It was a strange phenomenon to experience. To see but not see, to feel, hear and even taste yet not truly experience those things at the same time. At least it was to the boy who was feeling all those things. He couldn't really make out what was really going on, let alone comprehend his situation. He could see and remember the faces of people who he knew were important to him yet they felt fleeting like it was a dream. Yes, it had to be a dream, for what else could explain how he was feeling right now. He could not, or did not understand what was going on or how it happened nor could he remember what he was supposed to be being.

It felt like he was forcefully pulled apart from where he was supposed to be; as if he was missing a piece of himself, unable to truly feel whole. This dream like state was beginning to frustrate the boy. He was like an infant, helpless inside the womb, unable to move or make sense of the world around him except through dreams of vivid images that gave him no ideas. However, the worst feeling he got from this was the feeling of isolation. Where he was, he did not know but it was like a shapeless, formless blank white void. From this place, he could somehow see it all: who he was, where he came from, his companions who cared for him and helped him form his own person. Perhaps he was trapped in his own head.

His name was Laphicet, part of a race called malakhim; that much was certain. He was once bound to the exorcist Teresa, before being kidnapped by a therion named Velvet Crowe, who would eventually give him his name and help him break out of his empty shell so he could have a will of his own. There were others as well. Rokurou, a friendly if strange Daemon from a far off land, Eizen, a no-nonsense pirate and fellow malak trapped with the reapers' curse who nevertheless held to his own conviction strong and proud, Magilou, an eccentric, crafty witch alongside her personal malak Bienfu and finally Eleanor, another exorcist and his new vessel, a very kind if a little uptight girl. These things were becoming clearer to him. He was starting to remember the many adventures they had; the fond memories that he would cherish.

And yet, they were just that: memories. They showed visions of what had happened, of what he had seen and experienced but at the same time his companions were not here with him at the present and at the end of it all, he was all alone on the empty white expanse. Another thing that was bugging him was the fact that these memories were all events that had happened yet they never seemed to reach a conclusion. He couldn't remember what had happened to him or the fate of the others afterwards. It was all hazy like they were repressed inside of his subconsciousness.

But just as he was starting to feel like he would be trapped in this eternal void forever, he began to hear the faint sound of voices in the distance. They were barely audible at first, being more akin to loud whispers, yet with each passing second, they grew louder and louder. Laphicet couldn't make out what they were saying but they sounded like children playing. Laughter filled the white void with the voices of kids playing around until they too eventually stopped as one of the children shouted to the others, seemingly out of a need to tell the others about something of importance. Suddenly, the voices of the other children returned as audible whispers and murmurs as if discussing amongst themselves. But alas, it seems it wouldn't matter much as he would still be trapped in this drea-

"Hey! Wake up"

Laphicet felt a sudden jolt of continuous shaking as though he could actually feel a true sensation for once. Everything turned dark too as the white void disappeared and it felt like he could move his body again. Or at the very least move his eyes as he slowly opened them. His vision was blurry at best and it caused him great discomfort as the sunlight penetrated through his eyes. He could see blurry images of small figures surrounding him and staring at him curiously.

"Where do you think he came from?" one of them asked; hearing those words Laphicet thought that at the very least it seems his ears were still working fine, which gave him a slight relief. "He looks like he's hurt pretty badly, maybe his home got hit by Grimm or the White Fang" another one answered. Grimm? White Fang? Laphicet had never heard of those terms before. "So, what should we do with him?" a small voice whimpered. "We should take him to back home before it gets worse for him. They can help him out" a louder, more confident voice uttered. "Yeah, let's take him there now" another one agreed, " C'mon help me carry him."

If what they said was true, then he must've been in a pretty bad shape when they found him. It probably explained why he was trapped in a coma like state and was unable to move. It would also explain the discomfort when opening his eyes or the numbness in his body, the implication of pain was something he now dreaded should his other sensations return. Fortunately, it seems it wouldn't be happening for now as he immediately fell back into unconsciousness as the children began lifting him up.

This time however, he would not slip into the eternal nothingness as he blacked out. For once, he could finally feel something. And not just the confusing sensation that he previously experienced, but something genuine again. He felt weak and tired, an effect that had taken over his entire body as exhaustion subdued him. Yet, it was mitigated by the touch of something soft, light and smooth from the back of his head and neck all the way to his feet. As he slowly regained more consciousness, Laphicet opened his eyes and found himself staring at some sort of ceiling and it was then that he realized he was in a bed of some sorts.

