Terraria: Cruel World Legends

...Since the boy could remember, his father, Charles, who was the second prince at the time, had treated him as an alien. Although he was the grandson of the emperor, his father arranged for him to live alone in the utility room of the palace, where he had to spend the whole night with piles of junk.

How scary would it be for a young child to be alone in a crowded, dimly lit utility room in the dark night, looking at those weird "human faces" made up of miscellaneous objects under the uncanny valley effect?

Every night the boy prayed to fall asleep before the lights went out in the palace... But in reality, what would happen if he went to bed earlier and woke up? Since his father regarded him as an alien and didn't like him, how could the rest of the royal family be any better?

As it was seen as a bad omen and affected the timing of overthrowing the cabinet, almost everyone in the royal family spoke mockingly to the boy, and some bolder ones even dared to order a grandson of the emperor to do the work of a servant.

The boy would refuse, but would also receive some sarcastic remarks... So, the boy plucked up his courage and asked his father Charles for help, hoping that he could recognize his identity as the grandson of the emperor and give the boy love.

……

"Charlainal Carloy." When the boy first mustered up the courage to ask his indifferent father for help, Charles squatted on one knee and said with a smile on his face.

"As a atavistic child, an alien, and a bad omen, I really can't treat you as my child... So, just let it be. After all, it's okay to be scolded a few times, right?" Charles said this with a smile on his face, but the boy still shudders when he recalls it.

"Also, do you know, my Charlenar, that on the night you were born, your grandfather, my father, fell seriously ill and has been ill until now... I didn't think you were a bad omen, but now it seems... hehe..." Charles said with a smile, while gently touching the boy's head.

The boy tried to speak, but his throat was so tight and painful that he couldn't utter a single word... At the same time, the dragon's tail behind the boy was involuntarily clamped between his legs. This only happened when he was subconsciously afraid.

"Charlainar, you know that according to convention, the position of the patriarch of our royal family should have been passed to your uncle... But before you were born, my father favored me and tried his best to give me the position of patriarch. Do you know why?"

The boy shook his head. Charles chuckled and then reached out to touch the dragon's tail that the boy had between his legs. The boy trembled and reached out to grab the big hand to try to break free, but to no avail.

"Because your uncle is a waste. He is cruel and ruthless at home and cowardly and incompetent abroad. If he becomes the patriarch, it will be detrimental to our royal family's plan... Therefore, my father chose to give me the position of patriarch... But..."

Charles suddenly changed the subject and pinched the boy's tail with a little force: "Charlainal, your birth made the elders in the family unhappy. Why did a throwback appear just before the first plan to overthrow the cabinet was about to begin?"

Charles said, slowly moving his face closer to the boy's cheek: "Is it a bad sign? Your appearance has made the elders who originally supported me to inherit the position of patriarch dissatisfied. They began to oppose this decision and all supported my good brother."

The boy's back was already wet with cold sweat. He had never imagined that his father would speak like this... He had a smile on his face and was caressing him gently, but... everything he said hurt his heart.

"So, Chalenar, because of your appearance, the position of the patriarch that was supposed to be inherited by me may be given to my good brother. Do you know what this means?"

The boy shook his head in fear, while Charles curled his lips slightly: "This means that the time for our second plan to overthrow the cabinet will be extended indefinitely again... But we don't have so much time. Our first plan to overthrow the cabinet has been aborted because of you. The position of patriarch that was supposed to be in my hands in a few years has also been extended indefinitely... Tell me, why is this?"

The boy took a step back in fear when he heard this, but Charles curled his lips and gently pulled the boy's dragon tail to pull him over.

"Okay, my Charlenar, you are still young and I won't tell you those things. As for me, I don't expect much from you. I just hope you can recognize yourself earlier. After all, in my eyes, I may... never regard you as my child?" When Charles said this, he suddenly let go of the boy's tail and rubbed the corners of his eyes. The smile on the corners of his mouth gradually disappeared.

Hearing this, the boy only felt a ringing in his ears...At the same time, Charles slowly stood up, said a few words that were unclear in the boy's ears, and then left quickly.

