Death is inevitable. It is necessary to be reborn again from the cage of darkness you once held in.

The Fool wished for it to eliminate the unnecessary old habits that had plagued him. And because of the fateful encounter with the eccentric Hermit, he learned to balance himself. To not let light and darkness outweigh the other. Through The Temperance, he has achieved a new sense of life and a well-balanced view of health and mind.

This was later put to the test when he encountered a Devil. They seduced the Fool to abandon their principles for the material temptations laid out to them. To drive them to blissful ignorance and hopelessness. Whatever the reason the Devil has, their goal is to bind him away from his journey.

But the Fool wasn't deterred by their temptations. Yet he was trapped in The Tower of his own ego. Created by the Devil, he cannot escape unless he makes a sudden change within himself. Change that was beyond his control. Change that is too painful, yet necessary. A way to release from his past.

From...my past...

Now that I think about it, I vaguely recall from my dream that my past self called out to the people who hurt him. That part of me is gone thanks to My Grace. I managed to cut out those people thanks to everyone.

But why...

Why am I still feeling a lot of pain in my heart?

Why I can't get rid of this pain?

"Time heals all." That's what Casia always said.

Yet... It feels like there's a big gaping hole within me. A hole that I cannot plug.

So why...

Do not fear the Tower.

Huh?

Change is inevitable. No matter whether you try to control it or not, you have no choice but to accept it.

Accept...

I may not be able to attend the services you desperately need, but I can see your potential. The power to change yourself and the world if you put an effort into it.

The power...

Yes, I have the power. Everyone said I have it. The real question is how can I use it.

More importantly...

Did I have this conversation before?

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"Aster!"

I gasped as soon as I heard my name. I turn around as I get up from my bed and see the same human boy Casia brought in approaching me. We can't let him go around with his dirty clothes, though. He's wearing the same white dress shirt, black shorts, and shoes as me while Casia takes care of the laundry. He doesn't look like me when he's wearing it. But that doesn't mean I'm a bit uncomfortable seeing a human wear my clothes.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Very great!" The human boy grinned while nodding like he was crazy, I think. "Mr. Casia made some great food and the fruits are even tastier than the ones back at the village! Plus, those shower things you've mentioned are very warm and comfortable! It's not like the wells I used to bathe with."

I smiled when he complimented me on the showers. I did work hard on fusing those Mana Crystals and I'm glad he likes them. "Thanks. According to Casia, he bought them from a friend living outside the Demon Territory. While some is growing in the gardens, the greenhouse spell installed in my home isn't enough to grow enough to last us until spring. So he has to rely on getting the rest of it from the outside. At least that's what he told me."

"Wow, Mr. Casia is amazing!"

Well, I can't say he's amazing, too. Since he spends a lot of time trying to teach me some alchemy and waking me up at 4 AM in the morning!

"I wonder if he can cook some food with the ones back in my parents' garden. We can go there if he can let us!"

His parents?! As if I let them touch his hair after leaving him in the territory like that.

"I don't think Casia can let us, though," I said. "Even if we say please, it's too dangerous for us to go out by ourselves."

"But you said you're not human, I thought you could go around thanks to your wings."

I groan. "Yeah. I can't fly without being lost. I haven't been out of the mansion grounds for so long that I don't know my way around the territory. Besides, my wings aren't ready to fly anyway."

"Awww... You're no fun than Casia." The kid pouted. "ARGGGHHH!!! I am so bored!!! I don't know what to do here." He then sits down on the ground. "I miss going around my parents' garden... They always let me if I don't touch them..."

Man, I feel awful letting him stay in here. I know the feeling when I had to be alone while Casia was out. I wish I could do something, but what? He mentioned a garden a few times...

"I have to ask. What do your parents look like? They sound like decent humans to me."

The boy hummed in thought. "They let me play around. But they keep telling me not to touch this or touch that. If I trip one of the vegetables by accident, they punish me by smacking me."

I widen my eyes when I hear this. I understand the tripping part. Casia would be angry if I did the same with the flowers and the lavenders, but he would never hurt me as punishment.

"And it's not just the garden. Whenever I touch some shiny things or those strange smelly powders, they not only hurt me, but they didn't let me out of my room and not let me eat anything for days... But they said it was because I did something wrong. If they said I did wrong, then maybe they're right..."

Seriously?! That doesn't make sense at all! Casia's right. The human kid's parents were not only ignoring him, but they weren't acting like real parents at all! They only punished him by hurting him, refusing him to eat anything, trapping him... This kid has been through a lot and he didn't know it. I wish I could break the news to him, but he also said telling him the truth right now might make it worse. Man, I don't know what to do without hurting his feelings.

