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> Some things or some people in your life would disappear one day, and will never come back. But if that object is found again, you would keep it with you from now on so it will never be lost again. If that person comes back for you, then you would not want them to let go again.
– Alessio Amaryllis
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I still remember it clearly. It was fifteen years ago when the incident that happened that night happened in our old small village. We were young and naive about what was happening, until we saw it with our very own eyes. We were told to run. But I should have thought about protecting her more than I could, only to realize it when it was too late. I was too careless and too weak that I couldn't even protect her from harm... I failed her. I abandoned her. And when I was given the opportunity to start living with a new family, to be with another friend, or to be with another sibling, I simply pushed him away. Most of the time, I was cold to him. Even though he may have always been there to comfort me and protect me from harm’s way. Even though he irritated me from time to time, I was never there for him, just as I was never there for her.
And once again, I never realized any of it, not until things grew into the worst of situations. Similarly to what is currently happening…
Garett, my long-time friend and stepbrother, is slowly being consumed by hatred that he has harbored in himself for far too long. As he pinned me down on the floor with his halberd against my sword. There was nothing else that I was able to do at the moment, and the only words that came out of my mouth were: "I’m so sorry, Garett…"
I could see his eyes widen in surprise and confusion as his grip loosened.
I soon continued, despite still struggling a bit. "... I’m sorry that I wasn’t a good brother to you… throughout the long time we’ve been together... For not thinking about what you’ve been through, for not being there by your side when you were troubled, for thinking that you’d be just fine without me or that you'd be over with it after a couple of days. It was selfish of me— it was foolish of me even— to not realize it sooner, not until things got worse. You may not believe me, but I am genuinely sorry…"
His hand began to tremble as he held onto the halberd. I could see the spark in his eyes returning. "I..." I... Y-You..." but it quickly faded as he raised his halberd above his head and yelled, "You Bloody Traitor!"
Hearing those words, I thought it was the end, the last hope— the chance to get him back was finally lost. I immediately closed my eyes, gripping my sword even tighter than ever on my sword’s grip and blade. I waited for the blade that would soon end me. However, it didn’t come. It didn’t land on me. Instead, I heard a loud clanking sound as his axe fell on the floor, along with his short shriek as a strong blow was dealt to him somehow that made him move further away from me.
Not long after, I then heard footsteps coming closer to me, and I was a bit surprised once I heard his familiar voice saying, "How long are you going to lie down there on the cold floor? Don’t tell me that you’ve given up now at this point, have you?"
I sighed in a very tired tone, "... And here I thought that you'd already left."
"Well, I would have if I could. But as I was about to, I realized that the doors were locked from the outside, and there was no point in hiding now, so I thought of helping you out…" I opened my eyes slowly and looked up, and there I saw the King looking down upon me with a comforting smile, lending his hand out to me.
"Come now, it’s not over yet…" he said with a bright smile.
I stared at his hand for a short moment before taking it and helping me get back up. And as soon as I was back on my feet, the two of us then looked at Garett who was holding tightly onto his head as the black and purple negative aura around him grew bigger than how it was earlier. His breathing became heavy, and the tone of his voice became monstrous as he whispered and shouted the last line, "Kill… Kill… Kill him!!!"
Immediately, I threw my sword at the King, grabbed Garett’s axe from the floor, and used it to block and deflect the spinning rings of sharp black spires towards us. The rocks he sent flying were strong, making me feel that the axe might break instead if I continued on just blocking and deflecting them for a while. But some of the birds that flew past us returned and were about to strike the King who stood just behind me, but…
"Cataclysm!" he shouted as my sword, which he held tightly, was surrounded by a black aura. As he swung it against the attack, the rocks immediately disintegrated. Seeing what had just happened, we were both surprised. However, for a moment, his expression quickly shifted to excitement with a huge smile on his face. "It worked… It actually worked!" I suddenly pushed him down along with me to avoid the incoming attacks before he could do or say anything else.
"I’m proud that my lectures seemed to pay off and you’ve learned a new spell using your stone, but now is not the time to be distracted about things like that." I said. I cast Halt on Garett before he could make his next move, making him stay where he stood while I watched him closely.
