For a moment Pathos hesitated, his gaze shifted from his brown eyes to his extended hand, shaking a stranger's hand wasn't on his to-do list but his name was what disoriented him the most.
«Pathos» Ru…em?
As he questioned his name he tilted his head to the side, it didn't sound like any common names used in this region and Pathos wasn't aware of the fact that people could go around from one place to another.
Pathos believed that each region had long tall walls on their ends that prevented people from entering or exiting, almost like the walls of this city, only much taller.
«Ruem» Yup.
Yet Ruem didn't seem to notice his confusion. The two of them simply understood the world very differently.
But as to not look rude, Pathos immediately composed himself and out of courtesy he replied with his own name.
«Pathos» I'm Pathos Raimei.
As he announced his name to Ruem, his head jerked back. He spoke Pathos's surname three times. The first time with recollection.
«Ruem» Raimei?
The second time to seek a familiar surname.
«Ruem» Rai—mei..?
The third time a last resort but to no success
«Ruem» Raimei….
«Pathos» What?
Pathos stopped for a moment as he heard this unfamiliar stranger repeat his surname as if he had heard it somewhere else. But as he was about to ask further, Ruem spoke once more.
«Ruem» Your surname sounds…When did I hear it…
With the utmost obliviousness of what he created with this sudden revelation, Pathos threw his head forward as he asked for clarification.
«Pathos» Now hold on, are you meaning to tell me you have heard my surname before?
Pathos asked with shock, could this guy be someone who knew his family? But he said his name wasn't Jhoel so could it be a surname and not a name?
Ruem however folded his arms as he tried one more time recalling that surname but only for him to fail miserably.
«Ruem» Yeah but I don't know where. Maybe someone in your family is quite popular?
He pointed his finger at him as he asked another question to this strange kid who he may have heard of before. To which Pathos replied with a shake of his head.
«Pathos» No, I don't think so…
This guy wasn't helping. His surname could explain it all?
«Pathos» What is your surname anyway?
«Ruem» Ah, well... I don't have one. I kinda forgot about it.
He scratched the back of his head with a smile as he gave his reply to Pathos who was left astounded by how bad this guy's memory is. How can one forget his surname?
Pathos extended out his hand to which Ruem reached out to shake. However, Pathos quickly noticed Ruem's hand was still wet from the fountain. As both of them let go of the other, Pathos looks at his hand in disgust.
«Ruem» So... what's your stick?
«Pathos» My…stick?
«Ruem» Well, since you've got those
Ruem spun his finger around the second pair of eyelids, still shut, yet quite visible from this distance. The eyelids shared no lashes whatsoever so from a far one might have trouble even spotting them. But up close.
«Ruem» "other" eyes, I want to know what your Prometeo is capable of. Do they allow you to see better? Or?
Once Pathos's eyes moved towards him to reply, he noticed something else about this peculiar figure that stood in front of him. Was it his poor judgment? or simply Ruem's transparency towards him. Everything about his way of speaking and expression were all so childlike.
«Pathos» Oh, I don't think my powers are connected to these eyes.
As Pathos gathered his own thoughts for a moment, recalling everything that could possibly be of use in this conversation, Ruem leaned forward almost as if preparing himself to hear what's next.
«Ruem» Oh?
Each bolt he had created that night that had either killed or severely scorched the knights thundered in his head like a drum, but Pathos could hardly remember a single thing that had happened.
Maybe because he was blinded by rage had he forgotten that moment in time, but there was one thing he never forgot: the faint smell of burned flesh and iron that melted together into a foul scent.
«Pathos» But. I think I can control thunder...? I'm not sure about it though. I can't remember every detail of whe—
He spoke with uncertainty as he gazed towards his own hands. However Ruem's face grew a smile that went from ear to ear and out of excitement he spoke before Pathos could even finish.
«Ruem» Really!?
Pathos's head rose to meet Ruem's, who was suddenly inches from his face, eyes practically sparkling.
«Ruem» Show it to me!
«Pathos» W...Wha?
Ruem got right in his face, taking deep breaths in anticipation. While Pathos on the other hand was overwhelmed by this much attention to the point he was looking in every direction besides Ruem's.
«Ruem» I want you to show it to me.
«Pathos» I... don't know how to control it willingly. I already tried to use it earlier today but it didn't work.
Ruem's expression fell, like his favourite jester had just dismissed his show. His arms and head dropped in disappointment.
