Chapter 134 - Time Is A Confusing Thing : Part 3

Aster remembered the way in this part of the castle. He had been stuck in here with Axel back in the day. Though, at that time, he really did not know that he was actually with Axel.

Well, who knew that the mute murderer was a loser like him.

With his demon counterpart in his hands, he sneaked through the hallway, avoiding the guards around quietly. He learned it from Axel. He never knew that he would be using this now.

He eyed the room where his demon counterpart got treated. The demon had explained everything that he should do, and this was the first thing that Aster was told to do.

Retrieving the sleeping body of his counterpart.

He lowered his head so that the brand new-looking navy cloak he wore would cover his face. After making sure that the guards were all gone, Aster quietly moved into the room and closed the door behind him.

The room was full of medieval-like white interior. Aster felt like he had just gotten into some kind of kingdom story. The smell of medicines was strong. People must have thought that this Aster was sick.

He carefully put his counterpart's body down to the bed and tucked him in. Aster draped the blanket over the demon and stopped right when he saw his sleeping face.

Aster sighed. He always wanted to be something important but when he got it, he finally felt the real burden.

That made him actually think. Was Valerian has this kind of burden too? Maybe he should've understood that annoying big brother more.

"You!"

Ah, speak of the devil.

Or demon. Speak of the demon.

The door slammed open as Valerian's counterpart got in with fury adorning his face. His pointed ears twitched in anger as he saw Aster's back.

Aster bit his lips and quickly lowered his hood to cover his eyes. He looked down so that the demon would not see his face when he turned around to face him.

The wind started to erupt around the room like a small typhoon. It shook the walls slightly, following Valerian's rage. "You dare stole my bro-"

"He loves you."

Before Valerian could get angry even more, the statement from the boy silenced him. The wind hadn't vanished, it just stopped getting bigger.

"Aster loves you." The boy in the hood repeated his words while staring at the ground, trying to hide his face.

"Always."

"He has a big ego just like you. That's why he couldn't say it himself," Aster muttered as the wind slowly disappeared, calming down little by little.

"...I also can't say it myself."

"That's why I'm telling you this. Because you're not my brother." Aster slowly moved away from the bed to the window nearby. "Demon is a demon. Human is a human. No one's at fault."

"It's just time." Aster took the opportunity of the stunned Valerian to open the window. "Whatever might happen, please take care."

Valerian did not know why he stopped his wind controlling power. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to let this mysterious man go.

"You're different."

Aster stopped from jumping off the window when he heard Valerian's words. There was a beat of silence as he waited for the next statement from his brother's counterpart.

"You're different from the previous guy that helped me track the anarchist down." Valerian's red eyes glinted in something between calculating and longing.

The wind died down as it blew Valerian's blond hair a little. "Who are you?"

The mysterious man moved his head a little, and Valerian could see his grinning lips. "Costume like this is pretty common, Val. You should be up to date."

Then the man finally jumped off, leaving Valerian standing alone in the middle of the room with his little brother on the bed.

Somehow, the sly smile on the blindfolded man's mouth seemed familiar. It brought Valerian back to when Aster was still not in a coma. Maybe the nickname that the man called him was why he let him go.

Maybe that smile was the reason why Valerian did not chase the blindfolded man down.

✵✵✵✵✵✵

Five people were running into the woods, fleeing from the soldiers and police officers that had found their whereabouts.

Just a moment ago, after Kiaran crashed the window in Adreanna's apartment and stayed for a while, a lot of soldiers and police officers surrounded the building. Though, Zack noticed it earlier and gave them more time to flee beforehand.

The soldiers and police officers were probably pissed right now since they would find no traces of them in the room. It was all thanks to Zack's excellent hacking skill.

Though, besides hacking, the brunette literally had no talent aside from that. His physical power was the worst ever. Zack had been running out of breath from how fast they walked into the woods that would let into the late scientist's building.

Zack almost got left behind as he tried to cope with his raging breaths. Cain was already far ahead while Kiaran ran like he was walking. The mercenary did not even break any sweat.

Kiaran could match with his father's speed, but instead, he decided to match with the lieutenant's speed so he could keep irritating him. The secondborn Vergessene always used every opportunity to tease the blond.

Zack felt like he was about to faint and failed to see the rock on the ground. He realized it too late when his foot had already stumbled over it. He widened his grey eyes and waited for the impact that never came.

Adreanna quickly swept him before he managed to even fall and carried him in her hands. Zack blinked in confusion, and when the realization hit, his freckled skin quickly turned red.

Adreanna stared emotionlessly at the brunette in her hand. Leaves fell down all around them, supporting the beauty of the firstborn Vergessene.

"Thank you. You can put me down now." Zack smiled at his girl, and it was Adreanna's turn to blink. She had a really faint blush on her cheek and quickly looked up to the front.

Adreanna did not do what Zack told him to and kept the brunette in her arms. She carried him bridal style and went running while holding him dearly. She quickly caught up with the rest and followed right behind Cain's back.

Kiaran and Valerian stared at her when she passed them. They noticed Zack who had turned red as if he would explode.

"Oooh, look at those lovebirds." Kiaran quickly snapped his head toward Valerian as they kept their running pace. "Want to recreate the scene, police boy? I'll pretend to stumble."

"Fuck off."

The building slowly appeared in their vision, and they did not hesitate to get in from the front door quickly. Valerian had to stop Kiaran from barging into the window and forcefully dragged him by the collar.

Adreanna put Zack down as they entered the building. The brunette coughed awkwardly when he received a knowing stare from Cain. He quickly opened his laptop and did what Kiaran told him to do back in the apartment.

"The arrows are in here. Follow me." Zack led the way as they slowly walked to where the lab was.

Kiaran kicked the door opened and made his way to the mirror that had been activated by the arrow. He glanced at the ominous box on the table and chuckled.

"Five arrows in this world and five arrows in another." He muttered as he moved his hand closer to the mirror. "Those arrows can't cross the mirror. That's why they are attached to them when you brought them close."

"I've tracked them down. It's really here. Four of them are in that box, and one of them is attached to the mirror." Zack chimed in as he glued his eyes to the laptop.

Cain opened the box and saw four arrows, just like what Zack had told. Kiaran eyed the arrows with a calculating gaze. His gaze turned into glee and madness. Valerian quickly became on guard at his expression.

"He's welcoming us," Kiaran stated madly.

"Who?" Valerian cautiously asked as he kept his guard up.

Kiaran tilted his head dangerously to Cain and Adreanna."The blindfolded men. They knew that we, no-" He stopped himself for a moment as his eyes darkened.

"They knew that I personally would come."

"My counterpart would take the arrow on the other side down. He wouldn't leave it here." He continued explaining and took one of the arrows in the box. "That blindfolded man intentionally put the other arrow down on the other side."

"Then let's accept his play, shall we? Let's see if it has a great plot." Kiaran showed his wicked smile to the mirror as he stood on the front with Cain and Adreanna on his sides.

The sole mirror in the room erupted in dark roots. There were no reflections on it as the five humans in the room watched it in silence.

Valerian and Zack glanced at each other with unspoken worry and quickly moved their eyes back to the mirror. They stayed behind the Vergessene family and knew that they could not turn back from this point onwards.

The time kept ticking like a bomb. Time was cruel. Sometimes it gave too much. Sometimes it gave too little. Time was a confusing thing.

No one was in control. No gods, no humans, no demons, not anything.

Time was always in control.