"Hey, you two, what's that bright light I saw? And why are you two silent?" I asked them both.
Both Ruby and William stayed silent for a moment. Ruby finally broke the silence.
"Hey…!" Her voice cracked. "What the hell? How does a kid like you have both light and dark attributes? And your ability—what is it? Tell me now!" Ruby asked fiercely. She was ready to kill me at any moment.
She raised her hand and summoned a sword made of rock, with hot lava flowing through it. As for William, he pointed his hand toward Ace, and a purple ball of light emerged in his palm.
I felt my life was in danger. I had no idea what was going on around him. In that moment of fear, I said,
"I… " His voice broke. "I… don't know. Trust me, I don't know what you're even saying. I don't know what an attribute is exactly."
Ruby's eyes widened in shock. She could barely believe what Ace had said, but she felt something—she felt that Ace was telling the truth. Because of that feeling, Ruby lowered her hand, though she didn't let the sword disappear. A few moments later, she spoke.
"I don't trust you, but your matter is much bigger than I thought. I need to think and speak to the higher-ups about it. So for now, I need you to go back to your room and stay there. Don't come out until I call for you."
Ruby then turned and gave William a nod. After that, William took Ace to his room. Once they reached the room, William told Ace to stay put and then left. Moments later, Ace thought about everything that had happened and tried to recall the events to make sense of it all.
"Wait, wait, wait… what is all this? I got teleported to this world three days ago, and I saw a girl who looks exactly like the one I saw in my dreams. Then I got mistaken for some assassin guy, got my ribs shattered, and now I'm being held by this kingdom's princess and knight."
As Ace's thoughts began to surround him like puzzle pieces revolving around his mind. As he sank deeper into thought, he started to remember the fog, the people he saw in it, and the blue-haired guy who told him to find a book named Forgotten Memories.
Surprisingly, as Ace's mind got lost in thought, a dark gray fog began to emerge from his back. The fog soon covered the entire room, and Ace's image started to fade into it.
…
Moments later, in a room full of shelves and books, Princess Ruby sat at a desk in the middle with a chair. She was talking to someone through a crystal ball.
"Yeah, I'm sure of it. He possesses both light and dark attributes, but I don't know their ratio yet," Ruby said with a firm voice.
The crystal ball began to speak. "I see. So it's possible then." The voice belonged to a mature woman. "Okay, sweetheart, I'll make the preparations for his execution. You just need to make sure to get him to the castle's main chamber. And remember—he may be dangerous, so be on your guard."
"Okay, Mom. We'll be on our guard," Ruby said calmly, but suddenly her voice cracked as she continued, "Mom, is this really the right thing? I know he possesses the devil's combination of attributes, but he's a child. And—"
"No, Ruby. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment," William cut in. "He may look like a kid, but he himself told me he's actually a 20-year-old guy."
Ruby's heart felt a sharp pain—the same pain she had felt long ago. A flicker of an image came to her mind: a little kid's face that looked exactly like Ace did now. Her hands began to tremble, and her body shivered.
William noticed Ruby was panicking, so he said,
"Your Highness, you don't need to worry. I'll handle things here. You just need to prepare for the execution of that devil." His voice carried rage.
"Very well. I leave this to you, William. Just take care of both of them," the voice said. The crystal ball stopped glowing.
William placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder. Their eyes met. He gave her a nod, approving that what they were doing was for the best.
Ruby and William then left the room and started walking toward the room where Ace was. As they approached, they saw dark fog leaking from under Ace's door. Both of them ran and burst through the door, which swung open.
As they looked inside, the room was filled with gray fog—or more like a cloud. William raised his hand, ready for battle. Ruby summoned her sword as well. They both shouted in unison:
"Hey! Ace, are you there?"
The room fell silent. Moments later, footsteps began to emerge from within the room. They grew louder as they seemed to approach. Both Ruby and William felt scared. As their eyes turned toward the sound, a figure slowly emerged from the fog, and the fog in the room began to decrease.
They watched as the shadowy figure slowly took the shape of a person. In moments, the fog completely disappeared, and they could now see clearly.
What they saw left them in disbelief.
Standing there was a guy around 20 years old, with hair that mixed green, blue, black, and brown. His eyes glowed golden. He wore the same outfit Ace had worn before, but now it fit him perfectly.
Both of their minds pieced everything together and reached the same conclusion: the guy they were looking at was none other than Ace.
Ruby's eyes widened at Ace's handsome appearance, and William was speechless as well. As they stood lost in thought, Ace broke the silence.
"Yo, why were you two shouting my name before? And why are you looking at me like that?" Ace's voice was now mature and carried a manly tone.
"Hello? Hey? Are you two with me? Yo, can you hear me?" Ace asked, sounding confused. His face was blank, his eyes looked at them gently, and he was smiling.