Destiny: - Nick Venom (romantic books to read .TXT) 📗

Chapter One "Destiny"

In the world of Halogen, everyone receives a Destiny Slip---a piece of paper holding a person’s destiny----at the tender age of ten. These Destiny Slips foretells a person’s entire purpose in life and were definite. Anyone attempting to forsake their destiny, found themselves living on the path that was aligned for them. There wasn’t a way to escape their destiny, no matter how hard a person tried. Even if their destiny was to be dead by eighteen or to develop cancer and die later on. These destinies were harsh and brutal. On the other hand, there were destinies where people would become billionaires, save people from poverty, or be a driving force towards unrooting corpses. Even so, those destinies were one in a billion. 

At Saint Erica’s Orphanage, run by Saint Erica, tens of children under her care had reached ten. Of those children, one of them was beyond ecstatic. A small blue-haired kid with tan skin was excited to hear his destiny. He had heard stories of Saint Erica’s feats. Before founding Saint Erica’s Orphanage, she was a terrifyingly strong magician that helped in slaying the demon king of the west and bringing peace to the human kingdoms. With this newfound peace, she declined any benefits like mansions or a new title. Instead, she took the money that the king gave her, deciding to open and run an orphanage with it. 

With the orphanage, she took in street rats and any kids abandoned by their parents; Echo being a part of the ladder. Like most of his peers, his parents had left him under the care of Saint Erica, but, not once, had Echo hated them for it. Something had been occurring that forced Echo out of their hands. 

Saint Erica, unfortunately, never heard Echo’s parents’ reason for leaving Echo, but she couldn’t care less. To her, Echo was just another child. A child with a big imagination of becoming a legend and searching for his parents to reform his family. His huge dreams were driven forward by Saint Erica’s stories of her past. 

Aside from Echo, another child in the orphanage was interested in his Destiny Slip----a black-haired child named Ark. Ark, a child that Saint Erica found living on the streets had joined the orphanage and met Echo, becoming fast friends with him. The two were inseparable best friends, but one lacked the same excitement that the other carried. Ark was wary of Destiny Slips, seeing how they could ruin a person’s life through one of his peers----an older kid with a destiny of passing away in a murder-suicide, bawled his eyes out. The kid would lose his life in a matter of years because his adoptive father would go insane; something that they couldn’t control. His hopes and thoughts dashed in a single minute. It was a horrifying sight that Ark didn’t want to experience himself.

However, the time soon arrived as both boys reached ten years of their lives. Alongside six or seven other orphans, Echo and Ark were presented to a Destiny Priest---a priest that underwent a sacred awakening of their holy powers, which lets God take control of their body to write the slips---after being called by Saint Erica. Saint Erica called the Destiny Priest to write Destiny Slips for the children; an explosion of tense bubbling in the air. Every child watched with curious eyes as the Destiny Priest approached them. He had Saint Erica lined them up in a single-file line, approaching the priest. The priest then activated his holy powers, his pupils changing from their natural brown to gold-yellow---proving that God had taken control of the priest’s body and that he wasn’t a scam. 

The priest asked for the first child, writing her Destiny Slip, before continuing down the light. He spent ten minutes going through everybody except for Ark and Echo, leaving them for last; but he then got to them. 

The priest wrote Ark’s Destiny Slip, handing it to him. Ark grabbed the slip and read it aloud. “Your true friend will lead you down the path of happiness. A life of prosperity will be at the end of the road.” Ark reread his slip over and over, amazed at the good fortune he was being shown. He was granted a prosperous life by God. Everything was working out for him.

Echo, on the other hand, wasn’t as fortunate. He got his Destiny Slip from the priest, quickly looking down at the piece of paper. He read through his slip, his face changing from a wide childish smile to an abused frown. 

“What’s wrong?” Sister Erica asked him. 

“Yeah, what’s wrong with your Destiny Slip? Don’t tell me-” Ark started, a shocked expression overtaking his face. He had realized what happened. Echo’s Destiny Slip foretold of a gloomy destiny. 

Echo looked up at Sister Erica, his eyes tearing up. Snot then began to run down his face as the sniffling sounds took over. He then handed the slip to Sister Erica. She grabbed the slip and read it aloud, for some reason. “Your life will be cut short by a man named Canine. He will take everything from you.” 

Echo looked down, his spirits broken. “I’m dead,” he muttered. “My life is over.”

