128 | bystander; dear gentle sun

Niklas felt ashamed that he hadn't taken advantage of such a good resource earlier as the wise organizer of many underground meetings.

He wrapped his arm in an almost strangling grip around the gloomy dragon who aspired to make it as rough as a ride as possible, shuffling wildly as his unwelcome passenger clung to his neck.

Holly ran beside them, her curly hair flying free. "You know, for such a depressing dragon, I'm surprised you agreed to carry that burden."

Wisteria gritted his teeth, slamming onto the ground as Niklas almost flew off. "My brother...Noah requested that I aid you."

"Of course," Niklas smiled, resting his chin on the pointy shoulders. Wisteria had retracted his wings, revealing a smooth, gloomy back. "My dear friend cares so deeply for me."

"It wouldn't matter if you died," sneered the dragon, sniffing the air as he felt a disturbance enter the lands. "He only cares for that ugly human."

"Precisely. It is that friend who cares for me."

"I hope you die."

"I would hope I don't, actually. I rather value my life. Come on, little buddy, don't tell me you won't miss me?"

"I am not my brother." Wisteria's eyes drooped, narrowing into the vast forest. "I would not long for something I once despised."

"And it is there you lack understanding, my dragon comrade. I didn't know Noah, back then, but I'm certain. He wouldn't have tolerated Kaden for so many years if what he felt was despise."

The bones along Wisteria's back shifted, a shoulder blade protruding slightly and stabbing Niklas in the chest.

He wheezed. "Kindly allow me to breathe comfortably."

"I'm already carrying you to conserve energy. What right do you have to make demands, human?"

Holly snickered, leaping over an arching root that curved in the span of two trees. It was a perfect habitat for her, able to leap and run as she pleased. In her wildest dreams, she hoped to run freely with the wind for many years to come.

"He makes a fair point, Niklas."

Niklas groped Wistera's shoulder blade, forcing the dragon to retract it with a disgusted growl. The 'burden' smiled triumphetly and squinted at the woman. "My lovely partner of many years, Holly–are you seriously abandoning my side?"

Holly coughed, winking. "An investigator must remain objective. I believe that the cutie carrying you is objectively correct."

Wisteria's face crumpled in a mixture of disgust and deep disdain. If it weren't for his brother, he would never follow such rowdy and talkative humans.

"Alright Wisteria, enough joking around."

"I was not joking around—"

"We have to be serious, alright?" Niklas patted the dragon's back reassuringly and the shoulder blades stabbed him again. "Ugh—seriously, that's kind of disturbing when I feel the shifts of your bones underneath your skin."

Wisteria ignored his complaints. He looked around the emptiness, frowning. "They've entered. A group—" He paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "Two groups."

"Two? Did Reed's group split up?"

"No. There is a large group that entered together. The other group is small, with several people. I can't determine more than that."

Niklas frowned, listening keenly. It was best to avoid Reed's group until they split off into the forest. Their goal was Nicola, not to defeat Reed and partake in senseless killing.

What was Reed's goal?

Who was this second group?

Kaden would be stalling Reed—that was his target, and there wasn't a person who could sway him. They either decided their conclusion tonight or never at all.

Niklas wanted to seize the commander of the soldiers—a person with high power who would change the flow of battle.

Such a person, he was certain, would be extremely loyal to Reed. That prince wouldn't put power into the hands of somebody he didn't trust unless he had a means to control them.

How loyal were the other soldiers? He could capture one to lead to the commander—and then what? Kill him? Confine him?

It would be best to sway his loyalty to Reed, but that wasn't a thing they could carelessly hope for.

His mind kept twisting—he needed to think of a plan. That was what he did, what he was occasionally good at when the sword failed him.

Hadn't he done it? Hadn't he changed fate?

In all his uselessness, with a lost blessing and more fat than muscle, hadn't he made a splash in the crown prince's schemes?

"Take me to the other group." He had to trust his instincts and place bets. A gamble, high stakes, was something Niklas could do. "Let's examine all the people on this playing field."

