew that once he was exposed, he would get dirty looks from the whole street and the vendors would start to keep an eye out for him. That was how the life of a slum kid was.

'Man, who would've thought I would be stealing food again? This brings back memories...'

Xavier was nostalgic, because when he was around this age, or maybe a bit younger, he would go around stealing food to survive just like this. He had even gotten skilled enough to rob half a store without the storekeeper even noticing.

'To be honest, my constitution needed a ton of food to grow, half the store was justified...'

Xavier picked up a jute bag lying around and dusted it off. His current weakened state made this grand heist seem almost impossible, but now he had something he hadn't possessed in his food-stealing days.

'I can't use it for long or else my body will break apart, but 10 seconds is definitely doable...'

Xavier finally found the perfect target, a medium-large store with many customers, selling meat, fruits, vegetables, spices, everything. It was the perfect place to rob, being on the right balance of risk and loot. Too much and there's a chance he'll be caught, and too little would not be worthwhile.

Xavier approached the store while among the crowd, biding his time. When he found the right timing, he used his trump card.

'Supreme Demonic Arts:

Advent of Insanity.'

Xavier stepped forward with speed impossible for his frail body. Even though he was severely malnourished, a 14-year-old boy would still be better than an 8-year-old child he was in the trial. He dashed while controlling his pacing, making sure not to create too much noise. If a commotion happened and some random nobody decided to play hero, he would be fucked.

The store's merchandise was spread out, but not too far away from each other. Filling up a bag in this busy store wasn't the problem, there were too many customers to notice a sneaky hand slowly stuffing things inside. The problem would begin when he would make a run for it.

'Alright, I've collected enough meat, eggs, and vegetables for the whole week. I just need to run now.'

Xavier started running towards the door, and as he expected, this was the moment he got noticed.

"HEY! STOP THERE, FUCKING STREET RAT!"

Xavier heard the storekeeper, but he didn't look back. From behind, he could hear the storekeeper rushing out of the store, but Xavier was sure that an uninitiated middle-aged old man had no chance of touching his shadows.

'Haha, that was refreshing!' Xavier thought in a good mood, he couldn't wait to see the sickly girl and cheeky boy's faces light up with surprise and joy. He just needed to head back, and he knew the way.

All was going well until he heard and saw something he didn't want to.

"Stop there, thief!" A young man's voice sounded out from really close, and to Xavier's misfortune, just fractions of seconds later, he saw a lightly armored young man, strapped with leather equipment and an iron sword standing right in his way.

'Oh fuck.'

Xavier had milliseconds to respond. There was a young man standing in front, probably a year or two older than the current him. It was clear he was initiated, and from what Xavier felt, he was a rank 2 Initiate Veteran. When facing an enemy technically stronger with almost no time to react, Xavier responded with his fight-or-flight instincts.

And it was pretty obvious what a person like Xavier would choose from flight or fight.

*SWISH*

Without breaking stride, he leaped into the air, extending both legs forward in a running dropkick that slammed into the opponent's face, sending him flying backward and knocking him out cold. Xavier did look back and booked it. He knew it would be a very bad idea to linger around...