"Where are we?" Asks Xavier as he pushes his jet black hair away from his eyes. He looks around the wide space and up at the clear sky.

"We're on the roof of Esdith." Tucker points out as he rolls up his sleeves. Xavier takes in his appearance and sighs loudly. Tucker is dressed in one of his many formal attires, a shirt and a vest. He has his long golden hair tightly braided and out of his face. Slowly, more of his brothers appear on the roof. Colton dressed similarly to Tucker while Allen wears a black tee-shirt with his silver whip coiled around his arm. His black curly locks dance to the melodies of the wind, not slightly bothering him as he wears a large face devouring grin. Tristan who rigidly walks by Allen has himself hidden in an Esdithian cloak, with the hood drawn, shadowing his face. Then finally, the top three brothers emerge from a door in the corner with Josiah at their front. Xavier blankly takes in his mirror self as he walks towards them with his cane. His electric blue eyes appear dead as he gazes forward, unflustered by Jonathan and Zachariah walking just behind him.

"Josiah-Josiah is-I-I am not training with Josiah." Xavier says incredulously, directing his words at Zachariah and Jonathan. Zachariah ignores him as Jonathan gives Xavier a hard look as he studies his appearance.

"What are you talking about? Of course you are." Tucker scoffs, wearing a venomous smile. Xavier opens his arms wide, as if gesturing to himself.

"Do you want me to die?!" He yells out. Tucker laughs loudly while Colton gives his older brother a disapproving look.

"Don't worry Xavier, he's just messing with you. If Josiah were to battle with us, we'd all die." Colton says as a matter of fact until he notices Zachariah sending a questioning glance his way. "...Right, brother?" He questions Zachariah with a fear laced tone. Zachariah guides Josiah to a row of chairs in one corner and seats him there. Lord Second then turns his body and faces the rest of his brothers. In a single instant, he reappears with his Xavier's throat in his hand and his feet dangling off of the ground.

"Listen here brother. We are to train you as if you were one of our Elites. That includes physical, mental, and emotional strain. While you are out here with us, I do not wish to see you putting up your ridiculous facades which you portray down in the castle. Strip off the layers of guard, protection, and masks." Zachariah says. Xavier grits his teeth and grabs hold onto Zachariah's arm. Jonathan walks up to them and rests a hand on Zachariah's shoulder.

"What our brother means to say is, hand your most vulnerable, open, and broken self over to us willingly and readily so that we may strengthen it or we will have to claw that person out of you. We'll have to break you down then shatter those pieces however way we please until we can fit them back together correctly." Jonathan says clearly, his short blonde hair a mess with the wind's presence. Xavier shuts his eyes then suddenly his whole body is ablaze with fire, forcing Zachariah to release him. Once he lands onto the ground again, he returns to normal and looks up at the expectant faces with burning eyes.

"Like hell I would do that!" He exclaims. Jonathan looks at Zachariah and sighs when he meets his eyes. Xavier gasps when suddenly he finds himself in the middle of a circle. He looks around at each of his brothers' solemn faces and black eyes.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to claw him out of you." Tucker says without a single hint of humor. Xavier notices the world dimming as each one of them releases amounts of Gemind smoke, forming a dome out of it. He doesn't move, but looks up instead, watching the last of the azure sky disappear from sight.

***

"So do you think Lord Second will punish us for last night?" Julian asks absentmindedly as he walks down the hallway with Angel. Angel shakes his head.

"I think he purposely wanted us separated last night." Angel mumbles, remembering his encounter with both Lord Second and Lord Third the previous night. Angel grabs for the handle of the large door and opens it wide, letting the green fields come into view.

"What? No weird civil war training this time?" Julian asks as they merge into the vast fields.

"The Elites and servants are all preparing for the ball while the Lords- they have their own affairs to deal with at the moment." Angel says, looking up at the top of the castle. He'd seen the Lords emerging from their chambers early in the morning without their aeternus and heading up to the roof.

"Let's get this over with." Julian says with a groan. Angel stands in front of him, tense and rigid. Julian closes his eyes and Angel readies himself for the sudden emotions.

