/=+=/

Li Xiao would not leave Charice's side, no matter how much she demanded it from him. He found himself waiting outside the dorm's doors, hearing Charice pacing rapidly in her living room before collapsing a few times and coming back up again. It was almost as if she had no idea what she is supposed to do anymore. This was not the Charice he remembered, not the one he fell in love with. Then again, the Charice he remembered had a living brother.

He looked up and noticed that Antonio was walking slowly toward her room, completely bandaged up and looking like he was about to fall apart. The holes that were in him from the iron maiden were slowly healing, and the color was starting to return to his skin. He barely had the energy to wave to Li Xiao, much less say hi.

"I'm surprised you're still standing. The amount of damage you obtained is enough to kill a human."

"Well, they're just shocked I can still walk." He answered, looking at the door. "How is she?"

"Damning your existence."

"At least she's active." Antonio slid down the wall. "But I had to do it, right?"

"Of course. If not, Rizal would have lost himself to his roots and became nothing."

"He would've been a living Shadow."

"Yes."

"But aren't you a Shadow as well?"

"…yes." Li Xiao nodded. "The Persona of Wang Yao, the People's Republic of China."

"Wow…I never thought a Shadow could turn into a country."

"That's the thing. Shadows of nations do not turn into nations themselves. They either turn into municipalities such as myself, or cities. I've never seen one turn into half a nation."

"So Rizal is a strange case?"

"Not strange…unique is a better term."

"But what makes you different from him?"

"Hm?"

"Why did he go insane and kill everyone, and you didn't?"

"…I don't know exactly, but if I were to venture a guess…it was timing."

"Timing?"

"My powers came up only a few decades ago. He was literally born using his powers." Li Xiao sighed. "It was either the timing in which we were made…or the upbringing that we had."

"You mean I had something to do with…what happened."

"You made Rizal, Antonio. Just as much as when Kiku made me." He slid down until they were sitting next to each other. "Both born under intense emotions, when they are unable to be held back and faked…"

"Would that mean that Arthur would have a Shadow like you?"

"If Alfred shot it out of him, then most likely. But then again, he had magical abilities so he probably dabbled in black arts to get rid of the anger." Li Xiao shrugged. "When he had me under his wing, he did love using magic."

"I see…" Antonio turned to him. "Though…it still brings up one question."

"Ask away."

"You know how Rizal ended up turning into…what he was?"

"Evil? Yeah, what about it?"

"…is that going to happen to you?"

"…yes. Yes, it will happen."

Antonio stared at him with widened eyes as Li Xiao merely turned away, staring at the window that was just a few feet away from him in the hallway. The moon was finally up in the sky, reflecting its light on the now darkened hall. He could barely hear someone snoring in one of their dormitories, and it felt weird on just how casual Li Xiao looked after saying that.

"And you're not…worried about that?"

"It's inevitable, kind of like death. No need to get scared about it." Li Xiao sighed. "And yes, that means that someone is going to have to kill me afterward."

"So…Carlos?"

"Yeah. We did meet in the other world…" He turned to Antonio. "I was trying to kill him."

"Goodness."

"That's my story. It was also how I found out that I was a Shadow."

"…goodness."

"Yeah." Li Xiao looked up. "Oh. She stopped crying."

"Eh?" Antonio turned his head. "She did. Do you think she fell asleep?"

"Maybe. Either that or she just lost enough water in her body to cry out." He stood up. "Stay out here; I'll go and see if she's all right."

Antonio didn't say anything, obeying his order and watching as the young man walked inside the room. True to what he believed, she was indeed sleeping on the bed, facing the wall and illuminated by the moonlight. Li Xiao never saw her so vulnerable before. He had seen her broken from time to time due to her political standards, but then again, Rizal was still alive. Was this how people feel when they lose their family members…?

He never felt as separated from human emotion as he did now.

Sighing, he went over and covered her with the bed's blanket, watching her shiver as the rest of the cold vanished from underneath. From the looks of things, she had never cried so hard in her life before. Then again, Yao was close to him, making sure that he never suffered more than what he had to.

"Never again…"

He turned his head.

"I…I don't want to be hurt again…"

He looked over and noticed that her left arm started shaking, almost as if she was trying to move it away. He turned his head again and was surprised.

Was it paralyzed?

/=+=/

And now I will quietly sit back and wait for the flood of reviews.

Speaking of which, whatever you do, do not search for HetaQuest on Nico Nico Donga if you want to know more of the story, even if you cannot speak Japanese for your life like myself. If you want to know why, let's just say this: spoiler screenshot that brings more questions. But spoiler screenshot.

And by the way, you guys unlocked the True Ending, so there will be more to this story…later?