Chapter 43:

Chapter 40 - Pride

An Original Sin

BING!

Ame’s eyes widened as I hit him. It took him a moment to process what had happened.

The lights flicked back on as the announcer yelled out.

“The final score is 2-1! The winner is… Schrödinger’s Gay Son!”

I had won.

Ame ran up to me with stars in his eyes.

“Nell! Nell! You did so well! Where did you learn to aim like that?!”

I searched through my memories.

He was the one who taught me how to aim.

“I don’t know… maybe it’s just a talent.”

Ame nodded as the man who let us in walked over.

“Nell. You did very well for somebody with cancer. Your recovery is going well. I wish you the best!”

…

“Cancer?”

I had forgotten about what Ame had told me.

The man tilted his head as Ame grabbed my wrist and dragged me out as fast as he could.

…

We ran through the city, passing unlit streetlights, mini-rivers and half empty roads, until we stopped suddenly.

Before I had a chance to say anything, Ame spotted Inda and Dominic talking on top of a hill. The sun was almost fully risen behind them.

He turned to me and grinned menacingly. He grabbed my hand again and crept up the hill, listening in on their conversation.

Dominic spoke to Inda.

“Really? That’s unfortunate. My sister has a medical license, and she specializes in stress. If you ever need to, I can bring you to her.”

“Hehe, alright~. I’ll take you up on that offer! The castle’s own medical staff only worsened my ‘condition’, so it’d be nice to find somebody else.”

“Aren’t you technically a princess? I’m sure she’d be surprised if she saw you walk in.”

“Surprised at my beauty?~”

“If you say so.”

Ame popped up behind the hill and pointed his hand at Dominic.

“She's 5 years younger than you! You demon!”

Inda burst out laughing and Dominic looked annoyed.

“It’s nothing like that. Like I said, you’re acting like a toddler Ame.”

Ame grinned and poked him.

“Hmm~? Really?”

It was a bit funny to see Dominic get teased.

Seconds later, I heard more footsteps rush up the hill.

It was Kaya and Sy.

Kaya was smiling as Sy held his head down.

Dominic saw this and stood up.

“It seems we’re all here. This detour was long enough already. Let’s head back to Cittaglia.”

Inda stood up.

“Aye aye, sir~!”

Dominic looked a bit uncomfortable as Ame laughed.

“Alright! Everybody! We’re heading back!”

We all nodded at Ame and followed him out of the city.

Inda had previously realized that we went the completely wrong direction to get to the city. So, after finding out the right direction, we began to walk. Since the first part of the trip bordered Jeti, the snow was a lot less prevalent this time.

I could still see a bit of melted snow along the grass, but it wasn’t much. The leaves on the trees were bright orange and red and were finally beginning to fall off. The air got more and more crisp the farther we got from the city.

Kaya was singing, but got interrupted when Ame asked Dominic a question.

“Isn’t your birthday soon? February 14th, right?”

Dominic looked down.

“I’m not sure. I forgot. It could have passed for all I know.”

Ame smiled softly and smacked him on the back.

Sy was fidgeting the entire time we walked, as if he was nervous about something. Ame seemed to notice this as well, but didn’t say anything about it.

We walked for another hour. Kaya was still singing, but nobody seemed to be annoyed.

Sy suddenly stopped Ame and I and brought us away from everybody.

Ame tilted his head and spoke to him.

“I saw you fidgeting. You good?”

“I’m just confused.”

He went quiet as Ame stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

“I-I think I like Kaya.”

Ame’s expression didn’t change.

“Are you sure?”

Sy shook his head.

“No… I don’t know…”

Ame patted his head.

“Then I can’t help you. Find that out for yourself first. Also, you seem like siblings to me, don’t you think?”

“Eh?! Really?! How do I change that?!”

Ame nodded and spoke.

“You’re happy as you are, right? Don’t change it. Throw away those feelings if they’re half baked. I won’t stop you if you’re sure… but! If you aren’t sure, then doing anything is a stupid idea. So don’t be stupid! Got it?!”

Sy lowered his head and nodded. I couldn’t tell if what Ame was saying was good advice or not, but I trusted him. I just nodded at Sy too, as if I had actually said something.

Ame dragged us back to the rest of the group. Nobody questioned where we went.

The walking continued for an hour, the same way it had before. Sy was still just as conflicted as he was the hour before, and I didn’t know how to help.

Soon, we made it back to Cittaglia. We crossed through the city border and eventually made it to the castle.

Inda opened the doors and we strode through the hallways until we reached Aqlli’s office.

His head was down as the doors flung open. His hand was on his forehead as if he was stressed over something.

Inda smiled and yelled out to him.

“Weeereee backkkk!”

He looked up at us with a weary look on his face.

“Welcome back. Congratulations on completing your task. I have recently gotten word from my sister, Calore, that Jeti has begun to go on the offensive to weaken Laptaan. This will be our final push. The president will die by our hand.”

I was tired. I didn’t want to fight anymore. I knew this, but there was a force pushing me to continue. I couldn’t tell what it was.

Inda sighed and asked Aqlli a question.