I don't need to go out, though.

Yeah. But what do we expect us to do to make him happy?

I have a few ideas.

...I see. I think I got it!

"Do you want to see something cool?" I asked.

"Is it magic again?" He groaned. "You already showed them to me a few times and Casia does it better than you."

Thank you for that comment, kid.

"Don't worry. It's better than that."

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After a while, we walk down to the lab. Thankfully, Casia let us use it this time as long we don't do some crazy stuff with our Alchemy. This allows us to make new crystals beyond the Fire and Water crystals from before.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Whoa... This place looks amazing! It reminds me of those magic tech stuff I heard from visiting adventurers," the boy said in awe while looking around the lab. "Is this room yours, Aster?"

I nod with a smile. "Sort of. It was once my master's lab. But when he passed, he and Casia let me use it every once in a while. I wish I could visit all of the time. But I made some oopsies when doing some experiments here."

"Experiments? As in the ones where you open..."

I quickly shake my head realizing what he's going to say. "Not that kind! I mean the one where I can combine Mana Crystals into a new one."

The human boy tilts his head. "Really? Is that even possible?"

"Yeah. If you have the right skills, of course."

Well, I'm not exactly wrong. Ever since I made the HC Crystal, I have been going through my abilities from those magic tablets. There, I learned that not only did I gain a new ability related to Mana Crystals, but the ability to fuse them without any exploding side effects. Sure, there are a few caveats such as using up some bits and pieces of the crystals and most of my Mana. But I want to master them to make new crystals for new inventions, so it's worth the trouble.

"I want to see it!"

Good. Looks like that's enough to make him forget about his parents for a while.

"Okay! I'm actually trying to make a Mana Crystal that can make electricity. If you're okay, can you help me set up the table and grab a few [Wind] and [Nature] crystals?"

"Sure!"

For the rest of the day, the human boy helped me with a few crystal experiments. For the most part, the attempts were failures. However, they were fun regardless. Compared to my previous attempts, they were much more energetic than my experimenting alone. Was it because the human boy helping me this time? While I got Casia and Vander for most of my life, I was alone alone.

> [You used [Synchronization].]

I guess Vander felt the same thing. Maybe if we deal with his parents and the village, I wonder if he can stay with me in the mansion.

Although, he's a human and I'm a demon. I lived longer than him, so would that mean he won't live for many years?

Then again, is it possible for me to make some friends? What was the point of my existence? Vander seems okay with me and Casia and he's okay living as a demon.

But what about me? Am I going to be okay with the changes? I want to keep living here as always, but is that what I want?

Just...what do I really want for myself?

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Casia sighed as he waited at the open field near the badlands of the Demon Territory. Being one of the strongest Drago Nox demons, he knew better that he shouldn't lose his cool when it came to meeting some demons. However, they were no ordinary demons. They were a rank higher than [Demi-Fiends], but not on par with the Demon Lords. Despite this, they were still well-known in the community. Not only that, there were a few demons he knew from the civilizations in the territory. Yet he felt a bit awkward since this wasn't just a normal get-together.

Eventually, he noticed a few figures and bowed as they came closer. One was a red-eyed man with a single black horn growing out of his forehead wearing a simple red suit and another was a demon wearing leather armor and brown gauntlets along with a charm around his black tail.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you again, Casia. It's been a while," the demon in the red suit greeted.

"The feeling is mutual, Digran. I wish I could have visited your home more often. But a lot has happened recently, so I apologize for my late replies."

The demon in the leather armor nodded. "We heard about your master's passing. Our condolences for the late researcher. What about his apprentice?"

"He's okay, Al'gad. Thank you for your concerns, but that's not why I'm here. You felt the slight change in the political atmosphere outside the Demon Territory, correct?"

Digran hummed. "I'm afraid so. Rumors abound back in the kingdom regarding one of the kingdom's plans to invade and take down the Demon Lord."

"I'm not surprised by the reasons behind it. Ever since the incident, most of the lords were up in arms at a war between humanity and demons looming over us," Al'gad explained. "If this keeps up, chances are some of the treaties will become null in void. If we face a worst-case scenario, we have no choice but to..."

"Let's burn that bridge when we get there," Casia interrupted. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared, but we must not forget we cannot be the instigators. Do that and we will be throwing 100 years of peace into a volcano."

"Yeah, that's not our call. But if we don't want to go with that route, then try to put it up with the Demon Lords. If we want to avoid war, then we have to pray that the Demon Lords won't be provoked by humanity's threats."

