[BL] I Will Be Your Number 1 Devotee!

In the forest's darkness, a boy with shoulder-length hair the color of pale golden wheat walked without fear of something terrorizing the forest. He walked without direction until the light of fireflies illuminated his surroundings. Instantly, the pretty boy stopped when he met another little boy, his diamond-pink eyes widening as the brown-haired boy turned to look at him.

When their eyes met, the world seemed to stand still.

Your first love, your flower, your destiny.

My destiny changed when you gave me an important role in your life.

So please don't leave me to the fate you created.

This was the first meeting between a child named Fate and Eriu Grith, five months before the future meeting.

Those blood-red eyes stared questioningly at the pretty boy beside him, munching on bread like a rabbit on strawberries. His hand stopped and turned to the boy.

"What's wrong?" The boy panicked as the pink eyes stared back at him. "! Uh, how did you come to live in a cave like this? I didn't mean to offend! Just... curious..." What a predictable lie, he already knew Eriu's true intentions when he stared at him, not out of curiosity about his cave dwelling, but at him.

Their agreement was twofold: to hide until the promised time came, and not to be discovered by 'them'. This agreement benefited Judith more than it benefited him.

Of course, there were many secrets behind the secrets.

Judith had given him a place to stay, lots of money, plenty of food, magic items he could take with him whenever he wanted, and books to read when he was bored, everything was in the cave, only Eriu did not know, and did not want to check. 

"Of course I do, I don't have to pay taxes." Hearing what he said, Eriu choked. "Cough- what-!?" 

"What?" 

"You paid taxes before?"

"Um, yes, you no?" 

The boy looked into Eriu's eyes as if he was telling the truth and Eriu believed this little lie.

"...No." Slowly, Eriu lowered his head and a question came to his mind, 'Here the kids pay taxes...? I could die whenever I see the zeros on the electricity bill in front of my house.'

Seeing Eriu's sudden behavior, he was a little afraid that Eriu would realize the lie he was telling, finally making him say whatever was in his mind, "Do you remember when we first met?" Eriu paused before turning his head, realizing that Eriu was now looking at him with pity, "Yes. Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?" 

"Um, that day, why did you suddenly run away?"

In the darkness filled with tiny golden lights, those blood-red eyes widened and he immediately ran away as if the child had seen something frightening. Refusing to accept this, he chased after the boy and quickly caught him, but accidentally fell, causing him to fall on top of the boy.

A prelude to the opera begins.

The first prologue was a cry and a false story.

"Huu, why are you running away all of a sudden? Hikss-" 

Those blood-red eyes filled with panic made him ask everything and answered with a lie.

"What about your sister? Is she there too?" There was a habit that every time he lied in front of the person he liked, he cried. Every time he saw that person worried, he felt very happy, and it made him lie even more to keep that person by his side.

At that time he had no idea of the meaning of sadness, happiness, jealousy, or anger. 

The first feeling he had when he was born was emptiness.

The second feeling when he met him was envy.

The third feeling was happiness.

The fourth feeling was sadness.

And the lie was a feeling that made him feel very guilty and very happy at the same time.

However, there was one question that he answered honestly when the person realized his lie.

"What's your name?" 

"I'm..."

"I'm Fate."

The boy immediately breathed a sigh of relief, as if the suspicion against him was gone.

Eriu scratched his neck, "Ahh, I thought you were a ghost back then... After all, the forest here has a horror story that people in this village always tell."

"Um, you mean... the story of the woman who died in this cave?"

"Yes, you're right... Wait, how did you know?" Eriu turned his head and frowned, taking out a small book from his pocket, "I found this in the cave."

Eriu was shocked and immediately jumped away from the boy.

"...Why?" Seeing Eriu jump away, the boy had to hold back his laughter by making a confused face as he stood up and tried to approach Eriu. Eriu immediately pointed at the small book, "That book, you better put that book back where it belongs!"

"Huh?"

"Put it back where it belongs and apologize properly, otherwise this book will definitely curse you!" Seeing Eriu so scared made him want to tease him even more, "Why would this book curse me?"

