Chapter 58: Fractured Promise

An older brother, he didn’t have one, but he did have a sister, so he knew the gist of things. Well, at least he thought he did, as this recent encounter flipped his whole image of older siblings. His sister was a very elegant woman; she was respectful and always first to help, even more when it came to him.

She would make time to do the littlest things, such as help him with his hair or make his favourite dishes. But when it came to Elpis’s older brother, was that the case? He doubted.

Who looks at their family with such bloodlust?

He wanted to know more about it, but he didn’t dare ask Elpis; he knew it was a topic he shouldn’t get his nose into, but it was hard not to do so. Even more so after his whole attitude changed after finding him. He stopped rushing his step, looking at stuff to buy, and he looked more relaxed, but when he looked in his eyes, while it wasn’t a big difference, he could see some stars missing.

Though he never considered that one of his brothers would be in the First Ring, because if he remembered correctly, he had said that his family was actually very important, making very powerful knights. Which would make sense why the Queen would want them. So he expected them to live in the Second Ring.

…speaking of it, how did Elpis and Avrie even get into the First Ring in the first place? He never asked himself that. While he came here because of a sponsor, how did they? Were they also here because of one? He has never seen them pay a tax, and they aren’t merchants. He also didn’t think Elpis would ever sell his body to work for the Rings and let them use him in experiments and such.

So sponsors had to be the answer. But who, that question still remained.

If it were a day ago, he would have said his family, but if his brother really acted that way, he doubted they would ever let him inside. Even more Avrie with him.

So had they broken in?

He knew the knight had the guts to try something like breaking in, but he didn’t think Avrie would have let him. So then how?

He’ll, just ask her at home.

…

Aether was lying down next to the Sun, watching its glare. It had gotten lighter, but it was far off the color it needed to be. If he had to guess, sadly, he probably still had a whole year before it was done. If people came to them instead of having to find them, it would be faster, but that was rare.

He did have a plan that if something went wrong, and they didn’t have much time, he would try to form a cult. He just didn’t know how, which would probably prove as an inconvenience.

Either way, that was one whole year until he was out. And while it was stressful, energy-consuming, and took a lot of time. It was in no way hard. He hasn’t even used his abilities that much, only when it came to finding his victims. He had used his mask quite a lot, but only as an accessory really; he had yet to use its powers, and the cloak already made it so people couldn’t see his face, so he just wore it for the fun of it.

Actually, when he thought of it, he had done very little after getting to the Rings. He hadn’t even learn anything new, he still hadn’t found the true meaning of his path, and still didn’t know any of the Children of Praise; he just knew that they each represented a card. From Ace to King.

He still had no idea how their zones looked, what his new relic did, and he had tried to find that so-called spot; he was just unlucky.

If it was inside the Second Ring, then sadly, it was useless, since there was no need for them to go there.

And things will probably remain that way.

He hadn’t even gotten that many shards, which was disappointing for a godspawn book. He even killed some of the people, if they still didn’t sacrifice themselves, so he has been trying to get them; there just hasn’t been an opportunity.

But at least he will get a lot of sync, or at least he hoped he would.

He really wished he wasn’t doing everything to get the same sync as any reader rank book. It would be truly disappointing.

He looked at the Sun as he heard the door open. It was Avrie who had left to get some of the remaining stuff they hadn’t gotten.

He had yet to ask her how she and the knight had gotten in, since he didn’t want to ask while Elpis was around. So he waited until he had a free day, which, when he only did one victim at a time, there were a lot of them. But now that he did more at a time, the time he had where the victims’ doubt grew was used with the others.

It also had to be a day when Elpis was out. So some time had passed since then. Either way, it was time.

He slowly got on his feet, seeing how stiff his body was from sitting all day on the floor.

He walked over to Avrie, who was carrying everything she bought to the usual place they kept their resources. But seeing him suddenly come up to her, she turned around, squinting her eyes in suspicion. The Fool only talked to her if he wanted to learn something; most of the time it was about cores, so she wasn’t upset, but couldn’t he wait a second?

Aether cleared his throat, slightly nervous, after seeing that he was already caught.

“So Avrie, I wanted to ask. How did you get into the Rings?”

She raised one of her brows, surprised by his question. She didn’t know what she had expected him to ask, but it wasn’t this. She had forgotten they hadn’t told him how they got in, ironic when they demanded to know how he had done the same.

She sighed.

“The same as you, by a sponsor.”

Aether’s lips narrowed, but curled into a smile. His eyes twitching slightly.

“Oh, I wouldn’t have guessed, and who was the one who sponsored you?”

She chuckled to herself slightly, knowing exactly that he was going to act like this. She knew he was irritated, and she knew that he had guessed that they got in by a sponsor, and just wanted to know who had sponsored them. So she used this to taunt him. Thought it was surprising how much she had started to know about him.

“Calm down, would you, I was just joking. We actually didn’t even have a sponsor. We just got in because of Elpis’s family name.”

He blinked twice.

’By a family name?’

Was that possible? He knew important people from the outskirts were allowed to enter the first ring, but could a name really get you inside? The First Ring, compared to the second, wasn’t very hard to get into; everyone could, but it just required a lot of money.

And if Elpis’s family really worked for the Queen, it made sense that just by their name, they would be allowed in.

But that just made things with his brother even more confusing.

But as he was deep in thought, Avrie started speaking again.

“It’s just that his family doesn’t know this happened; heck, they don’t even know he’s alive. And that’s how things should stay, as if they learn he’s alive, they would probably come to kill him.”

…

At that moment, everything finally clicked for him, and the world started to crumble all around him. He didn’t even hear Avrie’s voice anymore; his ears buzzed as he stared in utter darkness.

The reason Elpis was constantly looking around was that he was looking out for someone from his family, to hide if they went after him. It was why he fastened his pace, so they could return home quicker, and more importantly, why he was shaking when he saw his brother.

And why his brother’s eyes were filled with bloodlust.

He bit his lip with one of his canines, painting its white color in crimson.

’Then why the heck did he not say anything? I would have just done things alone while he hid at home.’

And now that they did find him, what would happen? Were they really going to kill him? Did he know that this was going to happen? That’s why the light in his eyes was gone? Why didn’t he tell Avrie, thought, she doesn’t seem to know.

But more importantly, what were they going to do? They couldn’t just sit around. Should he tell Avrie about it, but he doubted Elpis would want her to worry.

His mind was rushing, trying to find a plan, a way to save… his aquianitence.

But he was brought out of that state, as Avrie flicked his forehead.

He looked at her, frowning as he massaged his head.

“What’s with you and spacing out?”

Aether didn’t respond, just scoffing. Making Avrie roll her eyes.

“Either way. I know it’s weird to ask, but can you protect Elpis… I mean, like, look out for someone from his family and such.”

He paused slightly, but he felt time stop with him. Every second felt like an eternity. His arms fell around him, as on his face curled a gentle smile.

…

“Yeah, don’t worry…”

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