On a Sunday evening within the Elysium Family, the heir had been in his studies when the letter arrived.
"Master Julius."
The messenger had handed him the envelope before disappearing from his sight. The emblem of the Odum Family was seared into the silver seal.
Julius aloofly looks at it, wondering what that scummy troublemaker wanted from him now. He has noticed that these past few weeks he had grown silent. Some foolish rumor about fairies and possessions, but Julius could care less. As long as the deal still stands, that dull-witted Odum child cannot betray them and their secrets.
With that thought in mind, Julius breaks the seal.
The old servant standing silently behind his master's study felt his master's demeanor growing colder and colder the more he read from the letter. Immediately, he felt weak in the knees. The pressure exuding from the Master was so very terrible.
"W-would Master Julius like to retaliate?" He asks, almost fearfully, wondering what the Odum child had written within the letter to cause a reaction like this.
His master merely glanced at him coldly.
Thomas felt cold sweat forming on his face at those terrifying eyes.
Julius walked over to the kindling fire in his studies and looked at the letter one last time. With another dead-eyed stare, he tossed the paper into the flames, watching as it burned into ashes.
"Contact the Dartmouths and the Moores'. I would like to speak to my companions."
"Yes, Master!"
Julius watches as the servant flees with a blank expression on his face before turning back to the fire once more. The flames danced across his narrowed eyes.
Odum, huh?
Vermillion eyes sharpened narrowly to something akin to bloody slits.
He wonders what that bastard is playing at now.
---
Neo doesn't recognize the two boys in the back of the trio, but he does recognize the one standing in between them.
Elliot Levi Moores. The second son of the Moores Family, a seemingly simple Earl family supporting the Aristocrat Faction.
Envious of the attention his older brother was given since childhood, he worked hard under the orders of Earl Moores, but it was all for naught.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy regarding this boy is his loyalty and devotion to his family. For the sake of the heirship title, he was used by his own mother to go against his own brother, just for a bit of love.
He was one of the three youths belonging to the families that Nazareth made connections with. That he has currently cut ties with.
Elliot's family gave him the power needed to kill his brother. They were infamous within the undergrounds and controlled a section of the criminal world.
His maternal family, that is.
The Castas Family.
Alicia Moores nee Castas was a woman of wit and intellect, vicious and powerful, someone who demanded respect and took what she wanted with her own two hands.
And what she wanted for a marriage partner was the Earl of Moores.
Earl Moores was already a married man when Alicia set her eyes upon him. In fact, he was married to a simple commoner.
Lydia Moores was a beautiful woman who served the young Earl Moores as a maid when they were young. Eventually, they fell in love with each other and wedded one another. Coincidentally enough, it was after a tragic carriage accident involving the late Earl and Countess of Moores, that the two young love-birds were able to wed without any problems.
After all, there had to be a solution to the classism presented in their taboo relationship, and the Earl's parents had always disapproved of Lydia, who was a lowly maid.
The marriage between Earl Moores and Lady Lydia was a happy one until illness struck the couple. It is said that after the birth of Leotine Aspen Moores, Elliot's older half-brother, Lady Lydia began to grow weak and frail.
Earl Moores was devastated, even more so when she eventually died, leaving both him and his sickly, infant son to grieve for the lovely woman.
Until the appearance of Alicia Castas, with a child in her arms, proclaiming that he belongs to the Earl.
One blood test later and a wedding was set, resulting in an uproar through the entirety of the aristocrat society.
And then the rumors began.
These strings of events were too good to be true, too coincidental, too fortuitous for Lady Castas.
And indeed they were.
Neo knew the truth of the matter through the network he built up in the past. It was that particular information that brought him to Elliot.
Who knew that a few drops of poison and a bribed lowly maid could do so much for one's life. The trusted old maid who nursed poor Lady Lydia as she slowly withered away, wept at the funeral and retired from servitude forever.
Alicia wanted Earl Moores, so she took him.
She wanted the title of Countess, so she took it.
