Echo in the Mirror Chapter 1, a mystic messenger fanfic

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so this will probably be the last fanfiction I release for now so I can finally get the plot bunnies away and focus on Their Saving Grace, which I apologize for not updating—gosh my schedule's been a real mess and I've been going on so much trips lately T_T. In any case, this was actually a long overdue idea I had inspired by my friend Ameri Lie's MMD video titled Echo. I recommend you guys check out her other videos on YouTube while you're at it! (I can't post URLs here which is a shame)

Echo is also a pretty rad song~ You could always listen to it while reading but it'll be kinda set you off since the tempo is quite upbeat even with the darker lyrics XP I recommend some Dark instrumental music to set the mood, perhaps from Lucas King or Peter Gundry, they have a vast selection to choose from=w=)/

Also, I will also apologize since this fanfic will contain absolutely sensitive material. If you cannot handle the issues listed below, I highly suggest you turn back now.

WARNING: This story contains child abuse, self-harm, torture, mentions of depression, rape, and suicidal thoughts. Also, there are heavy spoilers for Seven's route and for Secret Endings 1 and 2. Reader discretion advised, please proceed with caution.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mystic Messenger. All credits to Cheritz.

CHAPTER 1

"I won't let him just be. He has to pay for his crimes in front of my eyes. He's the one who put me in all of this despair!" - Unknown

Where was he?

It's so dark.

So cold.

He tried to calm down, resting his head on the cement floor. Foggy memories spilled forth from his mind as he watched dust dancing in the rays of sunlight spilling from the barred window above. Saeran wanted to cry but he couldn't, not now. He had to be strong for so he could figure out what was going on. Minutes after, fragmented snippets of earlier events caused him to jolt up despite his weak body's protests. He was on his way to buy something for his mother when he was… taken.

No no no no no no no no no no no…

He was kidnapped.

But for what reason!?

Wait, what did it matter? He wanted to go home! He had to be back. Mother would be furious and tie him up again.

And he still had to wait for Saeyoung to come back.

Golden eyes darted back and forth from his cell to the bars that held him in. The room was lightened by the blazing fire from the torches affixed to the wall. Only a flimsy blanket that he didn't notice was covering him up was inside here with him, leaving a sense of isolation.

He shuddered a bit before clearing his scratchy throat. "H-hello? Is anybody t-there?! Let m-me out!"

At first, only his voice carried over in eerie echoes throughout the jail room. His heartbeats quickened as hurried footsteps entered his hearing. Clammy hands tightened around the blanket when two figures came into view.

"It looks like he's awake."

"Let's bring her to the Saviour immediately. Prepare the initiation ceremony."

Confusion filled his face as he stared up at the men. They wore strange blue robes and the looks on their face were… terrifying. "W-where am I?! L-let me go home!"

The strange men ignored him. The taller of the two shuffled about until he produced a large rusty key from his clothes. He unlocked the door with a click, throwing the cell door wide open. Momentary hope coursed through the young boy's frail body as he was hoisted up. It quickly faded away as he was dragged by the arms down the hallway even as he yelled at them to stop.

Saeyoung, help me!

That was all he could think of, his remaining lifeline in this bizarre turn of events. He held back the tears even though he could feel them edging at his eyes. His body shook with every step and he desperately kept on squirming against the vice-like grip on his wrist.

Despite nearly shaking the taller man off of him, Saeran would only find himself being shoved by the other pudgy man who trailed behind the duo. His vicious glares made him instinctively bite back a squeak but nevertheless, he screamed at the top of his lungs. His wheezy pleas for them to let him go back to his Mother went on unheard and instead he switched to asking who they were.

Crooked grins were exchanged between the robed men. "You'll find out soon." The redhead whipped his head away in fright at their menacing tones.

It was then that he noticed that other people were actually occupying the cells. A variety of men and women from different age groups with the same dazed, soulless look in their eyes, their faces had sunken in and they had sported pale complexions. He grimaced at their skinny bodies, mentally noting the purple splotches and bandages that wound all over them.

He whispered a silent prayer to God, the one that Saeyoung believed in as a Catholic despite him not being baptized, and frustratingly stumbled with the words in his hazy mind.

They came to the end of the jail room and ascended to a more regal and hospitable hallway, decorated with purple banners with golden swirl patterns, complicated architecture Saeran remembered was called 'Barok' or something like that from one of the books he borrowed from Saeyoung, and rows of gorgeous tinted windows partially covered by purple curtains. A red carpet splayed across the marble floor with various candelabras stationed at a fair distance apart from one another.

The place reminded him of a castle.

However, it bothered him that a strange symbol had been carved into the many objects in the building, colored in mint. It looked to have been an eye with the end swirling down exaggeratedly. Was this the… brand of these people?

His thoughts were disrupted when they came upon a large, mahogany door that creaked loudly, revealing the strangest room the redhead had ever come across with.

The room had the same theme as the hallway before it, though grander in scale and had chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. In the far end of the room was a set of stairs leading up to a golden throne lined with purple cushions, with elaborate looking tapestries flanking its sides. There sat a woman whose equally golden hair framed her stoic face, familiar green eyes boring down on him.

"I see you're awake, Saeran."

The shock left him speechless. This person… was the one who gave him the book on hacking and helped him attend church school for the past two months.