"We only have a minute to think of a plan before the spell fades off… "I truly don't want to hurt him, but there has to be a way to get him to relinquish control— to snap him back to reality, or hopefully make him unconscious— I’m willing to do anything just to get that odium out of him!"
The King was silent for a bit before whispering to my ear about an idea he had in mind. I was a bit surprised that he was able to come up with a plan like that for once. It’s not the best and would certainly lead to a disaster, but if it was done right, it’s possible. Without looking at him, I then asked, "That’s a bit of a risky plan, but it could work… Though, are you sure you can do your part?"
"I-I… I can do it. If I was able to cast that spell earlier, I can do it again now."
"Hng… You’re hesitating... If you can’t do it, then your plan won't work at all."
"I could just cast any other spell if I can’t keep up with his attacks. Simple!"
"Now that’s just recklessness and could get you killed immediately!" I shouted before soon noticing that Garett began to move a bit, implying that the spell was about to wear off. I then threw the axe on the floor and grabbed a dagger from its scabbard. "But I suppose the sooner I’m able to get close to him, the sooner he will stop casting those spinning sharp rocks."
"And the sooner I will be able to make my next move, the sooner everything will be over." he said as he drew out my sword, emitting the black aura once more. "Ready?"
Gripping tightly on my dagger, "... As I’ll ever be," the spell disappeared and Garett recovered his movement once again, immediately casting Spinning Thorns, or that’s what I believe it’s called, towards us, but the King— Taro and I began to ambush him.
As he swings and breaks the Spinning Thorns, I try to avoid them as much as I can until I am able to get close enough to Garett. In this very quick moment, I was still able to notice that both of the sclera in his eyes were already black, and the expression on his face was satisfied? He— or the Odium that’s within him— seemed to be ready, smiling devilishly from ear to ear, expecting that I would stab Garett with the dagger.
I threw the dagger past his shoulder, much to everyone's surprise. His dark orange eyes then followed the dagger as expected. And from there, I quickly grabbed him by the collar of his cape, and his eyes glared at me.
He wasn’t able to do anything as I used all my strength to headbutt him with my hard, stubborn head. As stupid as that part of the plan may be, it worked well.
With the remaining energy in my body, I immediately caught Garrett who ended up being unconscious from that headbutt and had both our heads bleeding. Well, that was expected for how strong that hit was, and I was glad that the negative aura from him was gone. However, what surprised me was the looming shadow in front of us that I soon noticed.
When I slowly turned my head to look at the strange figure standing there, I realized it wasn't normal, and all of the negative energy from earlier was now emanating from it.
It was the Odium itself, in its own physical form... But how…?
Its body was shaped like a human. It was purely black and had only a pair of sharp red eyes and a mouth. And somehow, the dagger that I threw was sticking out of its chest. It was silent but tilted its head a bit while staring at us before pulling the dagger out of its chest and dropping it on the floor. I couldn’t help but sit there frozen, holding Garett tightly and close to me, not realizing sooner that its target was... him.
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"Kill… Kill… Kill him!!!" it said before it suddenly rushed towards Taro, but…
"Taro!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I immediately looked at him. And suddenly, a gust of wind blew in our direction, making me lose sight of him for a moment. Then there was silence... The crackling sound of a burning fire from the upper walkway disappeared, and there was no scream or shriek of pain coming from him.
Instead, when I was able to look at him again, he was fortunately safe. The creature stopped on its tracks inches away from him, and on its chest now was an arrow that shone with a white and green aura. It slowly looked at the arrow on its chest before letting out a short yet loud shriek before it immediately precipitated into black mist.
Taro and I stared at each other, breathing heavily before he said, "Well, that was a horrifying experience, but it’s all over now... right?" then soon smiled at me in relief. As I slowly smiled back at him, it didn’t last long when my eyes widened a bit in shock as footsteps began echoing, and a woman’s voice began speaking, "I’m glad that I was able to stop that thing from getting to you, Your Highness, but it would have been better if I was here sooner to prevent the rest of the unfortunate events…"
Not long after, she soon revealed herself and stood beside Taro, which made him startle a little. He then looked up to see her, and quickly he became calm but confused or bewildered as he looked at me and asked, "Are… Are you seeing this right now?"
