《Imagine Breaching the 4th Wall》


 Just a Normal Day

    As the gentle rays of the sun seeped through the gaps between the curtains and gently landed on the eyes of the sleeping youth, a tired grunt echoed through the room, the voice clearly conveying the emotions of the owner. As the closed eyelids slowly opened, two eyes, looking like voids, revealed themselves. As the two voids landed on the window, the youth saw that the curtains were pulled, and the sun rays were directly coming into the room through the windows. He looked to the sky as the massive lightbulb, the sun, gradually tortured his eyes.


    "Ughh! Mom! I told you to not open the curtains while I''m sleeping!"


    As the youth''s shout echoed through the house, the owner of the voice got up from the bed with a remarkable speed and quickly pulled the curtains. As he did so, a feminine voice sounded from the room opposite of his own.


    "Why the hell are you shouting in the morning! Ugh! JUST SLEEP YOU MORON!"


    The voice belonged to the youth''s little sister. As the war of bickering began, a soothing voice swept over the two, coming from the hallway. As if they suddenly froze, the two immediately stopped.


    "Alright, alright, kids stop bickering. You know I also have ears and you are not the only ones hearing right? And as for the curtains, you don''t wake up otherwise Isaac, I don''t even know how you are able to sleep even after I open the curtains and the whole room literally lightens up so much that even I have to blink a few times. As for Saria, don''t call your brother like that little lady. You know I don''t allow insults in the house."


    The voice was extremely calm, as if already used to these things. Saria''s voice sounded again, this time a little lower than before.


    "Sorry mom, it''s just that I don''t like to suddenly wake up ''cause of this id- brother of mine¡­"


    "Sure, sure. Anyway, what do we have for breakfast?"


    This time, the voice belonged to the black eyed youth, Isaac.


    "You''ll see when you come down, but first, wash your face and brush your teeth. No excuses."


    As the middle-aged woman began to go down the stairs, the voices of the footsteps slowly grew distant. After pulling the curtains, Isaac slowly approached his wardrobe. As he chose a baggy black capri and a shirt of the same color, he started to undress, throwing his sleeping clothes to the messy bed. As Isaac got out of the room he noticed that his sister''s door was still closed.


    "So, are you coming or gonna sleep for a while?"


    "Sleep for a while."


    "Sure."


    As Isaac slowly walked to the bathroom, still trying to shake off the sleepiness. He began to talk in a low voice.


    "You may wonder, "Who is this black eyed youth?" or "What relation does he have with the story?". Well, to answer your questions, I am the main character of this novel, and yes, I just breached the 4th wall. Anyway, to put it simply, I''m the main character whom you will read the tales of, and that''s enough talk about me, let''s explain this world and some things. Firstly, this is the modern age, no different than the normal world. I''m not entirely sure if this is a fantasy series or just a normal slice of life. The ''author'' as I label him as, Nox , didn''t share such things. But one thing is certain, there''s some kind of energy that I can use to enable this power that allows me to breach the 4th Wall. According to what he said, if he told, things wouldn''t be that fun. Well, I can relate to that, but you know, I''m the one living this life so it''s a little irritating."


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ''It was cringe.''


    "Yep. But you can do nothing about it."


    As he slowly explained the world as he knew of, without knowing, he was already at the bathroom. As he used a little more force than necessary because of the sleepines, the water started to pour out of the faucet wildly. As he adjusted the water''s velocity with his left hand, he took his tooth brush from the cabinet on the right, and also the toothpaste. He quickly washed his face and then turned off the faucet for the time being. As he started to brush his teeth, a calm voice sounded in his mind, again.


    ''So, what makes you think that this time will be different from the ones you did every morning for the last eight years?''


    "Well, just my gut feeling."


    ''Sure, sure. So, what are you planning to do now?''


    "Have breakfast and drop by Edward''s house?"


    ''Sure.''


    With the end of the conversation the calm voice suddenly stopped responding, as if it was non-existent from the beginning. After that everything was normal. He went down stairs, on the way woke up Saria, and picked up a chair to sit on. Everything was normal.


    "So, what''s your plans for the afternoon?"


    The gentle and a little curious voice of Caitlyn, Isaac''s mother sounded from the side.


