*In the Executive room crumbling in the mid levels of the labyrinth*
Albert covered his face, trying to hide his expression from Riko. His shame was obvious, but the unexpected plea at the end of the fight was something that grabbed Riko's interest. At that moment, the kind of shame Albert had was not born from bitterness, but from genuine sadness.
"Well, are you gonna answer me?" Riko asked one more time.
Albert slowly wiped his tears and sat up, his face bloodied and bruised from the battle. "Have you ever had someone in your life who you'd do anything to make proud? Who you owed your very existence to?" he asked. It was a rhetorical question; Albert had no interest in Riko's answer, whether it was a yes or a no. His emotions were starting to become too difficult to control.
Riko noted to himself how Albert's earlier arrogance and frankly…bitchy personality had completely disappeared, implying it was a mask. "For as long as I can remember, my parents had been absent from my life since the moment I could talk. I was told that they had stacked up many debts and had chosen to flee the country, leaving their two sons behind," Albert recounted. "People hated me for having the blood of such a coward. I was mocked and berated since my childhood. Only one person ever cared for me, a surprise since he had it even worse than I did: my dear…brother."
*5 years ago*
The light of the full moon peeked through the night sky, entering a window and illuminating a desk. Albert, when he was merely ten, sat at the desk with pure concentration, sketching designs of the interior and exterior of a simple home. Suddenly, the doors creaked open and Albert jumped out of his seat, trying to hide the sketches as if he had been found hiding a body.
"It's 9 pm, Albert. Go to sleep already," mumbled a silver-haired boy. This boy was Albert's older brother, Derlin. He wore a tall black suit, dressed formally, but it was clear he was plagued by fatigue judging by the bags under his eyes.
"Oh, certainly, brother!" Albert said with the fakest of voices. His plan to deceive his brother had already failed as Derlin approached and pulled Albert's hands off. "Another one of your sketches? I told you that you didn't need to practice architecture just to help me and the compa—" Derlin had been stopped before he could finish his own sentence. He was absolutely taken in by the sheer complexity of the sketches and designs; he was almost daydreaming before snapping back and looking at Albert.
"You have some talent with architecture, Albert. I'm sure you could run the company better than I can if you really did take over. But I hope this isn't because you feel guilty or anything. You're not a burden, and don't feel like you need to change yourself or do something impressive for people to like you. Everyone is scum except you; it's our parents' fault for cursing us like this," Derlin said while placing the sketches back down on the neat wooden desk.
Albert looked like he was going to cry. "But I see how hard you work to design and build homes, so I thought I could help you," he said.
Derlin smiled and sat on the bed to the right of the desk. "I work hard to achieve my dream, not to improve our reputation. Even in this modern world, some forces still plague innocent people: people who are wronged by the world for no reason, people who lose their homes to terrorist bombings and government purges, all sorts of catastrophes that lead to suffering. I'm not as talented as you, but I want to try my best to build the best homes, that look wonderful and are strong, to protect and house families who've suffered like us. That's my dream," Derlin said.
Albert stared at Derlin with admiration, his eyes glowing brighter than the brightest star in the universe as he smiled and said, "I'll become a noble architect and join the company. I'll make sure your dream comes true, mark my words."
Derlin smiled at the sentiment as he patted Albert on his head; his teary eyes showed that Albert and his dream were the only lights in his life.
*10 months ago, from present time*
A large explosion occurred in the company-owned building, "Heart's Architecture". Albert, 15 at the time, panted heavy breaths as he charged through the onlooking crowd and rushed into the flaming building. As firefighters yelled for him to stop, his mark glowed a bright golden hue as the room shifted and the fire extinguished seemingly out of nowhere.
"Derlin!" he screamed. But what he saw was something no person should ever bear witness to. Derlin was lying in a puddle of his own blood. Albert's pleas fell on deaf ears as he screamed, with watery tears flowing from his eyes. "Derlin!!! Who did this??! Derlin! Please! Brother!" he demanded as he held his mortally wounded brother.
Derlin opened his eyes, blood coming from his mouth and an exposed impaling wound in his chest, still putting on the most innocent of smiles. "Al-Albert…you're alright…I'm…glad…looks like you can use that passion mark of yours well….he he..I guess you've become both stronger and smarter than me. I'm truly happy," Derlin muttered as he continued to struggle.
"Derlin! Hold on, I'll get help. Don't waste your energy talking, please brother!" Albert cried.
Derlin's smile was as pure as a newborn infant as he spoke his last words: "Please don't risk your life for revenge or anything after this…I want you to live a long life…you're my…..brother." Derlin's smile faded as his eyes dipped into the darkness; he lay in eternal slumber, never to awaken again.
After his brother's death, Albert refused to trust people again, for he believed it was Derlin's own company that had orchestrated this massacre, or those that hated their blood. When he would get compliments for taking over an entire company at his age due to his talent and passion mark alone, he would shrug it off coldly. When an underling made even the slightest mistake, he'd terminate their contract without a second thought. Albert wished to use others for his own benefit, ironically for a pure cause.
Albert wasn't a righteous idiot; he wanted to follow his brother's last wish of not becoming a revenge-obsessed lunatic. He wanted to achieve Derlin's dream no matter what: to use his architectural skills to build homes for the ones suffering. To do that, he'd first need to deal with the threats plaguing people before he could rebuild. So, Albert spent the next few months training his mind and body, discovering battle strategies with his abilities, and becoming powerful so he could never be vulnerable again.
*Back to present*
Albert was embarrassed and brought to tears as he hid his face from Riko. It felt nice to get this burden off his chest and share it with someone, but it was strange that the "someone" was anyone other than his brother.
Riko thought for a bit before he spoke. "So you're a bitch because of your brother?" Riko asked, rather disrespectfully.
The comment angered Albert as he stared Riko in the eyes. "Shut your mouth! You don't know a damn thing abo—" Albert didn't finish his sentence, for Riko was already smiling back at him—a smile so pure it was like that of a sinless newborn baby, just like his brother.
"See how you reacted? Your brother's not as dead as you think; he's still fueling your feelings. But to me, it sounds like he wanted you to become your own person, not just be obsessed with achieving his dream or becoming a Marked Mercenary for whatever reason," Riko said with a calm voice as he took out a pack of candy from his pocket. His demeanor was calm, different from his usual oblivious one.
"What are you saying?" Albert demanded.
Riko stood up, still bruised and bloody from their battle. "I'm saying you should make that dream your own instead of your brother's. Don't think of him all the time when you do something; be your own person. Make that dream something you want to achieve, not for your brother's sake, but for your own. I'm sure that's what he probably wanted. How do you think he'd feel if he saw you how you are now? Huh? He'd be disappointed to see his brother became such an insecure bastard," Riko proclaimed as he munched on the chocolate candy.
The words resonated in Albert for a moment. "But, it's hard to do it all on my own," he said, looking down.
Riko wasn't having any of that mentality; quite frankly, Albert pissed him off. He then offered a hand down. "You know there's a thing called askin', right? If you're such a miserable loner, then just try to make some buddies and maybe stop acting like no one can understand you. Don't look down on us; we've all had someone like your brother in our lives who inspired us," Riko said as he smiled.
Albert was shook. Riko was definitely not as patient or gentle as Derlin, yet he shared the same warm smile. Albert smiled, knowing he may have started a genuine bond with another person for the first time. He wondered what his brother would think as he put those thoughts behind him and grabbed Riko's hand. "V-Very well," he said, putting a smile of his own.