My eyes squinted at him, but when I looked at her, I couldn't help but freeze, this time with tears streaming down my face and my mouth slightly open in confusion and disbelief of what my eyes were seeing right now.
"N-No… H-How… What makes this possible? How are you standing there? "
There she was standing tall, looking at me with her emerald green eyes and smiling brightly as if nothing had happened from that incident fifteen years ago.
No wounds, not even a single scratch on her. And even her appearance changed drastically. She was no longer that little girl I used to play with, and more similar to how I saw her when I was trapped in the Chains of Duress before. But that was only an illusion caused by the Stone of Void, right?... So, how is she here now?
"Alessio…" she began. "Do you still… Do you still remember what I told you?"
"W-What?..." I said, confused. "A-Are you referring to the promise from before?"
She smiled ever brighter. "Ah, so you do remember. That’s good. I thought you—"
"B-but how..." I interrupted, laying Garrett down nearby and slowly rising from the floor. "Tell me right now, how can I be sure you're not just a figment of his stone— or a spy, or an imposter of my long-dead sister?"
"Alessio…" Taro muttered under his breath as he gave me a worried look.
It’s not that I didn’t want to believe any of this, but I just wanted to make sure…
The lady’s smile slowly faded to a thin line as she suddenly became silent for a little while. When she opened her mouth, she suddenly began... singing? It was in a melancholic tone, but it wasn’t that long before I realized what she was singing, which brought my eyes to tears even more. It was our sweet lullaby…
As she continued on, I didn’t notice the green stone embedded on the upper part of her chest in her dress that began glowing in a green hue, or even mine that glowed in a gold hue. I didn’t even realize the pain of my wounds and how our wounds began to heal. Not even how everything in my surroundings began to fix themselves as if nothing happened. None of those things mattered. Nothing else mattered at the moment, as all of my senses focused only on her and her alone.
My sight of my surroundings changed from the dim library to a green, lush meadow with flowers under a clear blue sky in daylight, similar to— or that exact place. The place where we used to play when we were once naive children. And there she was, standing a distance away. She continued singing with her arms open, beckoning anyone to come close, and yet here I was, keeping on hesitating if I could do so.
Was it the guilt of not being able to protect her fifteen years ago? Will I just continue standing here, wasting more of my precious little time with her, with me still denying this bittersweet truth?
"Endellion…" After a few painful seconds of struggling to comprehend that the woman who's standing right in front of me is truly my long-dead sister, my mind finally took it in. I didn’t waste another second, I rushed to her— finally embracing her tightly, feeling her familiar warmth from long ago.
She wasn't just a photograph I'd kept in my pocket watch for so long, she wasn't just an illusion caused by some stone or my past memories. She was real, and she was finally here with me.
Fortunately, after all these years, at least one treasure returned to me…
"I’ve missed you so much, El. And I’m sorry... I’m so sorry." I said.
She’s quiet. Her hands began to gently stroke my back and my hair for a while before pushing me away and looking me in the eyes. She was smiling as she wiped away both of our tears. "No, I should be the one apologizing to you, Alessio. I… I was already here in this kingdom several days ago, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to see you…" she said as she lowered her head. "I was only able to warn you about the suspicious people who came here and what was happening to the king, but it wasn’t enough, I should have—"
"Wait— I remember you now!" Taro said as he pointed his finger at her. "You were that lady who came into my chambers and tried to help me calm down!"
She nodded at him. "Yes, you’re correct! That was me, Your Highness. But after I left to tell Alessio about what was happening to you, I had to quickly change my appearance since... well, it was one of his conditions if I wanted us to be reunited..."
"His? So it wasn't Mine—I mean, Queen Minerva—who sent you here?" he asked.
She tilted her head a bit. "Minerva?... No, she had no idea about this ambush."
"A-Ah, I see… So, someone else planned it." he said, nodding a bit. "That’s good."
