Rael adjusted his tie as he stared at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a black suit, for today was a day of celebration. He heard the door creak open and turned. He saw all of his siblings appear. They gave him cheery smiles as they took their turn to congratulate him.

“Congratulations, Rael.” Heath gave a nod to him.

“Grats’” Crille followed shortly thereafter, and Teop, Roy, and Wei echoed their words with smiles on their faces. Rael felt his heart swell up with happiness. He couldn’t believe this was real. He’d never thought the day would come when his family would finally care for him and be there for him. He held back the tears as he thanked them all. He couldn’t cry now. This was only the beginning.

Because she was waiting for him. 

Rael headed to the venue, being watched by the nobles of his kingdom. He swallowed his fear and stopped in front of the priest. And then he waited. It felt as if time had stopped. The bells rang loud and clear as they filled Rael’s ear. And the doors to the venue opened. 

A woman walked out, accompanied by his father. Her gaze was focused on the floor as she carefully walked in tune with the music. And then she looked up and Rael felt his heart stop. Wearing a light blue wedding dress, she approached him, having let go of her escort. Wearing light makeup that enhanced her beauty which in turn left Rael dazed. She approached the altar when he suddenly walked up to her. She seemed surprised before smiling softly and opening her arms. 

Rael could feel his eyes brim with tears as he ran to her. He embraced her and lifted her up, causing her to laugh from the surprise. He laughed too as he stared up at the love of his life. This was it. After all that suffering, he could finally—

Rael awoke from his imagination with a gasp.

“It seems like this is it, Rael Vandergarden.” A cold voice made him look up. Rael was on his knees and standing across from him was Ru. He was shielding a shell-shocked Ophelia. Rael blinked. “What is happening…?”

“Rael. Stop pretending. You’ve already been caught for your crimes.”

“My crimes…?”

Ru didn’t smile as he threw the papers at Rael. Rael looked at them and saw the faces of students he’d never known. These were the students that had been missing right as Rael and Ophelia had coincidentally left. “I didn’t— it wasn’t me! Ophelia, you believe me, don’t you?”

Ophelia was silent. Rael looked at her in shock and felt the sting of betrayal. She didn’t believe him? Even though they’d been together the whole time? Rael clutched at the papers. “Ophelia! Please! You can’t actually believe what Ru said, it’s all lies! This looks forged!” Rael was desperately trying to explain his side of the story but Ru wasn’t having it. 

“Rael. Instead of having you rot in prison, I’ll give you mercy.”

“Mercy…?”

Ru, in one swift movement, pierced Rael with his sword. Rael turned rigid. He inhaled as the pain hadn’t registered. He had been stabbed. Ru took out his sword, causing a wave of pain to hit Rael. He fell to the ground with a choking cry as he clutched at his stomach. Tears pooled as he tried to lessen the pain and add pressure to the wound. But the wound was too big and there was too much blood. 

Rael reached his hand out which was red from the blood. He reached out to Ophelia. He saw Ophelia’s look of horror and disgust before she turned away. 

“No…!” He tried crying out for her. But his voice was growing weaker. Ru took one last glance at Rael. And Rael forced his eyes to meet Ru’s. And he saw Ru’s blank expression barely change as he turned his heel and left. He grabbed Ophelia and the two disappeared from the door frame. 

“No…” Rael kept crying out for help as he lay dying. He was dying in a room he’d always hated. He’d wanted to go to the Academy to escape this hellish place, how ironic that he was dying there. 

“Please don’t leave me alone. Don’t let me die alone…” Rael couldn’t help but cry. He’d bottled his emotion for a long time. He’d never cried so much that he could barely breathe. But now, as he realized his fate, he cried all his emotions out. 

He’d never been wanted. Before he was born, his father abandoned him, wanting nothing to do with him. When he was a child, his mother disappeared and never came back. It was thanks to the help of a kind older woman that he met his father again. But this time it was under his real identity, the king of Urel. 

