"That's right. I'm Azekiel. I am here! Talk to me!"
Slowly, Raphael started snapping out of the phase as his thoughts shifted from trying to remember his past to his present, which finally stopped the dreadful headache and pain. Ha stopped forcing himself to remember as he saw Azekiel. His eyes regained their old shine as his face returned to his calm.
Raphael felt the wetness on his face. He wiped his tears a bit.
He wiped his tears. "I apologize for my behavior."
"It's nothing. We all become weak at times. That's what being alive is all about."
"I'm not alive though. I shouldn't." Raphael calmly stated. "I'll do better next time."
"Who says you aren't alive?" Azekiel frowned. "You are more alive than anyone else I know. And you're certainly allowed to cry when you feel like it. Just don't lose yourself. So tell me, what happened to you?"
"Nothing. I just remembered something painful. It is nothing."
Instead of telling Azekiel, Raphael hid what actually happened, believing that it was his problem and he needed to solve it rather than worrying Azekiel.
Azekiel knew that it was something more than what Raphael was telling. There was no way someone like Raphael was going to break apart from past memories. Even if he was missing his family, the reaction should've been different.
It was evident that Raphael was hiding something, yet Azekiel didn't dive too deep. If Raphael didn't want to tell, it wasn't good to force him.
'It doesn't matter what kind of past you had, Raphael. I promised that I would help you. As soon as I get the Time Stone, we're also going to help you. You won't have to suffer for long.'
'Even though changing your past would mean that you'll disappear from my Familiar Slot, it's still worth it. Now I'm capable of protecting myself. It's time you also get the life you deserve.'
Just like Raphael, Azekiel also didn't tell him complete thoughts, keeping it hidden in his heart.
He had already decided how he was going to use the Time Stone for himself and for others. He believed that with the help of Time Stone, he was going to be no less than a god.
"Let's get out of here then. I've cleared this floor. There's no need to deal with the spirits anymore. Remember, as soon as you go back to Spirit Form, everything might turn dark again, so memorize the path back. And only you'll be able to touch Lia when you're back to your spirit form. I doubt she'd be able to hear me, so bring her back as well."
Raphael agreed and memorized the position of Lira along with the exit.
"I've memorized it. You can cancel the summon."
Azekiel canceled the Summon, and just as he had said, everything turned dark for Raphael. Despite that, now Raphael had an idea of where to go. It was as if he had made a mental map of this place along with Lia's position. He went to Lia and helped her out of the darkness as well.
All three met once again, out of the darkness and close to the portal of the second floor.
Azekiel also asked Lia if something had happened in the darkness, yet Lia also didn't tell him anything about meeting Osiris.
She still pondered what he meant by saying that Azekiel needed to be protected at any cost in this Tower. Why did Osiris care for Azekiel so much? And who was this Originator he talked about? There were so many questions in her head related to her latest interaction, yet she kept it all to herself.
Amongst the two Familiars, none spoke the truth, both choosing to hide the reality.
Having no idea about the strange occurrences in the tower, Azekiel informed the two about the aim of entering the Temple to get the treasures inside.
He didn't tell them about the Time Stone and its presence in the temple, intending to surprise them with the prize.
"According to Elijah's memories, the Temple is in that direction."
Azekiel advanced toward the South, despite having the portal to the next floor on the north.
*****
The terrain was really rough, buried in rubble everywhere. There wasn't even a plane road for them to walk, yet the three kept advancing.
Raphael had promised himself that he wasn't going to think about the words of that person since he didn't want that headache anymore. He already had enough of that. He kept himself distracted by his mission of helping Azekiel.
Along the way, Lia casually tossed out a question. "Do any of you know about any Originator?"
"Is that a person? I don't think I've ever heard of something like that."
"I don't know either. First time hearing that name."
Both Azekiel and Raphael answered in a similar manner.
"Who is he? Why are you asking about that person?" Raphael curiously asked, anything to keep him distracted.
"I'm not sure either. I just heard that name somewhere. It sounded like an important name." Lia ignorantly answered.
"If it was an important name, I'm sure I would've heard it." Azekiel had his past and present memories. He also had the memories of two other Kings. All memories combined, it was the first time he was hearing the name, so he believed it couldn't be that important.
"Maybe." Lia agreed. Maybe there really wasn't anything for her to worry about, she thought.
"I don't know why Osiris would mention that name. Was he trying to trouble me again? Or was it just a joke? He didn't sound like he was joking though. Something about his tone really gave me the feeling that he was as serious as he could be about the threat to Azekiel.'
Lia gazed at Azekiel's back, who was walking in the lead since only he knew the direction, seemingly lost in thoughts.
'In any case, I need to protect Azekiel. Even if he hadn't asked, I would've done it. It's my job to protect Azekiel. As long as he lives, my spirit lives.'
*****
"It seems you two went there. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
In a dark place, a grim voice was heard.
"It's none of your concern. I didn't break any rules. I just went to see her." Another voice came in response, seemingly belonging to Osiris.
"Heh, I also wanted to meet an old friend. Too bad he didn't remember anything. It was fun nonetheless." Another amused voice came. "Don't worry. I know what to do and what not to do. I didn't tell them anything that I shouldn't."
"And you?" The first voice asked again. "Osiris."
"I don't tell them anything either. I just met them and returned." Osiris answered. "There was nothing wrong in it. Moreover, I decided to go down after him. So if anything, he's at fault. If he could go down, I could too. Yet, none of you have anything to worry about."
For a moment, there was complete silence. Only some barely audible voices could be heard as if there were more people here than just three.
"You would've been more believable if you hadn't chosen that place to meet them where even we can't hear or see you. But this one time, we will believe you and let it go. Something like this should never happen again, or you know the consequences... For you and for them…."
