Chapter 22: Discussion With A Loved One

“I guess I should be honest with you Adria.”

“H-Huh?”

My beautiful woman’s face went pale as she gazed into my eyes. I could see her irises flickering from huge to small, as if she was scared of me, and thanks to that… I think I had no other option but to tell her. However, I wonder if she could handle the truth…?

“I want to tell you something. But… will you promise to keep it secret…?”

“I m-mean… yeah sure!”

She looked away and flinched, shuddering ever so slightly as she backed off into the wall. Her eyes avoided staring back at mine and though she had a blush on her face, she seemed worried and bothered by me closing in on her…

And so I gently cupped her face in my hands.

“Promise me.”

A soft cry escaped her lips. Adria’s lips quivered ever so slightly and to be frank… I wanted to go in for a kiss, however we had something to discuss… There was something she had to know, so I would hold back on the antics for now…

“A-Alright… I promise you! I understand that you might be shy talking about these things so as someone who loves you… I want to keep it hidden from others you might be embarrassed with.”

“Great… then we can talk then.”

I slowly run my fingers across her face before slowly moving away with a smile. This caused her to flinch and stammer a bit as her face flushed red. Was she embarrassed? Perhaps… Was she cute? Well of course!

I just hope she could accept what I have to say and I hope that it wont weigh heavily on her mind. Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and held my breath and after a few seconds I slowly exhaled.

“Robert… is something the matter…?”

“Sorry… I was just preparing myself a bit. This is something that might shake you so I want to tell it to you as gently as possible.”

“Ah… Okay, then take your time!”

She smiled nicely and cocked her head to the side understandingly. Adorable… and yet I might lose this sight if I revealed what had actually happened last evening.

Gently cupping the gear that was hung on my neck, I fiddled with it a bit and a shrill noise echoed inside the room. It made Adria close her eyes and shake a bit out of shock, but this was necessary if I do not want to be caught.

“What was that…?!”

“Ah… sorry, I kind of panicked and pressed something on my gear, but everything should be fine… Yeah!”

I let out a dry chuckle hoping that she wouldn’t pry deeper than what I did. At first, she raised her brows at me and frowned. She even looked around to see anything had happened, but in the end she just sighed and huffed whilst shaking her head.

“Hmm… just be careful next time.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Meanwhile my eyes were primed to check on the cameras which lost their gentle red glow. Great… I was safe from being recorded and if it was resumed, it should appear as just yet another bug in their system. With those out of the way, I could safely discuss my plans with Adria.

“So… What did you want to talk about?”

“I want to raze this place to the ground…”

“H-Huh?”

I stood up and moved closer as she backed away with wide eyes. Her body shuddered and her mouth opened up in fear of me… yet if I had to scare her a bit just to get her on my side… I wouldn’t hesitate.

“Don’t you miss the life outside of this place… Don’t you recall the memories you had before you were taken here…? Adria… My father has a way out.”

“M-Mr. Robert Sr… But I thought all communication had been cut off? How did you?”

Without letting her finish, I pulled out a phone, spinning it gently as its screen glided between my ring finger and thumb. Adria had slowly become pale when she saw this…

“Did he ask you to do something for him…?”

“No! It’s just that… The concept of Epico, the concept of powers… All of this is just wrong! Our group isn’t using our powers for good, nor are we helping other people! We just sit here, grow up to be responsible adults and what? Blend in outside?! Adria… are we just being trained to fight against Wyzen…”

“H-How did you know of him?! N-No one should know aside from a select people and the heads-”

Silence enveloped her when I drew out a second phone similar to that of Geon’s and though she may not recognize what it was… she knew what the new phone had implied.

“What did you do…? Since when were you double crossing us…?”

“No… Since when have I betraying both sides?”

“H-Huh?”

I gently pushed my chair beside Adria and sat beside her before resting my head on her shoulder. Her body shuddered a bit when my head brushed against her skin, but personally… I just carried on with my antics since she didn’t slap not knock me off.

“I was the one who knocked and punched the hell out of these guys, Shan, Debbie, and that one other monster… She had black wings and red eyes, though I’m not sure who she was…”

It was then that she pushed me off with a loud yell, tumbling me down to the floor alongside my chair. Of course, it strained on my shoulder a bit but I just grit my teeth and kept the pain to myself.

