Chapter 117 - His Broken Self : Part 1

Axel woke up right when the sun vanished from the world. The blanket draped over him neatly, and his window's curtain was half shut.

It seemed like he overslept after he took a nap.

The clock was pointing at the number seven. Ah, Axel had to help Kiaran while the older planned for the next mission. He knew that he had to kill people for him. He also knew that he wanted to stop killing.

But anyway, as much as Axel loved to just stop murdering people and go back to sleep, he needed to fill his stomach first. He probably had screwed up his sleeping and eating habit.

He glanced tiredly at the window as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Brushing his fluffy hair away from his face, the boy yawned and jumped over from the bed, making a soft thump sound.

He stretched his hands up as he stood up. He felt really tired lately, maybe he should stop pushing himself too hard. His body ached all over, especially his chest. Was he dying at such young age already?

Maybe he should take Rune's advice to start drinking some expensive herbs that she offered.

Axel made his way out of his room, walking into his second-floor hallway while dragging his footsteps a little. He went down the stair with another yawn, causing a tear to form on the side of his eye.

There was a faint smell of hot chocolates and some sound of chopping knife against a cutting board alongside boiling water. Axel could hear familiar voices talking.

He walked into the kitchen, expecting only Kiaran to be there but instead, he spotted three people. Kiaran was busy making the soup while Cain chopped the ingredients.

Adreanna sat on the chair, drinking her hot chocolate in silence. Food set out in front of her, filling all the four chairs' spots. Two hot chocolates and one coffee were there too, and Axel could see the steam coming out of them.

Axel did not realize that he was standing at the doorway for too long, staring at his three family members with a weird feeling in his heart.

"Oh, look, the sleepyhead decided to finally wake up from his beauty sleep." Kiaran put the ladle in his hand down and shot a playful smirk at his dumbfounded little brother.

"You should fix that sleep schedule of yours. It's not healthy." A monotone voice began. Adreanna looked up from her drink to her brother. There was a sign of awkwardness coming from her.

"Axel won't do what you say, Adreanna. He only listens to me." Kiaran chimed in, earning a glare from his sister. However, the secondborn did not care as he kept eyeing the boy. "You should sleep properly, your blood pressure could rise because of that."

"I just said the same thing," Adreanna grumbled, emotionless eyes facing Kiaran with a hidden irritation.

"It's different if I said it. Right, Axel?" He shot up Axel with a knowing grin, leaving the boy to smile awkwardly.

"Okay, that's enough, you two." Cain separated his two children and offered Axel a kind smile. "Are you still half-asleep, son? You've been staring the whole time."

"I-" Axel shook his head. His vision blurred for a moment as he focused on his surroundings even more. Adreanna's red eyes- had the colour always that bright?

Wait, why were they red? He quickly snapped his head over to Kiaran and Cain's eyes, and they were all red. Ruby red, yet bloody at the same time. Axel's eyes moved to the back of their shoulders.

"Why do all of you have wings?" Axel asked. He couldn't control his own thoughts anymore that his mouth spoke for itself.

Their faces flickered into something. Then they had that look in their eyes as if Axel was the one who spouted nonsense when they were the one who wore some big black wings on their back.

"What do you mean? We always did. He is totally still half-dreaming, father." Kiaran snorted, though his red eyes glinted with something deep, something dangerous.

"No. You're not-" Axel choked as his heart raced, he could not understand what was happening, but something was totally wrong. Something was not right.

"Son? Are you alright?" His father shot a concerned look at him, and Axel frowned. He was okay, but everything around him was not okay.

"Who are you?" Axel began, his mismatched eyes started to form fear and hatred.

"What's going on?" Adreanna suddenly put down her hot chocolate and looked over to Kiaran. The latter gave a knowing look at her, and she quickly looked over at Axel with her usual flat look.

"Axel." Kiaran began to walk over at the boy, offering his hand to calm his little brother down. "It's just us and-"

"No. Stay away from me. Stay away!" Axel shouted as his back hit the wall. He started to tremble, and his heart began to ache again.

"Axel, you're scaring us. Are you okay? We're your family, we're here to help you." Cain took the lead this time, still offering his kind, concerned smile for him, trying to calm him down.

"Something's wrong with me. What did you do to me?" Axel whispered as he kept shaking and shaking.

Cain put down the knife in his hand and tried to walk over to the boy. "We didn't do anything. Let's calm down and-"

"You're not my father." Axel spat. With his trembling self, he still managed to get angry. "You're not my siblings too."

"And I'm not your Axel."

The last thing Axel saw was the faces of his demon family turned cold.

✵✵✵✵✵✵

Axel woke up right when the sun vanished from the world. The blanket draped over him neatly, and his window's curtain was half shut.

It seemed like he overslept after he took a nap.

The clock was pointing at the number seven. Ah, Axel had to help Kiaran while the older planned for the next mission. He knew he probably had to kill someone silently while using his invisibility power.

He had the best power to be a murderer in this world. He also knew that he wanted to stop killing. But he needed to do it for the family.

But anyway, as much as Axel loved to just stop murdering people and go back to sleep, he needed to fill his stomach first. He probably had screwed up his sleeping and eating habit.

