Author's Note: For those who are wondering why there has been no updates, I would appreciate it very, very much if you spent 10 seconds looking at my status, instead of spamming me with the same questions over and over again. 

I don't mean to sound rude, but my personal life as a whole is a big hot mess. I don't want to carry over my grievances from my personal life over to you guys. 

I believe myself to have a higher tolerance towards everything compared to others around me, but just like how everything has a bottleneck, I do too. I am simply human, and when humans are at their worst, they become selfish and spiteful. 

No doubt that would be me. 

Now, there's no way I want to become like that. 

Hence, just spare me 10 seconds to read my latest status. I do not spam announcements or status needlessly, so you don't need to scroll down that much. If you are on PC, it's even better, because my message will be pinned at the top. 

Thank you so, so much for those who read my status and waited so patiently, also sending me many lovely encouragements. 

Enjoy the chapter. 

Thank you for reading ♥.

I wish everyone a joyous day ahead. 

***

Kiyae narrowed her eyes at the good-looking copper brown-haired man speaking.

"Hmm..."

She narrowed her eyes further, hearing his low and smooth voice as he continued talking to Xue and Raz.

"Hmmm..." Kiyae hummed to herself with a grimace before she sighed, shaking her head. "I just can't get used to it."

"What? What?" Ryo gulped down his drinks, scuttling closer to Kiyae with his chair. "Who are you glaring at?"

"That one." Kiyae pointed at K'xug.

"My good friend, K'xug?"

"Yep."

K'xug and the others heard Kiyae's conversation with Ryo. Xue raised his eyebrows and Raz blinked in surprise.

"You became good friends?" Xue questioned. "With that overly obsessed battle junkie?"

"No, not that--"

"It didn't occur to me that K'xug was someone who made good friends with someone, that only has fighting and drinking in their mind." Raz muttered out.

"No, like I said, it's not that--"

Xue nodded along. "I was thinking the same, it seems that K'xug has changed a lot in the time I wasn't here."

"Hear me out first..."

Cecil smiled reluctantly, shrugging. "Seems like they aren't planning to hear you out at all."

Xue and Raz continued to chat with one another, and Xue showed the tiniest hint of a toothy grin.

Meanwhile, Ryo heard Raz's comment about him and he grinned, rubbing at his nose and puffed his chest proudly.

"He wasn't complimenting you." Haru was flabbergasted at Ryo's idiocy.

"Oh, really?" Ryo tilted his head before he grinned once again, his arms across his chest, nodding happily. "Well, to me it's a compliment, so...it's a compliment! Hmm!"

"..."

Haru was speechless.

Yun snickered at Haru's expression before clearing his throat.

"Speaking really doesn't suit you, I just can't get used to it." Kiyae shook her head, sighing once again.

K'xug gave her a confused frown. "Get used to it."

"I'm pretty sure it's because she has a nickname for you in mind," Yun pushed his glasses up his nose. "That's why she can't get used to it."

"Oh, as expected of Yun Yun." Haru clapped.

Yun grimaced at his childish nickname.

"Yeah, I did!" Kiyae smirked and began to lament. "Since K'xug can speak now, that nickname doesn't matter anymore."

"...what is it?" Xue asked.

He couldn't resist the curiosity.

It wasn't Xue that was the only one curious, since everyone started to lean in.

"Since all this guy could do was nod his head..." Kiyae tilted her head. "I was planning to call him...yes man."

"..."

"..."

"..."

K'xug's expression became one of bewilderment.

"Hahaha!" Haru guffawed, smacking K'xug on the back.

Ryo laughed along as well. "Yes man! My good friend!"

"I mean, that was all he could silently do," Kiyae shrugged. "There was no better nickname for him. Yes man."

"Yes...man..." Raz muttered out, covering his mouth.

K'xug placed his palm over his forehead.

"It...suits you." Xue controlled his laughter, though his shoulders were shaking with mirth.

Cecil glanced away, covering her mouth as well.

K'xug glared at them, knowing that this nickname would definitely stick around in their minds for a while.

"I did it! I did it!" a new voice entered the conversation, chirping in delight.

A red-haired woman dashed her way over with two dishes in her hands. Without even waiting for anyone's response, she squeezed in between the group and placed two dishes down on the table.

"Ta dah!" she exclaimed, proudly presenting her cooking. "It's a new recipe from me!"

At that moment, she glanced around and realised everyone was still laughing. She tilted her head, blinking innocently.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Hey, Hana, did you know that--" Xue cleared his throat, unable to control his amused smile.

