Clanks resounded across the room; the soft sizzling from the flares that enveloped Andrew's blades remained the only noise.

Andrew's arms shook as he lowered his head. He raised them again, but they trembled and flinched at JD's touch on his shoulders.

"Drew." He mumbled.

Andrew slowly brought his arms back to his sides, messy locks hiding his eyes. But despite not seeing it directly, JD grimaced and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I..." Andrew's voice trembled as his palm caught his tears. "I..."

Zedekiah opened his previously tightly closed eyes in preparation for the blow. Without raising his head, he peeked on his sides, where Andrew's blades had dropped, the magic that kept its form alive slowly fading amidst his suppressed sobs.

"A-ah..."

Andrew yelped softly, body shaking as his knees failed him. He dropped to the floor on his knees, and as his wet hands quivered close to his face, his voice let out a tiny, stifled series of squeaks. The crumbling and shivering voice inside his throat begged to come out in its complete form, and the more he suppressed them, the harder it was to breathe.

Little by little, small whimpers came out of his mouth. He covered his mouth and shut his eyes. More and more steaming rivers across his face traveled to his hands, then arms, then the floor.

"I... I-I..."

A complete sob escaped his clutches at the lack of breath, and as JD knelt beside him and rubbed his back, his head ached. Andrew gripped his chest tightly, the sensation inside almost identical to the feelings JD—Hysta's death had caused.

And then, finally, he let go of his mouth and let out a sob, then a blubber, and then a loud, cracked, and breathless cry.

"..I-it hurts." He whispered amidst his sobs, one hand clutching onto JD's shirt, his voice trembling. "None of you... have any idea how I felt."

From Zedekiah's memories, flashes of recollection forced themselves into Andrew's soul. The darkness that consumed him, all the insanity that corrupted his mind, and the thousand blades pierced right into his core.

And it was all because of Eveopal—Zedekiah. The man who now offered himself to Andrew and JD for them to do to him as they pleased. To do to him what could satisfy them and bring their souls to peace.

But at the end of it all, nothing Andrew would do to Zedekiah would ease the pain in his soul from centuries ago, nor would it deliver peace and contentment into his being. It would bring nothing but a larger hole more impossible to cover up. None of this would've made him feel better.

None of it would return everything to how it used to be.

"W-we've... already been abandoned from Paradise." He sunk to JD's side hug. "We no longer belong there. And maybe that was what I really hoped for."

Andrew leaned his head over to JD's arm and allowed his tears to fall freely while he bathed in the world of darkness behind his closed lids.

"Maybe vengeance will give me a place to belong to—us. A home to return to."

Wordless, Zedekiah maintained his form while JD wiped the drying tears from Andrew's face. Only to be replaced with new but lighter traces of tears.

"B-brother," Andrew mumbled. "I... I see it now."

JD hummed softly, encouraging him to continue.

"It.. it doesn't matter if we're in Paradise or not." Andrew slowly opened his eyes. "Whether we're gods or humans." His gaze slid to JD's eyes, and then a tiny smile brightened his tear-stained and reddened face from crying. "Because the place I belong to has always been with you."

With a squint, tears peered through JD's eyelids. He returned the little smile but said nothing.

Andrew reached out a hand and touched JD's cheek, cupping it gently afterward and pulling his brother close to him until JD's lips touched Andrew's hair.

He pulled away and gazed at JD with a warm smile. "Home."

JD touched the hand on his cheek and squeezed it.

"Brother... I'm home."

"Welcome home, Drew."

The two hugged, and Zedekiah rose his upper body, a surreal sensation overcoming his system. He touched his chest and stared at the ceiling in disbelief.

"Eve- no," JD called after parting from the hug. "Zed."

"Lord John..?"

JD shook his head. "JD."

"Lord JD?"

"Just JD." He looked over to Andrew. "And him... just AD."

Speechless, Zedekiah didn't answer.

JD stood and helped Andrew. Then he walked forward and offered a hand to Zedekiah.

"Zed." He gave a firm nod. "Let's... walk forward."

"What..?"

"We're good now."

Andrew walked beside him and shyly offered a hand. They pulled Zed up, their hands not letting go of Zed.

"I..." Zed gazed up at their taller figures and winced, sight blurring slowly. "I'm sorry."

