CHAPTER 48: A PAST LOVER AND A DARK FUTURE

XENON WINGATE

2 YEARS AGO

The night is far from over.

The dinner is getting more gloomy as every second passes by. All I can hear are utensils clanking whenever somebody attempts to make a slice of their luxurious steak. Nobody is talking, which makes every single thing in this atmosphere awkward.

In an attempt to wipe off the tension, Emperor Sirius Elkyria snapped his fingers, signaling the musicians to start. Now that the violin has begun donating good songs to the guests of this failed conference, the air became a little lighter. 

To make this night a little more fun, the jackass right in front of me made an annoying flirty stunt with his wife.

“Oh, there’s food beside your lip, darling,” Eldritch said to Marisse. He is pertaining to a single drop of royal barbecue sauce on the left part of Marisse’s lip. “Let me do the honors to clean it for you.”

All of a sudden, Eldritch faced his face towards his wife and kissed her lips. That royal-ass emperor licked the drop of barbecue sauce in the process. After doing such a public display of affection, Marisse thanked him with a gentle slap on his face.

“Oh darling, don’t do that in public!” Marisse glanced at me. “People are watching!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Eldritch made a smug as he glanced at my side too. “It’s just… you’re so beautiful that I couldn’t help but to kiss your lips.”

I averted these teasing gaze on them and focused on eating. These fucking assholes know how to piss me off, flirting right in front of my face. I think I’m done with this. I’m going to forge a rocket launcher and blast their heads whole. I will no longer hold back. Not even Serena can stop me now.

Just before I could prepare my arms to magically create an incendiary rocket, somebody pinched my right shoulder. It was from Serena. And she looks awful.

“S-Senpai… I think I got something on my face too.” Serena said.

Serena has this whole vanilla ice cream on her lower face that makes her look like Santa Claus. There’s no way Serena put it all over her face by accident! She’s trying hard to match the public display of affection levels of the royal jackasses in front of us! Never did she thought that she’s just embarrassing herself!

“S-Serena!? How did this happen without you noticing it!?” I shrieked.

“W-Would you mind removing it for me, Senpai? Pretty please~” Serena mumbled with her ice cream beard covering her whole mouth. She pushed her face forward, asking me to remove it the same way how Eldritch did it to his wife.

There’s no way I could lick all of those ice cream on her face! It will damage both of our reputation towards the dukes and the Emperor of Alterra! It will make us a laughing stock!

“S-Serena, wait here. I’ll go get a paper towel.” I said. Then I stood up and left the table. 

“W-Wait, Senpai! That’s not what I wanted you to do!” Serena cried as he reached out her hand, but she failed to stop me from leaving the seat.

While I walk, I heard Eldritch chuckling softly like a saintly person. He must be commending Serena’s futile efforts to flirt with me in an attempt to display it to their very faces.

I went to the restroom of the hall where the paper towels are stacked up. Before I grab one, I washed my face on the lavatory and looked at my face on the side mirror. I was surprised when there’s another face right behind me.

“Paul.” The beautiful woman spoke my nickname that only one special person could mention. 

This special person is wearing a royal red gown which reveals her cleavage and slender back. She’s wearing a golden set of earrings, and her wavy reddish-brown hair compliments her pretty face. Combined with her hazelnut eyes, she is worthy of being the empress of Elysia. 

“Risse,” I muttered. Then, I turned and looked at her in the eyes. I couldn’t believe that my first lover, Marisse Trystgade is finally right in front of me. After one and a half years of not seeing each other, this is my first meeting with her. And she grew a lot more beautiful than before.

This… This is awkward. I wanted to tell her about a lot of things. I have a lot of questions in my mind that only my first love could answer, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I just made the dead air between us worse.

“How are you doing?” She asked with a worried look on her eyes.

“I’m doing fine. How about you?”

“Fine, I guess,” Marisse said with an uncaring smile. “I see that Serena is all heads over heels on you. She’s so beautiful, and powerful too. I guess you’re so happy now that you have finally met one of your high school crushes.”

I didn’t reply. Marisse sounded like she’s somewhat jealous even though she already has a husband and a daughter. Answering her talks would make a conflict between us so I preferred not to talk. 

But, Marisse seemed to be wanting my attention. She took a step forward, pulled something from the pocket of her gown while holding my left hand with her right, and left something on my palm. The thing she gave me... or gave back to me is a silver bracelet I have once worked hard to buy. It was the symbol of our love back then, and now, she’s returning it to me.

“Mike did nothing wrong,” Marisse said. “I was the one who gave the order… to kill you. I have to do it because it is necessary. I don’t need to explain everything to you. All I need you to know is that your best friend is not at fault. Please don’t blame him for everything that happened to you.”

I just bowed. I don’t know what to reply. Hearing that my ex-lover wilfully betrayed me and gave an order to kill me is beyond the pain I could ever imagine. I couldn’t even express the right emotion in this circumstance. All I feel right now is wrath. 

“Risse… Have you ever loved me?” Those were the words that automatically went out of my mouth. I clenched my fist with much force that is enough to make it bleed.