Holly nodded before a group of three shadows appeared in the clustered rows of trees. Her eyes widened as they met the determined, fierce gazes of the soldiers and she swept her hand out.

A swirl of brilliant red trickled out of her fingers, from a small stream to a raging wall that separated them.

The rushing soldiers faltered at the surging fire, furrowing their eyebrows. But it could only hold them back for so long.

"Run Niklas! Let me handle this!" She thrust out her hands as the fire chased the soldiers further, but her lips had turned blue and her arms trembled as if shivering.

"Holly." Niklas frowned, propping himself up on Wisteria's back. "You don't have a lot of control of your Blessing."

"Haha...right? I should've tried using it before, but honestly, it really scared me. And now when I need it most, I'm barely used to it."

She swallowed, chewing her lip.

Everything had changed from the simple lunches in their little group, laughing and teasing. Nicola had grown colder, Kaden had been somebody she never knew—but wanted to.

Niklas had all his secrets and Noah barely cared about them—she could see it. That he didn't hate them but could easily abandon them.

Arlo, that little brat, had grown so big and ran off on his own. He could handle himself, he'd said so with surprising calmness. Although he'd eagerly looked at Kaden after for some praise.

Holly didn't like being alone. She became an investigator because of some curiosity, but also because Niklas had been there.

A researcher was out of the question for her abilities.

But she could still do something.

For the sake of befriending that silly, lonely friend of hers. For the sake of sitting at a table once again, laughing and teasing with nothing more in mind.

Niklas furrowed his eyebrows deeply, but the more he stagnated, the longer she would have to hold on.

"Alright. I'm going partner, don't have too much fun without me!"

Holly laughed, fire burning in her cheeky gaze. "How could I dare? It's no fun alone—we'll have to drag all the others to join us!"

"It's a plan!"

The leaves crackled around her feet, splintering into ashes from the burning heat. She could control them somewhat, but it was hard to protect the fragility of nature.

She listened to the fading footsteps of Wisteria, her hands seeping with a chill that permeated her heart.

The soldiers were surrounded by a ring of fire. One, drawn too close, dropped his sword as the metal burned his flesh. Holly's gaze flickered wildly at the ugly boil of skin.

What should she do? She couldn't kill them, she just couldn't. But her time was fleeting.

Would they kill her once the fire collapsed?

Fear pricked her mind and her arms trembled with more vigour. She desperately raked her brain. What would Niklas do? What would Nicola do?

Fire. She had fire. Her eyes dropped to the burning leaves on the ground and suddenly the orange and red flames concaved, closing up the space around the soldiers. It clibed higher and higher, flicking the skies.

The trees trembled, their high and curved branches retreating to create an open space. In the center, the soldiers were imprisoned without a single gap in the flickering sphere that coiled around them.

The leaves at the edges of the ring caught, burning. The trees, unable to retreat far enoug and unfortunate to be nearby, gradually started burning.

Everything was burning.

She hoped Noah would be able to use his control over the landscape to minimize the damages, but it was too late to stop.

The soldiers realized something as the leaves turned to ashes, smoke raising from their crumbled pieces.

They jerked their head up to the skies that were covered in a raging orange. Then, their hands went to their throat.

Tendrils of smoke crawled into their lungs, and one by one, they dropped to their knees, gasping for breath. Their fingers clawed at their throat, eyes widening in terror.

Then, body by body, they dropped to the ground.

Holly counted to ten in her head, kneeling down on one knee. Then, her hands dropped, covered in frostbite and she fell to her side.

She hoped she didn't kill them.

She hoped they wouldn't wake and kill her.

She hoped and hoped in all the vagueness of her darkening vision, blurring as her body shivered from the terrible cold that continued to fill her.

From the trees, a group of four walked out. A woman widened her eyes and rushed forward, grasping her hands. They were warm and soothing, holding them tightly.

One of the men in the group examined the soldiers, his shoulders slumping as he nodded up to another man.

Holly felt her body relax and allowed her mind to sleep.

The gentle hand didn't let her go.

———+++———

A red-haired man perched on a rock, lazily propping one knee up as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand. A heavy sword rested against the rock.

