My match was in about an hour, giving enough ti to roam about the interior of the coliseum.
My objective was to find either Umbra or Selena — any of them would do. Fortunately or unfortunately, the first I ca across was Selena.
She leaned against the wall of the hallway, her expression dark and also broken. This was the first ti I had seen her with this kind of expression. Curious about what could drain up her expression this much, I briskly walked towards her.
The old Selena would have taken notice of my steps by now, but this Selena didn’t so much as flinch even as I positioned myself beside her, my back also against the wall.
"You know, if there is sothing wrong with you, you could always co out and say it..."
As I spoke, she ca back to her senses before blinking at my presence.
"Oh!" she exclaid after, her voice falling flat.
I sighed, understanding nothing much ca from my speech. I was never one who could comfort others, so telling her to open up to would yield no result.
"If only mother was here."
My mother had been an empathic woman — sweet and affectionate. There wasn’t anyone she couldn’t win over.
Perhaps it was her charm, but I was sure if she had been alive by now, she would have already seen through my lies... about how I wasn’t the real Alex.
Unfortunately, she never got to spend much ti with before she died a short while after my father passed away.
I tried my best to forget the ti of how she died because whenever I did, I felt an undeserving grudge at her for abandoning us.
My father might have been the powerhouse, but mother — she was the glue that kept the branch family and the main family from going at each other’s throats.
After seconds of reminiscing, I glanced back at Selena, her lips parted slightly — signs of speech impending but an unyielding will keeping her from speaking.
I found myself sighing, then crouched a bit to pat her shoulder.
"Don’t gave a half-ass....I an mild performance."
Habits die hard, I thought, quickly shifting from my vulgar words to sothing more refined.
"Heh... where did you learn that word from?" She giggled, life returning to her eyes faintly.
"Vanessa. She curses a lot."
This was no lie. If my sister found sothing she hated enough, she could go minutes unloading cursed words I never dread of hearing from a noble. This often led to a fight with the more refined Abel.
"I expect nothing less from my big sis Vanessa." She smiled faintly before grabbing my hand on her shoulder.
"But don’t curse too much. I prefer the refined Alex more."
"Yeah, too." I nodded proudly and chose to take her words to heart.
After that, an awkward silence followed. There wasn’t much more we could say or wanted to say. Everything else would be expressed on the battlefield.
"I’ll be going then."
Standing up, I moved away from her and announced.
"Sure, but you better not keep waiting for long and don’t run away either."
"I won’t, cousin. I will defeat you. This is fact, so you best not cry either."
"I... won’t!" She forced those words out with clenched fists.
"I won’t lose."
Her fierce determination, almost overwhelming, sent a chill down my spine.
Right here and right now, I could feel it — the desperation in her voice. Such raw and primal emotion reminded of the days I spent training so I could close the gap between us.
Even till now, it still lingered in my heart — the anxiety of my training and growth not amounting to much.
I didn’t want to lose, but words didn’t always denote power. Strength was also needed, and did what I have suffice enough to earn my victory?
Frankly, I didn’t know.
It’s been a year since I last saw Selena fight. She might appear weaker now, but that was only because she was concealing her abilities. Then there were also the rumors of her having a unique skill like .
If mine allowed to bridge the gap in strength, didn’t that also an hers could further widen it?
Man, all this thinking hurt my brain.
Rita had once told my analytical skills were rather effective for problem-solving, but they also made one-noted.
She said sotis I didn’t need to think; I just needed to go with the flow.
I knew perfectly what that ant, but how did one go with the flow? Should I stop thinking and follow my instincts, or was sothing else needed?
"Ah, yeah, see you later."
Waving at Selena, I turned to leave, and she returned to burying her head in her thighs.
"Go with the flow, huh?"
Redrawing my gaze from her, I whispered and moved towards my next destination — and that was eting Umbra.
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Within another sector of the massive coliseum, Kain walked through the empty hallway only to co across his mistress, whose palms were swollen with a brilliant glow.
"The array has been activated. Its primary focus is on misdirection so even the Knight of Ideal won’t notice."
Nodding in acknowledgent, Kain approached her.
"That kid... the Celestial spawn. How did your chat with her go?"
"It went just as you expected. She was broken, and the added pressure I placed on her shoulders brought her to the breaking point."
Satisfied with Orchid’s words, he grinned, his eyes narrowing into slits.
"Then Azazel should be taking over soon."
The crest on his palms, hidden under layers of gloves, ignited with a fierce light in response to his delight.
"Kain, what do you hope to achieve in doing this?" Orchid questioned.
"My goal, huh?" Kain’s grin died out as he stepped back.
"My goal is to destroy the Bladehearts for denying the right to rule. It’s as simple as that."
No longer finding Orchid worth his ti, he continued marching through the hallway, his dreadful presence causing everything around him to tremble.
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