Using his still weak hands to support his weight as he raised himself to a seated position, the young malak was overwhelmed by the sensory input his brain was trying to register. It was a little bit too much to bear at first: to see, hear and touch the world around him for the first time in what felt like an eternity, but eventually his eyes, ears and skin became accustomed to them, although his body still felt weak and some parts like his back , shoulders and legs were aching with pain. As he looked around, he could see that he was wearing what looked like a plain shirt that felt a little big for him. His arms were covered in bandages while the lower half of his torso was hidden beneath a thick blanket. He felt like something was covering his forehead as well, which if he could guess, were probably bandages.

Aside from his own body, as he looked around, Laphicet saw rows of beds neatly placed beds just like the one he was on in a moderate sized and dimly lit room with one door. At this moment, he could only let out a sigh as he stared towards one of the four windows, wondering who the residence of this place was and what they were doing. The room itself had a pleasant aroma, though the strong smell of sterility was present as well which overpowered his olfactory senses. Uncertainty crept over him: it wasn't typical of him to be unsure of what was happening or where he was, but this time he was. Not knowing who saved him and where they took him in made him even more anxious. However, he did hear the sound of children before he blacked out, so he could safely assume that the children lived here as well. This was further supported by pages of colorful drawings plastered across the walls. As it were, Laphicet knew that there was only so much guessing that he could do, and with his weak body, he was in no position to move around and so resigned himself to patiently wait for the arrival of his rescuers to give him some answers.

As fate would have it, this anticipation did not take too long as Laphicet began hear the sound of footsteps coming in from one direction towards him, getting louder and louder. Eventually they stopped before the door as it slowly creaked open and from it, emerged a figure.

"Oh, I see you're awake" the figure said with genuine surprise. The voice was feminine and as she came forward Laphicet could discern the details of her features. She seemed of be of decent height for an adult with a slender frame. The woman wore a light-colored robe that consisted of white and blue highlights and covered her entire body, as if to show modesty. Most of her head was covered with some sort of headdress with only a small glimpse of her hair, implying that she must be some sort of priestess or cleric for some religious organization, something that Laphicet thought upon as he observed her. Despite this, as she came closer, Laphicet noticed how young she looked from the soft facial features and glimpses of her amber hair slipping through the headdress that he could see.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked, gently putting the palm of her hand on top of his forehead. Her hand felt soft and a sense of warmth emanated from it. "I-I'm feeling okay, just a little bit tired. That's all" Laphicet replied. "Well, that is to be expected. You were unconscious and bruised up" she smiled letting go of her hand from his forehead, "but it seems your fever has subsided".

"What is your name dear?" she asked. Despite her youthful appearance, she had very motherly demeanor based on the body language she displayed which made him feel comfortable and put him at ease. She reminded him somewhat of Eleanor. Certainly, there were major differences, one of the most prominent being that he didn't fully know her yet though it seemed likely she and Eleanor would have gotten along quite well. "Laphicet" he answered.

"Laphicet?" she said, almost looking puzzled by it, "a fine name, though certainly a unique one. I've never heard of it before. Did your parents give you that name" she continued, almost as if she was really curious about it? The question, however, only left the boy stunned and speechless as he sat in silence before lowering his head and shaking it. The woman was taken aback by his answer though she quickly recovered, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked those things" she acknowledged his silent answer, as if she completely understood what he meant with an apologetic and regretful tone. To be fair, he wanted to tell her that he was a malak and thus was born through other means: a reincarnation of an unborn child in his case, but hesitated at the last second as he felt that it would needlessly complicate the situation. "It's okay. I didn't tell you about it, so there's nothing to be sorry about" the boy reassured, settling for playing along with her assumptions. The young woman came in closer to him before pulling him into a gentle hug, "I won't ask for details anymore my dear, but know that I'm here for you, as are others in this place". The embrace was surprising but the warmth of it was enough for him to lower his guard, for it brought back memories of his time with Velvet and the others. He didn't know how to really describe it to himself as he was lost in the moment but it felt good. "For now, you should rest until you've regained your strength" she said, slowly pulling away from him smiling "you may call me sister Valerie. I work here as a cleric and caretaker at this orphanage. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to tell me when I'm present, alright?"

