Airin shut her eyes tight, her brain worked to process the whole sentence. Xander is the son of Ares. Ares, the god of war. The one who causes all the woes now in Halgard.

Her tears flowed, and she shook her head in confusion and disbelief.

When she opened her eyes again, Xander gazed at her. His hands clasped hers tighter. "I am the son of Ares, Airin ..." he repeated, his voice grew steadier now, it was as if he was relieved that he had told Airin about who his father truly was.

Airin counted her breaths, trying hard to calm down. "But how could that be, Xander?"she asked, "You have such beautiful gifts, and to have a father like Ares, the god of war ... how?" she whispered while leaning her head closer to Xander. Her hands still clasped Xander's hands, she did not want to let go.

Xander now managed to sit up straighter, his breath was calmer, and it was clear he was relieved that he had told Airin about Ares and him having a family relation.

"It must sound so strange for you," he whispered while looking at Airin.

Airin paused, and looked up to Xander again. She tightened her grasp on Xander's hands and said, "I helped two people shooting out of a well in my universe. I saw elegarii in your mind. I saw orbs of lights. I was brought against my will by some sort of sorcery to this Halgard universe. At this point, nothing is strange to me anymore." She nodded. "Please tell me, how could it be? Ares is your father?"

Xander sighed and nodded. "My late mother, Queen Arajulia of Halgard, was known to have such stunning beauty rivaled only by one Helen of Troy. I guess you have heard about Helen and her wonderful face that launched the Trojan War? It had truly happened here a few hundred years ago, though it had become a matter of myth in your universe." Airin nodded, of course she knew the story of Trojan War, between the Greeks and the Spartans. The gods and demigods and human beings, their fate intertwined in the long, brutal war.

Xander continued his story as the sun went up higher, the clouds blocked it, and the grey sky stayed. He would pause and cough, but he insisted on telling his story.

Ares lusted for the magnificent beauty of Queen Arajulia of Halgard. He tried to seduce the queen, but the queen was loyal to her husband King Lymnos and could see through the disguise of Ares when Ares turned himself to be King Lymnos to try to bed her. She loved her husband so much and had known him so well inside out that Ares failed to mimic the king.

So Ares decided to disguise himself as a female servant and drugged the queen's drink. Ares violated the sleeping queen and left her broken afterwards. The queen was pregnant with Xander as a result.

Xander took a deep breath. "I did not know all those ... wickedness ... that Ares has perpetrated against my mother. My mother was always sad and quiet, I did not know why too. Until one day, when I was 10 years old ..."

When Xander was 10, on one fateful night he could not sleep and decided to go to the rooftop of the palace to watch the full moon.

He saw Nydda and his mother having a conversation there. He was going to surprise them so he hid behind a wall.

It was the night his life changed for the worse.

Nydda, a sorceress and an oracle who received messages and guidance from the gods, had figured out about Xander and Ares due to a message sent to her by Apollo. Apollo, who was annoyed at Ares for something silly at Olympus, decided to get back at his half-brother by telling his dark secret to Nydda.

Queen Arajulia broke down and confirmed the truth to Nydda. She had not told anybody, including her husband the king, about Xander's actual father because she was too scared and ashamed. She had spent most of her pregnancy being too scared and broken to do anything at all.

It was too late to do anything when her pregnancy was discovered by her husband, who was overjoyed of course at the prospect of having an heir. She had no other choice but to keep the secret – her younger son, her actual son with King Lymnos, Rovan, would not escape negative consequences too if the secret was out.

Nydda asked her to keep it a secret to prevent tragic complications at the throne because as far as everybody else in Halgard and King Lymnos himself were concerned, Xander was still the firstborn child of the king and the crown prince of Halgard.

So from that night on, only Nydda knew about the secret. At least that was what they thought. Tragically, they did not know that Xander, who hid behind a wall, had heard all of it too.

"Oh ..." Airin trembled just at the thought of what kind of hell it must have been for such a young boy to discover such a horrible secret about himself.