I was silent for a moment as I stared at her. The joy of finally seeing her faded into fear and suspicion as I realized something and asked her, "Endellion... are you serving the kingdom of Helio Vermillion?"
As those words came out of my mouth, the room was filled with silence once more, and her expression changed to a worried one. She seemed to be having a difficult time as she soon responded with, "Unfortunately, yes. It appears that I am on the wrong side of history. And I would choose to stay here with you instead if I could, but I can’t…"
"W-What? Why?... What’s stopping you from staying here? Who’s threatening you for switching sides?" I asked in a bit of a demanding tone, as I was about to approach her, but she suddenly moved back away from me, perhaps out of fear. I noticed how her gaze was now looking in a different direction and how her arms were holding on to herself tightly. She looks frightened by something, or suddenly thinking of someone she fears.
"You… You have your reason for running away. Whether it's an accident or not, you let yourself be free from that place... Despite how I may be here with you now, I’m still trapped out there. Even here, my life, and even my mind, is theirs to pull... If I do things that would displease them, they could easily take me away in an instant." She responded before slowly looking at me. "... That’s why Garett thought of trying so hard to convince you to come back, even if it may have led to a forceful way. I also thought of trying to convince you as well, but I already know what your choice will be... And I know that you will not be happy being taken away from here. And so, I kept my silence."
After hearing all that, I kept my head lowered as I clenched both my fists and gritted my teeth in anger. I could feel my mind and my heart being split into two.
When I was finally able to see you again, when I thought that we could finally be reunited, I thought that we could be happy and safe together like we were once before, but unfortunately, fate has pulled up its strings just to separate us once again for their cruel sense of humor. I thought as I became silent. She wasn’t wrong. Despite it being the truth, I still could not accept it. I could not accept the fact that she would be my enemy, that her blood might be spilled by my own two hands one day.
Perhaps that might even be the true reason why they both want me to come back home with them, to prevent losing more of those who are important to me. But if I go join them, then wouldn’t it still be the same? I might be able to protect them, but I won’t be able to do the same with the people here anymore once I choose to leave.
"There must be something we can do to help you too..." Taro said.
"I know that you are a kind and caring type of person, and I wish I could express my gratitude to you for saving my older brother from getting executed and for taking care of him until now. But in my case, with only little or no freedom at all to be able to do things, and not wanting you to get involved much, I’m on my own on this."
"I don’t want to fight you, Endellion— No— We both know that I can never fight you! Fighting against Garett tonight was already difficult for me, and that should be enough. Fighting against you on the battlefield would be like repeating the painful past once more. And I'm not going to let that happen again— I can't afford to lose you again... Not again!"
"And you won’t, Al," she said as she suddenly grabbed my hand with two of hers, making me look at them before looking at her face, seeing those eyes full of hope and determination as she continued, "You will not lose me again, and I will not lose you as well... We’ll both find another way to get through this, to finally end this war, for us to be reunited again with no walls between us anymore. We both just need a little more—"
Time…
The loud sound of the doors suddenly slamming open wide was carried by a strong wind. But as I immediately turned around to look at her, she was no longer there by my side, and instead, I found her in one of the big open windows.
"El! Wait! Don’t— Don’t go!" I shouted as I shook my head and tried reaching my hand to her, but as she turned around to look at me for a moment, I only saw a tearful smile on her face and heard the words, "Until we meet again, brother… Knowing you are safe and happy here, it is enough for me to wait a little longer for you once more…" And with that, she soon jumped off from the window. A beautiful sight of a white bird flying off in the night sky with the walls of water from the start of the battle has already vanished, leaving a trail of white petals dancing in the air. It was all finally over…
Only Taro and I were left standing and watching the white bird fly into the distance as the room was filled with the gentle breeze and the white petals it brought.
And the only thing I could think at that time, and wish I could have said to her, Endellion... Please be safe... as I slowly moved my hand to touch the Stone of Time in my tie and closed my eyes for a while. Despite how I never wanted to let her go, I still did. Because if you hold a bird too tightly, it will only die, and I only wanted what’s best for her, so I let her go. As long as I know that she’s safe as well, I know that we will see each other again...
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