“I commend you,” Oberon said to him before Kagami destroyed his core. Half of his face had been torn off, revealing a face of a mechanical doll. “I didn’t realize what a monster you truly are. You truly are the person that Queen was searching for.”

“I don’t care,” Kagami said. Tears still ran down his face.

Noticing this, Oberon’s laughter was breaking up filled with static. His voice was becoming much more distorted from the damages he took.

“It matters not what you think. Fate will not allow it. The Queen shall not allow it, because of the blood in your veins. You are a part of this. We are all puppets to Fate.”

“I don’t care!” Kagami yelled. He was out of breath, he was still in pain. But he didn’t care. “I don’t care about this game! I don’t care about this world! All I care about is my wife! I…I…”

He felt this oppressive air put on top of him. He still remembered the humiliation from the Phoenix. His confidence, his pride, and his strength had shattered like a mirror.

I don’t even know who I am anymore.

Kagami fell to his knee. In his mind, he could hear the Phoenix screech in glee at the state he was in.

Subaru flashed in his mind.

He rose. He still had something he needed to do. He stood over Oberon. He wrapped his fist with Aura ready to smash his core.

“Before I destroy you, I need to know where my friend’s pack is. Do you know where it is?”

Something within Oberon’s head whirled like spinning disks. He pointed to a corner.

“Your friend’s bag is on top of the pile in the corner. Take it.”

Kagami took note of the bag and nodded.

“You should hurry. My comrade will be coming soon.”

With the strike of what his true body could muster, he destroyed his core.

#

While pouring tea for his guest, the Warden felt two discrepancies from his threads. The first was an explosion of Aura that could match even his. The second was that two…no three people had intruded his little ritual.

He drafted his message and then sent it within his threads to the two closest Guardians to investigate those areas. He felt their acknowledgment from his orders and they immediately went to carry it out.

The Warden then resumed his tea pouring.

“I wonder how much I’ve danced to your tune? Giving us part of the future may have been a mistake on your part.” He glanced at his guest as he handed her a cup of Autumn Brew.

Aria took the cup gratefully, bringing the rustic orange tea to her nose, taking a whiff of the pleasant and mellow aroma.

“What a nostalgic scent,” she said taking a sip of it.

“Have you had it before?” The Warden sat in front of her.

“No. I’ve simply seen this future many times. The aroma has always made a strong impression.” She placed the tea cup down. “I’m grateful that we’re meeting, Prospero.”

The Warden took a casual sip of his tea. The mellow flavor spread through his mouth. He took his time to enjoy it before swallowing peacefully.

“It has been quite sometime since I’ve been called that.”

Looking at his reflection his tea, he could see a shadow of the man called Prospero. That vibrant young man who still held hope in his eyes for a better world, now stared back at him with eyes may have lost some of its glimmer, but it still held the determination to make that world better even now.

“I know what you’ve come here for. Even before I read the paper with what you claim the future will be. I captured a certain fellow that told me you plan to break the Seal of the Goddess below this house,” the Warden crossed his legs and rested his clasped hands on the table. “It doesn’t matter what future you’ve seen, as long as I breathe, you will not be able to break the seal.”

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“Yes, I know.” She smiled confidently. “I’ve seen this future too. I know you have placed your threads around my heart, and neck. There is little I can do right now. I’m at your mercy.” She took another sip of her tea. “This is truly good tea.”

“If you know, then you also know that I cannot allow you to live.”

“Yes. I know that too.” She placed the empty tea cup down and closed her eyes. “I know that in this future, my death is inevitable. My words cannot be trusted. I have cast my die. I can only hope that after my death, it will come to fruition.” She opened those lovely purple eyes. “Yours may too after your death.”

“The future isn’t certain.”

“I know this too. Thank you for the lovely tea. It was a nice to drink something so pleasant before my death.”

Her eyes showed she was not afraid of her death. She was prepared for it. The Warden respected that. To give everything for a gambit, he too understood that. With one grip of his hand, his wires tore her into pieces of meat in an instant.

Though the chances were minuscule, he didn’t want to repeat his mistake with the Prince. He summoned three spiders from below and watched to make sure they devoured every piece of her.