He glanced tiredly at the window as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Brushing his fluffy hair away from his face, the boy grimaced from his aching head and jumped over from the bed, making a soft thump sound.

His body slumped as he stood up. He felt highly exhausted lately, maybe he should stop pushing himself too hard. His body ached all over, especially his chest. Was he dying at such young age already?

Maybe he should take Rune's advice to start drinking some expensive herbs that she offered.

Axel made his way out of his room, walking into his second-floor hallway while dragging his footsteps. He went down the stair with a shaking hand. He probably got it because he hadn't eaten lunch.

There was a faint smell of hot chocolates and some sound of chopping knife against a cutting board alongside boiling water. Axel could hear familiar voices talking.

He walked into the kitchen, expecting only Kiaran to be there but instead, he spotted three people. Kiaran was busy making the soup while Cain chopped the ingredients.

Adreanna sat on the chair, drinking her hot chocolate in silence. Food set out in front of her, filling all the four chairs' spots. Two hot chocolates and one coffee were there too, and Axel could see the steam coming out of them.

Axel did not realize that he was standing at the doorway for too long, staring at his three family members with a throbbing feeling in his heart.

"Oh, look, the sleepyhead decided to finally wake up from his beauty sleep." Kiaran put the ladle in his hand down and shot a playful smirk at his dumbfounded little brother.

"You should fix that sleep schedule of yours. It's not healthy." A monotone voice began. Adreanna looked up from her drink to her brother. There was a sign of awkwardness coming from her.

There was a weird feeling in his hands, and Axel quickly looked down. He lowered his gaze and noticed the cracks all over his skin. His hands looked like broken porcelain.

Had the cracks always been there before?

Axel looked up again and realized that three pairs of red eyes were staring at him in silence. He stood there in confusion, scanning his surrounding that looked like he had been thrown into the past with the medieval-like decorations. Though, it was similar to his usual one.

Was his kitchen always looked like this?

"Wait. What's happening?" Axel started to frown as he tried to grasp his chest. He felt sick. He knew this was not heaven nor hell.

Or was it?

He looked up to three that were waiting for him to say something. Axel's lips began to tremble as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Aren't I supposed to be dead?"

✵✵✵✵✵✵

Axel woke up right when the sun vanished from the world. The blanket draped over him neatly, and his window's curtain was half shut.

It seemed like he overslept after he took a nap.

The clock was pointing at the number seven. Ah, Axel had to help Kiaran on his next mission. He knew he had to kill the princess tomorrow.

But anyway, he needed to fill his stomach first. He probably had screwed up his sleeping and eating habit.

He glanced tiredly at the window as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Brushing his fluffy hair away from his face, the boy grimaced from his aching head and jumped over from the bed, making a soft thump sound.

His body slumped as he stood up. He felt highly exhausted lately, maybe he should stop pushing himself too hard. His body ached all over, especially his chest. Was he dying at such young age already?

Maybe he should take Rune's advice to start drinking some expensive herbs that she offered.

Wait, who was Rune again?

Ah, never mind. He probably dreamt about that person or something.

Axel made his way out of his room, walking into his second-floor hallway while dragging his footsteps. He went down the stair with a shaking hand. He probably got it because he hadn't eaten lunch.

There was a faint smell of hot chocolates and some sound of chopping knife against a cutting board alongside boiling water. Axel could hear familiar voices talking.

He walked into the kitchen, expecting only Kiaran to be there but instead, he spotted three people. Kiaran was busy making the soup while Cain chopped the ingredients.

Adreanna sat on the chair, drinking her hot chocolate in silence. Food set out in front of her, filling all the four chairs' spots. Two hot chocolates and one coffee were there too, and Axel could see the steam coming out of them.

He felt like he was in some kind of messed-up deja vu.

"Oh, look, the sleepyhead decided to finally wake up from his beauty sleep." Kiaran put the ladle in his hand down and shot a playful smirk at his dumbfounded little brother.

"Ah, s-sorry. I think I accidentally overslept." Axel awkwardly answered while fiddling in his place, trying to avoid Kiaran's gaze.

Kiaran suddenly hugged the boy and chuckled. "You can sleep all you want, but you really have to fix your sleeping schedule and eat."

Axel was startled, freezing in Kiaran's hold as the older slowly let go with a fond smile. He ruffled the boy's hair, making the mess out of it.

"Right," Kiaran snapped his finger as if he just remembered something. "You don't have to kill the princess. Just forget about that mission."

Axel tilted his head in bewilderment. "Huh? Isn't that like the most important mission that you had planned with father?"

"Nope. Not anymore." Kiaran clasped both of his hands and grinned. His wings flared up a little in excitement. "And in fact, you don't have to kill anymore."

Axel's face bloomed into a happy disbelieve. "Really?"

"Mmm-hmm. I'll protect you. We'll protect you." Kiaran went back to the stove and took the ladle again.

"But, Kiaran." Axel still stood in his place as he silently asked, staring at the back of his brother's head.

"Hm?" The secondborn hummed without looking away from the boiling soup.

"There is no princess in my world."

Adreanna, Cain, and Kiaran stopped their movement at the same time. Kiaran silently put down the ladle again and turned to face Axel.

The surrounding had become hazy as Kiaran sighed and gazed at him with cold sardonic eyes.

"You're stubborn, Axel."