He was too late.
The castle that was once a beautiful fort and safe shelter, horrifying for many but nonetheless home for him, now in a devastating and miserable state. Enemies had wreaked havoc on the entire castle from the outside that it had become barely recognizable. If this was the state of the outside of the building, what more on the inside?
Ethan ran breathlessly upon escaping the sharp clutches of the woman, who captured his heart, just to reach back and only to meet this.
He watched with keen eyes all men scattered on the ground, unmoving and silent. And despite being unable to budge as well, he sensed a build up of emotions in his chest. Similar to a dam's walls' cracking and streams of water gushing out with vigor. Dreading and making his blood run cold as he stared at those certain men, those people who were very dear to his heart above anyone else—anyone else supposedly than his woman, and yet here Ethan remained on his feet as if the world had crashed down on his entire being. He refused to believe but the longer the scene unfolded the more the reality dawned on him.
Ashton and Theodore, his wise and pacifist eldest and mischievous youngest brothers, laid beside each other in their pool of rotting blood. Rained with bullets and eyes steady and empty. Dead.
Desmond, his third brother, who Ethan was most certain and confident was the strongest and ruthless against anyone—if not against his older brothers—laid amongst his victims who perhaps attempted to infiltrate their home. He's mainly responsible for the protection of the family behind the scene, Ethan knew. Littered with gashes and bruises, unmoving. Dead.
For his younger twin brothers, Harrison and Hubert, who Ethan remembered were inseparable, were meters from each other's grasps. Hubert shot in the head from afar with enemy troops' bodies scattered around. Dead. As Ethan followed where Harrison was, he saw that his brother was also shot, but multiple in his body. Dead.
"I still have my two other brothers…" Ethan mumbled and clung onto his soul desperately, wanting to bail his body, hoping—and just really hoping—for the survival of any of his family. "Marcin… Noah… Please be alive."
He trudged and continued to search the whole place for them. The hallways were eerie silent, enough to raise his trepidation to its peak. Blood stained and reeked in every direction his eyes dragged. He picked up the pace and Ethan finally arrived outside. His feet had led him to where he surely recalled Marcin loved to hang out alone. Marcin was very much of an introvert amongst them.
Ethan spotted a figure on top of the abandoned CCTV tower and a smile creeped onto his face. His hopes, however, were instantly shattered beyond repair. His skin whitening and eyes constricting from full fearful focus. There Marcin was, his seventh brother, hanging by his foot on the tower tangled in barb wires, with blood rolling down from his chest gunshots down to his head then trickling on the ground, making a pool underneath him which sufficed Ethan with the information that Marcin had been there for a while now. With every drip caused Ethan's hearing to ring. Dead.
And just a few feet away from the tower there laid his eighth brother, Noah. Lifeless body with his neck evident enough to perceive the fresh slit. Dead.
Everything was just too much, too heavy for Ethan to bear. His legs wobbled violently and gave out. He collapsed on his knees whilst tears began to prickle down his cheeks. He shouted on top of his lungs the tremendous agony and regret. He knew he had no right—none at all—to be crying right now.
He did this.
He caused this.
He triggered this.
Ethan let himself get fooled by a woman whom he thought they loved mutually, sincerely, and purely. He knew that he broke the pact. He thought as long as it doesn't harm anyone, they would be alright.
Ethan thought wrong.
He failed to firmly guard his heart and let that woman caress him with her venomous charms, only to be lured into her trap. Underestimated the curse and this is what he has received. He wanted to take revenge—so bad—however his heart was in so much pain from the betrayal of his woman and his betrayal to his brothers.
"Fuck this! This can't be happening. Why why wh—!!"
A sudden realization fell upon Ethan.
Someone was missing.
Barry, his second brother. In an instant, his tears stopped streaming down his cheeks as he was once more filled with hope. Despite the weakness his body was in right now, with the hope in thought, Ethan forced himself to rise.
He racked his brain for any possible location Barry could be found, what hallways he hasn't walked through, and what rooms Ethan hasn't checked. Come hell or high water, he will definitely find Barry. Any traces, and if he was taken by the enemies then Ethan shall find him at all costs.
Dark clouds began to gather then a rumble sounded. A second later, the thunder clapped violently causing Ethan to flinch.
From afar, a dark figure appeared meters across him and Ethan adjusted his vision after the thunder. He perceived the approaching figure's silhouette whilst raising his guards up if this person is an enemy.
"Ethan." It spoke.
When Ethan finally was able to identify the identity of this person, his eyes stretched out in surprise. Immense relief and happiness bursted inside his chest and his tears began to prickle once more.
"B-Barry?" He took a step forward but instantly froze. His heart sinking and dread making his feet nailed on the ground.