    "Hm? Pretty much nothing, I''ll drop by Edward''s and we''ll probably play games and the usual."


    "Don''t you forget something?


    "Forget what?"


    "Like someone''s birthday date?"


    "Who? Edward''s?"


    "Nope. It''s Amaya''s birthday today."


    With the sudden revelation, the questions in his mind ceased to exist, well, at least the ones about the identity of the birthday person.


    "Oh, wait, is she already 17? Time sure passes quickly."


    "Well, basically yes."


    As their conversation ended, the little creaking voices from the wooden stairs sounded in the kitchen. Coming down the stairs, was a black haired girl with sapphire blue eyes and a cute, oval shaped face. She had grey linen shorts and a white shirt on.


    "So, what do we have for breakfast?"


    As the voice sounded through the kitchen, the curious eyes quickly swept through.


    "Omelet, pancakes, oh, and french toast. Thanks mom!"


    "You''re welcome dear. But start eating before they get cold."


    "Alright."


    As they started to eat there wasn''t much of a voice in the kitchen. It was simply peaceful. As if remembering something, Isaac slowly opened his mouth.


    "Hey, do you want to come with me to Edward''s? It''s Amaya''s birthday today."


    "Sure, I was planning on going anyway."


    After his little conversation, the breakfast continued at a slow pace. After the breakfast, Isaac helped with the dishes while Saria went upstairs to prepare.


    "By the way, Mom, will you come with us?"


    "Nope. I''ll be there in the evening."


    "Okay."


    When they were done with the dishes he went upstairs to prepare his bag. There wasn''t much to bring together, just his laptop, mouse etc. After that he left the room, while keeping a window open. He didn''t want a room with damp air. As he passed through the hallway he knocked on Saria''s door.


    "Aren''t you coming?"


    "I will, just give me a few minutes."


    "Sure, I will wait for you downstairs."


    "Alright."


    Meanwhile, there was a little commotion at the house of Matthews'', where Edward Matthews'' family and also himself resides. The white haired girl with light grey eyes, a small chest and a lovely face, Amaya, was currently hitting the youth with grey hair and hazel eyes.


    "Wake up you sleepy sloth! We have things to prepare!"


    While taking the hits, the youth simply grunted. But as the force behind the blows started to increase, the youth became annoyed. As his head started to raise, the eyes facing the backrest of the couch quickly turned towards the girl. The eyes were shining a metallic, blackish-red color. While the face of the youth took on a more animalistic appearance with Sharp teeth and some hair that grew from the sides of his cheeks. At the same time, something was piercing through the Air, moving at high speed.


    *Pat!*


    The object, a grey slipper with some fur on top, directly landed on the grey haired youths head. Followed by a roar.


    "You''re not allowed to do that today!"


    The domineering voice of a woman was heard. As the domineering voice swept over them, the girl, Amaya lightly chuckled while the grey haired youth, Edward cursed his sister in his mind, and as soon as he did that


    *Pam!*


    He received a punch to his right shoulder, that was on top.


    "Don''t curse me on my birthday! You will share your bad luck with me!"


    This time, the loud voice belonged to Amaya.


    "Don''t read my thoughts without my permission, or I will send you to the middle of the pacific ocean."


    The sleepy sound of Edward was heard again. Followed by another slipper hitting his head, accompanied with the domineering voice of the two''s father, Adam.


    "Do not threaten your little sister!"


    "And do not read someone''s thoughts without permission Amaya."


    The second voice belonged to the mother of the siblings, Vanessa. Compared to Adam''s voice, Vanessa''s was much calmer.


    "Sure, sure."


    Edward just agreed with his sleepy voice while Amaya just nodded towards the kitchen.

 Who Are You?

    After waking up Edward and messing with him a little, Amaya went to her mother''s side to help with the making process of the delicacies that would be served tonight. Adam was choosing which wines would be opened for the night, Vanessa and Amaya were preparing the meals, as for Edward, he would go out to get what was needed. After shaking off the sleepiness from his face, which he did by stimulating his body with slaps to the face and cold water, he put on a gray hoodie on top of a black shorts. While walking towards the door, he noticed voices of footsteps, coming from directly in front of the door. The scent was very familiar so he didn''t give much of a thought to it. When he opened the door he noticed Isaac and Saria, Isaac''s hand in the air as if to knock the then closed door.


