historical

"You're the good guy?" Raphael rolled his eyes as if finding this claim preposterous.

Even though he still didn't know how the man was able to see him or hear him, he still found the man naive to even believe that he was the good guy.

"You're the good guy trying to save me? Save me from what?" Raphael further asked, shaking his head. If this was the trick that he was using to lure him, then it was really stupid, which even he didn't believe could ever work.

"Save you from your ignorance." The man simply answered. "As I said before, you don't know anything. You don't even have your old memories, let alone knowing what I know. You don't know what you're doing by sliding with him."

As if knowing his name itself wasn't enough, the man once again surprised Raphael by even knowing that Raphael was missing memories. How did this guy know it?

"Did we meet each other before this?" Raphael inquired. For someone to know this much about him, he couldn't help but feel that the man before him wasn't just an ordinary enemy. The way he talked, it was as if they had met before. In fact, it was as if the man was treating Raphael like an actual friend.

"Who knows... Maybe we did... Maybe we didn't...?" The man didn't answer directly. "At this point, even I'm not sure how much I can tell you without creating trouble for both of us. Just know that Azekiel... He isn't your friend. It would be best if you escaped his grasp as soon as possible. If you don't, then you'll regret it when it's too late."

"I'll give you time to think about this. You can leave if you want. I won't attack you from behind. Oh, before you ask, that's right. Even though you're in the spiritual form, I can kill you. In fact, killing you would be even easier like this. But you can leave."

"Go and meet up with Azekiel. I'm sure that's what you want to do. However, my offer is still open to you and only to you. If you want to know more, accept to work with me. You can come here anytime, and tell me what's Azekiel's motive in coming here."

"But if you don't join me, then the next time we meet, I might not be able to ignore you."

Even now, the man still didn't talk about killing Azekiel. Even now, he only threatened to kill Raphael if he didn't agree. For some reason, it really appeared as if the man didn't really want to kill Azekiel. It was unclear why that was. What was stopping him? And just why was he so intimidated by Azekiel?

Raphael didn't know why it was the case, but he had a feeling as if the man was somewhat scared of Azekiel. But why would that be? Even if Azekiel was quite strong inside the tower, even for him, defeating the man shouldn't be this easy. Then why was this guy trying to avoid Azekiel?

There was another question that he had. If the man was trying to avoid Azekiel, then why did he send Lenora and her monsters to search him? It was as if he had a different persona that he showed outside, and when he was with Raphael, there was a different persona.

Raphael started leaving. When he entered the castle, he hadn't expected that this was how their meeting was going to go. He was leaving with more questions than he came with. And the most important question was about Azekiel. Just what was this man's relationship with Azekiel?

"What is your name? Or you can't answer even that?" Raphael asked right as he was about to step out of the hall.

"Alion..." The winged man answered. "I will wait for your answer. And I really hope that you make the right decision."

Hearing the name, Raphael left.

Alion was left all alone in the hall, lying on the couch, lost in some deep thought.

"Azekiel... The man who became everyone's nightmare... If only I had that Stone of Time, I would've been able to stop him... Albeit, he became an obstruction in my path even now. Even when he doesn't know, he still does what's best for him."

"Hah." Alion let out a tired sigh. There were just so many things in his head that even he was overwhelmed by them. Moreover, the appearance of Azekiel out of the tower only made him even more uneasy.

It was as if the Tower... It had started.

"I hope I won't be late this time. I've wasted a lot of time on this. I can't afford to fail after coming this far. I can't let him succeed. If only I could kill him with my own hands! Unfortunately, that would create a paradox for me. All my efforts will go in vain, and even then, it'll be him who wins."

"I have made so many sacrifices to get here. It's not to fail! I can't afford to fail! Azekiel needs to die! And it must not be with my hands... The only person who can help me is Raphael!"

"As long as I can help him get back to his real body, he should remember everything! He will understand my cause. And if he kills Azekiel himself, that won't destroy the reality itself. And maybe... Just maybe we can succeed in the end..."

With a defeated look on his face, the man closed his eyes, covering his face with his hands.

No matter how much he tried not to think about his past, he only failed. There was one memory that always returned to him. One tormenting memory.

"Azekiel... Even you can't stop me! I won't let you stop me! I don't know why you're out of the tower so soon, but no matter what, I won't let you succeed. You will die! And then I will find another Stone of Time! I'll be right on track again!"