"You traitorous bastard." Barry sneered whilst a scowl plastered on his face. "Quite a thick skin you have on your face to come back here."
Ethan was sure he swallowed his tongue at this point. He had never seen his second eldest brother look at him with so much... contempt that it made him take a step back.
"B-Brother, where were you?" Ethan stammered out the first question he thought, still confused and doubtful of his brother being aware of his betrayal.
The clouds rumbled again, this time even more violently.
"Where was I? Or, where were you sneaking out all this time and making all of us, your brothers, a bunch of fools? Ethan, you snitched on us, you bastard."
Ethans stared at him, mute with his soul finally ditching his body. His brain quickly started giving Ethan orders to immediately fall on his knees and beg for forgiveness whilst knowing it wouldn't—would never ever—bring back his dead brothers alive. But Ethan's eyes tracked Barry's hand being raised up towards the skies.
"Don't you dare think of asking for forgiveness, traitor!"
And as if on cue, a vicious lightning bolt came beside Ethan causing him to be thrown away from his spot. His hearing and vision became disoriented in a matter of millisecond and everything seemed to go in slow motion.
What was that just now? Was it a coincidence? Barry controlling the lightning? That couldn't be possible as Ethan only knew that they were labelled as monsters, the devils themselves, by the people due to their physical strength that no other could par on.
With the world still blurry and shaky from his point of view, Ethan spotted Barry closing in to his location. And being unable to look up to face his brother's wrath, Ethan remained still and decided to accept his faith.
No matter, this was his end. This was the least he could do to repay his sin for the betrayal. Easy or hard death, Ethan would gladly and painfully take.
Barry, however, crouched down and forced Ethan's head to face towards his direction by grabbing a handful of his blond locks. He held this distasteful expression and yet the grief was evident in his eyes. Ethan couldn't hear what his brother was saying but he could decipher the words being uttered from his mouth.
Barry fished his hand into his pocket and placed a circular object on Ethan's chest before forming a tiny pained smile and Ethan could see the fondness on his face, which gave warmth to Ethan. But it rapidly shifted to Barry's usual deadpan expression. He stood up and pulled out a gun from his waistband.
Ethan's eyes widened as the weapon was pointed directly at Barry's temple.
"N-no!" He rasped. His hearing was still impaired that he couldn't hear his own voice. Vision was still a little shaky but regaining. Ethan did his best to lift his burdened body up.
Barry only gave his little brother one last look; "Don't repeat the same mistake, brother." were his words that Ethan could read from his lips before Barry pulled the trigger.
—
Ethan peeled his eyes open, blinking a few times to adjust his vision to his surroundings.
In front of him was a plateful of meat and corn and his favorite meat pancake sitting on the edge. People seated beside him and across him on this long rectangular royal style dining table. The noise began to get clearer and clearer. Ethan scaned everyone around him.
His brothers and him on their dining table in the midst of their afternoon meal. Cheeky grins from the twins, Harrison and Hubert, stealing each other's ham slices. His two eldest brothers, Ashton and Barry, quietly enjoy their lunch with a small talk that Ethan couldn't catch. Desmond, his third brother, scolded the twins for being too loud in front of the food.
Marcin was the same with Ash and Barry, taking his time chewing his meal with as little sound as possible. But Noah and Theodore, on the other hand, inhaled their food as usual.
It always got on Ethan's nerves whenever his two youngest brothers act spoiled but instead of scolding them as usual and being ill-tempered like his older brother Desmond, tears streamed down his cheeks.
With an accident hiccup, all of his brothers' attention was brought to his direction. Silence immediately settles on their lunch. Ethan didn't know what exactly happened. Was he already dead? Or was this a vision he was witnessing right now which was seconds before his actual death? Whether which is which, he's relieved and happy to see his brothers alive and well.
"Why are you crying, brother?" Marcin, a little stunned and genuinely concerned, askedhim.
"You okay? You're being weir—ouch! What was that for, Harry?" Hubert groaned after Harrison smacked his shoulder.
"You tell me."
"Ethan." Desmond, beside him, called him out. Ethan turned to him and saw Desmond looking down on his hands. "What is that you're hol—no, why are you holding that?"
"What?" Puzzled, he gazed down and saw a circular object resting on his palms, having no idea he had been holding the entire time.
The last item that Barry handed him before he shot himself dead.
Ethan sensed crawling bad omen all throughout his body. He couldn't fully understand what's happening. What this situation meant and why he was holding this object that's making him feel nauseous.
He studued the item with a keen eye and saw a tiny button on the side. He pressed it and it flipped open, revealing a clock ticking... backwards.
"Why do you have the Lost Chronos?" Ashton, the eldest brother, stood from his seat; and the grim on his face was enough for Ethan to finally comprehend the whole situation.
He just went back in time before his brothers got killed by their enemies.