    "Yo."


    "They threw the shopping mission to you?"


    "Yeah, wanna come?"


    "Sure, why not."


    The two had a normal face while saying these, almost expressionless, making it seem like a pretty normal talk. Well, in a way, it was normal talk. While Edward stepped aside to give way to Saria, Isaac held out the backpack that was now in his right hand to Saria.


    "Can you put it somewhere?"


    "Alright."


    While Saria took the backpack and stepped into the house, Edward and Isaac were already moving towards the gate of the yard. As the sound of the closed door was heard, Isaac slowly tilted his head to look at the sky. It was literally the middle of the noon and the sun was gradually torturing his light-sensitive eyes. While grumbling a bit, he took his eyes off the massive lightbulb in the sky and turned towards Edward, who was walking casually beside him. He just looked at Edward for a little while and then turned his head to the front. The house of the Matthews'' could be considered large, and it had a big yard.


    "So, what will we buy?"


    The one who broke the silence was Isaac, a little bit of curiosity sensible from his voice.


    "Well, chips, beverage, chocolate and sweets and a few more things I guess."


    "I call dibs on chocolates."


    "Sure."


    On the way, except for some little details, like Edward trying to argue with a dog and bumping into a sign as the aftermath of it, nothing spectacular happened. While shopping, Isaac remembered a detail. Iris, who was Edward''s twin, wasn''t here for the birthday of her sister. He knew she was in a different city, but couldn''t help wondering why she wasn''t here.


    "By the way, where''s Iris?"


    "Well, she said ''I will be late but definitely come.'' So, I don''t know either."


    What Isaac didn''t know was that Iris was currently in a ''different'' place, taking care of some necessary things.When they got out of the market, there were several bags in each of their hands, full of snacks and such. Isaac was currently eating a chocolate bar that had caramel in it. Actually, chewing would be more accurate because the chocolate bar wasn''t that easy to rip, and it was hard to chew because it was soft. He turned towards Edward, while pointing at one of the bags in his hand.


    "Want some?"


    He was talking about the chocolates in the bag. Seeing this, Edward became a little puzzled.


    "Sharing your loot¡­ is this really you?"


    He couldn''t help but ask. This wasn''t like Isaac at all! When it came to chocolate, he was very strict and didn''t want his loot to be touched by others.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "You want some or not?"


    His voice was still neutral, but the pain behind the words could still be felt by the ones who heard them. It was like letting go of a plate full of food while you were hungry, painful.


    "Umm¡­ Sure."


    After some thought, Edward decided to take some, this was chocolate at stake after all! He would betray his morals and thus himself if he didn''t take any! Isaac slowly held out the bag towards Edward, a little regretful, but the regret didn''t last long. This was a special day after all, he could stand it just once if it was for Amaya''s birthday! While the boys were out, shopping, the girls were in the kitchen, preparing the meals and sweets.


    "Aunt Ness, can you pass the chocolate sprinkles?"


    The voice belonged to Saria, who was currently immersed in the cake she was making. When Vanessa saw the dedicated expression of the girl, she couldn''t help but chuckle. The scene was simply too cute.


    "Here, sweetie. Your cake looks good, want to share your secret?"


    Vanessa said, while holding out the sprinkle filled jar to Saria. At the end of her sentence she had an amused face.


    "Hmph, a magician doesn''t unravel their secrets."


    "Really? But I was so hyped¡­"


    Vanessa put on a sad face, acting like she was really upset, while she was actually messing around. Saria was aware of this, so she just followed the flow. While the two were laughing, a sneaky hand, holding a silver spoon, darted through the gaps, planning to land on the cake. But it wasn''t able to accomplish its mission because of a palm strike from Vanessa.


    "Ouch!"


    Amaya''s hurtful cry rang out.


    "You can''t eat it yet."


    "But¡­ but¡­"


    "Nope."


    "But it looks so yummy¡­"


    Amaya was looking at her mother, her big and watery puppy eyes trying to mesmerize the woman. But this was an old trick, used for almost seventeen years. Vanessa was already immune to it.


