note: This is my first fanfic in this fandom. I've become smitten with the manga. It may be slightly AU since I may not know the minute detail of how Cross exactly found Allen. Anyway, I'm writing this for fun, so please enjoy!

Prologue: Salvation

Allen was twelve years old when he first met General Cross Marian.

The tall man seemed to magically appear at the cemetery after the traumatizing encounter Allen experienced with the Earl and his father, Mana. The young boy was now cursed with an unusual arm and an equally cursed eye. So it surprised him that when he looked up towards the redhead, the man didn't run away screaming at his appearance. Instead, the long haired man knelt down, placing a gloved hand on Allen's now snow white head.

"You okay?" he asked with an amused smirk on his face.

Allen felt his heart hiccup and just as soon as his cursed arm appeared, it seemed to dissolve just as quickly, disappearing into a puff of white mist. His arm, now wrinkled and stripped bare down to a thick leathery, blood red skin like appearance, was quickly hidden behind his back.

"That arm of yours," the man began. "…shows immense promise."

Allen looked at the man with his good eye, studying his features. There was something about the man's crimson eyes that told Allen that it was alright to trust him. Though half of his face was obscured by a mask, Allen could tell that the man was handsome. The small bit of red stubble on his chin and his small glasses seemed to add to his character.

The man straightened up, towering over Allen. The boy finally got a glimpse of the man's apparel, which consisted of golden trimmings and fine embroidery. He looked like a man of the clergy and Allen's mouth slightly opened in shock.

He craned his neck up to look at his savior. "Are you God?" the boy whispered in awe.

The man blinked, and then roared with laughter. He fetched a cigarette from a clip in his pocket and lit it. He took a puff of his cancer stick.

"Of course!" he laughed, blowing out smoke. "You may call me master!"

And thus began the chronicles of a boy and his master.