HELLOOOOOOOO EVERYBODY! ARE YOU READEH FOR A NEW AND IMPROVED STORY?! IF YOU AREN'T TOO BAD! Here's my newest submission of my original story Elsword: The Greatest Warrior/Ultimate Defender! Yayyyyy.

Everybody: *unenthusiastic* Yayyyy.

You bet they're happy! Now it may not start with Ina but hey! Doesn't hurt to start with other OC eh? Onto to reading you beautiful/handsome reader you.

~Chapter Start~

Chapter 1: Story of the Reaper

NatePOV

You stumbled you way down another sandhill. Your face was looking down at the ground or was it sand? There was a lot all over you and your feet sank every step so supposed that was the case. However, you kept on walking through the sand with no purpose.

'What am I doing out here again...?'

You stopped and tried to think but all thoughts just drifted away with the dry wind.

'Who am I..?'

Up ahead you saw a column: old and dusty. It looked like it was about to fall apart. And then you saw another. And then another until you came upon what looked like...a golden dragon. Almost the back side of it was covered with sand. You stopped right next to the dragon head and fell to your knees. The dry wind blew sand in your jet black hair and into your face but you were used to that feeling. It was no use to get the sand out of your eyes when you knew that more will just take it's place. And worst of all, you were going to die.

Alone.

But you didn't even feel a tinge of sadness. You were always alone, that's the whole reason why you're stuck in this god damn desert.

'That's right...I came out here alone...and I'll die alone..'

You dragged yourself to the neck of the sand dragon and rested against it. You breathed out a sigh and looked at what was in front of you. Endless sand. Your piercing greens eyes began to close as you entered into the Endless Sleep.

'It was always meant to be...ever since I first entered this cruel world...'

-223-

You dreamed of the desert again.

'No not again...it reminds me of so many things..'

But then something descended from the sky in the distance. You had no idea what it was though. And where the thing landed it called out for you softly, "Nathaniel..."

You shook your head and curled up into a ball.

'No...no stop calling me that..'

But you knew that was your name. And you despised that name so much. You never wanted to even think about your name. You always tried to lose it in your dreams but it always comes back. Always. The faraway voice called again, "Don't deny your name child. It was the only one ever given to you. You should be grateful that you have such a name."

'I am not grateful for that..' you replied in your mind.

In one of the hills you saw three small figure. The first seemed human but it had something behind it. You couldn't make out what it was. The second was more animal like since it was on all fours and had long features such as a long neck and tail. The last one didn't even seem organic. As if it was from the undead. You closed your eyes and said out loud for the first time, "Let me just die alone..."

"Now why would we do that to you young man? Hopefully fate has sealed one of us together with you, didn't you know?"

'What?' But before you could even think, you had this feeling of falling. The ground beneath you shattered like fragile glass and you're now falling into what seemed like an endless abyss that leads to nowhere. But then you ended up at the bottom. You landed softly on your feet and looked around. It was just like the desert except you were on a three way road with one direction leading to infinite, the other leading to infinite yet again, and another that goes right down the middle. And all around you, snow blanketed the landscape.

'Great...in another disaster. When is this going to end..?'

You looked in both directions and didn't know where to start. A single tear fell from you.

'Every choice I made before has brought me here...who knows what the choice I make here will either break me whole or save my sanity...both of those choice brings me no comfort.'

The snow that fell around you started to make an inch pile in the whole landscape. But there was a small circle around you that had no snow, you melted it. When you reached out your hand into the snow, all the snow around you melted.

'It's getting hot..'

But every attempt you made to catch or touch the snow just melted away. It made you angry instead of sad now.

'This heat around me..why the hell is this here? Why do I need this blanket of heat around me? Preventing me to come in contact with this snow...I want to be cold instead of warm..warmth reminds me too much of everything..too much...'

Above you a light descended above and an orb of darkness followed loosely behind. They stopped in front of you and a soft voice started to murmur in your head, "Hello Nathaniel. We have been waiting for you."

