XXIX

Time seemed to slow down to the point of freezing as Kimi ran and ran, his lungs getting no oxygen. Everything became a hazy blur as his wimpy feet dragged his exhausted body through the narrow and ominous hallway. The heels of his boots thumped dangerously loud against the wooden floor and resonated against the walls with a loud thud.

Where the fuck is it?! Kimi questioned himself internally as he hacked, trying to steady his breathing. Where is the fucking exit?!

His footsteps merged with harsh, pounding footsteps as a loud, baritone and haunting voice resonated in a bitter tone.

“You know you can’t escape! You’re going to watch yourself bleed to death.”

Kimi managed a look over his shoulder. He almost slipped on a foot at the sight of the two of them walking briskly. They could run but they didn’t. And the sight of tight smirks on their faces told Kimi all that he needed to know: He was a mere game to them.

Frightened grey eyes raked every corner thoroughly, trying to at least find an exit—even the slightest. With a sharp step, Kimi turned sideways, running through a corner. Vision dishevelled, breathing erratic, he came to an abrupt stop as he spotted a shadowy figure standing before him with a wicked posture. Just a few steps away stood a tall figure, his skin pale, his eyes feral—which watched Kimi with a thirsty glint in his eyes—a fangy smirk plastered onto his face.

“I told you,” came the voice of the figure in a gruff snicker, “you can’t escape. You’ll bathe in your blood.”

Kimi gasped—his pupils flaring—as the figure leaped, lunging towards him with swift force. Eyes raked sporadically and he suddenly spotted a set of double doors. Without a second thought, and within a split second, he pulled himself towards the doors, getting a sharp grip around his ankle. Luck was on his side and he already had a tight grip on the handles of the doors.

“You are dead,” snarled the creature as Kimi tugged at the doors like a locked up dog seeking for freedom.

With sheer luck, Kimi tripped, the grip on his ankle loosening, leaving him with a deep scratch. He pulled the doors open, throwing himself towards it, not caring as a bright light was emitted through it.

“Make sure he doesn’t escape!” hissed a pitched voice as he was slowly drowned in the light.

Kimi held a hand to his face as he tumbled into the room. It was as quiet as a graveyard as he shuffled forward and dashed into a bulky body.

“Oh fuck. You have got to be shitting me hundred times a day,” someone said sharply. Kimi instantly recognized the voice as Homer’s.

“Who the hell it this?” a different person asked as Kimi blinked so that his sight could adapt to the bright light.

“I’m sorry Lord Seiva for the sudden interruption,” one of his hunters said from behind him in a tight voice. “This human was caught lurking around. It seems like he had broken into—”

“Like? You said like?” asked person asked sharply.

The moment Kimi finally opened his eyes, he reeled back in shock at the picture before him. Familiar and foreign faces stared back at him. From the looks of it, they were all  cadavers, and there wasn’t only Level Os. Six of the cadavers were sat before the long table in the middle of the big room. Two of these six people were Tobe and Jiaozi. And with the way the other cadavers were standing around them, he guessed instantly that they were their Level Os.

“Meraki what’s the meaning of this?” one of the women—brown-skinned and redheaded—asked in an icy tone. She turned to look at the man who was sat at the farthest part of the table. “Called us here to insult us?”

“I beg your pardon Elvira. I have no such intentions.” The man brought his interlocked hands to his face and slowly said, “but it seems like this human is completely lost.”

Kimi shivered on the spot as he looked into the man’s eyes. There was no recognition in them, but the pale blue colour of them and his face that looked like a matured version of Orpheus’ and Homer’s told Kimi all that he needed to know. Kimi brought his hand to his pocket and palmed the lighter that was in it.

He gritted his teeth and hissed, “where is my mother?”

One of the men laughed icily, jumped to his feet and said, “who the hell are you?!” He slammed his palms on the table and sneered at Kimi, his blood-red eyes glowing. “Judging by the colour of your eyes you are one stupid Hun—”

“Shut the fuck up and provide my mother or shit is going to burn the hell out of your fucking dead ass!” Kimi growled menacingly, his other hand shifting to the perfume container in his hoodie’s pocket.

The room snapped their head to him and lifted their eyebrows.

The woman from before hummed lowly. “I like him.”

The red-eyed man punched the table in reaction to her words, causing the other cadavers sat around it to shake their heads at him. He pointed at Kimi and roared, “seize him!”

Kimi whirled on his feet and threw up his hands, the burner and perfume in his hands. “Come near me and you fucking die this instant.”

The two cadavers that were behind him stood their ground, their fangs bared. But their eyes were glued to the burner, fright slowly creeping into their eyes. Even the other cadavers in the room held a tensed stance.

