[ooc;] history
Once upon a time, there was a boy.
The boy was young - barely old enough to know that he and his brother were effectively alone in the world, but old enough to know that all he had ever really needed or wanted in that world was his brother. They lived together, got by together, grew up together despite the slightly harsh conditions in which they lived.
Once upon a time, the little boy met a little girl. And that little boy knew right from the start that someday he would marry this girl. He was a romantic at heart from the moment he was born, and between her eyes and her hair and her laughter, he was utterly smitten. She was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen, and he was certain to let her know that fact.
But children are children, and for a very long time their relationship together was utterly innocent. The girl smiled. The boy blushed. He brought flowers, and she giggled, and he braided her hair sometimes, and most of the time they just talked together.
Though in relative poverty, and utterly alone in the world save for this little girl and his brother, the boy grew up happily.
He had a penchant for music and numbers as he was growing up, and he used both to make a name for himself. Not enough to be truly wealthy, not enough to truly make a dent in the world, but enough to provide for the people that he cared for and live comfortably. And the moment the young man got himself a job that he knew he would be able to keep, he asked for the young woman’s hand in marriage.
They were wed within the month. And the young man couldn’t be happier.
His world was small; his days were spent with his brother and his wife and his work, and occasional social functions, though neither he nor his family was fond of them. And for the most part, the three lived quietly. They made little dent in the world and in the lives of others, and as such the world made little attempt to leave dents in them.
The man and the woman were married for five years when she fell ill, suddenly and inexplicably. Most of his savings were spent on trying to find her help; then, to make sure that she was cared for; and then finally, to make her comfortable.
The man was twenty-five-years-old when he became a widower, his wife a beauty even in death. It was all the more devastating when her body was stolen by graverobbers. It’s hard to find solace after something like that, when your world was only half full any longer. But the man still had his brother; and so he kept walking on.
“Don’t ever stop, Mana. Keep moving forward.”
And that is exactly what the man did - until just over a year later, he fell to the same disease that his beloved wife had.
When the man finally awoke it was as if he’d been reborn; his skin was a dark ashen shade, points on his forehead ached and pulsed painfully, and oh-the things that he knew he could do. The terrible things, the wonderful things, the things the people he worked with would call miracles. He was still himself, but he wasn’t only himself; he was something more, something people wouldn’t understand. He knew that inherently. And there, by his bedside - his beloved brother, waiting for him to awake once more despite the fact that he was sure he had died some days ago... and at his brother’s side was his wife, waiting as well; her skin the same ashen color as his own, the same points engraved in her forehead.
“Rhode...?”
He didn’t wait for a response, and pulled the two into his arms. And when he was told by his wife that he could no longer stay with his brother, he accepted it, and left with her to meet a new family.
It didn’t matter if he was apart from Mana as long as he got to see him; Nea’s world was complete once more, and he was happy again.
The transition from regular human to Noah was an odd one, one that he couldn’t totally understand at first; Nea had never much cared for the world, but he had a certain sense of justice to him, a duty. People that harmed others were wicked. People that helped others were kind. And suddenly, his family did all manner of both actions; some enjoyed helping others where they could, while all others wanted to do was harm and main and cause all manner of pain. The Earl was the worst of all of these; hiding behind the pretense of helping others, and the moment the help was accepted he turned around and betrayed them.
It was far too easy to get close to a man like that, and perhaps, it was far too cruel. Nea used his knowledge in music to do everything that he possibly could for his new family. Everything that he could think of, whatever would keep them safe as he learned more about them, how they operated, the things they intended to do. He made them rely on him.
And all the while the Noah within her began to carve away at the mind of his wife, until one day Nea woke up and found that she refused to even look like her anymore. She made herself young again, cut her hair short, and wore all manner of frilly dresses. She called him by his name and asked for stories and giggled at the pain of others, and-
And she wasn’t his wife anymore.
“Sister~”
Never again did Nea call her by name. And all of his anger at the world, all of his hatred for everything brought on by the Noah in that instant turned on his new ‘family’.
