Chapter 9
WARNING: The following chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence, murder, torture, and gore. Viewer discretion is advised.
Julian told his pupil to focus her power into the thought of travelling to another world.
Any world she wished inside of her little 4 year old mind. Focus all that power and energy as she slowly began radiating darkness.
First, it surrounded her body and looked like an extended halo of darkness as the power surrounding her started to slowly move towards her outstretched hands.
That's it! All she had to do was picture the world on the other side.
At Julian's words, Kiara released a blast of power, opening up the portal completely.
"I did it!" she exclaimed as she jumped on her mentor.
She really had done it, Julian thought as he stretched out his hand to her. Kiara grabbed his hand as they walked through the portal, into the world in Kiara's mind. Julian began to wonder where the portal was taking them as he studied the portal's passage, but he couldn't figure out where it was headed.
"Ooh!" the child exclaimed, "What's that?" She was pointing at a planet, but he knew an ambiguous answer like "a planet" wouldn't satisfy the child, so he simply said he didn't know as he suddenly felt her letting go of his hand.
Julian rushed to grab Kiara as she slipped away from him, and the current pulling her along didn't exactly help either. To make matters worse, the portal came to an end as Julian tried to use his power to catch the little girl, separating them in an unknown world.
*****
The Light Creator's magician called out for his daughter over and over again as he wandered the streets of this odd looking 2D town.
He didn't think he was in an Eastern Province, but the architecture looked similar to the East, if it had gone back in time 300+ years.
Really, where was he? Kiara was the one who brought them there, so maybe it was a land from one of those books she liked reading so much?
Julian wandered along the streets, searching for Kiara as he tried to figure out where he was.
"Are you alright?"
Julian turned around to face a man in a black kimono and curly brown hair.
"I saw you were looking for someone. Can I be of any help?"
While the kind passerby offered to help Julian look for Kiara, the only thing that ran through the magician's mind was all the different ways he could kill this man.
He thought of using the man's sword to stab him, or behead him, or both. No, those methods are tedious and unexciting. Maybe if he-
"Excuse me?" the man asked, "Are you alright?" Julian decided he would simply stab the man on a high wall somewhere and leave his body there to scare all the other residents of the town.
He looked at the clearly confused man and reached his hand out to grab him by the neck, when he suddenly remembered a promise he made.
The man awkwardly grabbed Julian's hand and shook it as he told Julian, "Take your time. I don't want to rush you in any way."
Julian lowered his hand and clicked his tongue as he walked past the man.
"Don't you need help?" he asked, but Julian could find Kiara on his own.
"Alright." the man said before he started to follow Julian.
He was overthinking it, Julian decided to himself as he kept on following Kiara's heartbeat.
Make a left there and a right at the next corner before turning left again at the end of the street, Julian instructed himself as the man behind him made a left there, a right at the next corner, and turned left at the end of the street.
Could he stop following Julian?
"I'm not following you," the man insisted, "We're just going in the same direction."
How could that have been possible if he was going to his daughter?
"I'm just trying to get to my friend." the man nonchalantly said as he walked in front of Julian.
He was obviously following him!
"Believe what you want." Julian violently suppressed the urge to crush the man's head as they both turned to the street Kiara was on.
"Ukitake!" the man said to the man holding Kiara in his arms. "You have a child?" he asked jokingly, but Julian was more focused on the tear marks on Kiara's face.
"I found this little girl wandering about calling for 'Jules'," the white haired man said, "But I don't know who that is."
Why was Kiara crying?
Julian glared at the man as he set the 4 year old on the ground.
"She was crying when I found her." the white haired man explained as they both placed their hands on their swords.
Julian's worry for Kiara, however, drowned his curiosity as to why they both had the same swords and black kimonos.
"Ukitake saved me!" Kiara announced while giggling in Julian's arms before he looked up at the two men and asked them what had happened.
"I heard crying while I was on my way to see my teacher, so I followed the crying and found the little girl on the ground."
Was that so?
