A long time ago in a land far away in a village of Hiver, there lived a young boy named Nephilis. Nephilis was a handsome fella who, unfortunately, had trouble connecting with others. The companionship seen as common and often taken for granted by many would have been like a drop of water in a desert to Nephilis. Throughout his miserable life, he witnessed many with bonds deeper than the ocean. Nephilis would observ them and thought, if only those people knew just how lucky they were to have someone as close to them as that. He tried countless times to be a friend and have a friend, but at the end of the day, those bonds were as weak as a paper moon. Even when he managed to create a bond with other human beings, he would always somehow ruin it. At least that's what he thought.
He tried being himself with them, show them who he was, how he felt and what he thought. Nephilis was passionate about creating art. His home was his canvas, his life was his brush, but his paintings were misunderstood by many. He created what he felt, and he felt a mixture of complicated emotions he did not have a name for. Something he could name was a void gnawing at his heart, which he simply named 'void'. He did not know this, but that expanding void was loneliness. When others saw his work, they abandoned him. His creations were too emotionally disturbing for those blinded by happiness and accepted by the world. By the time he realised his art was unsettling to others, they had already left with no intention of returning. So, Nephilis started hiding who he was. To those he deceived, he was no longer a painter. He hid his paintings along with his true self in his basement, never to witness the dawn of a new day again. That broke his heart a little.
This deception taught Nephilis never to fully reveal himself to others and that lies compared to the truth are like gold compared to mud. People are happier when presented with a golden fantasy they wish someone could be. Thus, Nephilis began to lie.
He lied and deceived until he no longer knew who Nephilis was. When he inspected himself in the mirror, he did not know who the stranger looking back at him was. He was now like a chameleon, changing his outer colours depending on his enviornment, shifting his persona depending on the people he was with. To his dismay, others quickly caught on to his schemes. Nobody wanted to be associated with a fake, thus they abandoned him once more. That broke his heart a little.
This life lesson taught Nephilis that he should be honest with others, but also to keep his true self hidden. Thus, he once more tried using honesty as his best policy, this time carefully tiptoeing around the truth about himself - or rather, he avoided talking about himself altogether since he no longer knew who he was.
Apparently, the direct approach was also disliked by the residents of Hiver. When he gave honest, raw observations, others would get hurt. His words wounded their souls and that broke his heart a little.
This honesty taught Nephilis that no matter how he behaved, others would treat him as an outcast so this time, unlike before, Nephilis didn't fight it, for he had no strength left in him to fight and no will to change yet again, just to fail yet again. He accepted his fate to be alone and the fact that those deep bonds known as friendship would remain a mystery to him. At this point, he also recognised that the growing void torturing his weak, broken heart, or rather what was left of it, was pure, brutal loneliness. Despite his longing for connection, he pushed others away, terrified of hurting them again, terrified of being abandoned again and, ironically, at the same time hoping for a miracle. A miracle that never seemed to come and thus breaking his heart a little more.
Soon, the void of isolation in Nephilis' heart became something fuelling resentment. His sadness became his anger. His weakness became his power to keep fighting. His hope became his hatred. He became someone that anyone with a kind soul would abhor. Nephilis was no longer outcast because others decided so, but because he himself chose it. If the world was going to reject him no matter how he acted, then he was going to reject the whole world. And that gave him some sense of control.
Unlike before, Nephilis didn't allow people to treat him as someone unwanted but rather as someone feared. He became a tyrant to the inhabitants of Hiver, tormenting them with his cruel words and judgmental stares. Inside him, where his heart used to be, there was now a complete void. For his heart was broken, and growing loneliness that time turned into hatred was now in its place. Nephilis was a person without a heart.
Years passed of Nephilis being heartless and the village enduring this new dynamic of the abuser and the abused he forced upon them. You can imagine his surprise when one day, someone showed him pure kindness. To his torment, someone responed with concern. In those dark moments of his life, someone illuminated his darkness by bringing him light in the form of a smile that changed everything. He met Marle.
At first, Nephilis despised her. He loathed her kind smile that would make someone foolishly believe that when all is said and done, things would turn out well, or how she never hesitated to lend a hand, even when it would inconvenience her, or how she gave everyone another chance, even to those who did not deserve it, like Nephilis.
And what Nephilis hated the most about her was that she was an artist like him. They even had similar styles but unlike his art, her art was appreciated. Others in Hiver cherished it, despite it being disturbing like his creations. Nephilis wondered if she also had a growing void in her heart to create such bleak images. He wouldn't admit this out loud, but you could say he envied her.
Nephilis couldn't figure out what Marle was trying to achieve by being around him, even when he protested. It filled him with a feeling uknown to him. Someone in his life was finally actively choosing him, but he couldn't accept that. Quite ironic that when his deepest desire came true, he couldn't accept it with open arms. His sad life taught him that there must be more to it; there must be an ulterior motive. Good things don't just happen and if something good were to happen, then it would only be temporary. He has been hurt one too many times to blindly believe in a pathetic lie, such as the possibility of a true friendship.
Humans are beings driven by emotions and Nephilis was no different. It utterly confused him why someone as tender as Marle would even look twice in his direction, let alone follow him around trying to befriend him. Something just didn't add up. His confusion quickly turned into fear. And thus, driven by fear, Nephilis left the village of Hiver.
The city provided a comforting escape. Each night, he would lie down on the roof of his apartment building and look up at the stars. Sometimes he'd wonder if Marle was looking up at the stars as well. Then he'd wonder why he was wondering that. In the city, nobody knew him and he mostly kept to himself. That was for the better. Or that was what he made himself believe.
Each night after stargazing, he'd lie awake staring at the ceiling, wondering why he was where he was, why he was who he was. Did he deserve another chance at being human? Nephilis knew he had no heart, so he wondered if it could ever grow anew. Why was he wondering this now, after all these years of being heartless? These questions haunted him each night. Each night, he would overthink every one of them and end up with no answers.
Days slowly became weeks, and weeks soon turned into months. Nephilis was still there, stuck in his agonising thoughts. Finally, after who knows how long, he realised something. He tried to run away from himself and his feelings. He thought that if he were to get away from his everyday surroundings, he could erase the emotions that Marle had awoken in him. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but the truth was obvious: he had finally felt seen, and it petrified him. He was terrified of being abandoned once again, but this time, something was different. After a long time of feeling despair and hate towards humanity, he once again felt hope. Nephilis was determined to try again.
Right away, he returned home. When he reached his house, someone was already there waiting for him. It was Marle. Before he knew what was happening, she rushed towards him and pulled him into a tight embrace. He hesitated at first, but he was quick to hug her back. That day, his heart healed a little.
Marle and Nephilis spent time together. Nephilis learned that he and Marle were alike. They were both artists with a void of loneliness inside them. But, unlike him, she learned that loneliness was best battled with empathy and kindness; thus, unlike Nephilis whose void became his hatred, Marle's void became something likeable. It became her compassion.
In Marle's presence, Nephilis wanted to become a good person, too. Each day was a small step towards being better. With each step, his heart healed a little and he began to recognise the person he was becoming. Some days it was easier to be cruel, but he resisted that urge. he remained determined to achieve his goal - to be a good person.
Little by little, day by day, Nephilis' heart heal a little until it was whole again. And Marle? She was there for Nephilis every step of his journey, and she was his very first and best friend among many that were yet to come. Their bond was not perfect, because as Nephilis learned, none could ever be, but it was close to that. And for him, that was more than enough.