Lord Shadow

Pandemonium

The Immortal Couple Residence

Azief maintain his silence as he looks at Wil. Will certainly did not try to explain himself. He sighed.

Azief still did not understand what Will mean by for you and for me words he just said. 

He had seen what Will have seen. And as such, he knew of some things that even Loki did not know he knows.

It is clear that Loki had triggered a butterfly effect that is out of his calculations. 

If he knows, who knows how he would feel? Would he felt happy that the future is changing so drastically? 

Or would he be annoyed that the future he knows might not be as predictable as it has been before?

In a stake that involves all of creation, Loki would always prioritize his mission than his own feelings.

It is not a sad thing. The sad thing if nothing changes.

Azief come closer to Will and he too look at the painting that Will is looking. He is standing tall beside Will.

Will notice and he could feel the pressure of the Laws emanating from Azief body and he could not help but feel shocked.

Azief aura is almost the same as his teacher. It is only slightly inferior.

Azief look at the painting and he saw the sign left behind by its painter. XC

‘Xu Cong painted this painting?’ He asks. Will nodded.

‘He is a painter after all. he paints’ Will answer simply

‘What’s the title of the painting?’ 

Azief ask as he too felt some charm of the painting when looking at it. 

Azief could not explain it but he felt attracted to to the painting. 

This must be because it was Xu Cong that paints it. He might have some magic that could attract people to his paintings.

Azief saw the painting and it felt incredibly lifelike. It almost felt like the monsters in the painting could come out form the painting and jump at him.

In the painting there is a gigantic serpent. There are angels with blackened wings pointing their swords toward the shining golden sky.

As he looks closer, he could see that in the corner of the painting there is a burning lake. And a person setting a stone. As he looks closely he could see the painting is moving. The person set the stone and a place emerges out.

As he averts his gaze from the painting, the painting seems like it had never moved. A still like image again like all he experienced before were all a lie.

It is quite interesting.

Because Azief felt life is contained inside the painting.

‘Pandemonium’ Azief muttered.

Will smiles and nodded

‘You guessed it. That is the name of the painting’

‘It is a beautiful painting’ Azief said. Will only smiles

‘Xu Cong got the idea from Paradise Lost’ Will suddenly said

‘I too got the idea of naming the continent Pandemonium form Paradise Lost’ Azief said. Will nodded.

Will then ask

‘Do you know what the story of Paradise Lost is about?’ Azief hearing this and then he understood why Will is looking at the painting and why he asks such thing.

The story of the Paradise Lost could be interpreted in many ways. But there is one interpretation that Will and he probably knows and struggle about.

It is the interpretation that destiny and fate is set. 

‘Is this painting the answer to my question?’ Azief ask. Will smirks again. Azief bitterly smiles

‘This time, it is you pretending being mysterious’ Will chuckles

‘I wanted to knows how it feels knowing I hold all the cards’ he said simply. Then he added

‘It is not every day that I know more things than you.’

Azief then said.

I never hold all the cards. I just pretend I do’ Will chuckles a bit. There is another moment of silence between them

Then Will shakes his head.

‘I guess we need to talk now. What do you see in the Time Tunnel?’ Will ask. That was not the first question that Azief thought would come up from Will mouth which made him a little bit startled.

But he was quick to regain his calm and he said

‘I saw myself getting betrayed and I saw myself betraying people.’ Will then casually ask 

‘Who betrayed you and who you betrayed?’ Azief almost chuckles. 

The thing they are discussing now are serious stuff. But the way Will treat it very casually made him feel it is not a big deal after all.

So, he replied.

‘I could not tell you who betrayed me until I am certain. But It could tell you who I betrayed. Will smiles and then before Azief could tell him the answer, Will said

‘It is me, right?’ Azief expected it thus he was not shocked. He could only nod his head.

‘That is why I ask you, why do you stay? I try to delay meeting you. I try to give you a chance to run away from me. But here you are’

Will takes a deep breath and then said

‘But, here I am’ Then he chuckles.

It is not a laughing matter’ Azief said. Will reply

‘the only intelligent tactical response to life’s horror is to laugh defiantly at it’ Azief then said

‘Is that another quote?’ he nodded

‘You know who is it from?’ Will ask

Soren Kierkegaard’ Azief reply easily. 

When they were stuck in the Otherworlds, there is some game they played. They played the quotes games. They spoke quotes from someone famous and one of them try to guess who spoke it.

From this it could be concluded that they nearly went insane. 

Only near insanity would force two men who are really serious to create such a childish game. 

The reason why they called it childish is because they both knew that they could remember every words they see so, there never is a winner between them

Azief himself was not as uneducated as he before. He in Earth two is a pretty successful guy with a business conglomerate. 

And that time he is already in Energy Disperse Stage and very book he sees is easily understood and he could remember every words if he wanted to recall back his memories.

That is why I laugh and why I smile’ 

Azief did not take that as an answer as he said

‘That still does not answer why you would stay’

Then taking a few moments, Will explain to him

‘I stay because I choose to believe in you’ Azief hearing this was shocked and a little bit touched. and then he chuckles.

‘What if you were wrong?’ Will smiling answer

‘If I’m wrong, I am wrong. You treated me like family. And I would also treat you like one. We are sworn brothers after all’

‘I thought you never cares that much about that oath’ Azief said. Will smiles and then he added

‘Words are just words after all’ Will said. Then he added

‘I am never one that trusted people easily.’

‘Then why trust me?’ Azief ask back

Chuckling, he said

‘Because I know you. Why do you think I agree to be sworn brother with you? There is not culture of sworn brother in my culture. At least not to my knowledge’