Chapter 13: The Secrets We Keep and the Blood We Shed

The morning air outside our clock tower apartment was cool and breezy, overcast clouds hanging low over Shintenseiku City. In the guest room, Seralphyne was still sitting in the chair where we’d tied her up, staring out the window at the gray sky.

"Looks like the weather is cloudy, and I’m here getting all comfy," she murmured to herself.

A sleek, futuristic device on her wrist a VoxWrist lit up, its automated voice chiming in softly. "That is a very simple statement, for someone like you."

Seralphyne let out a small sigh. "Oh, yeah? Well, I got nothing else to say. I’m just glad that he’s doing well after all these years."

"Indeed."

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I pushed the door open, stepping into the room with a small combat knife in my hand. Seralphyne turned her head, catching my eye.

"Good morning," she said, her voice light. "Anything I could help you with?"

I smirked, holding up the knife. "Is that supposed to be my line? Since I’m the one who’s not tied to a chair right now."

Seralphyne smiled back. "Fair enough. So, what’s that knife for?"

I stepped up beside her, leaning down to slice straight through the thick cords binding her wrists and ankles. "I’ve got no more reason to keep you here. You’re free to go whenever you want."

She rubbed her wrists, looking up at me in mild surprise. "Are you sure?"

"He must be feeling confident to let us go," her VoxWrist noted.

"Yes," I said, raising an eyebrow with a half-smile. "Considering that you’re family. But wait... if you’re my mom’s sister, how come I’ve never heard of you?"

Seralphyne laughed softly, shaking her head. "I’m not surprised with that kind of question. I’m a private person. Yes, we’re sisters, but I guess I like being away from family. Do you know what I mean?"

"So you like living in solitude, huh?"

"I guess you could say that."

I shrugged, giving her a grin. "Well, now we can be best friends if you’re, you know, a party person."

"Is that supposed to be an invitation, young man?" she chuckled.

"I guess so."

Her expression softened as she looked over my face, taking in every detail. "You’ve grown since the last time I saw you. And you’ve become a great MMA fighter... just like your father."

My smile faded, replaced by a sudden spike of curiosity. "My father? You know about my father? Me and Kiyon haven’t ever met him."

"Ah, yes," Seralphyne sighed. "You thought your father abandoned you? Truth to be told, he didn’t. He was killed in action while protecting your mother."

I went rigid, the room suddenly feeling dead quiet. "Who killed him?"

"I’m not sure of the name of the group that killed him," Seralphyne confessed quietly. "Athenaria never told me about it."

"Truth hurts," her VoxWrist chimed in. "It’s time to find out the truth."

"He was already dead by the time I arrived," Seralphyne said, her eyes distant. "Athenaria was there witnessing his death, crying. She was already carrying you and Kiyon in her womb during that time."

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay completely calm, though a heavy storm was rising in my chest. "Hmm." I turned toward the window, looking out over the city skyline.

"I guess you’re going to look for that group that murdered your father, huh?" Seralphyne asked.

I leaned against the window frame. "Are you giving me a reason to go back to Grandeur? I’m not even sure about that anymore."

"Oh, so you’re not returning to Grandeur after all," Seralphyne noted. "I believe you can go back anytime you want."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don’t you see, kid?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair. "You have powers beyond what anyone could even imagine. The problem is that you can’t use them for long periods without becoming a massive target for entities across different worlds."

"Yeah, that’s right," I muttered.

"If you keep relying on that power to return to our time," Seralphyne explained, "you might find yourself suffering at the hands of our enemies later. Your abilities could become depleted and completely unavailable for an extended period."

I turned back to face her. "How do you know so much about me?"

"It’s simple, kid: I can see it. It’s my ability I can read the stats of humans or Hybrids, as I’m a Hybrid myself. As a matter of fact, I’m reading your body statistics right now, at this very moment." She offered a small, knowing smile.

"So tell me," I pressed, crossing my arms. "How can I use my powers to go back, even when I don't fully understand them?"

"So Athenaria never told you about it," Seralphyne said softly. "You could turn your miniature black holes into a gateway to return to our original time. But it takes a massive amount of power to pull that off. Remember... if you push above eighty percent, your power will consume you."

I looked away, letting out a dark, cynical laugh before trailing into a deep sigh.

"It doesn’t seem to surprise you," Seralphyne remarked. "Why?"

"I’ve got no strong reason to go back right now," I shrugged. "So I don’t mind if I can’t use it, even knowing that it might kill me."

"It won't harm you; you just need to master it," Seralphyne countered firmly. "Once you cross eighty percent, you enter a completely different trance. Your body darkens, making you nearly invincible."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Okay... I’m still trying to catch up. There’s so much I don’t know about this Destruct System."

"Hmph. I can't blame you, kid, given the way Athenaria put you in that situation," Seralphyne murmured.