    "You can''t eat the cake yet but it doesn''t mean you can''t snatch some of those cookies."


    She was pointing at the cookies Amaya took out of the oven just a few dozen seconds ago. Her eyes took on a new shine as she stared at the still hot cookies. As her hand slowly changed trajectory, her eyes became sharp like that of a predator''s, ready to jump on its prey. As her hands moved like bolts of lightning, a few of the cookies found themselves in her little mouth.


    "HOT! TOO HOT! IT BURNS! HWELWP! MOWTHEWR!"


    But there was a detail that Amaya had forgotten. The cookies were still hot. Her shining eyes became watery as quickly as it shined. Because of the heat the cookies exerted, her mouth felt like there was a lit furnace inside her mouth. As her pleas for help rang out, her voice became muffled. There was nothing to do now, Amaya brought her doom upon herself.


    "You silly, check before you eat things¡­"


    Vanessa said with a helpless gaze. As much as her daughter looked cute while this happened, it was still hurtful to see her daughter suffer like this. While Vanessa was feeling like this, Saria quickly gave Amaya a glass of cold water. The girl quickly poured the cold water into her mouth. Trying to forcefully swallow the hot cookies. After a little while, she was chuckling, thinking about her air-headed action. Her mouth was already healed thanks to her nature. But since Saria didn''t know this, she acted like nothing happened in the first place. After the ''little'' accident, everything went normally. Amaya, with her holy artifact that she believed could snatch any sweets, the spoon she held in her hand, occasionally tried to snatch some of the sweets. But alas, Vanessa was experienced in defending against them. The little girl only got some cookies that burned her mouth, but tasty nonetheless. When the boys came back, it was already around the evening.


    "What took you so long?"


    "Hum Hum."


    The voice wasn''t angry, it just contained innocence and curiosity, like a little child. The voice belonged to Amaya, who was sitting atop the stairs with Saria. While Amaya asked the question, Saria nodded agreeingly from the side. The stairs were close to the backyard door, and since Isaac and Edward used the backyard''s door, they bumped into each other.


    "Here."


    Instead of answering, Isaac just looked over to the stairs and threw them each a chocolate bar. Saria had an amused expression, while Amaya was terrified. Edward was just watching while the events were getting unveiled.


    "You¡­ Y- How? Who are you?!"


    With a terrified voice and expression just like that, Amaya crawled back while not breaking eye contact with Isaac, fearing that the moment she did, he would appear behind her and Signal the end of her lovely life.


    "Is it really that frightening for me to give chocolate?"


    Isaac asked, looking at his little sister, who was chuckling at the side.


    "Well, you don''t do this kind of thing, you know."


    "I guess it''s an expected outcome then. It really feels awkward though."


    "Well, considering you weren''t aware of it, it''s an expected outcome dear."


    The voice was caring and warm, as if talking to a person who had a very important place in her life, which wasn''t incorrect. Hearing the voice, Isaac tilted his head to the side, seeing his mom he couldn''t help but smile a bit. Caitlyn didn''t miss this, her son''s honesty with his emotions towards her was one of the things she liked about him.


    "Let''s get to the living room, it''s more comfortable."


    Caitlyn said, while the boys and Saria nodded at her words. Amaya was still looking at Isaac, frightened about the thing that happened just now. Saria simply lifted her friend, holding her shoulders. And walked her to the living room along with everyone. When she met with the softness of the sofa, her mind cleared. As if sitting on a cloud, relaxation sinked in, making her drown in satisfaction. When Isaac got into the living room, he first saw Vanessa and Adam sittin together on the couch, chatting. When Adam saw Isaac coming in, he firmly got up and gave him a firm hug.


    "Hey, big man, how are you?"


    Isaac said, while repaying the hug with his own. To be honest, Isaac and Adam were pretty close, considering Isaac saw him as a father figure since he was a young boy.


    "Pretty good considering the house will get messy soon."


    He said, getting a little nervous at the end. Adam didn''t like dirt, he was the type of guy who cared about the cleanliness of the place where he lived. Isaac just laughed a little, seeing the man''s expression. Adam had a muscular build with a body about 6''5 feet tall. So, him hugging Isaac pretty much covered him up and made him unseeable from the front. After the friendly hug, Adam went back to his place, patting Edward on the shoulders for no reason while smirking. Edward didn''t know why his father did that, so he just let it pass. While greeting Vanessa, she hugged him as well, but much gentler than Adam.


