Ace lost himself in thought, trying to recall the memories of the fog, the people he had met, and especially the scary woman.
If those really were my memories… then one of my other ten personalities must have been in control at the time. But I can't tell which one.
While Ace remained deep in his internal struggle—muttering quietly to himself—the crowd in the hall began whispering and discussing his strange behavior.
"Hey, look—he's muttering something."
"He must be thinking of ways to escape."
"No way. That's impossible… even if he is the child of the devil."
"But what if he tries to summon some kind of demon right here?"
"Quiet, all of you! We are in the presence of Her Majesty, the Queen and the angel of mirage , Glacia. Only a fool would dare summon a demon in this place."
The crowd continued throwing around comments about Ace's odd behavior and murmuring about the queen's fearsome title.
Meanwhile, Queen Glacia observed the muttering boy with growing curiosity.
Hmm… interesting. He stands before a queen and shows no trace of fear. I asked him a direct question, he answered, and now he's lost in his own thoughts again. I've tried reading his emotions through his face, but his expressions keep shifting so rapidly—it's impossible to pin down.
She sighed inwardly.
At this rate, I may have no choice but to eliminate him because of that dangerous combination of attributes… but something is definitely off. What is it…?
Wait—his looks changed his not a kid.
Her gaze sharpened. As she recalls ruby's word that clearly said kid but here is this Ace looks like a guy and his ears; they were pointed, just like Ivyan's.
The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she spoke, her voice cutting through the hall.
"You there. What are you muttering about? I asked you a question, and yet you stand there lost in your own world. I warn you now: if you speak even a single lie in this hall, you will be exposed. So speak—now."
Ace snapped out of his thoughts at the sudden anger in her tone. Fear flooded his mind, leaving it completely blank. He knew he had to answer, but his mouth refused to move.
As he struggled against the paralyzing fear, voices suddenly erupted inside his head.
"Oh, come on! I can't believe he's the one in charge of our balance. Just look at him—terrified by a woman's words. Why the hell did we even let him stay as a personality?"
A rough male voice sneered.
"Hey, that's not kind. Don't you know he's the reason we all exist? If he doesn't maintain the balance, we'd all cease to exist," a gentle woman's voice scolded.
"Enough, both of you. We don't have time for this," came a calm, mature middle-aged man's voice. "Clearly he can't handle the situation. One of us needs to take control."
"Yo, yo, yo! Me! Me! Let me take over this time—I can handle this easy!" a childish, excited voice chimed in.
"I think I'd be the best choice here. I can think clearly, speak properly, and present myself like a composed twenty-year-old," offered a deep, confident voice.
"Hell no, I won't allow it. Who said you get to decide? We all know only he can choose who takes control in the moment—and we agreed on that rule," a young female voice snapped.
The voices kept arguing loudly—until an angry shout silenced them all.
"Will you all just STOP fighting?! His life is in danger, and you think now is the time to bicker?!"
After that outburst, every voice vanished instantly.
In that same moment, Ace's facial expression shifted from pure terror to complete blankness—emotionless.
The queen stared intently as he finally spoke.
"I apologize, Your Highness. I was trying to recall certain memories to give you a proper answer. I'm sorry for the delay." His voice was now calm, composed, and entirely different—like a completely new person inhabited the body.
He continued smoothly:
"First, I genuinely don't know what 'Shadow Step' is. Please believe me—I don't even understand what abilities or attributes you're referring to."
The priest from earlier stepped forward he is a guy maybe 24 to 26 years and he wore a black priest dress hair is brown, incredulous.
"What are you saying? You expect us to believe you don't know how one unlocks their ability or what attributes even are?"
The personality currently in control turned to face the priest with an utterly expressionless stare.
"Oh? So you think I'm lying? Then go ahead—prove it. If you can't, then explain to me: what exactly are these 'abilities' and 'attributes' you keep talking about?
Because I have no idea what any of you are referring to. And while you're at it, tell me—why are all of you here? Aren't priests supposed to stay in churches, blessing people who come to atone for their sins?"
The hall fell deathly silent.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden outburst. The queen's eyes widened. The accusing priest's face drained of color. The nuns remained expressionless behind their white veils.
No one in history had ever dared speak to a priest with such open pride and defiance, especially not inside the royal throne hall.
Having broken an ancient, unspoken rule of this world, the priest stood speechless, unable to prove the boy was lying.
His pride wounded, He finally spoke in a low voice:
"What… are you talking about? We are not ordinary priests who perform petty blessings." He drew himself up. "We are the Council of Archbishops. Our duty is to maintain balance in this world—between ordinary people and those who seek to ascend to godhood."
The room remained hushed as he continued:
"The attributes and abilities you asked about are precisely what lead someone toward that divine status. But unlocking them is no simple task. To awaken an ability, one must first be selected as a 'Candidate for an Angel' in one of the five great churches. Those chosen serve the church and help preserve the world's balance."
He paused, thinking.
"We have checked every church record. There is no one named Ace who wields both light and dark attributes—the so-called 'Demon's Combination.'"
Before the priest could continue, the queen raised her hand, commanding silence once more.
The hall plunged into deep stillness.
Her gaze slowly swept across every face before finally settling on Ace.
"I believe that's enough discussion about abilities for now," she said coolly. "Now speak plainly. What do you remember about the assassin gang that mistook you for one of their own? What exactly did you overhear them discussing?"
The question struck at the core.
...
people with typical Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), who usually cannot recall what happened when another personality was in control, Ace (Sushanth) was different. He had learned to maintain a delicate balance among his personalities, allowing certain traits to surface when survival demanded it. To outsiders he appeared to be one person—but to him, these were truly separate individuals sharing the same body.
The current personality silently asked the others:
"Hey—one of you was in control when we met that assassin gang. Speak up. Or none of you will get your scheduled time anymore."
Immediately the voices inside erupted into chaos—shouting, blaming, searching for the culprit. The argument dragged on inside Ace's mind, though only a few minutes passed in real time.
After a long internal debate, they finally identified the one responsible: the innocent little-kid personality—the one who knew nothing of the world's cruelty.
The moment they realized it was the child, a sharp headache hit Ace as the suppressed memories of the assassin gang flooded back in.
The queen watched as Ace's motionless body suddenly tilted its head toward her.
"I remember the assassin gang now… and what they were discussing," he said calmly. "If Ruby already told you what I said earlier, then you know: they were planning to kill a girl they called 'the Flame Girl.'"