Family Matters.

Zagan woke up from his slumber when he heard knocks on his door.

"Your Highness, its past your wake-up time.", It was Arnold.

"hmm... Just 5 more minutes, Arnold... You can go eat something nice using my money...", Zagan said sluggishly, as he still hadn't yet completely awoken yet.

"Your highness, Lady Annabelle has come for a visit. It would sully the name of the Imperial family if you don't meet with her on time.", Arnold said.

As soon as Zagan heard the name 'Annabelle', he woke up completely. His mood changed to bitter as he changed his expression to a terrifyingly cold one.

"That bitch doesn't have anything better to do, huh?", Zagan muttered silently.

'Holy shit! Zagan must really hate this Annabelle person!', Leon exclaimed at the reaction his body was having.

'Wait... Annabelle...? WAIT, ISN'T SHE ZAGAN'S FIANCE?!?!', Leon realized.

"Bring me the appropriate clothes for the event, Arnold.", Zagan commanded.

"Right away, your highness.", Arnold replied.

Within 10 minutes, Zagan was ready. He wore a prim and proper black coat over a crimson-colored shirt. Black trousers, black shoes, and white gloves. His hair was combed perfectly and his face was looking like some god had descended onto the mortal realm.

'Fucking Hell... This bastard looks so handsome!', Leon couldn't help but admire the perfect human, which was Zagan.

'In the game, Zagan hated Annabelle, his own Fiancé, because he envied her life. Annabelle lived a carefree life, and was loved by her parents, and raised to be an exceptional mage. Although, she wasn't as strong as Zagan, she was one of the most powerful NPC's in the game...', Leon thought.

In the game's story, After Zagan had framed his family's death to a demon outbreak and ascended the throne, there was one more person who knew of the treachery Zagan had done. It was Annabelle's brother, Rienheart. Zagan had killed Rienheart with his own hands, and when Annabelle got to know of that, she became an ally of the protagonist, in order to get revenge on Zagan for her brother.

'Why the hell is she here? Zagan and her aren't married yet, right?', Leon thought.

Walking with Arnold, Zagan said, "Arnold, what do you think is the reason why she is visiting me out of nowhere? Do you think she needs some kind of funding? If so, I'm going to respectfully decline. My money is my own. I earned that with my own blood sweat and tears. I'm not gonna let some bitch, who I am forced to marry, by my Father, take it from me."

Arnold's expression never changed even though Zagan was openly insulting Annabelle, Zagan's own fiance and also the eldest daughter of one of the most influential families in the whole world, the Klandestine family.

The Klandestine family is a family of Merchants and Runesmiths. They sell high-quality weapons, armor and magical artifacts for a very high price, and rightfully so, because their equipment can be compared to the stuff of legends. Their influence alone could rival the influence of the Asherion Imperial Family. That's how powerful Annabelle's family was.

In the game, After Zagan kills Rienheart, the Klandestine family falls into ruin, as Rienheart was the sole inheritor and carrier of the Legacy of the Klandestines.

Annabelle can be seen to possess some of the last remaining artifacts the Klandestine family produced, which she later gives to the player, as she believes the player will surely succeed in getting her revenge for her.

'Only death awaits me if I take that route...', Leon thinks to himself.

After walking for 10 minutes, Zagan and Arnold were at the entrance of a garden. I say a garden, but it wasn't on the ground. It was actually on the 5th floor of the Crimson Palace. It was called the 'Crimson Garden' as it mainly had red roses blooming in it.

I know, I know, there's a bit too much 'Crimson', but what can I say? the developers of 'End of an Era' were bad at giving names... haha... totally not MY fault... pls.

The pearly white, 10ft tall gates with intricate designs of plants, roses and other flora engraved in it with gold, were already open.

Looking inside the Garden, there was a white table with a white umbrella covering it. It had two seats, or which one of them was occupied.

The occupied seat was occupied by a girl. She had Azure blue hair, extending to halfway her back. She had deep, emerald-green eyes that contrasted with her hair color. Her face looked like that of a picture, it was that perfect. Any man or even woman would be mesmerized by the beauty of this individual. Her body was well-developed and looked very healthy with all the right muscles and skin.

Although the scene looked like it was out of a movie, and would make any man fall head over heels for the absolute goddess sitting on the chair, Zagan was unmoved. His heart was as cold as Ice and immovable as a mountain. The only emotion he had was 'annoyance'.

Turning her head to Zagan, Annabelle smiled and spoke up, "Good Morning, dear Zagan."

"Good Morning.", Zagan replied out of courtesy and didn't even utter her name. It disgusted him to say her name. She was everything Zagan wasn't, and he hated that fact. It wasn't envy... it was denial. Denial of her existence.

'Wow, thank god I'm inside of Zagan's body, or else I would've totally screwed up and end up confessing my love to her...', Leon thought as he mentally sighed in relief.

Zagan then power-walked towards the unoccupied seat, and paying Annabelle no mind, he sat down on the chair, looking directly at Annabelle, without even flinching at her beauty.

"Why are you here in this fine morning?", Zagan tried to sound as polite as possible, but his expression was terrifyingly cold.

"umm... Zagan, are you not feeling alright? You... look a bit scary...", Annabelle replied while flinching at Zagan's expression.

"I'm completely fine, I just woke up you see... so I would appreciate it if you could tell me your reason for coming here as soon as possible and leave me to my business.", Zagan said. His voice was deep, clear and cold.

Annabelle knew Zagan didn't like her very much, although she couldn't find a reason for it. Unbeknownst to Zagan, and even Leon, Annabelle actually liked Zagan. I wouldn't go so far as to say that she loved him, but she definitely had a soft spot for him.

"Oh... um... I don't really have... a reason... I just...", Annabelle was scared of Zagan. She knew Zagan was stronger than her as a mage, and that Zagan had already cleared some dungeons at a very young age.

Without letting Annabelle finish, Zagan spoke up in a stern voice, "Get to the point. If you really don't have a reason, I'll leave and go practice magic."

"UH... um... the truth is, my mother forced me to come here and told me to 'improve my relationship with Zagan'... It seems that you don't like me very much... although I don't know the reason why... We are going to be h-husband and w-wife... in two years... so even if it is political, we at least shouldn't hate each other, and build a healthy relationship with each other...", Annabelle fumbled out. She was still sweating a bit from the absolute death glare Zagan was giving her.

"Hmm... you're wrong about one thing... I don't dislike 'you' in particular. I just don't like anyone. I am a person that prefers to be alone and be left alone. So if you're worrying about the future, then don't. I won't at least make our relationship toxic.", Zagan said in an indifferent tone.

Although the answer sounded genuine, it was anything but that. Internally, Zagan was fuming with rage and disgust and was having intrusive thoughts of burning Annabelle alive with his magic.

'Oh my god... Zagan REALLY, REALLY hates her, huh?', Leon thought.

'But if this continues, Zagan and I, both will be killed...', Leon thought.

'Its about time I take full control of Zagan, and make him into my 'Avatar'.', Leon thought with a determined mood.

"If... you're that worried... why don't we practice magic together?", Zagan said while looking away from Annabelle and staring at the sky. Or more specifically, Zagan was forced to say that by Leon.

The minds of Zagan and Leon were overlapping each other. They were both completely different individuals. I mean, they didn't even live in the same planet. They had different memories. Leon had a relatively normal childhood, while Zagan had a terrible one. Leon was an engineer, while Zagan was a mage. They both had different world views, different beliefs and different morals.

But now, they were merged. They became the same. Just like how iron and carbon makes steel, Zagan and Leon made up one single mind.