[86.2] Can't Escape Felix

I stood in the abandoned hall, staring lifelessly at the wall.

What should I do now?

There's no place left for me in this world…

I-

"-YOU!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin as I was suddenly pushed against a wall. A tight grip wrapped around my throat and felt like it could break me at any moment. I struggled under the grasp of my throat, but when I saw who it was, I stopped resisting.

"Felix-"

My airway was suddenly cut off.

His eyes were filled with fury, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

He pressed against my throat harder, causing stars to come over my vision.

"If you hadn't caught his attention or provoked him, he would have still been with me!!! He-He wouldn't have abandoned me-" The grasp on my throat lessened as his hand trembled. Then, he slowly released me and sank to the ground. His fury was replaced by despair, "Priscilla… She… She would still be alive."

"Felix…" My voice croaked from the previous tightening, "Don't blame Moni for what happened-"

He abruptly cut me off, "-How do you know I'm not Moni!?"

I flinched from his accusatory voice.

He raised his head and faced me with a gaze that penetrated straight through me, "You never could tell us apart before."

I bit down on my lip, "I… I know now. You two are different… Moni is-"

My words suddenly fell short.

Moni is what?

My disciple?

My friend?

…My son?

"-I tried to change the future, but it's impossible… Everything I did just solidified it. I-" I suddenly realized something important and blurted out, "Wait, you recognize me?!"

He scoffed, "How could I not recognize the Great Fairy? After crying for Moni to show me his favorite memory, he showed me the mountain with all his siblings. Of course, YOU were there. And there's only one person with charred skin, thick coarse black hair, and a blurred-out face in this world."

My head spun to look at a window where I checked myself over in the reflection. Sure enough, it was just as he described.

As I watched myself, I asked, "Then do you know my name?"

"No one does."

"My name is $#!&@." I froze at the sound of the last word, "Why… Why can I still not say my name!?"

Felix sneered, "Because you don't exist anymore. Didn't you listen to the Swordmaster? That's what you get for meddling with time and playing with Moni's emotions. Although if it were up to me, I'd rather you were invisible so you could feel all the pain Moni felt over these years."

I bit down on my lip without the courage to defend myself, "Forget that for now. What are you doing here? It's not safe-"

"SAFE!?" Felix jumped up and shoved me again, "That's what you care about!?! Not about where Moni is!?!"

Under his ferocious stare, I didn't feel as afraid as I once had when staring down my ex. Instead…

I felt ashamed.

I let out a sigh, "Of course I want to know where he is, but no one recognizes me. To them, I'm a suspicious fairy. Even if I demand that someone bring me to him, no one would do so."

Felix let out a derisive scoff and reached his hand toward me. I closed my eyes preparing to be hit, but it never happened. When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see him pulling a candelabra. 

Suddenly, the wall started moving. I hopped to the side and watched with an open mouth as a tunnel was revealed. Without giving me a second glance, Felix went inside.

I shouted after him, "Where are you going!?"

"TO FIND MONI!" He shouted back at me, "Not like you care!!"

I let out a somber sigh and followed him inside quickly. As I did, the wall closed behind us and smoothed out as if it had never budged an inch. In complete darkness, I held out a palm and ignited a light.

Felix gave me a dirty look before walking down the tunnels as if he had been several times.

I followed him in amazement, "How do you know where to go?"

Although he was clearly still furious with me, he explained with a hint of pride, "Moni created this for the King to try to soothe his fears of being stuck inside the Palace with no escape."

My eyes widened, "Moni knew the King? I had no idea…"

Felix lifted his nose proudly, "There's a lot about him that you don't know and I DO."

Hearing him emphasize the latter half, I offered a weak smile. "I see."

He abruptly stopped and went to open the wall, but before he reached out, it opened. 

The King suddenly rushed into the tunnel carrying a suitcase. Felix didn't wait for him to exclaim in surprise before shoving the King back into his room. He quickly grabbed him, "Where do you think you're going, Elam!?"