Cermin tossed and turned in his bed as he remembered what he just witnessed, and what happened in his past.
What he did back then was very cruel, and he still regretted it to this day. He was definitely not like a hero in real life.
He became a villain to someone and ruined his life.
He closed his eyes, and dreamed of his gege again. This time he was much, much older.
“Are you satisfied now, Ah-Cheng?”
He was grinning with creased eyebrows. His eyes were red, and water trickled from them. His orange clothes were dirtied….
And blood dribbled down from his forehead.
He had suffered more injuries than that too for the past few days. Well, ever since the rumors started, actually.
“Gege, I’m so—“
SLAM!
“ARE YOU SATISFIED!?” He grabbed onto Min Cheng’s collar and pushed him all the way to a wall.
“Let him go!” Someone aimed his gun on him.
“It’s alright! It’s alright! Please leave us be!” Min Cheng said, waving something. “I promise he won’t hurt me!”
It was money, and the person who drew the gun faltered, took it, and left.
His gege did not care and continued to pin him down the wall.
“You have gotten everything you wanted. Did you come her to gloat!?? A perfect home, a perfect school, a perfect girlfriend…..”
“And a perfect life without worrying about a dark monster following you around.”
Min Cheng shook his head. “That’s not true! I don’t see you like that at all, I just wanted to—“
His gege interrupted him, his blood falling onto Min Cheng’s uniform.
“To get rid of me. To get me to go away from you. Well, there you have it! How can a wild, depraved criminal accused of something like that ever get close to another man like you!? Thanks to your lies—“
“But I wasn’t lying! I saw what I saw!” Cermin exclaimed. “Someone need to take responsibility, and you were there! The evidence all points to you!”
“And you think I am the kind of person who would do that!? You just said you don’t see me as a monster!”
He wrapped his hands around Min Cheng’s neck.
“I ought to have broken your neck the moment I saw you! I’m going to die in two years anyway, and I’d rather take you with me—“
“Cough! Cough! Hah! That’s what I’m here for! I was wrong! I was really wrong and I’m….. I’m sorry! I’ll testify to prove your innocence!”
Min Cheng cried while being strangled to death by this big man.
His gege’s grip softened a bit. “What did you say?”
“I know the truth now. It wasn’t you… You were framed, I found it all out. ” Min Cheng exclaimed.
“You were right, I should have believed that you would never do that! But I don’t know what else to do….. my parents and friends are pushing me not to lie…..and so I have to say the truth—-“
But his gege was having none of it.
“And start those rumors!?” He chuckled bitterly. “What about those posts about my ‘history of depravity’, huh??? How else would they gain those information if not you!?”
Min Cheng denied it once more. “I did not….. Cough! I did not spread those rumors! It wasn’t me! And….. I never would have made fun of you… even if it was true—“
“Liar!” His gege slammed him hard again with just one hand, choking him harder again.
Min Cheng begged again and again:
“Please!….. Urk! I’m not lying, I swear! If you could read my mind right now, you’d know that I’m telling the truth! Cough!”
His gege aimed a clenched fist…..
“Don’t, gege! You need to be in good behavior or else you won’t get the chance for just life sentence—“
But his gege punched him anyway!
It ended up with busting his lower lip, and blood trickled from it. But Min Cheng didn’t care. He deserved it.
He expected his gege to keep beating him up to a pulp just like those bastards earlier did to him, but…..
He let go, huffing breathlessly.
“It’s too late for apologies now. I was sentenced death penalty with reprieve. I don’t have money to pay for a retrial.”
Min Cheng had also gasped for breath, holding his neck.
“Gege…. I’m really sorry, forgive me—“
“Shut up, I want to hear how you plan to prove my innocence now. I don’t care for your measly apologies.”
He punched the wall beside Min Cheng many times, but in frustration instead of anger.
“A child? Really, Min Cheng? You think I would do that to a child? Hah….”
He made a very wide sneer, something Min Cheng had never seen him wear all these years.
His gege had always been not the type to smile a lot, but when he does, it was usually small and genuine or polite smile. But this…..
It was full of mockery and hatred for him.
He spoke in English. “Pot calling the kettle black, eh?”
Min Cheng knew what that meant as he was taught English by his family too, and got defensive. “What do you mean?”
“Your girlfriend. She was 17 when you met, and you were 21, right? She was a mere newborn when you were already 4 years old.”
Min Cheng was about to retort back, then shook his head. “You don’t mean that. You’re not insinuating that, you’re just hurt.”
“I’m not hurt.” His gege gritted his teeth. “I just hate you and that immature little bitch. I bet she was the one who spread it.”
Min Cheng really doesn’t want to argue anymore and just wanted to be forgiven, even when his gege was acting like this.
“We will save you from your death sentence. We will clean your name and reputation. I promise. Please don’t be mad at me anymore, I can’t bear it, gege.”
“We used to be like brothers. I relied on you more than anything, and you used to be happy when I’m around. And I ruined it, I know. I want to fix it.”
He raised his hand to wipe the blood and tears off his gege’s face, but just end up having his hand pushed away.
“You’re just acting like that because something happened, didn’t it?” The man he considered like a ‘big brother’ made that sneer again.
“It doesn’t take a mind-reader to guess it, Min Cheng. You only come to me when you need something. What is it?”
Min Cheng shook his head. “Nothing! I just want things to go back the way they were—“
“Where’s your ring?”
Min Cheng closed his mouth.
His gege sneered. “I thought so. No more girlfriend….. Or should I say fiancee, so you feel lonely again and come running back to your gege.”
“You don’t want me to die because you don’t want to be alone.”
Min Cheng shook his head. “It’s not like that. I broke off the engagement and I could never bear the thought of you dying—“
“Enough. I don’t need your help escaping this place.”
His gege turned and walked away.
“This world is sickening anyway, and people like you are just the least terrible in it. But make no mistake, Min Cheng.”
“I will never forgive you. Once I escape on my own, I will pay back what you did tenfold. So you better run instead of chasing after a monster like me.”
That was the end of it, and he woke up before much worse things happen.
————————–
Edelweiss and Calla Lily had a sleepover again after parting with ‘Don’.
“Calla…. Did you find that Don was acting strange earlier?”
“Yes.” She answered. “But there’s something stranger than that.”
She was laying her head on Edelweiss’ arm, hugging onto her more tightly than before.
“Your Heartstone glass… Have it suddenly never worked on someone? Was there certain limitations to it?”
Edelweiss frowned. “Not that I know of. It must work with every creature from Magecia. Humans, plants, animals—“
“What about gods? What about things that do not fit under those categories?”
Edelweiss turned looked at her directly. “Well, I never had the chance to try it to a god, as I never met one. Why?”
Calla shook her head. “Nothing. You weren’t able to pay attention to the play that Pavone mentioned, right?”
“No… But you know the plot because both Artisans and Monks have to work on them, right?”
Calla nodded. “Did you know….. Many years ago, there was a rumor that a daemon had arrived at school? It’s untrue, but it had spread, and caused the suffering of the person who was accused.”
Edelweiss was really confused with how much she keeps changing topics, unable to see how all these questions are connected. But she let it be, because perhaps Calla was simply sleepy that’s why her mind was adrift.
She simply said: “That’s terrible. What happened to the accused?”
“He was burned for it. Like a witch, those who get burned for practicing unorthodox methods of
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