The Extra of The Lunerra

"I killed him, Sue. Because I have no idea what else is going on in his head."

I narrowed my eyes, kept my tone calm, and... just said what I needed to say.

"Do you know what he threatened me with before he called me here? Evidence that would make you and my sister a terrorist in the eyes of the whole planet. Just... think. What else can someone who can do that do?"

Sue hugged her brother’s body tightly.

"Still... it wasn’t necessary..."

She didn’t care as her tears spilled onto his dusty, dirty T-shirt. And I let out a sigh once more.

"You can think what you want, Sue."

I shifted my sword back into cane form, then took it in both hands.

"I... just did what I had to do. I took the option I thought would protect everyone. Including you."

I slowly turned around.

"And... I don’t think you should care that much about someone who doesn’t see you as a sister, who doesn’t even care that you exist... who even killed his own mother just because of a ridiculous thought. Even though you’ve seen him as your brother for a long time."

And I started to move forward slowly.

"I know that you need some... time, that you are very confused, that you don’t know what to do. Probably all your thoughts about me have been turned upside down. But... I want you to know at least this..."

My last sentence before I left him... I chose it carefully.

"Paul may be dead. But... he didn’t even see you as family. And me... I’m always here for you, okay? Everything I did... I did for you."

I paused for a moment, then narrowed my eyes.

"Because I love you."

And I disappeared into the trees.

When I stepped out of the woods, what greeted me was not an empty road or field, but a blonde woman waiting with her arms folded.

"Are you done?"

I sighed deeply as I looked at Melany, looked up at the sky one last time, and closed my eyes.

"Yes, I guess."

Even though I didn’t expect it to be like this. Like... this fast, and uneventful. So sudden.

Yeah.

After all, Paul... maybe one of the beings I fear most in this world... He was supposed to be much more difficult to deal with.

But this is what life is like. Sudden, cruel, unfair.

Because he’s dead, just like that.

I killed him before he could even awaken his system.

*******

Paul’s body was taken by some of the people Melany had brought with her.

Sue... went home without a word to me or them. And thanks to my words to Melany, no one stopped her.

And... frankly, I have no idea what happens now.

Sue... I don’t know how much she heard, but at least she found out that Paul wasn’t who she thought he was. So... once she’s made up her mind, no matter how upset or hurt she is, I think she’ll go back to normal.

And if she doesn’t, I’ll bring her back to normal.

Maybe it’s a selfish thought, at least if I consider that I was the one who killed his brother in the first place, maybe it’s because of the Absolute Mind, but... it will happen. I will make it happen.

All she needs is time.

And... I will give her that time.

That’s what I was thinking in my room, leaning back in my chair all the way, watching the ceiling.

*******

Paul... was not the person I knew.

Not my loving brother who always thought of me.

Not the one I spend hours talking to every week, telling him everything.

The more I think about the things he says...

The look on his face when he said he didn’t care about me in the slightest...

The way he sounded and acted when he said he killed our mother...

What Aiden said about his sister...

The only reason he called me into the woods was to show me that Aiden died by his hand.

I curled up even more in my bed, closed my eyes even tighter.

Because I didn’t want to think it was real.

It was much easier to imagine it was... a dream.

Paul wasn’t like that. He shouldn’t have been. He... was my little brother. He was the one who was always there for me when there was nothing left of our family.

But...

I opened my eyes slowly, feeling every muscle I had ever contracted involuntarily relax.

It was all a lie.

"A... lie..."

Not a misunderstanding.

Not a dream.

Not... a nightmare...

It’s the truth.

A real lie.

A lie I’ve kept around for years.

"Aiden..."

What if he’s lying too?

What if he’s... lying to me?

What about my friends? Lucia, Adrian, Celine, the others...

How will I... know who’s lying and not after Paul?

What if... everyone is trying to use me?

I slowly got up from my bed. I walked to the mirror across my room, but I didn’t even look at it. My eyes... were more on something that was right in front of it.

Something I found among Paul’s clothes.

I swallowed. I slowly unwrapped the wrapper, staring for a moment at the shiny thing inside.

It was... jewelry. A transparent piece of jewelry, a little smaller than my fist.

I had no idea what it was for. I had no idea why Paul kept it with him, or even hid it in his clothes.

Maybe it was something from our mother.

Maybe... it was part of one of his plans to use it to hurt Aiden, who knows.

Maybe it was something else entirely.

But...

Even then...