"I mean, this book belongs to someone who, um..." While saying the word "um," Eriu pointed his thumb vertically at his neck. While making this gesture, Eriu closed his eyes tightly, afraid that his eyes would see something that shouldn't be seen.

"'Um'?" At that moment, he slowly walked towards Eriu, who closed his eyes tightly. With every step he took, a white flower appeared, as if to neutralize the sound of his footsteps.

If you were to ask Ariadne what Eriu's greatest fear is, she would laugh and say, "Eriu is so afraid of the dark that he doesn't even dare to go to the bathroom."

Yes, what you read is true, this person has an extraordinary fear when it comes to the word ghost, even though he is already in his 25s, he doesn't dare to go to the bathroom for fear of ghosts appearing behind him. Nevertheless, he sometimes gets curious about a movie that is going viral on the Internet and begs his girl friend to watch it with him. The more curious he gets, the more his fear of ghosts grows.

"There's no way you don't know!"

"Forget it, I'll wait here and put the book back where it belongs! If not..." Feeling the breath in front of him made Eriu instantly freeze, at the same time, the boy in front of him smiled very sweetly.

"...Fate?" 

"Hey... Fate?"

"Fate...? ...001?" 

Hearing his name called so many times made him smile even wider, he didn't even care about 001 who was also called. Unable to help himself, he began to laugh softly, "Pftt... Hahaha-" Eriu stopped and immediately opened his eyes, the boy in front of him was laughing like he was very happy, making his already beating heart beat so fast that Eriu couldn't think normally.

"So, 'if not,' what will happen?" Hearing this question, Eriu came to his senses and deliberately gazed at the boy in front of him, "If not..." Eriu immediately turned his body and started to run away from the boy. 

At that moment, he ran after Eriu.

Running in the night filled with wandering yellow lights.

Running in the echo of children's laughter.

"Aghhhh, stay away from me! I don't want to be cursed with you!" But contrary to fear, Eriu giggled.

"Come on, why, we'll always be together, right?"

"No, we won't! Sorry, but I have my own life!"

His hand managed to catch Eriu's as the two of them fell that night, under the light that was trying to peek into the cave. Eriu's face immediately turned red as the boy's face came closer.

"Don't you want to be with me?" The question was asked immediately.

Eriu smiled stiffly, "...Haha, I... I live with my mom and dad." For a short moment, he managed to see Eriu looking in the other direction as if he was reading something before he looked back at him. That look of confusion was visible in those blood-red eyes. Immediately, Eriu tried to loosen his grip.

"...You said you would marry me... You liar..."

"! We were just playing, I was only told to say those words because you won!"

"Hmph!" The boy stared at Eriu with an annoyed look on his face. Eriu replied in a low voice, "I like beautiful, sweet, cute, and definitely mature person." Anything to make the boy in front of him stop saying that.

"I am not a child... Sister Judith herself told me that I'm a son of God." Eriu immediately frowned, "Son of God? Your sister? Why would she say that?"

"Hmph, I'm a son of God, so I won't tell! Sob - you don't want to be with me anyway!" The boy lowered his head.

"... Uh... I promise I won't leave you alone, but when it comes to, um, like marriage, it's impossible." In a low voice, he replied to Eriu's answer with the statement, "That's because you're still a child, so you can't take care of me."

"..."

"You're mean."

"..."

"You even realize that I like you, but you close your eyes. Must be the characteristics of being unfaithful to one's partner."

Eriu opened his mouth, unable to believe the comment, "Wow! I can't stand it! I'm loyal!" Eriu did not notice that a happy smile appeared on the boy's face. At that moment, he raised his head to stare directly into Eriu's eyes, "I am more loyal to my partner than you are."

"Ehh?" Eriu's eyes crinkled, though there was mockery in his eyes as if to say, 'What is this kid talking about?'

"I'm going to keep saying that I like you, forever!"

Those pink eyes shone in the darkness with a beautiful smile as the words of love were said.

"I like you!" Their hands clasped together, Eriu's face slowly turned red like a tomato. Slowly, his face moved closer until the sound of each other's hearts could be heard.

