When morning came, and everyone was awake, I told my friends about my memories. For a while they just had confused expressions and were trying to remember. They kept trying, Luna even tried to use her powers to help but it didn't do anything. After an hour of them trying, Mama called us down to breakfast. I ate quickly, wanting to head over to Hadis's house to see if we could get some answers from him. I know he probably wouldn't be willing but, I at least had to try. I waited for everyone else to finish before telling Mama we were going to Hadis's house. "We are?" Minako asked. I looked at her and smiled. "Yep! We need to study and Hadis is very good when it comes to teaching!" I said, hoping she would understand what I meant. She gave me a weird look and I sighed. Ami then tapped her shoulder and leaned to her ear, most likely whispering what I meant. Minako did an 'oh' and smiled.
We quickly put our shoes on and headed out to see Hadis. I contacted Setsuna and asked her about his condition. When I did though, she sounded so tired and stressed. "He only comes out of his room when he needs to use the restroom. Other than that, he's been hiding away in his room." she said. Upon hearing that, I became more concerned for him. He shouldn't be beating himself up.
We walked up the wooden steps and knocked on the door. Setsuna was the one to answer and she was a mess. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was messy. "Excuse me for my appearance. Hadis is rather...stubborn when it comes to eating." she said, holding back a yawn. I told her it was alright and she allowed us inside. I walked up the stairs and down the hallway towards Hadis's room. I didn't bother knocking, he would have probably just told me to go away if I did. As I entered, I saw Hadis sitting at his desk, looking at some papers. He looked over at me, his eyes were droopy and had bags under them. His hair was a matted mess and was sticking in different directions. "Hadis, we-" "You want answers about the connection between me and Vadis? I know." he finished. I took the stool that Zen had sat on and moved it next to the desk, sitting on it. "We know it isn't a 'happy' subject to talk about, but it might help us. In some way or another." I heard Mako-chan say. Hadis, who was still looking at the papers, sighed. "Then I'll get straight to it. Vadis and I...we are brothers."
Silence filled the room at his words. "He's the eldest of the two of us and Zen is our first cousin. Before Zen and I become rather close, Vadis and I were inseparable. We did almost everything together in our early childhood. But then one day, I fell horribly ill out of the blue. I could barely breath, barely walk, and was always in pain. My mother blamed the chef, for poisoning it. But it didn't make sense. I was good friends with the cook. And then she accused of Vadis paying him to do so. I didn't believe her. And I was right o. Every night, I'd hear him cry, pray for me to live. That he'd do anything to heal me." he paused and took in a shaky breath. His eyes became glossy. "Everyday was a game of Life or Death for me. My brother would still cry and pray each night. And then, his prayers...our prayers were finally answered. But in what I thought was a cruel way.
Someone had to give their soul to me. Well, at least part of their soul. Just enough to allow me to live. Once this had reach my brother's attention, he instantly said he would do it. Without a single trace of hesitation. My mother didn't even try to talk him out of it. She simply agreed with him." Hadis said, his fist clenching the paper, making it crumble. I looked behind me to see the girl's standing there with sympathy in their eyes. "She scheduled the transfer to take place immediately in the throne room. Had I had the energy that day, I would have screamed at her, cursed at her. I would resist against the priest that carried me to the center of the magic circle." he said, crumbling the paper further before dropping it onto his desk. Hadis moved a random strand of hair from his face and took in a deep breath before continuing.
"Vadis came to the center as well. He knew I didn't like the idea. He knew I wanted to resist. But he smiled down at me and said this was the only known way to save me. And thus, the transfer was made. Most of his soul was given to me. He barely had any of it left. Just enough to keep him living." Hadis looked back down at the papers, his face deprived of emotion. "Though, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, I could tell he had become tired and sluggish. He was always dozing off during lessons and dinner. And it never got better."
Vadis looked at us and slumped in his swirly chair. He let out a sigh before continuing. "Mother said that Vadis was no longer in a stable condition to rule the heart of the Shadow Realm. Sadly, it was true, father knew, Vadis knew, everyone knew. So, Mother arranged many different lessons on politics and the history of the two realms and Judgement." "Judgement? What's that?" Mina asked. Hadis looked at her before picking up a pencil and writing down on the crumbled paper. "Well, not everyone is just sent to the realms to make them balanced. I guess you could say Judgment is almost like purgatory. Though if you're sent to Judgment, it's most likely you committed one too many sins and must be sent to the outer edge of the Shadow Realm, which is none other than Hell." Hadis explained, looking over what he wrote.
"I don't see how this is helping us." Rei said aloud. Hadis looked up at her. "Aino-san asked a question, and I simply answered." He said. I could hear Rei sigh in irritation. I understood though, we weren't getting anywhere with this. "Do you know when Vadis became evil?" Ami asked. Hadis thought for a moment. "After the war with your Kingdom. He returned home with an eerie aura, a dark glint in his eyes. He went up to mother on her throne, and without any warning, he killed her. He manifested a dagger and stabbed her in the heart." he said, a quiver in his voice. "And after that moment, was when my life took a turn for the worst. He said that I was next, that I would follow mother into rebirth." he added, a single tear running down his face. I was about to comfort him, to tell him we'll save him. But that's when it finally hit me. He turned on them after the war...after he saved me.
It felt like a knife had pierced my heart a hundred times. I quickly stood up, knocking the stool down, and bolted out of the room. I heard my friends cry out my name, asking me what was wrong. I rushed down the stairs and out of the house. I ran down the streets, my friends chasing after me, yelling my name. I kept running with an unknown energy. I ran into people, some shouting at me and some not caring. My friends voices weren't wavering, they were still close behind me. I looked around and finally noticed where I was and where I was heading. If I continued along this street, I would pass by the alleyway where I had been attacked. Dread filled the pit of my stomach. I've been trying to avoid this street as much as possible.
Their shouts were getting close, I had to lose them. The entrance of the alleyway was in my line of vision. It was that I either keep running until I couldn't run anymore meaning they'd catch up, or, go into the alleyway and hide behind some dumpsters. Within that final moment, I took a sharp right turn into the alleyway. I quickly hid myself between the two dumpsters, my knees up to my chest with my back against the dumpster, facing away from the entrance. As their shouts got louder, I held in my breath, hoping they didn't see me. I didn't dare to breath or even move. Their voices then past by the alleyway and grew quieter. Once they were almost nothing but whispers in the wind, I finally took in a breath, satisfying my burning lungs. But that moment of relief didn't last for long. I put my head in between my knees and began to cry.
"It's my fault."
-End of Act Eight-
