#I also want to add more scenes where Cale sizes up someone and then goes ‘oh I can actually relax around you haha *goes limp*’

[forgetme-eternally-blissfully]

Cale transforms into a child. He’s roughly 7 years old, but he’s small. It’s Cale Henituse’s child body, not Kim Rok Soo, thankfully.

The person who cursed him, a demonic worshipper, says that the curse didn’t transform his memories. Only his body. He says that- while Cale has all the experience of his original person- it’s now being projected through the mind of a 7 year old.

The curse can’t regress a persons mind. It can borrow a strong illusion, base it off the past, and transform someone into it- similar to Fredo’s Naru form- but it can’t mess with memories. It can only temporarily shrink the minds eye into what it used to be. For Cale, he is suddenly viewing all of his memories from the perspective of his 7 year old self.

Choi Han demands to know his incentive, and why he’s telling them about the curse at all.

“Hmph. I was hired by the White Star to inconvenience his enemy. That doesn’t mean I hate the guy personally, it’s just business. The One I worship deals with bartering, but He isn’t unfair. Your hands will already be full, so consider my explanation a small mercy for the curse you’ve been dealt.”

The worshipper expects Cale to start bawling and wailing as soon as his eyes open. Or to be confused and scream in terror. Maybe both, honestly.

But then the child opens his eyes.

No one moves. The boy scans the battlefield, looks down at himself, and looks back up. His stare is piercing and untrusting.

He meets the eyes of Raon Miru.

‘Family.’

The sudden sensation is jarring and foreign, and the mix of memories that he gathers from the feeling only works to overwhelms him. He clenches his fists and stares at those deep blue eyes.

The boys lip quivers and his eyes tear up, but he doesn’t make a sound. He looks towards the kittens, and that feeling rises in his chest again. Thick and overwhelming, blossoming in his lungs and making it hard to breathe.

‘Family’

He almost sobs- but the boy’s hands clamp onto his mouth and he shuts his eyes. His legs curl up.

‘Crying is bad.’

‘Hide.’

‘Don’t make a sound.’

The darkness behind his eyes startled him into opening them again, and he meets the eyes of Ron. He knows this man. He’s scary, and makes him drink bitter and sour lemon tea, but that’s okay because at the end of the day he’ll protect him.

The tears run down his face in big droplets, but he holds his breath. His hands are near-suffocating him, because releasing the air would create noise. So he holds it.

This mind, this boy, is fresh in this world. He understands scary emotions and bad emotions, but he doesn’t understand the rest.

Looking at everyone creates so many feelings that he doesn’t know how to comprehend.

‘Safety’

‘Trust’

‘Reliability’

But- when he was 7- he didn’t know those definitions. And right now, they scare him. He stumbles onto his feet, swamped in clothes that don’t fit him. He thinks about running away, but nearly trips on the fabric.

It’s all heavy and warm, soft and firm… but can he keep it? His mind stirs through his memories.

Yes. He wants to. So he can.

He grabs and pulls at them with one of his hands, but he’s not very strong and can’t do it. (He finds himself distracted very quickly. He can’t hold onto his memories very well, and he keeps finding himself on the next page of the life he’s lived)

He won’t be able to take them with him.

His tears run faster and he stumbles a little from being so lightheaded. He exhales, gasping. His eyes have gotten a new emptyness to them. Absence. He can’t have these clothes. He can’t have nice things. He drops his hand from his mouth and stares down.

…

He could trust someone to grab them for him. He knows he can… hmm.

He looks up. He looks at Choi Han, Ron, Beacrox, before seeing Rosalyn. Yes, Rosalyn. She’s helped with heavy things before. So has… Eruhaben, with the directory of books, and the others with different things, but he feels their overwhelming strength and calmly deduces that Rosalyn is his best choice. She’s strong, but he’s aware that she’s less violent. Or rude.

Tears are running down his face but his chest has stopped seizing up with hiccups and he can breathe again, so he meets her eyes and asks.

“Please help me with my clothes.”

She flinches, as if dumbfounded. He doesn’t understand why so he patiently waits. He… trusts her. She won’t say no.

The world is silent. The demonic worshipper left after Cale opened his eyes, and everyone assisting the worshipper had also left.

His companions, although very smart and intelligent, were so utterly stunned by Cale’s small figure and strange awakening that they forgot someone should go chase after the enemy, consumed by their concern.

Rosalyn softens her expression and walks over to crouch by Cale. “… Cale-nim?”

His expression falls by a minuscule amount. She must not be able to do it. He… thought he understood her abilities, but maybe he was wrong.

“That’s okay,” he stares into her eyes. “I can manage if you can’t.” She flinches, opening her mouth, but Cale lifts his hand and Sound of the Wind picks up him and his clothes. He smiles, slightly. Competence. The feeling is nice. He rises high in the air and he looks at the horizon. He forgets where he is, for a moment. The sun is setting.

“C-Cale-nim!” Rosalyn shouts, and Cale flinches and releases Sound of the Wind, falling back down.

A flash of gold, and he’s wrapped up in someone’s arms.

‘Strength’

‘Softness’

‘Trust’

“Oh.” Cale blinks up at Eruhaben. “Thank you.”

He kicks his feet, a little pleased with himself. Now he doesn’t have to walk or carry his clothes around. He keeps his hands to himself, tucked into his lap from how Eruhaben is now carrying him with one arm

‘Scars’

‘Dirty’

‘Ruined’

He pauses and looks at his hands. No scars.

He loses track of everyone’s eyes and frantically scans his arms and looks under his large heavy shirt. He smiles a little more.