She wanted to be the mother of the Earl's child, so she drugged the grieving Earl and had him for a night.
She wanted power within the aristocracy, unsatisfied by the powers of the criminal underworld, so she crawled her way up from that hellish place and planted herself where she is now.
So what if there is still that Leotine?
So what if she is merely a second wife?
A sickly boy like him will eventually die one day.
She doted on this boy more than she doted on her own son in hopes that he, too, will succumb to his sickly body.
She won, in the end. And she will continue winning when the boy dies.
Except he won't.
But that's a story for another day.
Neo pitied the unknowing pawn that was Elliot. Manipulated by his mother to commit foul deeds for the Castas and Moores. Just as mad as he was, just as insane, slowly driven to that point amidst Nazareth's own madness. The feeling of insanity was both contagious and addictive.
An unloved son who was born out of wed-lock, with an indifferent mother and father, and a brother who shined brighter than anything else.
They had much in common.
The result of the ploys he and Elliot hatched up came in the form of those underground terrorists, who broke into the academy through the opening they created. In the end, however, it left them with nothing but the accusatory glares sinking into their backs, blood-stained hands haunting their visions, and a prison sentence awaiting them once they left the academy.
That was all that Neo remembered of Elliot. The last he remembered, the boy was taken from the academy and escorted back to his family manor, his sentence still pending.
Neo was never told if the verdict was imprisonment or execution.
If Nazareth had not died alone that day by the cliff, swimming in his own pool of blood with the gaping wound inflicted by his brother's sword opened wide and aching, he would have been left to rot alone within a cell for the rest of his life.
All for what? To be recognized as the heir? To prove he was not just some bastard? To show that he had won?
What had he hoped to gain if Aurelion truly died?
He is not ashamed to admit that he tethered his life to his brother until that last moment he took his final breath.
And still, even after many years, the question still haunts him.
What happens if this little brother of his didn't exist anymore? What kind of ending would he see himself in if Aurelion died that day when the terrorist attacked the school?
He recognizes that without Aurelion, he was nothing.
Throughout that lifetime, it was believed that he hated Aurelion. Although this fact may be true, it was a biased fact that hid his own conflict. Hating him and wanting him dead, yet latching onto him and unconsciously looking to see if he was still alive. The two sides fought within his mind and drove him crazy.
Nazareth was pathetic. Couldn't kill his brother, yet he still willed himself to be the unwanted enemy.
Two brothers, a bastard and an heir. One ascended into glory while the other fell into hell. That lifetime was blazing with fire and his madness spread like the flames he sparked in his wake.
Admittedly, if Aurelion hadn't lived on, Neo wondered what would have become of him? At the sight of that child back then with sapphire blue eyes, his obsession and the feeling of inferiority gave him the will to live.
He had a goal in life, no matter how terrible of a goal it was. He got to experience a relatively exciting lifetime, when in the end, all he wanted was to seek death and join his beloved Mummy.
Neo is eternally grateful that Aurelion's existence continued on. Because without him, he would have never lived to that point.
At the age of seven, when Alyoise died, he was determined to be with her forever.
That child saved him and maintained him for as long as possible, even if he hadn't known this fact.
For the longest time, he had felt the cracks forming. He mended them poorly when he was Nazareth, and still, there are still small cracks here and there, but things are changing, healing.
From the red-light district to the glamorous life of noble society, he was still a scourge hidden in rich silk. He had wanted everyone to feel the pain he cultivated deeply inside his heart, and perhaps, it was because he had been so broken that he felt a common ground with Elliot.
Only to realize that what they have done ruined their lives forever.
He had wanted to take what should have never been his, fought for something that he knew he was undeserving of, and died miserably with black water splashed across his name. He was born a scum, a bastard, a whoreson, a criminal. And he died with these dirty titles all the same. Nothing really changes, despite his rise in status. At the very least, he died with a silk handkerchief in his pocket and clothes that were of far better quality. Better than the rags he wore in his childhood. Better than the scraps he was given.