“Aren’t you tired?”

He straightened his face and stood up.

“There is no rest for the wicked. For the glory and honor of Cittaglia, we will continue this fight until completion. Ready your weapons.”

Sy whined.

“Right now?! We just got back!”

I was glad he said it for me, because I was thinking the same thing.

Aqlli stared dead into his soul, sending shivers down his spine. He straightened his back and gathered everything he needed. Everybody else sluggishly gathered their stuff. We were all tired of fighting. But there was an odd excitement in it. This was the president of Jeti. This was what Ame had wanted since the start. So, I needed to be excited too.

For Ame. For Cittaglia. For me. And for his honor.

Aqlli strode past us, out of the doors to his castle.

As I followed him out of the city, I saw a newspaper on somebody's doorstep. I stopped to pick it up and read it.

My eyes widened.

‘Eternal Flame- Jeti Terrorist Group Defeats Ramollo! Friend or Foe?’

A fiery sensation shot through my body. I had previously known we were well known, but it was different seeing it in a newspaper. People all around the world had read this. They knew about me. They had seen my image, and all had their own perception of me. They knew my strength.

I instinctively smiled. I was happy that people knew me. I knew that the only people who could truly know my identity, once I obtained it, were those close to me. But something about the mark I had made caused this sensation.

I looked inside myself and figured out the exact thing it was. It was the same thing that had drawn me towards fighting, even when I was tired.

It was something akin to pride.

Ame grabbed my shoulder and dragged me away from the newspaper. Everybody continued to follow Aqlli out of the city, until we reached a remote location. Four high ranking guards stood there, holding open the door of a car to him.

The car was incredibly long, and the inside looked luxurious. There were cushioned benches, and even a large screen behind the driver's seat. When it turned on, it showed surveillance footage of a large stage in the center of Jeti City.

The president's assistant was giving a speech, with thousands of people gathering around the stage.

Aqlli turned away from it, as if he didn’t want to listen to what he was saying.

We sat in the car for a while. It drove faster than any other vehicle I had been in. I was gripping the soft cushion of the couch as we drove. There was a built-in headrest, so I had to use it of course. I laid my head back for a moment and closed my eyes. I was simply going to judge the quality of it. That was all I was doing.

…

I woke up ten hours later.

I looked across the car to see everybody awake. Aqlli was struggling to stay awake, but he held strong.

I was a bit concerned.

“Aqlli, it’s okay, you can sleep if you need to.”

His firm face did not change expressions.

“I have gone weeks without sleeping before. This is nothing compared to that. My combat ability has only diminished by 3.6% due to this, and I should still be more than capable of helping fight the president if things go awry.”

Ame smiled wryly.

“Nell’s right! You can sleep! Rest is always good to have. We can handle the fight; you can handle the sleeping.”

Aqlli got a bit frustrated.

“What do you not understand? I have expressed that I am capable of fighting, even with my current condition. I do not need to sleep. I’ve been given abilities by the King of Hell as well, due to my position as the king of Cittaglia. Dominic here doesn’t need to sleep much either.”

Ame smiled.

“But you look tired. You should sleep. Not sleeping is bad for everybody, y’know?”

A vein looked like it burst on Aqlli’s forehead.

“I. HAVE. TOLD. YOU. TWO TIMES. I am fine without sleep. I am not a regular human. So, I do not need it. Do. You. Understand?”

Ame closed his eyes, disguising his suppressed laugh as an innocent smile before he spoke.

“I don’t understand. Why don’t you need sleep?”

Aqlli sharply turned his head towards the driver.

“Gaius, drive off of the nearest cliff.”

Ame’s eyes widened.

“EH?!”

I tried to save us and the car.

“I-It’s okay Aqlli, he was just messing with you.”

Aqlli took a deep breath and stayed silent. The car didn’t seem to be going anywhere off course, so we weren’t getting driven off a cliff.

Ame exhaled, smiled, and nudged Sy on the shoulder.

“See! I told you the best way to make smart people mad is by acting stupid!”

Aqlli could clearly hear this and looked like he was a few seconds away from popping another blood vessel.

Kaya, who appeared to be drowsing off again, suddenly shot back up with wide eyes.

“Where are we?!”

Aqlli looked at her with a face of exasperated disappointment.

“We’ve moved approximately one kilometer.”

Ame whispered something into Kaya’s ear. And, one second later, Kaya spoke up.

“Are we there yet?”

He looked down at the floor as if he was struggling more here than he would on the battlefield.

“This drive is torture.”

Dominic held strong in not making any expressions. I could assume he had been through this before, but he didn’t seem like the type of person to be annoyed by it… unless it was from Ame.

Dominic spoke up.

“I know the partial reason why Cittaglia had conflict with Jeti, but I don’t believe everybody here is aware of the details. Do you mind explaining?”

Aqlli raised his head.

