Azin fell on his knees, hunching over, gasping and gagging as he emptied his stomach on the floor of the unfinished building serving as his hide-out.
Ten years ago, when he ran away to Earth, he miraculously find this abandoned and strange building. The five first floors were finished, but the sixth was left unfinished. Looking at it closely, it appeared the construction workers abruptly vanished, leaving everything from their work material, important documents to personal belongings.
Unable to hide his red eyes, he chose this place as his base to collect himself and figure out what to do next. The plan was to stay for a night or two, or in the worst case scenario a month. Yet he threw this plan in the trash the night that man appeared in front of him.
He extended a hand, offered his help, and in his desperation Azin accepted the gift that was being offered to him.
Or at least, he thought it was a gift.
A soft, airy voice resonated in his head as a blue screen popped up in front if his eyes.
[Warning ! You have experienced a censoring glitch due to you mentioning confidential information in front of a non participant. You will soon receive a penalty based on the severity of the informations you tried to disclose.]
[Calculating...]
Cursing, he wiped the vomit off his chin and rose to his feet, turning to the smiling man standing at the edge of the unfinished floor. Devoid of name, the Guardian, 6 years younger than Azin, raised his eyebrow, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his white clean coat.
"This wasn't the deal !" Azin shouted, anger flashing in his eyes.
"I do not see what you are talking about. You wanted to see him, you did."
Azin shook his head in despair at the smile the Guardian was showing him. He wanted to punch him, but he couldn't and he hated it.
"This wasn't... Not like this. Why did you-"
"Ah, please stop with the overreaction."
The Guardian waved his hand dismissively, acting as if Azin's feeling were irrelevant. He dramatically lifted his head and put a hand on his forehead, the other one where his heart was, letting out a long melodramatic sigh, the Moon reflecting off his glasses.
"I am but a mere Guardian trying to fulfill his duties."
'That bastard.' Azin mentally swore.
The Guardian was younger than him, yet in a hierarchical sense, he was situated at a higher position. Azin was a mere mortal who received the [Patronage of Fate] while the Guardian had been send by Fate Itself to bestowed a mission upon him. The Guardian possessed Fate's Mystic Power since his creation, while Azin could never dream of using them unless he was under the effect of [Possession].
However, he was fine with it. All that mattered to him was the promise they made to get his life back on track and see his brother again, under the condition that he helped get rid of one of Fate's natural enemy.
Had he knew who that said enemy was, he would have never accepted the [Patronage Contract].
"I'm not going to hurt my own brother."
The Guardian's smiled widened. He hummed, made a tiny golden-threads spider appeared on his palm and started playing with it while speaking :
"You are not the one who get to make that decision I am afraid."
Azin clenched his fist.
"I'm not going to kill him !"
"Not tonight at least."
The Guardian petted the golden-threads spider, his green eyes widening slightly, his smirk turning into a sadistic smile. The person he saw in the forest around the manor intrigued him.
If that man's power hadn't weakened for a second, allowing his presence to be detected, the Guardian would have never noticed him. He actually thought at first that the one who sent him flying against the wall was the manor resident with the strange aura.
No doubt if the Fateless saw him he would have only saw a purple light.
His presence definitely threw a wrench in his plan and no doubt Fate would not be happy about it, but if he played his card correctly he could kill two birds with one stone.
"What I'm saying is-"
The Guardian blinked, his smile stiffening at having his thinking interrupted. The coldness in his eyes caused Azin to flinch and look away, his hands sweating.
"Believe me, you want him dead."
Azin gazed in this distance, his fingers tapping against his thigh.
"It is because of him your mother died that night. Had he never been born, or if only she had never married that man, she would have still been alive and well."
Azin closed his eyes, wanting to rip his ears off his head so he wouldn't have to hear. The Guardian continued, a small satisfied smile placaded on his face.
"And you would have been king."
