"So, Amon, what do you think about Rex?" Sera suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Amon raised an eyebrow, grabbing a piece of grilled chicken from his plate.
He took a bite, savoring the tender, juicy flavor before swallowing.
Sera hesitated, trying to find the right words.
In his mind, Amon might be smart for his age, but at the end of the day he was still just a five-year-old.
"...Me and Amy don't know our real parents. We grew up in the same orphanage. Somehow, we always knew we were siblings."
After a pause, he continued, "We spent most of our lives there. Didn't get along much with the other kids."
"Actually, I got along fine," Amy interjected with a small smile. "It was Sera who couldn't get along with anyone."
"That's because all the boys kept fighting over you," Sera muttered.
Amy giggled softly, then stood from her seat. She walked over, climbed onto Sera's shoulders, and rested her chin on his head like a koala. "I know you did. And I appreciate it."
Sera sighed, but a faint smile tugged at his lips. "One day, Rex showed up at the orphanage. He explained what we had—our potential to become wizards. He gave us a choice."
He paused, eyes distant with nostalgia.
"He said we could stay and live out our lives in the orphanage, never reaching our potential… or we could go with him and gain power. But there was a chance we could die in the process."
"With nothing to lose, we accepted," Amy finished.
Amon listened quietly, with a neutral expression, "I don't get it. Why risk your lives just for power?"
His situation was different, he truly had nothing to lose. But Amy and Sera had each other. They had something to protect.
"Well, it's not like we could stay there forever," Sera said. "Eventually we'd have to leave. We had no parents, no money, no home, no future…"
Amon didn't need him to finish, he understood. Without a way to survive, death would come anyway.
They had been scared, of course, they were children. But fear hadn't stopped them, Because they had each other.
They had laughed together, argued together, eaten together, even fought together. No matter what, they always had each other's backs. That was what it meant to be siblings.
That was what it meant to be a family.
Amon felt something stir in his chest, he understood them.
Not logically, but emotionally. He understood what it meant to want to protect someone, to love someone, to be willing to die for them.
'That's right… At some point, I had someone like that too. Someone I wanted to protect more than anything…'
A memory flickered in his mind: a beautiful woman with black hair and violet eyes.
'I miss her…'
Sera's voice pulled him back, "Amy and I feel grateful to Rex. We know he cares about us, even if he doesn't show it."
"He doesn't act like it," Amy pouted.
"That's because he avoids us," Sera replied. "But I can tell. He does care. I just don't know why he keeps his distance…"
Despite his brashness, Sera was perceptive.
"So, let me ask again," he said, turning his gaze back to Amon. "What do you think about Rex?"
Amon popped another piece of food into his mouth, chewing in silence. After a moment, he swallowed.
"I think Rex is a good person," he said. "But I also think he's a sad person."
"Oh?" Amy tilted her head, "Explain."
Amon frowned, placing a finger on his chin. "...I'm grateful to him. He saved me from my father. He gave me a chance to get stronger. But… At the same time, he feels sad. Like he wants to cry, like he's guilty… but also happy. It's strange."
Amy raised an eyebrow, "So you think he's depressed?"
Amon shook his head,"Not depressed. Just… sad. It's like I can feel it."
"..."The siblings stayed quiet, unsure how to respond.
Amon himself didn't know why he felt this way, he just did.
As he continued eating, his thoughts drifted back to earlier that day. To Rex's words.
'What's stopping me from killing you right here and now?'
Amon remembered the look in Rex's eyes.
'For some reason… I feel like if I had run, he wouldn't have chased me. He wouldn't have hurt me.'
But that was something Amon would never say out loud.
While Amon sat lost in thought, Amy decided to move. She slid down from her brother's shoulders and walked over to him, stopping just inches away.
Leaning in, she brought her face close to his, their eyes almost level.
"So, so… what about your past, Amon?" she asked, curiosity dancing in her emerald-green eyes.
"Huh?" Amon blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"You know, like your story."
For a moment, he held her gaze. But seeing that bright curiosity in her eyes, he turned away.
"I'm sorry, Amy… but I can't talk about it."
"Huh? But why not?"
"Please, Amy… I'm begging you." he said with a sad expression while still looking away.
"..." Amy froze. Hearing his tone and seeing that look on his face, she couldn't press him any further.
It was the first time she'd seen him look truly sad.
Since he'd arrived, Amon's expressions had been strangely limited. Mostly neutral, sometimes flatly disgusted, never happy, never angry, never anything else.
'Now that I think about it… he hasn't smiled, laughed, or even gotten mad this whole time. It's like he doesn't even know how to show emotions,' Sera thought, watching from his seat.
At five years old, any normal child should've been a storm of feelings. Amy was proof, bright and excitable, quick to anger, quick to laugh.
She was a textbook example of an eight-year-old.
