_Chapter Begins_
His chest rose and fell at an alarming rate, loud breaths escaping from his nose. The revelation that his sister had just shared with him felt both massive and also weirdly small.
It felt massive for obvious reasons, as William's brother—Hans—had influenced his life on a titanic scale. If not for the drama between him and Hans, William could have been spared from living on the streets as a criminal, and not to mention the fact that he also could have avoided meeting that cursed blonde woman, Elsa.
But despite all of this, somehow this revelation still felt small when compared to the secret conflict that was going on in this realm. William still had no idea what this conflict was about or who was participating in it, but he felt absolutely confident that at some point he would get dragged into it.
In fact, he felt pretty certain that he had just managed to avoid getting dragged into it not so long ago. The Angel of Kindness had requested to have a conversation with him after all, and William had a feeling that that conversation would have explained a lot about the mysterious conflict that was currently going on in Hell.
But just as he was about to have this talk with the Angel of Kindness, a massive abomination had conveniently appeared and interrupted their interaction, and also his sister—Jane—had somehow managed to climb out of the cave, the same cave that had an exit that was at least fifty feet from the floor. Then after escaping the cavern, Jane had somehow managed to make her way through the never-ending field of crystals whilst having a house-sized abomination chasing her.
And now, she had somehow—some way—managed to find out that their brother Hans was here in Hell.
Was it just him, or was all of this just a little too suspicious? Almost as if it was planned out by someone...
William's head jolted upward and he looked at his sister with a dark and serious gaze. There were many questions on his mind, but one took priority over the rest.
"Jane, who told you that our brother is here?"
Despite being framed as a question, it was anything but. William knew the person who had told Jane this information; he simply wanted his sister to confirm it.
His sister lingered with the answer, her hand finding its way to the back of her neck and nervously scratching it.
Her apprehension did not last long, as William's intense gaze pierced right through her. Eventually, she sighed and finally relaxed her body.
With a nervous tremble ever so present in her voice, Jane finally gave William some of the answers that he had craved.
"It was a girl. Her hair was golden and her eyes were a magical blue. She appeared out of nowhere and helped me escape the cave and find you."
At her words, he could only reply with more questions.
"How did she help you exactly?"
Jane's eyes shifted toward the ground, her lips twitching uncontrollably. Her whole body gave off the vibe of being uncomfortable and out of place.
She spoke in a low tone, as if trying to avoid attracting someone—or something—that was watching from the shadows of the room.
"I really have no idea. One time I was in the cave talking to her, and then the next I was in the middle of the crystal expanse, running away from that giant monster you saw. The only thing I remember was seeing a wave of crimson radiance covering me from head to toe, but other than that I have no idea how she got me from the cave to you."
As she ended her statement, William let out a long sigh, as if trying to make all the hatred in his heart flow out in a single breath.
She could make them hallucinate. She could talk inside their heads. She could read their thoughts as well. The only thing that was left on the list was the one that he had hoped she wouldn't be able to do.
But as it seemed, she could also do that as well. Fully taking control of their minds and puppeteering them like marionettes, she truly had a complete grasp of their minds.
At this moment, William could only think of one thing—that being a short conversation that he had with a very peculiar person... well, he wouldn't call him a "person"; it was more like a "being".
"Do not go near her ever again. Do not speak to her. Do not speak about her to others. And do not listen to whatever she tells you. If you get involved with her, I promise you—it won't end well. Not only for you, but for everyone."
These were the exact words that were said by the Pillar of Death, Adam. A cosmic existence that held unfathomable power beyond human understanding, this mighty being had told him to stay away from Elsa.
And what did he do? He decided to partner with her, like the idiot that he was. The choices that he had made up to this point were finally beginning to bite him on the ass.
But this was something that he had expected. Despite the current situation being very bad, who was to say that trusting Adam would have gone any better? Who knew, maybe it would have been even worse with the Pillar of Death.
Truly, William could trust no one here. He couldn't even trust himself, as Elsa could be manipulating his perception right now at this very moment.
Massaging his forehead with his fingers, he spoke without even sparing his sister a glance.
"Sister, do you know where that blonde girl went?"
Jane let out a small sigh and glanced behind her back at the dark hallway of the Castle of Envy, a shiver running through her spine as she remembered the last time they took a stroll through it.
Taking a small step to the side, she let her brother take in the sight of the dark hallway, and it seemed that his reaction was more or less the same as hers.
Then she spoke, her voice regaining a small portion of her usual personality.
"She's in the hallways. Elsa told me that she would help... 'clean' the Castle of Envy from the annoying pests."
As she spoke, William took the time to reach around his bed, as if searching for something that he could only hope to be there.
"Come on, please tell me there are some clothes here."
A small smile appeared on his face as his hand felt something soft caress his skin.
"Jackpot!"
Pulling out a purple robe from below his bed, William quickly threw the piece of fabric over his body to cover it. A myriad of cracks resounded from his bones as he got out of his bed and stood up to stretch.
Looking past his sister, William stared at the dark hallway of the Castle of Envy. A serious expression was present on his face as he pointed a finger toward the darkness beyond.
"Well, if she wants to clean up the pests, then we should help, shouldn't we?"
Jane shuddered in place, her black pupils widening. Waving her hands around, she spoke in a panicked state.
"Have you gone crazy? Sure, those fiends that hide inside the castle might be considered 'pests' to Elsa, but to us they are death sentences that we barely managed to escape from last time. And what about me? I don't have a weapon anymore, so how would I even fight or defend myself?!"
William shrugged indifferently as he walked past his sister and into the beginning of the dark hallway.
"You don't have to come. Just stay here—it's safe after all. I am not a very patient person, and I want answers, so I am going to go get them from that blonde devil."
At his words, she could only stumble on her own.
"B-but, but that's—"
As his silhouette began to disappear into the darkness of the hallway, Jane shook her head and ran to catch up to her big brother.
"Wait, don't leave me alone again you psycho!"
And so it began—their second walk through the catacombs of the Castle of Envy.
_Chapter Ends_