"Rika… is it really y-you?" he mumbled.

"It's me." She replied, brushing her hands against her robes that were a mix of white, blue and black underneath a long sleeved vest with the same color scheme. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and strangely enough, the air she exuded was cold, unlike the normal warmth she had.

Too many questions entered his already bewildered mind. Why was she sitting there? Is she connected with these odd people? Was she the one who brought him here? All of those thoughts raged in him as he was pushed to the floor, temporarily knocking the breath out of him. He didn't say anything as his brain buzzed, body tense.

"You've been well, I presume?" she asked in a melancholic manner, the same way she had spoken to him what she and V had done so he wouldn't have to suffer so much anymore.

He shifted from his position so he could face the blonde. "I-I guess. My arm hurts though." He said honestly, earning a muffled snarl from the tall, unnamed man.

"I do apologize for the rough awakening you had to experience earlier. I did say they be more careful since your body is weak."

"S-s-so you were the one r-responsible for bringing me here then?" He stammered, forcing himself to stare into her blank eyes.

She gave him a close eyed smile. "Yes."

Saeran didn't know exactly what to think. On one hand he was still grateful to his benefactor for everything she had done for him but in the other, he was in disbelief with her intentions as of present. For one, he disliked the glint in her eyes, one that resembled his own mother's expression when she was having her fits. "W-why?"

"It was necessary in order to prepare you for what is to come." The blonde made a waving gesture as she said that, noises in the background increasing.

He didn't get to ask what she meant when he was once again dragged, this time by his collar. His vision blurred from the brute force that the tall man had done so, his clothes squeezing his neck to the point that he could only let out ragged gasps.

Why is this happening?! Saeyoung, save me! Please!

All he knew was the spinning cycle of pain, reminding him of all that he endured back at home. He cried out to Rika, hoping for an explanation, for anything that could somehow justify what in the world was going on. Through his distorted perception, he caught sight of the cruelly sad smile the person he thought he knew wore, leaving Saeran frozen in fear. Before he knew it, the redhead could breathe again as he was slammed on top of something metal.

Black spots blossomed in his eyes as he struggled to move. Unfortunately, his arms were immobilized. He was strapped to the metal surface by the wrist, same with his ankles.

"H-hey! What i-i-is this?! Let me g-go!"

No matter how much he tried to free himself, it was to no avail. He shivered as people started bustling around him. He didn't pay him much attention as he craned his neck around, eyeing the approaching Rika apprehensively. "Rika, please t-tell them to let me go! I h-have to go back home!"

That cruel smile she gave him had melted into one of sadness, or so he thought. He blinked in surprise but her smile was back in place. It couldn't have been his imagination. Her smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and the sadness was still there in her eyes. "R-Rika?"

Why?

She was mere inches away from him, her form hovering above him with a scrutinizing gaze. It was silent for a moment until she held out her slim hand. "Give me a Class E shot. We have to test his limits before proceeding."

"S-shot?" he repeated as he glanced at a jogging woman in the same robes as the other men that surrounded them. His eyes widened like saucers at the syringe containing some sickly green substance.

Rika sighed as she grabbed his right arm. "This will sting but bear with it. This is all for the future. Your future. For Mint Eye."

"For Mint Eye!" The others declared rather enthusiastically as she injected the fluid into him, making him flinch and wriggle frenziedly.

"W-what are you—ARGHHHHHHH!"

What is this?! His cries wracked through his pained mind, unable to voice them out as he convulsed on the table. Whatever it is they had forcefully plunged into his veins felt like poison. It burns! My chest feels like it's about to burst!

He wanted to claw at his throat, the bile rising from it threatened to just spurt out. His lungs felt like they were failing their owner. Gasp after gasp was torture but he couldn't do a thing but just spasm on the table.

Everything was on fire.

His mind was a flurry of emotions but strangely, his memories started to become disjointed. He grasped unto the good ones for support, or else he'd just go mad.

Saeyoung!

His muscles trembled violently, unsteady breaths leaving him uneasily. The pain was fading.

"Hmm… survived a Class E shot that lasted 3 minutes. Good. Hand over the Class D shot."

He faintly caught a glimpse of the new syringe with a purple tint in Rika's hand. "N-no…" he rasped out feebly before another wave of pain hit him.

Was it ever going to end?

Shadows closed in on him as he let out a strangled sob, calling out a name that felt like cool water on his raw throat.

"Saeyoung…! S-saeyoung… Sae…"

"Give me another."

So much pain.

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Make it stop. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Saeyoung please help. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Saeran wailed as much as he could. How much time had passed? He didn't know.

He just knew that this was going to kill him at one point.

He begged for Saeyoung to come and save him like those superheroes he would tell him about. He wasn't as much as mad for him suddenly disappearing. He didn't really care anymore. He just wanted to hold him and hear soothing words like before.

His lost half...

Woozy and near the brink of losing consciousness, he heard a hum beside him. "I'm amazed. You survived a Class B shot even with your weak physicality."

He wanted to sleep.

"Bring him… to… cell. I want him... for… next…"

Shuffling sounds made him snap back to reality for a moment. His head lolled tiredly and his body felt like a lead. "This… for… future. You… an asset… us. And… you will… revenge on those who wronged you."

Those… who… wronged me?

He didn't get to expand on the remark as he finally succumbed to the darkness.