"I like you."

"I like you forever."

From the moment we met until we parted, I loved you very much.

The days passed quietly, even Eriu often invited him to search for magic stones together. This made him realize that these magic stones were quite dangerous if they were in the hands of bad people.

Magic stones that could deceive the eyes.

Judith told him that these stones were created during the wars of the past. They contain the souls of people who have something to protect or ambitions that remain unresolved. 

That is why there is magic in these stones.

The hope is that this small stone can make people live, even if only for a moment.

If this stone can carry their wishes, it also carries the hatred of those souls who do not accept the end of their lives. This hatred is also carried to its roots, which is why this forest is so dark and gloomy. 

A year passed. Like a storm, tragedy after tragedy came to their peaceful life. One day, someone called out to tell people a secret. From that day on, Eriu visited him often, and even for 2 weeks, he would not come out and would only stay in the cave with him. Rumors that Eriu was a chimera were heard even in the cave. 

The child who had to die, burned by the holy fire, hung on the mountain that made the sinner never go to heaven, tortured so that their god would forgive them for letting the plague come to their village. These words came from the mouths of people who had no one to blame but someone else.

Slowly, from the small group that targeted Eriu, to a priest, to a witch. Curses against the Grith family could be heard. But the two people they cursed never returned.

Judith realized that there was one person who was their link to this village, but unfortunately, there was nothing Judith could do, her punishment made her unable to move freely.

Eriu blew on his cold hands and immediately noticed the look directed at him, "Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden?" Eriu just chuckled to make the awkward feeling disappear.

"...Eri,"

"Where are your parents?" Immediately, Eriu's eyes widened before he looked away, "Looking for medicine for me. They promised to come back as soon as possible, 3 months, but this... it's been half a year and they still haven't come back..."

"Has something happened to them...?" That was the last sentence that came out of someone who was always full of confidence.

The little boy listened in silence, and soon he moved closer to the gloomy boy. The sound of crows could be heard, and the angry shouting of the people disappeared in the silent cave. 

Quietly, the little boy rested his head on Eriu's shoulder while holding his hand. 

"Have they told you where they are going? I will accompany you to find them." Eriu's breathing calmed down again, "No need, maybe they got into trouble."

"... And they said they were going to an area near the elf village."

The little boy rubbed Eriu's hand and the warmth made Eriu lean against the little boy beside him, "The person they are going to meet is my mother's friend, she is also the one who prescribed the medicine to me 2 years ago, I heard that my mother's friend's family is not doing well, her daughter named Noah was kidnapped by her husband."

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it's just that I overheard their conversation... Also, Mom looked very panicked at the time, and she left first before Dad followed".

"They left you alone?"

"No, they left me with the village chief. But that bastard immediately blamed me for his daughter's death." His tone was filled with anger as he said that from that day on, Eriu's name became worse and worse until rumors of Chimera began to spread.

"I'll punish all those bastards if you want."

"Pftt, you can? Then please make them kneel down in front of me." To be honest, that sentence was just a joke, but for this boy, it would happen in a different future than this one.

"Alright."

"Haha, really? I'm so happy!" At that moment, the boy smiled very broadly, even though the sentence he said was just to make himself happy, but hearing the answer from the person next to him made him even happier. 

"Then I'll tell you a secret." 

"There is a person who is on his way to find my parents. I'll probably hear from him tomorrow."

That night, the two boys leaned against each other, and the quiet atmosphere was very different from what was about to happen. 

In the middle of the night, when darkness could not reach the darkness of the cave, the boy's red eyes widened as he read the fate of his parents, his heartbeat stopped in an instant, and tears streamed from the little boy's eyes. Then he left the cave. 

To seek the truth, to seek the traitor of this tragedy, or to disappear yourself amidst the chaos?

Inside the tube, a huge amount of smoke slowly covered every place before a shadow appeared. The glass of the tube opened and the little boy stepped out and immediately realized that the person who was supposed to be with him in the cave had disappeared. 

From that day on, Eriu never returned to that cave.