He’d been forced to adapt as the youngest prince, and he was welcomed with cold stares. Rael obediently had his head down, making sure not to trouble anyone. That caused the rumor that he was a pushover and even the servants lost their respect for him. His father was cold and didn’t bother to help him, the queen despised him for being alive and his brothers tormented him constantly. 

He’d hoped for a better life when he entered Lore Academy. He’d gotten his first friend and his first love. Ophelia Phorest. She was talented, had beauty first to none and her charm was irresistible. She was the spark that he needed in his life. But he wasn’t her spark. 

Having grown jealous, he’d persuaded Ophelia to go on a trip with him. He promised they’d explore his nation and eat all sorts of foods. And they did. For a week they had a field trip where they ate all sorts of food, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. And then Rael blurted out his confession to Ophelia. She dropped the apple she’d been eating. And she turned him down. Rael knew that would happen. So he asked her for one last destination to go to. 

They traveled in silence. Soon, the carriage reached the capital and it parked near the Vandergarden Castle. Rael invited the hesitant Ophelia inside and they walked around, finally reaching an empty hall where a single bedroom lay. Rael had planned on telling Ophelia about his life and how lonely it sometimes felt. He’d wanted to stay friends even after she rejected him. Because without Ophelia, he was nothing. 

But before he could even start, he was interrupted by a knock. Ru Hasselt was here. 

And that was the situation he found himself in. The blood had stopped flowing. His breathing was shallow. His tears had already dried. And his eyelids were too heavy for him to open. Rael was dying. He couldn’t feel his hands. He couldn’t feel anything. 

If he knew dying would be so lonely, he’d have asked for someone to stay with him. But he was already gone before he could finish that thought. 

---

 

I couldn’t help it. I burst into tears. I started crying as the game kept playing. I was devastated. They’d just killed my favorite character— and for what!? Just so the happy couple could walk away in the sunrise?!

I was nearly done with Ru Hasselt’s route but I was too upset to finish it. I kept crying as I spam clicked the dialogue. I made sure to curse whenever I saw Ru’s wretched face. Darn him for being so handsome! Why did he have to kill Rael? He might’ve been in love with Ophelia, but he was the least problematic out of all the characters. 

I wiped my tears. Damn, why do I always cry for fictional characters? Even if Rael wasn’t real, his life was real to me. 

I felt exhausted after crying for a while and took a break by lying on my bed. My sadness was disappearing and being replaced by anger. I went back to my computer and finished the last few minutes of Ru Hasselt’s route. What greeted me were the big bold letters “Good Ending.” 

You’re joking, right? This was a bad ending no matter how you looked at it! Ophelia had abandoned her four-year friendship and decided to blindly follow the hot guy who’d stabbed her friend! And why the hell did Ru kill him? Framing him for the disappearance of a few students? I was growing angrier by the second. I searched up the main site of the otome game and looked at the reviews. 

4.4 stars… that’s too high. I clicked on the one-star option and began typing. “Dear game creators… I did not spend hours playing Ru Hasselt’s route for the horrible romance, I played it for Rael. So you owe me an explanation as to why you killed him. Are you perhaps a sadist? Or do you just hate happiness? If you don’t fix Ru’s route right now, I’ll do it for you.”

There. I think I put enough threats for the game creators to be shaking in their boots. Realistically, they will probably just delete my review and ignore me… 

I yawned and plopped down on my bed. All those emotions had left me tired. I yawned again and fell asleep. It had been a tiring day.

---

 

“Hm… look at this review.”

“Ah, another person who disliked that ending?”

“I told you to change that.”

“You know I couldn’t even if I wanted to. However… isn’t this the 100th person to complain about it?” They zoomed into the profile picture of the reviewer. 

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking there’s a solution.”

“You don’t mean…?”

They grinned. “This might make the game more fun.”

---

 

I woke up with a gasp. I had a nightmare about forgetting to put on clothes while going outside. I hadn’t had time to process the dream when I felt the warmth of the sun. Why would it be sunny in winter? 