"Well, I’m not blaming her for what happened, alright?" I said, my tone sharpening slightly.

"Fair enough."

From out in the kitchen, a loud bang echoed, followed by Kiyon’s impatient shouting. "Hey, Kyrie! I thought you were supposed to be our cook here, man! There’s no food on the damn table!"

I turned toward the hallway door and yelled back, "It’s in the damn fridge!"

Seralphyne stood up from her chair, stretching her arms. "Well, duty calls, kid. There’s somewhere I’ve got to be."

"It was good talking to you," her VoxWrist chimed in.

"Well... you want to eat first before you go?" I asked.

Seralphyne smiled. "Sure thing. Why not?"

We walked out of the guest room together, stepping into the kitchen where Kiyon was leaning over the counter, looking miserable.

"Come on, man, I’m starving here!" Kiyon groaned.

"Can’t you even learn how to cook?" I snapped, pulling the prepped food out of the fridge.

"I suck at cooking, and I don’t need any suggestions right now, alright?" Kiyon grumbled. His eyes shifted over to Seralphyne, widening in realization. "Oh, so you decided to finally free her, huh?"

"Yeah, she’s family, remember?" I replied, tossing the food into the microwave.

Seralphyne folded her arms, looking back and forth between the two of us with a bright laugh. "Wow, I can really see the resemblance. You two really are twins."

"Can we just have our breakfast already?" Kiyon huffed, crossing his arms over the table. "You should help out too."

"Well now, that's not how you ask politely," Seralphyne smirked.

"You wasted Kyrie's time!" Kiyon argued, pointing a finger at her. "He was supposed to make us breakfast a while ago!"

"It’s fine," I cut in, setting the timer on the microwave. "You can just sit over there, Seralphyne. I’ll have it ready in a few minutes."

Seralphyne took a seat across from Kiyon at the kitchen table. As the microwave hummed, Kiyon leaned forward, glancing between me and our aunt.

"So what did you two talk about anyway?" Kiyon asked.

"It was about going back to our time," Seralphyne said, smiling faintly at him. "Would you like to go back?"

"Nah," Kiyon smirked, throwing his hands behind his head. "I think me causing this entire ruckus was a miracle."

"Miracle, huh?" Seralphyne asked. "Care to explain?"

"This world is peaceful," Kiyon said softly. "No wars... nothing."

I kept my back turned, watching the microwave timer count down. "Yeah, you got that right."

"Huh," Seralphyne murmured. "So you boys seem to be enjoying your time here, I see."

"Yeah, we are," Kiyon agreed. "We don’t know when we’ll get back, but I’m not gonna refuse to go back if I’m needed. I don’t know about Kyrie, though."

The microwave beeped. I pulled the hot plates out, walking them over to the table. "Are you asking me? I don’t have an answer yet."

"See?" Kiyon smirked, gesturing toward me.

Seralphyne let out a quiet sigh and laughed softly as I set the plates down. "Breakfast is ready."

The three of us ate together in relative peace. When Kiyon finished, he pushed his empty plate away and leaned back, letting out a satisfied groan.

"Okay, I’m full," Kiyon said, standing up. "I’m definitely going back to my room."

"Aren’t we supposed to find a job?" I called after him, stacking the dishes.

Kiyon turned, smirking over his shoulder. "Who even needs a job when we have plenty of treasures from Grandeur that we could sell? Or, you know... we could find some gigs and kick ass."

I let out a dry chuckle. "Haha. Well, now that I’ve been fighting my whole life, you know... I feel like I want a break from MMA."

"You can never run from your destiny," Kiyon insisted, pointing a finger at me. "We will always be fighters at heart, man. Speaking of jobs... where the hell is Akio anyway?"

Seralphyne listened quietly from her chair. Her VoxWrist beeped softly. "I think we should go, Seralphyne. We have a lot of places to wander, don’t you think?"

"Hmm, you’re right," Seralphyne said, standing up from the table. "I should be going, guys."

"Nice meeting you," Kiyon waved casually before slipping back into his bedroom.

"He’s always been like that, even as a child," I said to Seralphyne, bringing the dirty dishes over to the sink.

Seralphyne smiled, turning to walk down the hallway toward the front door. But before she could reach the handle, the door burst open with a violent slam.

Seralphyne gasped, stepping back in shock. "Oh my god what happened?!"

It was Ziekary.

She collapsed onto the floor, trembling violently, tears streaming down her pale face as she gasped for air. Seralphyne immediately dropped to her knees to support her.

I dropped the dishes into the sink and rushed into the hallway, my heart pounding. Kiyon threw his bedroom door open at the sound of the crash, stepping out with wide eyes.

All three of us stood there in silence, watching in horror as Ziekary sobbed uncontrollably on the floor, completely broken.

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