As Cade had surmised earlier, it was beginning to rain, and she didn't think it would stop any time soon. Ever since Aurelius had left the orphanage, she had been consumed by her inner conflict. It pressed her, and every time she pushed it away, it came and bit her harder.

She had seen what terrible shape he was in, but that hadn't soothed her anger. Only after she said that thing did she realize how she didn't want it. She went to bed early that night. Even earlier than usual, and as drops of water started to crash against the window, she jumped out of bed.

She threw on her clothes and ran out into the rain. There was still some light in the sky. She realized only after her breath started to become strained that she'd forgotten to enhance. But more than that, it seemed her body had made the harder choice for her. Without knowing it, she'd already made up her mind.

She couldn't live without him either.

A woman behind a desk was taken aback as Cade rushed into the establishment.

"Room 4!" she yelled. Her voice was determined and seemed to just rush out.

The woman gestured the way with a frightened look. Cade went where she pointed, not sure what to expect. She didn't know Aurelius like she used to. He seemed so different. So grown.

She feared he had already left as he ran up to the door. She knocked firmly on the door and was left standing there with her mouth agape. The door was open, but more than that, Aurelius' stuff was there.

"Oh, no. Oh, nonono..." She rushed into the room and looked around for something that would give her a clue. Anything that would exile the ideas the sight gave her. She even peaked under the bed, like she'd find him hiding under there.

Then she noticed a notebook on the table left open on the last page. A cold sensation ran down her spine. Aurelius' notebook was his treasure. He would never leave it behind. Unless...

Cade walked to it with hollow eyes, afraid of what she'd see. She was surprised to see a scroll on the table. She recognized its type and quickly figured out from where she remembered it. The one Aurelius received from Orpheus was from the same kind.

A confusion grew inside Cade, but she was at least thankful her main worries were averted. He read the scroll and blinked before turning her attention to Aurleius' notebook. It was black, unlike the one she had seen with him. On the last page, there were quite a lot of writings, even though the second last page was empty.

She could tell that some of it was old and some of it recent. The majority of the old writings were written or scratched over, while only a few lines remained unobstructed.

Up on the page it read, "The former Royal Castle." And around it. "A sign. A bait. A gate." Among other such things.

But in the very center of the page was the part that caught her attention. There was an old line there, written with a different type of pencil. And under it there was another line that seemed like the last thing that had been written in it. The two lines made a poem. One that made Cade bite her lip as she read it and sent shivers down her body.

Blood screams, but I can't hear.

My doom nears, but I can't fear.

***

It poured up on the high cobblestone walls of the former Royal Castle. No guards in sight. In a flash of light, with the motif of thunder that shook the eardrums of Acelot, Aurelius appeared. His silhouette was black to the momentary dark blue and white of the dark gray sky. But after that brief moment, he blended in perfectly.

He disappeared into movement again, and in a blur, he found himself walking the steps to the castle's entrence. The wall around the entrence continued to ridiculous heights, but he didn't care for such things in the moment. All he cared for was the next step toward the answer to his problems.

And so he kicked down the high doors of dark wood that led into the main hall of the castle before walking into the darkness. His hair was matted and stuck to his forehead, from where drops flowed down to his chin and dripped onto the ground, making the only sound in the hall besides footsteps. Step, drip, step. Those were the echoes of the hall.

The only light in that world was a line of grand candle chandeliers that led to a throne at the very back of the hall. The size of the construct was unimaginable. Certainly the largest inside space Aurelius had ever seen and doubly decorated. From the polished stone floor to the carved domes on the ceiling, it was utterly magnificient. It was larger than life by definition. No single generation would've been able to build such a thing. It was so tall that it would've been gratuitous for giants and long and wide that there were hundreds of grand chandeliers that took tens of steps to cover in the hall. However, everything past the pillars on both sides was pure darkness, as the candlelight from the line he walked didn't stretch quite so far.

Aurelius wasn't fooled by appearances, though. He knew he had walked into a trap. But he had come prepared. His washed outfit was already covered in lines of blood, much like it had been with Orpheus. This time, he felt that it would be a bloodbath, unlike what he had experienced before. It would be unlike anything anyone had experienced. It was a bloodbath to end all bloodbaths. The omega.

He looked up at the roof that was composed of multiple domes in amid pillars that had clearly been carved with unbelievable attention to detail, made up of various chaotic patterns that still made sense when observed closely.

