Charon proudly waved his hand through the skyline, gazing down to the buildings below. "Welcome my Prince to New York, Home of Liars, Fiends, and Heretics" Charon looked down on the city with a scowl. "Well, my prince, shall we begin?" Charon, with a sinister glint in his eyes, held his hand to the sky. Then purple smoke, deep and unearthly, swirled sinisterly around his hand. A large serpentine-like creature began to take shape, wearing a large one might even call an oversized bronze crown atop its head and carrying a pair of scales in its right. Its visage made it appear as though it had just crawled straight from the underworld itself. 

"KING MINOS!" Charon exclaimed as the serpentine creature roared a ferocious earth-shaking roar. "My Prince, I shall take the upper part of the godforsaken city. You can take the lower!" Charon said, leaping from his ferry to the giant shoulders of the Serpentine king. Gawaiyn nodded. Looking down at the sword in his hands, he felt a chill run down his spine. "Thor, my dear brother, if you are listening, I beg you to guide my hands." Gawaiyn sighed, a deep sigh dropping his head as tears welled in his eyes. 

I was always the weakest, the smallest, the most sensitive. The one nobody thought anything of. Ever let alone on the playground to my own devices. Splashing through a puddle, a young boy fled, tears in his eyes and a frown on his face. Other children followed after him, hauntingly shouting offensive names and insults at the fleeing child. 

"Get that, Crybaby!!!" They all shouted in unison, chasing after the child with reckless abandon.

This was me, or at least the weak child I was. While he ran, naught a single care for the world around him, a jagged rock jutted out, catching his foot and tripping him. The boy fell to the ground, sobbing. The bullies all quickly surrounded him. 

"thought you could run forever, you damn crybaby?!" they all said, forming a circle around Gawaiyn before dog piling on him, assaulting him with their fists and feet. Gawaiyn tried to protect his head with his hands, but every time he did, one of the bullies would pull his arms away before delivering a decisive blow to his jaw. This repeated over and over until the bullies had enough and decided to stop. Like a pack of rats, they all scattered in several other directions. Gawaiyn lay on the ground as the rain continued to fall. The pain was nothing, Nothing compared to the utter hell that was coming home. 

The blonde child quickly got up as fast as he fell. He sped off, running wildly like a gazelle being hunted down. I was a nobody too scared to admit I was alone. The boy ran and ran, his legs pumping faster and faster against the ground. An enigmatic man stood in front of him. Before long, the boy had returned to his residence. His appearance far from what should be considered ethical for a child. Soaked in water, doused in mud, and reeking to high heaven with a stench most foul. Slamming the door shut behind himself, Gawaiyn announced his presence. 

"Papa, I'm Home! Gawaiyn announced, dragging a trail of mud, rainwater, and his blood through the carpeted halls of the small apartment. Gawaiyn's father, Pierre, took a dreadful gaze at his son before recoiling. His anger bubbled and toiled, and boy was there bound to be trouble. 

"Good Lord Gawaiyn!" Pierre brought his fist down across Gawaiyn's cheek. A red mark formed almost instantly; Gawaiyn didn't react. He didn't shed a tear, stagger, or even look away from his father and flinch. He took the punch and continued to make unbroken eye contact. "You keep the rubbish off the street on the fucking street, and if you are covered in it, then that means you as well." 

"I'm sorry, father, I'm a worthless mistake." 

"That's the smartest damn thing you have ever fucking said," Pierre said, grabbing the boy by his collar and tossing him into his room; he slammed the door behind himself. "Your mother would be very disappointed with the piece of shit her son is turning into" 

"My sincerest apologies Father. I didn't mean to disappoint you," Gawaiyn said with an unemotive face. His tears dry, and his face now back to a regular mask-like stillness. Gawaiyn laid prostrate, bringing his head to the ground, trying to atone. Pierre growled from the other side of the door. 

"Don't you shower me with your crocodile tears; your mother would disapprove of such things, you brat" Pierre shook his head and made a dreadful threat. "The next time you dare to think of making a scene, I'll just dispose of you; I don't need someone like you tainting the legacy of your mother," Pierre stormed off. Within seconds a worried horrid panic settled in the back of Gawaiyn's mind. Father was always like this, wanting nothing more than to defend my mother's legacy, a woman I had never met. A woman was so elusive and essential that her legacy was more important than my own life. I, as the scared child I was, ran away. Gawaiyn frantically threw himself at the window in his room. He fumbled around with the locks, but before long, he pulled it open. Gawaiyn gulped hard and sat on the windowsill, looking at the ground below him. a million thoughts raced through his head. He collected all one million thoughts and jumped. Gawaiyn saw years of his life flash before his eyes. Memories he had, the memories he was going to make. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for the ground below with a smile. This time that damn bastard couldn't touch me, I had made my own choice, and there's nothing he could do to stop me. Thunk Gawaiyn landed on something that sounded wooden when hit. He stood up, holding his head and groaning. Dazed and very confused as to what the actual hell had happened, He looked around with a blur to his vision; he gazed at an older man who seemed puzzled with his sudden drop in. 