"Do you think the Tick Tock hates me for bringing her here?" Julian asks him quietly. Angel rolls his eyes at the silver-haired Blay, irritated by him and his petty concerns.

"Felling guilty are you? My oh my, how terribly burdening." Angel snaps sarcastically. Julian's eyes open and Angel falls onto all fours. He clutches his stomach with one hand and covers his mouth with the other. Julian looks down at him with his eyes in action. He watches as Angel begins to throw up onto the grass and listens to his labored breathing.

"Will you look at that? You look ill Angel, what are you feeling?" Julian mocks as he stands above him. Angel's head spins and his heart hammers against his chest.

"I feel-." He begins hoarsely, spewing more vomit onto the grass. "-so guilty." He wheezes weakly. Julian, feeling himself reaching a limit, releases his hold on Angel's strings, letting him drop and roll onto his back. It takes him a minute to compose himself before he looks at Julian as he sits on the ground plucking a few grass leaves from the soil.

"You feel that guilty about your friend?" It takes a minute but Julian does nod in the end. Angel sits up and looks at Julian.

"Your hold on me only lasted for fifty-six seconds." Angel says. Julian looks at him as if he were crazy.

"You think you could've handled more?" Julian scoffs. Angel scowls.

"You think that was my first time feeling guilty? Major Blay Julian, what on earth do you think happens in Elite training? Nothing you inflict on me will reach even a fraction of what anyone who undergoes training under just one Lord will feel. Regardless, I am trying to be of use with your training." Angel says. Julian holds Angel's gaze for a moment then cracks a large grin.

"You're opening up to me!" He exclaims giddily. Angel scowls deeply and stands up. Julian frowns then grabs hold onto Angel's white uniform, pulling him back down. Angel slowly turns his head and looks at Julian threateningly.

"About-." Julian sighs and takes a deep breath. "-fifty-six seconds you said?" He mumbles weakly, letting go of Angel's sleeve. Angel grits his teeth at Julian, sneering at him. "I'm sorry, okay?" Julian snaps weekly. Angel grabs Julian's arm and hurls him a few meters away.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Angel asks angrily. Julian gulps, looking at the man with messy white hair and a perfect white uniform. He watches him stalking towards him angrily. "Don't show weakness. Don't. Not here, not now." Angel growls, looking down at him. Julian narrows his eyes, black lines spinning in his eyes. Angel gasps then returns to looking down at Julian.

"Fill me with guilt, go ahead. But you are still weaker than me now. Your guilt is real, this-." He points to himself. "-isn't. You are pathetic." Julian continues to look up at him, meanwhile hugging his knees. He keeps the feeling of guilt steady, wanting to keep his hold on him this time. Perhaps then he will understand.

"Stand up already!" Involuntarily, Angel shoots a dozen sharp white fathers at Julian. They hit him then fall to the ground. Julian watches his silver skin return to its normal color. Blays can't be cut.

"I'm sorry you can't cut me. I would've loved to die by your hands here and now." Julian mumbles sourly. Angel lunges at him, tackling him onto his back. Julian attempts to fight against it, but when it comes to a physical fight, Angel is bound to win.

"Stop it! Stop showing weakness in front of me!" Angel yells, his weight keeping the smaller boy down. Julian looks directly at Angel, his purple eyes mirroring Angel's yellowish hazel ones. As soon as they make eye contact, everything stops.

Angel's POV

His back is terrifying. His back is so terrifying it overrules the shame, fear, and guilt. So his back is actually calming. It looks the same as all the others, clad in a black Esdithian cloak, but it calls attention to him. He's different.

He'll watch everything I do, yet he won't pay me any attention. I look around me for the first time in a while and find that we're close now, Center Coast is only a few kilometers away. I take a deep breath and straighten myself, knowing that I too, have people looking at my back and studying it. After all, I am the General of this army. Of Esdith's Army. The rest of the Elites are Lieutenant Generals and Major Generals, if they screw up, they have to face me. If I screw up- I face the Lords of Esdith themselves. Lord Second in particular.

Quicker than I would have liked, we reach Center Coast. Their army faces us and immediately I decide that the Elites alone can take them. Esdith's army halts and there is nothing but silence. I resist looking at the faces of anyone from the enemy's army. I have killed many people in the past, and so I try to comfort myself now. Unlike those I have previously killed, these people aren't weak or helpless. I won't be overpowering anyone. I chant this over and over in my head.

