Chapter 2 - Turmoil

(Danny's Pov)

We silently walked,

She was leading the way, explaining the situation to me, even though I already knew what happened to Percy or should I say future Dark Lord of Helas, "Zadicus."

She said that "I" went missing for 12 days. Consort Maria's already extremely worried for Percy. Not everyone knows who I am and what my identity is.

Maria requested the Emperor to make Percy's identity secret for many reasons. One of them shows that "Maria" is not vying for the throne. She wanted to be away from the spiral of chaotic royal politics, especially since the Empress hates Maria.

But the "original Percy" didn't quite like what her mother had done. He felt unworthy; he wanted to fight for his rights; even though he was a prince, it was just an empty title with no power.

He wanted power, and the jealousy he felt over his half-brother Roy was destroying him inside. He had too many insecurities.

He wanted recognition from everyone and especially his father... And gaining that "recognition" was by killing his father and usurping the throne. That went chaotic and sent Helas near collapse, Rebellion there, but fortunately, Percy gained extreme power that controlled the situation.

Solomon's Tablet. It was a Hexagonal shaped tablet, full of strange patterns. Sacrificing souls could summon different kinds of demons.

Some accounts said that if you sacrificed the soul of a hero, it could summon a Demon Lord.

Dark Lord and Demon Lord are different, Dark Lord is just a title, and the Demon Lords are a species of demons at the top of the demon food chain. The difference between a demon and a demon lord, you need to compare a cat to a tiger.

The Demon Lord is extremely powerful that it needed multiple "heroes" to defeat it. The Demon Lords were the next antagonist of Volume 2 after Zadicus's defeat.

"Hey." A voice called.

I stared at those brown eyes, which carried a hidden charm. I am quite sure this is not my real feelings but Percy's.

Percy and I are different people inside one body. I am not quite sure, but I do feel these emotions.

I didn't know his thoughts, but I knew his story.

A boy who wanted recognition wanted to be like his brother "Roy."

But both of them are the opposite.

Ironically, Roy envied the "peace and silence" his brother had. He, of course, likes the attention at first, feeding his ego, but after a while, he realizes how tiring and stressful it is.

Especially every move you make was being watched. Everyone has this high expectation of you. Your family, friends and all the people have this expectation. You don't want these expectations to fail.

"Hey! Why the hell are you spacing out?" She asked, breaking my line of thoughts.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, bowing my head.

"You look like him and yet different." She murmured silently. I silently followed. When she said those words, something struck me. I instinctively gripped my arm.

I showed a smile, but I knew it was just awkward.

Looking at her makes me feel in turmoil. It's unsettling, me knowing what her relation to "my brother" is. It was something special, something unacceptable.

No!

I am not him. I am Danny. I am just inside his body. These feelings are not from me but from him, Percy.

I even admire Roy's character but now. Damn it! I am lost in my thoughts again. We continued to walk in silence, but I wanted to break the silence.

"So, Ms. Heart?" I called out. She looked behind.

"How are you?" I abruptly asked. It was a stupid question.

"I am fine but seems you are not." She said while squinting her eyes.

"You don't need to worry about that." I didn't deny it.

"How did you and brother met?" I asked, changing the topic.

She looked in front again while I looked at her back.

I can't see her face, but I know what her feelings might be.

Yes, it was obvious both of them have feelings for each other "unfortunately," both of them are conflicted.

At this point, she's confused. Maybe she has a crush on Roy now, but I know what will happen in the future. What if I do something before that? If I strike at the right time, she'll choose.

No!! What the hell am I thinking!?

"Well, I met him when I was on a mission." She started to narrate what happened, and she's not particularly secretive or shy about it. Though I already knew it.

"I needed to investigate a village. It was said that a werewolf was hiding in that village."

"I searched in the village for some time until one night. The forest near that village. I felt something amiss, so I went there, ready to exterminate the target but it was not just one werewolf."

"It was a trap. A dozen of them encircled me, I thought it was already the end. I know I could take down 5 of them but 12... I don't think so."

"I know I couldn't outrun them so, It's better to fight them."

"It was a tough battle, I managed to take down 4 of them, unfortunately, I reached limits. Unexpectedly, a cry of a griffon from the distance."

"I saw him flying towards my direction, the werewolves starting to run already."

"Then he landed near me. he greeted me, praised me for my bravery, and commended my skill. He asked me if I wanted to take a test for the Griffin Knights. He said that I have potential."