It was a shame. Aurelius could imagine the generations that had worked so closely on the carvings and issed an apilogy in spirit, for after what would happen there that day, nobody would look at the building the same again.

Finally, Aurelius brought his gaze down with a gathered grimness and observed the man sitting on the throne ahead, Gadreel. He knew it straight away. His figure may have been slight, but his presence was enough to fill any stucture. On his upper body he wore an oversized burgundy shirt with elaborate markings sown into its evidently perfect silk, and hanging from his ears were a pair of golden diamond earrings. They were simple but caught the eye.

However, something else entirely took Aurelius' attention. The man on the throne had a boyish face without losing any of his profound air. That was complemented by his head of auburn hair that had been swept back, only leaving a few strands loose, inexplicably. But most prominent of all his features were his glinting silver eyes that met Aurelius' eyes without wavering. It had been a long time since anyone met Aurelius' gaze in such a manner. It wasn't even on the grounds of equality. Gadreel looked at him like he expected Aurelius to yield.

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Even though there was no scar on his face this time, something was evident.

'William?' Aurelius recalled the name from an encounter over a year ago when he was still with Cade and Balgair on route to Wescaster. He recognized him, but only on the basis of appearance. The very soul of him was different. It was evident that William wasn't his real name, even if Gadreel hadn't been it either.

At that moment, Aurelius found himself wondering just how much the man had directed his life with an invisible hand while laughing in the background.

"You've grown," Gadreel said, breaking the silence with his soft, devilish voice. He switched his sitting position and grinned darkly. "I knew I could make you."

For a while Aurelius had felt almost detached from the unreality of it all, but with those words, he felt his emotions reach back to his soul and swirl within. Right at that moment, there was a flash of light from the multicolored stained glass panels that were littered throughout the hall, namely high above the throne.

Then came the thunder. Aurelius shuddered with a glance around himself. Gadreel, on the other hand, didn't move at all, only observing Aurelius while the hall grew dim once again.

Aurelius glared at Gadreel, who then stood up in a relaxed manner. He walked a few steps to the side, making strange signs with his hands before looking around. Aurelius could hardly believe his eyes as Gadreel turned his back. All he had to do was shoot off a beam of essence through his back, and that would be the end of it. Or not. Gadreel was making a statement. This would not be over quickly.

"I know you have many questions, but let us not drag this out. Long conversations are where intrigue goes to die," Gadreel said as he completed his spin and walked in the other direction. He looked at Aurelius with a charismatic tilt of his head. "Don't you agree?" Aurelius stayed silent, not having moved from his spot. When he burst, there was going to be nothing more to it, and he was still evaluating.

Gadreel was certainly the best actor Aurelius had ever met. That said a lot when he had kept the company of a genius like Amadeus. He simply had to admit, Gadreel was another breed entirely.

Whatever act he had put on in their earlier meeting, it was remarkable. To be able to hide the extremity of his being to such an extent.

His eyes. They were so soft but sharp. So cold but warm. So alluring and so repulsive, all in the same. How he could hide such complexity was incomprehensible to Aurelius. He exuded intelligence so far beyond what seemed human. Just looking at him, you could tell that he perceived the world on a higher level.

And Aurelius of all people could sense that the world perceived him on a higher level as well.

The air, no, the essence around him fluctuated like it was worshipping him but simultaneously couldn't decide if it was infatuated or inflamed by him.

"Come now." His voice was slow and sweet, but his words were stern. "Talk, boy of Ares."

"Why?"

"Why?" Gadreel seemed almost disappointed, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Aurelius properly. Then he took a step toward him. "Why what? I don't think you know the very meaning of your own question." Another step. "If I were to ask, you would tell me that you meant to inquire as to my motives regarding my actions on a larger scope." Aurelius found his mind quiet, his whole being taken by Gadreel's voice. "However, what you really want to know is why you, isn't it?" Gadreel framed it like a question, but even a fool would have known it wasn't one.

Gadreel's claws on Aurelius' mind didn't feel good, but Aurelius was too consumed with him to resist. "Tell me," he growled, clenching his fists.

Gadreel walked a straight line slowly, as if on the edge of a blade. "I am enamoured by you, repulsed by you. In a strange sense, I feel that we are soulmates. Twins in the womb, but cursed and wanting to eat each other."

"What role did Orpheus have in this?"

"Him? An obstacle to me. One you so gracefully did away with." He gave Aurelius a nod. "For that, gratitude."

