September 3rd, 1419

Orion lay on the cold, hard floor of the storage room, staring lifelessly at the ceiling. His mind was plagued with thoughts of Lillian, the girl he had grown to love, and her newfound relationship with Ethan, the duke and her life-long master. He knew it was coming. He should've prepared himself when it did...yet...he was foolish enough to think he even had a chance. He replayed the events of their interactions in his head, each memory a dagger twisting in his heart.

Orion had always taken pride in being the kingdom's most brilliant scientist—albeit in spite of his slightly cold, very sleepy, and pessimistic behaviour—but lately, life seemed to have lost its spark completely. Watching Lillian and Ethan's nauseatingly public displays of affection made him feel even more hollow inside.

He sighed, his hands balling up into fists as he clawed through the feeling of resentment. The memories of his lonely childhood suddenly flashed like a nagging reminder in the back of his head.

He was...really destined to be alone after all...

However, just as he was about to drown in darkness, the sound of the door creaking open pierced through the silence. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts, sitting up slightly to see who had entered.

"Oh, it's you..."