“Tono, naida, furo suki

Ato don Zeph ki zile ro’daki.

Keha, azul, do sof lumizo

Ta zile saru idunero.”

Rui hummed as he closed the gate before locking it once again. His eyes remained fixed on the two kids in the tunnel. Theo and Korri were walking away from the gate, walking away from him. Though it hurt, the smile on his face finally dropped when the orange flames disappeared, swallowing them both in the darkness. 

He just wished that, wherever they would end up, they would be safe. 

Besides, it might be selfish of him if he wanted to keep those two by his side. His mission was just to make sure they would be safe, to be their surveillance until the time for them to leave would come. It was his mistake for being attached in the first place. 

They weren’t his kids, he had no right to want to keep them. 

He placed a hand on his chest and clutched his shirt. Ha…. How dare he think of those two as his own. 

With a shake of his head, he pushed the thought out of his mind. Theodore and Korrina were gone, and the hardest part of his plan was finally done. He could finally focus on finishing it. Not like it was hard. If anything, everything that followed afterwards was just easy. 

“I didn’t know you were a good actor, Misaki.”

He furrowed his brows and shot Mei a glare. With a laugh, she pushed herself off the wall. “Acting like you care when, in reality, they’re just another pawn in your game.”

Rui scoffed as he turned around and walked back to the forest. “What do you know? And besides, I have my reasons. I always do.”

“They seem to be stupid right now.”

“A smart guy making idiotic choices is still a smart guy--there’s a reason behind the choices that he makes.”

“Is using two children as your main pawns a part of those ‘smart choices’?” A dry chuckle left her, before followed by her footsteps pacing behind him. “And here I thought those two were your favorites.”

Rui’s grip on the lantern tightened as he gritted his teeth. It wasn’t favoritism… he didn’t favor anyone over the others. He just wanted to save Theo and Korri first before the others because they were the ones that Konrard wanted. It was simple, and she was just an idiot. 

When he didn’t say anything, Mei scoffed. “What, do you think it’s not obvious? I’m sure that everyone can tell. In fact, I’m pretty sure the reason why Konrard nominated Theo in the first place was to spite you.”

The last bit made him grit his teeth. His fingers were itching, but he resisted the urge to throw the lamp on the ground. Instead, he turned around and glared at Mei again. 

“Do me a favor. Shut the fuck up.”

Mei stepped forward, stopping just when they were merely arms away from each other. Rui held his breath, and he took a step backwards. She was way shorter than him, yet he could feel her aura. It wasn’t rage, it wasn’t anger, it wasn’t anything negative. Even if there was a frown on her face, he knew she wasn’t upset. 

Before anything could happen, he stepped back again and slashed his arm to his right, letting the knife under his sleeve slide down. Once, twice, three times, it spun in his hands before facing it flat against his palm. He slashed upwards, making it slice the air, deflecting Mei’s attack on him. 

Rui scoffed. He lowered down and swept his foot against the grass, making Mei fall down on her back. He didn’t give her the chance to stand up, he stepped on her chest and lowered down to meet her eyes. 

“Seriously?” He spun the knife in his hand again and threw it next to her neck. “I thought Thanata trained you for five years. Why do you still sneak like a five year old?”

“I guess”--Mei heaved her breath and placed a hand on his leg, making Rui lessen his force on her--“I guess I shouldn’t have expected less from- from the Youngest and Fiercest Killer in the History of Thanata’s Organization, huh?”

Rui raised a brow. 

And almost as if the gods above decided to slap his face, he froze on the spot. 

He stood tall again and lowered his head. Right… How could he forget about that? 

With a sigh, Rui raised his hand, grabbing Mei’s wrist before she could stab his head. 

Mei tugged her hand away and scoffed. “What? Triggered a memory?”

“Y- Yeah…” He grabbed the knife from her hand and gazed at his reflection. It was hard, but he managed to push the memory away from his mind. Still, just thinking about it again made shivers travel down his spine. 

“You could… you could say that…”

He tossed the knife back to Mei and turned around. Judging from the sound, or lack thereof, she was able to dodge it before it could slash her cheek. 

“So,” Mei continued as she followed him again. “Why didn’t you tell them everything?”

Rui groaned in frustration. “If I tell you that I didn’t want to tell them everything, will you stop talking to me?”

“No, I won’t. Because all of this would have been simpler if you just decided to be honest. But instead, you decided to become a liar.”

“I’m not a liar, I’m--”

“--a half truther? A chess master who tells his pawns to take two steps in front so the knight can take the bait?” Mei scoffed again. “Face it, Misaki. Wherever we point this, it goes back to the same root. You’re a liar.”

His hand reached forward, but Rui grabbed it again before he could do something he would regret. He wasn’t going to take her bait. Whatever she wanted, whether it was because of Konrard or her own wants, he wasn’t going to fall for it. He was the one playing the board here, not her. 

He turned his head to the right, where the light of the three moons poured over the two of them.  He couldn’t remember the last time he saw all three of them in the sky.

The gods were on his side. His goddess was on his side. Everything would fall into place. He just needed to make sure he wouldn’t sink low. 

With a deep breath and a long sigh, Rui waved his hand in the air. “Say what you want, Evelyn. I can always burn down the extra bags in the ditch and kill the remaining kids here. Would you want that?”

There was silence, then she groaned. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Is that a challenge? Because--”

Before he could reply, a loud and shrill whistle caught his attention. Rui stopped in his tracks and raised an arm in the air. For a moment, everything was silent again. Then, a pair of talons wrapped themselves around his arm, followed by additional weight that made him pull it down. 

