Pablo washed his face with the cold water, but he still couldn't take his mind off of the dream he had.
It's as if he can still feel the needles in his body.
"Is everything to your liking, sir?" The butler was holding up the portable sink in his bedroom.
"...Yeah. Thanks for this, by the way. I was really too lazy to go to the bathroom for this." He wiped his face on the tuxedo of the butler.
"My pleasure." The butler left.
"Shit. Feeling rich doesn't help either. I killed, fought with my life on the line, and even got dismembered twice–which is weird now that I'm thinking about it, given how they happened to the same hand, but I've never been this scared." He kept narrating to himself in hopes of calming down.
"I can't give up yet. I need to do what I came here to do." The moment he looked at the door, his resolve sharpened once more. He stood up and left as well, in hopes of just running into something.
"Good morning, Pablo!" Lumen waved. She was pushing someone in a wheelchair. "Good morn-"
However, the moment he looked at her, then the man in the wheelchair, his heart skipped a beat.
The corridors began closing in on him. His hand started twitching, and he found himself unable to even blink. Each breath he took was laced with fear and discomfort; his already pale skin was now white as snow.
The man in the wheelchair wore a black robe and had very long, unkempt hair.
Pablo fell down and began crawling away backwards, surprising Lumen. "What happened?"
"Who the hell are you?!" Pablo screamed at the man, but he didn't respond. He was just… smiling.
His eyes were open, but not really looking at anything; his pupils were white.
"Are you trying to talk to… him?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Pablo, he's… not awake. And he won't be awake for the rest of his life." Her voice shook, grief and sadness laced in it.
"What are you talking about?" He stood up, but he was still visibly shaking. "His name is Imito. He's a… family friend. He's been in a vegetative state for a decade and I'm looking after him."
"Seriously?" He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It helped, but he was still extremely afraid. "Yes. I swear. Why were you so afraid of him?"
"It's…" His mind raced for an answer. "...He looked like someone I know."
"Well," she chuckled to break the tension. "He can't hurt you like this, can he?" She smiled.
"I hope so. Who exactly is he, though?" He just wanted to be sure. He started walking alongside her as she kept pushing the wheelchair.
"Our family is very close to him. He is the only non-blood relative my mother counts as a member of the royal family. Before his accident," The next words that came out of her mouth shook Pablo's entire world. "He was a doctor."
"Pablo!" She suddenly grabbed his arm, confusing Pablo. "It's nothing, why are you-" But as he looked down, Pablo noticed he was on his knees, and they were terribly shaking. An involuntary action.
"What the hell is happening to me?" he thought and managed to stand again. "I'm sorry, I'm overreacting." He started walking away, all he wanted was to just get away from that man.
She sighed, worried, before walking away as well.
"Am I losing my mind? Why was I affected by that dream this badly?" The shivering just wouldn't stop.
Eventually, after a long walk with shivering feet that felt like it could go on forever, Pablo made it to the table for breakfast. The table was once again filled with food he had never seen before, and those he did recognise felt like they belonged in another world. Toast perfectly crisp yet not burnt, honey clear as water yet thick and sweet like candy.
He took his seat and noticed Tempus was sitting across from him. Lumen eventually made it to the table as well. And right next to Tempus, a little girl sat. She had spiky and messy yellow hair with her eyes matching it. She was still in her red pajamas and was reaching and yelling for Tempus.
"Gimme, gimme!" She squealed, a bright smile on her face.
"Utterly disgusting…" Tempus fed her gently, wiping the extra honey on her face as well. "Eat with your mouth, not your face, you fool."
"That must be Bulla," Pablo noted to himself. "I've met 3 siblings, but where are the other 2?" No matter how delicious the food looked, the fear already filled his stomach. He couldn't take another bite. "I should find her. I know Paula told me not to reveal myself to her, but that's really stupid."
Then he rolled his eyes.
Lumen watched the conflict in Pablo's eyes with a worried expression.
"Do not bite my finger, utterly despicable brat! Know your place!" Tempus said, as he helped her drink the tea.
"Uh," Pablo cleared his throat. "So it's just you three or…?"
"No. We do have 2 more siblings, but big brother is on an… 'expedition'." Lumen smiled.
Pablo knew what the expedition probably meant.
"What about Caitlyn?" He decided to eat the food anyway; his desire for tasty things was stronger than his fear of that dream.
Tempus paused, and so did Lumen. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Caitlyn? You know her?"
Pablo almost choked on his food, realising he made a terrible blunder. "I've… heard about her." He coughed again, but for real this time.