It was all I had left of him.

I took the jewel between my palms.

It was warm, strangely so. It was even trembling, as if... as if it were alive.

This time, I held it close to my chest as I crawled back into my bed, under my duvet. I felt its warmth in my heart, and as its trembling increased, I felt a little... peaceful.

It reminded me of the past.

The days when Paul would say he had nightmares and curl up next to me.

Was that an act, too?

Even in those moments... was he just pretending to be someone he wasn’t?

"..."

Why...

Why didn’t he tell me anything?

At least...

Couldn’t he at least tell me what he was like?

To me.

His own sister.

I paused for a moment, feeling my lips involuntarily curl upward as my eyes teared up again.

Because Aiden... was right.

I... I never knew Paul. The real him.

But...

And yet I hate Aiden for killing him.

And yet I love him.

I held Paul’s jewel close to my chest while I reached for the necklace hanging around my neck.

I had only gotten it a few days ago, Aiden had given it to me. It was to hide the fact that I was an Apostle.

Hate... Love...

What even I have to do at this point...?

I closed my eyes, then took a deep breath.

I just... need some time to think, right?

Probably...

*******

Two days passed after Paul’s death.

I had no information about what he was talking about, what he said he stole from Saligia. Although it was very likely that he was lying... I still thought he was telling the truth.

And I still do. That’s why I’ve searched all the places where he was supposed to have stayed before this.

But it’s not looking like anything’s going to pop up. Whatever he stole... he either destroyed it or hid it so well that it’s impossible to find.

So, I’ve stopped thinking about it for a while.

What I’m thinking about now is... Sue.

She hates me. Even though she found out the truth about her brother... she hates me for killing him. Even though we haven’t seen each other since that, I haven’t forgotten her eyes.

Did I do the right thing?

Maybe... I shouldn’t have really killed Paul, I should have just subdued him. I shouldn’t have given in to my impulse. That’s why I made Paul leave such a mess behind.

"Haaaaah..."

I have to keep working.

I still have a lot more to do...

Company, academy, nobility, future, plans, preparations...

But I don’t feel like doing anything.

"..."

I need to occupy myself with something to distract myself from boredom. And something of immediate importance.

"..."

Hmm...

"Hey, Sith."

A turquoise glow quickly appeared in front of me, followed by Sith.

"Yes?"

"How is the barrier?"

How many days has it been since he felt the ripple? A week or so... so we don’t have much time left.

The spirits will descend on Lunerra shortly. And all of Lunerra will be shaken.

I need to find a way to make the most of it. And then there’s the matter of the Father of Sith...

"It’s the same. But there is constant pressure from the other side. The spirits seem to be trying to speed things up."

"I see..."

Then... let’s take care of this first.

~beep! ~beep! ~beep!

"Huh?"

I wasn’t really surprised when my watch rang. I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately.

The problem was... the person who called me.

I wasn’t a call from her at this time of the day...

"Yes, Clara?"

My sister.

"Are you free right now, by any chance?"

I paused as I felt the difference in her voice, my expression turning serious. I leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

For some reason... I had an idea of what she was going to talk about.

"Yes, I’m free."

Clara was silent for a while. Then, on the other side of the call, she sighed deeply, braced herself... and asked her question.

"Is Paul... dead?"

The very question I had been waiting for.

"Yes."

"..."

Clara was silent again. But this time not as long as the first.

"Was it... you... who killed him?"

"Yes."

"..."

This time for minutes...

"Clara. You’re there, aren’t you?"

"Yes... yes, I’m here."

I squinted for a little while. Then closed my eyes completely.

"Do you... hate me? For killing him?"

Like her...

"No..."

"Well, then?"

"It’s just... I... I don’t know. I don’t feel sad after realizing what kind of person he was. But... still..."

She sighed deeply. A squeaky voice came echoing, as if leaning too slowly against something.

"I... imagined a future with him. Growing up with him, marrying him, growing old with him... more."

Disappointment?

"Whatever. Thank you for being honest. And... I’m sure you’re doing the right thing. It’s just..."

"Hmm? Just?"

Clara gave me one last sentence before hanging up the call.

"Paul’s sister... I think you should talk to her."

The last word was much more emphatic.

"Again."

And then, she just hung up.

The next seconds passed in silence. Then a few minutes...

"Again, huh..."

Somehow... I have a feeling that she didn’t learn this from the Clairvoyance or from the authorities when she was trying to reach Paul...