Asher opened his eyes. He felt tired. Too tired to move; too tired to think. He felt Pithos' steady breaths beside his ear and he sighed in relief. Thankfully, he wasn't alone.
His body heavily protested as he sat up. He was covered in a thick layer of gauze that hid his innumerable cuts and bruises. He was thankful that he was a wealthy and powerful general's son, which meant that he must've received highly effective medicine. However, Asher was confused. Didn't they have healing mages that could help heal his wounds? Why did they use normal medicine instead?
Asher kept pondering over that thought as the door to his room opened. Zara, Asher's personal maid who had left because of a 'family emergency', was standing on the doorway. A myriad of memories involving Zara flashed through Asher's mind, his lips forming into an excited grin.
How could he not know Zara? She was the only maid who treated Asher as a genuine young master and like the child he was. She was pained to see how Asher was hurting every day and thus strengthened her resolve to stay by his side. From the very start till now Zara had been by his side, silently protecting him whenever she could. It was rather unfortunate that Zara's healing prowess was being wasted on him. He recalled how, after building a foundation of trust, she revealed that she had never wanted to become a maid. Zara never wanted to be tied down, but here she was now.
Zara's tanned expression lit up in delight as she saw her young master fully awake and already sitting up. Her iridescent purple eyes traveled across Asher's body as she frowned. If she hadn't been sent away by Master Alejandro then Asher wouldn't have been hurt to such an extent. Zara herself could've battled against Kirkley instead of her young master. She had been personally trained by the master to take care of Asher so there was no way she would've lost to a measly knight that wanted to overpower Asher.
"Young Master Asher, are you hungry?"
Asher nodded as his stomach gurgled is agreement. Zara contained her laughter as her cheeks slightly puffed and quickly left the room only to come back a few minutes later with a plate of food. Just like that time when Zara grabbed him from the bathtub, Asher was once again being fed by her. The only time Asher had felt this weak was in his other life where he forced himself to starve in order to send some money back home to his parents.
Asher sighed after having been fed. It's been a while since he last saw Zara and so much had happened since then. Archer's arrival, the merging of his soul, the interrogation, and everything in between. It was way too much to just throw onto her. Besides, Zara has just arrived to see her half-dead young master. It wasn't the best thing to come home to, to say the least.
"Is Kio awake?"
"Yes, Young Master Asher."
"Please bring him here," Asher said while closing his eyes.
He had revealed the ugly truth to his mother. He was from another world, but he was also from this world. He was not himself, but he was also himself. Asher finds his whole identity confusing. Still, he wished to reveal the truth to those closest to him. Kio was one of those who will know the truth about his identity.
While Zara left to fetch Kio, Pithos had awoken. His ruby eyes stared at Asher blankly, making Asher smile. Pithos shook his head as if to say 'You're too troublesome'. Asher swooped Pithos up in his arms as he laughed freely. Let's forget about our grievances and look towards our future, okay?
Creek...
Kio opened the door. His cold gaze turned gentle at the sight of Asher's bright smile. Thankfully, yesterday's ordeal hadn't made him feel self-conscious about his strength. The red-haired teenager shooed Zara away with his gaze and closed the door behind him. He wanted to spend time with his brother alone without any interruptions.
"Come, Kio! Sit with me," Asher said with a smile as he patted his bed. Kio nodded silently and walked towards him before gently sitting down, not wanting to cause unnecessary movements that would cause Asher pain.
Pithos stared at the two brothers before curling up on Asher's lap and closing his eyes. He was sure that the conversation that would soon follow would be serious. He didn't want to be a busy-body and listen in to their conversation. And finally, Pithos knew that Kio would never hurt his little human. Kio is quite level-headed and calm for a teenager his age. Pithos believed that Kio, unlike Nikola, would have a much better time understanding Asher's situation. Knowing all of this, Pithos was rest assured that no harm would befall his little human.
"There's something important I need to tell you."
"Before that," Kio started. "Why did you put yourself in harm's way two days ago? You could've died!"
Unlike the Kio Asher usually saw, this Kio was rather emotional. Kio tightly grasped the bed's comforter in frustration as his eyes brilliantly expressed his endless worry and concern towards Asher's current condition. Asher felt as if that concern wasn't needed. He did what he did because he wanted to; because he wanted to protect his brother. Asher felt warm because of his brother's feelings.
Asher smiled. "I told you I'll become strong, didn't I? I became strong when I was battling against Kirkley. I didn't need to use weapons."
"Most importantly, two days ago? I've been unconscious for two days?"
"A day and a half, actually," Kio unclenched his fists while frowning. Asher was left in a pitiful state. Because his magical core was so small, he is unable to receive large amounts of healing magic. This was a well-known fact. However, it seemed as if Lyxio was either unaware of the size of Asher's magical core or that he noticed an abnormality in Asher's core. Asher's magical core was actually able to withstand the large amount of healing magic being used on him. Asher's body also didn't seem to burn out because of this. Despite this, his magical core had been strained to such an extent that he was unable to receive any more healing magic. If his body received any more than what it already had, Asher's magical core would've been destroyed, thus prematurely ending his life.