I chant it when Lord Second calls my name and commands me to go. The chant is quiet, internal, yet it gets louder with the more blood in my hands, face and in my hair. It gets louder when I kill my first Blay, shooting sharp feathers into his eyes. He falls to his knees, but doesn't collapse. The sound of my chant gets so loud inside my head when I approach that Blay to truly kill him, by taking out his burst eyeballs that the chant erupts from my head and onto my tongue.

"You're not weak. You're not helpless." I chant in a whisper as I gently put a hand behind his head, feeling his soft silver hair. I pluck out my white feathers from his eyes, letting black goo cascade down his cheeks. I rest my hand near his destroyed eyes then I gasp as his hand jerks up, gripping my arm.

"Monster." He manages to say hoarsely. I almost back out. Almost. Shutting my eyes, I focus my senses on the feeling of his grip getting tighter and I reopen my eyes with resolve made of steel. Without further thoughts, I plunge my fingers into his eye sockets and claw out the remains of his eyeballs and slowly, he dies in my arms. Ahead of me stands an idle figure. She has her long silver hair tied up in a high ponytail that swings by the bottom of her back. Her large violet eyes gleam with an intensity I would know anywhere. Her body is poised in such a powerful stance. Despite her being a Blay and I having the strings of some sort of Gemind, making me immune to her powers, she has an aura of relentlessness. She's beautiful with her courage, she's beautiful because courage is power. And she's not helpless or weak, so it makes all this a fraction more bearable. Slowly, I walk towards her and I know that by now, she should have been freaking out. She should be afraid of her inability to manipulate my emotions. She should be baffled and confused since I am an Elite and a human. But she isn't.

"What are you?" She asks coolly as I stop only a few centimeters away from her. I reach for but she ducks and turns, hastily landing a punch on the side of my face. The burn is good, it's reassuring. She's not weak. I spin around quickly and wrap one of my hands around her throat. I position my other hand on her eye, digging my fingers in. I try to do a clean job so that I don't have to scrape remains out. She kicks me, several times. They're really good hits, but I've been hit harder. She spits on my face, and it's okay. I push my fingers in and pull it out, crushing her eyeball in my hand. She doesn't scream, but she tenses with the pain.

"Florence!!!" I don't pay attention to the cry, until pain ripples through every fiber of my existence. Unconsciously, I release the beautiful girl and turn around to see a boy gazing at me so intensely, so tumultuously, I almost forget about the pain he's managing to inflict on me. His gaze burns me and freezes me at the same time.

Immediately I know I have to kill her, that that's the only way he will break.

I have to break him.

I have to break him or he will break me.

Angel rolls off of Julian and lands in a heap by his body. Dazed and confused, he doesn't utter a word. Julian sits up and looks at him.

"You don't want me to show weakness so that the guilt doesn't kill you. I won't show weakness." He vows sternly. Angel too sits up and a run hand through his hair.

"One would think you'd want me to feel guilty." He points out. Julian purses his lips but then breaks into a small smile.

"You think she was beautiful?" He asks Julian proudly. Angel nods. Julian smiles and sighs. "Yeah. Florence was beautiful. Wouldn't you agree, Nicholas?" Angel turns his head and looks at the large, tall man leaning against the wall of the castle a few meters away.

"You got into his memories?" Nicholas asks nonchalantly as he pushes himself off of the wall and approaches them.

"I did. It was my first time." Julian confirms, standing up. Nicholas looks at Angel's face then meets his eyes.

"And you saw him killing your sister and pair again?" Julian nods. Nicholas looks at the Blay and laughs.

"And now you're discussing her beauty with him?" Angel looks down at the grass then stands up, coming face to face with Nicholas.

"They say you're as old as this castle. That's a thousand years. How many people have you murdered in cold blood since then?" Angel asks, challenging him. Julian clears his throat then steps in between the two of them, pushing them apart.