The forest was well-crafted—he could tell in mere moments that it was a careful design.

Trees clustered together in rows, sections blocked by twisting branches that sprung to life and stretched into the skies. Those little juniors of his probably had a few tricks up their sleeve.

Although he appeared relax, his ears were perked in listening and his sharp eyes carefully examined the surroundings.

He almost missed it.

His ears twitched, catching the barely discernible crunch of leaves as he snatched his sword, swinging it upwards.

At the same time, two blades flew across his face, missing by a hair's breath. He laughed, delighted, as he saw a pair of startling green eyes beyond the blur of the blades.

"Hey puppy. Back for round two?"

He leaped off the rock, slamming his blade heavily down, knowing that Kaden would dodge it. And dodge it he did, twisting his body as if he were an agile feline, flipping backwards.

They stood apart, backs touching the twisting wood borders that made the maze.

Kaden raised his chin, a clarity in his gaze that hadn't been there for a long time. "I can't kill you," he admitted with honesty.

"Are you looking down on me?" Lux raised his eyebrows, leaning against his sword that stood tall beside him. "I did harm that precious dragon of yours, didn't I?"

"You did. And yet, I don't know why." Kaden's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't want to kill you."

He was tired of killing. Tired of playing the monster, tired of the blood and the misery that shadowed his mind.

Lux stared at him deeply and exhaled. His head lowered, red hair covering his face briefly before he shook his head. When he lifted his gaze again, Kaden saw exhaustion.

"I hate to admit it, but I can't kill you either. But I can't let you get to Reed—I really am on his side. Now, more than ever."

"What are your goals? I can help you accomplish them."

Kaden sheathed his blades, displaying vulnerability, standing there among the trees and the aurora that swirled above them.

Between the tangled roots and vines, a face watched the two from behind the shield of brown. Sky-blue eyes stared unblinkingly.

Lux looked at Kaden with complication, frowning. He hesitated. "Help me? You can't. Although believe me, though I know you won't, that it would be really great if you could. Really great."

He finally found his little brother and was about to lose him again. That's why, even if it meant sacrificing others, Lux could no longer turn back. He started down Reed's path—and he would end on it too.

In a way he could understand that dull, cold-hearted prince.

Lux had devoted so many years to searching for his little brother—one that disappeared alongside his deceased mother. He'd felt guilt for not being able to protect that small person.

He felt powerless in being so useless that he couldn't even save that one child.

And now, if he lost Kaden, what would his life had been worth?

He wondered, chuckling to himself quietly, if similar thoughts ran through that irritating blonde head, full of schemes and murderous thoughts.

If Reed had made a mistake—and could no longer turn back. Because losing Kaden Chauvet would mean losing his life's purpose.

Naturally, that was no excuse. But Lux hated the fact that he could understand that bastard a little more now. He couldn't stop Reed, knowing the possible tragedy if he did–but he couldn't stop Kaden either, knowing the consequence of Reed's decisions.

It was hypocritical, sure. But perhaps it was never a play that Lux was meant to star in; it was time to take a step back.

"Really. Take care of yourself, won't you?"

Kaden scrunched his nose. "What are you saying? Are you trying to curse me?"

"Hahaha, only you would think so. And here I thought you weren't so emotionally dense. Poor dragon, he must have his work cut out for him."

Kaden frowned as Lux laughed to himself, propping his body against his sword. It was a one-man show.

"Alright, alright, no need to glare at me. This dear big brother of yours will take his leave."

"I don't have a brother like you."

Lux's red eyes settled on him quietly. "Yeah. You're right."

The mood suddenly changed and Kaden shifted in his spot with discomfort. His hands twitched to grab his daggers and use fighting as an escape from the awkwardness. It was easier to kill that to converse, he wanted to complain.

The red-haired prince seemed to read his thoughts, turning his back to him. A small smile fell on his lips, but Kaden couldn't see it.

Wasn't this good enough?

Although it wasn't by his side, that little brother of his had escaped that Kingdom and found happiness.

He swallowed, his throat rolling, as he sighed to himself.