#

Subaru woke up to a bag being thrown on his gut. He shot straight up, confused and with a headache. A bloodied Kagami sat on the rock in front of him, his face tired and caked with blood, dirt, and tears.

“Are you alright?”

“I got your stuff.”

There was blood dripping from a hole in his chest. The way his voice had no strength was one of a dying man. Yet, Kagami looked at him with a small smile, as if seeing him alive was his salvation.

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” said the dying man to the living man.

What was he supposed to say to that? The man had the wrong priorities!

“I just want to make sure, you will revive right?”

“I killed him. The robot.” He ignored his question.

“Robot?”

“He was a robot. He wasn’t an elf.” Kagami looked up at the ceiling. The sunroot was dimming. “I killed him.”

This was the first time he had ever heard of a robot before. So, that elf wasn’t an elf? What did he mean by that?

No. He shook his head. The first thing he needed to do was check the man’s condition. So, he asked once more.

“That wound looks fatal. You are going to revive right?”

To which, the prince gave a smile, and fell over dead.

Subaru knew he didn’t need to check, but he did anyways, checking his pulse, confirming he was dead. He covered his face with his hands.

What the heck was he supposed to do here?

I guess I can only wait.

Subaru watched the sunroot dim, and remembered the bag in his lap. He opened it up, and he could feel his heart jump in joy when he found the item he needed. He held the gold coin in his hand. To others, it looked ordinary, but the coin had been imbued with a certain technique that allowed teleportation out of the Wishing Well.

With this, he could leave this shitty place.

. . .

But he stared at the prince that saved him.

He put the coin in his pocket.

It would be rude to leave without at least seeing if he could revive.

“Are you the one that killed Oberon?” A woman’s voice spoke behind him.

He closed his eyes in regret and then turned to face the woman.

It was another elf.

#

They were walking further away from the heartbeat of the Seal. Anytime Yoru brought this up to Kenichi, he would give her a smile and ask her to be patient.

“We’ll arrive where we need to be soon,” he said as if he were reading off a script. “That I can assure you.”

It might have been the fifth time he said that. It may have been the tenth. She didn’t count. She just knew she had heard it enough. She put her her aura infused foot down. A shock wave made the tree branches sway and animals run.

“Enough!” She yelled. “I have been patient enough!”

Kenichi turned to face her like a disapproving father.

“We’re going further and further away from where we need to go! We’ve been walking for almost four hours! How much longer will we need to walk?”

“I cannot answer that,” he said. “You know I must carry out Aria’s words.”

“But you don’t! We can do whatever we need to! Our goal is to find the Seal!”

“Is it?” Kenichi’s tone darkened. “Or are you perhaps looking for Cedar? You allow yourself to feed into your vengeance and it has consumed you! So much so that you’ve lost your patience? Do you remember what my mission is?”

The bear watched the wolf, waiting for her to speak.

“To break the seal.” She answered him.

“Yet, I don’t believe you care about that anymore. Every moment since you met him, all you wish to do is to kill him.”

“You don’t understand.” Irritation rose up her throat. “I asked you once, what would you do if someone you loved was killed in front of you? What if Aria was killed? What would you do?”

His face tensed and he turned his gaze away from her. As if scared he was scared that she would see through him.

And she did.

It was slow, but her anger subsided as realization crashed upon her.

“Kenichi…what did the note say?” She reached her hand towards him.

He didn’t need to say anything. All she needed to see was the look on his face. She covered her mouth.

“Kenichi, is Aria dead?”

The bear looked up at the sky, the light from the sunroot was slowly dimming, showing that the sun was setting on the surface.

He closed his eyes.

“We’ve arrived.”

The area in front of them exploded. Yoru rose her arms, protecting her eyes from the stinging dirt. When the dirt settled a young man with light brown hair walked forward. When he spotted them, he gave them an angelic smile. Yoru’s gaze though was caught by the mark of the Black Sun on his chest.

“The Black Sun?” Every hair on her tail stood up. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh!” The corner of the man’s smile spread even further. “You know us? Then that makes it quicker? Do you perhaps know where Prince Cedar Oswell is?”