A white leaf drifted down past Alex and that figure.
Alex swallowed, his hand pointing at the figure.
"You… you…"
The figure smiled, his short black hair and pitch-black eyes contrasting sharply with the white clothes he wore.
Alex stood up.
"Alex?..."
Alex scratched his head in confusion.
"So… am I Alex, or are you Alex?"
The Alex sitting on the rock chuckled softly.
He opened his mouth, their voices sounding identical.
"For now… how about you use your old form, Sir Adrian?"
Adrian's eyes widened.
Alex waved his hand toward Adrian, a gust of wind brushing past him.
Slowly, Adrian's figure changed back into his former self.
The white T-shirt he wore transformed into a black suit with a black shirt underneath.
Adrian looked at his chest—there was a stab wound piercing through his suit.
His hair grew longer than before, scars appeared on his lips and cheeks. His palms became rough, and his face showed a maturity completely different from Alex.
A chill ran down Adrian's spine. He stared at Alex.
"What did you do?…"
Alex shrugged.
"Just so you wouldn't get confused."
Adrian's eyes widened.
"Have you been here all this time?"
Alex nodded.
"Yes… while you lived in my body, I was always here."
Alex raised his hand to the sky.
Adrian followed his gaze upward. His eyes widened, and he took a step back.
The black sky slowly changed, turning into fragments of images shifting every second.
Adrian swallowed.
"That… that… that's my world."
Alex sighed, resting his cheek on his hand as he watched the ever-changing images.
"I've seen your journey in your previous world."
Adrian grimaced, tears nearly forming, his breathing turning unstable.
"Damn…"
Alex looked at him.
"It was an incredible journey…"
Adrian clicked his tongue.
"It wasn't incredible. It was terrifying…"
Alex nodded slowly.
Adrian took a deep breath and looked at Alex, who was still sitting on the rock.
"Why are you here? Why did you let someone else take over your body?"
Alex rubbed his forehead.
"I'm here because I chose to be."
Alex exhaled.
"Do you want to hear my story?"
Adrian brushed his long black hair back.
"Get down first, damn it! Where are your manners when talking to someone older?"
Alex chuckled.
"Alright… alright, old man."
Adrian gritted his teeth.
Alex jumped down and stood beside Adrian.
He pointed to the sky again. Now the fragments showed a young Alex.
"I used to be an active kid, you know?"
Alex took a breath as the images kept changing.
"I loved playing outside, I was confident, and I loved my mom and dad."
Adrian swallowed.
The images were bright and full of warmth.
Alex sighed.
Slowly, the brightness faded, turning darker.
"Everything changed in just one moment…"
Alex rubbed the back of his neck.
"If I could go back in time, maybe I wouldn't have done that…"
Alex looked at Adrian.
"I, full of positivity and confidence, saw my friend being bullied by a group of people…"
Adrian looked back at him.
Alex returned his gaze to the sky, and Adrian followed.
Adrian's eyes widened.
The images now showed familiar figures—the same people Adrian had just met as Alex.
Alex continued.
"I helped my friend… but they saw me as a new target…"
Adrian looked at Alex.
"Why didn't you fight back? Just beat them all up."
Alex shrugged.
"Not everyone is like you…"
Adrian fell silent.
The images grew darker.
"Since then… they kept bullying me…"
The images showed Alex being mistreated.
Alex sighed.
"Damn… I'm embarrassed showing all this…"
Adrian stroked his chin.
"Didn't you tell your father? Captain Sander loves you, you know that, right?"
Alex chuckled.
"What could a mere guard captain do?"
Adrian looked confused.
"Captain Sander guards the former queen's mansion, right?"
Alex nodded.
Adrian clapped once.
"Then you had someone powerful backing your family, right?"
Alex shook his head.
"The families of those people… are also influential in Ashton city."
Alex rubbed his forehead.
"And why would a former queen defend my father, who's just a guard captain, and his family?"
Adrian sighed.
"Have you ever even met her?"
Alex shook his head.
"I visited once when I was little…"
Alex rubbed his chin.
