"You mean Raphael and Lia?" Azekiel looked past the barrier, noticing Raphael and Lia attempting to pass through the Barrier.
"They aren't my friends. They are my Familiars who are only with me because of this Tower. It's also because they don't know my true history. If they know what I truly am, even they will start hating me."
The old man shook his head. "Isn't that why you don't tell them the truth? The old you wouldn't have concerned himself about such things, including what others think about you."
"You know as well as I do... The only reason you don't tell them the truth is because you're scared... You are scared that you'll be hated by them. You are scared that you'll go back to being lonely all alone, surrounded by the darkness that you spent your entire life in!"
"You don't want to lose them. So why not take them and leave? Why risk everything for your goals?" he further asked.
Azekiel didn't answer right away, wondering if that was really the truth. Was that really the reason he wasn't telling the truth? Was it really because he had bonded with them during the time he didn't have his memories? He started considering them family?
"No, that's not it!" He refused to believe the notion that he could genuinely care for anyone! He wasn't a person like that!
"The reason I didn't tell them the trust isn't because I don't want to lose friends. It's because I don't want to lose great warriors. I don't want people who will only fight after being forced, as they can never be genuine with that. They would be only like puppets who will do nothing to help me!" He exclaimed.
Seeing his response, the old man could only smile. "My dear friend, it's evident that you aren't justifying your actions to me at the moment. You're trying to justify them to yourself because you don't want to believe that there's still some light inside your heart."
"It's clear... The time where you didn't have your memories... You've changed a little. You've always sealed your heart and mind to the others, but when you didn't have your memories, there was a small crack in those doors. All the times where Raphael helped you, guided you like a friend... You've started blindly trusting him."
"You've started considering them as a family member. Isn't that also why you lied to them and made up stories to test them?" The old man asked. "Even after all your stories, they still chose to believe you eventually."
"You can say no, but the truth won't change." The old man let out a deep sigh. "What you have now is what you didn't have before... And if you lose it now... You might really regret it in the future."
"You've lost your sanity, old friend. You're overthinking things. I can tell them anytime I want. I just don't want them to lose their battle effectiveness by telling them. Why tell them something that they don't need to know? There's no ulterior motive behind it."
No matter what, Azekiel refused to believe it. There was no way that what the old man was saying was true.
"Are you really sure that's the only reason?"
"That's right!" Azekiel declared. "I don't want my warriors to lose their usefulness!"
"Since when did you need warriors?" the old man asked, smirking. Even with this excuse of Azekiel, he could find the flaws. "You've always fought all battles alone. And even if I believe your words, why would you be concerned about the efficiency of Raphael and Lia? Both of them are way weaker than you."
"Isn't that right? Even with their combined strength, they can't help you in battles against what's to come. If you really don't care about being alone, why don't you tell them the truth? Go ahead and tell them! Show me that your words are true!" The old man declared.
He was sure that Azekiel wasn't going to tell them the truth, but he still tossed this ball to Azekiel, waiting for a miss.
The old man also canceled the barrier at the same time, turning around to face Raphael and Lia.
"You know you can't hear what's being said inside the barrier, no matter how much you try," he stated, flashing an all-knowing smile. "But still, Azekiel wants to tell you what we talked about."
Raising his hand toward Azekiel, the old man stepped back, waiting for him to speak.
Azekiel glared at the old man.
"Old friend, I don't have time to play around with you," he scoffed. "I'll do things when I want and how I want."
Azekiel didn't say anything. He didn't want to be forced into doing anything.
"We have places to be." He started leaving, not wasting even a single second more on the old man.
Watching Azekiel leave, the old man smirked.
He yelled at Azekiel. "My dear friend, even the fiercest beast in the jungle, will care for its family! You are no different! If you really don't want things to get worse, leave the forest! I hope you won't be too late!"
Azekiel scoffed. "Mind your own business, old man. As I said, I'll handle things my own way. I'm not changing my goals, no matter what. I won't let my strength become my weakness! And I sure as hell won't forget the last at any cost!"
He raised his right hand, showing a middle finger to the old man which made the old man laugh.
"You can run from yourself, but you can't hide, dear friend," the old man smiled. "It's good to see that I succeeded though."
"Placing Avila near the Soul Demon to make things difficult for them was really the right decision. Raphael's selfless fighting for Azekiel to help him in every instance... Without that, time would've been much different."
Even though Azekiel's mission was only to kill the Soul Demon, it was this old man who made it more challenging for Azekiel and the others by freeing Avila as well, and he was happy to see that things went as he planned for now. Unfortunately, Azekiel still wasn't accepting…