"So there's no need for you to be so angry, huh?" the brown haired man said as Julian simply thanked them for their help and turned to leave.
"Wait!" the white-haired man called, "Who are you two?"
Who were they?
Julian laughed a bit at the question as he froze them in time. Once the matching men were in suspended animation, Julian opened the portal home and commented on how Kiara always seemed to make friends wherever she went.
"It's because they're really nice." the 4 year old giggled as they walked into the portal and headed back to that lonely tower.
It was already nighttime when they arrived back in Wisteria, and Julian carefully laid the child in her bed as she cuddled up with her stuffed animal.
It was so much bigger than her. She always looked adorable as she held it in her arms, Julian commented to the man standing in the room.
"And here I thought you wouldn't be able to catch me so easily."
What did he want?
"Shouldn't we introduce ourselves first?"
They already knew who the other was.
"Yeah," Chadwick said, "I guess we're both Kiara's papas."
What exactly did he want?
"I want to move Kiara to my house in the South."
What? Did the royals change their minds about how useful she was?
"No. This is a decision I made by myself, but I wanted to know what you think."
What Julian thought? It was simple. He was able to keep an eye on her no matter where she was, changing her cage wouldn't affect this ability. If Kiara wanted to transfer from this prison to another, Julian wasn't going to stop her. It was his duty to protect her, not make decisions for her.
"What a backhanded insult." Chadwick laughed as he kissed his granddaughter on her forehead.
Julian stared at the innocent child as he assured himself her happiness was all he needed.
He was sure Kiara's sadness would've been the death of him.
*****
Vmm. Vmm. Vmm. Vmm.
Julian drowsily picked up his phone as he sat up in bed, only to hear Chadwick yelling on the other side of the phone.
No, she lived in the palace, or did he forget she was the heir to the throne. A princess.
Why was he asking him in the first place?
What?
They woke him up to tell him they lost the princess of the South? Really?
Chadwick hung up after ordering the Light Creator's magician around, not that Julian cared. She was probably hiding away on one of her family's private islands or playing with dolphins somewhere.
"That sounded serious."
Julian turned to see a young lady lying in his bed as he started to recall the past night's events.
"Shouldn't you look for her?" the woman asked Julian, but she just needed to mind her own business.
"Whatever you say, but if something happens to her, the blame will be on you."
Ugh. Was she this noisy at the bar?
"If you go look for her, then I'll stop."
Julian looked at the woman who obviously wanted to rob him, but he didn't care. He could just reconjure up everything she stole without moving a finger.
"Find her! Find her! Find her!" the woman quietly chanted until her voice became annoying.
Julian grabbed her by the mouth and asked her if she'd shut up if he found her, and she quietly nodded her head with her cheeks being squashed. Julian closed his eyes and pictured the 8 year old in his mind and began his search to match her heartbeat among an ocean of others on the same planet.
A process which usually took 3 minutes at the longest, took the Light Creator's magician 10 minutes before he realised Kiara wasn't on Wisteria.
It would take him half a day to find her if she wasn't on the planet, and Julian's worries only grew as he started to think about why she had left, where she had gone, and how much time he had to get to her before something bad happened to his princess.
"So did you find her?" the woman asked smugly, resulting in Julian grabbing her by the neck as he blamed himself for her disappearance.
If he had kept an eye on Kiara the night before, he could've chased after her immediately and not be in this mess.
If he just kept her by his side this wouldn't have happened. Kiara could've been in trouble, but Julian had no way of knowing where she was or what kind of trouble she was in.
"Where … would … go?" the woman gasped, making Julian let go of her neck and question her sanity.
"Where does she usually go when she's upset?" the woman said as she coughed.
Did she not care for her own life? He was about to kill her.
"That wasn't the question. Where would she go if she was sad or scared or angry?"
Kiara isn't scared often nor does she ever get annoyed at anything, but the last time she cried she-
Julian jumped out of bed and pulled on some clothes before opening a portal and leaving Wisteria behind as he found his daughter sitting by herself on top of a grassy hill.
