Regret

"How? How did it all come to this?"

A teenager, roughly sixteen sat in a dark corridor. There was no one in sight and the only thing that showed life was the boy. No one else was there. Just him. Alone. Stuck in a perpetual hallway that never seemed to end.

He remembered what happened before waking up and finding himself here. Eight years ago. Yes, that's when it all started. Eight years ago, he met the boy that changed his life.

EIGHT YEARS AGO

The boy sat below deck on his father's ship. His father was none other than the infamous Captain Aaron Wolfe who commanded his crew with a calm and fair mind. But he could also be ruthless when the right conditions have been applied.

The boy was sitting on an old crate, long forgotten by the crew working or sparring above him, reading a tattered old book that had writing on the cover that was too faded to read.

To be able to use this spell you must be able have a focused mind. You must be able to picture the person's face that you want to use the spell on. If yo-

The reading was cut short as the boy heard his father call for him to up on deck

"There's never any quiet time around here. But then again...it is a pirate ship. What else is there to expect?"

The boy sighed and quickly set his book aside as he stood up to go meet up with his father.

"This better be worth it." The boy thought as he finally reached the top deck, only to stop when he saw why he was called up.

"Xedra, I want you to meet the latest member of our crew. His name is Ulysses Stern and he will be staying with his older brother while he's with us.

Ulysses was sort of tall for his age and he had a lean build. He really stood out with his white hair that was long enough in the front that his bangs could cover his eyes if they weren't swept to the side. His eyes were a cool shade of blue, ocean blue if he had to be precise. His clothes were ragged, having several tears in it as if he had ran through a thorn bush. His face hadn't been spared for there were small cuts and scrapes, some deep enough that there was dry blood under the cut.

But he was still much different than Xedra. Xedra had dark brown hair that Captain Wolfe liked to compare to mud after a rainstorm and his eyes were like ice, so much like the frozen water, other kids flinched when they looked into them. He wasn't all that muscular but he was still skinny, he didn't really have that much of an appetite when it was time for meals but he ate enough every day to be healthy and fit so his skinniness has to do with his eating habits, not exercise.

Xedra looked over at his father, his icy blue eyes scanning him.

"Xedra I want you to welcome Ulysses, seeing as you're the only one his age around here." Aaron looked back at Ulysses and grinned "Xedra has just started using black magic and he's excelling at it."

His son matched his grin as Xedra's eyes glowed black and magic surged through him, chilling the boy right down to his very bones. There was something else...but he couldn't describe it.

Aaron smiled proudly at his son before glancing over at Ulysses

"Know how to fight, kid?"

"Just...just a little bit with daggers." Ulysses responded, a little hesitantly

And in a blink of an eye, the captain had pulled out a pair of daggers and tossed them to the white haired boy, Ulysses fumbling a little before catching them.

"Would you mind sparring with Xedra?" Aaron asked politely "He's too young to fight anybody else on this ship and I would appreciate it if you would."

Ulysses seemed to be considering this offer. He didn't say anything for a minute until he turned the daggers away from his body, gripped them tightly, and took a stance, suggesting he knew more than 'just a little' about fighting with daggers.

"This will be interesting." Xedra thought before his eyes glowed black again as Ulysses lunged at him.

The fight didn't last long, ten minutes at the most. Xedra won easily thanks to the black magic he was using. Ulysses couldn't get anywhere near him because Xedra was avoiding each attack and slamming Ulysses into the deck of the ship. The taller of the two stopped fighting after realising he couldn't win and he stood up while gripping his daggers loosely.

"You're pretty good but I'll beat you someday!" The albino remarked with a smile.

"I look forward to it." The icy eyed boy said back, a small smile appearing on his lips.

END OF FLASHBACK

Why? Why did he have to learn black black magic? Couldn't he have just learned how to use a sword? A musket? Maybe a spear? Just anything other than black magic. Anything else would've been better.

A friendship had been born on that day. A strong one in fact. The two boys were inseparable and constantly tried to outdo the other when it came to sparring. But those days were long gone and wouldn't come back. Those days would fade away into distant, unpleasant, memories.

TWO YEARS AGO

Four years had passed since Ulysses and Xedra had left Captain Wolfe's ship with Ulysses's brother, Valdus.

Valdus had raised enough gold to buy his own ship and take Ulysses and Xedra, who wanted to come, with him. The older brother wanted a variety for his new crew. He had met a thirteen year old named Quinn who was raised on the streets since he was a few months old and was proficient at stealing from others. Then there was a fifthteen year old named Charlotte who was, in a word, breathtaking. She had long, beautiful, brown hair that she liked to put into a braid to keep it out of the way and deep brown eyes that were filled with so much emotion that you couldn't look away.