«Ruem» A...oh. So you still don't know how to control it.
As Pathos witnessed Ruem's pure disappointment he muttered to himself "why does he look so defeated about it". Then realizations struck him like thunder.
«Pathos» Wait.
Ruem lifted his head, the faint defeated smile still carried itself into his face.
Pathos on the other hand felt like a new path had just opened up for him. Throughout this small journey up until this point, Pathos never stopped to think of what his next move should be.
He was going to follow his father's wishes but would that be what Pathos desired? Never once had he forgotten his mother and father and that surge that shook his spine like a tornado.
If this Prometeo is capable of overwhelming that many soldiers, then perhaps. The solution to his problems was right in front of him
If Ruem knew this "Prometeo", then he could ask him to learn more about this unnatural flame. Perhaps if he learned to use this power then he would be able to find those who destroyed everything in his village.
Finding her was still a long shot but at least if he was able to control such power then saving his mother could be a breeze. His heart pounded in anticipation and with agitation he asked.
«Pathos» Teach it to me. If you're so curious about my lightning ability why not teach it to me so that I can display them to you.
A brief silence filled the conversation, occasionally broken by Pathos's long breaths and Ruem's hums as he tried to find the right answer.
«Ruem» Ah... well... I don't know.
«Pathos» What? Why?
Ruem avoided eye contact with him.
«Ruem» It's not that I don't want to. It's just that... I didn't really learn how to use it.
«Pathos» What do you mean?
His expectations slowly faded as noticed Ruem's averting eyes, but maybe he was just being extra about it. Maybe he was worried that teaching someone so young to control such power might not be the best idea. Yet it didn't matter he will keep insisting even if—
«Ruem» I never learned. I just... knew. Like instinct, I guess?
That pinch of hope he had to find a solution to all of this got dragged away by the wind as soon as Ruem established his incompetence to teach.
Pathos's eyes began dropping towards the ground. He was still clinging to that bit of hope but a new idea sparked. Perhaps it wasn't a matter of instinct, perhaps it was a matter of coordination of both mind and body that unleashed this power.
«Pathos» Please, I need to know! Just tell me how you normally use your Prometeo and I'll try to copy it.
«Ruem» I don't know if that will work…but there is no trouble trying I guess.
Pathos's eyes rose to Ruem's figure that gently walked past Pathos heading towards an open part of that plaza.
Ruem took a stance, spreading his legs apart as he slowly raised his hand and pointed it in a random direction with his palm wide open.
«Ruem» Well... ah... usually, I imagine where I want my power to manifest... then I think in my head. Pop.
His lips made a popping noise and what do you know a wormhole was directly formed right in front of Ruem's palm, making quite the noise as well almost like a vacuum. But that noise seemed to stop once the wormhole had fully materialized.
«Pathos» Pop?
The boy now more confused than ever tried his hardest to find a possible explanation to this, because despite him not remembering anything about that night he knew for certain he never said the word Pop every so often.
Ruem switched hands to explain another method he used, still keeping the same stance as before with the only difference being the hand. Pathos scratched his head as he tried to make sense of whatever this guy was doing exactly.
It took a moment for Pathos to even believe his words, not out of distrust but the pure pose and gesture Ruem was using made it difficult to be believable.
But then again what did he have to lose?
«Ruem» Or, Sometimes when I want to manifest a wormhole I tend to go Poof!
Ruem continued on with his explanation while Pathos on the other hand was already prepared beside him to mimic his movements, one foot anchored to one side and with the other anchored to the other side he asked.
«Pathos» Like this?
«Ruem» Yeah, then do what I did.
Pathos copied his stance and raised his hand. But instead of making the noise with his lips he shouted.
«Pathos» Pop!
Nothing happened. A leaf fluttered by. That's it. The silence is deafening. Pathos lowers his hand slowly.
«Pathos» It... it didn't work...
Ruem raised both hands with an "I told you so" expression. He patted Pathos on the back to reassure him.
«Ruem» I told you. But hey—
Pathos turned towards him.
«Ruem» It's finnne I still believe you even without proof, so if that's what's worrying you so much then-
But as Ruem tried to make the situation better, Pathos could only think about the past. He was a bit distraught about not having the capability to effectively control this Prometeo, but everything in due time. He had one thing to do first and then he could focus on his powers.
There is a brief moment of silence. Pathos sighed as he rubbed his face with both of his hands almost like he was trying to reassure himself.