“Odysseus.” He patted his barn owl’s head, making it click its beak in response. “It’s been a while. Evelyn, you remember Odysseus, right?”

Mei scoffed and crossed her arms. “Of course. I only know one owl in my life, and that same owl was the reason I nearly had to cut all of my hair.

In turn, Odysseus clicked his beak and raised one claw up. Rui raised a brow, grabbing the parchment sticking underneath his claws. The parchment was small, maybe not even large enough to fit an entire letter. 

Strange… usually the letters he would bring were large. 

He took the note from Odysseus and flipped it open, then read the contents. As soon as he finished it, his lips curled into a frown. “He can’t be serious, he knows I’m not going to listen to him.” He placed the note back in his pocket and sighed, before picking his own.

“Ody, listen to me.” Rui wrapped the letter in Odysseus’s claws again. “Tell Akira that there’s no turning back. Send this to him, he’ll know what to do.”

Odysseus whistled once again. He opened his wings before flying back into the sky, before blending into the sky like a star. Not a single time did he make any noise. The only indicator he had that an owl was here in the first place was the lingering scent of a dead rat and perhaps the scratches on his skin. 

“What are you going to do?” Mei asked as they continued walking. “You’re dragging Akira again here, and you know that he doesn’t like it if you drag him into these types of mess.”

Rui turned around. A smile curled on his face as he placed a finger over his lips. “It’s a surprise, but I’m sure you’ll love it.”

If she wanted to say something else, then Mei didn’t. The two of them continued walking down the forest in peace, before finally returning to the fields and the house. Thanata’s Manor stood tall, and Rui could feel Konrard’s aura radiating from it. It was tall and proud, just like its owner. 

It made him narrow his eyes. Somehow, he knew Konrard was looking down on them. He knew that he saw everything from that tiny window of his. By the darkness, if he would just squint his eyes a little, the golden flash of his eyes was as bright as ever. It was hard to resist the laughter bubbling down inside, but Rui managed to. 

“He’s in there,” Mei said, stepping next to him. “Isn’t he?”

Rui nodded. “He is. And he knows.”

“What now?”

“Now.” He pushed the kitchen doors open, allowing the two of them in. “We wait for him to realize that, he may be a part of this game, but he’s not the one I’m challenging.”

“For the gods’ sake, Misaki. Can you get to the point already?”

Rui sighed, and he placed the lantern down on the table. As he did, the fire became brighter, almost to the point where he could see nearly everything around him. He could feel the sweat forming on the side of his head, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the heat or because he was nervous. 

“I’m celebrating with fireworks,” he replied. “And he gets a front row seat. By the way.”

He reached for his pocket again and grabbed another folded piece of paper. Mei raised a brow as he placed it on the table. 

“You’re gonna want to use that. Trust me.”

Mei grabbed the paper on the table, but she didn’t open it. Fortunately, too. He knew she would rip it to shreds the moment she would know what was inside. “I think you of all people should know that you’re the least trustworthy person to ever exist.”

“Implying I exist in the first place.” A laugh left him, though it immediately died down when he sighed. “I’m sure you know where this is going. You felt the oil on the floor, too, right?”

“Are you sure you really want this? You know that there’s a way for you to do this without actually dying, right?” 

Mei placed the paper on her pocket and grabbed his wrist. He knew she wanted him to look at her, to actually listen to her for once. Her voice only sounded like distant echoes in his head. 

He wanted to stop himself, too. But he couldn’t. Nothing could stop him. 

“You don’t have to do this, Misaki.”

Rui tugged his wrist away and crossed his arms. “Someone has to.”

“You’re heartless, you know that? You pressured a kid to prioritize his and his sister’s lives, but you actually have an elaborate plan on a useless sacrifice.”

“This isn’t a useless sacrifice, this is me starting the beginning of what should have been the end a long time ago.”

Theodore’s and Korrina’s faces flashed in his mind once again. And it wasn’t just them. Everyone’s faces appeared, too. The memories that they had, the times that they spent, the moments they shared--everything, it was all coming back to him. It was faint, but it sounded like the voice of every kid was telling him to stop. 

But he made this plan five years ago. He couldn’t go back now. 

Eight years ago, when Katarina first trusted Rui to take care of the two of them, all she said was to keep an eye out of her kids. He was just supposed to be a surveillance, a monitor, a tracker. That was it, and nothing else. 

But Theodore…

There was something in that boy. Something that Rui wanted to save. 

Rui chuckled. Maybe that was another reason why Konrard chose him. Whether it was the kid’s determination, or the other thing that Rui couldn’t place his finger on. 

“You know who you were, and that was someone they forced you to turn into. And you know who you were supposed to be, which is someone they stripped away from you. But now, it’s time to forget all of that. Focus on who you are now, and how that person will become. Now, go, and live your life you’ve always wanted, Rui Misaki.”

“Rui Misaki.” He hummed as he closed his eyes. “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Mei scoffed. “Being sentimental with names now, are we?”

“I never was.” He opened his eyes and grabbed the lantern from the table. “And I never will be.”

“Don’t let them kill you, okay?” 

Rui’s frown slowly turned into a smile.

Sorry, Theodore. Sorry, Korrina. Sorry everyone. But things have to happen.

Going down by his own hands, not letting anyone who made him suffer kill him, and dragging everyone else along.

What a life.