Even if he did come out, people would put him somewhere other than the rumored whereabouts of the Chimera, especially since some priests went back and forth to visit this village. But if he became Eriu, where would he be taken? 

In front of the mirror, the little boy looked at himself while holding the stone tightly in his hand, his face slowly changing from a beautiful innocent child to a child with a cold gaze. When everyone shouted the child's name, the child immediately ran and took off the hood covering his face so that people could catch him immediately.

He was condemned by all the people who looked at him.

Even though they knew the person they had caught was wrong, they were eager to write their names on the little boy in front of them.

Marquis Alexander, Shorelean Kingdom, Tower of Magic. The whole world immediately looked at him and forgot about someone named Eriu.

Five years passed and the little boy was locked up in a prison with a very strict guard, all the rich, famous, and even merchants came to visit him, looking at him from behind the glass just to see him.

The silent child sat on a chair and yawned. He waited while people were greedy to have him.

Five years of torture, even being watched like an animal is nothing, should he be sad or mournful? No, he shouldn't.

The teenager sat in the cave, waiting, with a warm smile, even blowing on his hands that were chilled by the cold winter wind. 

A person with a wounded body and a pale face walked towards the cave, the destroyed forest, the burned houses, and the hidden place destroyed just because of a boy named Lei.

If he had not been the link between the outside world and his village, if he had been more strict with his family, if he had known who his sister's killer was, innocent people would not have been accused, and people who were not the victims would not have suffered. 

Causing trouble, the bastard committed suicide after learning the truth. Running away from all the trouble he created.

With the last of his strength, the teenager stared at the screen in front of him.

[Master, don't go there! He's not the person you think he is, you can see that with your own eyes, he's an imposter!]

The teenager scoffed, "Heh, you should have told me from the beginning, you already knew, but you kept your mouth shut."

[I didn't keep my mouth shut. You'll regret it if you go there, really!]

"Don't you look very panicked? Where's the usual 001? You better get out of my sight right now."

"I don't want to see you again."

By that time, his feet had already entered the cave and he was walking, ignoring screen after screen that kept appearing to block his view. The screen with the word EROR became more and more visible, covering the other sentences. Instantly, the screens disappeared just as the teenager stood directly in front of the pale wheat-haired teenager.

The teenager immediately turned his head and his pink eyes sparkled as the teenager tried to walk towards him. 

"Eri...?" 

Eriu pointed the gun at him with a sharp look at the teenager. 

"Why did you do all this?" Even though he felt suffocated, those red eyes stared intently at the person in front of him. Guilt, conviction, and answers seemed to radiate in those eyes. 

"...You scared me... Eri..."

"ANSWER ME!" Tears escaped from those tired eyes, his face slowly turning pale, "WHY DID YOU DO ALL THAT!"

Standing in the middle of the crowd, he stared at the blindfolded boy, while the boy remained silent, someone immediately kicked him, causing him to fall. It wasn't until then that he realized who the person who had replaced him was, the person who had become the focus of everyone's attention.

His eyes watered as he uttered the words he would remember forever, "No one ever knew how the two became friends, not even the presence of 'his' parents." 

"The protagonist's named 'Eros' and his best friend is named 'Eriu Grith'."

While everyone was staring at the protagonist, his best friend 'Eriu Grith' felt guilty about everything. All the attention should be focused on 'Eriu Grith' who has revealed his identity.

"The reason why 'Eriu Grith' didn't become a target was because 'Eros' deliberately drew all the world's attention to him. His parents were never found, and even their corpses never existed."

As a result, the two of them were dependent on each other.

Like May, become a complete villain. To be a villain in the eyes of the villains and a victim in the eyes of the people.

That was what happened now.

"That's why the two became good friends, often together, even 'Eriu' was willing to rescue the kidnapped 'Eros'."

"And all these things, you know very well."

Who should you look for? The truth? The traitor? Or yourself, who tried to run away from the truth?

Who is wrong? Who is right? 

First meeting in the middle of the forest, surrounded by golden light, running full of laughter with promises of loyalty, and back to the beginning. 