    "It''s nice to see you Isaac."


    "I can relate to that."


    Isaac said, jokingly. Vanessa and the others lightly laughed at that. They knew these kinds of words were a joke when they came out of Isaac''s mouth. He wasn''t a person that would say things like these normally. After that it was pretty normal. When hearing Isaac sharing his ''loot'' with others, they couldn''t help but be surprised. It was pretty rare for him to do that after all.

 War Tactics

    As the night slowly fell upon the world, the stars in the sky burned brighter and brighter. As she looked at the sky, stars felt like a bonfire, while the moon felt like a calm lake next to the bonfire. It was peaceful, pleasing to the eye. After taking a deep breath, Iris, who was currently in front of the door, slowly opened the door. She was a little anxious, it would be okay if this was a family-only party, but it wasn''t. Sure, Isaac and the others were already like a part of the family, but she couldn''t help but get anxious around them, to be precise, around Isaac. They grew up together as a trio, Edward, Isaac and Iris, they were pretty close, doing everything together for years. It was because of this that Iris knew Isaac pretty well, and she kind of¡­ liked him?


    "I don''t know¡­ I don''t know anymore. Ugh! Why is it always like this?"


    She asked herself, frustrated. This happened every time, without an exception. She knew there was something, but didn''t know what exactly it was. It was like looking through a blurred glass. But in this situation, the glass was her mind while the things behind it were her feelings. After a while, she shook her head a few times and stepped through the now open door. As her steps closed in to the living room, where she could sense a bunch of people, the door closed behind her, as if it was the curtain that closed after the end of the show. As she closed into the living room, Amaya''s unhappy pleas rang out in her ears.


    "Mom, can''t I just¡­ you know, take a piece or something¡­"


    Her voice was desperate, as if she was hungry for weeks and when she finally got a chance to eat, her food was taken away.


    "But¡­ but¡­ Don''t make that face my little furball¡­"


    The voice belonged to Adam, their father. His voice was like he wanted to do something but couldn''t do a thing at all, and in a way, he couldn''t. All he could was support her little girl in her journey to the sweet lands while trying to persuade the guardian who was protecting the sweet lands.


    "Honey, it''s just a cupcake, it should be okay."


    Adam''s voice was heard again, but Vanessa didn''t answer. Her eyes landed on the door, leading to the hallway, and after a few seconds, Iris could be seen, walking towards the room. She was tall, about 1.87 meters tall. Her hair was pitch black, like the night that was illuminated by the stars. Her curves were smooth, giving her a perfect appearance that matched with her elegant face. She was wearing a black hoodie and trousers of the same color. Her eyes were hazel, just like Edward. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by something flying towards her. She quickly catched the flying object, it was chocolate, to be precise, it was white chocolate.


    "Nice catch."


    Isaac said with a double thumbs up while sitting at the couch. His voice was warm, as if meeting someone important after some time. When she saw him, a warm smile appeared on her face without her knowing. Caitlyn and Vanessa, who were sitting next to each other, chuckled a little, resembling two masterminds laughing as the preparations they made for years succeeded. Meanwhile, Amaya winked as he looked at Isaac. This was a part of the plan! The plan for the great cupcake heist! She quickly moved her hands, Adam assisting her in the process by nearing the cupcake filled tray to her. As her hands moved at high speeds, they resembled two snakes coiling around. Sneakily, but fast. Unfortunately, she couldn''t escape from Vanessa''s gaze. It was as if she saw everything that happened around her.


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    "Nope."


    Said Vanessa, who was currently holding the tray in her hands, away from Amaya.


    "You won''t stop once you strat to eat them. Everyone here knows of your sweet tooth situation honey. You already ate all those cookies, as if taking revenge for them being still hot."