«Pathos» Well... I'm bound to learn it sooner or later. If you managed to learn it so easily then, it becomes natural later on?
«Ruem» Yeah...? I hope so I guess it works differently from person to person, something I didn't know.
Ruem's stomach growled loudly; you could also say his own stomach was barking at him for not bringing it any food for how loud that growl was. The entire interaction between these two became more awkward as they both stood there in silence, waiting for his stomach to settle.
«Ruem» My bad, I forgot to eat something before falling asleep. I'll see what I can do about it.
Pathos slowly reached for the sack of sweets at his waist. He glanced back at the bag of sweets and quickly said.
«Pathos» Wait, I have som—
As Pathos turned, he saw Ruem's head stuck in a wormhole that materialized close to his head. The edges of the wormhole twist reality itself in a spinning motion. Pathos froze for a moment as he tried to understand what Ruem was doing exactly.
Moments later Ruem coughed, dazed—his face stuffed with a chicken leg as his head exited the wormhole. Both of them stared at one another as if they tried to understand why the other was looking at him with such confusion.
«Ruem» V...huat vhats vlong?
Pathos frowned while Ruem bit down on the chicken leg who for some reason seemed almost unbothered both by his and Pathos's behaviour
Did that chicken leg just come out of that wormhole and why is it smoking as if it had been just prepared?
«Pathos» Is that... a chicken leg?
«Ruem» Yeah, you want some?
He offered it to him, but only to realize that Pathos was looking a bit troubled on why he had a chicken leg stuffed in his face right now.
«Ruem» Oh. Right, I didn't explain to you how my Prometeo works. I can… move things around. That's the short version.
Pathos looked down for a moment to think to himself, while Ruem continued to eat. If his Prometeo allows him to go anywhere then he could be of use to him. But before he could even continue on he started hearing a fire being lit.
That would explain his strange name…
With a second of distraction, Pathos looks up at Ruem, who had taken a piece of burning wood and a giant stick to hang his clothes and a blanket to cover himself while his clothes dried. What Pathos saw was Ruem now wrapped in a blanket, with his clothes hanging on the stick to dry from the heat of the fire.
«Ruem» There we go...
«Pathos» HOW DID YOU START A FIRE IN SUCH A SHORT TIME!?
Ruem simply replied with a word followed by a smile and his own tongue.
«Ruem» Secret…
Moments past and Both of them are now walking along the long roads of the city of Serras. Pathos is still overwhelmed by the city's size, looking around as if he were a lost kitten. Ruem, now wearing his clothes again, noticed Pathos's disorientation.
«Ruem» Is this your first time here?
«Pathos» Wha? How did you know?
The way Pathos was looking around and kept glancing behind them, staring at every building they passed were all clear signs, but what put the nail in the coffin was how Pathos seemed so out of place.
His clothes were completely different from the stylistic choice of the inhabitants of Serras and the quality of the fabric was another factor that pointed to the obvious, besides in comparison to what Ruem was wearing Pathos looked poor.
«Ruem» Lucky guess... So, where are we heading exactly? I thought you were bringing me somewhere to eat.
Despite the clear difference in the value of clothes, Ruem was the one asking for money from Pathos as if he didn't just have a full course meal with an entire chicken leg.
«Pathos» You are asking me for food after what you ate? Besides, aren't you much older than me?
Ruem turned to Pathos with the expression of one who was wondering what the hell was the person next to him talking about. As if the answer seemed obvious he replied.
«Ruem» Age doesn't make me rich, you know.
To which Pathos responded with his head slightly dropping.
«Pathos» That's not what I was referring to. Shouldn't you be the one to bring me to a nice place to eat.
Ruem stopped for a moment to think while still keeping his pace next to Pathos. The process lasted two seconds before he was reminded of another problem that he had.
«Ruem» Look, I would take you somewhere to eat as an excuse to get to know each other better but at the moment I'm a bit low on money. So no, I can't do that for you.
Pathos's gaze shifted forward as if wanted to take a better look at what was upfront . but a thought crossed his mind. Pathos was grateful for being accompanied and all but he never understood the reason behind this decision.
At a first glance Pathos thought of Ruem as someone who acts like he does just so that he can get what he wants and disappear without a trace after achieving it.
«Pathos» Anyway, are you sure you want to come along with me? I mean we barely know each other and you decided to accompany me without even thinking about it. Or did you simply decide to follow me because you thought you would have been offered something to eat.
Ruem frowned, clearly bothered by the comment.