“Cale,” Eruhaben asks, not as soft as Rosalyn had spoken, but softer than usual. “Are you looking for something?”

Cale blinks. No, he wouldn’t have the scars would he? His memories stumble over themselves, but he recalls that his life as Kim Rok Soo is a secret. He thinks hard, before looking up at Eruhaben and shaking his head.

“No. My skin is just very pale.” He lies easily. Yes, this is a different body. He doesn’t have the scars. He wrings his hands together and tucks them into his lap again.

Eruhaben analyzes Cale. The boy turns his eyes away and looks around.

Everyone is waiting for their chance to interact with the boy, but the moment to strike is stolen away by Ron.

“Young master-nim, can you tell us what you remember?”

The name takes a moment to click. He hums and looks down at his lap.

He remembers…

He flinches. He can remember Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk. He can remember the monsters and devastation. He can remember losing his terrible uncle and he remembers the orphanage…

He clenches his hands together. With an iron will that doesn’t suit a 7 year old, he forces the tears down and looks Ron in the eyes.

“I don’t want to think about that.” He declares in a hoarse voice. “I want to only remember the good things. I want to… I want to leave the hard things behind.”

The group is stunned. He was saying meaningful things, even at the age of seven?

Rosalyn steps up. As an older sister, she understands what Cale is actually trying to imply.

“Cale-nim, you need to remember the hard times too. They won’t go away. Can you answer me a question?” He looks at her. “Just shake your head yes or no. Do you remember us?”

Cale nods. His arms and hands are tight however, as if he can’t even relax himself around Eruhaben, someone he apparently remembers very well. With Rosalyn too, he confused her hesitance with refusal. The group can’t help but feel confused.

“Cale-nim,”

Choi Han finally asks.

“Why, are you so tense?”

Cale looks at him. His eyes feel like they’re boring into Choi Han’s soul, before the boy finally responds.

“I’m dirty.” Everyone flinches, and Choi Han looks destroyed. Except the boys eyebrows pinch. “I… used to be dirty. People don’t like when dirty things touch them,”

Ron’s benign smile is broken with those words, but Cale looks up at Eruhaben and runs through his memories.

He hums. Then he releases all of his tension and leans into the ancient dragons chest comfortably, closing his eyes. “Mm. I was wrong. You’re okay to touch.”

With the group falling into silence, Eruhaben decides to take the initiative and teleports them out of the battle zone and somewhere more comfortable.

The boy answers a few more questions while Eruhaben and Rosalyn find some of Hong’s old clothes for him to wear. He doesn’t talk out of turn, and stays painfully polite.

With everyone lost on the curse, Choi Han, Beacrox, and Ron set out to find the bastard who cursed him, while Eruhaben, Rosalyn, and the children decide to intrude on the Crown Prince’s peace in order to see what the royal library has got on demonic curses.

Cale demands to be carried by Eruhaben again, and swings his legs in delight when the ancient dragon caves.

On and Hong stare at Cale from Rosalyn’s arms, while Raon stays silent but crams himself right into his humans thin and lanky arms. Cale doesn’t say it, but he’s very satisfied with the arrangement. Family… feels good, he decides.

They teleport straight into Alberu’s room, and the Prince spots Cale’s red hair and recognizes him immediately. He stares intensely at the tiny Cale. Cale stares back with an even stronger intensity.

This goes on for a few very long moments.

Then Alberu hangs his head and covers his face with his hands, swearing to himself. Rosalyn thinks that she heard him say the word ‘crazy.’

Cale grins and kicks his feet. Eruhaben notes that, although Cale seems to remember everyone like before, he’s worse at hiding his emotions.

For instance, he scoffs with amusement, Cale clearly finds the Crown Princes agony hilarious.

Of course he does.

The prince’s suffering lasts for as long as his head is down, because as soon as he brings it up and sees little Cale kicking his legs and smiling, he visibly melts.

The prince looks at Eruhaben, covering his grin with his hand. “Is he- please tell me he’s also mentally a child too. Please,”

Eruhaben looks down at Cale, who’s still staring at the Prince, but this time with a pinch in his eyebrows.

Raon answers. “Yes! And no. He thinks like a child, but he remembers all of us! So don’t worry your highness!”

The Prince looks at Cale with an impish gleam in his eye. (Can he get a child version of Cale to relax and not mess with things?) Meanwhile, Cale has seemingly made up his mind, setting his face and asking, “What do I call you?”

At the rooms silence, he stares harder. “Your highness? Alberu? Hyung?” He tilts his head, frowning. “The sun of our kingdom-“

“No-!” Alberu almost jumps out of his seat. His hand fell from his face and his shit eating grin is on full display. “No, no. Ahem. I’m your hyung, so call me that.”

Cale nods, his face relaxing. “Okay hyung-nim.” Alberu smiles harder. Eruhaben sighs in exasperation at Alberu’s antics, but decides to let it be.

After all, he’s putting the Prince to work.

“Alberu Crossman,” Eruhaben addresses the Prince. “Cale has been cursed by a demonic worshipper. So, me and Rosalyn will be searching your royal library for information on the matter. Send some servants down with instructions to gather every book on demonic curses. We will also be infiltrating Endable’s Kingdom if we don’t find anything of use. We could be back in a few days.”

The words settle into Alberu’s mind, and the blood drains from his face. He looks towards Rosalyn.

“Wait-“

On and Hong jump from her arms, and Eruhaben sets Cale on Alberu’s bed with Raon. Alberu gets out of his seat and flinches.

“Hold on-“

Eruhaben steps back and teleports away with Rosalyn. Alberu, stuck with his hand in the air and his mouth wide open, feels the will to live leave his body.

Part 2 , Part 3