“Yes, Paul. Yes.” Marisse bowed in despair. “In fact, you’re the greatest thing that happened in my life. Those years of happy moments we had with each other, I will never forget it. I will treasure it until the end of my life. My feelings were true for you, and please don’t ever think that our love is fake. I even think that my love for you is greater than my love for Mike.”

There was a long pause. Hearing those words from the woman I once loved lifted my spirits for just a few seconds, until he talked some more that canceled it all out.

“But things change, Paul,” Marisse said. “I don’t expect you to understand me.” 

Of course, I will never understand. Why you cheated on me. Why you ordered Eldritch to kill me. Why you are talking to me right now as if you still love me. I will never know, and I no longer wanted to know. I wanted to tell her that, but she looked like she’s in pain. Marisse seemed like there’s a spike in her throat whenever she’s talking to me.

Marisse continued to speak. “You’re the main reason why we made a state visit in the first place. Mike and I wanted to check on you if you’re doing fine out here. We thought that you were subject to harsh torture and intimidation, forcing you to fight wars that don’t concern about you. We wanted you to go home. Back to Elysia. Take Serena with you and live in peace.”

“No,” I said. “I am not going back. Alterra is my home now. People here call me Sir. I have great potty-mouthed friends. I have regained everything I’ve lost here. There’s no way I could turn my back to the people who celebrated my existence.”

“I see,” Marisse said in a soft tone, but the way she outrightly accepted my decision makes it clear that she doesn’t care whatever I chose. “If you’re not going with us, then just promise that you will not interfere with Mike’s plans. His dream of a perfect world should not be interrupted.”

Those last words made me spark. Perfect world my ass. I’ve known Eldritch since I was a child. I would be the greatest fool on this planet if I ever believed in his false promises again.

“You are not in the right place to make demands for a promise, woman.” I glared at my ex-girlfriend with my green-flamed eyes. “There is no way I could leave the fate of the world to the hands of your hypocrite husband.” 

Marisse was shocked for a second, then she erased those facial expressions when she uttered a soft sigh and a smile. “Fine. Do what you want. But I can’t guarantee your safety anymore. You. Serena. Your friends. Your new country. They will be at peril. Xenon Paul Animusphere Wingate, the future will be dark.”

“Says by the woman who is the mastermind of my death,” I said. “If my path is towards the darkness, then so be it. Eldritch shall pay. Cheng shall pay. You shall pay. I'm going to kill you. Not today. Not tomorrow. Mark my words and remember to sleep with your eyes open.”

After saying my words of rage, I stepped out of the comfort room, straight outside the castle. Marisse stayed in the restroom when I left.

I need air, and I don’t want anybody to be bothering me, so I walked alone on the side of the castle walls. Embracing the serenity of the night, I find myself being a little bit comfortable in the dark. 

The thought of Marisse plotting to kill me never crossed my mind, not even a little bit. It was shocking to me that she’s the mastermind of Eldritch’s betrayal. And here am I, still thinking why I’m such a fool for having a hard time moving on.

To be honest, I’m having second thoughts of having Marisse’s name on my list. There’s still a part of me that believes in her, that loves her, that seeks for ways to revive her lost love to me. I’m actually planning to spare her if she ever begged for her life and told me that she still loves me. But now that she has told the truth with her very own mouth, that strengthened my resolve to kill her more. 

“Nyeh!” I cried out loud as I threw the silver bracelet Marisse gave back to me. The symbol of our love went to the darkest pits of the castle, with no hope of being retrieved from now on.

No hesitation. I will kill them. Even if they beg, even if they curse, even if they threaten to take everything from me. I will kill them all.

“Eldritch. Cheng. Trystgade. They shall die.” I muttered to myself.

Suddenly, the peaceful night on the castle wall turned to a halt. The beating of my heart started to go slower but it punched harder, like an echoing gong that explodes in my chest.

Is this the Vesryn Pulse? Yes, but I have never felt this chilling energy on my heart before. Serena’s heart is warm and full of kindness, but what I’m feeling right now is cold and full of darkness. It’s like I’m connected to a different entity that is right behind me.

“Looks like you have finally cemented your will to kill them all.” A familiar voice echoed. In fact, the voice seems to be identical to my own.

When I turned around, I saw a man with the same face as me. His black hair turns blue as it reflects the light of the moon. His white skin compliments his dark Eskimo suit well. I’m pretty sure I’m looking in a mirror until I notice a difference between me and this perfect copy of mine.

His eyes are layers of colorful rings of red, blue, yellow, green, violet, orange, and indigo, like a full-turn rainbow. He has a tiny iris that looks like a single dark dot at the center of his eye.

The heartbeats became stronger, but the pulse is slower. It started to hurt my chest and my brain. The outward silence of the air and the chaotic ticking of my heart make this a grim scene uncomfortable.

“Who are you?” I asked. “Why… are you wearing my face?”

“Greetings, Xenon Wingate. I go with the human name of Nox, but that fake name does not matter. All you need to know is that I am Necross Messiah. And I… am here to deliver you the message of your true destiny.”