The boy still doesn't know what those words meant, but he doesn't want to know anymore... Then the boy covered his ears with his hands, dragged his body in a trance, and returned to his storage room with his broken heart and cried.

...Soon after that, the six-year-old boy began his own tactical training...In fact, in the boy's impression, it was more like...abuse than tactical training?

The boy had no equipment and fought with his bare hands in the form of his original vitality against a trainer holding a Terran-era top weapon, while his father Charles watched the fight coldly from the side.

Even when he saw his child being severely injured by the trainer holding the "Eternal Night" and bleeding all over the ground, he had no intention of stopping it and didn't even say a word.

...The strange thing is that every time the so-called "training" is over, the trainer will wipe the sweat from his forehead with trembling hands, and then look at Charles nervously, as if he is afraid of that man...

Why should the trainer be afraid? It was clearly his father who arranged the training standard for the boy... The boy still couldn't understand it.

...In this way, the boy wore the so-called title of "Grandson of the Emperor" in a daze, living this life day after day, year after year until he reached adulthood.

Over the years, his bedroom was a storage room, and his entire day's activities, apart from his daily routine, consisted of endless training for the three meals a day... Oh, it was torture, fighting with his bare hands against a royal tactical trainer armed with Terran era's top weapons.

From warrior, to archer, to mage... the boy was trained in five tactical professions... oh, he was abused.

In addition, the boy had never left the palace, had almost no entertainment, and almost everyone he met looked at him with cold eyes, as if he were a monster.

Except for the boy's sister.

In the boy's eyes, his sister, who was five years younger than him, was the only person who treated him well. His sister did not distance herself from him because of his father's admonition. When the two of them were together, the boy's face, which had long been ashen, would smile.

……

This day is the boy’s coming-of-age ceremony and also his eighteenth birthday.

In fact, the boy has never celebrated his birthday until now, but this year seems different. His father actually said that he would give him a coming-of-age gift.

However, after hearing this news, the boy, who had already lost hope over the years, could guess what the ultimate goal of this so-called coming-of-age ceremony was...

...Sure enough, when the coming-of-age ceremony was halfway through, the boy's grandfather suddenly stood up and announced in front of everyone that the position of patriarch would be passed to the second prince, the boy's father, Charles Carloy.

The family elders at the meeting, who were already particularly unhappy about the boy's coming-of-age ceremony, immediately protested collectively, unanimously expressing that they could not accept a person who gave birth to an ominous sign as the patriarch... At this time, the boy's grandfather suddenly smiled and looked at Charles, who had been drinking in the corner.

"My son Charles, it's your turn." The boy's grandfather, Charentos Kalloy, said to Charles in the corner.

Hearing this, the corners of Charles' mouth slowly lifted up, gradually revealing a smile, then he picked up two glasses of wine and stood up and walked to the boy. Two figures of almost exactly the same height stood face to face, and their similar appearance made them look like they were in their youth/middle age.

Charles had a gentle smile on his face, and the boy tried his best to remain calm... Seeing Charles open his mouth slightly, the boy knew it was coming, and without waiting for Charles to speak, he reached out and snatched the other glass of wine in his hand, clinked glasses with his father, and drank it all in one gulp.

That was the boy's first time drinking, a glass of red wine, and from then on he was addicted to alcohol.

The taste of alcohol was so good that it made the boy forget his bad memories for a short time...but soon, a word from his father brought the boy back to reality.

"My son, Charlenar, you are an adult and have the ability to support yourself." Charles said as he drank the red wine in his hand in one gulp.

"So, from this moment on, I, Charles Kalloy, will sever the father-son relationship with you, Charlenar Kalloy, and expel you from our Inastan royal family."

Hearing this, the family elders standing by were stunned for a moment, then smiled and said that Charles had finally come to his senses. At the same time, some said that Charles was really responsible for raising this monster until it reached adulthood before driving it away.

When the boy heard the news, there was no surprise or sadness on his face. Instead, he looked calm, as if he had heard something very ordinary.