But Amon… was different.
'Only a fool would include their own death as part of a plan.'
Those words clawed through Amon's mind. His violet eyes narrowed, and though his face didn't shift much, the weight behind them changed.
It was hard to tell his expression, if one could describe it, it would be a mix of sadness and rage.
So much rage…
'And in the end… she was the fool.'
"...."an uncomfortable silence descended in the room.
"Amy…" Amon finally spoke.
"!!!" Her body shuddered. His tone, it didn't belong to a child. It was as if something vast, something above her and everything she knew, had just addressed her.
For an instant, it didn't even feel human….
"Y-yes…?"
"Can you get me more food?" Amon suddenly whined childishly.
"Eh?"
"Because of my weak body, I can't do everything a normal kid can. I can walk and run, sure, but I get tired so easily," he explained, still in that exaggerated, pitiful whine.
"O-oh, s-sure." Amy stammered, grabbing his empty plate before scurrying off to get more.
Neither she nor Sera realized what had just happened. With a few words, Amon had shifted the atmosphere, dragging it from suffocating dread back to something almost playful.
Sera was correct, He was far smarter than an average five year old.
Like the others, Amon wore a tight bodysuit, marked by deep red highlights. Sera's shimmered turquoise, while Amy's carried a vivid rose pink. Each one simple, yet distinct.
A few minutes later, Amy returned, carefully setting the plate in front of him.
"Ooohhh…" Amon's eyes lit up, glowing like stars as he stared at the food. He wasn't lying, he really was still hungry.
And to him, the taste was divine.
"Thank you, Amy," he said sincerely.
"Umu! No problem." She puffed her chest out proudly.
But that proud expression instantly melted when Amon's hand rose again, gently patting her head just like before.
"I-I forgot you were going to do that…" Amy muttered, her ears burning red.
"..." Sera's eyebrow twitched. Watching the scene, he couldn't tell if Amon was genuinely thanking his sister… or if he had some other intention hidden behind those quiet eyes.
Basically, he was overprotective.
After a while, Amon pulled his hand away from Amy's head. He tilted his head slightly, curious.
"So, I gotta ask… why aren't you guys eating?"
Amy blinked at him, "We finished a while ago."
"Really?"
"Yes, did you seriously not notice?"
"..." Amon shook his head.
"Don't you remember when we started arguing earlier?" Amy pressed.
Amon stared blankly at her, "Um, not really. The food was just too good."
He had completely erased their sibling spat from his mind.
Sera finally chimed in, "While we're on the subject… Why do you eat so slowly?"
"I do?" Amon raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Sera gave him a flat look, "You really don't pay attention to anything, do you?"
Amon shrugged, already losing interest.
'He's such a child,' Amy and Sera thought at the same time.
Unbothered, Amon quietly went back to eating at his steady pace. What they didn't realize was that his slow eating wasn't random, he had subconsciously developed the habit of savoring and saving food during his time with his "father." Even Amon himself wasn't aware of it.
Amy, trying to shift the mood, turned to her brother, "Oh, what do you think about that Alex guy?"
Sera raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"
"Well," Amy said, tapping her chin, "we talked about Rex earlier, so it only makes sense to talk about Alex too."
Sera thought about it for a moment before shrugging, "I don't like him. He seems like a jerk."
"Yeah, I agree," Amy said with a nod.
"Uh… who's Alex?" Amon asked mid-bite.
"You know, the guy we passed when we came in."
"Who?"
Amy sighed, then pointed across the room. Following her finger, Amon turned and spotted a man lying down.
A tall figure with spiky black hair, an athletic build, and a dark combat suit accented with crimson.
"That's Alex," Amy said.
Hearing his name, the man stirred. His brown eyes opened slowly, fixing on the children. "What do you want, brat?" he muttered irritably.
Amon only stared at him, bored. His eyes scanned Alex up and down, unimpressed. After a moment, he turned back to his plate.
"A boring appearance. A boring personality. Even a boring name," Amon said flatly. "He's not worth remembering."
Amy tilted her head at his words. "So, to you… someone has to be 'interesting' to be worthy?"
"Pretty much," Amon muttered, taking another bite.
"By the way," he said suddenly, "do you guys know what a 'Child of the Night' is?"
Both siblings blinked.
"Never heard of it," Sera said. "Some kind of code?"
Amon shrugged. "Not sure. I overheard someone mention it." He was referring to James, though in his mind, James wasn't worth remembering by name either.
Off to the side, Rex leaned against the wall, lost in thought. His eyes flicked down to the watch strapped to his wrist, then back up. His expression hardened as if coming to a decision.
He approached the table, footsteps measured. When he stopped in front of them, his voice was firm.
"I think it's time I explained everything to you, about our group, the Lacrima, James's goal, and what's about to happen to all of you."
....
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