"Hermes poison". It is a very deadly poison made from a deadly, beautiful flower, and it kills from the inside within a very small amount of time, about 30 seconds.
Kai Ren shook his head. He could feel the grief, the pain, the shame, and even worse carried by Star. Somehow, it was even worse than the one he had on Earth. The agony was too much that he wondered how Star had been able to cope with himself all this while. Well, he did resolve to drinking and sleeping with whores.
He didn't blame him for taking his life; he blamed the world for making him want to take his life. Despite being a prince, a noble, having wealth and all, yet he still took his life and ....hang on…
Speaking of whores, Kai Ren's eyes moved around the room to take in his surroundings. A memory clicked into place. To the left of where he sat was a door leading to an antechamber. Beside that was a tall wooden cabinet, carved plain and elegant.
Next to it stood a great wardrobe, heavy with cloaks and velvets, the kind only a prince would own. Rugs lay thick upon the floor, woven with heraldic patterns that had frayed at the edges but were still rich in color. Silver wall sconces held stubbed candles that had once burned bright.
A small table near the window bore a polished plate and a pair of goblets, and on another side a low desk with ink, quill, and parchment, all arranged with courtly neatness. Tapestries, faded yet proud, hung along the walls. Everything was ordered and intentional, a noble's chamber kept with the careful negligence of those who assume someone else will always tend to the details.
His eyes moved through the room until they lingered last on the bed.
The bed.
"God, I'm doomed," he muttered as he quickly stood up. At first, his legs wobbled as though they were suddenly replaced with that of a child's. He gasped, holding the chair for support as he stretched himself, his legs regaining strength gradually.
On his bed were three girls. All three of them were naked, and they lay on the massive four-poster giant bed. They were fast asleep, oblivious to what had been happening — like Star poisoning himself.
Could he have been so good with them that he fucked them to stupor? Because looking at things, only someone who had enjoyed herself with drinks and pleasures would sleep in that manner , in this case, like a child.
"Co-could it be why I felt weak?" he thought. Because taking three girls one night and being so good at it deserves an award, and it will also have a toll on you.
But that wasn't the problem. The day was breaking more and more, and with every passing second, the danger at hand drew closer.
His father had warned him that he didn't want to see him with whores anymore, but that night he had snuck them in together with the Hermes poison.
Yes, he could remember, his aim was that since he was going to commit suicide, he might as well have his last sex and pleasure before dying, and he was going to make it count. Fuck the world after all.
Quickly, now that his legs could carry him properly, he strode to his bed. With every step he felt a new fullness in his limbs. His muscles were firmer; the air in his lungs filled more easily. The sensation was more than physical, rebirth had given him a sturdier frame, a body that had eaten well and been trained. He felt the difference in the way his robe slid, in the way his shoulders sat.
"Hey," he gasped in a low and audible tone as he hit the first lady lying at the edge of the bed.
"Wake up, goddammit! It's dawn!" He shook the next girl violently by her leg, muttering, "Get up! You girls need to get out of here."
The ladies only responded with weak groans, stretching weakly, their sleepy minds too tired to comprehend the rush, if only they knew what was coming.
Of course, Kai Ren knew what was coming, because Star should be dead by now. Sleeping with those whores came with two mindsets: one was that if he bloomed, his father, when he found out he slept with whores, would be mad. But by then, he had already bloomed and would be in the Woe Plane, relapsed or not.
Secondly, if he didn't bloom like he had suspected, he would simply poison himself and die. His father could go ahead and punish his corpse as he pleases.
Well, that corpse was now Kai Ren's body.
With this, Kai Ren knew his father knew he was turning 18 that night and would come to check if he had bloomed or not, and…
*Bang!*
The door burst open with a large force that shook the walls. A sharp shiver ran through the whole of Kai Ren's body. He felt a kind of fear he had never felt before. The whores he had been waking to sneak out started awake, scrambling, panic replacing leisure. But it was already too late.
"I knew it," came a voice like a falling boulder, it belonged to the man standing at the door. He was a mountain of a man, and the sleeping silverish robe he wore showed every ounce and outline of his muscles. His face was bearded and hard, a deep scar cutting across his left cheek.
"No son of mine disgraces me like you, STAR!" he yelled as he threw his arm forcefully across the air. What happened next occurred in a blink, a thick green energy had formed in his hand, and with a very forceful affinity, he had channeled it at Kai Ren. It struck him in the abdomen and sent him hurtling to the wall.
He struck the stone with a sickening thud and collapsed to the floor, a sharp pain searing through his body, especially his back and stomach that had received the highest impact.