    Said Vanessa, the ray was now on the other end of the table, further away from Amaya. Adam was receiving judging gazes while Saria was trying to consolate Amaya, who had a defeated expression on her face while her eyes were glimmering with the enthusiasm of knowing that she would eventually be able to eat to her heart''s content. Meanwhile, a little away from them, on the couch that Isaac was sitting on, Edward was looking towards his sister, who had a little anxious expression on her face that never went away regardless of what she tried. He was somewhat amused, knowing that he had one more card to play to mess with her sister. But as he was delving into the depths of his now laughing mind, a hand that he wasn''t able to sense because of getting lost in his own thoughts landed directly on the back of his head, making him look around with questioning eyes.


    "You''re being too childish dude."


    Said Isaac, his head was bent to the side to see Edward clearly. Edward, seeing this as an opportunity, quickly threw his hand forward, directly hitting the middle of Isaac''s forehead.


    "You want to start a War? Then so be it."


    Said Isaac, his right hand moving towards Edward''s stomach while the left one was aiming at the back of his head. Seeing this, Edward quickly tried to block the strikes but a sudden twist of Isaac''s hand made the attempt futile. Meanwhile, Iris, who was between the two boys, was having a hard time trying to survive the childish fight of the two. Edward''s hand that was directed at Isaac''s shoulder was hit and in the aftermath, directly traveled towards Iris'' chin. As the hand traveled through the air, Iris quickly tried to lower head, succeeding by a hair''s breadth. But the boys were too immersed in their battle that they didn''t even pay attention to Iris trying to dodge their attacks. But alas, neither life nor luck was fair, as everyone eventually got their fair share of troubles. After a few cycles of attempts of attacks and dodging, a hand that was in a chopping stance eventually hit her head, precisely the ornament that was shaped like a black lily, directly breaking it.


    "I''M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!"


    And with that, Iris'' battle cry echoed through the whole house, her fists advancing towards Edward at a fast phase.


    "Shit! Mom! MOMM!!"


    And with that, Edward''s pleas for help were heard. The one who was more terrifying than the devil itself in the eyes of its prey was hunting the helpless little creature while the mastermind behind the whole thing had a broad, sinister smile on his face.


    "Hehehehe."


    Isaac, who was currently behind the two, was watching the events unravel with an amused expression on his face.


    "You wanted a war my dear friend, but you forgot that a war happens between factions, regardless of the number."


    Said the mastermind, the sinister smile still on his face, as if a trophy won from a war of myths.

 Out of a Fairy Tale

    ''Seems out of a fairy tale, isn''t it?''


    A voice somewhat melancholic but also a little happy, it was only heard in his mind. Causing the rise of countless questions which got their answers in the creation phase right after they existed. Then sounded another voice, carrying with it something people wouldn''t expect in a situation like this.


    ''I guess life can be like this too.''


    A sigh, carrying with it the buried emotions of negativity finally found itself¡­ free. Free from the shackles of importance which also chose to be unimportance, or simply, ignorance. The broad smile of joyful moments slowly faded away, The eyes emptying themselves, just to merge with nothingness right after, which allowed them to be as objective as possible which was a way of protecting oneself.


    ''I know why it''s always like this, but¡­ it wouldn''t feel that bad to feel the best of something once in a while.''


    ''It can still change, or to be precise, evolve, you know.''


    ''That''s what I hope, I guess.''


    "Alright! Alright! You already took your revenge! Look what you did to my ring¡­"


    Edward''s voice was heard, pulling Isaac out of his active thinking state. His voice became lower at the end, his eyes looking at the broken pieces of a silver colored ring which were on the floor. The lights that illuminated the room falling on their worn down surface, giving them a shining appearance.


    "A mere ring can''t even compare to my lily! Now, shut up and eat my punches you dumbass."


    The voice was angry but also carried the suppressed emotion of longing towards something. Iris'' fists were high in the air, the pink of her skin giving way to the white with the pressure she applied to her hand. But, right when she was going to move her first forward, Another voice rang out, belonging to Vanessa.


    "Kids, do you really think this is the right time?"


    Only then did they step out of their personal spaces and remember that they weren''t alone in the room. Only silence ensued between them as they glanced towards the rest of the people, especially Amaya, who was looking at them with a fiery gaze.


    "Right¡­ It was your birthday¡­"


    Said Edward, although it didn''t last long, his gaze was carrying a hint of understanding.


    "Give the broken things to your father and we will see what we can do. Other than that, don''t you think you owe an apology to someone?"