The red-eyed cadaver barked a laugh. “And what is a simple—”

Kimi turned back to the table and raised the burner at them. “If you fuck up I’m going to burn you all.”

By now all the Level Os were already shifting closer to their leaders, their fists raised. It was only Jiaozi who stood alone in the corner with concern in her eyes. Not a single Level O was behind her.

Tobe pushed his glasses up his nose and moved past his barrier of cadavers. “Kimi put that down and let’s talk.”

“You know him?” the redheaded woman asked lightly.

“Yes Elvira.” Tobe looked into Kimi’s eyes. “And so does Lord Caedis.”

Kimi bristled at the mention of Aurum’s name. Despite that he stood his ground, his hands still raised. But deep down, his fears were still there, docile yet strong.

“Where’s my mother?”

“We don’t have your mother Kimi,” Tobe said. “If we did she would have stepped out from her hiding spot hours ago.”

“You’re lying,” Kimi growled through his teeth. “Where is she?!”

“He’s not,” Homer finally said, his eyebrows furrowed. “She’s not here.”

Kimi didn’t know who to believe. But he put the scarce pieces together and shuffled backwards. His hands were still raised when he noticed the red-eyed cadaver dip his head at the cadavers behind him. He briskly spun on his feet. He sprayed the perfume as he turned on the burner.

“Fucking burn in hell!” he said, the little fire growing in size as the droplets of perfume touched it. It roared to life and lapped at the skin of the cadavers. They shrieked in pain and tumbled to the side, making way for him.

“Stop him!” the redheaded woman said behind him. Her voice fleeted away as he tried to rush out of the place.

The scratch on his ankle hurt badly, but he bit down on the pain and rushed forward. Quick footsteps rushed after him but they were silenced with a hiss. He looked behind and saw the fire latch onto any cadaver who tried to walk out of the room.

Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! Kimi said in his mind as he moved through hallway after hallway. He moved into another hallway and his eyes widened at the sight of Silver in a pyjamas.

“Kimi?” Silver said, confusion in his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re one of them.” He raised his hand and hissed, “you’re a fucking monster Silver.”

Silver cocked his head in confusion. He casually scratched at the back of his head and walked forward. “What are you doing here? Had Aurum invi—”

Kimi turned on the burner and pressed down on the perfume but nothing came out. He cursed audibly and tossed the container to the side. It clanked loudly as it dropped on the floor and rolled to the side.

Silver looked at him with a shocked yet confused expression. “Did you just try to burn me?”

“Shit!” Kimi dashed forward with great force. He put his head down and jammed it into an unsuspecting Silver’s stomach. Silver stumbled onto his back, groaning in pain as Kimi bounded over him. “Fucking stay away from me!”

“Kimi! Wait!” Silver struggled to stand, clutching his stomach with a scrunched up face as he watched Kimi run towards a large window. His eyes widened with panic as he remembered the high, sloped hill that was behind those windows. “Kimi stop that’s—”

Kimi blocked the world out as he ran straight to the window and careered into it. It shattered at the impact and he pushed himself forward. Having expected a short fall, Kimi yelped in shock at the wind that whipped his face as he fell and fell. His breath thinned as he dropped and landed on a sloped ground. He groaned loudly as he rolled down the slope, his head thudding repeatedly against the hard floor. On his way down he banged his temple against a sharp rock and lost consciousness for a while.

*

The sky was painted ebony, splashed with the faintest hint of shimmering stars. The thunderclouds had dispersed. For once, the wind blew at a steady pace, carrying only dust in its wake as Kimi woke up with a sharp gasp. He threw his eyes open, his body aching painfully as he sat up, his back arching sharply in pain.

Where the fuck am I? Kimi pondered internally as he searched his environment.

Studying everywhere, he realized that he was on a grassy plane, somewhere far away from his former destination. Accompanied by a grunt of sizzling pain, Kimi stood up, grass blades falling off his clothes in thin fragments. A painful hiss left his parted lips in a gasp as he winced, trying to balance his weight on one leg.

In order to make sure that he was at least safe, Kimi looked over his shoulder, noticing that he was a far distance away from the mansion. He jumped down the part of the mansion that barely had a fence; the part was covered by a sloped hill that ran down the road, into the cemetery behind it. He sighed tiredly, turning around to leave. His form staggered as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying at least to conserve his still existing warmth.

The air suddenly became dense as Kimi felt a force hurl him through the air. His lungs suddenly became short of oxygen as he collided with the hard ground multiple times before finally pausing before a statue; its face held a stoic expression and its frozen fingers were gripped firmly around a thin spear.

“You shrimp! Next time you spy on people make sure that you have no scent.” The voice belonged to one of the cadavers that had pursued him through the hallways.

