'Being part of a family, eh? What a joke,' thought Ace, his steps heavy as if he was submerged in the deepest trenches of the ocean.
As he walked throughout the compounds of the Academy bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Ace no longer acknowledged the noise around him. Everything had become utter silence as he simply drowned in his own thoughts.
His eyes held no light or vigor within them. They were simply the tired eyes of someone who had gone through the worst atrocities one could imagine. And amidst his strange demeanor and behavior, recurring memories continued to glitch in his mind.
It was the same memories that had haunted him ever since the day he first opened his eyes in this new world. A rocky cave filled with the thick and pungent scent of blood, excruciating and painful wounds that made it seem as though death would be less of a torture, and traumatizing monster corpses that could make anyone throw up just from how disgusting the sight was.
As the spiral of memories flashed through his eyes, Ace's thoughts drifted towards his exchange with Arnold, the Prince's words echoing again and again in his mind as he rebuked them.
I have a responsibility to be an unshakeable pillar to protect what needs to be protected, and hence, I seek strength. The strength needed for it. But as noble as it may sound, at the same time I'm only human. I find it exhilarating to improve myself and aim higher than where I currently stand.
'Shut up,' Ace thought as he started clenching his fists.
I don't think battle must always be a matter of life and death.
Though trying to hide it, Ace's expression became more and more irritated.
Some fight to protect people. Others do it to defend their convictions. Every person has something that drives them to fight and it's different from person to person.
As his irritation rose up, Ace's nails started digging into his own skin from how hard he clenched his fists.
After all, humans aren't such black-and-white beings.
'Just shut up.' Drops of blood started flowing out from Ace's hands.
We all have a path we chose in life, and we simply follow that path no matter where it may lead us. That's simply one such process in this thing we call life.
"I SAID SHUT UP ALREADY!!!" yelled Ace out loud as the neighboring passersby looked at him worryingly.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath as he then disappeared into a trail of shadows.
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"Hey, Emi!" Mira came into one of the infirmary rooms, thinking she would find Emilia there. "Huh?"
No one was there. There was no trace of Emilia whatsoever.
"Think she went out for walk?" asked Frank who was with her the whole time.
Mira pouted.
"Wha? What's with that face?" a shiver ran down Frank's spine from the sight.
"Nothing," Mira went out of the room, followed by Frank who then sighed.
'At this point, might as well just say she has an Emi complex,' Frank looked at Mira with a deadpan look in his eyes.
In the meantime, while Mira and Frank continued to look for Emilia, the principal concerned was on her way towards the dorms.
As she walked endlessly, Emilia reminisced about the events of the Competition. The eerie yet strangely lucid hallucination she experienced, the power that had welled inside of her at that moment, and the vision she had of Ace when the strange wave of power he released pulsed through the very air.
'There's something wrong,' Emilia stopped momentarily, her head held down as she tightly grabbed her trembling arm. 'What is it?'
She resumed her walk, her thoughts growing heavier.
'What was that power? Who was that man in white?' her mind replayed everything that happened during her fight with the twins.
She continued to wonder about her situation more and more.
'It was almost like I was no longer in control of myself. No… It was more like I was finally liberated from a heavy burden.'
As she finally let go of her now no-longer-trembling arm with her head still held down, her eyes seemed tired.
'A King. Awakening. Little Queen. Entertainment,' she let out a sigh. 'Seriously, what's going on here?'
'And more than that, exactly who is…' she raised her head, her eyes still fixed on the ground before the sight in front of her left her stunned for a moment. "Huh? Ace?"
She had arrived near the dorm complex, and before her, Ace stood still with the soft wind swaying his hair.
"H-hi." Emilia averted her gaze.
Ace didn't give a direct response. Instead, with a sigh, he muttered but a single phrase: "So annoying."
"How long are you just gonna stand there?" he asked, his tired yet dark and menacing gaze locking with Emilia's eyes, startling her.
'What? Something's weird.' Emilia felt an intense chill running down her spine. 'I… I…'
As she twisted her feet, a sword came straight at Emilia's throat. In that single moment that seemed to last for eternity, Emilia's surprised gaze managed to land upon the blade, and with that single look, a thumping pulse resonated within her very core.
Splat!
Blood splattered on the ground, and with it, crumbling pieces of ice fell on the ground.
Emilia, with a heavy breath, had cold sweat running down her face.
"Wow," drops of blood fell to Ace's feet. "Pretty impressive."
The left side of Ace's face was covered in the blood that ran down from the wound on the left end of his forehead, forcing him to keep his left eye shut.
"Though that's barely a passing mark since you didn't aim for any vitals."
"W-why?" Emilia's expression carried a mix of anxiety and dread.
"Why you ask?" Ace rubbed off the blood from his left eye with his sleeve. "We already had a deal of our own, right?"
"At any moment, whenever I feel like it, I would kill you," he glared at her with cold, dark and murderous eyes.
"And this time, I won't be holding back," Ace pointed his sword at her, his form slowly starting to dissolve into the shadows. "No more rules. No more safety nets. No more witnesses."
'This… this is bad,' Emilia's heart sank into distraught as her breathing became heavier.
"So now, you've only got one choice left," Ace's menacing gaze drifted into the shadows which now surrounded Emilia with no room for escape. "Kill or be killed."