for viorica, life had always been a downward spiral, so when she discovered her pregnancy, she celebrated, believing that her child would help her find stability and peace. due to her parents’ stubborn nature, she ran away, disappearing into the darkness of the streets and surviving by selling her body to sick bastards. she did not want that life for her child, so she attempted to reconnect with her parents, hoping that the two would accept her child. they, however, refused to acknowledge her or the unborn child. they yelled and screamed, calling their daughter vile names and refusing to deal with the shocked woman. viorica realized that her parents remained locked in time, unable to move forward with the rest of society, so she stopped caring whether they interfered in her life or her son’s life. she would find a way to survive.

and she did survive for several long years, happily living with her son and proving her parents wrong. however, her illusion of happiness cracked with the discovery of a disease, which had silently been destroying her organs. with syeira’s help, she managed to reach the hospital, and the doctors could only describe the disease to her in vague terms and estimated that she would die within six months. syeira refused to believe those words and spent long hours in the public library, researching various medical conditions and trying to find an answer. his desperate search yielded no results, but his mother never begrudged him, merely whispered words of encouragement while spending hour after hour looking out the lone window. she seemed lost in her own mind, trapped within memories and regrets. when her parents arrived, viorica stared in disbelief, and when they did not leave immediately, she asked, would you take care of syeira? he has no one else. tears rolled down her cheeks as the words escaped her. her parents nodded, an unspoken acceptance of their daughter’s last request.

several days later, syeira was racing through the halls of the hospital, running against time and hoping to reach his mother’s side. the doctor called to inform him of his mother’s declining heartbeat, and after being jolted out of his morbid thoughts, the child began running, praying to reach her side before her final breath. he, unfortunately, failed in his endeavor, skidding into the hospital room as the nurse dragged the covers up to rest over his mother’s head. the familiar sting of building tears assaulted his senses as his body fell to the tiled floor, legs unable to continue supporting his weight. when his grandparents arrived, they found him in the waiting room, curled up in the darkest corner of the room, and they displayed no visible signs of remorse or of care as they dragged him out of the building. their actions set the tone for their relationship with their grandson as the trio constantly dissolved into heated arguments or refused to acknowledge one another. the caustic environment did not help the grieving child and eventually resulted in his callous, apathetic view toward life; however, his grandparents and their attitude toward him were only the stepping stone.

by his twelfth birthday, his grandparents had grown tired of catering to his wishes and dragged him to a local scouting event. syeira’s androgynous appearance and frigid demeanor gained attention from several people, including the hoards of females and the scouts. his blunt remarks sent the scouts into a state of euphoria, and they demanded his presence on a nearby photo shoot set. his grandparents agreed and watched as the scouts dragged their grandson away. gleeful smiles spread across their faces as syeira began spending less and less time in town and in their house, for the company wanted to use the child for several different campaigns and had high hopes for the youth, believing his looks would only improve with age. they were in a state of rapture and could not ignore the rising star, meaning syeira rarely received a break from his intense schedule. when he did find breathing room, he returned to his grandparents’ house and continued attending classes at the local high school, detailing his experiences to his lone friend.

slowly, life became a whirlwind of camera flashes, screaming fans, and the steadying presence of his childhood friend. within the madness, there were several moments of picture perfect clarity that affected syeira and his lifestyle. the first moment started with a phone call from his grandmother, who informed him of his grandfather’s passing in a clipped tone; however, the model fabricated his grief and barely managed to continue his mocking laughter as he strode away from the cemetery. a year passed before he heard from his grandmother again. she called to inform him of her decision to cease supporting him financially, meaning that he would lose access to his accounts and all of his money. rage and hatred brewed within the teen as he continued to work, but he could not find a release while on the set. during the dark hours of the night, syeira began sneaking away, honing his skills and morphing himself into a hardened killer. his first kills were mere accidents though the thrill of the hunt excited him and left him living on a veritable high for several days. after a handful of months, syeira believed that he found his calling and began earning extra cash by selling his services as an assassin to the highest bidder.

due to his fame in society and in the underworld, the youth found himself garnering attention from several notorious groups. wraith—one half of the former rebellion group—kept sending members to follow him, watching his hunts and his photo shoots with the same unfathomable curiosity. they even witnessed the death of his grandmother, who he visited and killed in one night. after his mother’s death, he continued his research on various medical ailments and eventually started investigating poisons and antidotes, so when he managed to finish concocting his first poison, syeira decided to test the substances on his grandmother. her death meant that he could regain access to his financials and would be able to purchase several ancient tomes from the black market. wraith approved of his actions and invited him to join the group, detailing their observations and beliefs regarding the young sacrifice. syeira agreed to their proposition though he refused to cease operating as a freelance assassin, and the elites of wraith asked him to continue working as a model, stating that selene isle had pegged him as a potential face for the island nation.

as the years passed, the older members of wraith started to spread rumors about syeira through the ranks. they doubted his loyalty to the group due to his fame and due to his connection to his best friend, believing that the model would abandon them in favor of his childhood companion. the elites conferred and eventually reached a decision, but their order angered the teen, driving him to throw a poisoned dagger toward the instigator. syeira announced his intention to prove his loyalty and departed from the forest clearing, and a month later, he returned to selene isle, throwing his bloody clothes onto the ground and holding up a picture of his friend’s body. the image showcased a scene of red and white, with the body having been positioned on the bed in a manner reminiscent of jesus and with blood covering every inch of the room. the blood splatters detailed the story behind their confrontation and left little doubt of syeira’s loyalty though some wondered if he would turn his back on wraith. due to his actions before departing for romania, the elites decided to award him the position of lupus, drawing him deeper into the secrets and the shadows of wraith.

unlike his work with wraith and as an assassin, his modeling career continued to garner more fans and more money; however, syeira cared little for either. he wanted to quit and begin working at the memoir, but wraith wanted to use his fame to open doors and to provide them with intel. his job did not come without dangers though as he constantly found himself propositioned by fans and by coworkers. few people interested him, which left him vulnerable to the flirtatious advances of the people around him. syeira refused to deal with the petty individuals that made up the entertainment business, so he rarely spent time with anyone, recognizing people due to jobs or due to their fame. his aloof attitude eventually led to his meeting with hae-sun mirae, the older sister of twin actors. she—unlike the bimbos that surrounded him—did not fawn over him and continued to intrigue him even after two years. they began dating, and during those two years, he did not waste time and energy dealing with wenches and other idiotic fans. to an extent, syeira was merely using hae-sun. he did not acknowledge his own budding emotions and refused to admit that he cared for the woman, yet he did.

the two years with hae-sun reminded him of the pleasantries in life, forced him to abandon his jaded and cynical view of the world. syeira learned how to deal with the black haired beauty and enjoyed her company; however, he never realized how close she was to his secret identity. their relationship ended quite tragically due to their unmasking: she learned of his involvement in wraith while he learned of her position within rapture. driven by her loyalty to rapture, she left, returning to her family and refusing to see syeira again. he, however, did not try to reach out to her. after hearing about his relationship and the incident, wraith flew into a rage and wanted to slaughter hae-sun, but syeira would not allow them to act upon their desires. he ordered everyone to leave her alone unless she attacked first and stated that wraith would not begin a war with rapture due to an unfortunate break up. not everyone agreed with his decision though they all listened to his rational, logical explanation and followed his orders. the unacknowledged pain eventually faded while time continued to tick forward. he never forgot hae-sun, but he did not linger on their shattered relationship. in fact, after meeting his fighter, syeira found his feelings regarding hae-sun altered… though he would never be able to cease caring for her, having spent far too much time with her.

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