Down System

Prologue

Why was the world so unfair?

No day did Ferno ask himself why the world was so unfair to him. He sat down on the ground and continuously threw stones at the lake to express his madness. He was all alone again after being scolded by his mom. The place used to be his crying shoulder whenever he felt sad and angry, because never in his life did he have friends. Even in his family, he was an outcast.

Ferno was only twelve, but it seemed like he had been holding at his back all the problems of the world. He was seven when his father died, so the only ones who remained in his family were his mom and two elder sisters. Since that, he never felt again his belongingness, whereas his dad had always been his only pal who would remain the best forever.

"I HATE THIS WORLD!" Ferno said as he stood up and threw once more a stone at the lake.

The kid started sobbing, and the only thing that was comforting him was the swaying trees. He knelt and never minded the cold touch of the wind against his soft skin. As tears continued to shed through his cheeks, the wind got stronger, and it had started to rain as well after some time. He stopped crying when he noticed the lake was calm, yet the rain and wind were heavy. He rubbed his eyes and looked again at the water, making sure it really wasn't moving.

"Oh, god..." Ferno whispered.

An unknown light started to appear from beneath the quiet lake until it reached its surface.

Stuck staring at the water, Ferno stood moon-eyed when something slowly got out there. He moved a little backward as the ground started shaking. He was still speechless while seeing the thing slowly exposed itself out of the water. To his astonishment, he screamed and started to run when he knew it was a dragon; a big dragon just came out of the lake!

"HELP!" Ferno still kept on running, not until the dragon had reached him.

"Ferno," the dragon uttered as it faced the boy.

The kid fell off the ground after hearing the dragon spoke. His mind stuttered. His thoughts were like the train that had no plans to stop. He was trying to still hold his breath even though the big thing was scaring him to death.

"Ferno," the dragon mouthed his name again, "do not fear. I am not your rival, I am your friend."

The little boy still didn't say a word because he was still processing things into his mind, not until the dragon moved closer to him. "STOP THERE," he said, "DON'T YOU EVER MOVE CLOSE TO ME!"

The dragon moved his head away from the kid. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Tears started to fall again from Ferno's eyes but he wiped them off immediately. "W-who are you?" he asked. "A-and why are you talking l-like a normal person?"

The dragon moved his head closer to the kid once more.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME CLOSER TO ME!"

"Oh," the dragon said in a low tone, "I'm sorry I just forgot, but trust me, I have no intention to harm you."

Ferno clenched his fist. "I only trust my dad."

The dragon gasped which made the young boy's hair flew a bit. "I knew it, you only trust your dad. Well, I won't blame you for that because I know your whole story, my dear."

The child puckered his eyebrows. "W-what are you sayin'?"

"Dear, since you were born, I was there guiding you. You don't just see me, but I was really there. It's making me sad seeing you run away and coming here, crying over your family. At that little age, you've been letting go of the innocence that's supposed to be still with you," the dragon said. "As I've told you, I know all your past, present, and even your future. So please, trust me and I'll help you."

Ferno didn't speak; he wasn't even moving.

The dragon, however, spat out a bright gem from his mouth and slowly put it on his heart without waiting for his permission. "This is my heart," the dragon said, as the gem slowly enclosed to his chest, "I'm giving this to you because our hearts are connected, and as long as it's in you, you will remain as the most powerful creature in the whole world."