"Hi, Jules." she said while she turned to face him, but her facial expression and red, swollen eyes really didn't match her excited tone.
The curly blonde haired magician walked up to Kiara and dropped his head on her lap as they watched the world she had created.
It was beautiful, Julian said before he felt drops of water begin falling onto his face.
Rain? No, it wasn't raining, Julian told himself as he sat up and held his daughter in his arms.
The tighter he held her, the more she bawled helplessly in his embrace. He wondered what could've possibly caused this as she quietly said through her tears, "A liar like me could never make such a beautiful world."
What? Who said she was a liar? What did Kiara possibly lie about?
"They said I lied. I'm a liar." she cried, but Julian simply held her as he tried to hush the child.
Kiara couldn't possibly be a liar when she's the most truthful person Julian knew.
"But they-"
"They" didn't know what the abyssus they were saying, he told her as Julian quietly imagined the screams of agony of the people who made Kiara like this.
His mind calmed a bit as he imagined how loudly "they" would scream as he pulled each of their limbs off one by one. He thought of using a different tool for each of them as he realised Kiara had fallen asleep on his shoulder.
Julian wiped her remaining tears away before he kissed her on the forehead and opened a portal back to his apartment in Wisteria. He figured "they" were probably people in the palace, but what he didn't understand was why she was still there.
Aren't robbers supposed to take the stuff and go?
"Who said I'm a robber?" the woman asked as she helped Julian get Kiara off his back, "The name's Atalune. I thought I told you last night."
Well, he didn't care, so he asked her to leave.
"No can do."
Why the abyssus not?
"I saw how you were last night and this morning. You don't expect me to leave you alone with this little girl, do you?"
Just what exactly did she think Julian was?
"A violent, obsessive sadist."
Julian grabbed Atalune's neck, but he immediately let go when he heard Kiara waking up. He turned to her and placed his hand on her knee as he asked her if she was hungry, but Julian felt a sting in his heart as Kiara threw his hand aside and screamed, "No!"
D-Did she just reject Julian? He felt his body begin to tremble with anger as Atalune sat next to Kiara and asked her, "Why don't you go wash your hands as I make dinner? Huh?"
The princess quietly obeyed with her head lowered as she left the living room, heading for the bathroom, but Julian was still trying to fathom what had just happened.
"I take it this is her first time rejecting you?" Atalune asked, pissing Julian off, and making him pin her against a wall with a knife to her throat.
Did someone as shameless as her fear for her life?
"When you've been through a life like mine, fear isn't something you tend to afford."
As Julian was about to test her theory, Kiara walked back into the room as Julian walked over to the kitchen and conjured up a pizza.
"Woah!" Atalune exclaimed, "Wasn't that cool?" Kiara smiled at her exaggerated response as she told her, "I can do it too. Do you want to see?"
One pizza was enough, Julian commented as the atmosphere turned icy at his comment, but Atalune warmed it right up with, "How about you conjure up some waffles for breakfast tomorrow?"
The 8 year old excitedly accepted the proposition as they walked over to the living room and sat in front of the television.
"I haven't had a sleepover in so long," Atalune said as Julian flipped through the channels, "This is going to be fun!"
Kiara was sleeping with Julian that night, he declared, but the princess quietly said, "I want to sleep with the lady, please." making Julian snap.
He lost her twice and now she suddenly hates him! Was that it?
"N--no."
Don't stutter and speak properly!
"Sweetie, why don't you go eat in the bedroom while the grownups have a talk?" Atalune said to Kiara, completely ignoring Julian's presence, but he wasn't going to let them disrespect him this way.
Julian felt his eyes glow as a barrier appeared around the room, blocking both girls from leaving.
She was to explain everything to him right then and there. No was allowed to leave until Julian was let in on what had happened to Kiara while she was at the palace. Why did she run away from home? Why was she so scared of Julian's touch? Why was he the only one who didn't understand what was going on?
Why wouldn't they speak?
"Kiara," Atalune finally said, "Is at the age where she feels uncomfortable sleeping with a man."
Was it true?
Kiara quietly nodded her head as Julian realised he was scaring her.