Or so he thought. If he was given the option of a lifetime in the red-light district with his Mummy and a lifetime within the world of nobility and riches, he would have chosen a ragged life, a life of squalor; because it would have meant his mother could have lived on.
Above all else, he would always choose her over everything.
A little sardonic smile briefly appeared upon his face, before Neo let it fade into something more genuine.
Neo felt a thousand stares searing into his back as he slowly crept out from the protective barrier that his companions have formed around him.
"What are you doing?" Finneas hissed. Neo ignored him as he made his way to the front. Students have gathered to watch, and within the crowd, he could make out the sight of his brother and his own companions standing to the side, observing his every move.
Neo approached Elliot with a waning smile.
Looking at him now, so young and childish-looking, it makes him regret that within a year's time those features will change into desperate beasts, too mature and understanding of the life outside these walls, and ready to sin for family.
"Alright. Let's talk."
He spoke, his voice quiet but audible amidst the seemingly silent schoolyard.
Elliot, who stood in the middle of the trio, looked at him strangely for a moment, but it did not deter the pale smile on Neo's lips.
There was a tense silence, but eventually, it needed to die down for what was to come.
"Come," Elliot tells him gruffly. He and his companions make their way past him. They don't turn to check if Neo follows, but Neo knew that they would know if he didn't.
Obediently, he trails after them.
"Naza…!"
"Neo…!?"
"Oi! Get back here…!"
He hears the distinctive voices of his companions, but he merely smiles as he walks past them.
"I'll see you guys in class." Was all he said, before catching up with Elliot and his two companions.
Elliot brought the Odum bastard to the back of the school and glanced at his lackeys.
"Dismissed."
He orders the two youths behind him. They are efficient, and quickly disperse like shadows, leaving him and the boy who had the audacity to cut ties with the Moores alone.
There was silence between them, one that was both tense and awkward.
It was a stalemate. The two of them stood in front of one another at a distance that showed both wariness and caution.
"You know why I called you here?"
It was more of a statement than a question, but nonetheless, the Odum child nods his head.
"I do."
Elliot grunts. He crosses his arms and stares sharply at the other.
"Then I'm sure you can comprehend what it means to break our ties."
"En."
He scoffs. What a short-lived alliance they have. Just a few months ago they were going through with the contract, promising to back one another and sharing their deepest secrets. Secrets that could endanger all of them, but used as a binding form of trust.
And that lit a candle in Elliot's mind.
He smiles cynically. "Were the secrets too much to bear?"
And that drew more reaction from the obedient-like behavior that the Odum was currently exuding.
Brows furrowed, with a tragic gaze and pale complexion, the boy breathed out a "No."
Elliot wonders why.
"I would never." Neo denies. "Elliot, I didn't cut you off for this reason."
"I don't believe you." He scoffs. "You've already contacted the others. Elysium has already begun breaking whatever remains of our contract and you know well enough that Dartmouth's reaction will be nothing but more heartbreaking."
"I'm sorry."
"Be sorry to Lester. He doesn't even want to look at you right now."
Neo shakes his head. "Send him my apologies, but you have to understand that it is best for everyone if I no longer remain in contact with any of you."
"And you expect me to think you are honest when we each shared a secret? How can I even trust that what you have told us was honest?"
"Everything I said was honest!"
Neo hadn't meant to shout, but being in the presence of Elliot drew up so many raw memories.
The process of cutting ties with the three families he had contact with wasn't a simple one. The four of them believed that if they were to do evil deeds, then they might as well share their hellish fate forever.
Despite Gareth's simple orders to break his ties with the families of those "beneath him", for the four of them who decidedly sealed their bond with something of a more semi-permanent nature, the act of cutting ties was betrayal at its finest.
Neo knew a simple letter would not actually do anything. The four of them had to be present, together, and break their bonds with a fifth witness, just as they have tied themselves together at the beginning.
Secrets in noble society are valuable, and secrets from the heart are like magic words.
