It was obvious that Avani, or… ‘Mother’ had some sort of connection with that masked man and his accomplice. The biggest question amidst the flurries of mysteries that were laid down before me was still the nature of my biological Mother, and what her deal was with that man. The question I asked myself earlier, was how she could have possibly done something so intimate with the same person who saved her from a traumatic experience started to slowly fade away.

Something told me that this situation was planned.

First of all, by no means would anyone have intercourse with someone right after such an event. That thought didn’t make any sense. Secondly, the juxtaposition between the ‘Avani’ I met at the tavern and the ‘Avani’ I saw here was way too strong. Something did not add up.

Of course, this went without saying. If I truly encountered my ‘Mother’ at that tavern, she would have reacted in a manner only a real Mother would display after seeing her child, alive, after eighteen years.

Thirdly, this encounter, of course, seemed out of pocket for someone to engage in after her recent circumstances. This would mean that there are two ‘Avani’s; The one I encountered in the tavern, and the one I was witnessing at this moment. In other words, someone must have taken the identity of my biological Mother. But that begs the question…

Who was that lady in the castle?

If the Avani of the tavern isn’t her, then who is she?

“Pay close attention,” older ‘me’ spoke, breaking my castle in the air.

She was handed a misty sword that looked identical to the sword Father had been pierced with.

Is she… seriously going to…?

I did not want to guess the worst, but it would only be logical for her to ‘kill’ Father once more. Or better said, wipe his recent memories, because of the assumption I’ve made earlier; That she was indeed coercing with them both.

Why? I didn’t know. I could not ever know. All that mattered to me, was to understand Father’s recent memories from that time, just as older ‘me’ said. It was weird. Was this truly my biological Mother? If so, seeing her do something so… sinister against my Father…

…Any child would have a hard time witnessing the ‘truth’.

However, I did not. Perhaps it could have been because ‘Aurora’ was the Mother I always knew. In essence, this woman was nothing more than a rescued church member. But then again, the similarities between her as well as the woman of the dark castle…

It was uncanny.

I trusted older ‘me’’s words, but I still needed visual confirmation of Avani, the rescued church member, giving birth to me and Vaelen. That is what I’ve been waiting for.

***

Avani, upon receiving the sword, walked towards the front door of Father’s house. The door then swung open, and she instinctively plunged the sword in his chest, causing him to collapse once more.

“He doesn’t die here, right?” I asked.

“No, he does not,” older ‘me’ answered. “His ‘death’ will arrive soon.”

I let out a deep sigh through my nose and narrowed my eyes. I truly wished to have been able to at least hear the conversation between Avani and the other two men. Nevertheless, I turned towards older ‘me’, and asked,

“Did someone assume her identity?”

He looked at me and halted for several moments before slowly nodding in concurrence. It was a simple, straightforward ‘yes’ answer. It wasn’t much, but it at least gave me the last push to convince myself that, yes, someone did assume her identity.

Who? I didn’t know. I could not ever know. Hell, they could have possibly been talking about this topic right at that moment and I wouldn’t know. The answers had to be given to me, at some point. That is what I repeatedly told myself in my head.

The world clicked once more, now shifting into one of the bedrooms during what seemed to be an early morning. Avani was seated on her bed as she was surrounded by a small group of female doctors. It was clear that she was about to give birth to her children.

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Since I never had the chance to enter Father’s house, I couldn’t exactly tell whether or not it was his house. However, a sense of familiarity washed over me a soon as I found myself, together with the others, standing in this particular bedroom. I felt like… I belonged here.

And it didn’t take too long before older ‘me’’s words were confirmed.

Two of the doctors were holding newborn children. I rushed towards them, subconsciously hoping that those babies weren’t Vaelen and I. At last, standing before ‘myself’ was always going to be a perfect argument against me, no matter how badly I didn’t want this to have been real.

…Yes, this was me. I could feel it, I could hear it, I could see it. I stood right next to the doctor carrying ‘me’, looking over her shoulder with a befuddled gaze.

In a way, I felt similar to how older ‘me’ could have felt. This was… me, from eighteen years ago. In retrospect, there were now four ‘Caelums’ from different time periods all present within the same room.