"I felt it was so sudden, I was even suspicious of him but he did manage to convince me to take the test. He gave me an emblem, saying that I should give it to the headmistress of Griffin Academy."

"After I took the emblem to the academy, the headmistress interviewed me. She gave me a few tests. I managed to pass all of them, but she said I was still not a fully pledged knight. I am a griffin trainee. I should first get the approval of 5 griffin knights to become a knight. I did encounter some difficulties, especially some licentious bastards." Her voice is impassive, but I know deep inside, she's mad. I saw her grip the hilt of her sword, but it relaxed again.

"Thankfully, Roy helped me pass. Now I am a Griffin Knight under his command. My first mission as a knight is to find you secretly with no one finding of it." She said without looking back, but I knew she was irritated again.

Yes, I know that. Before we reach the Palace, I even know we will be ambushed, causing us serious injuries. Still, we will be able to run away and meet with my dear brother. He'll save us and exterminate those people. He will even be able to fully heal us after that, showing how Fucking great he is! Just the thought of it makes me sick!

No! Why am I that insecure!? Why am I thinking of this? Why am I agitated? He is not me. Danny and Percy are two different individuals. I am me, and he is him.

Let's think of this later.

"We are almost there." She said, finishing her short story.

***

We went to an inn. Lea paid for two different rooms. She said that we would take a rest for tonight. She will get a carriage to escort me to the capital tomorrow. I went to my room, rested on the bed, and organized my thoughts.

I keep saying I am Danny, yet why do I have these feelings. I look through my memories. I see some of it is not mine. It looks like I inherited his memories, but it's not that clear, not even my own.

What in the hell happened? Did our souls merge?

Soul Merge. I do know this is indeed possible in this world, like the Twin Sorceress of Ice and Fire. It was one of the villains that Lea and Roy defeated. Unfortunately, they were not accustomed to it, merging both of their souls to become more powerful. They are defeated in the end.

"Who am I??" I murmured. Digesting all that happened to me. I fell asleep thinking about what will happen next.

***

It was dawn. We sat inside the carriage. It was just a simple carriage with no design whatsoever. It looked pretty normal.

"When will we reach the Capital?" I asked.

"A week or so, if we didn't encounter any trouble like bandits or wolves." She answered while looking outside the window.

I crossed my legs, closed my eyes, and started to think of the chaotic possibilities if I indeed tried to interfere with the upcoming scenarios. If I indeed interfere, all that happened in the novel might drastically change, my advantage of knowing the future will lose. Maybe I shall warn Lea Hearts about the ambush? I will not help or anything in the fight because I am useless; I don't know how to fight. Besides, this body is pretty weak. So as much as possible, I must keep my distance. But the thought of me leaving Lea alone to fight. I can't seem to bear it. Something inside wants to kill those bastards for trying to hurt her! But I know I am weak.

Anyway, I couldn't do anything about it, for now. It's not just a simple ambush. It was not just simple bandits, or else she had already finished all of them. Their targets are both us, the Empress behind all of this.

"Lea, what do you think of Roy?" opening my eyes and looking outside the window. Staring at the beautiful green plains.

"Roy?" She murmured. She seemed startled by my question.

"Why would you ask?" I felt her gaze.

"Just answer my question," I strongly said.

"I want you to answer me honestly. I know if someone is lying, so don't try to fool me," I smiled this time, looking straight at Lea's eyes. She seems surprised by my sudden change of attitude. Maybe she thought that I was a weak prince. Oh well, she was right. That was Percy, but I am Danny. I am not that weak-willed.

"My sincere apologies." She apologizes and bows her head, avoiding eye contact, but she is probably annoyed. I just remembered she hated arrogant nobles. Oh well, let it be.

"My thoughts about Prince Roy are that he is honorable, calm, and organized. He is a strong and skillful warrior. He is good at leading the people, but of course, nobody is perfect. He is a very prideful person. Sometimes that pride gets in the way. He hated it if things didn't go according to plan. " She answered honestly. These are indeed her thoughts about him at this point, but this will change in the future.

"I see. Typical Roy," I muttered, but she didn't seem to hear.

"Did you meet the Empress?" I asked her another question.

She didn't answer immediately, but she seemed to recall something.

"I'll take your silence as a yes then," I said, and she looked up at me this time, surprised.