What they all told during the forming of their alliance could possibly make or break them if what was said that day ever made it into the open.
Elliot grew somber after Neo yelled at him.
Neo sighs. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." He quickly made amends.
Elliot continued to remain quiet, but at least he was still facing him.
"I want to change, Elliot. I can't keep harboring all this resentment anymore. Aurelion and I have been talking-"
"So just because you decided to become a good person we aren't good enough for you anymore?"
"I…" Neo didn't know what to say. It is true that he saw Elliot and the other two families as an obstacle to what he wants in this lifetime. The evil deeds they've done are unforgivable.
But, if he hadn't egged it on, if he hadn't been so cruel, could there have been a chance in which no one had to suffer the consequences of that terrorist incident?
When the silence stretched on for too long, Elliot took it as confirmation. He smiles sarcastically.
"You cut your hair and suddenly, you're a whole new person. Is that all it takes?"
A look of hurt appeared on Neo's face. "Elliot..."
"Did you think we were easy?" The ridicule in his voice was audible. "When you approached us, convinced us to tell our secrets, were you playing with us? When you approached me, was it for a laugh? The almost bastard son of Earl Moores, envious and evil, nothing compared to his holy messiah of an older brother, tricked into telling his deepest secrets." He mocked with a smile that looked so terrible and heart-wrenching. "What happened, huh? You were so determined to take down that brother of yours just a few months ago, and now that you have gained our trust, you're going back on it? Was it fun to play us like that?!"
"No! I-"
"You were always such a bastard, a fucking piece of trash, yet everyone feared and scorned you. At the very least, you weren't hated into obscurity! What about me?! What about the rest of us?! We are nothing, no matter what we do!"
Oh. Neo thinks, as Elliot's voice unravels the raw emotions he's locked inside of himself.
The secret Elliot had shared...
'I just want to be seen. I want people to know that I'm here, that they can hate me or love me, but I can't take it if no one sees me. I… I don't want to disappear into nothing.'
At the time, when they were at their most vulnerable...
The deepest secret Elliot shared with him was the fear of being nothing. In a family where no one truly saw him, he was desperate for attention, whether they be good or bad. With his mother pressuring him to be obedient, and his father indifferent to his existence, the poor boy lived a life where he kept giving and giving for just a look of approval, a touch of affection, or even a hint acknowledgment, the greatest proof that he is real. His obsession with making something of himself, of trying to be something, was his greatest downfall, because, ironically enough, the person he hated most was the only one who saw him.
Leotine.
Ah, Neo all but breaths at the realization.
"Elliot…"
The boy looked guarded, but tired. Really tired.
Neo continues. "I'm sorry. I truly am. Please understand that this is necessary for whatever is to come in the future. I didn't mean to play with any of your trusts, and I swear that I don't mean to hurt you. Everything that we promised within that contract could lead to our very downfall, and I'm so sorry that this realization came too late. I know that everything has been set, and I am aware of our ties, but it certainly isn't too late for us to not be played into enemy hands."
"What are you talking about?"
"Please," Neo practically begs. "Just trust what I am saying."
They shared their secrets and made sure to know one another deeply through the contract they signed and the ties they made. Elliot had willingly exposed himself, opened up his heart and mind, trusted that the three of them would keep his secret safe, and so had he during the signing of that contract.
Elliot's gaze focused on him for the longest time, as if taking in what he was saying, but finally, he made his decisions.
"Traitor."
With one last sneer, he storms off, the anger clear in his gait.
Neo watches him, devastation and anguish practically melting off his skin. He can hear something shatter within himself, and wonders briefly if it was the tie that marked their contract or the brief friendship they had shared.
All he knows is that he has definitely lost a possible friend.
"How much did you hear?"
Neo's voice immediately startled the boy hiding behind the bushes.
The boy pops out with a nervous smile.
"Um, sorry about that."
Neo raised a brow.
The boy is not as dignified as he had expected from a person of his status.