Chapter 20
Akzeriuth was falling. Dust and miasma shot into the air as entire sheets of rock split in two. Houses crumbled like dry flowers in the wind, turning to dust, obliterated forever. Even from a distance, the screams could be heard in the streets, panicked people attempting to escape their fate, all in vain as they died along with their forsaken city.
And the man overlooking it all couldn't help but laugh.
Watching from the safety of the nearby mountains, Van stood, two gleaming crimson birds carefully preening their feathers behind him. One freely moved about while the other still held onto its burden that had been carefully moved up on its back.
Asch remained unconscious, which was just as well for the time being, it gave Van some time to enjoy the success of his endeavours. Oh they were still far from nearing completion, but now, after 7 long years of catering to the needs of a couple selfish brats, he could finally set everything into motion.
And they would move.
He still remembered the day seven years ago when Asch had turned him aside to return to his family. It had been his first miscalculation. He had let the boy escape and make his way home, all with the expectations that upon seeing how easily he was replaced would return to the only place he had left, at Van's side.
But things hadn't worked that way at all, that miserable failure had somehow swayed the boy, despite his innate stubbornness, and Asch had slipped through his fingers. Van had lost count of how many times he cursed the replica. Not only had it failed to replace Asch, but it became the thread that tied Asch back into his former life. Time after time he had invited Asch to join him, but he was always shot down; and always for the same reason. The replica.
But that was finally taken care of. Not only had he found a scapegoat to the Score that condemned Asch to death, but he rid himself of the good-for-nothing fool. With the boy none the wiser as to what had happened. It would be so much easier to gain Asch's vital cooperation now. He had a motive, he had a drive. Who wouldn't hate the Score that ripped away the two people for whom he cared for most?
It would be the replica's first success.
The fool had proven to be easier to work with than he had expected. The way it accidentally stumbled onto its abilities on the ship to Chesedonia had worked out especially well. It had been so simple to implant a trigger, just a few choice words, into its mind as it slowly lost consciousness. So easy to turn that on the replica when it thought it had control of the situation, when it thought it could say no.
The amount of control his tool ended up having was something of a surprise, even to him. It had managed to hold on to the point where he had to resort to upsetting the thing to break its focus. Now just how had it managed that? It had absolutely no experience in such things, to have held on so long… Just where had it learned so much in such a short time?
One of the birds behind him squawked, drawing his attention to the dormant redhead.
Of course. Foolish of him to have overlooked that particular fact. The boy had grown unexpectedly attached to the replica that was supposed to take his place. It wasn't all that much of a surprise he would have taught the fool. He was intelligent, there was no denying that. If given the chance, Asch could become a powerful enemy. He would have to do something about that.
The boy slowly moved his head and groaned. He was starting to come to.
Yes, he would have to do something about that indeed.