You stared at the white orb, "For me? Who would ever want me..?"

"Us you silly boy! My child, we are here to help you decide whether or not you want to follow a certain path. I am Angela. This other orb next to me is named Zypher. We both represent two sides which is the light and the dark. But there is a separate road for you too."

Zypher lowered down into the snow and melted it to reveal another road that stretched into infinity. This road, however, was pitch black and blurry. You couldn't look past two feet to meet with a black mist to blur your vision. The same inorganic figure was in the black mist; as if it were expecting for him to come over. A chill ran up your spine as you saw the thing again. Zypher then spoke up with a menacing tone that sounded like his usual talking tone, "These three roads will guide to into three separate ways. One is the path of light in which Angela will join you in, the other I will accompany you in, and the last you will be accompanied by...no one."

"No one..?" you asked softly.

"No one," Angela spoke up, "The path of a reaper is a long and lonely road. One of the other things is that you live for an eternity until it is your time to be with the dead. Other than that, living alone will be one of the normal things a reaper must face."

You stood idly and watched each path. Angela's path glowed with hope and radiance. It made you want to be part of the light and you felt protected by it. Zypher's road was dull and bland. Shadows lingered every feet and it seemed to lead to a black hole. And then the reaper path. The reaper path seemed to suit you. You were attracted by the loneliness portion of it for some reason. It was so amusing. Angela spoke through your thoughts, "If you don't know, your life is on the line Nathaniel. Your real self is still clinging onto the small rope we left for you. Choose quickly before you slip."

You stood there for a while longer.

'I need hope in my life...but yet..I want to be alone...then again the darkness is also a pleasing aspect too..ugh..'

Zypher spoke softly, "If you want the truth Nathaniel, the darkness isn't all that great. I have to admit it sucks ass."

"Hush there! He's still a young boy! Don't teach him words like that."

"He'll learn either way so why not start early?"

The thought of being alone was all too amusing. You looked up and within your eyes you made the decision. "I know what I want. It's something I thought I would need..or already have in my life."

Angela mused and turned to Zypher, "Alright then. But know this Nathaniel. When you wake up, you won't remember anything. So I suggest that you keep that feeling in your heart and when the time comes, you'll know which one you shall choose."

You nodded your head. Their auras were lifted back up into the sky and they disappeared. Once they did, everything went dark. And the snow...a flake lingered on your finger before you disappeared.

-223-

You sat up suddenly and looked around frantically.

'Where am I?'

It seemed like a brick house and there was no one with you. But then someone peeked in who had quite a hair of purple. And she was beautiful too. She smiled and said, "You're awake! We thought you already died because your breathing stopped. We were actually going to give you a proper burial but now that you're awake were all just glad."

"Is the boy awake Rosaline?!" a deep voice called from out from the other side.

"Yes Emirate. Yeesh you don't have to yell."

Emirate poked his head in through and looked at you. You never knew you were looking at him with a glare until you saws him shiver. You quickly look away and asked, "Where am I?"

"Why you're in a village called Sanders. The Golden Desert." Rosaline answered.

"Oh.." was all you said.

She sat down next to you and asked, "Do you know if you have a family?"

You sat there for a few moments and thought about lying. But then again these people saved you...you opened your mouth and then heard a woman's voice, different than this other voice you heard from somewhere, in the back of your head almost hissing at you, "Stay quiet. Don't you dare say a word..."

And you listened to the voice without hesitation. You lied, "I don't remember anything.."

"Aww poor boy! You must have a family out there worrying for you. Maybe they're in this village."

"They were killed years ago."

It was silent as Rosaline and Emirate stared at you. You whispered out, "I don't even know if I have a mother and father but I'm here alive so I must have one."

Rosaline smiled and hugged you gently, "Don't worry kiddo. We're here for you."