I focused my gaze and noticed the change in environment. I was… in a garden? I narrowed my eyes at the young boy sitting across from me. He was silently reading the book, pausing to sip tea and chew on sweets. He wore a simple white shirt with high-waisted suit pants. His hair was brown and eyes gold. I slowly got up from my chair. 

It seems that I’d been kidnapped by a cosplayer. And they’d somehow transported me to a tropical garden. I began walking backward. I’d think later and act now! If I was quick, I could escape before he spotted me—

“And where do you think you’re going?” I stopped. I looked up and locked gazes with the cosplayer. He looked annoyed, having put down his book. “To the toilet…?”

“The toilet is that way, you were on your way towards the man-eating plants.” My face was drained out of color. “They wouldn’t eat me… would they?”

“I don’t know, their diet is a bit… random.” He smiled mysteriously and I walked the other way. I glanced at the garden and saw strange plants. Trees were dark blue with white leaves, flowers that were floating in the sky and hopping around the place, and grass that looked to be glowing at some patches.

I took a deep breath. I had to rationalize this scene so as not to go crazy. This had to be a movie set. A movie crew kidnapped me, transported me several miles from my home, and were planning on feeding me to man-eating plants. I had to pause. It was impossible. I couldn’t make this make sense. 

I spotted the wide wall of what looked like a mansion. Damn, this place looked rich. I saw the door wide open and glanced at the cosplay—er, boy, and saw him not react, having gone back to reading his book. I saw the title and read it slowly. ‘The Dragon Lord and his five lovers.’ That was a strange title… but it sounded familiar. 

I left the garden behind, wanting to escape from this strange place. I walked into the mansion and saw a long corridor. I carefully walked through, looking around my surroundings so as not to be sneak attacked. Maybe there was something in the rooms. I opened one of the doors. Inside it was piles of metal objects. It looked like a junkyard. But I spotted one of the metal objects light up. I curiously walked closer to it and picked it up. 

“I’d suggest you drop it, lest you want to blow your head up.” My heart shook from the surprise and I dropped it. I turned and saw a woman adorned in all black. She looked like a maid. I held up my hands. “Yes! I was just looking!” She gave me a puzzled look before gesturing for me to follow her. 

I walked behind her, afraid to make any mistakes. I heard the maid sigh. “Your highness, please don’t walk behind a servant, it makes it seem that I’m above you. It’s rude.” She pushed me forwards and walked behind me. I awkwardly began to lead us in a direction, turning and entering an open room. I saw a grand stairwell that was adorned with gold and silver. I began walking towards it before the maid stopped me. “Your highness, not that way. Your room is on the first floor, remember?” I paused.

“Your highness? Who?”

“You…? Have you perhaps lost your memory, your highness?” She meant it as a joke but my expression made her smile drop.

“Could you perhaps remind me of my full name?” This mansion wasn’t a mansion. It was a castle. And it was eerily familiar to me. As if I’d recently seen it. My eyes were wide from trying to clutch at my memories. Could it be…?

“Your highness?”

“Answer my question.”

“…Your full name is Rael Vandergarden.” I closed my eyes. I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d been transported into another world. It made more sense than being kidnapped by a movie crew. But finding out which world and who I currently was? It made my stomach sink. 

“You’re joking.”

“Your highness?” The maid was growing concerned. I had to act like everything was okay. “It’s nothing. Let’s continue to my room.” I pretended to know where my room was and the maid had to repeatedly point me in the right direction. I was thoroughly humiliated by the time I reached my room. It was in an empty hallway, at the very end. It stood there lonely. I held up a hand. “I’d like to be alone.”

“But—“

“I’ll call for you if I need something.”

“As you wish, your highness.” She bowed and left. I calmly walked to the door and closed it. I saw a glamorous room and ignored it all. I jumped on the bed, grabbed a pillow, and inhaled. “SHIIIIIIIIT—“ I stopped to breathe before continuing to scream into my pillow.