“Finally. A logical question. No, I do not mind explaining, despite me having explained this to you before. I might not have given anything concrete though. Your actions, in killing Justin Beckwith, created a small power vacuum in Jeti. All the countries on the planet have approximately equal strength, except L’eau, so a missing first commander would spiral into an easy victory for invading countries. Laptaan and Ujurak are using this to their advantage and invading Jeti. Jeti’s ‘government’ isn’t exactly beloved in other countries, but to the average citizen, they are just another country. We are currently taking Jeti for ourselves so we don’t have Laptaan or Ujurak on more fronts than they need to be.”

Dominic nodded.

“Understood. Thank you for explaining, sir.”

Kaya tilted her head.

“Can you say that again? I wasn’t paying attention.”

Ame didn’t even tell her to say that this time.

Aqlli did in fact not say it again. However, Dominic did explain it to Kaya in an understandable way. Kaya smiled and nodded. It always seemed like Dominic was the person she could trust the most. I understood why.

Sy, who was silently thinking, spoke up.

“So what’s the plan? What are we gonna do? Do we just gotta go in and kill the guy?”

Aqlli looked at him in disbelief.

“No, do not ‘just gotta go in and kill the guy’. Ame will be on the roof of a nearby building with a sniper crafted from his water magic.”

Ame raised his hand.

“I… I have ice magic now.”

Aqlli’s eyes widened.

“I am quite impressed. You will use a sniper crafted with ice magic then. When you hit the president in the head, he should be dead. If he is not, then I will jump down and finish the job. Do not intervene when I do this. If it appears I need assistance, then Dominic will assist me, due to him being the most powerful person there.”

Dominic lowered his head.

“I’m no longer the strongest member. It’s Kaya, when her transformation works. Nell is gradually getting more powerful as well.”

I blushed a bit as Kaya sat there proudly.

Aqlli rubbed his forehead.

“Transformation… I assume you’re referencing a divine one. I wasn’t expecting that. Alright then. If Kaya’s transformation works, then she jumps down. If not, you will come, Dominic. Nell is not yet accustomed to these types of fights.”

I looked down. I was accustomed to these enough. I could fight. Why didn’t he believe in me? I was strong. I was.

Aqlli spoke.

“We’ve arrived.”

The car came to a halt as Aqlli hopped out. We all followed.

I hated to admit it, but I missed Jeti City a bit. It was my birthplace, after all. We all sprinted through the old brick alleyways with Aqlli, until we made it to an area where we could see the stage. It looked much larger in person, especially from the roof of the building behind it.

Aqlli held out his sword and readied himself.

The president’s assistant ended his speech and bowed. Moments later, another man walked onto the stage. It was the president. He had long scruffy white hair and an incredibly expensive suit. He was insanely powerful compared to Justin- he was about on the same level as Aqlli, if not stronger.

Kaya stared at him and spoke to Aqlli.

“I’m gonna go down now! We’ll kill him before he gets a chance to speak!”

Aqlli grabbed her shoulder and stopped her in place.

“Halt. You will not move until I give my word. Let Ame prepare his weapon.”

Kaya and I turned our heads to Ame as he constructed an ice sniper. The barrel seemed to be much longer than the usual one. I could sense an aura of wind and water emanating from it. The moment he pulled the trigger, the pressure would build up with all the magic he had and shoot a bullet straight forward.

He spoke as he constructed his gun.

“This reminds me of when Dominic was gonna get executed.”

Dominic looked at him with confusion. I didn’t blame him.

Sy pointed down at the president.

“Look! He’s starting!”

The president cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Hello, wonderful people of Jeti. Today is a special day- not because of a holiday, nor anything petty. Today is the day we reclaim the glory we once had! The glory of old Jeti- the #1! Justin Beckwith got honorably defeated by a group of terrorists, but those terrorists will be no more. Starting today, I declare war on those that oppose us! Not a single country- not a single person either- but a single identity. All those that belittle us will be swept away by the heavenly wind of Jeti. Everybody! Raise your fists! Your pride as a people will bring you toward the only future you wan-”

BANG!

Ame pulled the trigger and shot him in the… ear.

The bullet pierced his ear, leaving him shocked for a second.

Aqlli’s eyes widened as he jumped down and pulled his sword out, yelling to us.

“ETERNAL FLAME! IF YOU GET NEAR, YOU WILL DIE!”

______________________________________________________________________________

Nell’s… Notebook?

Hello! I am the author. I seem to have misplaced Nell’s Notebook, so I will be giving some information instead.

There are only 9 main countries on the planet Qaphela (excluding unrecognized breakaway states). They’re all differently sized, but most are larger than the average country on Earth. All are connected by land, except for L’eau. Because it’s an island. Obviously. Advancements were far and wide throughout the entire world.

This brings us to the main point: Music! (How did that bring us to this point? Idk)

Music had been invented and widespread by the time that Nell was born. Everybody in Eternal Flame would have some favorite songs from earth.

So, assuming that they speak the language the songs would be in, I will list what I believe would be their favorites here.

Nell:

Remember My Name- Mitski

Fable- Gigi Perez

Boys Will Be Bugs- Cavetown

(Honorable mention to Be Nice To Me- The Front Bottoms)

Ame:

Take Me Out- Franz Ferdinand

Seventh Heaven- INOHA

Notion- The Rare Occasions