"That's right," Emirate said finding a chance finally, "you'll feel at home in Sander Village. We'll welcome you with open arms."

You smiled and stood up, "Thank you. For this chance."

Rosaline ruffled your hair and patted your shoulder, "And what's your name young man?"

You looked up at her and smiled sheepishly, "It's uh...Nathaniel. But please, call me Nate."

You got used to the hot village and the work that was required. You knew everyone since it was quite small to you and everyone knew you. You completely forgot what you were before and the situation that you were just in. You helped out in Miss Vapor's alchemy shop where she was trying to figure out the ingredients to something called the Potion of Youth. You thought that sounded really far fetched but you just went along with it. You lifted heavy boxes of armor and weapons for Dafarr and even polished some of them for the weapon cases. You always thought of trying to use a weapon but none of the usual weapons appealed to you.

This went on for a few months before strange things began to happen at night. A voice started speaking to you in your head that spoke about disturbing things. About the darkness within you and how you needed to release it... You passed most off but it got so terrible one night that you couldn't get any sleep. The voice kept whispering that you will become one of them. And then behind those voices were more that whispered "Join us...join us..." It scared you terribly. You woke up from those whispers with a jump. 'Why would they do this to me? I don't have whatever they wanted. I don't!' It never made any sense.

You approached Vapor's store and hesitated at the entrance. You thought that maybe she wouldn't want to hear it and pass off those nightmares. You were about to turn away when you heard her yell, "Nate? Are you out there? Come help me with something."

"Y-yes ma'am. I'm here." you said as you entered cautiously.

Vapor was working on some alchemy because it smelled like beef jerky but there were other substances on the work table. She was dropping different types of liquids onto the beef jerky and one of them shriveled up into a tiny speck. She turned around and said, "Ah! There you are young man. Help me find a way to make these jerkies taste better. Try this one. It didn't react to salt and pepper. And this other one that didn't react food coloring. Everything else keeps messing up and I want to know why."

"Uhm," you said as you slowly took the jerky, "They didn't react because the ingredients are MADE for food. And...I wanted to ask you something Vapor."

She was reaching into cabinets and pulling out ingredients and started on making a mysterious green substance, "Yes? What do you want to say boy? Spit it out!"

"Uh uh," you stammered, "I have these weird dreams after a few months of staying with you guys."

"Mhm? And what about them?"

"Well...there's this voice that started to speak to me."

Vapor stopped suddenly and slowly turned to you with a fearful face. She closed her windows and locked all of them and then locked the door. She brought out only a candle and placed it on the alchemy table. She then turned to you with a serious face and whispered, "Tell me more Nathaniel. It is vital."

You told her about your dreams and how terrible they would get and she nodded with a grave face. When you were finished, she whispered, "It's happening again...Nathaniel, tell me that you will be more careful now that you told me. How come you never told anyone else?!"

"Because," you said sadly, "I thought no one would believe me."

"Nate, don't think that. We're here to help you in times like this. Know one thing boy. Don't you EVER, EVER listen to that voice. Protect your mind. Got that?"

You nodded your head and Vapor sighed, "I'm not trying to scare it's just that there was a same incident that happened years ago...but I shouldn't make you worry."

You nodded again and thanked Vapor for her help. "Be careful," she warned you again, "Protect your mind from the voice in your dreams."

You nodded once again, waved, and wandered off in the village. You kept walking around, all by yourself, and you didn't know which way you were going but it was where the wind was blowing so much it blew sand all over you. You ended up back at the dragon. Memories of the desert flooded into you and you shook your head. 'That's in the past Nate. Don't look back in the past.' In the distance you saw a figure that was a bit human like. It was laying against where you exactly were: the neck of the dragon. You quickly went to its side and found that it was a woman. Probably suffered the same fate you had. She had red hair and wore very provocative clothes. You didn't know what race she was. You slightly shook the woman and asked, "Are you okay?"