H-He didn't mean to, he told her softly as he lowered his barrier. His knees gave way as the magic dissipated, but when Julian looked up, he saw Kiara and Atalune holding him up as she commented, "You're too young to have knee problems."
Too young? More like he was simply too old to have any joint problems.
A feeling of relief came across Julian's mind as he studied Kiara's smile. It felt like it had been forever since the last time he saw it, he thought as he rose to his feet.
He was sorry he scared her. He would never mean to, Julian said as he headed towards the door.
"And where do you think you're going this late?" Atalune asked him, but Julian simply told Kiara to go take a shower, ignoring Atalune until she grabbed him by the arm and stared into his eyes.
The last person to do that turned to stone, you know.
"I'm not a statue, which means you've gotten softer over the years." the shameless woman replied as she refused to let go of Julian's arm.
"Where are you going?"
Nosy much?
"With that look in your eyes, I think it's better to be nosy."
Julian sighed as he realised how he had gotten tangled up with an annoying young lady, so he planned to scare her off by saying he was going to pin whoever hurt Kiara to an electric pole.
"I think you should stay with her."
Atalune had a lot of parenting advice for an orphan.
"I may be an orphan by your standards, but I have a dad, you know."
Great, Julian commented while ignoring her.
"And if I was scared of the entire male population, I would want my dad to stay by my side and remind me of the men out there who would protect rather than hurt me."
She must've had a lot of screws loose, but she kind of made sense as Julian asked Kiara for her opinion.
Atalune turned around to see Kiara poke her head out from behind the wall leading to the hallway.
Did she want Julian to give her a hug and tell her how many people genuinely loved her? Is that what she wanted?
The princess stayed quiet and didn't move from her spot until Julian went down on one knee and stretched his hands towards her.
He loved her. Chadwick loved her, and so did all her brothers. They alone were enough. They would keep her safe.
Julian's heart hurt as he watched the tears fall from his daughter's face as she tried to walk while wiping her tears away. However, it was soon filled with another emotion as he held her in his arms and she cried her eyes out.
He glanced up to see the grinch smiling to herself as Atalune's ego was clearly being filled by her judgement of the situation. Julian wasn't used to this at all, but you can't blame him since the last time he had to console a daughter of his was centuries ago.
To that day, he still wanted to strangle that pompous brat, Jacob, for breaking Elesius's heart. Maybe that's why she asked him to make that promise, he thought as Kiara looked up at him and started apologizing.
"I shouldn't have thought you would ever touch me like that. You wouldn't touch me with your thing."
Julian felt Atalune's concerned gaze on him as he picked up the princess and set her on her feet.
She loved when he patted her head, he thought as Julian asked Atalune to go find some clothes for Kiara to change into. Julian had to go make a phone call, he said as he closed the front door before Atalune could tell him otherwise, but from the looks of it, it didn't seem like she was going to stop him anyway.
Ah, he finally picked up.
She was at Julian's apartment. She was taking a shower at the moment, so he would drop her off at the palace in 15.
<...Thank you.>
Don't mention it, but Julian did need a favour from Chadwick.
What happened to make Kiara run away?
What allegations?
And why the abyssus did they not believe her?
Empty? Did they still have them?
Julian simply asked for the tapes to be given to him when he took Kiara back before giving Chadwick the drop off location.
Julian had a habit of hanging up the phone while someone was talking to him, but he really didn't care as he stared up at a blank space in the sky.
How long did it take? Was Elesius dumber than he remembered? It didn't matter. The longer she took, the longer he had to get her to forgive him for breaking their promise.
*****
"Mahogani wiped the tapes?" Julian remembered Chadwick asking in disbelief as he and his grandson trembled in anger upon learning the truth.
Their reactions meant they weren't involved in the matter, or they were incredible actors, except they weren't, he mocked as he jumped from roof to roof while travelling through the city. He could've teleported there to save time, but Julian was feeling generous, so he let his target enjoy his last few moments.