Andrew shook his head, suppressing his own tears. "I-it's time to move forward from here."

"Okay?" JD followed.

Zed inhaled deeply and nodded. "Okay. I'm... ready to move on."

"Scratch that," JD said, a little smile on his face. "We're all going to move forward from here."

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The world had never been kinder to him. Garnet had not been kind to him. But he deserved it all—all the bad things in the world. Zed deserved it all.

Whether JD and Andrew did this out of pity or self-satisfaction didn't matter. Zed knew it was confirmed that they'd begun pardoning him. It caressed his soul like the gentle lullabies of his late parents and the affectionate pat on his head by Aventurreal.

Finally, it was time to walk on.

-

"What's wrong?" JD asked.

Zed's turquoise eyes lost their glow and reverted to hazel. He walked toward his desk and took his phone.

"Fareeha cleansed all the executives. They might come anytime soon." He dialed a number and sighed in relief. "It's a good thing I asked the guards to leave earlier."

"So, that's why you were alone," JD uttered as he and Andrew stood on either side of Zed.

Zed nodded. "I had them inform the others they shouldn't go here. The guards will do their utmost to prevent even Fareeha from entering this room."

"What does this mean?"

"It was all so you and... AD could come in easily and be alone with me." The contact answered and briefly told Zed they got things outside under control. "Good."

Zed ended the call and faced the two.

"The same goes for Abarly. Everything I did to Abarly was all so you would meet AD." He adjusted his tie. "I tracked AD first before you, so I made plans to get you two close somehow."

JD side smiled and sighed. "What else have you done behind the scenes?"

Zed only shrugged and smiled, leaving JD and Andrew in the dark. JD waved a hand, implying that it was alright for him to keep it to himself.

"By the way, how's Reizel? Is she fine?"

"She is. I got Drew to heal her bruises."

"So, you fought, huh?" Zed mumbled.

"I have more questions." JD insisted after exchanging approving looks with Andrew, who only crossed his arms and observed. "Why are you making Zalden's headquarters... here?"

With a sly look, Zed said, "Our."

"Huh?"

"I've secured the perimeter. No one should come in during this last bit of what I will inform you."

"Does this possibly have anything to do with Garnet?" Andrew asked, fingers fiddling on the folds of his sleeves.

"Yes. Admittedly, there was another mission Garnet gave." Zed looked at the two with unblinking eyes. "It was to aid you both in your missions. Assuming I was kept alive."

"You're right, Drew." JD joked. "Garnet does know you well."

Andrew rolled his eyes and pouted. "So? What do you mean by 'our' missions?"

"Garnet," Zed called, widening the eyes of the two as a soft yet mighty wind took the form of a mini-scaled whirlwind in front of them.

The whirlwind gathered liquid from their sweat, and as it calmed down, it represented the tidal waves frozen in mid-air.

"My twins."

"Garnet..!" JD and Andrew voiced out in surprise.

"Of course, it is me. Whose twins are you two but mine?"

"Take your fatherly sense away in the meantime, Garnet." Zed scolded with an eye roll. "Get to the point. I can only hold off Fareeha and the minor god on her side for so long."

"Hmph."

JD chuckled at the little exchange. It appeared Zed knew Nicoli was a minor god dressing as a human on Fareeha's side. The question that bothered him was whether Fareeha herself knew that.

Reveling back to what Garnet said, JD had grown more aware of Garnet's favor, not only for Whist or Andrew but also for him. He might've glossed over it with how everyone else cared only for Whist. A warm feeling emerged from his heart at the thought, but he shook it off immediately.

"Abarly," Garnet started. "is the perfect place not only because it was where Zedekiah managed to lure you two in to make contact, but it was also a small and unexpecting town with a natural route to the capital of The Great Gemini."

JD raised a brow. "Why does it matter that it has that route?"

"JD," Zed called. "As I'm sure you are aware, this continent had been led by you and AD actively going down to Julisie centuries ago. But ever since you've perished..."

He nodded. "I know. The government is at each other's throats to lead the entire continent. There are different leaders for each city, village, or land within The Great Gemini, but the seat for the ruler of its entirety...."

Andrew looked down and mumbled, "It is empty."

"That is correct." Garnet continued. "It has been vacant for centuries, and no one had made the boldest move to try and claim it. At least on the surface, as all of Julisie knows."

