Later that night, Kin sighed deeply as he thought back to how hectic the day had been. It was really quite miraculous that Victoria came out of it relatively unscathed but also quite jarring how badly Albert was hurt compared to her. Anyhow, a myriad of events occured after the incident on the same night, causing Kin to have to stay up late in the am to deal with it.
Just as his head was about to hit the pillow however, he got to itch in his heart and felt the need to check up on his children before sleeping. As he was making his rounds, he passed by Victoria's room and heard a loud gasp resounding from within.
"Victoria? Can I come in?" Kin knocked on the door and asked.
"...Father." Victoria's voice feebly called out. "I had a nightmare."
"I'm coming in." Kin didn't hesitate in opening the door and strode in. Opening the night light, he sat down beside Victoria's bed and gently pulled her into his embrace. "What happened?"
Victoria shook her head. "I can't remember much. Everything was a blur and all I know is that I, the me in the dream was crying. There was blood all over my hands and bodies laying on the ground and...someone was protecting me. Then, he fell, dead, dead because of me."
Kin ran his fingers through Victoria's smooth hair and comforted her. In the process, he noticed that she was awfully sweaty and the temperature of her body was higher than it should've been. "It's okay, sweetie. It's all just a dream."
The red faced Victoria pulled herself out of her father's embrace. "No, I don't dream, I..."
"Victoria." Kin sternly says, "even people that don't usually dream dream sometimes. Plus, this is different from the other ones, it's hazy, like dreams usually are."
"But Father-"
"You must've been startled by what happened earlier today."
"I wasn't scared, Father. I KNEW that we'd be safe."
"What you saw won't become reality." Kin reassured. "Remember when you dreamed about being chased by a shark with legs on land? You cried and cried about it but did it ever happen?"
"...no." Victoria murmured.
"Exactly, so go to sleep after I give you some medicine."
"Un." Victoria flopped back down on her bed and listened out for Kin's soft steps as he made his way out of the room. The sound of feet against soft capetting faded until it was just the sound of wind that she heard.
A while later, Kin left Victoria's room after making her drink some medicine with a sigh. However, just as he was planning to go to sleep, he heard groans coming from Albert's room. Thinking 'again?', he walked into the room.
[yOu BriNg aBoUt MiSfOrTuNe! YoUR vERy ExiSTeNCe iS A cURsE uPoN tHiS wOrlD!] Albert was back in that world of fire. There, that fiery fiend pointed a ghastly finger at him and cursed him upon his arrival. With each word, puffs of smoke escaped from his mouth and enshrouded Albert like a fog of disease.
The voice that sounded like a blackboard being scratched continued, [tHaT ChiLd wAs In ThAt SiTuaTiOn BeCauSe oF yOu. YoU aRe tHe CaUSe Of hER MiSfOrTuNe!]
Albert gulped, the words echoed in his mind. His mouth was dry, he tried to speak but the words just wouldn't come out.
Then, just like the last time, a hand appeared from within the molten fiend's body. He turned to ash once more, disappearing without so much as a sound. It was a little disappointing, really. To see a final boss looking demon get demolished without even putting up a fight by a pale and skinny hand was plain wrong. But it happened. From behind the dispersing ash, the boy that looked just like Albert appeared. His jaded eyes stared directly into Albert's.
"You are not cursed…" The shadow spoke as if to encourage and scold Albert at the same time but Albert could only hear the start, the rest was drowned out by an intense ringing in his ears. He could only see the shadow's lips moving, speaking and speaking, yet he was unable to hear what he had said. In the end, the shadow was engulfed by the immortal flames and vanished just like he did the other time.
Albert plunged into the fire, hoping to grab a hold of his enigmatic shadow but all he grasped was air. His shadow was gone again. Legs gone weak, Albert fell to the ground, knees hitting the floor and sobbed. "No, don't go…don't leave me here…"
The tears in his dream transcended and somehow, Albert woke up in the middle of the night with a teardrop down the side of his face. Sitting up, he felt a dull ache throughout his body, his head dizzy and vision a slight blur.
He blinked and saw a familiar ceiling. It was of the glowing stars that he had grown fond of these past few weeks.
"Victoria!" Albert exclaimed. He shot out of bed, enduring the persisting and lingering pain.
Kin who had just wandered into the room flinched in surprise. "Albert."
Albert turned to see Kin standing by his bed. He grabbed his sleeve and beg anxiously. "Father, what happened to Victoria? Is she okay?"
Kin placed Albert's hand in own. "She's okay, not even a scratch on her body."
"It was all my fault. I dragged her out to play in the city and declined going home with the others because I wanted to play a little longer. In the end, I didn't know the way home and ended up getting lost. I didn't want to tell her so I just kept going on trains and in the end just got even more lost." Albert rambled on and on, blaming himself with remorse in his voice.
"It's true that you should've just called home but that was an honest mistake. It's not your fault and you tried to make up for it didn't you? You protected her even when you were getting beaten black and blue and almost died. You did a good job, Albert. I'm proud of you. Just call next time, okay?"
Albert froze, taking time to digest what he had just heard. Then, a tear fell from his eye. As if to chase after it, more and more tear drops raced down Albert's cheeks, falling to the blanket below. Kin hugged him, Albert's tears soaking his pyjamas.
"Rest well, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."
"Father, what happened to the people who attacked us?" Albert asked after he had calmed down a little. His eyes were red and watery from crying and voice shaky.
Kin's gaze darkened. It was like something in his snapped. "Don't worry about them, trash is naturally where trash belongs."
He wiped Albert's eyes dry, preventing him from saying anything else. Then, kissing him on the forehead says, "Goodnight, sweet dreams."
Albert touched his head, where Kin had gave him a gentle peck with his ever unchanging expressionless face. His face didn't show anything but his voice and actions were full of emotion and love. It warmed Albert's heart.
"Goodnight, Father."