“How could you! What did you do to them! Why did you hurt them and for what?!”

I grunted and pushed myself off the ground before standing up. Then I looked Adria in the eye. Unflinching, unmoving, and focused as I took a few steps closer to her. The lady confronting me now had tears streaming from her eyes and her gentle sobs filled the room.

“Do you know what they had planned with Wyzen? Do you have any idea who was friend or foe to begin with, Adria?”

“H-Huh…?”

“Yeah… these people went to Wyzen’s meetup. They had been conspiring together, talking regarding plans in order to disrupt Xion’s ideas… Being honest, I had nothing with them, but with the way things were heading… I had to destroy their plans.”

With mere inches separating us, I could hear Adria’s soft sniffles, and so I gently pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her face. She didn’t react negatively this time… this was good. I hope that she could accept my proposal to her.

“Yeah… you know what? They wanted to take that luxury liner. I’m not sure if Xion had been doing something to counteract it, but if I did not act, hundreds… No, thousands of people would die had I let them continue. Are you sure you want to carry through with this lifestyle Adria? Raised to fight, released to fight? All you did your entire life is to watch people die for the sake of an ideal and secrecy…?”

“B-But… We are doing… the right thing… right?”

I sighed and left her on her own for a bit, pacing around the room with my hand gently massaging my forehead. How could Adria be this naïve… this pure! If only she was a bit smarter, if only she was a bit wiser… then maybe, just maybe, we could be both safe, maybe we could enjoy a life together, silently without having to fight for a person’s morals!

“No… What Xion does is forcing us to fight for a cause he cannot protect. Yet, I can give you a better offer Adria, an offer that might keep us together til the end.”

“And what would that be… Does it involve hurting people…?”

“It has to involve removing all Epico. It gives us freedom to act and to be safe, to be ensured that we do not have to fight against them. All that we need is for you to cooperate with me, so that we can appease my father and the nations outside. We will work for the government outside this institution and aid them in dismantling these societies which are far too dangerous for our sake…”

Adria’s face turned whiter than paper. And yet not a sound nor word came out of her lips.

“That’s awfully silent of you… But I understand… I will give you a moment to think of it. Should a day suffice?”

Still no response… she was just there, vacant, unresponsive, crying with n sniveling, just tears flowing out of their sockets with no reactions…

I… Was it wrong that I told her…? I don’t want her struggling… just because I wanted to satiate my morals, my ideas… was it alright if I damaged her like this?

I walked up to her, and though she still had no response when I came close, I held her in my arms… Gently hugging her, feeling her warmth as she kept on tearing up…

“I’m sorry… But it has to be this way…”

“Does your father know about this…? Does it have his approval…?”

“I…”

I felt my throat cramp up and my body shuddered a bit when she said that. I just held her close and tightly in my warm embrace without answering right away. I could not bring myself to speak up… Nor look her in the eye, knowing that all of this was my own move.

“I’m sure he will approve of this… I know that he will.”

Adria in turn did not answer, she just hugged back and never spoke. We stayed like that for a moment, sharing each other’s warmth and care for a few seconds, both knowing that we might not even see each other next day…

I just really want to make sure that she doesn’t tell on me to Xion… But I trust her, I hope she is trustworthy…

“Never leave me Adria… Think carefully, think rationally… we can stay together, we can be happy together, stay safe, have a family while saving the world from a threat…”

“I… Give me some time alright…”

“Of course… I understand. But can you promise me you wouldn’t tell on me…?”

She looked me in the eye still in tears before giving me a gentle smile…

“Yes… I promise you that until I have made my decision… I wouldn’t do anything. But please also think carefully about what you’re about to do Robert… The path you’re headed, the path you’re taking… it might be too dangerous for you and I don’t want you to get hurt, I don’t want you to get destroyed just for one stupid decision…”

She was shaking as she said this… and so I never let go of her. She needed me, for now… And so I want her to at least not be scared…

I lifted her chin up gently, staring her in the eye before leaning in closer as our lips brushed against one another… The two of us stayed that way, romantically returning each other’s sentiments to alleviate each other’s fears…

But even so… this was something I had to do for her safety, for me and for the world at least. No one may appreciate my concerns nor my radical ideologies… But I have to continue…

For her happiness…

For the happiness of everyone and the safety of all the people.

I shall be their hero.