"You mean..." JD gasped.

"Something else is at play within the capital. I want you, my lightless souls, to discover what it is and resolve it as you are now. Humans with god souls."

"Wait, wait just a second." JD held up his hands, briefly exchanging the same confused look with Andrew. "What do you mean by what you called us? Zed said earlier that there were no such things as lightless souls."

"I said that because Reizel, a complete human, was there." Zed interrupted, prompting JD and Andrew to turn to him. "In truth, there really are no such things in Julisie and Paradise.

"Only the gods present during your creation knew of the truth. But my uncle, my god, the Libra god Aventurreal, was present. I alone was the minor god who knew because Aventurreal had told me about it."

"Hmph."

"That was how... I killed you." Zed glanced down. "I wouldn't have been able to kill you if you were together. Because whenever you are by each other's side, your souls are lightless—impossible to sever, impossible to kill, impossible to be detected by the poisonous light spell I used on Hysta that caught Whist in its shockwave."

JD shook his head lightly. "What... what the hell?"

"How... no, why? Why is the soul that way?" Andrew voiced out, turning towards Garnet's form.

"When Garnet created you," Zed spoke. "You were never meant to be twins. There was supposed to be just one Gemini god."

Garnet didn't respond, confirming Zed's words and encouraging him to continue.

"Heck, every twin within the minor gods and in Julisie had souls of their own. They're not halves of each other like yours." Zed smiled a little. "But when Garnet made you, the light in your souls disappeared."

"And I was frightened." Garnet continued. "My most carefully crafted soul had no light... but perhaps that was exactly because I made you too special to myself."

JD darted his gaze away with furrowed eyebrows, almost unwilling to believe what he felt. All this time, everyone only looked at Andrew, at Whist. And he thought Garnet was the same. Only paying attention to him because he was the favorite soul's other half. But it wasn't like that after all.

"You were special because you, the two of you, are the souls I can truly call my own." Garnet's voice softened. "I gave part of my very soul during your creation."

JD and Andrew snuffed, eyes shooting wide at the slowed waves riding in mid-air that were Garnet's current form.

"It was an experiment of sorts at first, but it made you not only special in essence but also to me, personally." The tides of his form lessened. "And that somehow made you lose the light in your souls whenever you were together. However, that does not happen anymore since you housed human bodies."

JD squinted, a hint of shyness peering through his gaze. "So, you gave my soul this inborn talent so that...."

"So that it could be done again." Garnet's voice hushed down, and a sense of hurt peeked through his tone. "So that both of you would not have to die again."

Andrew touched his chest and breathed in slowly. "Thank you, Garnet."

"Hmph." Garnet's tone reverted to his usual uncaring one, prompting the rest of his audience to smile. "That does not mean I will help you with everything. It only works when... Andrew's soul is inside John's body."

"Of course." JD offered a playful smile. "Though, can you just call me JD instead?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, c'mon."

"...Very well," Garnet grunted. "Now, before the others come here and you humans figure things out among yourselves, it must be made clear that your true mission is to find the rightful one to lead The Great Gemini and free its government of the brewing corruption from within."

"Right." JD nodded.

"In doing so, you may find your real place in Julisie, my lightless twins."

Andrew inched close to Garnet. "You mean..?"

"Take it as you wish. This task is all for the sake of order in the land you left behind. Only in this way will Paradise consider the two of you pardoned for Andrew's sins in the past."

A hand tapped Andrew's shoulder, and as he looked up, JD smiled.

"I'm sorry, brother."

JD shook his head. "It's been done. Besides, I don't want to leave the land we cared for in the hands of the wrong rulers, anyway."

"Me too." Andrew smiled at him and then at Garnet's form. "We will not disappoint you, Garnet."

"I know you won't."

"Rather," JD placed his hands on his hips. "We will not... disappoint and waste Hysta and Whist's efforts in the past."

"Mhm!"

"We'll do this together." JD faced Andrew. "Drew."

"That we will, brother."

Zed walked behind his desk. "That is why Zalden must be stationed here and not too far from the capital, as it will now be our base of operation. Well then..."

At the sight, Garnet hummed flatly, and his form vanished when the room doors flew open.

"JD and AD." Zed smiled and said out loud, "Welcome to Zalden."

-

To be continued.