Chapter 1 "peony - the king of all flowers"
"Nerium Oleander is a beautiful flower, isn't it? Look at its delicate buds, sometimes pink, sometimes pure white. Oleander belongs to a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the Apocynaceae family. Its homeland is a vast belt of dry and semi-dry subtropics. This large evergreen shrub is often used for home decoration. This flower can symbolize beauty and grace, as well as eternal life and immortality. But my absolute favorite meaning of this flower is betrayal. Oleander beckons with its beauty, but I completely forgot to mention that this flower is poisonous. It is highly dangerous. It contains a toxin called oleandrin, which interferes with the cardiac muscle. Funny, isn't it, that it is the oleander that is so close to the heart, rather than some rose?" Azur spoke in his rather low voice. He was addressing his companion, 1x1x1x1, who had trampled his flowers last week and was now helping him replant them. 1X looked at Azur with his crimson eyes, narrowing them.
"I'm already tired of this chatter. Do you think I actually like these weeds? I'm helping you just so you'll stop nagging me," the swordsman gritted out in response. It was rather strange that this entity could relentlessly kill survivors, yet treat the young shoots of violets so gently. Azur only chuckled at his caustic words; he knew 1X far too well to react negatively. 'A creature full of hatred, yet so gentle with flowers. Interesting,' flashed through the florist's mind. He sighed heavily, then took a watering can to water the roses. Azur stealthily observed 1X, who had been staring at the yellow peonies for far too long.Β
"Did you see something there? If there's a weed next to the peonies, make sure to pull it out, or I can do it."
"No, Azur, there's nothing. It just reminded me of something,"1 X said, this time without his usual insults or curses.
"Ha, I knew you might take a liking to peonies. After all, peonies are also called the 'kings of all flowers.' And that yellow color on them is so noble. Yes, you have taste, 1x," Azur said with a slight tease, carefully trimming stray leaves from the shrub.
The swordsman soon finished with the violets. The yet-to-be-released killer thanked him, but 1X didn't answer, simply turning around and walking away. On the way to his cabin, a single thought spun in 1X's head: 'What did they remind me of so much?'
Those same golden, bright eyes that blended with yellow skin. Chestnut curls emphasized the gold of those beautiful eyes. A proud smile that shone constantly. A confident stride and a professional stance, just as a true swordsman should have. Shedletsky. That scoundrel decided to occupy the thoughts of a creature of hatred?! How dare he?! Or... is that just what 1x1x1x1 wants to think?
'Oleander means betrayal... Peony is the "king of all flowers,"' a fragment of a memory echoed in his head. Yes, because Shedletsky had betrayed 1X. He had abandoned him. He had condemned him to suffering, because 1X was the embodiment of all of Shedletsky's hatred. Back then, Telamon had decided to rid himself of the rotten part of his soul, creating 1x and abandoning him to his fate.
But Telamon forgot one tiny thing... among all that hatred for others, for work, for everything, there was self-hatred. And now 1X would not rest until he had completely killed his creator, his tormentor, a part of his own soul.
And every round, every damn round, his creator meets him. So bright, so pure, and so cheerful. But nobody knows that it was precisely because of the creation of 1x4 that he became this way. This light beckoned to 1X... after all, in the end, they are one. They cannot exist without each other. 1x4 is the hatred that was discarded, and Shedletsky is the love he kept. It is like black and white stripes intertwining with each other, merging into a single thread of fate being pulled from opposite ends.
It was as if 1X could see himself holding the black thread, lifting his head to see Shedletsky up there, holding the white one. Their eyes met and parted once more. Shedletsky is afraid of him. He is afraid of a part of himself.
Shedletsky rejects it, unwilling to even look at 1x4... at this dark part of himself that was once whole with him. A creature woven from pure hatred desperately craves the attention of its own creator, who long ago abandoned it among his other "mistakes." He was cast aside like an unwanted, disgusting thing, knowing nothing but cold contempt. 1x1x1x1 will never forgive this betrayal by the former administrator.
One day, Shedletsky will surely get what he deserves. 1x will make him suffer again and again, inflicting unbearable pain until 1X himself grows weary of this endless torment. Oh, but he will never tire of agonizing and torturing his creator, for that is exactly what he was created for. He is the living embodiment of Shedletsky's most disgusting and secret thoughts, his basest desires, and his most horrifying actions. 1X is his dark mirror, one that will never shatter, reflecting all the filth of his creator's soul. This eternal torture is the only thing that truly binds them together, and 1x will not allow this bond to break. He will cling to it as his sole purpose, his cursed reason for being.