Now let’s get one thing straight. I adore Rael as a character and I would do anything to protect him. However, that did not mean that I wanted to be him. I had hoped that I’d been reborn into a fantasy world where there were hot people everywhere and I was a part of the plot. And while this was true, there was also a dangerous threat looming over this world.

DKQ, also known as Dance with Kings and Queens is a popular otome game that I used to play. It follows the main lead, Ophelia Phorest, and uses romance and magic to entice the player. The game is in a league of its own. It allows the player to freely choose what to do or say, so there were hundreds of routes that you could end. There were four known love interests. I had played three of the four routes. 

There was Heath Vandergarden, Oden Turner, Weiss Reiss and Ru Hasselt. I had played all of them except for Weiss’ route. The love interest differed in difficulty, with Ru being the hardest out of all of them. 

The game is set in a world that’s known peace for thousands of years. Magic and artifacts are tools used daily and horrifying monsters are not a threat to the strongest of mages. However, it merely looks peaceful. Lurking behind the shadows is the awakening of a primordial evil that will bring an end to the world. And whose task is to kill that horrifying evil? Ophelia Phorest.

I continued to scream into my pillow.

This would be impossible. I didn’t trust Ophelia Phorest, especially since I can’t even control her, so we were all doomed. I couldn’t even move away because this affected the whole world. And the worst of it all? I couldn’t remember anything of the game past act 5. That meant that whatever happened in year 5 would all be a surprise to me. I won't remember how this ‘ancient evil’ would be released until it’s too late. 

And that wasn’t the end of my troubles. I had Ru Hasselt looming over me. Considering how he’d killed Rael from growing too close to Ophelia, I had to go against him. 

I also had the question of which game mode I was currently ‘living’ in. If I was in normal mode, I could make it. I’d played all three routes in normal mode and while it was still difficult, I got all the good endings. If this was the hard mode? I’d be sending prayers in advance. 

The hard mode was the game adding another love interest into the mix. Except, unlike the other four, he was destructive. He was basically another villain. I wanted to cry. What was this horrible fate? I had so many death flags that it wasn’t even funny. I also had to help Ophelia because that was Rael’s role in the game. 

He was the buddy character. You’d ask him for advice and he’d give hints or vague answers to lead you on the right tracks. Except I didn’t know shit. So she wouldn’t progress nor grow as a protagonist. 

I raised my head and shook my head. No! I couldn’t give up before I’d even started! I had to make plans. If I remember correctly, the boy in the garden had to be Wei Vandergarden, my older brother, by a year. And if he looked that young… I still had a few years to prepare!

I rose to get out of bed when I heard a knock. The person didn’t wait for my response before opening the door. He looked blankly around before focusing on me. “There you are. I thought you went to the bathroom?”

“Um, yes but I wanted to grab something here first.” He didn’t seem to believe me as he crossed his arms. “Father told me to keep an eye on you considering how you like to trouble others, so you better watch it.” I gulped. “I wasn’t planning anything. Was it anything you wanted?” I tried smiling. If I was going to survive this world, I had to be kind and sweet. Leave a good impression rather than a bad one. Wei frowned. “Did you forget?”

“Forget what…?”

“You’re supposed to go to your dance practice. With me.” I stopped. Dance practice? Why would I need to—

Oh no. I knew exactly where in the story I’d begun. This had to be before Rael’s debut. That debut had solidified Rael as a pathetic excuse for a prince. And I had to somehow change his fate. 

“Right! Silly me for forgetting. When is my debut now again?” I tried to make it sound like a joke but Wei looked at me like I was stupid. “It’s tomorrow. I hope you’ve improved or you’ll humiliate yourself in front of hundreds of people.” My smile froze. A day? I had a single day to improve Rael’s atrocious dancing? You might as well say ‘GAME OVER’ now, this was a near-impossible feat. 

I tried thinking of my previous life skills and found that my memory of my previous life was… gone. It had vanished, as though it never existed, to begin with. With my heart beating loudly in my chest, I decided to put my lost memory on hold.

I forced a smile.

“Well? Let’s get going.”