She didn't respond to you but she did groan in pain. You tried to get her up by having her lean against you but you were too small to carry her. You thought about going back to tell them but it was a long while when you got to her. You shook her again, "Hey lady. Wake up. Are you okay? Wake up!"

She didn't move again. You thought she was actually dead and tried to see. She looked fine...is she faking it? You pursed your lips and said, "You're faking."

There was total silence and you felt a tad bit stupid. You told a dead body that it was faking death. Ridiculous. However, you saw her crack a smile and softly saying, "How did you know?"

"Because you still had some body movements and plus your body wasn't as free moving like a dead one. And your skin color was normal."

"Such a smart young boy," she rose up and stretched a little, "You knew that I was alive even though you felt stupid for saying so. No one is around. Why feel like that?"

"W-well. You are! You're alive so yeah."

She laughed and flicked back some of her red hair and said, "Where did you come from little boy?"

"I came from the Sander village. They're nice people. Want me to take you there?"

The woman chuckled, "No thank you young man. Those people aren't the best."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

She giggled and waved her hand, "Why would you want to know? You like them so you're one of them. I don't affiliate with them so I shouldn't with you."

"Wait lady! Tell me. Why do you think they're bad people?"

The woman smirked, "You want to know?"

You nodded your head.

"They killed off my people! They killed every last one of them because they thought they were a terrible, terrible race."

"What race are you lady?"

She sniffled, "A succubus."

Since you had no idea what that was, you thought it was a race like a human. You then asked, "Why would they want to kill off your race?"

She shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea. They're monsters I say, monsters! Killing off my race for no good reason. Just terrible!"

"I'm sorry."

She smiled at you and bended down, giving you a view of her most prominent part, "No no, it's fine young man. I just wanted to say something very very important to you. Listen to me very carefully okay?"

You nodded your head.

She looked left and right as if there was someone snooping around and whispered, "You are a succubus too."

"I-I am?!" you cried suddenly.

All of a sudden, warriors jumped out behind the columns and drew their weapons. The lady snarled and stood back up. Emirate and Vapor showed up and Emirate said, "Nate come over here right now!"

"Wha-But why?!" you yelled confused.

"I should've told you who she was when you came into town. That's Karis the succubus! We had a feeling she was going to use you when you mentioned the voices in your nightmares to Vapor."

'Karis?' You looked up at her and she was smiling deviously, "You may think you have me this time Emirate but I have an ally by my side. Isn't that right Nate?"

You looked between them and said softly, "She told me that I'm a succubus...am I one?"

"But of course! You have such handsomeness that's not passed from any normal human. You are a succubus my boy." Karis answered happily.

"You step away from him Karis. He's not yours for the taking!" yelled Emirate.

"Oh really now?" You felt Karis becoming bold, "Try and stop me then!"

Karis wrapped her arms around your waist and spread out concealed bat wings. She gave one flap and shot into the air. She flew against the wind with ease and laughed saying, "So long~. I'll take care of him from here~!"

You looked up at her and said, "They don't seem like bad people. Why did you take me from them?"

"Remember? They killed our race. They were going to kill you too! They were tricking you all this time!"

"They...were?" You looked back at them and stared blankly. 'I guess...I wasn't accepted at that place. It was all a lie. Why? Why do people lie?'

Karis hugged you tightly, "There there young man. I forgot to ask! What's your name sweet boy?"

"Nathaniel. But...call me Nate."

"Alright Nathaniel. What a handsome name you have. I remember giving that to a child I had. I have no idea where he went though."

You nodded your head closed your eyes. 'Finally...accepted by someone who actually understands me. This feels great.' The great flap of Karis' wings slowly brought you to a happy slumber. Where you were happy for once.

~Chapter End~

Ooooooooooooo! I started in the Sander region! hehehehehehe *ahem* But anywho, how you like it? Good? Bad? Mediocre? Pizza? Salad? Would you like some dressing on that salad? Rate and review my pretties. o u o