Al'gad groaned. "Still, if we want to blame the current political state, it has to be humanity itself. They may see us as irredeemable monsters, but they are no different than animals. Greed, lust, pride, and envy. They birthed the concept of corruption in humanity's hearts and hurt others to gain wealth and power. To them, we're nothing more than beings who stayed in the darkness, never knowing the "pure hearts" of Humans and their sub-species."

Casia sighed. "I've admitted it. Humanity is not as perfect as it claims to be. But you shouldn't lump all of them as evil beings. Most humans I know are kind and just and even they are disgusted by their own kind's corruption. If we continue the notion of this misunderstanding, then there is no point in keeping this fragile peace."

The two demons looked at each other. They knew that Casia was right. However, they also knew it was a matter of time until that bubble burst.

"Right, right. It's too early to call the fate of Monochroma. But if humanity plans to strike against us demons, you know our lord is not as forgiving as you think."

"I understand. But remember our promise to keep me and the young apprentice out of your politics. The last thing we need is to use him as your political figure."

"We won't," Al'gad casually answered. "We wouldn't want the young researcher to get involved with the adults' discussion."

Casia glared at both demons. Yet he knew he couldn't do anything to rebuff his comment.

"Changing the subject, how do you feel about a human living in the Demon Territory?"

Digran raised his eyebrow. "What kind of question is that? Haven't you already asked that a few times before that eccentric demon started living in that abandoned mansion? So you should have already known the answer to it."

Casia daggers his eyes for a brief moment before he sighs in dismay. "Yeah. I should stop asking that. It's already getting on my nerves. I think this is a good time for us to part. Send the lord my greetings." He bowed to the two demons. "Now if you excuse me..."

As the dark dragon turned around to leave, the demon in the leather armor shouted, "Hold up, Casia. There's one thing you should know."

Casia stopped walking and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"...Be careful of the humans blinded by the light."

He frowned once he heard this. He opened his mouth, but he quickly closed it and shook his head. "I'll keep that in mind."

The dragon sighed before he transformed and flew off as the demons watched from below.

"Is it wise for you to tell him that, Al'gad?" Digran asked. "We still have to keep our distance from humanity, but we know better than provoking one of the most powerful Drago Nox in the territory."

"I know. But it's not only a warning for Casia." Al'gad narrowed his eyes at the purple sky above him. "It's a warning for the young apprentice of Hyde."

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After hearing the flap of familiar wings outside, it didn't take long for me to head out from my room to see him entering the mansion once more. But when I did, I noticed he was distracted with something as he looked around the room but me.

"Uh... Casia?" I asked. "Did you finish your chores outside?"

Casia then turns his eyes on me. "O-Oh, oh... Yes, I do. How's the young lad?"

I widen my eyes. "U-Uh... Great! I haven't told him about it, but he's sleeping upstairs right now. We're exhausted after visiting the lab."

"Uh-huh... That would explain some burns on the carpet..."

And I should move on before he realizes that I'm doing some crystal experiments with Wind and Nature again.

"Right... Casia, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. I have plenty of time before I freshen up for bed."

I take a deep breath to prepare for what I'm about to say. "Is it possible for him to stay here a bit longer?"

Casia hums, which I think sounds like a good sign.

"That depends. However, don't forget we can't keep it a secret for much longer. We don't know if he is eavesdropping out of curiosity right now, but all we know is that he needs to know sooner than later. If we can't, it will devastate him in the long run."

I frowned. "Then what's the point of keeping it a secret?! I don't want to hurt him and I don't want to be hurt by his no-good parents! I know not all humans are like that, but I can't let him go back to them and that mean village."

Casia sighs. "I know it's frustrating. But do not forget that he is only a human child. He cannot comprehend the harsh reality of his current age. Even if you already knew due to your special birth, it would take years for him to realize it. I'm sorry, Aster. But try to endure it a bit longer." He pats my head again. "You should head to bed soon. Good night."

He heads up the stairs after that. I'm surprised he decided to sleep here instead of his lair. I guess he's more concerned about him than he said. Still, I don't know if I can endure keeping this secret from him. I want to be his friend, but I don't want his parents to hurt him further.

I don't think we have a choice. If we don't want him to run into a world of pain so soon, then we have to endure it.

Is that the right thing to do? Is that what I want? What's the point of all this? Am I going to hurt him to save him? Is that the fate I want?

Then... What's the point of me existing in this world?

Just who am I in my new life?

So you're going to relapse despite the goddess's grace of a second chance?

That voice...

I try to turn around. But then, I saw...