"…but I didn't meet her."
Adrian snapped his fingers.
"Then how can you say she wouldn't help you?"
Alex held his head, thinking hard.
Adrian sighed.
"Have you ever met Katarina? She's strange, but she's a good person."
Alex finished thinking and looked at Adrian.
"No. She's arrogant and a bad person."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Are we talking about the same Katarina?"
Alex looked confused.
"I met her a few times…"
"…when I was still positive."
Alex sighed.
"I tried greeting her… making small talk… but she never spoke to me."
Adrian scratched his temple.
"That's completely different from how she is…"
Alex sighed, his legs giving out as he sat down, staring at the sky that slowly returned to darkness.
He chuckled.
"So it was all just my own bad assumptions…"
Alex hugged his knees.
"I'm done talking… I don't want to talk anymore."
Adrian looked confused.
Alex sighed.
"Compared to you… my story feels childish, right?"
Adrian shrugged and sat beside him.
"Everyone has their own story…"
"…if someone looks down on yours, just beat them up."
Alex laughed out loud for the first time in a long while.
He wiped the tears that had slipped out.
Adrian scratched his head.
"Isn't something missing?"
Alex looked at him.
Adrian asked,
"How did you end up here?"
Alex shrugged, his tone lighter.
"A woman came to me at my lowest point…"
Adrian's eyes widened.
"She said she'd take me somewhere peaceful…"
Adrian looked confused.
Alex rubbed his forehead, trying to remember.
"I accepted… she explained some things, then said my body would be used by someone from another world…"
Adrian's face went blank.
"Damn! Speak properly! What did she look like?! I was sent by her too!"
Adrian clicked his tongue.
"She said I'd go to hell and told me to repent here or something…"
Adrian's breathing grew heavy.
"But this world is hell too… damn it."
Alex patted Adrian's arm, his voice strained.
"I… I… don't… know… damn it!"
Adrian released him and sighed.
"You don't remember her face?"
Alex shook his head.
Adrian punched the dry ground.
Thud
Thud
Thud
Alex, still holding his neck, spoke.
"I remember one thing she said…"
Adrian looked at him.
"She said… if you ask about her appearance, 'tell him to come to Dragonheart.'"
Adrian frowned.
"Dragonheart?"
Alex nodded.
"Where is that?"
Alex twitched.
"Did you never study or what?"
Adrian shrugged.
"It's not important, right?"
Alex fell silent.
"…Not important, right?"
Alex sighed.
"It's the city of dragons…"
Adrian exclaimed,
"Wow…"
Alex clicked his tongue.
"But not everyone can go there…"
Alex rubbed his forehead.
"In this era, only kings and queens of each race can go."
Adrian swallowed.
"What about the headmaster of Osteria Academy? Has he been there?"
Alex shook his head.
Adrian grew curious.
"The human king… that's Katarina's father, right? Is he that strong?"
Alex nodded.
"Yes… that's why don't get close to that princess… if she gets upset, her father could erase you even from the edge of the world."
Adrian swallowed.
'Yeah… I need to remember that…'
Adrian sighed.
"Anything else?"
Alex thought hard.
"I don't think so… am I getting forgetful?"
Alex stroked his chin.
"Yeah… I've been forgetting more… after staying here for so long…"
Adrian was about to ask more when Alex suddenly began to glow.
Alex looked at his glowing hand.
Adrian's eyes widened.
Alex chuckled and looked at him.
"Sorry… looks like it's time."
Alex slowly stood.
Adrian followed.
Alex looked at him, his body glowing.
"I don't know what else to tell you… my thoughts are fading."
Adrian swallowed.
"Wait… wait… if you met that woman, she must've told you more, right? Right?"
Adrian bit his lip.
"Like… is what Katarina is doing with the potion correct? How do we get to Dragonheart? Why did she choose me? Why am I in your body?"
Adrian kept talking as the light grew brighter, Alex grimacing.
"Doesn't that woman know the future? She should, right? I mean, she has to be a god… right?"