This was… a time paradox. As overwhelming as that may have sounded, I felt… at peace. I truly did.

I also felt anti-climatic. This was of course a mystery I’ve been hoping to find out about for my entire life. Standing right before the ‘truth’ felt great, but the familiarity of her, the room, and the newborn ‘me’ kind of placated that anticipating feeling.

The mystery surrounding my birth was now solved. This ‘Avani’ was indeed my Mother. However, the answer regarding her actual nature was never answered. Thinking about this, I turned towards older ‘me’, who was standing with ‘Emon’ and younger ‘me’ at the threshold of the room.

“Who is this Avani?”

Older ‘me’ took a firm step forward, crossing his arms.

“This ‘Avani’, is your Mother. The same woman who you encountered in the dark castle.”

But… how?! How could that woman ever be my Mother? How could she die, resurrect herself, and approach me as if she were some ghost seeking after my sanity?

The moment when she ‘killed’ me crossed my mind again. As I thought about this, I began to reminisce older ‘me’’s words, too.

I wasn’t dead yet.

That woman ‘killed’ me, and then proceeded to ‘resurrect’ me. In other words, she had seamless control over life and death in that castle. She also spoke of the prophecy, and how I had become the so-called ‘Perished One’. It still sounded like complete nonsense to me. I never truly grasped the grand scale of this prophecy in my mind, so that may have played a role in this… denial.

…But I did accept the fact that Avani was indeed, my Mother. And that she did ‘kill’ me in that castle. Whether or not it was a nightmare does not disclaim the fact that she was there with me.

As I delved deep into my thoughts, my surroundings faded into yet another different scenario. I felt like I was being pulled towards the place where the others were standing, and then lifted high up in the air before suddenly feeling a surface beneath my feet as if I was falling in reverse.

As soon as the world of the past materialized into being once more, I discerned two figures standing before what seemed to be the seaside cliff. It was still a little blurry at this point, but they were wearing distinct clothes… One was wearing black, whilst the other was wearing white. They were standing very close to each other, as if… embracing each other.

It couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The world grew clear, and the two figures were now fully discernable.

It was the masked man… plunging his sword into Father’s chest. As soon as he pulled his sword out, Father tumbled down on the ground, face first. Overwhelmed by the gruesome sight, I fell down on my knees, tears welling up in my eyes, and asked older ‘me’ with a fragile tone,

“Is… this how he died?”

Right before older ‘me’ was able to answer my question, a large swarm of black butterflies suddenly swirled before our sights out of thin air, revealing a white-haired lady in a black Gothic dress holding a large black scythe kneeling right beside the masked man.

She eventually stood up and made her way into Father’s house. I gulped, as the words surrounding Mother’s supposed death rang through my mind. I slowly followed her trail, leaving the others behind. My mind had started to grow numb, and moving began to feel like someone pushing me to move forward.

It… started to overwhelm me. Everything. Starting from when Father was working on the ACM case up until his death.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw a part of the lady’s attire fading behind a corner, where the stairs were situated. I slowly followed her, my footsteps as heavy as trying to walk through a puddle of thick mud.

What is even happening…?

Is this… reality? Did this… truly happen?

It did. Of course, it did. I repeatedly asked myself this question despite knowing these were real events of the past. I somehow still didn’t want to accept it, but… I did not pose a challenge against the behemoth of truth. If witnessing the events leading up to this moment weren’t enough…

…Then the sight I was met with truly instilled that truth in my heart.

Within the corridor, I saw Vaelen and myself lying on the ground, right in front of a closed wooden door, crying our hearts out. My breathing turned haggard, unbalanced, as I approached the two infants. I stood before them, adjacent to the door. I wanted to carry them, calm them down, or at least share their lament, but that was impossible. I could only stare at the two children continuously crying. Even though I couldn’t hear anything, their cries were apparent enough for my brain to cultivate a sound similar to their crying.

And right before I wanted to kneel down before them, the door in front of me opened.

The lady in black walked out of the room, leaving behind a trail of blood.

I stepped inside and saw Mother, her chest completely punctured, as if pierced by a giant drill, lying lifelessly on the blood-soaked bed. And faster than I could comprehend…

…I collapsed. My face plunging into the trail of blood.