---

 

“Ow!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

“This is the fourth time, get into the rhythm!”

“But it’s too hard!”

“And you think being stepped on isn’t?”

“Er…”

I was currently trying to dance with Wei. We had been going on for a few minutes and he’d already grown tired of me. I couldn’t believe how horrible Rael was at dancing. The dancing wasn’t even that difficult, but having become Rael, I couldn’t quite right wrap my head around it.

“Don’t I have an actual teacher for this?” I stopped when Wei shot me a spiteful look. We took a break when Wei couldn’t feel his toes anymore. I wanted to feel guilty, but he was being so rude about it, so I laughed quietly at his misery.

“A teacher? After what you did?”

I paused while sipping my water. “What did he—I do?”

“Did you forget? You caused at least four teachers to quit on the spot, one to injure themselves so badly that they had to be taken away to a healer and the other two neglected their work and lied about it.” I was speechless. Rael was that bad at dancing? 

“Is that why you’re helping me? Because you care?” I gave him a small smile. Maybe he isn’t so bad after all. I watched Wei snort his drink out and began laughing loudly. “Hell no! I couldn’t care less, in fact, I’d be delighted if you failed in front of hundreds. But father said it’d reflect badly on the royal family and forced me to babysit and train you.”

“Babysit? You’re barely a year older than me.”

“At least I can dance without gravely injuring someone.” Touché.

I rubbed my legs and focused on the issue at hand. Dancing was one of the reasons for Rael's horrible reputation. There were already rumors brewing about him and when he, at his debut, not only failed to dance properly but caused his and his partner to fall, he was mocked by all. No one could respect a royal who couldn’t even dance. Dancing was the very essence of an aristocrat. And the fact that I was an illegitimate child of the king served to prove their point. Rael Vandergarden is a commoner who’s dressed in prince’s clothes. 

Being an illegitimate child was the downfall for Rael. So I had to prove everyone wrong. Show them that illegitimate children were just like them. And the first step was… dancing. 

I groaned. I had to get through this. One step at a time. I stood up and saw Wei scoot back. “I’m not ready to dance—“

“Just tell me how to move and I’ll do this by myself.” Wei raised an eyebrow but complied. I stood up and stared at the wide mirror that covered the entire wall of the room. This was the room where everyone was taught how to dance. I raised my hand and bowed, this was a must before you began dancing.

I lowered both my arms and pretended a partner was standing in front of me, putting my arms around their invisible waist. 

“First, sway from side to side, listen to the music as you do.” Wei started the music again, and instrumental sounds began playing from the crystal he was holding. I complied and started swaying. It was awkward without anyone there, but this was the best way to practice without any casualties. 

“Follow the rhythm. No, don’t start speeding up, go slower. Right, like that.” Wei was quick to point out any faults. I began tensing up from the pressure. “Don’t dance like a doll, relax, or your dancing will look stiff and boring.” I tried relaxing while remembering all his rules. So far, it wasn’t going too badly! My eyes lit up as I began grasping it.

And then Wei cranked up the difficulty. “That’s enough, it seems that you’re at least decent at following the rhythm and not falling on your face. Now it’s time for the real dancing.”

“That wasn't dancing?”

“No? You didn’t even move your feet properly.” My jaw dropped. I was struggling even now and he expected me to suddenly move? With my feet? I clenched my teeth. I could do this! All I had to do was believe!

“Alright, the first step is deciding whether you want to lead or follow.”

“What…?”

“Good grief, I don’t think there’s a single thought behind those eyes. Here, let me show you.” Wei stood up and raised my arm and straightened the other. “You’ll lead and pretend that someone is following you. This is the position you have to stay in.” I felt my body tense and tried relaxing. 

“Now it’s time for the actual steps.” Wei stood next to me and showed me how to step through our reflections. He began lecturing me on how to do a simple box-waltz. I had difficulty remembering the steps at first but it grew easier on the fourth attempt.