«Ruem» You'd really think I stood that low for you?
Pathos raised his eyebrows and just looked at him without saying a word. And Ruem could do nothing but watch.
«Ruem» Ok maybe you do. But it's not the right answer. The reason I'm accompanying you is because I want to see your Prometeo in action and because I had nothing better to do so here I am.
«Pathos» Well if it's not a problem for you then could you show me the way? There is somewhere I'd like to go.
«Ruem» Sure. Where are you planning on going?
«Pathos» It's a clothing shop owned by Jhoel. I don't know much about the place but I need to meet someone there. If you could bring me there it would be much appreciated.
«Ruem» Jhoel... a clothing shop..... mhm...
Suddenly Ruem stopped right in his tracks while Pathos kept on walking for a bit until he noticed the sudden stop.
«Pathos» What's wrong?
There was a strange look in Ruem's eyes, seemingly thoughtful and worrying.
«Ruem» Who is it that you are looking for exactly?
His sudden shift in tone was something Pathos didn't expect, almost too serious for his character.
«Pathos» …Jhoel…?
As soon as his name was made known Ruem hissed through his teeth and as soon as the hissing stopped Pathos heard him curse to himself.
«Pathos» Are you ok?
«Ruem» Yeah i'm fine let's just go…
Words spoken with the most sour face imaginable, did something happen between these two? From his expression Pathos could tell that something clearly troubled Ruem about Jhoel, but he could exactly make out what the problem was.
After a long moment he sighed and walked towards Pathos until he reached him once again.
But as soon as he walked past Pathos asked.
«Pathos» You know Jhoel?
«Ruem» Yup. We don't really see eye to eye with one other.
Both of them resumed walking, but this time at a lower speed.
«Pathos» What do you mean?
«Ruem» It's nothing important, just a regular fight we tend to have with one another. I run, he chases me and things will go back to how things used to be.
He dismissively waved his hand around.
But Pathos wasn't buying it beside what Did he mean by "chases me" What kind of dispute makes one chase the other. The possibilities could be many in reality but was their relationship that bad?
But just as Pathos went to speak once more, the sound of the creaked armor became louder and louder, until a group of three soldiers stood in their way, all of them ready to unsheathe their swords.
«Soldier» Halt!
Pathos turned towards the voice followed by a stiff Ruem who already seemed to know such a voice. The soldier took a quick look at the duo and he quickly noticed the familiar face of Ruem and promptly shouted
«Soldier» You! stop right there thief!
With those words said, the soldiers didn't waste anymore time, their swords were drawn directed toward the unfamiliar duo. Pathos's face contorted with fear not knowing what his next move should be, he turned to look at Ruem, who also looked quite troubled.
«Ruem» Oh no not again…Look let's ju—
The soldier charged forward, his sword pointed forward to pierce Ruem straight in the chest. In a moment of desperation Pathos raised his hand towards the soldier in an attempt to reutilize the Prometeo to defend Ruem.
But to no use.
«Pathos» Come on! come on!
As the soldier's sword came close enough to him, Ruem casted a wormhole right below Pathos and himself, making the sword miss entirely as the both of them fell through it.
«Ruem» Sorry buddy right now is not the time, we can deal with it later though!
Pathos reaches the other side, falling face-first on the ground that lay beneath him. He raised his head and looked around, before gazing right in the wormhole where the soldier stared directly right into.
«Soldier» Bastard! Come back here! th-
Ruem closed the wormhole, shutting his sentence short.
«Ruem» Yeah yeah go scream somewhere else.
Pathos raised his head, face covered with dirt and small rocks kindly removed by his own hands that were covered as well in the same dirt. His gaze shifted around to look at his surroundings but only to stop to face Ruem.
This new place was far different from the over populated streets of Serras. the road was the exact same but this time on the concrete there were chunks of dirt and the condition of said street was in pieces.
«Pathos» Where the hell are we now?
Pathos was left out of place; both the events with the soldiers and his experience of going through one of Ruem's wormholes left him in confusion. Ruem slowly turned toward Pathos, scratching his cheek.
«Ruem» That was something ah?
But what troubled him the most was, "why did those soldiers attack Ruem on sight?" For a moment his mind froze as he stopped to think about how Ruem's situation looked close to his.
No that couldn't be the reason, before he closed the wormhole the soldier was about to call him something… "Thief?". Just who was this guy? Considering his Prometeo however it would make perfect sense for him to cover such a role.