 

TBC…

Chapter Two "New Home"

Six years after receiving their destinies, Echo and Ark parted ways with Saint Erica and her orphanage. They had gone out to purchase a building and build a bodyguarding service. Echo had learned that his parents were famous bodyguards, bodyguarding the rich and wealthy. However, their fates were mostly unknown. No matter who he talked to, he never got new information about his parents. 

Even so, Echo continued with his plans of building a bodyguarding company. He wanted to follow in his parents’ footsteps while searching for them. Ark, on the other hand, was assisting with Echo’s plans even if he didn’t have to. Ark felt like Echo was the true friend that his slip told him about. The one that would lead him to his prosperous life. 

Ignoring their destinies, the teens' dedication in training their bodies and reaching a peak that would allow them to bodyguard the Gods if needed. Now with a muscular body and terrifying inner core strength, they were prepared for bodyguarding anybody. However, their new business was on a small road in the capital of the Glacier Kingdom, known as Halo. The capital provided many incredible sights, large businesses, great food, and entertainment. 

Unfortunately, though, the capital provided discrimination against Outsiders. These xenophobic ways were embedded in Glacier culture after a near-century war between the Glacier Kingdom and the Firetalon Kingdom saw an increase of Firetalons immigrating to the Glacier Kingdom. These immigrants tarnished their name by fighting and damaging property, causing tension between Glacier citizens and Firetalons. This tension bent the previous king’s will, forcing him to exile every Firetalon in camps outside of the capital. These immigrants living in the camps splintered away from each other, creating multiple tribes. 

The discrimination against Firetalons, who were given a new label and called Outsiders, grew as time passed; leading to Outsiders being banned from restaurants, getting an education, and using any facility inside the capital. Discrimination against them was less found in other cities, with the capital holding the largest grudge against them.

Any Outsiders found inside the capital were often kidnapped and trafficked into slavery, however, the education rates were greater inside than outside. This simple fact is what motivated mothers to sneak into the capital and enroll their children, even if the risk was high. 

Echo and Ark, however, didn’t hold the same discrimination against Outsiders that others have. Saint Erica had pounded her ideals into her children. She didn’t want her children to discriminate against others.

These ideals continued with them, even as they moved out of the orphanage and began their new lives. Echo and Ark had built their own bodyguarding service, now waiting for clients. Fortunately for them, however, a client would approach their doorsteps. 

Rogue---a black-haired girl---was running away from two police officers that chased after her. They were hot on her trail, waving their swords in the air wildly. “Stop!” One of them shouted. 

“Stop resisting and we won’t use force!” The other officer shouted. 

Rogue ran until running out of breath, stopping on Echo and Ark’s Bodyguarding Service’s doorstep. She nearly collapsed, giving up and being arrested by the officers. However, Echo had left the building, going on a shopping errand. He stepped out of his door and found the girl and noticed the officers. 

“Leave me,” Rogue remarked, noticing him. “I’m dead.”

“Did you commit a crime?” Echo asked her. 

“Does it matter?”

Echo nodded. “It does.”

Rogue shook her head, looking up at him. “I’m being framed.”

“That’s all I need to know.” He remarked, turning towards the officers, shielding the girl. “May I ask why you want to arrest her?”

The first officer approached him. “She was trying to steal from a store, but luckily we were there to stop her.” He proudly declared. 

“Do you have evidence that she actually committed the crime?”

The officer turned to his coworker, searching for an answer. They lacked the proper evidence to arrest Rogue. They wanted to arrest her for a different reason. 

Echo picked up on their intentions. He glanced at Rogue, asking if she was an Outsider. She responded with “yes.” This sealed the deal for Echo, prompting him to take out three silvers from his pocket and handing them to the officers. 

“I believe that this is enough to sway your minds.” He told them. 

The officers took the bribe, smiling at him before running off. They were corrupted officers that found Rogue’s Outsider tattoo and tried to imprison her based on their twisted minds. Fortunately, a few silvers took their attention off Rogue.

Now with Rogue freed, Echo led her into the building and showed her off to Ark, who---after a few minutes---agreed to take her in as a worker. Echo planned to have Rogue work for them and avoid attention from other officers and discriminators. Ark was forced to accept the idea but wanted to leave the choice to Rogue. 

Rogue, who was now burdened by the choice, decided on the choice that would grant her more freedom. “Take care of me, Echo and Ark.”

“Welcome to Echo and Ark’s Bodyguarding Service. And welcome to Halo, your new home.”

 

TBC…

Chapter Three "Quick Death"

With Rogue helping out, Echo and Ark’s Bodyguarding Service grew to have three employees. However,