She, Ulysses, and Xedra were a force to be reckoned with when they fought together. They were the three best friends that could never be separated no matter how much anybody tried.

But one day, the three were walking walking the deck when a falcon had come, just for Xedra, with a letter held tightly in its talons. Xedra had taken the letter and read it, and when he had finished, there was a look of pain in his eyes.

"Xedra? What's wrong?" Charlotte had asked, concern written clearly on her face.

"It's my dad," Xedra replied sadly "his ship was attacked by the the Scythes and he was killed."

Charlotte and Ulysses grimaced. The Scythes were basically the people who kept everything in order in their kingdom. They called themselves the Scythes to reference the Grim Reaper's scythe as a bringer of death to those who broke the law. And the law had finally caught up with Captain Wolfe and his crew.

"Xedra...we're sorry about your dad." Ulysses murmured.

"Don't worry about it." Xedra forced a tight smile "He's with my mom and should be much happier now."

"But you still lost a parent. And his crew lost a great captain." Charlotte countered back

"But he's in a better place. Be happy for him." Xedra then remembered something and shok his head with an actual smile, a small one, but a real one "I shouldn't talk about him like this but he was also a fool."

"How can you talk about your dad like that? And how was he a fool?" Ulysses questioned

'"This is a huge change of subject but he encouraged me to learn black magic."

Blank faces stared at him, clearly not knowing the consequences of using black magic.

"Listen, the more black magic I use the more likely I lose my mind."

What he said was true although he wished he had found out when he first started using the forbidden magic, it would've probably stopped him from using that godforsaken magic. But it was much too late for him to stop now.

"Can't you stop using it?" Ulysses quickly asked "I mean, you could learn how to use something else to fight."

"I've tried. It's not simple like that." Xedra muttered "It gives you a sense of superiority over others and makes you feel unstoppable," Then a little meekly "plus it's addicting as well."

There. He said it. He admitted that the magic was like a drug that he couldn't quit using. Something that would inevitably destroy his life.

"There's actually something I wanted to ask you two." They wouldn't expect this. It's too sudden but it's for the best. "If I lose my mind, I want one of you two to kill me if I can't pull myself out."

They just stared at him with horrified faces. They couldn't believe what he was saying. They? His best friends? Kill him?

"No way! You can't be serious!" Charlotte said, a little bit in a panic

"You're our friend! We can't kill you!" Ulysses said, supporting Charlotte

"If you don't kill me I'll probably kill others!" Xedra was yelling now then he calmed down all of a sudden and looked at his friends pleadingly "Please...I'm begging you two. Take my life before I take the lives of others."

They hesitated for a few seconds which felt like hours, both of them thinking of how this would affect them, others, and, most importantly, Xedra.

"...I'll do it."

Xedra looked at Ulysses in surprise.

"I'll kill you. Only because I would like to say goodbye when I do it. And I would like to see you one last time"

END OF FLASHBACK

Funny how just a year later, he had lost his mind. He had woken up one day in a long hallway with no doors. No windows. Just him. But there was someone else. It was a man that would appear for only a few minutes before leaving. The man looked almost exactly like his father except for the eyes. While his father's eyes were the same shade as his, the man's eyes were a menacing blood red. The man would come and boast saying how he is now in control of Xedra's body and tell him what he was doing with it.

"So, ready to know what I did this time?" The man asked. Like he needed to,. He would tell Xedra what he did even if he didn't want him to.

"Whatever. Just say it." Xedra had been locked away in his mind for a year now and was all too familiar with this procedure.

"I killed Charlotte."

In a second the man was pinned to the ground.

"What did you say?" Xedra snarled, his voice dripping with venom and his eyes more icy than usual.

"I. Killed. Charlott." The man was clearly happy with the reaction he was getting from Xedra. "She's gone. Dead. She's kicked the bucket. And there's nothing you can do about it."

The sad thing was, he was right. Xedra couldn't do anything. The deed was already done. She was gone forever. He could never tell her what he wanted to say.

The man soon left after delivering his message. Leaving Xedra alone with all his thoughts. All his regrets.

"Ulysses...Charlotte...I'm sorry...I'm sorry for everything I've done."

Soon after that day, Ulysses finally killed Xedra. Freeing him from his prison. His own mind. But left Ulysses regretting the day he killed his best friend. The three friends were just down to one. And all three said the same thing to each other.

I'm sorry.