It was their fault he was losing her.
Nea wanted revenge. And in that instant, he broke the only rule he’d ever lived by. Consumed by hatred, he ceased moving forward in the world and buried himself in the past.
He began to pick the family apart, one piece at a time; Wisely the first to go, among others. But in the end, he realized his efforts were fruitless. His revenge would only lead him into a battle potentially lasting hundreds of years, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He just-wanted to go on living, with his wife and his brother, and for the world to leave them to live in peace as it had always done before.
It was with desperation in his heart that he asked Rhode to run away with him and Mana. Just the three of them, like it had always been, like it should have been-couldn’t they go back to that, please? There was no need for this senselessness. He told her to meet him and Mana on the outskirts of their old hometown, where the three of them had grown up together, and they could start over in a new town; a new life after they’d gotten rid of the Earl. If it was the two of them, she and him were strong enough. They could take down the Earl together. She made dreams and he warped reality to make them real, and together they were untouchable. They could do anything.
That night, Nea waited alone (Mana hidden away somewhere safe), hoping with all his heart that his wife would arrive and run away with him. That they could finally end all of this and go on living, but she never came.
That night, Rhode betrayed him. And just as the Earl struck him down, Rhode giggled, and asked why she would ever leave her family just for her favorite storybook character.
Nea had expected this, though. There was a third, less important piece to his world that he entrusted his will to. Someone that would make sure he lived on, even if he was betrayed in the end. Cross Marian made sure to find a suitable host and put Nea’s memories into him, the boy that would be the next 14th Noah. A nameless lad in a circus.
It was years before Nea began to wake up - and when he did, it was just in time to see his new host kill turn his beloved brother into an Akuma and kill him, the last integral piece of his world. Nea was finally back, and he was utterly alone in the world.
There was nothing left to move forward for. So Nea decided he wouldn’t move forward anymore. He’d been a simple and happy man before the Noah interrupted his life, and now there was nothing left of it but ruins. They would pay. They would all pay.
The boy was young - barely old enough to know that he and his brother were effectively alone in the world, but old enough to know that all he had ever really needed or wanted in that world was his brother. They lived together, got by together, grew up together despite the slightly harsh conditions in which they lived.
Once upon a time, the little boy met a little girl. And that little boy knew right from the start that someday he would marry this girl. He was a romantic at heart from the moment he was born, and between her eyes and her hair and her laughter, he was utterly smitten. She was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen, and he was certain to let her know that fact.
But children are children, and for a very long time their relationship together was utterly innocent. The girl smiled. The boy blushed. He brought flowers, and she giggled, and he braided her hair sometimes, and most of the time they just talked together.
Though in relative poverty, and utterly alone in the world save for this little girl and his brother, the boy grew up happily.
He had a penchant for music and numbers as he was growing up, and he used both to make a name for himself. Not enough to be truly wealthy, not enough to truly make a dent in the world, but enough to provide for the people that he cared for and live comfortably. And the moment the young man got himself a job that he knew he would be able to keep, he asked for the young woman’s hand in marriage.
They were wed within the month. And the young man couldn’t be happier.
His world was small; his days were spent with his brother and his wife and his work, and occasional social functions, though neither he nor his family was fond of them. And for the most part, the three lived quietly. They made little dent in the world and in the lives of others, and as such the world made little attempt to leave dents in them.
The man and the woman were married for five years when she fell ill, suddenly and inexplicably. Most of his savings were spent on trying to find her help; then, to make sure that she was cared for; and then finally, to make her comfortable.
The man was twenty-five-years-old when he became a widower, his wife a beauty even in death. It was all the more devastating when her body was stolen by graverobbers. It’s hard to find solace after something like that, when your world was only half full any longer. But the man still had his brother; and so he kept walking on.
“Don’t ever stop, Mana. Keep moving forward.”
And that is exactly what the man did - until just over a year later, he fell to the same disease that his beloved wife had.
