Chapter 49 - Between You And Him : Part 1

In life, we always had to choose. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the right and the wrong.

For Axel, he always stuck on the last words. The bad, the sad, and maybe the wrong.

He started to think that everything was wrong.

He thought he was good by staying silent and obedient to his brother. He thought he was happy by following all his orders. He thought he was right by trying to make Kiaran happy.

But he was really, really, really wrong.

It all came to him when he saw how his family counterpart's kidnapped him and made him like this. He knew it was bad, sad, and wrong. God, he really did know about that.

But it seemed like he was good at being in denial all these times. All the abuse and the using him as a tool for killing people were there, right in front of his face. He did not know at first, and he wished he still didn't.

He was getting older. He knew it was wrong. But he said it wasn't. The evidence was there. It was there. And yet, he still killed them just to get a pat on the head.

He was part of the Vergessenes, after all.

The family of denial.

But of course, he could not process through his denial alone. He had to face the demon version of his family's denial.

So here he was, lying helplessly on the bed after an assassination attempt on him. Well, he had gone through many near-death situations this week that he did not care about anymore.

All he did care was that he was really, really, really pissed right now. Like god-level pissed.

Though it was good, wasn't it? What he learned about the five stages of grieves was that when you moved to anger, that meant you were at stage two right now.

Now, he just had to find a place to dump all his anger.

How convenient that the red-eyed Kiaran was sitting right next to him with an overly sweet worried face. Just the perfect victim of an angry, kidnapped tired Axel.

"Are you hurt-"

"For the hundreds of time," Axel gritted his teeth to form a forcing smile as he snapped his head at the demon. "I'm fine, Kiaran."

The boy sighed, letting his back locks fall onto his eyes. "To be honest, I'd like to pass out right now rather than seeing your face."

"Why are you still fighting against us?" Kiaran voiced out so sudden, feeling the burning need to understand Axel. "You know it's hopeless, right? Why not just give in? You couldn't even fight the demon that tried to kill you earlier."

Axel did not speak for a moment. His glazed blue and red eyes moved to the ceiling, unguarded. "Is it that hopeless?"

"Pardon?"

Axel moved back his eyes to the demon's red pair with raising eyebrows. "Are you that hopeless trying to have something you're not supposed to have?" Axel let out a belittling laugh, almost identical to Kiaran's.

"Then tell me," The boy's eyes glinted with anger that was hidden by his smile. "-what makes you different from my real family?"

"And does that question gives you hope?" Kiaran began, face contained with fury. "You still think that those wretched humans you called your family are better than us?"

"I never said they are better than you. You are the one who said it." Axel tilted his head, following the movement that the mercenary always did when he was taunting someone. "Are you trying to admit that you are the lowest of the wretched humans? Don't worry. I'd love to listen about it all day."

The voice manipulating demon was taken aback for a moment, though it quickly faded as fast as it came.

"You're not even wanted in your own family. Why are you like this." Kiaran could not help but snort as he tried to win the situation.

Axel's gaze was piercing as it locked on the demon's red ones. The boy's lips formed an achingly familiar grin like the older had, in a way Kiaran had never seen before. "Well, at least I'm not being modified into a dead version of me because his family could not pass the fifth stage of grief."

Kiaran gripped the edge of his coat, white-knuckled. His gaze became colder and colder as the second passed. "But you're wanted now."

"Life is not about wanting or wanted. It's about choosing and chosen." Axel's grin sharpened, almost mocking.

"Then you're chosen to be part of us." Kiaran was clearly trying to contain the glowering anger inside.

The boy was trembling, but he still managed to smile down at his pseudo brother. "No, you wanted me to be part of something I'm not. You are hopeless."

Then Axel was suddenly up in the air with both demon Kiaran's hands gripping on his collar. The black nails slowly turned white for how hard his grip was.

"You are my brother, and no one can say otherwise, not even you!" Kiaran knew he was shouting as he heard his own voice echo in his own ears. His red eyes were filled with bursting anger. His wings flared open furiously, looming the room with how big the black feathers were.