That was what Julian had decided, but there wasn't enough time in the world to save this man from something as inevitable as Julian's rage. However, the brothel the criminal had snuck into made it easier for Julian to jump in through the window and kill everyone in the room with a single step.
Almost everyone. He kept his prey for last as he walked up to the pitiful man who had tied himself up to Julian's convenience.
"HaVe mErCy~ hAvE MeRCy~"
Hearing the same words made this more annoying than thrilling to Julian as he ran a knife down Mansa's spine. He hadn't even cut him yet, and he was already wailing like a little baby.
Such an unpleasant scene, Julian commented as he cut the man's back open without even using the slightest bit of energy or strength.
Ugh. The screams got louder the lower he cut, how unsettling.
Julian thought he liked pain. Wasn't that why he was tied up in the first place? Why did he continue screaming like a pig?
It was aggravating, Julian said as he reached forward and peeled the skin and fat away, revealing the pervert's spine. He was always interested in Kiara's anatomy books whenever Chadwick brought them over, but nothing stimulated all five of Julian's senses more than being able to experience it himself.
He wondered what would happen to the average human if the different parts of the spine were shifted around like the way he was doing to Mansa.
I say average because Julian was specifically using his magic to keep the piece of filth alive as he played with his spine, and eventually his internal organs.
Julian never imagined the liver and kidneys to be so squishy as the man eventually lost his voice from screaming too much.
Did he pass out? Julian walked to the front of his body and placed his left hand on Mansa's forehead, and his right on his chest as he shocked him awake while he removed the man's heart from his body.
All the major arteries were still connected, Julian assured the man as his face went pale.
However, Julian had no intention of killing Mansa as he pushed the heart back into his body and used his magic to fix the creature's back.
The pain would remain for another 4 months as a reminder for him not to put his hands on Julian's daughter ever again.
"Y-you!"
Oh? Had his voice returned already? Julian questioned the man while he walked to the broken window.
What did he want?
"Why didn't you just kill me?"
That would've been no fun, plus, he had done the hard part for Julian, so he left the man alive as an expression of gratitude.
"W-What?"
It's really difficult to hurt the one you love without hurting yourself in return.
"That isn't love! You're obsessed with that monster!"
And was Mansa's crime the proper expression of love? Hm?
The man remained silent as Julian lept from the window to the top of another building.
His mind wondered what the difference between love and obsession was as he started to wonder which one he fell under when it came to Kiara. He wasn't obsessed with her, he knew this because he acknowledged his obsession with Elesius.
He was simply taking care of her for the sake of living out his daughter's dying promise. That was all, he decided as he arrived back at his apartment to find Atalune lying on his couch, watching tv.
"You stink. Go wash up."
*****
Julian giggled at his memory of meeting his wife as Si-eun asked him, "What's so funny?"
Aside from the stone cold empress being so worried, this was the third time he had lost Kiara to another dimension, but the first time he couldn't reach her.
"Good."
Good?
"I thought you found the disappearances of King Cheyton, Queen Chenoa and my daughter comical."
And if he did? What was she going to do about it?
You would think Julian would've learned he couldn't stimulate any emotion from the statue of a monarch sitting beside him as she simply looked to the stars and asked, "Is that empty space for the queen?"
She had always had a good eye too.
"A good eye comes with a strong mind, and a strong mind is necessary when watching the hour before dawn."
Says the philosopher, Julian joked as he understood her words to a t.
He was grateful to her. Without her, he would've never been able to pull off this plan, he thought before asking if she was nervous.
"Why would I be?" the empress replied with sharp words and a calm expression, "If anyone can handle Ackley's big mouth and Winston's manipulative, stubborn nature, it's me. Rather, aren't you nervous?"
Huh? What was Julian supposed to be nervous about?
"I thought you would be a bit nervous about your pregnant wife's child," she said with a sigh, "But I suppose not even that surprises you anymore."
It came with age, Julian joked as a quiet settled between the two while a light flew over their heads, straight for the palace behind them.
"Take care of her." The empress said as she rose to her feet and turned to face her palace of Guro-gu.