"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE." Penelope crossed her arm. She looked at Lance's drunken face and almost rolled her eyes in his lovesick behavior. "Miracle said it was Ymar, the youngest son of the ruling family that has this unique enhanced hearing. The one who got a mark on his forehead in his shifted form."

Joaquin halted from reaching out to her. Penelope grabbed his hand. "What?" he murmured, "That's not what Ymar said."


Penelope launched the story that Miracle told her about. She didn't let one information be wrong or altered. She reported word by word. By the time she finished, Lance had already casted a blue bubble surrounding the three of them.

"That stupid rabbit!" Lance cackled. "He played with me? He dared lying with my eyes wide open?"

"Lance..." Joaquin warned him. "Maybe he got a problem in his pocket. It's not easy fooling us, right?"


"Who's right and who's not, it's hard to guess. All we know by now is that one is lying while the other is telling the truth." Penelope eyed the blue bubble. "Is this..."

"That little shit won't be able to hear us." Lance took offense with the kid's lies. Penelope could only shake her head. "I used all of my energy to make this. This can only last for fifteen minutes. I feel drained just by thinking about it."


"It doesn't matter. Whether it was Ymar or Miracle, we should give all the children an equal protection."

"I'm busting the kid's toe the next time."

Joaquin coughed. Lance immediately shut up. Penelope continued, "We should observe the Old Sy."

"How come I don't see him in the living room?" Lance quipped. "Was he always sick these days?"

"Yeah. Now that's a peculiar thing. He's a shifter. His injuries should heal faster than an average human could regardless of his age." Joaquin wondered. "Pen, how much do you know about the old man?"

"He wasn't there when we reached the destroyed colony. The compound was burnt to ashes. We rescued the kids from a secret underground led by Old Nana. When we got past a burning house, we heard his shout. The kids recognized him as Old Sy. He said he's willing to protect the kids. He's a rabbit shifter too. And so we brought him with us."

"He escaped the fire unscathed?" Lance perused Penelope with a blank stare. Penelope thought back to the day when the rescue happened. She nodded grimly. "He's not in pain and the only damaged part was his clothes and nothing more."

"Looks like he's indeed a suspicious old fart."

Joaquin crossed his arms. "Did the Old Nana told you about anything before?"

"No. We were all focused on escaping. We got no time to be acquainted."

"That's fine." Lance held his forehead and said, "We got enough time to figure that Old Sy. If he won't show his true colors, I got a way of forcing it out of him."

"Hold up. You're not sure about this, Lance. There's no need for us to act so sudden against an old man. We must be weary of our decisions. This might affect the kids."

"We'll see."

THE PALE moonlight crossed his disappointed expression. He shouldn't come here, baring his disgraced face in the open while the Fates laugh in his stead. The old women never changed. They still thought he deserved this kind of punishment.

He admittedly lived a narcissistic life before. He was rare. He's kind is extinct. He never worry about hiding himself because it was always the others who volunteers to die on his feet in order to save him. The fact that he's appreciated fueled his desire for worldly things.

Now he can never push the clock back and ask for repentance.

The world has been quite for ten years but now a disturbance happened and it shook him to the core. 'What do I do next? What can I do to drag the time? He's finally happy. How can you be this vicious?'

'What do I need to sacrifice next just to live peacefully for another ten years?'

'Why can't you just die?'

He went to the temple to have a civil meeting with the Fates. They didn't listen to him. They ignored his question. 'Is he going to live?'

The Fates did indeed gave him an answer that he couldn't understand. "He's just like you—did you die? You lived long. Long enough to make us feel envy. But did you live a happy life? I can say, he's just like you. In everything."

'I did live a good life. But that was before I knew what 'responsibility' means and what the word 'protect' conquers.'

'Is he going to live? I hope he would. I couldn't bear to sacrifice more for him.'

The barren road ahead gave a feeling of emptiness in his heart. 'It was always like this. The loneliness. I can't take you with me. He will find you.'

He fixed his hood and readied his arm for a quick slash of magic. He needs to go home. He sensed warning once again.

"Are you really going to leave without greeting me?"

The flutter of black butterflies made him snap a few feet backwards. Violent gush of air pushed his hood back, revealing his face full of horror.

It was the same voice, but much better. He sound good. Just like the always. "Leaving me. Always leaving me. You looked even more beautiful."

"Stop. Please stop!" He said, head whipping around to catch a glimpse of his opponent. "How come you're back? I locked you in that tower! How did you escape?!"

"I didn't escape," said the languid voice. His deep baritone made his skin crawl. "You called me. You always called me. In my dream, even in my nightmares. How can you claim otherwise?"

"Stop talking! Stop!" He held his head. The pain almost made him blind. He stuttered. "You were long gone."

"I was always there, waiting for you to accept me." He then chuckled. "You said you like colorful butterflies. I sent you this gift. I prioritized giving you this small treat than sticking my body whole first. Am I romantic enough?"

"…although I can never make a single thing nice and beautiful in your eyes, I persevered. It was black. Everything black for me, love. I can never do better. I'm sorry for that."

'No, I know you're not sorry!'

"You named him after me. I'm glad. I'll see him one day."

He stopped breathing for a second. His eyes warmed. 'No...'

"Adarmus, please wait for me to come home."