When the man finally awoke it was as if he’d been reborn; his skin was a dark ashen shade, points on his forehead ached and pulsed painfully, and oh-the things that he knew he could do. The terrible things, the wonderful things, the things the people he worked with would call miracles. He was still himself, but he wasn’t only himself; he was something more, something people wouldn’t understand. He knew that inherently. And there, by his bedside - his beloved brother, waiting for him to awake once more despite the fact that he was sure he had died some days ago... and at his brother’s side was his wife, waiting as well; her skin the same ashen color as his own, the same points engraved in her forehead.
“Rhode...?”
He didn’t wait for a response, and pulled the two into his arms. And when he was told by his wife that he could no longer stay with his brother, he accepted it, and left with her to meet a new family.
It didn’t matter if he was apart from Mana as long as he got to see him; Nea’s world was complete once more, and he was happy again.
The transition from regular human to Noah was an odd one, one that he couldn’t totally understand at first; Nea had never much cared for the world, but he had a certain sense of justice to him, a duty. People that harmed others were wicked. People that helped others were kind. And suddenly, his family did all manner of both actions; some enjoyed helping others where they could, while all others wanted to do was harm and main and cause all manner of pain. The Earl was the worst of all of these; hiding behind the pretense of helping others, and the moment the help was accepted he turned around and betrayed them.
It was far too easy to get close to a man like that, and perhaps, it was far too cruel. Nea used his knowledge in music to do everything that he possibly could for his new family. Everything that he could think of, whatever would keep them safe as he learned more about them, how they operated, the things they intended to do. He made them rely on him.
And all the while the Noah within her began to carve away at the mind of his wife, until one day Nea woke up and found that she refused to even look like her anymore. She made herself young again, cut her hair short, and wore all manner of frilly dresses. She called him by his name and asked for stories and giggled at the pain of others, and-
And she wasn’t his wife anymore.
“Sister~”
Never again did Nea call her by name. And all of his anger at the world, all of his hatred for everything brought on by the Noah in that instant turned on his new ‘family’.
It was their fault he was losing her.
Nea wanted revenge. And in that instant, he broke the only rule he’d ever lived by. Consumed by hatred, he ceased moving forward in the world and buried himself in the past.
He began to pick the family apart, one piece at a time; Wisely the first to go, among others. But in the end, he realized his efforts were fruitless. His revenge would only lead him into a battle potentially lasting hundreds of years, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He just-wanted to go on living, with his wife and his brother, and for the world to leave them to live in peace as it had always done before.
It was with desperation in his heart that he asked Rhode to run away with him and Mana. Just the three of them, like it had always been, like it should have been-couldn’t they go back to that, please? There was no need for this senselessness. He told her to meet him and Mana on the outskirts of their old hometown, where the three of them had grown up together, and they could start over in a new town; a new life after they’d gotten rid of the Earl. If it was the two of them, she and him were strong enough. They could take down the Earl together. She made dreams and he warped reality to make them real, and together they were untouchable. They could do anything.
That night, Nea waited alone (Mana hidden away somewhere safe), hoping with all his heart that his wife would arrive and run away with him. That they could finally end all of this and go on living, but she never came.
That night, Rhode betrayed him. And just as the Earl struck him down, Rhode giggled, and asked why she would ever leave her family just for her favorite storybook character.
Nea had expected this, though. There was a third, less important piece to his world that he entrusted his will to. Someone that would make sure he lived on, even if he was betrayed in the end. Cross Marian made sure to find a suitable host and put Nea’s memories into him, the boy that would be the next 14th Noah. A nameless lad in a circus.
It was years before Nea began to wake up - and when he did, it was just in time to see his new host kill turn his beloved brother into an Akuma and kill him, the last integral piece of his world. Nea was finally back, and he was utterly alone in the world.
There was nothing left to move forward for. So Nea decided he wouldn’t move forward anymore. He’d been a simple and happy man before the Noah interrupted his life, and now there was nothing left of it but ruins. They would pay. They would all pay.