"Tell me Nicholas, would you prefer he sat here weeping with pathetic guilt? Would you prefer he pretended to be guilty after destroying the life you had in Center Coast? Wouldn't that enrage you a load more?" Julian asks the dark haired man, pushing him backwards. He then turns to Angel and grabs the front of his uniform. "Because I know it would make me so much more pissed." He hisses at him. Angel's eyes smile back at Julian then he nods. Julian releases him then looks back at Nicholas.

"What brings you here?" Nicholas turns his body and lifts his head up to the sky, looking at the top of the castle, knowing where all the Lords are.

"What? Am I not welcome in your little clique?" Nicholas teases, observing how Julian stands next to Angel with ease. Angel ignores Nicholas's existence while Julian pretends to think.

"It depends." He says seriously. Nicholas's eyebrows dip in confusion.

"On what?" Julian breaks into a large cheeky smile and tilts his head to the side.

"Will you let me into your memories?" Nicholas gapes at the duo disbelievingly while Angel crosses his hands over his chest and grows a satisfied smile onto his face. Nicholas turns away from Julian's cheekiness and looks up at the roof of Esdith, mumbling to himself.

"Lord Fourth, what have you gotten me into?"

***

"Why isn't he fighting back? It's been eleven deaths. He died eleven times and he still doesn't have the sense to fight? Does he not understand that we'll keep doing this until he fights, speaks, and opens up?" Tucker asks no one in particular as he continues to pace back and forth. The rest of the Lords sit in scattered areas, waiting for Xavier to wake up from his eleventh death only to cause a twelfth. Almost all of them with the exception of Zachariah and Josiah have Xavier's blood smeared on their faces, hands, and clothes. Jonathan stands on the wall that encloses the rooftop, walking along it in deep thought.

"We have no way to provoke him." Jonathan says out loud. Tristan leans against the wall that Jonathan walks on and nods.

"Since we don't know him." He says.

"We have no way to taunt him." Jonathan adds thoughtfully.

"Since we already killed those he cares about and destroyed what he built." Tristan backs up again. Jonathan looks at him, agitated.

"Not all, there's Julian and the Tick Tock." Allen points out eagerly, wrapping his whip around his arm. Tucker shakes his head.

"Julian is here for trial, and Esdith is his refuge. We cannot kill him without spreading word of our dishonor across the lands. And as much as I think we should've killed the Tick Tock a long time ago, I hope that we can learn something about her or stop her from transforming so no. We can't taunt him or provoke him." Tucker says tiredly. He looks at the evening sky and wonders how many days and nights it will take for this to work.

Xavier's bloodied body lays idly. He has a wide puncture wound going all the way through his chest, and all his limbs are broken. Colton stands by his body, watching as the hole in his chest begins to close very slowly. Normally it would have regenerated a lot faster, but being the eleventh time... Zachariah watches Xavier's body from his seat in the corner. So far, he hadn't interfered or spoken except for the beginning in order to guide his brothers. As soon as he hears Xavier grunt, slowly, waking up, he stands.

"Brothers." He calls. They turn his attention to him expectantly. "Not one of you will interfere. Not one of you will question me now or later. Not one of you will be curious with this situation." He says, meeting each one of their eyes until they all nod. Slowly, he walks towards Xavier. When he stops, he waves Colton away and looks down at Xavier's groaning body. "You may not have anyway to provoke or taunt him, but I do. I know how to break him." He announces as Xavier's eyes flutter. Quickly, Zachariah pulls off his cloak and hands it to his nearest brother. He reaches for the top button of his shirt and begins to button down, chucking it off.

Jonathan steps down from the wall as Zachariah's eyes turn pitch black and cracks form down his eyes. He walks towards Josiah as Zachariah's cracks spread to his back and large wings erupt from his back when Jonathan sits down.

Zachariah pulls Xavier up and slams his hand onto his face, gripping it tightly, then shoots up to the sky.

Zachariah lands with a loud thud, his weight crashing onto the vast space of the forest. He releases Xavier and his wings retract into his back. Xavier staggers on his feet but manages to stand.

"You know how to break me?" Xavier scoffs, steadying himself on a tree trunk. Zachariah nods as the blacks of his eyes slowly go back into his pupil. "How?" Xavier challenges. Zachariah turns his head to look at him.