Not that Pathos would do it but if he had a power like that even he would be tempted to steal something. No, maybe he would just test the water but only once…
«Pathos» What was that!?
Ruem's entire hand started scratching his own cheek more aggressively.
«Ruem» They are just a bit upset because I borrowed something.
Ruem's gaze shifted, completely avoiding Pathos's eyes
«Ruem» Which I did not bring back.
Pathos slowly turned towards him, his face mixed with annoyance and anger.
«Pathos» So you stole something.
«Ruem» Nah, i just—Yeah, i did.
As he was about to lie again, he sighed before admitting the truth, Pathos stood there for a couple of seconds thinking if he should be mad about the fact that he didn't know this or about how he made himself look like an accomplice.
«Pathos» And you didn't think of warning me before!?
«Ruem» And how was I supposed to know you could be trusted?
«Pathos» You were the one that followed me!? If it would have caused me some problems the least you could have done was anticipate this event.
«Ruem» I didn't think it would happen right then and there… Come on, you still have somewhere to go right?
Ruem held out his hand to Pathos. For a moment, just a moment Pathos hesitated to reach out his hand. But moments later he grabbed it without fear. Getting up he stated.
«Pathos» if i found out you killed someone…
«Ruem» No–No, actually all I did was steal from a few stores and apparently now I'm supposed to be executed on the spot. I don't get why they make it such a huge fuss. Honestly the rich hog all their goods but once someone else has them they make it a problem.
He replied with an annoyed tone as if he was the one who got robbed.
«Pathos» I wonder why.
Pathos closed his eyes out of the sheer incompetence this man child had, just as he wanted to move forward and find who he needed to find he reminded himself that because of Ruem he too might look like an accomplice now.
As much as he wanted to stay as far away as possible from this guy he needed him to find Jhoel and to discover the Prometeo's potential, and because he was completely lost right now thanks to Ruem.
«Pathos» I hope they don't exchange me for a criminal too.
«Ruem» They won't, you can trust me on that. You didn't do anything concerning, they won't go after you.
«Pathos» I don't know how much I can trust your words right now.
Ruem let out a chuckle as he heard Pathos's distrust. Despite meaning each word and not in a joking way
«Ruem» Oh don't be so gloomy we got out of there. We should be in the clear once I understand, wherever we are.
Pathos did not speak, he gazed around his surroundings only to find some rundown houses barely holding up, the ground felt more like sand and not like concrete almost as if the road itself had worn out and was never replaced. This didn't feel like the same city he was in two seconds ago. As if he reached the poorer side of Serras. Everything from the smells and colors had somehow been replaced by the putrid smell of excrement, and the yellow "sand" covering the air.
«Pathos» Is this place even Serras?
«Ruem» Mhm! We are still inside Serras's walls.
Pathos continued to look around finally spotting someone that wasn't Ruem, for some reason their clothes were almost torn, the pale face of someone who hasn't eaten in days. Could this really be Serras? Moments ago Serras displayed beauty, colors, smells and smiles. Yet this side seemed almost the exact opposite.
«Ruem» Ok so not to alarm you Pathos but I might have made the path longer.
Pathos turned his face wide open and eyebrows frowned, not expecting this for an answer from Ruem. Although it didn't really surprise Pathos since how much he has been unreliable so far.
Then again couldn't he just simply use the wormholes he had to bring them to their destination?
«Pathos» So what? Bring us there with your Prometeo.
But for some reason he didn't seem quite happy to hear this like it annoyed him or something, his eyelids lowered a bit and his awkward smile turned into a pout. Did that upset him?
«Ruem» I'd prefer not to…
«Pathos» Ah!? Why!?
«Ruem» It takes time for me to create a second wormhole so I can't do that for you.
From a look Pathos couldn't understand if his words were genuine or not but the sheer discontent he proved made it seem like that was something he didn't take so proudly.
«Pathos» So on foot?
As soon as he mustered those words Ruem nodded with quite a proud look on his eyes.
«Ruem» Mhm! But just keep your eyes open, this place is well known for the many murders and robberies.
Pathos in that very instant held back the urge to say something like "so your own turf?" But since his parents thought him better than that he decided against it.
Just then he noticed the many people sitting outside their own houses–more than houses they looked like tents. Their conditions as well were horrible. Most of these tents had holes and some were still soaked in water.
Some children and even parents were as slim as paper, to the point their bones were quite visible from even a mile. Which made Pathos pity them as he began imagining just what that kind of life is. Not pretty, that's for sure.