Azin's head whipped around, his face deformed by frustration, memories of the past paying in his mind. Memories of the time when he used to parade around the Demon's Palace, ordering everyone as if he was already king, only slowing his pace to pretend to look at the walls so his little brother could catch up to him.
Not that he cared, of course ! But he liked showing off to him as the cool older brother who will rule everything. At least, it was what he told himself back then. He aimed to be the ultimate example of real masculinity for his little brother, but now after being accused of murder all his dreams became meaningless.
Of course, there were time where he would stay awake at night, pushing all the blame on someone else, especially on his mother and step-father. Time were he wondered where he would be if his mother had stuck to obeying the Laws and society's norms, but he refused to give reason to that bastard.
"You're lying."
The Guardian scoffed, the golden-threads spider crawling up to his shoulder.
"Guardians cannot lie."
The Guardian chuckled lowly and turned his back to Azin.
"But if you really wish to annul the Patronage..."
He looked up at the sky before gesturing to the edge of the floor, pointing to the height distance between the floor and the ground.
"Be my guest and jump then."
Azin flinched and he stepped back. The Guardian smiled even more at his reaction. He put his hand back in his pocket, his eyes shining with a deceptively soft glow.
"Do not worry, I will make sure the Fateless join you soon after."
'He's bluffing. He has to be.'
Azin gritted his teeth as he analyzed the Guardian's face. However, his expression seemed to be in a constant state of peace and softness. That goddamn bastard. Azin gulped and retorted :
"You know I can fly."
"How long has it been since you last used your wings ?"
Azin bit his lips and internally cursed. He had indeed been quite some time since he allowed his wings to even breathe. His shoulder dropped and he resignedly looked at his shoes.
The Guardian rolled his eyes, letting out a long sigh. Between the older brother who was a pathetic and useless runaway prince and the strange little brother surrounded by annoying people, the poor Guardian was growing tired of this family.
But as of now entering Elyon's Lands himself was impossible. The only reason he could stand on Earth was because the planet had been disowned by the God and consequently ejected from the Galaxy's planetary system. It was now wandering in the depths of the cosmos, gradually being absorbed and destroyed by the universe.
But the Lands on the other hand were still under Elyon's control, so as long as He did not allow other Divine Being in His realm outsiders couldn't easily get in or stay for long. Not only that they were in the Main Galaxy too, and due to current circumstances the Galaxy was actively trying to destroy itself, but couldn't due to Elyon's and the Lands' presence.
So to counter balance, the Galaxy limited as much as possible the possibility to enter it at will, meaning that if the Guardian went himself without possessing Azin the Galaxy would probably try to make him explode at worst or suffocate at best.
Of course, Azin didn't know any of that.
With a sigh, the Guardian shook his head.
"Please, stop with that pathetic expression, you knew what you were getting into."
Azin gasped, offended. He was aware that he needed to kill someone to uphold his end of the deal, but that didn't mean he hadn't been deceived.
"You never said I needed to kill my own brother !"
The Guardian flashed him an innocent smile.
"Of course. You would have not accepted otherwise."
"You tricked me !"
The Guardian's eyes twinkled softly as he dramatically raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, very sad."
The golden-threads spider played with his earlobe, signaling that it was time to go. The Guardian rubbed the spider's back, his ever present smile softening.
"In any case, this is your new fate for now."
He straightened his back, glancing sideways at Azin.
"There is nothing we can do about tonight, but if you truly wish to go back to your family, it would do you best to obey the will of Fate."
Golden light surrounded the Guardian. Azin clenched his fist, staring him as he prepared to leave. The golden-threads spider waved goodbye with its tiny spider legs as they teleported. After the Guardian left, Azin let himself drop on the floor, ignoring the message on the blue screen, rubbing his face, his heart swelling with grief.
Why did everything had to go wrong like this ? Why did he had to be so foolish ?
A shaky sigh escaped his lips as he muttered in a sad tone :
"I'm sorry, Ethan... I messed up."
And as he drowned in regret, The crescent of the Moon changed position, hanging upside down similar to an amused smile.