Kimi forced his eyes open but gasped in shock as he was picked up and thrown into the statue. A loud thump sounded, his spine cracking, his skull seeming like it was being split. Feeling lifeless and broken, Kimi’s body dropped to the ground, rock and sand raining over him. He tried breathing in deeply but stopped—his breath seizing up in his throat—as he felt a fatal force against his rib, breaking it.

A series of blows made him breath out and cough out thick blood, his vision bloody. He felt dead, his ears ringing dangerously as he was gripped tightly around his throat and picked up from the ground.

“Goodbye human,” snarled the creature as his grip tightened around Kimi’s limp neck.

“Stop!” yelled a desperate voice before Kimi’s body was dropped, his vision darkening, leaving his body sedated with pain.

*

In a bright room, Kimi was laid in a bed. The blanket on the bed was strewn wildly around his unconscious body. His breathing was inaudible. Haruna, who was stood in the by the bedroom’s door, watching him with a light frown.

Seconds turned into minutes before whatever pain that had held Kimi in its grip immediately unhanded him, causing him to shoot open his eyes with a frightened start. Haruna rushed to his side without wasting a second.

“Hey. Slow down there,” Haruna said, pulling Kimi to lie back down as he tried to sit up. “You almost scared me a while ago.”

Kimi blinked and looked up at the person. “Doctor... Haruna?”

Haruna smiled warmly at him. “You almost died back there.” Her smile faltered, her brows furrowing as she said, “but what made you do what you had done a while ago?”

“Excuse me?” Kimi briskly sat up and tried to shuffle out of the huge bed but Haruna wrapped her hands around his wrist. “Let go of me!”

“Calm down Kimi. Please.” She pulled him to sit on the bed. “It will only be better if you listen. Please.”

“The hell I’m listening,” he snapped with a deep frown and harshly tugged his hand out of her grasp. He rubbed at his skin, raising his head to peruse the large, heavily decorated room. “Where am I?”

“The Vdéllas’ mansion.”

At the mention of the name, Kimi instinctively leapt to stand on the bed, his hands raised. “You brought me here?! You took me to them?!”

Haruna folded her hands together and hushedly said, “Kimi just please... You will only make the situation difficult if you—”

“Fuck you!” He jumped off the bed and scurried to the door. But before he could open it someone on the other side did. The person stepped in and shut the door. At the sight of those same, haunting pale blue eyes, Kimi stumbled to his buttocks. He stared up at the man with wide eyes. “Y-y-you... are...”

The man quirked a brow and looked at Haruna. “Runa what’s wrong with this child?”

Haruna exhaled tiredly and massaged her temple. “I don’t know Meraki. I’ve been trying to calm him down but it seems like he doesn’t want to.”

The man sighed and leaned forward, holding out a hand. “Come on kid you need to get up,” he said in a calm voice. As Kimi just stared at his face, he tilted his head, a small frown of confusion on his face. “I thought this is how you guys do it at the hospital? Do I have to coo?”

Haruna snorted. “Maybe.”

“Oh.”

Kimi kept his gaze on the man’s face, his eyes painfully large in fear. It’s the same face. But it’s not him.

“Dad? Mum? May we come in?” came Qharis’ voice from the other side.

“Yes dear,” Haruna replied and the door was slowly pushed to reveal the four Vdélla siblings.

Kimi’s whole being stiffened at the sight of them. His eyes were immediately drawn to Orpheus’ face. It’s him, he thought, watching as they walked into the room. He’s the one.

“This boy seems lost,” Meraki said as he crouched to Kimi’s level.

“You,” Kimi whispered bitterly, his teeth chattering in anger.

“Who?” Meraki raised a brow and looked over his shoulder. “Those are my children.”

“Nice to see you again,” Illiad said with a small smile.

Homer smirked as they fully walked into the room, his arms crossed over his chest. “I pay my respects for doing to Uncle Anxo what everyone dreams of but can’t realize.”

“Homer,” Haruna said sharply and he shrugged a shoulder at her.

Kimi kept his eyes only on Orpheus as he walked into the room. It was just the two of them in his mind. All the pain and hatred burned through Kimi’s veins as he dug his fingernails into the rug he was sat on.

“You killed my father!” he yelled, causing the room to still.

“What?” Meraki said sharply, shifting his eyes to Orpheus.

“I beg your pardon?” Illiad said in confusion.

Orpheus froze at that. His eyes widened and his crossed arms slackened. He dropped his head, fisting his hands beside himself. Qharis rubbed at her nape, letting her gaze fall.

“Excuse me?” Haruna squatted beside Kimi and placed a hand on his forehead. “Do you have a concussion?”

