all_roads_lead_to_white

 Some hours later I find myself halfway to the castle. After escaping through some antics with the help of Hayami leading hundreds of shinobi, we were able to get out of the hell hole that the mansion became.

The mercenaries sent for me are now on the lookout for my capture. Tridaria Lujuria, Gramma, Rhetoric and even the CEC itself want me dead or alive. Thankfully, Hisa sent her men to aid me and surprisingly, Hayami’s leadership skills are quite good, given the fact that we escaped with almost no casualties.

In other news, I’m warranted internationally for political and military purposes, since I’m the new Kingslayer -which is something new for the worldwide political landscape since the opening of the frontiers of Britannia after the events of New Athena- and because I defeated a Primordial. The whole world wants Julian, the Kingslayer.

Now being co-pilot of the float of vehicles that Hayami is leading, she has been silent the whole way to the castle. An uncomfortable aura surrounds both of us as we are the only ones in this car.

“...”

“...”

Noise is conspicuous by its absence. We’ve never been this quiet. Of course, we have known each other for two days, but that doesn’t seem like a bad thing on its own. A certain connection between us of respect towards the other was formed, so what is it?

“You know, when you were in the head gear, I went upstairs to the attic to check on you. On the outside, your sunglasses were connected to it, so I saw what you were looking at. And y’know, I watched that sequence of the baby being sold quite a few times. Like it was on a loop for some reason. In the minute that I was there, it repeated once every 20 seconds. You were there for 15 minutes. Are you… okay?”

“No.” After saying that, she looks at me with pity gleaming from her eyes. For which I just smile slightly.

“I’ve never been okay. And still, I pushed forward. If I were okay, I wouldn’t even be here in the first place.” Looking at the window I realise that the final nail in the coffin was the simulation. This is all about pride.

The original sin. A primal urge to prove everyone wrong. That I am someone to be feared or loved. Arrogance has bleed into me since I was a child. But where does it stem from? Why am I like this? It has only led to the death of many innocents down my path. Even Mr. Clyde himself talked with me before we left his mansion.

“I wish you were never born.”

Those words, coming from a complete outsider, are an arrow that pierced my heart. Although he was involved with my parents in some form, instead of seeing me as my accomplishments, he sees me as a monster. Because of that, deep inside my mind, the idea that the whole picture is not yet complete circles around. It is a very specific insult, it carries more meaning since he saw me as a baby.

All this thinking just makes me dizzy. The only thing left to do is arrive and tell the world where the Imperator is and that I will be there. Chaos and war follow me everywhere I go from now on, so I better use it for good.

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At a few minutes to reach the castle, the foliage is starting to change. The trees have a slight pigmentation of magenta. With the darkness of the night upon us, these abnormalities in the plants aren't noticeable at plain sight. Alas, that sense of otherworldliness started from long before the magenta leaves plagued the trees like a parasite. There was a certain threshold where even Hayami felt a sudden shift in the ambiance.

Turning left on the road, traversing a tunnel in a mountain, we can finally admire the grandiose castle. Queen Victoria would be proud of her age to be reborn and brought back alive in such a splendid way. Enormous, it could pass as a small mountain if it weren’t for its distinct roofing.

Yellow lights escaping through its windows that reach even the skies magnifies the glory felt at seeing such an architectural behemoth. It pains me that it will become a battlefield in no longer than 5 minutes from now, as I filtered my location intentionally to various social media sites and to Tridaria Lujuria itself. The band of hundreds of shinobis are capable of handling many targets at once, so I’m not worried about the battle itself; rather, what will happen after.

Will the other Primordials show up? Because if all of them are in here, they can beat me to a pulp in no time. And if they’re not here, then that would be too convenient. In fact, a lot of my journey has been possible through a lot of coincidences. Is this all a big trap? It’s too late to back down, as we are already at the castle’s gate.

Exiting the vehicle, all of the shinobis get in formation inside the castle and also surrounding the terrain. The gates of the Victorian Era castle are open to the public, and there is no soul on sight apart from us.

Departing from Hayami as she will stay to defend me, I delve deep into the maze of concrete.

After some minutes of exploration, gunshots and explosions resonate in the whole building. More so as there isn't a lot of furniture. What is more strange is the fact of the colours inside the structure. Cyan, yellow and magenta, with some usage of white and black here and there. Everything follows this curious scheme.

Otherworldly. Would be my first impressions of the gigantic interior that makes me feel miniscule by the footsteps echoing easily in contrast to the war happening outside. With tattered clothing and some blood on my skin, I even feel horrible to stain this place. After some pondering and alone time, familiar voices in one of the hallways call me to them.

The final showdown has come. In front of the pair across me, a black and antiquated door in contrast to everything else that surrounds us is opening. Before they enter that ominous room, I shout at them.

“Hey! Where do you think you are going?” Both of them are paralysed at the sound of my voice. As incredible as it sounds, somehow the cacophony from the outside doesnt reach us here. Complete and utter silence apart from some noises coming from beyond that frightening door.

Slowly turning around, as he sees me, Green instantly starts galloping towards me.

“Be careful Julian! He can telepo-'' In a blink of an eye, the Primordial is in front of me, holding my wrist.

“You shouldn’t have come.” In a span of three seconds, disorientation comes to fruition as we are now in the middle of the battle at the outer parts of the castle.

Corpses lie on the dirt as screams of despair and courage both vibrate through the air, indistinguishable from one another. Sword welders deflecting bullets, grenades pouring down from the sky as if it were raining and body parts garnish the ground for a gruesome image.

“Look at what you’ve done. Repent for your sinful nature, accept your diabolical tendencies and I’ll give you a quick death.” Seriousness from his words immobilises me. All this time, he was having a blast battling and joking around. 6 hours later and he is fed up with my own existence.

“Fuck off, you scumbag.” Freeing my hand from his grip, one of his eyes starts twitching.

“You are so stupid it baffles me. I’m quitting the games. Time for a real battle.”

While saying that, from the entrance of the castle, Juliette is running to us. Unveiling her robotic arm, she exclaims. “Start, Julian! We have to end him to proceed!” Always using a formal vocabulary, even in this situation? That’s just hilarious.

As a natural reaction, I start laughing amidst the flying corpses and blazing gunshots. Baffled by my spontaneous unrealistic behaviour, he stares at me blankly.

“It is funny. How you think you are worth a dime. You hate yourself more than me. How could you win when your worst enemy is your children's attitude? Come at me, piece of shit. Give me a battle of the centuries.”

Fed up with my bullshit, he grabs me by the wrist, and withstands the whip attack from Juliette. In a matter of seconds, we are at one of the forested slopes of the mountain.

“Time to die.”