The turns that were once familiar were now being navigated solely by instinct. The pressure of the unknown was eating him.
He had taken a random left when Silas patted his shoulder and said, "Stop, get out of the car."
Silas stopped at the edge of the road and pointed towards the edge.
Through the windows of a house, Kaelen saw a face he recognized, his own face. Still he could distinguish between them. The copy's hair was black, Kalen's hair had turned red at some point he never noticed when. His face cleaner and more refined than the copy's.
The copy was enjoying a party on the 2nd floor with the people Kaelen once called friends and family. He was showing Kaelen the future he couldn't achieve.
Kaelen tried to let the emotions that he had simulated many times in his head come out.
Rage, grief, pain and hatred.
He couldn't. A part of him had always known that this would happen.
Silas turned towards Kaelen "Him, you have to kill him." Silas added. "With him alive you are incomplete. People like that magician and Solmar should be nothing bigger than ants to you. yet they were the ones to bring you down the fastest, no god could even think of doing it."
Kaelen's words carried more weight than his low voice. "What do you mean by go and kill him, am I a killing machine for you guys?"
Silas gave his usual neglecting and teaching face. "He is your biggest weakness. We have to remove him. What happened to the Kaelen who wanted revenge?"
Kaelen looked at his copy.
Silas wondered why Kaelen was having a stare down with the window.
He stuck his head out.
Kaelen's copy wasn't enjoying the party.
He was looking at Kaelen, showing him what he could have had, what he stole from him.
Kaelen left the car and crossed the road. He jumped over the wall surrounding the house.
The door opened.
Kaelen swung his right hand wildly without checking who it was. With his chains wrapped around his arms.
Boom. A bullet pierced Kaelen's shoulder. A front kick followed it before the pain could register.
Kaelen flew into the wall.
For the first time, he pushed fast recovery and overdrive to the max. The overload made him dizzy.
Kaelen looked above.
His copy was standing there.
The copy sat down in front of him, aiming the gun at Kaelen at all times.
"See, it's the art of deceiving. Whatever i want you to do, you will do."
Kaelen laughed, spitting some blood onto his copy. "You fool, the same goes for me too."
The copy changed the gun's aim.
Kaelen jumped onto him, raining down punches and elbows.
Kaelen didn't stop till the man's face was unrecognizable, his face had bruises all over it, eyes almost blind and all of it covered in blood.
Kaelen peeked inside. His parents and a few friends were looking at him with fear and hatred in their eyes, cursing him in a low voice. Scared to look that monster in the eye.
In both of his lives, he lost them.
Kaelen stood up. He didn't simulate his emotions this time. For the first time, he truly felt like he cried. The tears that came brought down the tension and hatred building inside him.
He didn't stop even after Silas and Nevyziel saw him. his tears had relieved him of the pain he had forced onto himself.
He put on some life reflecting songs and turned the volume to the max. They sang along it till their vocal cords begged for rest. Not for self-realisation instead they were escaping this chaos . while being in the center of it.
It was too late, Aurelion set up a meeting in the morning ten am.
Kaelen threw himself on the bed . The absence of Nevyziel didn't let him sleep until it was morning. when he realized how much he needs a phone right now.
The rain of bright mornings didn't stop.
Nevyziel came to wake him up again.
Kaelen looked outside. The light was too dark for 10 am. "What time is it?"
Nevyziel grabbed his wrist. "7 am. We have some work to do come upstairs." She dragged Kaelen through the door and dropped his hand in front of the stairs.
Every touch of hers emptied Kaelen's mind, for a moment, nothing existed except for the warmth of her hand. And that was all he could care about. Yet it was strange what was their relation even called. It had no title, yet it was the realest relation they ever had.
Kaelen followed her into a home gym. "This early, I just woke up!"
"You can use fast recovery." She tilted her head and smiled with her eyes opened to perfection. "I won't take excuses from my husband, you know?"
Kaelen looked himself in the mirror and picked up weights to fill the barbell. "What's the need? Most of my powers are from my void anyways."
Nevyziel started with stretching. "Your body can sustain only a small amount of your power. You don't need a dashing physique, but you need enough to use your powers to its fullest."
"Can't I make myself stronger with some new power?"
"If we had that kind of power, we wouldn't have a gym in here."
Kaelen sighed and started rowing.
By 9:30 they finished working out, Fast recovery got rid of the exhaustion.
He sat on the dining table watching Nevyziel cook. The aroma could reach him from there, something sweet . "Just like her", he thought. It was only the start of it "What does she taste like?", "No other way than trying." These thoughts flooded his mind till he reminded himself of his that he still hadn't used.
He played with his powers for some time until a shout came from Lyne and Nyx's room, "What are you doing!"
Nevyziel turned off the stove and Kaelen got out of his chair, Caeran came running from his room.
Caeran pushed the door open, almost breaking it in the process.
Silas was choking Nyx. He held her up against the wall above the ground.
Lyne laid on the floor, her face showed marks bleeding.