Chapter 34 - The World Burn : Part 5

There was a saying that went, 'If you always do what you've always done, you'll always be where you've always been.'

That saying could work in so many ways. Well, for example, it worked with both of the worlds in these petty worlds.

It seemed to appear that these two poor kids named Axel were walking in the same path. They had done the same thing along the way, even though it clearly stated that both the worlds had different stories.

Well, they did have different stories, after all.

Because one was dead and one was not. One never made it past seventeen, and one almost reached seventeen. One was a human, and one was a demon.

But they both were the manipulated ones.

Ironically.

They shared one story, though. A story that was always bound to happen, a story that would always happen. They also shared one mind in that story, one agreement on something.

Adreanna unintentionally was their favourite sibling.

Since they were a kid, they always looked at the oldest with glimmering eyes, looking at her like some kind of a goddess. Perfect in every way, independent and strong, ruthless.

And they still admired her to the very moment where the sharing story finally happened.

The moment where both of the boys were facing their sisters, going against each other, and playing a losing game with Adreanna. They would fight until one could not get up anymore.

The dead one had already finished the story.

This one was just about to start.

So here the alive one was, standing right in front of his sister, looking right through the red porcelain mask in between the burning world surrounding them.

The made-up demons were already spreading around the Livedam city, attacking the people inside. Everyone was running and screaming. The polices and soldiers were down one by one.

The bombs were blowing off like some kind of a messed up harmony, harmonizing with the sound of screams and gunshots.

The governments were already dead. The blood that made Adreanna's red gloved hands even redder was the proof for the loss of their lives.

"Join us, Axel." She spoke as they pointed guns at each other, waiting for the one who pulled the trigger first.

The demons and humans ran past them, ignoring both of the Vergessene siblings completely as they faced each other. It was as if the world was silent, and it was theirs—just the two of them.

Axel snapped his mouth shut, completely ignoring her offer. He just looked at her with two sharp blue eyes, gun unwavering in his right hand, still pointing at Adreanna.

"Very well." She said, moving her delicate index finger as she slowly pulled the trigger.

There was also a saying that went along the lines of 'a sister is both your mirror and your opposite'.

But Axel would think it was neither.

Because he did not know her.

Or himself.

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A little boy was peeking through a closed door, opening it a little to see the inside of the training room.

Beaming blue eyes watched the inside with admiration. The 5-year-old boy's mouth opened widely as he unconsciously had stood there for almost an hour.

The girl inside the training room was holding a gun like a toy, easily shot all her training targets on point. Her long black hair swayed around messily every time she fired a bullet.

She took some steps back when the training targets doubled up. Her very being screamed elegant as she slowly got ready to shoot even more. The girl was only eight years old, but she could already kill a person in one shot.

This was always Axel's favourite part. The boy became giddy, smiling brightly when Adreanna finally ran forward and took a high jump.

Adreanna shot the bullets swiftly and fast, aiming only at one target. She quickly flipped to her right in a flash of light and blasted another sea of shots, hitting the first bullets she shot a half-second ago.

The bullets quickly spread around like rain, hitting every target perfectly in the head. Axel's jaw slacked as he quietly clapped both of his hands.

Adreanna's hair covered the front of her face as she tried to slow down her breathing. Axel watched as their father walked forward to Adreanna, moving the hair and tucked them behind her ear.

"We should cut your hair. It can be an obstacle for your missions." Their father offered softly.

"What? No!" Out of impulse, Axel burst through the door before realizing that he had just made his appearance clear to the two.

Adreanna and Cain turned their heads over to the boy simultaneously, making Axel realize that he just messed up a big time.

The boy fiddled with his clothes nervously as he returned the stares. "Um, I mean-"

"What are you doing here?" Cain coldly asked, staring at him with two unfriendly eyes. It made Axel tremble a little.

"I was, I was- um," Axel tried to answer, diverting his gaze to the floor. It seemed like his brain stopped thinking at the moment, overwhelmed with fear that his father would be angry.

Adreanna suddenly made her way to the boy, offering a hand, causing Axel to look up to her. "Join us, Axel." She stated flatly, silently waiting for him to answer.

Axel looked down once more and watched Adreanna's offering hand. He really wanted to, but Kiaran told him that their father wouldn't like it if he intervened in his sister's training.

When he brought his head upward again and accidentally caught Cain's eyes, he could see how it darkened as he waited for Axel's answer.

Axel quickly met Adreanna's eyes and shook his head slightly, politely declining her offer.

Axel could almost see a flash of disappointment appear for a millisecond on her face. "Very well." She withdrew her hand and nodded, slowly walking away from the boy.

Axel grabbed her sleeve. "Wait!"

Adreanna raised both of her eyebrows at him as an answer.

Axel bit his lips when he looked at Adreanna's eyes once more. "Can I- can I braid your hair?"

She looked taken aback for a little. Adreanna tilted her head and slowly blinked at him. "Why?"