"You are not in control here, Axel!"

Axel's grin loosened up a little. Blue and red eyes were mocking down upon his angry pseudo brother. "And you are?"

"That's it, that's enough. Put your brother down, right now." A voice came from the door with a demanding tone.

The pair of unrelated brothers were still staring at each other with rippling anger that was ready to burst any time. No one dared to blink as both of them stared at each other with sharp eyes.

"Kiaran, put Axel down. You're going to open his leg wound again. You will hurt him." The 'again' part was silent at the end.

Kiaran knew anger was blinding, but as soon as Cain said that, he released the boy with numb fingers as the fiery rage buried down deep inside his heart.

Axel dropped onto the bed with a soft thud. His eyes stared at how Kiaran spun on his heel and left the room before slamming down the door that caused the house to rumble a little.

Axel felt a weird kind of glee in his heart when he remembered how he poured down everything at the demon. He almost forgot the existence of another demon in the room for a moment too.

"You know, you should not anger your brother. His temper is not good." Cain walked over to the edge of his bed, patting the sheet softly before he sat down.

"Well, maybe," The boy paused, smiling at his pseudo brother with a fake smile that Cain often wore. "-he should not anger me for kidnapping me." Axel brightly exclaimed with a sarcastic undertone.

"Oh, and you too," Axel nodded at Cain, still wearing the apparent fake smile. "And Adreanna." He added, glancing at the mirror where the blindfolded man disappeared, remembering how Adreanna burst in to save him.

Cain sighed almost emphatically. "Why are you like this?"

Axel shrugged at him. "Maybe I'm just tired. Ever think of that?"

"I'm not some kind of possession you can snatch and build." Axel laid back to the bed, eyes looking for some kind of deception behind Cain's face. Because his real father always showed his real emotions toward him, how he hated him. But this one was concealing something.

"I'm just a human of a criminal family that is kidnapped against my will." Axel did not need to hold back his tongue in here. He never wanted to be here.

Maybe in the past, he would. But he realized how he was wrong about that.

"Why did you not want our protections or care?" Cain's voice was far less angry than Axel had anticipated.

Though the question irritated Axel even more. "Why would I not-"

Axel chuckled a little at himself, repeating Cain's words in his brain. They only made him laugh like a maniac after he played the words over and over.

"I was born to be the unwanted one. I was born to be a murderer, grew up with manipulation and abandonments. But you only see me as the soon to be youngest who's weak and couldn't do anything. Everyone sees me that way."

"I'm so tired of your family's bullshit." Axel spat, letting his leg trace the edge of the bed so he could face away from the demon.

Cain widened his eyes at the words, feeling how his breath caught in his throat, forming a lump around it.

He saw it again, the nightmare that had played over his brain, as the world burned within the rain, as his dead son stood in vain.

The undead was slaying all the demons. Screams were everywhere. He only saw Axel with two black wings, staring at him with hatred mixed with sadness.

"I'm tired-" Axel brushed his hair in distress, eyes glassy as he watched him with two disappointed red eyes. "-I'm so tired with this family's bullshit."

Then a cursed arrow flew into his son's heart, but Cain could not do anything but stand there, watching the memory play right in his mind again. He only froze like a coward that he was.

"Life is not about wanting or wanted. It's about choosing and chosen." A voice made Cain snap out of his surreal thoughts, causing him to meet with his son's exact replica's eyes.

"And you are wanting for something to deny more," Axel stated coldly. Anger lingered within his words like a curse.

Axel knew he was fighting a losing game. But at least he managed to win for his pride and what little left of his humanity.

Cain stayed silent for a while. Tongue-tied and just sat at the edge of the bed as he let the time go on, smothering them with its heavy seconds.

He avoided Axel's eyes when he stood up, turning his back on him. "Your sister and I will search for the demon that tried to kill you. You'll have to have dinner with only your brother tonight.

Right as he reached the door he stood there, hand holding the doorknob as he bid his goodbye. "Good night, son."

"Good night, stranger," Axel answered, knowing that his words reached Cain's ears like a knife.