"Shut up!" K'xug barked at Xue, a hint of red lining his ears.

***

Right now, Xue was in a predicament.

Once again, the soul fragments within him were bemoaning and whining about their food preferences. Well, it was only Shin who remained quiet the entire time.

Unfortunately, most of the dishes that Hana made had an ingredient that one soul fragment disliked.

Moreover, this time, Cecil wasn't feeding him.

Xue's eyebrows twitched as he glared at the food laid out before him.

Hana was standing beside him, her innocent blue eyes staring at him. She was eagerly waiting for his feedback on her food. All of them were standing up as they had pushed the chair aside to make more space.

Xue closed his eyes with a sigh, tasting the dishes one by one. Each time he did, a few soul fragments would voice out their disgust.

It was only Leonaut who constantly joined in to irritate Xue further.

Kai: "Argh!"

Alric: "Um-umph!"

Zasiok: "Urgh."

Leonaut: "Ah, I'm dying. I'm dying so badly."

The sarcastic tone in Leonaut's voice made Xue twitch in annoyance.

Sid: "Ugh, bitter!"

Isleif: "...why does it have to be spicy?"

Shin: "..."

Rugi: "Onions still taste awful."

Hana looked at Xue expectantly.

Xue simply forced a smile. "It's tasty."

"Really?" Hana gasped in delight, looking at the others. "Xue liked it!"

"Of course, it's cooked by Hana after all." Ryo gave her a thumbs-up.

"Mhmm mhmm." Kiyae nodded along.

"Who wouldn't like Hana's cooking?" Haru shrugged.

"No one could possibly dislike your cooking, Hana." Yun agreed readily.

"If he said it was bad..." K'xug lowered his voice, glancing away. "I would have punched him."

He was still sour about Xue annoying him incessantly awhile ago.

"What?" Cecil looked at K'xug in disbelief.

Xue reached for the cup of water, the incessant complaints from his soul fragments causing his hands to tremble in impatience. He picked the glass of water up, clenching his jaw.

Jehan: "I hate water. Don't drink water."

Xue slammed the cup of water down on the table.

Everyone stared at Xue, their faces indifferent. They were somewhat used to the weird tantrums Xue threw when having a big meal.

Xue: "Someday, I swear, I'll kill you all."

The soul fragments remained silent for a moment.

...and they started to whine once again.

"Supreme God," a voice said in a drunken manner. "My...Lord..."

This time, everyone turned their heads to the source of that voice, including Xue.

It was Raz.

Apparently, the alcohol had finally entered his system and he was completely tipsy now.

Raz scuttled up beside Xue, shoving the others away as they blinked in surprise.

"Woah!"

"Watch it!"

"Ouch."

"What the--"

All of a sudden, he knelt before Xue.

"...???"

All of them looked at Xue and Raz in confusion.

Xue looked at Raz with wide eyes, before swiveling his head to K'xug abruptly. The two of them had recognition in their eyes.

Cecil and Hana noticed the hint of panic in their expressions, tilting their heads.

"Stand up, Raz." Xue hastily said, frowning deeply.

Raz raised his head up, standing up slowly and he bowed his head.

"And you don't have to start--"

"My Lord, you don't have the slightest clue how great of a ruler you are, do you? Those demons, they treat you with contempt and yet you continue to treat them in a respectful way. You even take their side in situations that put us angels in a bad light. I have heard some soldiers insulting you behind your back, and how they can't seem to accept you as their Supreme God. Preposterous! If only they knew how much you had sacrificed for them, and the demons, and how you stay up all day and night to--"

Xue covered his face with his palm. "There you go again, stop talking--"

"--how blind are they to their hatred to not see your efforts, My Lord? Here you are, pouring your entire life into repairing the damage that had accumulated over thousands of years, and the angels and demons are only destroying it further. It upsets me that they are unable to see your magnanimous--"

All of them, except K'xug, raised their eyebrows at Xue.

K'xug smiled in amusement. This wasn't his first time experiencing this situation, and he never got tired of it.

Xue disregarded their questioning stares, an awkward expression on his face. He stormed towards Haru, and Haru staggered back in alarm.

"Wh-what are you, hey--woah!"

He began to drag Haru over, forcing him to stand in front of Raz.

Haru gave Xue a bewildered look.

"You are the Supreme God, aren't you?" Xue gestured to Raz. "It's your cue."

Haru blinked for a moment and he recalled the moment he arrogantly proclaimed himself to be the Supreme God.

He became flustered in an instant, a drop of sweat rolling down his face.