"I- I think you'll look good with a braid." He answered with a quiet voice, afraid that he would somehow offend her.

"Okay then." Adreanna shrugged. She took his hand and dragged him out of the room together without a warning.

Axel's eyes widened at the sudden movement before completely turning into a pair of blue eyes full of excitement. He finally could spend some time with his sister.

In the end, the braid was a mess and not good at all. But when Adreanna awkwardly ruffled his hair and said she would love to get braided again, Axel stayed up all night to learn how to braid a hair.

Though, he should have known that she would learn it herself. He almost never saw her without a braid anymore, missing how the long hair adorned Adreanna's head.

And also, he should have known that it would be the only time he ever braided his sister's hair. Or even spent time with her.

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Axel managed to dodge at the last second when the bullet almost hit him. He rolled to the floor and fired his gun at Adreanna, who swiftly avoided the shot.

He darted to his right three times when three bullets followed him. Biting his lip, he tried to aim his gun at Adreanna again.

Underlined the tried.

The boy was taken aback when he could not find where Adreanna was. It was one of her skills; she could quickly disappear from your vision.

He realized that she was standing behind her too late. His gun got thrown away from his hand when Adreanna kicked it.

Axel leapt backwards, trying to avoid the bullet that graced his cheek a little, causing a drop of blood to flow down his cheek. He took another gun from his pocket and got ready to aim at Adreanna again.

But then she threw the gun away from his hand. Only this time, Adreanna did not kick it. Instead, she shot his hand.

Axel did not give up just yet. He rushed forward, running to Adreanna with gritting teeth, pulling a knife with his uninjured hand. He knew he was fighting a losing game, but he would not back off in a fight.

Adreanna took some steps back, got ready to jump in the air. She somersaulted to the air and shot several bullets that aimed forward.

Axel widened his eyes at the move, stopping at his track and quickly turning his back on her to run. He would die when she finished her move.

Then a lot of gunshots rang at the same time. From the air, you could see a rain of bullets coming at a fast speed at him. Axel ducked to the floor, rolling on his back as he tried to avoid his death sentence.

A bullet found its way to his thigh, causing him to let out a muffled scream from behind his mask. He breathed heavily against the ground, trying to stand up only to drop down again.

Adreanna took a time walking over to him, giving her brother a chance to try to run away. She grabbed the back of his sweater and dragged him to an alleyway, leaving him there.

Axel grabbed her sleeve when she turned her back on him. "I'm not- I'm not done yet."

Adreanna looked back at him with neatly braided hair that waved a little as she did so. "No, you've done since you went against us."

And that time, Axel realized.

Two masks covered her face. The visible one and the invisible one. The red porcelain covered her face while the invisible mask covered her thoughts and emotions.

Deep down, he wanted to understand what was happening behind the masks. Behind the two of them.

Before Adreanna knocked him down with a kick to his neck, he really wanted to ask why she never opened the invisible mask anymore.

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The boy slowly got up from the ground, grunting a little with a heavy breath. He looked down to see a pool of blood, completely staining his pants. He walked with a limp to get out of the alleyway.

The sky turned red as the world fell into chaos. Humans were fighting for their lives. They roared, cried, screamed, and died. It was not a beautiful sight for a 16-year-old boy who was too young to stand in the middle of a war.

Axel scanned his surrounding in a daze. His mind was too preoccupied, trying to take what was happening. He stood like a statue in wreaking havoc, frozen in place. A short intake of breath followed his lips.

His lips began to tremble lightly as the world around him got all blurry. He felt something warm fall on his pale face, running along his cheek at a fast speed.

Oh, oh.

He touched his face and realized those were tears streaming down his face. He wiped them with his sleeve but could not stop them from coming out even more. He blinked the tears away, trying to cease them, ignoring the pain he was feeling in his chest as doing so.

Axel could feel the mixed emotions within him. Anger, betrayal, hurt, and devastation. He could not focus on any feelings. He could not concentrate on anything.

Someone pushed him to the ground and ran past the poor kid. His breath hitched, and he closed his eyes as he took the impact.

Demons and humans ran past his body. Some of them almost stepped on the boy as they fought. They ignored the boy who was being wrapped in his own blood that lay helplessly on the ground.

The kid opened his eyes slowly, giving out a pair of watery blue eyes that used to be bright as the sun. He tried to stand up but quickly got shoved away.

Dirt covered his pale skin as the boy fell for the second time. He grimaced at himself, noticing the cuts on his hands. He gritted his teeth and wiped his last tear harshly.

His ears perked at a maniacal laugh that filled the air. The boy turned his head over to the source of the sound. His ocean eyes caught the sight of his brother on top of the highest building in the city.

Kiaran was holding a hand on his face like a mad man, his other hand gripped the back of his own hair, and the mercenary cackled in triumphant. The boy could see the madness filled in his blue eyes as he watched the world burn.

Axel's eyes moved over to the assassin and the hitman who stood alongside the mercenary.

This scene was familiar, wasn't it?