William was admiring himself in Adam's bedroom's mirror.
He found his appearance to be pretty cool.
He opened his mouth to take a look at his fangs. He swears his teeth are significantly sharper now…
Adam walks in with a chuckle. He patted William's head and stared at their reflection.
''Look at you, being all powerful. Your parents would be proud…''
William freezes at those words…
All the things he had said about them earlier flooding back in his mind in a flash.
Would his parents be proud…?
Would his parents be proud of what he has become?
Of what he said about them?
Of what he thought about them…?
He forces a smile on his lips and turns to Adam.
''You think so…?''
Adam nods and ruffles his hair.
''Any and every parent would be proud if their son became this strong.''
William's gaze drops to the ground.
''But for that, I'd have to actually be powerful…''
Adam snorts and wraps an arm around his shoulder.
''Alright, alright… I'll teach you right now.''
William's head snaps towards him.
'''Right now', as in…''
Adam nods and finishes his sentence.
''As in 'right now'. As in 'this instant'. As in 'you'll be a pro in a few hours'.''
A beat, then…
A shaky smile forms on William's lips.
But there was a certain sharpness to it that made it look…
Like one of Adam's usual smirks.
He confidently stood straighter and nodded.
''Okay, then, master. I am ready to for my first day as your apprentice.''
Adam snickered and patted his head.
''Attaboy. But before we get into fighting,'' He grips his shirt's collar. ''Let's get you some suitable clothes~''
William nodded with a smile.
And that is how William and Adam spent their evening. Adam called over a couple of tailors, who measured William, made him try many colors on, and ended up giving him a black suit with a few silver skulls here and there…
Adam whistled and rolled up his sleeves.
''Not bad…''
William smiled proudly and puffed out his chest.
Adam snickered and patted his head again.
''How old are you again?''
William smiled.
''I'm sixteen.''
Adam freezes.
He blinks once.
Twice.
He glances at the wall.
Then at the window,
As if checking reality.
Then he stares back at him.
''You're only sixteen…?''
William nods again.
Then—
Adam bursts out laughing.
''You're only sixteen?!'' He chokes out between laughs. ''You're so tiny! You're almost as short as Silver—!''
He cuts himself off and looks at the wall, like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.
''Don't tell her I said that…''
An awkward and uncomfortable silence fell upon them.
William felt a certain… familiarity towards the atmosphere of the room.
His parents didn't exactly… try to engage with him.
Ever.
Before he could get lost in his thoughts, Adam spoke up.
''That was awkward…'' he mutters under his breath. ''Anyways.'' He clears his throat as one of his usual smirks form on his lips. ''Let's go teach you some magic.''
William nodded obediently, silently grateful by the change in subject.
'Come on, William, get a grip. You're about to live your dream life.'
Adam was already leaving his apartment when William started following him.
———
They eventually reached the ruins of a castle.
The castle was big and dark, and was made of stones.
Adam entered the throne room.
The windows had a soft and quiet elegance to them. Crystals clinging to the walls like vines.
William admired the surroundings with a childish awe.
Adam walked in casually, like it was home.
The throne sat in the other end of the room.
William could almost feel the authority it had over it. Like…
Like…
Like a king had died on it.
But his authority was still very much alive.
''Where are we…?'' William asked softly.
Adam walked over to the throne and sat down on it.
Some air blew off of Adam and directly brushed William's form.
William stumbled back in surprise and gaped at Adam.
Adam— who was sitting on the throne with grace— crossed his limbs and gazed at William through half-lidded eyes.
''This, William…''
A pause.
''Is where my uncle died.''
William's jaw drops.
His eyes filled with horror as they dropped to the ground.
''I… I am so sorry.''
''Don't be.''
Adam shrugs and nods towards a skeleton.
''We barely ever saw each other. I don't even remember his face.''
William stares at the skeleton.
The moonlight was shining directly over it like a spotlight.