"No, that was--a joke!" he laughed nervously. "Oi, Xue, it's really just a joke!"

"Hah! If he is the devil, then I am the Supreme God himself!" Ryo imitated Haru, before shrugging. "Or something along those lines, that's what you said, captain."

"You be quiet!"

Kiyae was laughing heartily, wiping a tear from her eye. "So you are the almighty Supreme God now, captain?! Good to know, good to know! As expected of our captain!"

"Stop laughing!"

Meanwhile, Raz was still ranting away about his frustrations. Haru stumbled back, trying to back out when Raz suddenly grabbed onto his shoulders.

"My Lord!" Raz sobbed out. "Why do you have to suffer like that!"

"I'm not your lord!"

"My Lord!"

"...oi, Yun! Help me out here!" Haru turned to Yun, his expression desperate.

Yun simply smiled at Haru, clearly not intending to help.

What do you mean help you out?

You have whined to us like that when you were drunk.

When we did try to sneak away, you'll cry and grab onto us.

Have a taste of your own medicine.

Haru recoiled back at the dangerous smile on Yun's face.

Meanwhile, Cecil was listening intently to Raz's tirade, nodding her head with her onyx eyes lighting up. After all, this was an opportunity to hear about the Xue she did not know much about.

Just then, someone covered her ears and began to shove her out of the room.

"Eh? What? Wait, move your hands away! I still want to--Xue! I haven't finished listening to your--"

Xue bolted out of the room with Cecil protesting in his arms.

"Ah, hey! You coward! Don't run away!" Haru barked out. "How do I get this bastard off--"

"My Lord! Supreme God!"

"Like I said, I am not your lord or your Supreme God!"

Ryo and Kiyae continued laughing.

"Oi, K'xug! It's your good friend Raz is talking to, you should--" Haru turned to look.

The space where K'xug previously occupied was completely empty.

Hana clapped her hands together with an innocent smile. "You see! K'xug left the room way earlier!"

"Then, Hana, you can--"

"I'm going to find K'xug! Bye bye!" Hana waved, bolting out of the room without another word.

"Hey--!"

In the end, all that's left in the room was a crying Raz and two others laughing at Haru's misery. Yun, on the other hand, disregarded Haru's suffering and escaped the room as well.

"You peasant bastarddddddds!"

***

The party finally came to an end, and they reached the island where Kiba resided. However, before they handed Ephert over to Kiba for judgement, the group decided to pay him a visit in the temporary jail cell on the ship.

Raz was still recovering from his drunk episode yesterday, still resting on his bed.

The effeminate man no longer seemed like his neat and elegant appearance. He had a hostile look in his eyes the entire time, and his long hair was unkempt.

"There is no use glaring at us like that," Haru clicked his tongue, his arms across his chest. "You lost, admit your defeat."

"Don't bother," Kiyae hissed out. "A fucking asshole like him doesn't deserve any honourable words like that."

"Just hurry up and kill me," Ephert spat out, smiling angrily. "Get your revenge that you've always wanted."

"You ain't worth killing," Ryo yawned, scratching his head. "You need to repay the people for what you've done."

"Starting a civil war, creating an illegal slave industry, coercion and exploitation, kidnapping and human trafficking, causing thousands to remain without a family," Yun pushed up his glasses. "Do I need to spell each and every crime you've done towards your own people?"

"They were never my people, or people on my side," Ephert stated coldly. "Never was, never will."

Xue observed Ephert quietly, leaning against the wall.

He recognised the look in Ephert's eyes.

There was no way he wouldn't be familiar with it, after all, he once had the same look in his own grey irises.

The look of utter despair and callousness.

At that moment, Xue wondered.

Perhaps...

This detestable man went through similar experiences like me.

Xue glanced away, his indifference to Ephert's situation was apparent.

Shin: "Let me out."

Xue: "..."

Shin: "I want to say something."

Xue: "So you still want to kill him?"

Shin: "No."

Shin: "Not anymore."

Xue: "...hm."

Xue conceded to Shin's request, allowing the young adolescent to take control over the body.

Haru and the others were about to lash out at Ephert, and the ash blonde-haired man marched his way over.

Ephert lifted his head up, their eyes meeting.

"...tch," Ephert looked away. "What do you want, stupid brat?"

Everyone paused before looking at the ash blonde-haired man. It all occurred to them that this person wasn't Xue now, but Shin.

"Our cute little Shin?" Kiyae muttered out.

In an instant, Shin was smothered with hugs.

Haru, Ryo and Shin tackled him, not caring if the body he was in since the person himself wasn't Xue now.