Alex held his head.
"I'm sorry… Adrian… I can't remember anymore."
Tears slowly fell from Alex's eyes.
Adrian froze.
Alex grimaced.
"I don't have much time…"
"I can't answer…"
Alex smiled.
"…it's not my story anymore, Adrian."
Adrian clenched his teeth.
"Now… it's yours."
Adrian's form slowly changed into Alex's.
Alex smiled, tears flowing.
"I… I… haven't apologized to mom and dad…"
Alex took a deep breath and looked at Adrian.
"Tell them I'm sorry…"
His voice trembled.
"I… I chose to run away… instead of facing my problems…"
His hands began to disappear.
"I'm going somewhere peaceful now…"
Alex looked at Adrian.
Adrian stepped forward and hugged him.
Alex returned the embrace with what remained of his body.
Alex spoke one last time.
"Goodbye… Alex Sander…"
His figure vanished.
Alex collapsed onto the wet ground.
His face twisted as tears streamed down, his sobs echoing.
The last white leaf fell from the withered tree.
The dark sky faded, replaced by a faint light.
The sound of crying echoed from the second floor of a house.
A black-haired boy covered his eyes with his arm, but tears soaked through onto his pillow.
His bedroom door opened.
A man and a woman rushed in.
The woman hugged the crying child.
"Alex? Why are you crying?.."
His sobs continued.
The man joined the embrace.
"Did you have a nightmare? You're just like Aisy—"
The woman hit him. He fell silent.
She gently stroked Alex's head.
Alex finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… mom… dad…"
His parents exchanged confused looks.
Alex continued,
"I'm sorry… I left you…"
His parents were bewildered.
His mother stroked his head more gently.
"You're here… you didn't go anywhere. You don't need to apologize…"
His crying didn't stop.
Sunlight streamed through the curtains.
Birdsong replaced the sound of his sobbing.
The three of them remained in an embrace, bathed in warm light.
----
Sunlight slowly covered the land, reaching a grand house with a vast garden.
It entered a room, falling upon a large bed.
On the bed lay a woman with long black hair.
Her eyes were closed, her pale skin highlighting her fragile frame.
Her left hand was being wiped gently with a damp cloth by a girl.
The girl had black hair and golden eyes.
Her voice echoed in the room, unheard by the woman.
"Mom… just wait a little longer, okay…"
She smiled brightly, raising her fist.
"Soon, amazing Mira will finish the potion to heal you!"
Mira chuckled.
"But I need more money… the ingredients are expensive and hard to find…"
She sighed.
"Should I just take some from dad's smart bracelet?"
The woman didn't respond.
Mira played with her hand.
"Or maybe I should borrow from Rina? She said I could contact her anytime…"
Mira smiled.
Suddenly, the scent of flowers filled the room as the door opened.
"Stop that research…"
Mira turned.
A man in a white robe stood there, golden eyes watching her.
"Dad! Why didn't you knock?!"
Mira narrowed her eyes.
"I'm taking care of mom! You should come later!"
Her father approached the bed and kissed his wife's forehead.
Mira's eyes narrowed.
He looked at her.
"I have to leave… so I came early."
Mira raised an eyebrow.
"This early?"
He nodded and sighed.
"Yes… reconstruction of the attacked cities will begin…"
He paused.
"And the trial of Julian's family is being prepared…"
Mira looked at him.
"Did Uncle Clay and his family really do it?"
He shrugged.
"That will be known after the trial…"
He ruffled her hair.
"I'm leaving…"
He turned to go, then stopped and looked back.
"And stop your research…"
Mira's shoulders slumped.
"Why?… I want to help…"
She lowered her gaze.
"It's almost finished!"
He sighed and turned around.
"Don't do it, Mira…"
He left without another word.
Mira clenched her teeth and looked at her mother.
"Don't listen to dad, mom…"
She smiled and continued wiping her.
"I'll do anything… it's almost done… just a little more…"
"…just wait a little longer."
Mira took a breath.
She hummed softly as she worked, her voice echoing into the hallway.