After seeing the boy's condition, he immediately and quietly entered the place where the people said the jewels were kept. The boy sat staring at the glass, but soon their eyes met and the boy looked away.

He spent months looking for a way to break the glass, watching every move of the people there, the day the jewel would be taken, or the day the boy would be tortured.

A groan of pain was heard from the boy, a big man was on top of the boy while choking him, and the man's smile widened as he saw the boy making a reaction.

That day, just that day, he couldn't contain his anger and pulled the trigger. It was aimed right at the man's head, but the protective spell caused the bullet to ricochet.

Everyone immediately rushed to find him. The boy looked at him and opened his mouth.

Go away.

I'll be back, so don't worry about me.

The big man who saw the boy immediately strangled him tighter while hitting him, shouting in front of the boy that he almost died protecting him.

His hands were shaking with fear and guilt.

Before he could reach the boy, he was teleported to a faraway place, and immediately lightning bolt after lightning bolt appeared, destroying the whole place.

"Isn't it?" Seeing the teenager speechless made Eriu feel certain of all these things, " So, why did you lie to me?" 

The robot's voice sounded, [ztt, run, Master, run-!]

Slowly the snow covered the truth.

Eros, from today on the forgotten name will be heard again.

"Cough! Cough- Heuk!" The poison that was already in his body slowly spread and killed him. 

Eriu Grith, the vengeful youth, seeking revenge, ended in death.

Eros ran to Eriu and hugged him. Although the person hugging him was crying, he couldn't hear it. Surprisingly, the surroundings were only white with flowers like fireworks, as if the world belonged only to the two of them.

"I, I think I want to eat your handmade candy again..."

"I should have introduced you to my parents back then..."

At the end of his life, his last words were, "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shot him..." 

His breathing became very weak and an enormous clock appeared above the clock-shaped planet, each hand moving backward, even the clock planet followed the direction of the clock above.

The young man with long black hair in a braid stood and looked at them, but his gaze was only on Eriu. Eros raised his head and looked at him with a happy smile, "I will be with you forever.

That happy smile made the young man very, very angry. His little clock, which was moving backward, exploded, and before it could return to normal.

"As I said, we are meant to be together forever."

In the blink of an eye, Eriu, who was in the warm embrace of Eros, disappeared.

In the white world, only the two of them were trapped inside with a small memory of him. 

From now on, he is Eros.

Even if you free me in this past world, I will be Eros to you.

The day 'Eros' appeared, all the neatly laid plans immediately crumbled. He made everyone play into his hands, ruining them one by one. To make Eriu arrange a door that would immediately set him free. A white door that only we could see.

Wiping everyone's memories.

The Scales of Sin that will continue to determine your sin and make you forget, even if only temporarily.

"I kept my promise."

"From now on, I will always come to you." While he smiled gently at the place where Eriu slept, his hand smoothed the brown wavy hair that covered Eriu's face.

The little boy named Eros sat quietly on a bench near the table, a bench that deliberately faced the bed. In the silence, only the sounds of heartbeats and soft breathing could be heard. Soon, the brown-haired boy in front of him blinked his eyes when he felt the light that awakened him.

Like at the beginning of our meeting, when you approached me, now it was my turn.

"Good morning, ah, sorry to startle you." The blood-red eyes widened and his face also turned red. The child looked very surprised and confused at the same time. Even when the boy's expression calmed down, the red color on his cheeks could still be seen.

"Morning..." Just hearing his voice made his heart skip a beat, an immense feeling of happiness came over him at that moment. He chuckled, "My name is Eros. I don't have a specific nickname, but someone once called me the Son of God."

"Son of God...?"

He nodded, "She called me that out of the blue and..." A voice called him and Eriu downstairs. Deliberately stopping the last sentence that made Eriu even more curious, "Auntie mentioned your name earlier, may I call you Eri?" Eros immediately got up from the chair, "I'll tell Auntie that you're still sleeping, so don't come down, okay?"

"Okay..."

Before he left the room, he turned to the little boy who was looking at him dreamily, "Eri".

"Yes?"

"I like you."