“Now, do all the steps while I do a three-count rhythm before we add the music. Does that sound good?” He didn’t wait for my response before he began counting. 

He kept shouting “1,2,3” as I tried following all his demands. I felt my head grow dizzy from all the instructions, but with my whole body moving, I let myself dance to the beat of Wei’s shouts. I smiled as I did the box-waltz for the tenth time, with no mistakes. 

“Hm, not bad.” Wei applauded. “I honestly thought you’d never get it. Alright, try and dance with me this time.” Wei became the follower and I awkwardly placed my hand on his shoulder and the other under his shoulder blade. And then, we danced. 

At least that’s what I want to say…

It started well, I began walking left and doing the dance in the rhythm I’d learned. But having another body doing the same thing distracted me. I began mirroring his steps and the graceful dance quickly turned ugly as I began panicking. My pace grew quicker and Wei grew annoyed. “Hey, slow, do it slow—“ 

I couldn’t hear him anymore. I was moving as quickly as I could, turning the box into a complicated mess as I dragged Wei along with me. We spun around in the room, his complaining growing louder and my anxiety starting to surface. Until it became too much and I let go of Wei. He fell to the ground with a roll and I fell on my back, crying out in pain. I had no strength left. I was exhausted and the stress caused me to go haywire. 

Wei was silent and I had stopped moaning and groaning about my back pain. The dance room was silent. And then I heard giggling. I turned my head and saw Wei on the ground, trying to suppress his laughter. He failed and began laughing loudly. He held his stomach as he continued to laugh and sat up, wiping tears from his eyes. He had a large smile on his face, threatening to break into more laughter. 

“I have never seen a worse dancer than you.” I knew he was insulting me but the joy in his eyes almost made me smile too. 

“Only because you’re a horrible teacher.”

“You couldn’t even hear the music, how is that my fault?”

“Because I said so!” I was acting childish but it was only to enjoy this moment. Strangely enough, it felt like we’d bonded like siblings while we argued with each other. I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe Rael’s life wasn’t so hopeless after all. 

Wei mumbled. “I’m glad.”

“Hm?”

“I’m glad that you aren’t acting so distant like before. You’d grow tense when I tried teaching you and flinched whenever I corrected your mistakes. It’s almost as though you treated me like I was above you.” I blinked. So that’s how Rael was when he was younger.

“You aren’t that bad when you learn to loosen up.” Wei teasingly remarked. I stuck my tongue out. Maybe I could befriend Wei and have someone to back me up? Wei was a bit of an ass, foul-mouthed, and too selfish for his good, but that’s how all older siblings were. 

As I continued to joke around with Wei, I wondered what happened to Wei after Ru had killed Rael? Would he have cared if Rael died? Probably not. 

---

 

Ru exhaled. He was currently princess carrying a sobbing Ophelia. Sadly, his memory blank spell hadn’t worked as well as he hoped and she’d started crying when she realized what he’d done. He hoped to return to the academy and prepare a more powerful spell. 

“How exhausting.” He couldn’t help but mumble. Ophelia began struggling in his arm and he growled. “Stay still.” She didn’t listen and continued thrashing around. Ru put her down on the ground and cursed his horrible luck. He had wanted to murder Rael without Ophelia’s knowledge but Rael was cunning. He must’ve known his intentions and purposefully stuck close to Ophelia. So now he had to deal with a traumatized woman. 

He looked her in her eyes and her sobbing began to lessen. Then he embraced her, gently stroking her head. She stopped crying and began sniffling. Ru knew she loved him a lot so he had to appease her by showing her how much he cared. He decided to use his teleportation scroll to return to the Academy when he noticed a presence above him. He jumped back, with Ophelia in his arms, narrowly avoiding a fireball that struck where they stood. 

“How romantic. Holding the woman you love after murdering someone.” The man said sarcastically as he floated several meters in the air. Ru glared at him. “And what’s it to you?”

“I don’t appreciate you waltzing into our home and killing my brother. Had it not been for one of our elder trees dying, you’d be dead before you even thought of infiltrating the castle.”