    Under the rule of Vanessa the two were brought out of their mess and now their conscience also waged war against them. The first one to apologise was Iris.


    "Sorry about that, I just lost myself there. You know it happens these times."


    Edward''s apology was much shorter, telling that he was sorry and he would make up for it another time. At the mention of this, Amaya''s eyes shone as if she found a golden goose for herself.


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    "Promise?"


    She said with her eyes resembling a puppy. Although this trick didn''t work on her mother, it still had some effect on others.


    "Uh, promise¡­"


    Edward said with a dejected expression knowing that Amaya would want something absurd. Although it didn''t last long as his eyes moved to the direction of the front door where he smelled something familiar. Not long after the doorbell rang, indicating that another quest had arrived. With the ringing bell, Edward rose from where he was sitting and went towards the door.


    "Is it Matthew?"


    A curious voice which belonged to now happy Amaya sounded in the room, gaining a reply pretty quickly.


    "Probably."


    The answer came from Isaac. After the sigh that carried with it the negative emotions, he turned to normal, which was his laid-back and bored self. His body was slowly sliding on the couch as he found the perfect posture of imbalance that gave the greatest comfort.


    "Huh, it happened earlier than expected."


    It was Caitlyn who voiced out the thoughts that lingered in everyone''s mind. Although they were used to seeing him like this, they still didn''t expect it to be this early.


    "Well, since the last guest has arrived, I guess some sweets would solve the problem for a while."


    Iris voiced out as she was sitting right beside Isaac who resembled a jelly right now.


    "Right, we had sweets."


    At the mention of the word ''sweets'' some vigor returned to his body as he fixed his posture, his eyes directly landing on the hallway where the expected guest would walk through. Soon after though, he saw three people instead of the expected two. Aside from Edward, there were two people, one being Matthew, who had a tall stature, dark brown hair that shone as it reflected the light, dark brown eyes and a nicely shaped face, and the other being a person a few in the room knew. He looked like sixteen years old, resembling Matthew aside from his ocean blue eyes that shone with interest as he saw the people in the room, waiting for them to come in.


    "You had a brother?"


    Isaac was the first one to speak as he voiced out the first thought that materialized in his mind.


    "Yeah. He wanted to tag along so I brought him with me. I hope it doesn''t trouble you all."


    "No, why would it trouble us? It''s actually better to have one more person. New faces bring some freshness, you know."


    Vanessa said as she glanced at Caitlyn who just nodded her head at the mention of the question.


    "Actually¨C"


    As much as Isaac wanted to say something, he was interrupted by a hand that suddenly covered his mouth.


    "Just shut up for a moment, please. Let him introduce himself first."


    The hand belonged to Iris, who was looking at the trio, looking at the boy she already knew for any changes.


    "Awright."


    Although he agreed, the hand still remained as it is, covering his mouth in case he said something unnecessary.


    "Um, I''m not sure if it was neces¨C"


    "Believe me, it was."


    "Sure¡­"


    The boy tried to voice his thoughts as he was interrupted by Iris too.


    "You can call me Michael or Mike for short. Nice to meet you."


    He said as he shyly took his steps, sitting on the same couch as Isaac and Iris. The boy, Michael, looked a little timid, or he was just too polite. Although the first one seemed more likely to be the case. But only some knew why he was acting like this. Being in a room filled with the apexes of his kind naturally put some pressure on him, who was still young.


    "How is the old man doing?"


    Adam asked while filling the plates with the delicacies that were prepared for the night.


    "You know him, most of his time goes to work and he''s still complaining about the shortage of time."


    "Classic."


    "Absolutely."


    While the two were having a simple chat, at the otherside of the room a muffled voice was asking questions to the hands that became the seal of its voice.


    "Cawn I tawk now?"


    "Will you say whatever comes into your mind?"


    "Pwobabwy."


    "Then, no."


    "Awright."


    Isaac just sat there, his eyes looking at the ceiling while giving off the radiance of boredom. His mouth was still covered by Iris'' hand but he acted like this wasn''t the case. It was a battle of wits. As the sweet fragrance of the delicacies that waited to get eaten entered his nose, his bored eyes shone with a little bit of interest and landed on the plates Adam prepared.