Some white flowers surrounded it with some brown— almost black— leaves.
William slowly walked over to it and swallowed the lump in his throat.
''Why isn't he in a grave…?''
Adam sighed.
''This castle was built twenty years ago. These aren't just the ruins of a castle…''
He slowly rose from the throne as the ground shook under his weight.
''These are the leftovers of a war.''
———
William's breath hitches.
Had he heard that right…?
He had lived on Pottam his whole life, yet he hadn't heard of a war that had occurred so…
Recently.
He stumbled and fell to the ground, the ground was still trembling as he glanced back at the skeleton.
After hesitating for a moment, he turned to Adam and spoke up.
''What war…?''
Adam laughed darkly as he gripped his hair.
''A war… between him.'' He points towards the corpse.
A beat.
The temperature dropped in the room, making William shiver.
He didn't know if it was because it was freezing, or because of his fear.
''And your parents.''
William's jaw dropped.
Then…
His jaw started trembling.
''But I thought we were supposed to be friends…
-Friends…?'' Adam's voice was neutral.
Too neutral.
He stared at William blankly before his lips started curling coldly.
Into a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes.
''You're so much more naïve than I expected…''
William's heart broke.
''Don't you get it, William? You're a waste of air…'' he chuckles. ''You weren't supposed to be born.''
William's vision was blurry as he reached out a hand, as if to touch Adam to see if it was a dream. His hand was trembling, Adam was too far away... He hadn't heard that right… he was sure of it.
''I don't think I heard you right.'' he muttered.
''You did.'' Adam pressed further. He slowly walked over to him, the sound of his steps was a deadly reminder that Adam, was Adam.
Not a friend.
Not a savior.
Just Adam.
The inherited Death God he once questioned.
The one he was already disappointed in…
But was dumb enough to trust anyway.
Was that it?
Was his life supposed to be the same old cycle?
''I hope you understand that I needed to avenge my uncle.''
A sharp-toothed grin forms on his lips as he slowly walks back to the throne.
''I'm the one who gave your parents to The King that night.''
A purple sword gradually forms in Adam's hand.
A light snicker leaves his lips.
''He needed some guinea pigs, so I gave them to him~!''
He stops in his tracks and gazes at him over his shoulder.
''But I thought you would be happy about it… After all, aren't they the ones who made you suffer the most…?
Behind him, William's breath got heavier by the second.
Was his life destined to be that frustrating…?
He trusts. He gets attached. He works on himself. Then gets betrayed?
William's throat felt tight.
He trusts. He gets attached. He does everything he can to make things work… Then gets betrayed?
He slowly rises to his feet.
He trusts. He gets hurt. He forgives. Then gets betrayed…?
Leyla's smile forms in his mind.
Then someone comes with a hand…
An innocent 'big bro!' Leaves her mouth in his memory.
And they leave him.
His eyes lock with Adam's form.
They hurt him.
William's purple irises swallow his pupils.
He did everything he could…
His hands clench into fists.
He tried so many times…
He grits his teeth.
But what was the point?
His nails grow sharper…
If nobody cared about him… why should he care about others?
He dashes forward.
Adam's eyes widen as he turns around abruptly.
That… was not supposed to happen.
He tried dodging, but William was already in front of him.
Adam's ears rang.
William's fist charged with energy…
Then—
That same fist connected with Adam's nose.
His back hit one of the walls in the room, but that didn't stop him from being sent flying further back.
The impact was so strong that it sent him flying a few meters back.
Adam's hair, which was usually well brushed, was a huge mess. His shirt was a bit torn off as he coughed out some dust.
He slowly sat up, and flinched, his back was burning.
When did William learn how to use his powers..?
Last time he checked, he didn't even know how to create a proper shield…
He scoffed and stretched.
Flinching again.
''Oh, for Berlin's sake—!''
He grumbled.
''I hadn't even taught him anything yet!''
William, was already lunging forward again.