He spent so many years looking, and in the end, that unfortunate child didn't even need him. What was his purpose? What had he been living for?

Once again, he didn't know.

Then, Lux waved a hand in the air, slinging his heavy sword over his shoulder as if it were a prop.

"So long, puppy."

He walked a fair distance, leaving Kaden far behind when a shadow swiftly emerged from the trees, unknown even by the cautious prince. Lux jerked sideways as a cold hand grabbed his wrist tightly.

In seconds, his wrist was flung away as if it were a disgusting object.

Besides him, the young prince stared at his palm with a blank, silent gaze that unnerved Lux.

"Good... genuine... but regret... strange..." mumbled the blonde prince to himself, chewing on his lip until it bled. His eyes swept up, large and unblinking.

Lux frowned, rubbing his wrist. "And what are you doing here, you brat? You should be in the palace."

"Strange... it's very strange." Skye was still mumbling, but staring at Lux as if he could carve out the construction of his brain and read all his thoughts. "You didn't want to walk away."

Lux blinked in confusion, his expression growing solemn. He'd had suspicions about Skye's blessing, although the prince took no interest in anything other than Kaden. His entire personality was adoring Kaden—no matter what twisted shape it made.

Skye turned around and Lux frowned, exasperated. Why were all the princes so strange? He reached out, grabbing onto the other only to be shoved away.

"Don't touch me!" hissed Skye, rubbing his arm hurriedly. "You're not Kaden. You can't touch me. I have to go back, I have to see him, he promised we could do something—he can't leave—"

"Hey, brat. Do you want Kaden to die?"

Skye's gaze was piercing—who said he was the simplest of the three? Clearly, he was the craziest.

"All these years," continued Lux, leaning against his sword as he internally sighed. "You could've helped him run away. The palace was killing him—you couldn't have been unaware. He's your only hobby, pathetic as that is."

"No. He had to stay."

"Why?"

"Because if he left, he wouldn't come back."

"Good riddance!" scoffed Lux, laughing as he stepped back to lean against the trunk of a tree. "Why would he come back to a place worse than death? I'm no better than you—but tell me, are you aware? That in keeping him by your side, you were killing him?"

Skye's lips twisted. "I'm not—"

"When he became a corpse, would you finally be satisfied? The dead can never leave, after all."

The prince rushed forward, viciously grabbing Lux's collar. The other lowered his crimson gaze calmly, amusement and pity filling his eyes.

"You need to wake up. Kaden does not and will not love you."

The grip on his collar trembled.

"And the more you force him to stay, the further he goes away. Continue this way, and all that will be left is an empty body that you'll cling to."

Skye's eyes shuddered, shaking as they stared at Lux. The red-haired prince laughed wryly, even as his breath was tight from the fierce tug of his collar.

"Hey now. He's about to finally obtain the one thing he deisres—he's about to be free. Although you've done nothing to help him, will you also become a barrier in his path?"

Lux lowered his head, his voice a low whisper. "Now tell me, you naive prince, after all these years—do you really not know that your 'love' is killing him?"

Skye jerked away, recoiling. Lux raised his chin coldly, his collar unbuttoned and ruined, a lazy arrogance dripping from his posture.

"If you're intent on returning to him, then I'm afraid I won't allow it."

He stepped forward, dragging his heavy and wide blade against the ground as it swept against leaves, easily splitting them in two. "It's time you wake up."

Skye's eyes narrowed, and in seconds, the innocent and youthful demure was stripped away to reveal the skin underneath.

Cold, indifferent, and distant—in a way, he resembled Reed. And yet at the same time, they were entirely different. His hands fisted against his sides and his jaw clenched.

He turned his head back toward the direction that Kaden was, quietly staring with desperate, pleading eyes.

He prayed that the shadows of that man would appear in his vision, even if it was merely an illusion. But the forest remained empty, and nobody approached them.

His shoulders deflated, and he cast a single biting glare at Lux before turning down another path, slinking away.

His world, his salvation, the gentle sun he chased since his earliest memories—

—it was time to abandon the warmth he coveted, knowing that the sun wasn't his to claim.