Twisted Wonderland 2

A Lifelong Regret

You open your eyes. Sitting up, you notice you're in a familiar black room. You see Idia standing in a spotlight, his shoulders slumped as he stairs at the floor. He appears to be back to himself, now in his dorm uniform. You stand and slowly approach him.

Idia jumps when he sees you. "Y/N? What are you doing here?"

You shrug as you stand beside him. "I'm not entirely too sure. But are you okay, Idia?"

"I... I don't know..." Idia shakes his head. "My life's been set in stone since before I was born. The Watchman of the Island of Woe. That's what I'm gonna be. People born into the Shroud family possess a blood curse that burns blot. And they have a signature spell that opens and closes the gate to the Underworld."

The screen and projector turns on. An image of a hallway in Styx appears on the screen. A group of scientists talk amongst themselves.

"Young Idia is truly exceptional. He excels both in magic and his studies. He's even impressed experts with his technomantic engineering work. That boy's a bona fide genius."

"It's true. Styx's future is in good hands."

Idia holds his arm. "'What do you want to be when you grow up?' If I were a normal kid, I bet someone would've asked me that. Would it kill someone to ask me that just once?"

The projector flashes to another image. It's a room that has game posters all over the walls. Two kids are playing a video game, sitting on a couch together. They both have flaming blue hair.

"Shoot for glory among the stars and soar like a comet!"

"You can do it, Idy! Get those Chronos Force losers!"

Your eyes widen. Is that... Ortho?

This kid next to a younger Idia doesn't resemble anything like Ortho. He has no metallic skin or gadgets. There's no mask covering his face. He looks like an average kid.

"WOO!" Idia cheers. "Cleared hard mode without taking any damage!"

Ortho pumps his fists in the air. "You rock, Idy! Take that, Chronos Force!"

"Maaan..." Idia groans as he throws the controller to the table. "I wish I could go on an adventure in the outside world like the hero in Star Rogue."

"Me too!" Ortho jumps to his feet. "I wanna go adventuring with you! Then we'd take down the bad guys and become heroes."

"Heroes, huh... Maybe you could be one, but I doubt I could."

"Why's that?" Ortho tilts his head. "I want us both to be."

Idia's shoulders slump. "'Cuz when I grow up, I'm gonna have to take over running things for the family."

"Okay, but what if you do it before you grow up?"

Idia seems to perk up at the idea. "Before I grow up, huh?"

Ortho nods excitedly. "Yeah! It's okay to go on adventures as long as you're not grown up yet, right?"

"Y'know, maybe it IS okay for me to go outside as long as I do it before I take over." Idia jumps to his feet, pacing excitedly. "If I could just bypass HQ's security, it'd be easy to slip through the Oceanus Gate and get off the island." He turns to Ortho with a smile. "So... You wanna go on an adventure?"

Ortho jumps around. "Yeah! Let's do it!"

"Okay. Just leave it to your big bro."

The image fades.

"It was simple curiosity. I just wanted a little adventure." Idia looks away. "I never imagined the horror that would follow."

A different image appears. This time in a hallway as kid versions of Idia and Ortho sneak around.