"By breaking myself first." Zachariah says softly. He strides towards Lord Twelfth and slams his hand on the tree, making Xavier stand up straight.

"What?" He demands incredulously. Zachariah smiles bitterly.

"Niklaus asked for release. I released him then he left. He left and went to you." Xavier gulps and looks away. "I know he did. How else would you explain him being with you at Center Coast? Xavier, tell me why my aeternus left me, left my brothers, left Esdith and fled into your open arms." Zachariah demands. Xavier gulps and rests his head on the tree trunk, laughing sourly.

"I feel the need to tell you since you asked me. That's not fair Zachariah. Don't use this messed up circle between Niklaus, you and me to compel me into telling secrets that aren't mine!" Zachariah watches Xavier's chest rise and fall rapidly. He watches panic settle into his eyes as he fights the command.

"No, you don't feel the need to tell me because I asked. You feel the need to tell me because I want to know and with this bond you want to please me. Give me what I want." Zachariah grits out. Xavier shakes his head.

"Ask him yourself! Ask Niklaus!" He yells out desperately.

"True, he would tell me if I asked. But he'd be in pain and I couldn't bear that." Xavier growls at Zachariah and shoves him backwards.

"But you can bear this. You had me killed eleven times. You are starving me. You are here simply to break me. I'm your brother! So what if I left for a millennium, I've been with all of you since the beginning of time!"

"And that angers you, Brother?" Zachariah questions smoothly. Xavier forms his hands into fists and slams one into Zachariah's face, jerking it sideways. Black blood flows out of his nose as he lazily turns his head back to Xavier.

"Don't call me that. Don't call me brother until you truly believe that's who I am." He snarls angrily. Zachariah breathes out through his nose then raises his hand to wipe away the ichor. It feels to Xavier as if Zachariah's heated gaze is making him heavy, under pressure until he realizes that he is using his ability as Lord Second.

"If you do not wish to be in my eyes 'Brother' then you have no right to stand up to me. You will kneel!" Xavier falls to his knees, feeling his body burn and his chest constrict.

"A-ask-Ask me. Ask me why- why I left." Xavier croaks, looking up at Zachariah with pained eyes. Zachariah levels his ability, not pushing any further yet not relenting.

"No. I shan't." He snaps dismissively. Xavier hisses in pain, raising his head to the heavens and bites his lip.

"Please." He whispers.

"Must I repeat myself?" Xavier shakes his head frantically.

"Just ask me!" Subconsciously, Zachariah adds so much more pressure on Xavier that blood begins to sail down his eyes, almost as if he were crying. Maybe he is.

"I already know!" He releases Xavier and he falls onto his hands, now on all fours. He heaves in breaths, trying to steady himself. "I know why you left. We all do. What is the matter with you? Do you think we never wanted to run and hide, taking shelter in the shadows, isolating ourselves to protect what little of our existence is definite? You left in fear of shattering your Identity Mark, since in your eyes we are the villains. We do nothing but betray and destroy and so you feared remaining with us would shatter your Mark." Xavier lifts his head and looks at the man towering above him. His intense gaze and expression, choking him. Zachariah shuts his eyes and shakes his head. Zachariah maneuvers around Xavier's body and to a tree. Xavier digs hi fingers into the soil, not seeing Zachariah rest his hand on a large branch.

"You must have known the risk of leaving, yes?" Zachariah asks quietly, his long fingers caressing the rough and jagged branch of the tree. A smile creeps onto Xavier's cracked lips, letting a breathy chuckle slip out from the back of his throat.

"That my Mark would shatter as I left? That it was supposed to? I did." Zachariah shuts his eyes.

"Yet you left and it didn't shatter." Lord Second whispers. Xavier's smile turns to a snarl and strands of sweaty black hair fall into his eyes, hiding the deadly venomous depth in them.