The man dressed wholly in white took a knee, grabbing the child's hand. He stared into Gawaiyn's eyes, puzzled. He tilted his head and examined every corner of Gawaiyn's face. Suddenly the man's face brightened as a certain cheeriness washed over him. a large golden and a relatively cheery smile radiated on his face.

"Dear Prince, I am here to collect you!" He said excitedly, shaking the boy's hand with a tender and fatherly chuckle. "I am Charon. I am your Mother's Emissary, and here  I was  just about ready to scour the whole city to find you, then magically you show up."

Gawaiyn, with a terrified expression, jumped back. His body was trembling with a fear that even the proudest predators would turn away from him. As he stepped further and further from Gawaiyn, it was as if the wooden Ferry or whatnot would stretch and occupy the distance between the two of them. 

"W-Who the hell are you?!" Gawaiyn screamed, putting on a falsely brave front with a shaky smile. 

"Dear Prince, I mean you no harm whatsoever; I am simply the Emissary of your Mother." As Charon took a step closer, the distance between them began to shrink, as did the Ferry. 

"Emissary? Mother? Y-You're not making any sense!!" Gawaiyn shook his head and took a step back. "H-How could you possibly know my mother!!" Gawaiyn continued to puff out his chest in an awkward show of faux bravado. 

"You are just as stubborn as your mother" the man shook his head before holding out his palm. Purple smoke slowly drifted through the air like a gentle fog. Gradually it filled the surrounding area. Darkness filled every nook, cranny, and corner that was once the world. The man slowly, calmly stepped through the night and approached Gawaiyn. "I am not your enemy, can't you see that dear prince?" The man took a step closer to Gawaiyn. Roughly the man grabbed Gawaiyn's shoulder. "I am not your enemy, never was and never will be," Charon said, wrapping his arms around the child. "You are safe now." Charon's tone didn't hide any malice, anger, or grief as Father's always hid. It seemed almost loving and warm. Charon smiled and gently tapped Gawaiyn's cheek; His soft cold palm met the smooth, innocent skin of Gawaiyn's cheek. 

"Come, let's take you home." Charon stood up in a rather abrupt nature, walked to the back of the ferry, and took ahold of the large wooden oar. Gawaiyn watched as the tower, the pillar of architecture he grew up marveling at, was dwarfed as he and Charon gained a progressively higher altitude. With one mighty swish of the oar, the Ferry took off with magnificent speed. There was a sense of calm serenity as Gawaiyn looked at Charon. 

"Gawaiyn! Prince!! Dear Prince!!!" Charon shook Gawaiyn out of his daydream. "Come on; we have a quest to attend to. You can reminisce later." Gawaiyn nodded; for some unexplainable reason, he lurched forward, grabbing Charon's sleeve. He just as quickly recoiled. 

"My many apologizes, Charon. that was rather uncouth of me,"  blushing Gawaiyn hid his face with his armored gloves. Charon smiled and ruffled Gawaiyn's hair. 

"No need to say sorry dear Prince, now shall we commence with our duties?"

"Yes, I do suppose so," Gawaiyn shook his head of his thoughts, focusing only on the blade in his hands. Memories of a brother since passed played over in his mind. Light golden, bright and yellow gathered around the sword before being absorbed into the blade outright. 

"My My, a Maximum spell you've certainly grown prince!" Charon said, returning to his previous post atop his massive Serpentine familiar. "Remember your Mother wants Orochi Dead, with whatever means necessary," Charon stated as the Serpentine familiar roared again, slithering away and crushing thousands of tiny cars underneath itself. Gawaiyn steeled his nerves and stood on the Ferry alone, blade in hand and a scowl of judgment on his face. The edge Excalibur Galatine was now a massive blade of light-based construction. Gawaiyn raised the sword above his head, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. 

"EXCALIBUR GALATINE: SUN CUTTING BLADE!!!!!"

TO BE CONTINUED.....