Theo opens his eyes slowly. He finds himself lying in a hospital bed, his body feeling heavy and disconnected. "Where am I?" he whispers, his voice raspy.
Blood is on his face and body. But there are no injuries on his body. That's all recovered by Jennifer's mana.
"Who are you asking?" Richard questions him. He sits on a wooden stool beside the bed, leaning back with a relaxed posture.
Theo's eyes widen as he recognises the man. "Master Richard," he stammers nervously, trying to push himself up against the pillows.
"Oh, you know me? That's fine, that's fine," Richard says, a broad, genuine smile spreading across his face. He seems unusually happy to be recognised.
"But... why did you attack Joseph?" Richard continues, his tone shifting to something more serious but still curious.
Theo looks down at his blankets. He does not know how to answer.
"Don't worry, my little brother Joseph has forgiven you," Richard says kindly.
Richard leans closer. "But my curiosity grew when I heard that you are from the Maripian race." Richard looks at him with deep curiosity.
Theo's breath hitches. Before he can speak, the door swings open.
"Hey, hey, why are you scaring the boy?" Jennifer says as she enters the room. She walks toward the bed with a protective look.
"Is it true that you are from the Maripian race? People say that your race is so rare," Jennifer adds, looking at Theo with interest.
Theo shrinks back slightly into his pillows, overwhelmed by their attention.
"I can read her mind. She is Joseph's elder sister. She has no hatred for me; it is just curiosity," Theo whispers in his mind. He has just read Jennifer's thoughts.
Jennifer smiles slightly. She starts thinking very clearly on purpose. "If you can read my mind, can you read others?" She is intentionally sending these thoughts to Theo to see if he responds.
Theo looks at her in surprise, his eyes wide as he realises she knows his secret.
Then Jennifer sits near Theo. "I know everything that you attacked Joseph. He is not a lord now; he is just an ordinary boy. We know Joseph and his actions when he was a lord. We know what he did to your race. Do you forgive him?" Jennifer requests him politely.
"He is not my enemy now," Theo says, finally finding his voice. "My family is from a few of the Maripian race—the 'reader race' of the Knowledge world. My Mother is the grand master of the Diaftis Order." Theo tells them everything about himself.
Freya wipes the blood from Theo's face. "Why did you attack Joseph? Are you against the Knowledge Lord?" she asks.
"I saw his childhood memories in my dimension. The evilness and the darkness that I knew about the Lord disappeared from him." Theo says.
"Thanks," Jennifer says, feeling relieved.
"But he has so many enemies," Theo adds, looking worried. "My whole family hates him. The whole Diaftis Order is thirsty for his blood. On the other hand, another order, known as the Devotee of All Lord, is also trying to reincarnate the three lords by using the course power of the Dark Lord. They will try to harm him. And the person who tried to kill me, he is also from this order."
Jennifer and Freya exchange a look of concern. Their faces pale as they realise the scale of the danger. Jennifer grips the edge of the bed, her knuckles turning white. Freya's hand trembles slightly as she holds the cloth. They are both deeply worried about the storm that is coming for Joseph.
Outside the door, Johan stands quietly and listens to them. After listening to this, he is also worried about Joseph.
Late at night, in Joseph's room, everything is quiet. Johan slowly enters the room. He is searching for Joseph.
"Oi! Joseph, are you sleeping?" Johan calls very softly. He walks deeper into the dark room.
He moves the blanket a little and sees that Joseph is not there. "Joseph? Joseph!" Johan calls his name loudly this time. He looks everywhere, feeling worried.
Suddenly, the lights click on. Joseph is standing there, looking very tired. "What do you need, brother?" Joseph asks.
"Oh! I want to ask you something," Johan tells him calmly.
"About what?" Joseph asks in surprise.
"Jennifer and I saw your powers," Johan says. "You know where we come from and what you are."
"Yes, brother, I killed many mages in my previous life, but I saved humankind, I extincted multiple races, I am between darkness and lightness," Joseph responds with sadness in his eyes.
"Don't worry, you are Joseph, my little brother," Johan says with a sweet smile.
"But I forgot my previous memories. What I know about my previous self, I learned from books. I do not know how much is true or false," Joseph explains.
"Now, what do you want to do?" Johan asks.
Johan hugs Joseph tightly. Joseph looks at him. "I want to see a smile on everyone's face, like yours. I want to make the world Jardin Paisible, just like ours. I want to turn all my enemies into friends and make all evil people kind ones. Jardin Paisible—the Peaceful Garden of Paradise that our mother wants."
"You are also a bird of the garden, just like us," Johan says warmly.
Meanwhile, Theo walks toward the main door of his house, which stands close to the busy street. Before he can ring the bell, the door swings open. His mother is standing there.
"Come," Theo's mother orders. Her face is silent, but a deep anger hides inside her eyes.
Without a single word, Theo enters his home. They walk to the dining table.
"Sit here," she says.
Theo sits in a chair. His body is trembling with fear. "Mother, I did something wrong," he whispers.
"Why did you fail to kill the Knowledge Lord?" she growls. She grabs Theo's head and slams it down against the table.
The impact is massive. The table breaks in half from the force. Blood pours from Theo's forehead. He screams in agony.
She reaches out to slam his head again, but suddenly, she stops. She is reading his thoughts. Her eyes narrow.
"Wait. You are not Theo. Who are you?" she shouts.
The boy grabs her hand and snaps his fingers. Mana surrounds him like a storm. The illusion fades, revealing Richard. He has disguised himself as Theo using his Mana.
"Aaaa! It hurts!" Richard screams in pain. Even though he is a master of Mana, the injury to his head is real. He is bleeding.
Suddenly, portals tear open around the room. Members of the New World Order jump out. They surround Richard and point their sharp swords at his throat.
Richard wipes the blood from his eyes and looks at the angry Grand Master.
However, the situation shifts instantly as backup arrives. Theo's mother surrenders as she is overpowered. The Order members tie her hands with a heavy rope and arrest her.
Kaeli steps through a portal, looking at the destruction in the room. Her eyes land on the injured Richard. She rushes to his side.
"Are you okay?" Kaeli asks, her voice full of worry.
"I am fine. I once thought that disguising myself as a child was the best way to save myself. But these days, I see that children are in more danger than anyone," Richard says. He is exhausted and leans against the broken table.
"This lady is definitely going to jail for child abuse," Kaeli says firmly. "The neighbours say that she often abuses Theo. Enve once she makes him unconscious by beating"
Richard looks at the floor, thinking deeply about Theo. He realises that the boy's life has been a nightmare long before he met Joseph. He understands that Theo's surroundings make him so aggressive.