Ru smirked. “Just my luck then. Almost as if the world wanted me to kill him.” The man raised his hand and the ground below Ru grew soft, sinking his feet into them. He couldn’t get them out. “You’re foolish for killing him. I thought you’d be smarter than that.” Wei began chanting.

[Grand Fireball]

It rushed at Ru and Ophelia in seconds and Ru blocked it using his artifact. A shield enveloped the couple, dissipating the large fireball. Wei tsked. “Making yourself a hamster in a ball? You fool.” Ru’s eyes widened when he understood Wei’s hidden meaning. Ru unsheathed his sword and threw it meters away, before glaring at Wei. 

Wei smiled as he manipulated the earth to envelop the two. Wei slowly increased the pressure on the earth, turning it as hard as metal as it forced the shield to buckle. 

Wei chuckled. “I expected more... too bad.” He closed his eyes and focused on his hands. A large ball began to form. It was white, like the moon.

Ru broke through the earth by softening it with a water spell. The earth broke apart, revealing Wei who was casting an unknown spell. Something clicked in Ru’s mind. “A forbidden spell…? Why would you risk your life to cast it? Is it for him?” Ru mocked as he took a step forward.

“It’s none of your business.” Wei clenched his teeth. 

“He’s already dead! And his death didn’t cause a single ripple in the world. So why do you want to avenge his death? Is it because you feel guilty? Or do you just have a hero complex?” Wei finally snapped as he paused his spell casting. 

“Because he’s my brother? Is that good enough for you? Do I need a better reason to hurt you like you hurt him?” Wei’s voice cracked.

“Did you really care for him? You never showed it, maybe that’s why he died alone like how he did. Moments before he died, he looked scared, terrified even to die. He reached out, probably afraid to die alone. How pitiful—“

Wei began shooting fireballs at Ru, his anger visible on his face. Ru smiled. He’d succeeded in agitating him. Then Wei stopped. And he looked empty inside. “It seems that even avenging him won’t be enough. I’ll have to swoop as low as you and destroy everything you care for.”

“I don’t have anyone I care for.” Ru sneered.

Wei gave him an empty smile. “Are you sure about that?” He levitated an unconscious Ophelia. Wei smiled cruelly.

He clasped his hands, crushing the moon. His eyes grew white as orbs surrounded the unconscious Ophelia. Ru watched as the orbs spun around her, growing closer to her. 

“I will never forgive you for killing Rael. And for that, I will kill her.” 

“You bastard!” Ru didn’t move, knowing that Wei would end Ophelia quicker if he did. He began resorting to his last plan. 

“That’s what I should be calling you.” Wei snarled.

Wei closed his fist, preparing to burn Ophelia with the forbidden spell when he felt something at the back of his throat. He watched as a sword penetrated his throat and choked on it. He was too shocked to react. The spell stopped working as Wei lost control of his spells. He and Ophelia fell several meters. Ru calmly caught Ophelia and looked at Wei who was trying to gasp for air, whilst suffering the full impact of the fall. 

Killing Wei was too easy, he’d left himself open to a sneak attack. The moment Ru had thrown away his sword, Wei’s life was sealed. 

Wei would be dead in seconds so Ru made his last word short. “I expected more from you, Wei.” And then he activated the scroll and the two teleported away.

Wei, eyes widened and blood gushing tried to breathe. But there was too much blood. He could feel his head growing blank and his struggling stopped. Wei was dying. He could see his life flash through his eyes as his breathing stopped. 

He didn’t want to die without killing Ru. He wanted to do something as a big brother to Rael. But he failed. Both in killing Ru and as a brother. 

Wei wanted to ask Rael if he had felt this cold and alone while dying. He wished that he’d been there for Rael at his last moments, and lessened the boy’s pain. But it was too late.

As he felt the darkness envelop him, Wei began regretting his past. He wished he’d been there for Rael more. If he had another chance, he’d spend every second of it doting on Rael, and also he’d—

Wei died before he could finish his thoughts.