Niki wanted to go into stealth and hide from Lucas, but it was better to hide his cards. However, the man in question tried to stop him from leaving by asking about the princess.


    "How is she?"


    His voice carried authority as if Niki was bound to reply, but the illegitimate son''s expectations were shot down, and he was ignored.


    "Wait a moment," the young man panicked and gave chase, but Niki kept walking. "Please tell me how she is," he said as he tried to grab into Niki.


    A streak of light shed, and a weapon rested on Lucas'' neck. The young man stopped moving as he met Niki''s gaze.


    "Let go," his voice carried no respect or fear as hemanded. Niki was already restraining himself from finishing the attack because no one had the right to touch him as they desired.


    "I apologize," Lucas said as he released his hand and raised them. "I am in no state to fight. Maybe we can fight it fair and square once I''m well-rested?"


    "Just leave me alone," the weapon disappeared, and Niki resumed walking away from Lucas. "She is fine and as annoying as you are. You can ask her yourself, so keep me out of it."


    His words mightplicate things since he was calling the princess of the kingdom annoying. Finally, however, he made his real feelings about this whole thing known, and the princess might even consider it a token of friendship.


    "I will make sure I do, haha," Lucas gave a dryugh before he started walking behind Niki. When thetter red at him, Lucas shrugged. "The city is this way. Furthermore, you said that that she asked you to help me return, and I am truly in no state to fight any random monsters."


    "You are the strongest man''s son. You can do better on your own," Niki probed the man''s limits, but he didn''t grow agitated.


    "This is the first time someone chose to encourage me using my linage instead of berating me for being a disappointment," Lucas said, in a tone that spills trouble for Niki. "You can leave," he said, surprisingly. "But I might mention this to her highness when we meet tonight."


    "..."


    Niki knew that would be troublesome. It was one thing to act annoyed by her antics, but hermands needed to be followed. Otherwise, she would strip him of his position.


    While that was ideal for Niki, who wanted to run away, it was also bad since he wanted to sneak into Celestia using the ritual. However, while doing that, he also needs to make sure the princess survives.


    The princess''s death might elerate the events of his past life. If the two kingdoms waged war earlier, it might tempt the elves to attack them and make a footing for conquering the continent.


    The Elven Empire will be the nightmare of the human lords, who were pushed to extinction at the end of his life. Niki lived to be one of thest powerful humans before the Elven Ruler betrayed him.


    ''The Ending War,'' they called it, and Niki knew it was urate. After the dungeons start breaking and throwing the world into mayhem, kingdoms will fall, and Celestia''s Beloveds will rise.


    "Tell me your name," Lucas brought him back from his endless cycle of thinking. "I didn''t know Maria had a follower such as yours."


    "I am a new retainer of hers. My father served Master Edward, so I was bestowed with the duty of aiding the princess in anything she wants."


    "Bestowed or burdened?" Lucas grinned as he walked beside him, knowing that Niki would not shoo him away anymore. "What happened to your father?"


    "Died in the war," Niki curtly replied.


    "Mother?"


    "I never knew her," Niki frowned. "You are asking about me instead of asking about the princess?"


    "I know all I need to know about her, but you are also interesting, and I know nothing about you," Lucas said, unhurried. "You are an orphan, then."


    "I lived in an orphanage for a good duration of my life," Niki said, and the smile disappeared from Lucas'' face.


    "I''m sorry to hear that," he said, and Niki almost believed his sincerity. "Those who run these ces are the scum of society."


    "I know," he answered in agreement unconsciously because he felt the same. The priest was an abusive psychopath, and many kids weren''t spared by his followers. They justified everything using the name of their god.


    "You haven''t told me your name," Lucas asked again, this time without the interest from before, but more sincerely.


    "Lyle."


    "Nice to meet you, Lyle. My name is..."


    "I know your name," Niki cut him short. "I also know more about you than I would like to, but the princess spared no details. You two are simr to each other, so I wonder why don''t you go and visit her."


    "You are so caring," Lucas grinned as he nced at him. "You know of my reputation and how much of a disappointment I am to my family."


    "Being born seems to be your only failure," Niki said, and it made Lucasugh heartily. Then, as Niki frowned because of the lengthyughter, Lucas calmed down.


    "I am sorry," he apologized again. "This is the truest thing I ever heard, so it struck a chord. I don''t know whether tough or cry."


    "Please don''t do both," Niki sighed. "I am going to pick up the pace. You are free to stay behind," as he said that, Niki bolted forward. However, he was slow enough for the tired Lucas to keep up, which he did.


    "It seems that no amount of hard work can redeem my father''s betrayal of his family," Lucas said as they sprinted forward, his voice clear despite the wind. "I live to carry the me while the strongest sleep his days in peace, waiting for a foolish prophecy."


    "As foolish as prophecies are, they are urate," Niki said and felt like an ignorant peasant. It was hard to dismiss prophecies since they came from a particr god. At the end of his days, he fought against those beloveds by that god, so he knew better than to dismiss urate prophecies.


    "The future can be rewritten. That is my sole belief in this world. But, if everything is set in stone, then what''s the point of living? We might as well skip to the end."


    "We are here to suffer until the end."


    "And they call me the pessimist,"ughed Lucas. "I like you, Lyle. You are honest with your words, as if too fed up to care what happens when theynd."


    "Most of the time, I know how theynd: badly," Niki answered again before snapping out of it. Of course, there was no reason to say this, but this young man was scaringly social.


    ''Maybe it is the bond between orphans.''


    "We all tend to hurt ourselves as if trying to make sure that the world is one that we know: of suffering, pain, and hate. It works well, most of the time because it proves the world is the same as we know it. Yet, we almost miss noticing that we did this to ourselves."


    "And the cycle repeats itself."


    They reached the walls of the city before Niki stopped running and took out the umbre again. This will be their farewell, but he didn''t hate Lucas to be relieved in the end.


    "I will see you tonight, Lyle," Lucas said with a grin as he scratched the faint scars on his face. Such scars could be seen on every visible skin he had, and they told of his past.


    "Hopefully not," Niki replied like usual, although he had a smile on his face. Then, he activated the enchanted item, and Niki disappeared.


    Lucas'' gaze didn''t leave his back until he passed through the city''s walls. Then, after he found an alley to leave his stealth, Niki stood silently without moving.


    ''What am I doing?''


    It felt like he was repeating what happened with Sergio. Niki and the alchemist were vastly different, but trust between them came from two lifetimes. Lucas, on the other hand, was very simr to Niki.


    However, the ending will be the same. Niki was unfit to be close to anyone because he was a time bomb that would one day hurt those he cared about. Lucas was right about one thing: their suffering was brought mainly by themselves because they knew no other way to live.


    They did not pursue happiness, nor did they dream of it. The concept was so foreign to them that they never considered it. It was a sin to want such a thing.


    They knew only one way of living. It was to fight the world. They needed to fight everything to survive, and people like them never stopped fighting and finding things to fight. It was a race where they ran from a dreadful realization.


    "We have no reason to survive."