When he finally made it to his room, Hunter immediately flopped down on his bed. The red cardinal flew off his shoulder to the window ledge. Today felt like the longest day of his life, and he currently wanted nothing more than to forget about it all and just sleep. He was almost always tired, but he really didn't think he could keep his eyes open any longer. He would figure everything out in the morning. Aside from being overwhelmingly tired, he just...Didn't want to think about clones or grimwalkers or the other day's events. He closed his eyes and rolled over, not even bothering to kick his boots off before drowsing off.

He couldn't have been asleep for more than five minutes though, when he heard a knock at his door. Hunter groaned and grabbed one of his pillows, shoving it over his head. Who the heck wanted him at this hour? He just couldn't get a moment of peace, could he?

There was another knock, louder this time. The blond, ragged looking teen sighed and sat up, rubbing his bleary eyes before standing and walking to his door. "What do you wa-" he started to say as he opened it, but then he froze. He felt a chill run down his spine as he saw who it was. "Be-Belos?"

Sure enough, it was Emperor Belos standing in the hallway. Only, unlike earlier, he was wearing his mask. Belos never came to Hunter's room like this. If he wanted to see him, he would always have someone deliver a message. So needless to say, it made Hunter uncomfortable to have his uncle standing right outside his door. His room was supposed to be a sanctuary, a place his uncle never usually went near. That, and he still wasn't sure what his feelings were about Belos anymore.

"Nephew, I wish to speak to you. Is this a bad moment?"

'Yes, it is!' Hunter thought. 'I don't want to speak to you at all.' Of course, he couldn't tell the emperor that, so against his better judgement, he nodded.

"Take a walk with me then," Belos replied. Hunter all but scrambled out of the door and started to follow Belos. He wished he could say no, he really did...But he knew he couldn't. It was bad enough that he left the portal room in such a hurry, and that only happened about 20 minutes ago. He absolutely could not afford to mess up or disappoint his uncle in any way, shape, or form.

He would never admit it outloud to anyone, but he was scared of Belos.

Scared of his "uncle". Especially now. Especially after seeing that book because there was absolutely no way he didn't know about it.

And the mask. Belos was always the scariest when he wore his mask. You couldn't read his expression, all you had to go by was the tone of his voice. When he got angry under that mask...It truly was frightening. It made him seem more "tyrant ruler" than family member. 'If he could even be considered family.' The sad truth was, Hunter didn't even know what "family" meant. How did normal families treat each other? Was it much different than this? Was it normal to be treated like nothing more than a tool? A tool that could very easily be disposed of…

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Hunter questioned as they walked down the long hallway. There was silence for a moment. Then Belos came to a stop.

"You left in such a hurry earlier. I must admit, I find it curious that you didn't stay to see what the key could do."

'No, no, no! Exactly what I don't want to talk about!' He couldn't bring this up with his uncle. Not tonight, and not anytime in the near future. Great Titan, why couldn't he just catch a break? What excuse could he possibly give? He couldn't lie. And why did Hunter feel like Belos already knew the answer?

"Hunter?" the emperor questioned. He was taking too long to give an explanation.

The teen felt his mouth go dry again, and it felt like his throat was closing up. He had no other choice, he had to tell what he saw. Maybe...maybe Belos could give him answers. Maybe being a Grimwalker wasn't as bad as it sounded. Hunter knew that he had a little breakdown about it in the hallway earlier, but, well...If Belos was the one who 'created' him, there was a good reason for it, right?

Hunter breathed in deeply and exhaled through his nose before he spoke, trying to hide how pathetically nervous he was about this. He couldn't stand how scared he was. "Right before I left, I noticed something on the floor...A book was open, and the pages on it…" He raised his head slightly to meet Belos' gaze (or where it would be under the mask).

"Yes?"

If the teen didn't know any better, he would have thought Belos' tone sounded almost...mocking.

Hunter clenched his fists so tightly that he could feel his fingernails biting into his palms. "I saw it talking about something called a Grimwalker. A magically created clone. An artificial witch." He was scared to have to tell his uncle this, yes, but now that he was explaining, he was also angry, and that was evident by his tone. "That's what I am, isn't it?" It took everything he had to keep himself from yelling. "A clone! That's why I don't remember my parents, isn't it?! That's why I can't do magic! All those things you told me about my life before you took me in...Those…"

The teen's eyes flashed angrily. He forced himself to calm down. He would be in a world of trouble if he lashed out at Belos. So in an eerily still voice, he said, "Those were just lies, weren't they." He didn't say it like a question, rather as a fact. Because it was, wasn't it? It was a fact that he'd been lied to ever since he came into this fake existence.

The silence that hung in the air after Hunter's little outburst lasted far too long for his liking. His nails bit into the pams of his hands even more. He was waiting bitterly for his uncle to give some excuse, any excuse. Waiting for him to justify his cruel lies. Then,

"My, my, such an outburst is quite unlike you, Hunter. Have you no trust in me? In the titan? After everything I've done for you?" Belos started walking again, and Hunter was forced to follow after him. "Your suspicions about what you saw in that book were right; you are what's called a 'Grimwalker'. A clone. But why is that such a bad thing?"

Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Belos held up a finger to silence him. He didn't need to see Hunter's face to know that he wanted to say something.

"Because I told you a few lies? Hunter, I must admit that it pains me to know that you don't trust me. Any lies I told were purely to keep you safe. Judging by your reaction, I was right to do so. Now, I assume you have questions about all of this?" He looked at Hunter, who gave a quick but firm nod. "And you'll get them in due time. But for now, all you need to know is that it was by the Titan's will all of this happened. The Titan told me to create you to serve his purposes. You were made to be a tool in his hands."

They came to a stop again, and now they were at the door to the portal room. Emperor Belos turned to face Hunter. His arm reached out and suddenly, his hand was tightly gripping his nephew's right shoulder. Hunter winced, but stared into the eyes of the expressionless mask Belos wore. "You should be honored to be used by the Titan." His voice was stricter now, with much less compassion in it-if there even was any in the first place. "There are no others like you, do you understand? Until the day of Unity, you must stay safely inside the castle. Replacing you would be much too difficult right now." The grip on Hunter's shoulder became painfully tight before he finally let go. Belos stepped back and opened the door to the portal room. "You did well getting me the key, but I will not tolerate any more...excursions...Goodnight, Hunter."

With that, the emperor left, and the door was practically slammed in his face. Hunter couldn't bring himself to move at that moment, just staring blankly at the door. He thought he was confused and hurt earlier, but that didn't even compare to what he felt now.

Because now, Hunter knew without a doubt that he was nothing more than a tool to be used.