Coco's training actually had helped him getting a better endurance…
He brushed it off as his shadow unnaturally started growing under him.
His shadow even covered Adam's.
Adam snorted, certain that it would be a flop.
'He's not going to manage accomplishing a spell so powerful… even I couldn't do it.'
Next thing he knew, he was wrong.
He got swallowed by the shadowy ground and ended up in a dark space.
He looked around with wide eyes.
'No, no, no, no, no… I'm dreaming, right…?' He thought.
He almost jumped when he turned around.
William was standing there.
His face was dark.
His eyes were neutral.
His mouth was barely noticeable.
Adam stared at him for a while… Raising an eyebrow, he cleared his throat, trying to gain back his composure.
''William, you seriously think you can beat me?'' he snorts. ''Well, you're even more pathetic than I thought if you think you can actually beat a—
-You're done.''
Adam pauses at those words, his eyes turning darker.
''What.''
A slow, inhuman smile forms on his lips.
It was so wide and sharp, it even gave Adam chills.
Then, spider legs grew off his back as he slowly approached Adam.
''I'm the one who will run the show now, Adam.'' His voice was mixed with another one.
Adam was sure he had heard that voice before…
But he couldn't put his finger on it.
William's feet rose from the ground.
He didn't need to use them anymore thanks to the spider ones.
His purple eyes turned bluer, his black hair— redder— almost brown.
After that, let's say that Adam lived a nightmare.
He got beaten up by William.
Every slap and hits Adam took left bruises and blue marks over his pale body.
William managed to use other spells too. Such as burning spells, where some dark-blue fires ripped through Adam's cocky persona.
Screams teared out of his throat.
Horror filled his purple eyes.
Each beat felt worse than the other.
The air felt heavy.
All dignity he had left was gone.
He wanted to leave. To free himself.
But William didn't let him.
And the worst part…?
Adam, for the very first time, looked powerless.
———
A few hours later, William was finally done. He left the shadows and let them do the work.
The second he looked back up at the ruins of the castle, his vision became… blurry.
And that's when he's appearance started to change back to his old one.
His eyes turned green, and his hair turned as curly as it used to be. His skin turned more tanned.
With a sigh, he entered the castle, he froze when he stared at the ground.
There were blue berries…
Absolutely everywhere.
'Weird.' He thought.
His eyes widened as he looked around.
'Wait a second… where is Adam…?' His gaze kept drifting around the room as he rubbed the back of his neck.
He closed his eyes…
Nothing.
He couldn't remember anything after his arrival in the castle.
Now that he thought about it, why was he out of it in the first place…?
He huffed out a breath and stepped out to examine the surroundings.
Walking on shattered glass made him pause.
He gazed down at it and saw his reflection. His appearance was back.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise.
''What…?''
He tilted his head to the side.
'Why is Adam's blessing gone…?' he questioned.
Then everything filled back in his mind.
All the rage.
The betrayal.
The regret.
His breathing turned heavier at each second.
''Mom, dad! Leyla fell in the park!!!'' His younger self had once said between sobs to their parents.
She barely had bruised her knee.
Yet he had been worried sick for her…
Oh, little did he knew… that he'd get a sharp slap right after.
''We told you to take care of her!'' His father barked out.
''Your sister is so young! You're her brother. You're supposed to take care of her!''
'You'.
Not 'us'.
'You'.
He gritted his teeth.
You're the one supposed to take care of her.
She's the fragile flower.
And you're the leaf who's supposed to protect her.
Oh, and I almost forgot…
You're not supposed to let yourself be taken by the wind.
Because of course it would be your fault.
You're supposed to be stronger than a hurricane.
'What…'
Or she'll die.
'Do…'
And if she does, your faite will be worse than death.
He stayed silent for a little while.
Then he muttered:
''You want from me?'' His voice cracked.
His throat was sore.
A single tear rolled down his cheek.
And it would be the last one.