Aurelius' body was completely still, only breathing in and out but shallowly. More in than out. "You said you made me. Why would you do that if you knew I would try to eat you?" He wanted to deny it.

Gadreel stopped, still quite some distance away, and listened to the echoes of Aurelius words. "So that we could eat each other," he replied, touching his hand to his chest almost affectionately. "Consume one another and become whole."

Aurelius' nose wrinkled slowly as he reeled back before lashing out. He grunted, slicing the air with his gloved hand. A blade shot out, cutting a pillar clean through. "You disgust me," Aurelius said with his twitching eyes on Gadreel, who hadn't flinched. He was close enough for Aurelius to kill him in seconds, but he felt that wasn't enough. It had been fairly evident since the beginning how many soldiers Gadreel had hidden in the structure.

Gadreel smiled at his outburst. "As do you, me." He then began to take steps backward, as if tempting Aurelius to attack, knowing that he wouldn't. "However, that is why you are perfect."

Aurelius furrowed his brows as he looked at Gadreel lightly stepping back to his throne and wondered how the world had created such an existence as him.

"Tell me, Gadreel," Aurelius spat, "how much of my life was according to your plan?"

"According to my plan? That is quite difficult to ascertain." He paused and raised his brows subtly. "How much of it I foresaw? Ever since I came to know of your existence: everything."

Aurelius swallowed and felt his anger rise, from the twitching in his fists to the burning in his chest.

Every moment of his life, happy, sad, or otherwise, determined by something external was unadmitable. Only then did the extent of Gadreel's control dawn on him. Not just Orpheus, but everything, everyone.

His relationships with Cade and with Balgair had been manipulated and stripped according to his will. Just like war had stripped his father from him. Nothing was ever only his. But it wasn't the world that had led him down this spiral. It was the man standing before him.

Gadreel had sent the twins and brought him and Cade closer together only so that it would hurt so much more when he ripped her away. Aurelius began to turn his head as he stared straight ahead, his eyes beginning to sting. Not just the twins. The Boerlow Numen branch. Killing his own men to send a message. And then that assassin who stabbed Cade and threatened that child. And finally, Izir.

He thought of Balgair and was back in that moment, holding his young, dying friend. His breath hadn't smelled of cigarettes then. Balgair deserved more than to die in the fucking mud. He deserved better! More from the world. More from Aurelius. The life he had lived—he should've had another, better one. He should've found a woman he loved, made his jokes, and had adorable children Aurelius would be godfather to.

Instead, he was dead and buried with broken bones and stab wounds in his chest. All because of Gadreel. But not because it was necessary. Because it fit his vision.

Aurelius breathed out and felt everything except for his bruning hatred fade away. He was there to rip Gadreel apart, slaughter his allies like animals, and make his castle crumble.

"I do have one offer." When Gadreel made it back to his throne, he walked behind it and pulled out a large sack of what seemed like coins. "Here. Your reward." He threw the sack forward, but it wasn't like Aurelius could claim it even if he did care. "10 000 gold. I know it's not the sum we agreed upon, but then again, that promise wasn't in my name." Gadreel laughed at that. He chuckled in this situation. "Assassinating me would have been approximately ten times harder, though, so I consider it to be more than fair." His tone grew dark quickly. "If we do battle here, I promise it will make your assault on Orpheus seem like something from a playground." Then he waved his hand to dismiss the idea for a moment. "What I said earlier about us consuming each other, that isn't necessary. Instead, you can take this money and return home. You've done me a great favor. Leave Mircrest alone, and I have nothing against you."

Aurelius couldn't be sure if he was lying. It seemed too much to bring him here just to turn him away. It was possible that Aurelius could have stayed and become troublesome again. Much more troublesome than before.

However, the plan to buy him off was nonsense. A sadistic joke. They both knew it. They both knew he would never accept, but Gadreel still made the offer to taunt him.

For all these years, Gadreel had turned Aurelius into something hideous and guided him into hell. Now it was Aurelius' turn to guide him, and he would utilize all his developed monstrous faculties to make that a reality.

With that in mind, Aurelius spared nothing in his response. "In my whole life, I have never hated anyone as much as I hate you now. I have ripped men to pieces from far less. You've created in me something that even you can't imagine. And you will not escape me. Today, here, now, no matter what, karase aki."

Gadreel looked satisfied, and Aurelius swore that he would make that expression disappear. "Then you will not leave here alive."