BACK TO THE NORMAL WORLD

"I'll tell you what I think on the matter since we have been together for a while, so take it as an advice... You are walking into a trap" The lady voice said after the brief moment of silence.

"They wouldn't dare. They know the consequences" Albus replied calmly.

The lady voice sighed then said, "I know you think you are all powerful, but you should always know there are many ways to subdue someone no matter their strength."

"Trap or not, I'll gladly do anything as long as I can get rid of you. Now leave me be."

"As you wish. But know this, I'll have your son sooner or later, no matter what you do." The lady voice finally said before silence filled the room once more.

Albus then stayed up for a few more minutes before slowly drifting off to sleep. The next morning, Al'Lan had begun preparing to leave when Aeryn came out from his room.

"Uncle Al'? You're leaving already?" He asked.

Al'Lan laughed loudly and said, "Of course boy. I am a busy man. I just came to say hello and see my nephew after such a long time."

"Can't you just stay a little longer?" Aeryn asked sadly.

"Don't worry kid. I'm sure we will meet again soon." Al'Lan said with a gentle smile.

"But--"

"Go pack what you can boy, we are leaving" Albus said as he came down the stairs.

"Huh? Leaving? Where to?" Aeryn asked, puzzled.

"We'll accompany your uncle." Albus replied calmly.

"You will?" Al'Lan asked, taken aback at the sudden decision, but soon plastered a grin on his face "O-of course. The more, the merrier!"

Aeryn happily ran into his room and began packing what he could. Sure, they moved a lot, but Aeryn didn't exactly mind. He loved visiting new places and learning new things. Once he was done, he came out with a stuffed sack of items and looked at his father expectedly.

"Mother isn't coming?" He suddenly asked as he noticed that his mother was nowhere to be found.

"You wouldn't believe it son, but your father restricted me from tagging along" Maria said as she descended from the stairs, "I think he is just trying to get rid of me since he thinks I'll be a burden to him on the journey and also prevent him from picking up some ladies. Why don't you give him an earful for me sweetheart?" she concluded teasingly as she smiled at Aeryn.

"Hey! I always knew you were useless, father, but this going too far! What do you have to say for yourself?" Aeryn ripped as he starred daggers at Albus. This caused Maria to chuckle "There's my knight in shining armor."

Albus' eye twitched as he starred at Maria with a forced grin on his face 'This duo. Why are they always against me' he thought.

"Don't worry darling. I decided to stay on my own. After all, you guys will be returning very soon so I won't miss you too much. Just take care of yourself and your father for me, Okay?" Maria said as she smiled at Aeryn.

"Hmph! I don't care about the old man, but for your sake, I will take care of him. He is useless without me anyway." Aeryn said nonchalantly, trying to sound arrogant.

"Why you, bra-" Albus began to say but was cut off by Maria's sweet laughter.

"I'm counting on you honey" she said as she helped Aeryn string his sack onto his shoulder.

Soon, the trio left and embarked on their journey back to the kingdom of Henivere. Aeryn, who always got excited whenever they were on a move, would occasionally run ahead, looking at things that clearly made sense only to him, leaving the two men behind.

The journey went on silently for a few more hours, then all of sudden, Albus pitched in "If this turns out to be some sort of trick then I will kill you first."

Al'Lan tensed for a second before regaining himself "I-I do not know whether or not it is a trick. I am just following the orders of my King."

"Do you take me for a fool?" Albus asked, giving Al'Lan a short glance with eyes filled with hatred.

"O-of course not!" Al'Lan was quick to reply. He then hesitated a moment before saying "Look. I am your older brother. Just because you seem untouchable doesn't mean you should disrespect me all the time."

Hearing this, Albus stopped in his tracks, "Is that so?"

"Ooh I like where this is going. Make sure you put on a show for me darling" The lady voice from earlier began to say in Albus's mind, excitement evident as she giggled shortly after.

Albus ignored her and looked at Al'Lan.

Al'Lan who had moved on a few steps ahead stopped. He didn't want to provoke Albus, but his pride won't let him. In the Logan family, Fear was one of the most despicable feeling a man could ever have and was totally frowned upon. No matter the situation, a man should be ready to march head on into danger in order to protect what he cared for, or he would lose his authority in whatever he did and will be despised. They hated cowards.

Al'Lan took a deep breath. He had thought of many ways to counter such situations, but nothing came up that could save his skin. So, he decided to face it head on. Slowly, he turned around and looked Albus straight in the eye. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the murderous intent filled in his eyes, and his aura had slowly begun to change. Despite this, Al'Lan refused to back down and kept starring at him.

It became a starring contest. It seemed everything these two men had was wagered in this contest. Whoever yielded first was going to be deemed a coward, and in Al'Lan's case, could cause him his life.

"Would you cut it out?" Aeryn shouted as he returned from his short adventure and noticed what the two men had been doing "At this rate we will never reach our destination in time!" and with that, he went back on his short adventure again.

"At least you have the guts to look me in the eye now. If only you had that when father was killed, I wouldn't have hated you so much" Albus said as he resumed his journey.

Al'Lan wiped the small trickle of sweat that had been forming on his forehead and gave a short sigh of relief before following Albus. "My hands were tied" he said.

"Is that supposed to be an excuse?" Albus said as he frowned.

"What would you have had me do?" Al'Lan asked.

"Avenge your father. Like I did" Albus said coldly.

"We didn't even know who it was. The Sun Court was just a suspect. You didn't have to obliterate an entire nation just because they had members of the Sun Court amongst them. That's just cruel!" Al'Lan said exasperatedly.

"So, are you saying it was right for them to kill father then?" Albus asked nonchalantly.

"You know full well that wasn't what I meant. There were other ways to handle the situation. How did you even get such power to execute such a calamity?" Al'Lan asked. Sure, the Logans had talent, but none of them had the power to cause such calamities within just a few days, unless they used... unnatural means.

"You don't want to know" Albus said without care.

The lady voice in his head chuckled, "Look at him trying to be modest. Though I must say, I'm quite disappointed. He threatened you earlier and you didn't do anything. you're getting too soft for my liking".

"Shut up." Albus said silently to himself.

The rest of the journey went on uneventfully, except for Albus and Al'Lan who would occasionally engage in small talk. Al'Lan's show of confidence rubbed Albus the right way. He hated cowards just as much as the next Logan. So, seeing Al'Lan stand up for himself portrayed him in a different light.

At night, Albus would go somewhere private to receive his 'daily penalty' so as not to raise any concerns with the crew while he tussled and endured the pain.

Two days later they finally arrived at their destination. Before them stood a wide kingdom, blessed with so many magnificent buildings and people bustling about with their daily duties. Aeryn immediately ran on, excited at the sight before him.

All of a sudden, one of the inhabitants screamed at the top of his lungs "T-t-he The Devil is here! The Devil is here! Run!"