This Isn't Your World

Chapter 20

All he wanted was to find a place he could call home. But now, that home was destroyed by the person who made it one.

"They're in a hospital now," said a voice, flat and light. Its tone bore the swiftness of light, and the death of the night. It came from the living room, undermined by the television's volume. "And it's all thanks to you... because of you..."

Shocked, Api turned towards the direction of the living room, holding a glass of water. There, he saw a hooded figure, the blue of the fabric so delicate and light, where he knew only one person possessed such clothing.

"Ais," Api breathed, relieved that he wasn't hearing things. He headed out to the living room, going to check on the channel that his sister was watching, but more words stopped him, like a force he couldn't challenge.

"Daun lost her leg and Angin tried to kill himself," Ais whispered, her hand holding the remote of the TV. Her fingers moved its way to the volume button, increasing its volume with every sentence she said to him. "A shame, a shame, a shame... all avoidable..."

She turned to him, red eyes boring into his caramel ones. "But you ruined their lives... you ruined my life." The volume of the cartoon loudened; the lines of the two-dimensional characters sounded as if they were being broadcasted through a megaphone. "Everything would be perfect, perfect, perfect; without you in it."

Api swallowed, clenching the clear glass in his hand tighter. There was an ominous, eerie aura emitting from his twin; a placement so off he could barely remember the sensation from the past.

"Air?" he called, suddenly uneasy. "Are you feeling okay?"

Ais said nothing, but her fingers pressed down the buttons gently, the shrieks of cartoon characters responding by tenfold.

Api frowned. "Air?"

"Petir is broken, broken... Tanah and Cahaya are dead, dead, dead..." Her tone remained deathly flat, but behind her cold stance was a sing-song tune, unvoiced but apparent and clear. "They're never coming back; never, never..."

The volume on the TV was near the max, speakers vibrating as they fought valiantly to keep up with its task. Still, Ais's fingers did not stop, remaining pressed on the button, never letting go.

Api's stomach dropped. Petir broken. Tanah and Cahaya dead. Daun and Angin in the hospital. These were all things that both of them knew, but they never said it so lightly.

It was reality, sure—but the way she phrased her sentences, the method she applied tasteless venom to her words, it made it seem like—

It was all his fault.

"I'm a monster, monster now, Api." Ais's voice was nearly drowned out by the loud volume, but he could read her lips as clear as day. "What did I do? What did I do? I don't deserve this. You made me into this. You did this. It's your fault. Your fault. Always your fault."

Monster.

At that moment, Api knew what he was dealing with. The same thing that's happened to someone close to him; the sudden obsession of blame, hate and purposeful ignorance; all leading to one single word.

Reverse.

The glass in his hand slipped and shattered upon impact on the ground. Alarmed, he stepped back from the ice elemental, readying himself for a battle that was sure to come; a war that brewed overhead in sightless fog.

Like a puppet with oiled joints, Reverse Ais craned her head to face her twin, white hair and red eyes staring straight at the unruined elemental. Her scarlet gaze traced down to the spilt water, shards of glass, all left unattended and ignored.