Kimi slapped her hands off of him, his grey eyes shining with anger. The storm had been awoken and the calm had dispersed. “Oh hell yeah I remember you and it’s perfectly clear that you also remember me.” He stiffly stood up and pointed at a pale-looking Orpheus. “I perfectly remember your monstrous face.”

“You do know that you’re also insulting my innocent face,” Homer said with an annoyed scoff. He cocked his hip, his gaze trailing to his brother. “Orpheus what’s he talking about?”

Illiad turned his head to him, also expecting an answer. But Qharis kept her gaze on the floor, her face paler than normal.

Meraki stood, his eyes narrowed at his son. “With the way that you’re looking I’m guessing that this boy isn’t lying,” he quietly seethed through his teeth. “How did such foolish act happen?”

“Yes, tell them. Tell them how you totally wrecked the mind of an innocent six year old!”

Haruna gasped loudly, her hand flying to her mouth. “Orpheus,” she said, standing with a moon-eyed look.

Orpheus flinched and pressed his fists against his sides. “I... I...”

Clear images swam in Kimi’s mind, building the anger that was stocking up in his chest. He heaved loudly, his shoulder falling and rising with each suffocating breath that he took in.

Homer shook his head at his brother, disappointment in his eyes. “Orpheus how could you?”

“Why would you have done such a thing?” Illiad said lightly in a sad tone.

Meraki walked to Orpheus with large strides, loudly backhanded him and hissed, “explain. Now.”

Orpheus’ cheek burned a bright red, his head tilted to the side due to the force of the slap. He inhaled slowly before he croaked, “I was the one who had murdered Michael Mikaelis.” He sharply turned his head and looked into his father’s eyes, his eyes sharp. “But I wasn’t the one who had eaten him.”

Kimi shuddered and hung his head. He cried out, placing his hands to his ears. “Shut up! It was you! You had also done that to him! I had watched you do it! So stop lying!”

Meraki gripped his son’s neck and growled, “are you cracking a joke? Because it’s completely lousy.”

“I’m not lying,” he said in an aloof tone. “I admit... I had killed him on the spot”—he swallowed—“but it wasn’t me who had eaten him. The autopsy report had said that—”

“I don’t care what the autopsy report had said!” Meraki tightened his hand, his eyes slowly brightening in colour. “What made you even go after a Hunter?!”

“Uncle Aurum had sent me.”

The others froze at the mention of Aurum’s name. Kimi slowly shook his head, his face pale and confused.

Haruna shook her head, her shoulders stiffening. “Of all... Why would Aurum send you after an innocent Hunter?”

“Because Michael was trying to kill Kimi.”

Meraki backhanded Orpheus again. This time it sent him to the floor and tore his face. “Stop lying!”

“I’m not,” Orpheus silently said, blood from his torn cheek dripping into his mouth. “Uncle Aurum had heard from someone that Michael was frying to kill Kimi. I don’t know why. But he had sent me to the place to protect Kimi because he had been away. Something happened and... and... It had never been my intention to kill him.”

Kimi shook his head, his hands still to his ears. “I don’t believe you... Aurum would never—NO! I don’t believe you!”

“It’s true,” Qharis said, her eyes holding fear.

All eyes immediately shifted to her and she shuddered in fear as her father was in front of her in an instant.

“Oh not you too,” Homer said under his breath, his brows pinched together, his expression a disappointed one.

“Qharis?” Illiad and Haruna asked in shock.

“Speak,” Meraki said lowly, his voice a silent rumble.

Qharis jolted, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her top. “That day... I... I had stumbled on Orpheus when he had been making the call.” Her head shook in fear as she quickly said, “I had only kept his secret and was shocked when he had come clean to me when be admitted to his mistake the period when the Hunters had sent out a mass warning on a murder on one of their own.”

“And you had kept it a secret?!” Haruna shrieked, holding onto her head. “I’m disappointed. In both of you.”

“Please don’t punish Qharis and punish only me. I had only been doing what Uncle Aurum had told me to,” Orpheus muttered.

Kimi shook his head and hissed, “I don’t believe you. Aurum would never do that. He...” He swallowed, his heart beat quickening. “You’re lying.”

“Please believe me I’m not.”

“I don’t believe you,” Kimi said and turned his back to him. “I don’t.”

“Then you’ll believe me,” came Aurum’s voice.

Author’s Note: (●__●) Dun, dun, duuun! Yep, I did it. I surprised you. Were you surprised? I know I was. Aurum was not an original character. He just poof!—I am Aurum. Please vote and comment your thoughts. We have officially reached the climax. Get ready for... Bye!! (◍•ᴗ•◍)