"Your Highness, I didn't meet her bef---" I cut her off.

"Lie!" I smirked, looking at her eyes. I know she is lying. It's not because I could see her lying, but it did happen in the novel. She didn't want to admit it for a couple of reasons.

"She seems to dislike you, I know you know it too," I said to her.

"It's about my brother right?" I asked her. Resting on my back, I am quite amused.

"Did she think of you as a vixen?" I chuckled. I saw her first gripped and looked out at the window again.

"My apologies. If I offended you in any way."

"But you should be beware of the Empress." I closed my eyes again.

"She is a son-con." I smiled. I heard her chuckle, which was heaven to my ears. Damn! I never thought someone's laugh could be this attractive. Damn it, Percy!

She stopped immediately and coughed.

"You shouldn't be disrespectful to the Empress." She said seriously, but I know she was quite amused deep inside, yes indeed. The Empress is certainly a son-con. She is way overprotective of his son hates girls near his son too. Maybe she felt her baby boy would be seduced by some random vixen like what happened to the Emperor, probably why she hated random girls like what happened to my mother. The Empress has always been a jealous person; we are quite similar in a way. Now I wonder who is my birth mother.

We both hated my father for being a playboy. I know he's an emperor, gets as many concubines and consorts as he wants. Still, please try to reconsider the feelings of his Empress about it. Please, for the love of god! You are just one man. How could you F*CK thousands of women and disregard them later on? Seriously, such a lewd bastard.

"Oh come on, it was an open secret." I opened my eyes again and looked at her.

"But anyway, what do you think of me?" I asked.

"Why do I think of you?" She widens her eyes, cutely tilts her head

"No offense, you're Highness, but I think you are very weak, I thought you were docile and a weak-minded prince." Wow, a pretty blunt lady.

"But now, you are quite arrogant even though you are weak." She smirked. I raise an eyebrow.

"There is a possibility of offending me, besides, you think I a docile prince when I have the guts to run away from home even though I am weak," I said.

"Alright, I know I am weak," I said depressingly. And waving my hands off.

"Your Highness. Why did you run off?" She asked.

I looked down. I just can't say it. After a while of silence, I heard her sigh.

"My apologies your highness." After that, our conversion ended.

I looked outside the window.

*****

Three days have passed. After that conversation, we did not have another long conversation, Just a few brief talks.

We are camping near a lake. Letting the horses take a break.

We made a fire not far away from the lake. We made our tents. Fortunately, I got to go camping back in my world. I sat near the fire while looking at the fire slowly burning the wood.

I looked up at the sky, thought it would be like the magical starry night sky the movies portrayed, but I was bound to be disappointed and relieved.

It was just a normal dark sky with few little stars, the moon illuminating the place, just like back in my world. I smirked because at least I felt I was seeing a familiar scene, not those magical night sky.

'

I sat near the lake, looking at my reflection. I saw an unfamiliar yet familiar face. Pale face, looking sick and vulnerable. Long eyelashes. My iris are black, which is different from my old ones, dark brown. Just looking at my eyes makes me feel I was falling into an abyss. Seeing this reminds me a lot of Percy's memories, Painful memories.

I just sighed, calming down these emotions. You know, maybe now... I am him, and he is me.

I felt someone staring at me. I knew it was Lea.

"Looks like someone can't sleep," I said.

"Look who's talking." I looked at my side saw her standing at a safe distance. It was neither too far nor too near.

She is standing near the lake, looking at the river with her head down.

I looked at her face. It was more gorgeous than the magical night sky. Those inviting pink lips and short brown hair. The scar that seemed hideous made her more unique and beautiful.

"A Star shone brightly, bright enough to break my dark sleep," I said.

She gave me a side glance.

"So, what would you like to say about your first mission? It's exciting isn't it." I joked.

She looked at me raised an eyebrow. I saw her slightly twitching lips. "Oh, Prince Percy, just trying to find you is fun."

"Of course, just like finding treasure." I grinned. She rolled her eyes and muttered something. I didn't hear it.

After a while of silence, standing near the lake. I walked back again to my tent.

"Tomorrow, you should be prepared, Danger lurks everywhere."

Thinking about what will happen tomorrow, I went to sleep.

***

Wandering in this eternal darkness. I seem to walk endlessly. I am searching for something, but I can't seem to remember it. What was it? How long did I search for it? Why am I searching for it?