"Alright" he answered back with a smile of his own. She slowly lowered him back down to a sleeping position before tucking his blanket back in to his upper half. "Good. Now get some rest Laphicet, I will return to check on you soon" the sister said as she made her way to the exit. As the door creaked shut, so did Laphicet shut his eyes, rested and content in knowing that he was in the hands of what seemed like decent people like her. At least for now.

A day had passed by and the young malak had almost made a full recovery. The nun Valerie had been his only contact with the world outside so far, feeding him and helping unwrap his bandages. Yet, there were a still a lot of things unaccounted for and he had many questions he needed answered. "Good morning Laphicet, how are you feeling today?" she greeted, making her way to him with a tray for food. "I feel a lot better Sister Valerie" Laphicet answered back, getting to a seated position. "That's good to hear" she said as she laid the tray on his lap, "there's something I want to show you but for now, have your breakfast first".

Laphicet stared at the food placed at his lap before digging in. It consisted of two small loaves of bread and a bowl of stew, the contents of which he did not know but it was more than enough to salivate him. As he dined on his breakfast, Valeria left the room before coming back after a few minutes with a small bag. "I see you've finished your food" she said taking the empty tray away from him while handing him the bag. "Umm, so what's this?" the boy asked. "These are the clothes you wore when we found you" she answered. Looking into the contents of the bag, Laphicet could indeed see that they were his: the robe, the leggings, the neckerchief, and even the bell collar he wore were there, fresh and in pristine condition. "We had them washed, ironed out and stitched as well" Valerie continued.

Laphicet face lit up and glowed upon hearing that, delighted to know that he still had some his old possession with him. "Wow, thank you so much, Sister Valerie!" he exclaimed. "It's quite alright" she answered with a smile, "now, get dressed and meet me outside the door. I believe it's time I showed you around " she continued as she left the room once again.

Minutes later, Laphicet emerged from the door wearing his normal clothes again; it would seem that he had made a full recovery and could walk perfectly fine as far as the nun could see. "Are you ready?" the nun asked to which the Malak answered with a firm nod. Acknowledging his reply, Valerie motioned for him to follow her. As he followed her through a large wooden hallway, he could see various images of children and possibly the clerics framed together and hung on the wall.

"Do you like them?' she asked, noticing his intense stares. "Yeah! These paintings look so real!" he exclaimed, to which Sister Valerie let out a small giggle. "These are not paintings silly, they're photographs" she explained. Laphicet tilted his head sideways and looked at her with confusion: for he had never even heard of the word photograph or what it even was. The nun was bewildered at his confusion, for through her point of view it would seem he had very little education or knowledge of the world around him. "Do you really not know what a photograph is, Laphicet? or is it that you don't even know what a camera to begin with?" she questioned him with a raised eyebrow, to which he answered by shaking his head and uttering "nuh uh". It seems not having parents around has affected his education she thought, resting the palm of her hand on her forehead. "Very well, it seems we'll have a lot to teach you" she states with a sigh. Eventually, they turned towards a corridor leading to a moderate sized stairway. Going down the stairs, Laphicet could see a receptionist desk to his right side and a large door at the front. In front of the desk was a man who also wore robes of the same color pattern, with a short brown hair slicked back and a pair of spectacles, implying that he too must be a cleric.

"Ah! Sister Valerie, good morning!" he greeted, "and this must be our young guest" the man continued looking down towards Laphicet. "Laphicet, let me introduce you to Brother Gregory" she announced, "he looks after this place and the children like I do."

"Children?" the young Malak inquired. "Ah yes, of course, I've forgotten to mention where you are" she said with a tinge of guilt, "you're in an orphanage. The Solitus Home for Lost Children to be exact". An orphanage? He thought to himself: It would explain all of the beds, the pictures of the children and the colorful drawings he saw. "So….is this place anywhere near Midgand?" he inquired. "Midgand?" the nun and the cleric spoke in unison as they looked at each other in bewilderment before fixing their gaze back towards Laphicet. "I've never heard of a place called Midgand. We are just a few miles outside of the city of Mantle, near the town of Glayde in the Kingdom of Atlas. The orphanage got ots namesake from the continent we're on, Solitus" Gregory alluded, to which Laphicets' eyes widened in disbelief as his singular cowlick stood up straight. "H-huh?!" was all he could muster, "Umm…what about Islegand or Northgand?" he asked.

"Never heard of those either. Perhaps they are in some other continents, Remnant is a big world after all" Brother Gregory continued.