Being unable to receive healing magic, doctors were immediately called to tend to his wounds. Zara was also called back and she fed Asher some special medicine that she had worked on to help Asher recover faster. The contents of the medicine itself were unknown. It was also unknown how the medicine worked and how it affected a human's body. However, seeing that the one who created this medicine was Zara, no one hesitated in feeding Asher the medicine.
Kio sighed and shook his head. "You would've woken up earlier if you had only suffered injuries. However, since your magical core was almost to the brink of collapsing, you ended up being unconscious for a day and a half."
Kio decided not to bother with the conversation anymore. He wouldn't know what to do if Asher suddenly asked him who had visited him while he was unconscious. What could he say when only Zara, Archer, and himself were the only ones who had visited? Kio has asked his mother to visit Asher, but she only mumbled something about eradicating a demon, so he left her alone.
"What were you going to say?"
"Ah," Asher widened his eyes. His fingers traced circles in Pithos' fur as a way to calm himself down. "Will you do something for me first?"
Kio nodded without hesitation, causing Asher smile. He can rely on Kio.
"Sit behind me and act as support."
Yes. Kio will also become a pillar that will support Asher.
Kio thought that Asher's back had begun to hurt since after sitting for so long, so he agreed. After shuffling around for a few seconds, Kio finally managed to position himself in a way that neither he nor Asher would be uncomfortable.
Asher sat between Kio's legs as he rested his back against Kio's chest. Breathing in, he began recounting his story. He confessed about his depression and how it led him to kill himself. He confessed that while he had actually died, his soul ended up traveling to faraway places in order to find a place to rest.
Asher closed his eyes as he felt Kio stiffen up. He didn't want Kio to call him a demon like his mother did.
"... C-continue," said Kio, his voice trembling. Asher heeded to his command.
"My body ended up being possessed by another soul. Thankfully, we merged our souls together, and now we are only one soul."
Asher didn't stop. He rambled on about his other life and how different that world was compared to his. He told Kio about his other parents and his past ambitions that ended up killing him. That was when Asher noticed the tears streaming down his face.
He missed them. He missed his mother's strong embrace and his father's gentle voice. He missed helping them around the farm and spending time together as a family. Why did he ever leave home? Everything he needed was right there: a source of income, his family, warmth. He lost everything because he had lied to himself, thinking that his childhood had been meaningless when it had been filled with much warmth and love despite how busy his parents were. He lied to himself there. He lied to himself here. Why did he think that his relationship with his parents wasn't that meaningful? It was all a lie he fabricated to protect himself from his own thoughts and feelings.
But this was not all. He also missed Alejandro's stern and strict parenting. He was always the glue that connected this family of five. Unfortunately, the glue slowly melted away and it ended up affecting the entire family once it was revealed that Asher was weak compared to other children his age. He missed Ian's constant nagging. He missed Nikola's love and crazy antics. The one thing he had in this broken family was Kio. But now, he wasn't sure if Kio would stay by his side. Asher hoped that Kio would react differently from his mother.
The room was dead silent. Asher found it hard to breathe as he awaited for Kio's reaction. Contrary to Asher's dark thoughts, Kio's mind was blank. Suddenly, his thoughts began to process. It all made sense now!
Asher's sudden change from a shy and recluse boy to a more open a brighter child. It was suspicious just how quickly he had changed, but Kio didn't want to view it like that. His brother had suddenly changed for the better, so why would he deliberately point it out and probably ruin this change? Kio had come to love that strange Asher that had popped out of nowhere. However, now knowing that the Asher loved was not really his brother made him feel rather terrified. What if he had lived his life not knowing his brother had suffered so much by their hands?
"I don't know what to say. Are you my Asher?"
Kio was scared. He didn't want to lose his brother again. He had thought long and hard about it and had already come to a conclusion. He would try to change and stand up for himself. He wouldn't let others discriminate against Asher because of the size of his magical core. Kio was dead set on standing by Asher's side. Now, he was scared that Asher was not really himself anymore.
Kio is only a teenager, after all. There's no way his young and slightly immature mind would be able to immediately grasp what had happened to Asher. Asher himself was also at a loss. The main reason why he has yet to lose his mind is because of the 26 years he had spent on the other world. He didn't learn much in that other world, but it had matured his mind to an extent that he was able to accept what had happened to him.
Asher nodded. "Mhmm. I am the Asher you spent years of your life with. I'm also the Asher that came from the other world after having died."
"I know it's hard to process. Mother herself was unable to do so and ended up almost killing me thinking that some demon had possessed me. But I am me. I am still the same Asher, just with a little twist," Asher said with a choked laugh. He was tired of everything. He just wanted a nice, long rest.
Kio noticed the tiredness in Asher's voice. He frowned and raised his head to stare at the ceiling. There was nothing wrong with Asher. If anything, he's thankful that his body had been possessed by another soul. Thanks to that person he had come to love, he was able to come to his senses.
"What is his name?"
"Excuse me?"
"His name, what is it?"
Asher stared up at Kio in shock. He never thought that this conversation would take such a strange turn. "Asher Williams."
Kio nodded. He wrapped his arms around Asher and gently held him in his embrace. His head was on top of Asher's. Kio smiled. "Thank you, Asher Williams. You brought my Asher back."
"I really, truly love both of you."