"I hid there behind the wall until morning came, crying in little sobs so nobody could hear me. Something in me died that night. I was never the same boy since that night."

"I am so sorry to hear that, Xander. So sorry," that was all she could muster to say. She thought for a bit, then she spoke up her one curiosity, "But your gifts ..."

Xander nodded and understood where Airin next question was going. He heaved, coughed, and grabbed Airin's hand tight. He continued his story ...

When Xander was born, as was the tradition for all first-born child of the ruler of Halgard, Xander was brought by his father King Lymnos to the river elegarii. There into the enchanted river, newborn Xander was dipped waist-deep into the river.

However, a strange thing happened when Xander was dipped in the river, something that had never happened before.

It was as if the orbs of lights, the creatures of inspiration, had an inkling about who Xander's real father was, that he was the son of the god of war, the god of destruction and chaos.

They all stopped swimming, and swarmed to Xander. They pulled Xander from the grasp of shocked King Lymnos, and brought the newborn underwater.

They took Xander for a few seconds underwater, completely swarming him. Then the orbs lifted him up above water again, and returned him to King Lymnos.

"Wow ..."

"Those few seconds, they impart to me the gifts, Airin. I was a newborn, but they ... I could feel their happiness to have the baby son of Ares there, the happiness that left mark in me. They were happy because they thought they won the war against destruction itself, by having the baby of Ares with them. That day they blessed me with the gift to draw, to inspire people and let people roam into my mind, and one orb even melted into my body ..."

Airin's eyes widened in expectation of the continuation of the story, but Xander coughed hard, and his breathing became heavier. Airin wiped drops of sweat on his face with her right palm, then she stood up, went to the table and filled up a cup with water. She then brought the water to Xander, and he drank a few sips.

"Just rest, Xander. You don't have to tell me all now ..."

Xander shook his head. "No, no. I have to. I have to." He looked straight into Airin's eyes. "I want you to know, Airin."

He continued his story ...

Xander grew up a happy child. He drew magnificent real-life looking drawings, and he loved helping people be inspired. He never let anyone roam into his mind though. He was too young to understand that. But the palace loved him and his gifts. Nydda was especially close to him.

But that happy little boy was destroyed that night when he was just a tender ten years old child, and he heard the tragic secret about who his real father was.

His whole world turned upside down in one night. The shine in his blue eyes darkened. Fear, shame, and anger filled his young heart. Xander started to lose the ability to use his gifts. His heart was too heavy, too angry, too shameful to use them.

Little Xander grew to despise his parents. His father King Lymnos who put so much pressure on his shoulder as an heir to the throne, that man never really cared about how he felt inside. Though he especially hated his mother. His young mind could never understand why was she always so distant toward him? What did he do wrong other than being born? Was it his fault that Ares did that nasty deed to his mother?

Xander stopped talking, and Airin decided not to ask him to talk more. Maybe it had been enough for him.

"Have you felt like you were never good enough, to your father, or mother, no matter how hard you thought you have tried, Airin?" Xander asked what seemed like a rhetorical question after pausing from his story for some minutes.

Airin swallowed a large chunk of her saliva, it helped moisten her throat, and she could feel a lump of air that stuck in her chest. Dad came into her memory. "Of course ..." she answered finally.

Xander was quiet. He groaned again. Airin took the cup with water and offered it to him again, but this time he refused.

"I have to tell you my story again, Airin. I have to," Xander slumped a bit more, and Airin grabbed his shoulder. "I do not want to hear your story if it means you will die after!" she held back her sobs but failed. She sounded really stupid, she knew.

Xander shook his head. His eyes watched Airin gently. "It is not within your power to rule over my death or my living, Airin."

Airin threw her gaze sideways, she wished to disagree vehemently with Xander, but realized she had no grounds for it. She could not debate the truth of what Xander had just said.

"I will tell you now how I become the killer of my parents ..." Xander sighed, closed his eyes as if he was trying to withstand some pain.

Airin nodded, her heart was heavy but if telling his story could give Xander a bit of peace, then so be it.