Are You Nero’s Brother? Not That I Know, of...

Nero, Frides, Urs, and Henry hopped the walls and walked into the woods. Once they were far enough into the woods and out of harms way Henry spoke up. "I think we should split up now."

Frides and Nero were surprised by his voice. There had been an awkward silence hanging around them since they left the castle. "Yeah, I'm looking for someone and I need to get back to my quest if I'm going to help the people of Zea."

"Oh yeah your one-armed man of the people, right?" Nero snorted.

"Yes, and, I'm going to miss you girl." Henry leaned down and played with Urs ears and wings.

"Well good luck. I hope you find him." Frides said while leaning against a tree nearby away from them.

"Yeah right. How'd you hear about this guy anyway." Nero folded the formal clothes he had taken off from the Addidel House.

"A seer told me. I think you guys call them Tiresi."

"You gotta be kidding me. Yeah you're going to find what you're looking for but not when you're expecting it and it'll be the last person you expect." Nero laughed.

"How did you find a Tiresi?" Frides asked.

"I didn't. She found me." His expressions drew in bleakly. He remembered the gloom and endless agony around the woman. She pulled him in forcefully, demanding his ear. She had to give him her words, he must hear it. Even saying it pained her so much to exist in her capacity of a seer. "She sought me out."

"Holy shit. That's some powerful stuff when a Tiresi seeks you out."

"Cosmic." Frides agreed. "You are on a world path."

"What's a world path?" The words sounded ominous to Henry.

"It basically means you will, or your going to be apart of, changing the world. Make sure you mention us when you're telling the story of your life." Nero explained and Frides looked over at him. "What?"

Frides looked away. "Nevermind."

"Sure. See you guys around." Henry walked to the east.

"He seemed like a good guy. You know I have to say I wouldn't have killed him." Nero looked at Frides with a knowing.

Frides reached down and played with the dirt between his legs. "It's okay. I was just a little surprised. That's all."

"I'm just saying."

He picked up his hand the residue of the dirt had wedged itself underneath his fingernails. "Noted. What were you doing in that castle by the way?"

Nero stuffed the last of the clothes into his bag. Noticing there would still be enough room for Urs leftover. He looked up at Frides and joked. "Oh I went there looking for you and they thought I was some prodigal son or something."

After walking for a couple of hours the sun came up and Henry was able to find a road. When he stepped out of the tree's he saw a familiar figure coming his way.

"Hey!" he shouted out to the man. "I thought you were going the other way." It was Nero but he was wearing different clothes, but Frides and Urs weren't with him. He picked up his pace and jotted closer.

"What did they get tired of..." Before he could finish his sentence he noticed something weird about this guy. He walked different than Nero and his expression was quiet and wintry cold. Nero felt invitational and loud and sturdy. This man was fragile and frigid like a sheet of ice, Henry quickly pulled out his sword and lunged for the man. In close proximity the resemblance was impossible. His features were uncanny and still he just knew. He couldn't understand how this man wasn't Nero, but he wasn't. More than that, he frightened Henry. He moved vengefully. As quickly as Henry was on the man he had already Glowed a green sword.

To Henry's surprise, the green sword blocked his blade. Then he heard the familiar voice, "Who are you?" He even sounded like Nero but his eyes burned into him. They had different eyes, this mans eyes were engulfed in a blistering cold wrath. He compelled. "Is you're last name Addidel?"

"No. Who is that?" Henry swung his bastard sword at his neck. That was all the answer the man was looking for, because to his surprise, he parried Henry's sword with ease.

Henry stumbled to the side leaving him open. Instead of cutting Henry down, he released his Glow and struck Henry with the back of his fist. Henry tumbled into the dirt catching the fall with his free hand.

Henry turned around on his knee and held his Sword up. His eyes had changed. The blue fire had retracted to a smoldering. It flickered, still there but surrounded in a vacuum of emptiness. There was nothing else to him just that rigid, frigid flame. "I don't care who you are then."

"Are you Nero's brother?" Henry asked looking up at him. He had to be related in some way.

"That is not the name of any of my siblings. That I know, of." He thought to himself. With that he continued down the road. The winds turned towards him and all life fled. A vengeful vacuum snapping up any and all sucked in, inevitably.

Henry grasped the truth. He had escaped death.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thanks for reading!