«Pathos» What happened here? this place doesn't even look like Serras anymore.
«Ruem» Not much happens in this part besides what i said earlier, people fight over their own survival, and you don't know how often this happens.
Pathos' face turned to look once more at the pale man sitting with his legs tucked between his arms, from his blank eyes alone Pathos could tell just how much he was suffering from his existence alone, Ruem too gazed at him only for him to sighed and speak in a concerned tone.
«Ruem» You know, I pity them. They probably didn't deserve this life, many of them don't. Yet despite that they still cling on that hope that tomorrow will be different, only for it to be the same as yesterday.
As Pathos turned to look at Ruem's speech, he noticed two things, Ruem alone wasn't just speaking out of genuine pity for them. As he mustered those words Pathos found a strange seriousness coming from his eyes, something almost out of character for him.
The desperation in the pale man's eyes haunted Pathos, he couldn't bring himself to stand there doing nothing.
«Pathos» Do you still have some of that chicken? I need to borrow it.
Without questioning Pathos,Ruem opened a wormhole right above his hand and a cooked chicken fell out. Watching it mid-air he questioned his reason.
«Ruem» Yeah why?
«Pathos» Can i?
Ruem handed him the entire thing, Pathos's gaze shifted towards the trembling poor. He approached the man kneeling down to face his blank eyes.
«Pathos» Here.
Pathos held out the chicken at the man waiting for him to take it. The man slowly opened his arms crawling toward Pathos as he watched the cooked food sitting in front of him. Before he grasped it he gazed at Pathos as if asking him "are u sure?" to which Pathos nodded. The man grabbed the chicken and began munching down on it with haste.
Content with what he did, he stood up and walked back towards Ruem, his happy smile shining his way back.
«Pathos» Thank you Ruem.
With a wave of his hand he dismissed his gratitude.
«Ruem» Oh don't say that it's, especially since that thing doesn't even belong to me.
Oh right he stole those things too….
Hold on!? Did he accidentally make a random civilian a criminal by giving him food!? How come he didn't think of this beforehand!?
His hands began rubbing his own head as realization kicked in, although it wasn't such a big deal considering his feeble condition he still couldn't bring himself to accept this mistake.
«Ruem» And he just noticed his mistake.
He crossed his arms and chuckled to himself, to which Pathos quickly commented.
«Pathos» You knew!? Then why didn't you say something!?
«Ruem» Because I thought your reaction would have been funnier if you noticed it later.
Then again why was he that concerned for, as Ruem mentioned, life here is already on edge so even if he did or didn't do something that poor fellow would either die of starvation or kill someone to survive.
Maybe a lesser crime wasn't such a big deal after all. His hands stopped rubbing and with a deep breath he walked towards Ruem's side.
«Pathos» Let's just go
«Ruem» Just so you know I would have told you. Just once you had completely forgot about it
Ruem's hands fell to his side as the two began walking again.
«Pathos» Dickhead.
«Ruem» Such language for something so minuscule.
Both marched on towards their designated destination, Pathos however didn't seem to be content with just one act of kindness with each person they encountered Pathos took his time giving them food.
What reason had he not to help those poor fellows, their lives must have been even more miserable than his and because of that he wouldn't stand there doing nothing, this day would be the day the poor finally ate something.
He didn't want to share more of Ruem's food knowing well where they came from in spite of that it was Ruem who stopped him, seizing the bag of sweets away from him with one of his wormholes and passing him something much more nutritious to give.
Everything one could imagine, he had it, cooked, fresh, yet never spoiled.
Step after step the town became more and more colorful, a clear sign they were about to reach the correct path. Which made Pathos question something
«Pathos» What kind of guy is Jhoel exactly?
Ruem's eyes darted towards Pathos's.
«Ruem» Why are you asking me?
He replied with his eyes frowned almost like it was a question which he could not answer.
«Pathos» Didn't say you knew him?
«Ruem» Yes but that doesn't mean I personally know the guy. Although there is something I can say for certain. He is a hardworking man who considered his own work a masterpiece. You'll see, just you wait.
A hardworking man…How had he never heard of him before? There must be a reason why a total stranger like him was trusted by his father.
If he knew his family and shared such a bond with them then he might have an explanation to everything,
If he knew his family… then he might have answers.
About the soldiers.
About the night his village burned.
About his mother.
All those questions. Could be answered.