Epiphany Of The Weak 32 Her Shining Ligh

'This dream, again?' I thought.

I was taken back to the house where I lived with Hope. The brick house that always harbored my sweet dream. I rubbed my eyes and looked around, and at that time, it was morning.

"Ava! Want do you want for breakfast? I'm sorry that I woke you up late." Hope was toasting a few slices of bread and fried some eggs. "My alarm didn't ring."

On the dining table, two gla.s.ses of milk were already served. "What do you mean, Papa? You're making them right now." I took a seat and watched Hope did his work.

"Er, yeah. I suppose so," said Hope as he scrambled for his toasted slices of bread.

"I'll help," I suggested.

Hope took a quick glance at me. "No, no. I can handle this."

After a few minutes, he served his fried eggs and bread toasts onto the table. Hope's hair was messy.

"Okay... Now, let's dig in."

"Wait, Papa."

I moved over to him and combed his blond hair as he sat down.

"Ava, you don't need to," protested Hope.

"It's fine. I don't like seeing you like this. You must look clean."

Hope chuckled at my comment and distributed the spoons and knives from his seat. He waited for me to finish.

"There, done! Now you look like one."

Hope frowned. "Like one?"

"Like the Papa that I'm proud of!" I said as I gave him a big smile.

"Ava, you little--" Hope rubbed my hair while I laughed.

Soon enough, we were eating our breakfast. I ate slowly. The foods did not even have any taste.

"Ava."

I looked up. "Yes, Papa?"

"Er... about my off day..."

"Oh, it's today, right?"

"It is. But--"

"NO!" I shouted at Hope. I knew what he was going to say.

"Ava..."

"I want you to stay at home for today! No excuses!" I demanded.

Hope looked away from me and I slammed my fists on the table. "Why do you always think about work? It's all about work in your head, Papa!"

"I wanted to help my friend over there at my workplace, Ava." He had his eyes on me. "He has to take an emergency leave for today, so..."

"NO! NO MEANS NO!" I was really frustrated at Hope. He prioritized others before himself. He never changed whatsoever.

"Ava, I promise I'll make it up to you. I mean, there's tomorrow. I am free for the rest of this week," said Hope.

I glared at him. "No! You're lying! You will have to replace your friend again, right? There's no guarantee you will not do that!"

"Ava..."

"I just... I just want to spend more time with you, Papa." My tears fell. "You're all that I have left."

"I am all that you have left?"

In the next moment, the scenery changed.

I was back at the army's base, but it was empty. The gigantic monitor was there but a figure lied down on the floor. It was Hope.

"Papa!" I darted to his side and turned his face towards me. I gasped.

Blood poured out of his mouth and his clothes were drenched in blood. His eyes were empty as it stared into nowhere.

"Papa..."

The same emotions I felt back then came rus.h.i.+ng into my blood. My muscles tensed and I was breathing heavily for air.

"Papa... Don't leave me." Despite his appearance, he was still the Papa I loved. My arms were wrapped around his bloodied body and I remained that way for a while.

It was strange indeed.

I had resolved to find Hope's murderers and avenged him, but I could not withstand this pain each time it hit me. I thought my body cannot experience it anymore.

It was too painful. My heart and lungs were tied up and wrenched so hard that my vision blurred from it. "Papa..."

"Ava."

I heard a voice from a distance.

Slowly but surely, I was pulled into a blinding light, away from Papa.

. . .

'Where am I?'

That was the first thing I thought. I was woken up by thunder and lightning that night.

I was in a soft, comfy bed. There was no road or white flames anymore. A light bulb blinded me for a second before I switched my attention to my side. I was in some sort of an inn, judging from the layout of the room.

Other than myself, there was no one else.

"I swear I heard a voice..." I murmured.

My body jerked up when the wooden door creaked. A familiar figure appeared from it followed by another person I did not recognize.

"Young miss AVA, you're awake! It is I, your favorite Caesar! In the fles.h.!.+"

Caesar bowed and clapped his hands. He still wore his Aegis mask, a black robe, and black boots. He looked like a mysterious killer if any normal person took a glimpse at him.

Seeing him again made me feel a little bit relieved. He never hurt me or anything, and he was the only person other than Hope that I could be a.s.sured of where I would be safe, around him. I would a.s.sume he was the one who saved me.

"Caesar, you're too loud. The person next door can hear you," said the girl next to Caesar. She had a charcoal black winter jacket and brown boots. Her hair was dark as night and the left side of it was tied into a small ponytail. She was dark-skinned with green eyes.

"Who... is she?" I asked Caesar.

He clicked his tongue at my question. "Young miss Ava, you're asking the wrong question. The first thing that comes to your mind in this kind of situation should be to ask, where you are right now." He gestured with his finger in disapproval.

I cleared my throat. I should not be showing my docile side to anyone, and if I wanted to look the part, I should be holding my head high.

"Er, Mister Caesar. Where am I?"

"You're in the Huntsboro Inn. We're still in Yellowknife," replied the girl. She was quite young. "And to answer your first question, you can call me Agatha."

"What's your connection with Mister Caesar?"

Caesar jerked back in response. "Miss Ava! We're not in that kind of a relations.h.i.+p or anything!"

Agatha smacked his head after he said that. "Don't be stupid, Caesar. That's not what she's asking." She turned to me. "Ava, right? You could say I'm his friend."

"Oh... how old are you?"

"I'm twenty-six."

She seemed to be younger than she looked. I blinked my eyes in disbelief.

"I know, I know. I don't look like it, but I'm really twenty-six. Much older than Caesar," said Agatha.

"Much older?! Then, how old is Caesar?" I could not believe what I had heard.

"Oh, he's twenty-five," said Agatha whimsically.

"I-I see." I always thought Caesar to be in his thirties or something. He had that air about him, a sign of a very mature person.

"Agatha! Why are you telling miss AVA? Now she will look down on me. I must have that aura of her SENIOR, you know. As a more experienced Aegis User, hon!" yelled Caesar while getting into a weird pose like he wanted to dance.

I took back what I had said about him. He acted weirder than any other person I had met. Both Agatha and Caesar bickered at each other as I wondered what happened before I came here.

. . .

"Do you get all that, miss Ava?"

Caesar had explained the thing that was bothering me for a while.

Both him and Agatha brought me to the inn and fed me. The area few hundred meters around the City Hall and the streets were completely engulfed in Hughes's flames and the firefighters were trying to extinguish it the best that they could.

"Still, I can't believe you beat Hughes. He's a tough guy to match up with, miss AVA!" said Caesar.

"He's an Aegis User..."

"Indeed he is. For one to beat another User is hard. I mean, you have experienced it yourself." Caesar nodded. "It looks like you have a better control at using your Aegis now."

I shuffled in my pale white blanket as Agatha rummaged through her worn-out backpack. Caesar, who was sitting in a wooden chair beside me was silent.

A thunderstruck made me winced. I never knew I was afraid of it that much.

"Aegis?" I said in a low tone. It did not respond to my call. Perhaps it was resting somehow from using the Limit Breaker Mode from before.

"Hmm, I've been meaning to tell you this, young miss Ava," said Caesar out of the blue.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

"But I keep having this urge not to tell you."

"Mister Caesar..."

"I don't know if I know whether I know how to tell you the knows of how exactly should I know to tell you this information that I know for a long time now, young miss Ava."

I shook my head at what Caesar said.

"Um, is there something I should... know? Please tell me, Mister Caesar," I said.

There was tension in the air as Caesar started to tell me the truth.

"Actually, miss Ava. I know where Alicia and Bart are," said Caesar.