"Really? Then why did you ask if we were just 3 siblings or not?" Tempus's eyes narrowed. "Tempus, stop pestering him." She gave him a flat look. "Damn you, utterly despicable woman! You can't order me around!" Tempus stopped pestering him.
"Caitlyn is fine. She's just… a teenager." She rolled her eyes despite being younger than Caitlyn. "She eats in her room."
"Oh." He gained his composure once more and tried to play it smooth. "I see."
"What the utterly hell are you here for?" Tempus lost his patience and spoke out, returning the tension once more. "It's none of your business." Pablo spat back.
The two stared at each other with frustration, suspicion, and most importantly, curiosity. If looks could kill, they would both be dead.
"Morning." An unexpected guest said. When all 4 looked to see who it was, calling their expression 'shocked' would put it lightly.
Caitlyn sat right next to Pablo, surprising him even more. She had dark purple hair styled in a ponytail and wore round glasses. Her breakfast outfit was comfortable and understated, but still carried traces of her royal upbringing. She wore a loose, cream-colored blouse with rolled sleeves, tucked into dark green trousers held by a simple leather belt. A short, burgundy cardigan hung casually over her shoulders, its embroidered gold trim a subtle reminder of her family's colors. She wore worn ankle boots instead of the polished shoes expected of a princess, and kept her jewellery to a minimum, perhaps only a small signet ring she refused to take off.
Without saying anything else, she started eating as if she was unaware of everyone looking at her. She paused and looked up, raising an eyebrow out of confusion. "What?"
"...Nothing." Lumen looked away and began eating once more. "Utterly delicious." So did Tempus.
"Why the fuck is she sitting next to me?" Pablo took a deep breath and looked away. He tried to distract himself with food.
As Pablo was worrying about his next steps, things were brewing up within the United Government. Specifically, within The Apostles.
In the training facility, the Ninth leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. He had medium-length red hair, styled in a middle-part. His eyes were grey, a common side effect of the King Cells. He wore a long robe fully covering his body, the color matching his hair. The room was empty for now.
That's not the only way it is empty, however. Because the room is literally just a giant, grey concrete box. They train with the only thing they know how to do: fight.
The Ninth, however, just enjoyed the room. He wasn't here to train, really. But he was willing to if anyone entered.
To his luck, the door opened. The person he wanted to see the least entered it.
Kai, the first Apostle.
"Tsk." Ninth looked away in annoyance. "Why the long face?" Kai said, then walked into the center and stared at the floor, his movements feeling just slightly off.
"I was waiting for an apostle, not a poser." The Ninth stood up and brought his hands out of his pockets. "Is that so?" Kai looked up, meeting his gaze.
The darkness in his eyes didn't bother the Ninth; he wasn't taught how to fear. Only to kill.
"Why are you here?" Ninth took a step forward.
"I'm waiting for the order to go on a mission. I figured a warm-up would be nice. Though, I was waiting for someone able to give me a warm-up, not… you." A smile subtly rose up on his face, making Ninth's brows furrow.
"You're not one of us. You're a trainee, not a weapon of destruction." Ninth kept walking towards him. "If you want a warm-up, I'll give you what you want." He was just steps away.
"But don't cry if your half-assed King Cells refuse to heal, got it?" Ninth nudged Kai's chest with his finger. But within just a blink, his finger was gone.
"I didn't give you permission to touch me." Kai's blade wasn't drawn, yet Ninth's wound suggested otherwise.
He didn't scream in pain; however, he didn't even react. That's what made him special.
Just like fear, the Ninth wasn't taught how to feel pain.
"You're dead." The Ninth swung his kicks at speeds enough for the wind it brought to knock you out.
Kai dodged the attack effortlessly, and his hand went to draw his Odachi.
The Ninth kicked the blade into the sheath, not allowing him to draw his weapon. "Nuh-uh!" He cackled. His finger started to slowly regenerate.
Kai tried to draw his Odachi once more, only for the Ninth to reject it again. Kai growled in frustration. "Let me draw," he ordered.
"Not gonna!" He kicked Kai in the face with his right. "Warmed up yet?" He yelled.
Kai's hand went to his blade once more.
But right as the Ninth was going to kick it back into place again, Kai pierced his hand through Ninth's torso and raised him in the air. "The weapon you should be worried about isn't my Odachi…"
This time, his eyes sent a shiver through the Ninth's body. An emotion he had never felt before, an emotion he didn't recognise.
A person molded into a weapon, teaching a weapon how to feel fear.
"...It's me."