"Little kid! So this time, all along, you were a soul fragment of Xue!"

"No wonder you two looked so similar!"

"How are you doing now?"

Shin wore an embarrassed look, his hair becoming tousled from their constant fuss. Cecil and Hana stood at one side, watching the scene with a small smile.

K'xug imagined if they did this to Xue instead, they would have been kicked aside and he chuckled in amusement.

"Let me go." Shin stated in an awkward manner.

"Yes yes."

"Always so cold, this little brother of ours." Ryo pouted.

"Heh! Just like the person himself!" Haru jested with a grin.

Shin turned to face Ephert once again, and Ephert had a bitter look in his eyes as he observed their camaraderie.

"You..." Shin lowered his eyes. "You are pitiful."

"...what did you just say?" Ephert narrowed his eyes.

"Even if what you went through was similar to us," Shin glared at Ephert. "We will never become like you."

Those words were a trigger to Ephert, and he exploded in anger, grabbing onto the metal bars of the jail cell.

"Lies!"

"Sooner or later, this is what everyone becomes!"

"We are selfish, cruel and only survive for ourselves! No one else matters!"

Shin turned away, looking at Haru and the rest.

"It was nice seeing you all again," Shin said with a small smile, his tone warm. "You...really kept to your promise."

"Of course!" Haru nodded.

Ryo and Kiyae voiced out in agreement.

"Don't worry, Shin," Yun reassured, his voice solemn. "We will ensure someone like Ephert will never see the light of the day again. We will let all the tragedy and suffering end here."

Meanwhile, the last few words that Yun uttered struck a chord within Xue, who was witnessing this same moment within his mind.

Xue closed his eyes with a sigh, and the soul fragments stared at him in curiosity.

Ephert was still continuing his harangue in the background. Despite that, no one paid any attention to him, not even a single glance.

Shin nodded.

"I am...going to go now," he responded, his smile still remaining on his face. "Thank you for everything, all this time."

"No problem!" Haru gave a thumbs-up.

"Take care, Shin." Yun nodded.

"See you around, little kid." Kiyae smiled.

"Next time, draw something nice again!" Ryo grinned.

The smile on Shin's face grew slightly wider.

Cecil stepped forward, placing her hand on his arm and Shin glanced down at her.

"See you again, Shin." Cecil smiled at him.

"Mhmm." Shin nodded before closing his eyes.

The next moment, when his eyes opened once again, everyone knew it wasn't Shin anymore. Xue did not say a word, only glancing back at Ephert.

There was an inscrutable look on his face.

"Go ahead, ignore me! One day, one day you'll become exactly just like me. Just watch, you'll become as pitiful and pathetic as me!" Ephert exclaimed.

"So noisy." K'xug muttered to himself.

Without any word, a few of them gave Ephert a contemptuous stare and proceeded to leave him screaming out his frustration in the temporary jail cell. There was an empty look in Ephert's eyes, and it seemed like he was completely absorbed in his own misery now.

Just then, Hana paused in her movements as she felt a faint throbbing on her neck.

She furrowed her eyebrows in discomfort, touching the back of her neck with her fingers and yet she could feel nothing there.

"I wish..."

The familiar voice that whispered to her from time to time was back.

Who is that?

Why are you speaking in my voice again?

Who are you?

Hana continued rubbing at her neck, the faint throbbing growing worse as she squeezed her eyes close.

"I wish...I had not done any of that."

Hana let out a quiet, pained moan.

"I should have..."

"I should have just died back then."

Hana gasped, her eyes bursting open.

"Hana?"

She lifted her head up, seeing Cecil patting on her shoulder.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Cecil questioned, noticing Hana's hand on her neck and she remembered the battle on that day. "What's wrong with your neck? Isn't that where Zeau hit you previously? Follow me to my room, I'll check if anything's wrong again."

Hana shook her head, forcing a smile on her face.

"No, nothing's wrong."

"Are you sure? No, it can't be that simple. Nevermind that, I'll check it right now."

Hana laughed. "I told you, I'm completely fine!"

"No no, it's better if we find Xue and K'xug." Cecil shook her head, grabbing Hana by the arm and dragging her along.

"Cecil!" Hana continued laughing. "I'm really fine!"

***

《 start 》

Not becoming like him.

If...I didn't have anybody by my side, I would have probably been like that.

In this miserable state.

It wouldn't be enough...no matter what I did.

Even if I wanted to let the tragedy and suffering end here.

Letting it all end here...

Is that possible?

If it truly is, I...

A small part of me foolishly wishes for that.

《 stop 》