A trail of blood started to gush out from his mouth, and chaos rose between the whores in the room, each of them hurrying out without caring if they were naked or not.
"I regret birthing you… regret being your father. I curse the day you were born! I CURSE THE DAY YOU BECAME MY SON!" the king yelled angrily as a thick green glow surrounded his hand. His eyes glowed green for a sharp haunting second before returning to normal, and just then, the green glow engulfed Kai Ren.
The king lifted his hand up, and also Kai Ren was lifted from the ground, his legs thrashing as he fought against the powerful hold of his father, but to no avail. And just then, he felt it.
"Mmm!" he groaned. "Mmmmmm!" The pain got more painful. Inside his body, it felt like a very large hand was compressing his ribs together with his heart whenever his father tightened his grip. Pain like fire crawled through him.
"You should never have been a Crestfold," his father spat, his voice raw, thick, and covered in treacherous anger. "You are so feeble, weak, and useless! You can't even defend yourself! All you do is drink and sleep with harlots!" With every word he said, he tightened his grip more, thereby compressing Kai Ren's insides even further, as if words and force were measured from the same cruel scale.
Kai Ren was in deep pain. His eyes had turned blood-red, veins sprouting all over them. His insides were still being squeezed harder, blood gushing more out of his mouth. He could no longer think beyond the crushing hurt. He couldn't bear it anymore, so...
"Arghhhhhhh!" he let out a bloody, painful yell. The sound tore from his throat, wet with blood.
The king kept tightening his grip, his face stern, no affection or mercy showing. "You are the worst mistake I have let into this world. If I knew you were the one coming, I would have withdrawn and spilled you onto the ground instead of inside your mother!" His voice was still very cold and unforgiving.
"Well, there's only one way to end this shame you've cast on me like a shadow of a thousand men, and that is to KILL YOU!" And with that last phrase, he gave the highest squeeze of his hand.
"AAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Kai Ren yelled, blood splattering out of his mouth as the sounds of bones about to crack could be heard.
"ARGHHHHH!" he kept yelling, the pain growing, and Kai Ren was losing it. He felt so helpless, so weak, and then so deep in pain, but also so angry. So fucking angry. Why would his world be like this? Why would his first life and second chance in life be like this, him being so pathetic and helpless?
"No… no… no… no… no… Join the right mind with the right body. Pain or no pain, and then you have formed a better combination."
He was being triggered now. The Pain kept rising and rising until something inside him broke, not his body, but a stubborn, furious will. He gathered the last of his strength and forced his head up against the king's grip. It was slow, agonizing work, each inch a battle. More blood splattered from his lips as he heaved.
He would not be pathetic again. He would not go quietly into the dark. The first life and the second chance both screamed betrayal, and Kai Ren would not accept it. It was hard, but he did it anyway, groaning thickly, more blood spluttering out of his mouth. He was fighting now, fighting the grip his father had inside of him.
He was too tired of being so helpless, and no, he was not planning on dying a second time. He wanted to do more fighting, but he couldn't, his father was too strong, and being an awakened master made his fight against the hold even harder.
Meanwhile, his yells had drawn people's attention. The maids stopped, staring at what was happening. The guards that stood watch at Star's room were also watching the cruelty. And now, someone else was hurrying toward the scene, hair flipping, heart racing, and tears clinging around her eyes.
It was Star's mother, the first wife and queen. Her silver hair swooped down her waist; even in the loose night robe, her curves could still be seen, and her elegance couldn't be subdued by the worried look on her face.
"Stop it! Stop it, Edris! You are killing him!" she cried as she grabbed onto Edris, pulling him to stop, tears falling from her eyes as she saw her son floating helplessly in the green energy around him.
"Leave me, woman! I want to end this shame you bore unto me!" the king roared back at her. But still, she was tugging on him, all her pulls and pushes didn't even move him. He was too strong.
Then, with all her strength, she bit him, bit him so hard that her teeth nearly tore through his skin.
The king felt the sting, and it made him madder. With a forceful whip of his hand, he hit her, and she crashed into the wall behind her.
That was it. Although this woman was not Kai Ren's mother, he felt love for her. Well, now she was his mother, and the affection Star had toward her was now his. Seeing her hurt did it.
He shut his eyes.
Anger flowed through him, all the pain he had gone through, both as Kai Ren and as Star built like a thick energy, all the agony, and all the times his father had treated him this way, all came back, fueling his anger. Then filled with rage, he flipped his eyes open, and they burned black throughout.
"ENOUGH!"