Quia's POV

Today, I woke up two hours earlier than my usual waking time. Yesterday, I slept late because the pax, people of the altus army, my elder brother and I are planning for my death today. Who plans their own deaths? Us, the altus kind.

Altus are people, but we don't really consider ourselves a part of the human kind--even though according to Groz, one of the first altus in the ancient times, we came from dhimans or humans. At the first glance, we look just like humans. But once we show what we are capable of, humans will think we are monsters. And that is why we are planning my death.

If you are thinking that I must have been caught showing what I am capable of, I was not. Altus can live twice as humans can. It is not that cool because that is also one of the reasons why I had to die in this country, Italy. I need a new identity because an altus will physically develop twice slower than humans. I am currently thirty-five, but I look like a teenager. If humans will know our altus nature, they will study us in their laboratories for sure.

While everyone, the pax and my brother, are still asleep, I went to our kitchen and started preparing some breakfast, which are pancakes an coffee, even though altus don't really have to eat three meals in a day. We can actually survive having one meal in two days.

Making pancakes was a piece of cake because that was my go-to breakfast whenever I get lazy or busy. Because I still have thirty minutes before seven, which I assumed the time that everyone is going to wake up, I toasted some bread and chopped some avocados.

"Good morning, Qui-qui."

I rolled my eyes, hearing what my brother has just called me. Qui-qui has been my nickname for as long as I can remember, but I still find it, well, not nice.

"Good morning, Kuya Kingkong," I greeted back with a smirk.

My brother's name is actually Kingsley, but his nickname is Kingkong. I don't know how did my filipino parents came up with it. We hate our nicknames but somehow, we still call each other that. What a mystery.

"Are your luggages ready?" he asked as he grab some towel to wipe the table.

"You want me away that badly?"

He snorted and looked at me, "We both know the answer to that."

I took a lungful of air.

I will miss my brother. I can actually change my identity without going to another country, but I was chosen. I was chosen to lead a mission that I don't even know if it's real or just a mere imagination in my sleep.

×××

Hello, guys. It's been a while! I have been busy with college, so please bear with my slow updates. Thanks for reading my comeback project! Please share your thoughts din po through the comments. And please support me by voting po. God bless!