Now this was just confusing the Malak even more. Remnant? Mantle? Atlas? He had never even heard of these names before. Though to be fair, Rokurou himself came from a faraway land of a completely different culture too, so it wasn't out of the question to assume that he himself was far away from home. A sentiment shared by Valerie as she chimed in "It seems you're far away from home, wherever this 'Midgand' or the other places you described are ".

"So, what will you do now?" Valerie asked the boy. Laphicet felt somewhat frightened at the moment; for he now realized that he was lost and stranded in a completely foreign land. It was quite possible that he was even oceans apart from Velvet and the others. He had no idea about the customs and cultures of this place and this made his both frustrated and a bit intimidated.

"I-I…umm..well..I do have friends back home, people I care about. I don't like leaving them there all by themselves so maybe I coul-"

"If you're thinking about leaving, I wouldn't recommend it, not at these times at least" the cleric Gregory interjected "You could easily get lost in the cold forest and the Grimm are everywhere. I'm sure you're familiar with the Grimm enough to know it is a bad idea to wander into one even if you're a huntsman"

"I concur with Brother Gregory. It is quite dangerous at this time, especially for a child such as yourself. You were barely alive when the other children found you, I shudder to think what would've happened if we didn't get you here in time" Valerie chimed in and part of Laphicet begrudgingly agreed that she had a point. "Why don't you stay with us for the moment. There is plenty of room in the orphanage for one more child and we do have large collection of books from a generous donor. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two about the world to find your way back home."

That does seem like a reasonable offer to Laphicet, though he was still weighing his options on which would be the better choice: Trusting complete strangers in a foreign land might not be the best idea but going all alone in an unfamiliar territory would probably be even worse. He took a few seconds to come up with an answer. "I- maybe I could stay for a while here I guess" he replied to the offer.

"A good choice, my boy" Gregory praised him "perhaps if you're lucky, you might even get adopted by a wealthy family from Atlas"

"Adopted?" Laphicet asked.

"This is an orphanage after all. Most of these children are victims of a Grimm attack or come from poor backgrounds. Getting adopted by a well-off family is the best way to secure a good future. Though I'm sure with such an adorable face such as yours, it shouldn't be too hard" the Cleric teased.

Laphicets' whole face reddened as he puffed his cheeks "but I'm not adorable. Boys aren't supposed to be adorable" he proclaimed with seriousness, to which the two adults let out a small giggle upon hearing his proclamation. Laphicet let out sigh in defeat, for it seems as though the two didn't take his statement seriously.

"I'm sure that's true for you. Now come with me, I believe you would like to meet the other children" Valerie implored, to which Laphicet nodded with a smile as he followed her towards the large door. As the door opened, it revealed a large open field surrounded by a wall of forests. Lush snow had covered most of ground and trees as the piles of it blanketed the branches and leaves of trees while others were spreading out far and wide amongst the open dirt. Though he had been accustomed to cold places like Northgand before, Laphicet could still feel the chilly breeze flow through him.

However, it seemed to matter little to the children who were out playing in the field, frolicking amongst themselves. Some of them were busy playing tag or snowball fights, while others occupied themselves with building a snowman. All of them were busy doing their own thing, oblivious to the two figures emerging from the entrance of the orphanage, until one of them took notice.

"Hey, it's that kid we found!" a boy shouted. All the other children took notice of the call and immediately rushed towards Laphicet and surrounded him. The young Malak took a good look at all of the young and excited faces that had encircled him and realized that some of them looked very different from the others. For example, one boy had horns on the top of his head that resembled those of goats, while there was a girl who had fox like ears, another that had a tail of a cat while a boy on the far-left side had reptilian scales. Yet, they still resembled human enough that it made Laphicet be taken aback, though certainly not enough to shock him as he had seen all manner of strange creatures like Daemons alongside other Malakhim of different forms, shapes and sizes.

"Look like you're doing ok" one of the boys said.

"Yeah, we were so worried about you" the girl with the fox ears chimed in. "So, are you staying with us? And what's your name?" she continued.

"It's Laphicet" the malak answered with a warm smile, "and yeah, I think it'll be staying here a while. I wanna repay everyone here for helping me out so much"

"Alright!" a boy cheered.

"It looks like you'll be getting along with the other children just fine. Why don't you play and get to know them better for now? I'll help you settle in later" Sister Valerie suggested.

"That'd be awesome! So, will you hang out with us?" one of the children asked.

I don't know where I 'am or how I'll get back but for now, I think I'll stay here Laphicet thought to himself before he answered with enthusiasm "Sure! I'd love to".