"Because you didn't trust me in the first place. None of you did. I was hesitant to leave all those years until I figured it out. That you didn't trust, that it doesn't matter if I leave. My Mark would be safe." Xavier growls, beginning to rise from his predatory position. Zachariah's eyes flutter open, revealing pitch black globes. The lush soil underneath his feet shrivels up, and the leaves of the tree that he touches sail off of the branches and to their death. The hand that caresses the large thick branch constricts, and he snaps the branch off. Xavier turns his head towards the sound and he world slows. He watches his brother lunge at him with one hand extended towards him and the other gripping a thick branch. Then the world resumes its motion, skipping a few frames of it's time to the one where Xavier lies on his back with the branch impaling his throat. The throat that loses its clutch on the loudest eruption of a scream it holds. Zachariah crouches on top of him, holding the branch down, digging it through Xavier's flesh into the soil. Once the sound of Xavier's voice fades to nothing, they exist in a silence where the only background is the caws of the crows and the rustling of leaves as the crows flee with fear.

"No, Xavier. You are mistaken. You are mistaken because you believe we are a conundrum when truly, if you ask, we answer. Xavier, the reason your Mark did not shatter when you left was not because we didn't trust you. In fact, it is because we did." Black ichor gurgles out of Xavier's mouth, darkening his lips. His eyes question Zachariah until he resumes. "We trusted that you had your reasons. We trusted you'd come back when needed. Your Mark was safe because we trusted you. They trust you still. They trust you now." Zachariah leans down so that his face is inches away from his brother's. Xavier's ice blue eyes meet Zachariah's. His eyes look nebulous and vague until they clear. The darkness clears, getting dragged back into his pupil. His eyes appear as a stormy grey, intense and tumultuous with emotion. Xavier tries to speak, but finds nothing but hoarse breath leaving his mouth. Zachariah gulps then leans all the way to his brother's ear.

"I- don't- trust- you." Zachariah whispers, his lips articulating each word separately, making sure Xavier comprehends each and every one despite the immense pain. Xavier feels Zachariah's hair tickle the side of his face as Lord Second's head emerges from the side of his. Zachariah pushes himself off the ground and stands to his feet. He watches Xavier writhe on the ground, his hands clawing at the soil, and his legs lying limply. Xavier can longer see Zachariah, unable to move his head even an inch. He can only see the heads of the trees and glimpses of the late evening sky.

"For that I hope as my brother you may forgive me." He hears Zachariah speak not far away from him. "For I do not doubt my brothers. I do not question them. Even Tucker who may have killed one of our brothers, I do not doubt. I refuse to imbed that sort of parasite in us. Yet the matter is critical, for when one finds their soul clawing itself apart, sundering itself into two then fleeing into his kin's arms, one will undoubtedly doubt his kin. Zachariah steps into Xavier's peripheral vision, setting Xavier's surrender. His hand slithers on the floor desperately until it finds Zachariah's leg and clings to it. Xavier's eyes plead with Zachariah; his lips moving awkwardly. Zachariah doesn't move, but contemplates leaving him despite his efforts of conveying to him something. Xavier struggles frantically, the pain in his neck resonating throughout every bone, muscle, and nerve. Finally, all the effort cracks him and a perfect pearl sails down the side of his face. Zachariah narrows his eyes when he sees Xavier allow a tear to escape him. With a relenting click of his tongue, he jerks his leg out of Xavier's grasp then squats by his head. Xavier's arm trembles violently as he lifts it and arches it around Zachariah's neck, pulling him close to his face. Zachariah slams his palms on the ground by Xavier's head, his eyes wide with surprise. He wills himself to stay put, despite the odd feeling of his youngest brother's shivering breath on his ear.

"Ah- I." He whispers in a shaking voice so small, Zachariah would have never heard it had it not been for the incredibly close proximity. "I g-gave hi-him." Xavier pauses and closes his eyes, gathering all the power he has. "Hi-his I-ide-identity b-back." He finishes hoarsely. Zachariah turns his head and looks into Xavier's eyes, knowing he spoke of Niklaus. Tensely, he pulls himself away, not looking back at Xavier even once.

***

The ground of the roof shakes when Zachariah lands on it with a loud thud. The brothers all stand up and look at Lord Second expectantly. Colton approaches him with his cloak as Zachariah's wings retract into his back, wrapping the thick material around his bare torso.

"It's done. You may now begin." Zachariah announces, pulling the cloak to him, gathering anxious bunches of it in his fists.

"He's stripped raw?" Jonathan asks wearily. Zachariah looks at him solemnly then nods.

"He's ready."