"Take me. I have nothing else to live for. Let me die."

"What happened to your lust for revenge and vengeance?" pondered Valesque curiously. He had thought that her spark of fire would never dim, and yet it seemed that it had reached its limit and was finally burning out.

Frankly, he wouldn't be surprised if she could no longer bear the weight of the treachery and heartache life had dealt her. Like so many other men he had defeated, they were like her.

In the beginning, they were stubborn and strong, eager and energetically fighting till the end, loyal to their cause and supporters, firmly believing in the good of people and the motto of 'never giving up'.

And as always in the end, they were weakened and lost to him.

This was why Valesque was convinced that love was everyone's greatest weakness. Love was the foolish motivator for people to hold onto things that were dear to their heart, only to be crushed by it when all became too much to stomach.

"It died when you killed my brother; when Maren abandoned me because of a few pathetic words. It died when I found out that the mother I knew was long gone. That I was solely alone in the world."

"My dear, she never even existed." Valesque could not help himself but point that out in a most pitiless manner, relishing the hurt in her eyes when she registered the meaning of his words.

"All the more to kill me then."

"Such truth in your words. Though it would be a pity to kill you," Valesque admitted while he thought of the moments when Vynthea had proposed handing down her position to her.

"Alara could be my next successor. Even you have expressed approval at some of her doings." Vynthea had commented to him before. Peering into her eyes, he proposed, "Your mother's cunning and intellect has clearly been passed down to you. You will make a great leader if you were to join me."

She guffawed in response. "Join you? Join the organisation that is working hand-in-hand with the Governors?The man who plans to murder my brother? The man who has single-handedly ruined my life? You?"

He sighed disappointedly at her reply. It was what he had expected, but he had expected more from Vynthea's daughter. "Honestly, as Vynthea's daughter, you are-"

"Vynthea, Vynthea, VYNTHEA! Her name is CYNTHIA BERRERA, NOT VYNTHEA VALLERA!" Her brilliant golden flecks flared dangerously and her voice was full of rage. The rawness of her rage impressed him.

Here Alara Berrera was fighting for her life. One would have expected a girl visibly trying to fight off unconsciousness would have no strength left in her, and yet. From her voice alone, the strength, the raw anger in it- there was so much life in it in spite of her increasingly corpse-like appearance.

That impressed him. "Beautiful," he muttered in spite of himself.

"Her name is Cynthia Berrera." Alara insisted, ignoring his sudden slip.

That angered him and brought him back to his normal state. "Cynthia was a cowardly, dastardly weak woman! Cynthia was an essential alibi for the angelic Vynthea- do you think keeping a secret like our Agency was a simple task? No. And yet our Queen was ready to sacrifice everything for the greater good. Why can't you as her daughter understand that?"

Every time Valesque uttered 'Vynthea' and 'Queen', she wanted to retch as it was pronounced with such reverence. She hated that he expected her to understand his twisted logic when she was nothing like them. As much as she loathed it, she was grateful for his rant as it was the opportunity it had to press the ring's button three times.

Passion blinded people, and when Valesque was blind, she was safest. When he was blind, he didn't notice anything, and that was what she needed to inform Eli that she needed him more than ever.

Eli. I'm counting on you.

"Silence from you- and I must say, your inner strength is similar to that of your talented mother's." Valesque smirked as he raised his gun determinedly, his finger on the trigger, ready to send a bullet to her tired heart.

It was then when she felt his unquestionable presence.

A guy that exhorted her to go for what she desired.

A guy that trained her ruthlessly in order to ensure that she knew how to protect herself.

A guy that had stuck by her and kept her going through even during the countless series of her dearest friends' deaths.

A guy that had returned her brother to her.

A guy that had saved her life several times.

A guy made her laugh so hard till she cried tears of joy.

A guy that made her fall.

A guy that had...

abandoned her when she needed him .

"Maren, what are you doing here? Leave. I wish to spare you from witnessing her death." Valesque tried to usher him away by making his tone a commanding one.

But Maren did not budge, and from his strong posture, it was apparent that he had no intention to.

"Maren, thank-" Her words of thanks cut-off the moment her brother came running in.

"Alara! Are you okay?"

"Maren- what?" She stared at her precious brother in shock as she huddled him close to her. "Maren, what the hell?"

"Trust me, Alara-"

"NO! PLEASE, VALESQUE. PLEASE." She bellowed so heartrendingly that it distracted Valesque, and in the process, his finger left the trigger.

If she hadn't yelled, Renald would have died.

And that's not going to happen to him. If anyone dies, it'll be me.

"I never thought that I'll see the day where Alara Berrera begs. I quite like it. And all this for your pathetic excuse of a brother's life?"

"Why would you even want to kill Renald? Why?"

"No, Lara. He answers me. I need to know why I've suffered and why I'm being hunted as if I have a bounty on my head. He answers to me." Renald demanded, stepping forward. To Valesque, he simply asked, "Why?"

"Why?"

"Why? The answer is obvious. Though you have a will of iron, you are not fitted to succeed your mother. One day, she will be too old to be the head of the Agency- so that duty ultimately falls to you or Alara. Why do you think we kept you two with us? You're her only kids, so you're the natural successors of the Agency.

I must admit, that though it is always most preferable for boys to rule..." Valesque scruntinised him while sneering, and continued, "Mallory did too much extensive damages to you- mentally and physically, so you're unfit for the role. Don't worry, your Devil has been hung and quartered."

Mallory. "Was that his name? The Devil's name?"

"Yes."

He closed his eyes. The man who tortured him under his mother's orders was finally dead. He wasn't sure if he should be incensed or relieved. This meant that he never had to know what it felt like to have a man's death on his hands but it also made him realise that he would never be able to seek his revenge.

"Before I die, tell me the full truth."

"Once upon a time, the world was full of hatred and spite. Countless problems swamped the inhabitants of the Earth in the 21st Century, with issues ranging from racism to imbalance of social classes.

But the main ones were the meteoric decreasing rate of the birth population. With the women's steady stream of victories in the 2060s, they achieved full independence and could obtain higher pay checks and ranks than men.

What self-respecting woman would want to give birth and be a stay-at-home mother with all of these happening? What woman would want to continue playing and doing the stereotypical roles that society has decided that women should do?

It was no surprise that all of a sudden, women from walks of life and age started being employed and climbed up the ladder of success, each step leading them closer to the proverbial pot of gold.

There was a rise in female presidents belonging to all sorts of organisations. Who could forget the unanticipated trend of women replacing male presidents during the re-elections? David Leigh was no longer the president of the States, and it was Harper Martinez that replaced him. In France, there was Amelia Bisset who replaced Louis Berger, while in Canada, there was Olivia Tremblay who replaced Lucas Gagnon.

Obviously, with their ego constantly being trampled on, the men began rioting and disharmony became a part of everyday life. Nobody was safe anywhere, and the previous peace shattered into smithereens, and chaos dominated the world.

And then, during the Blood Revolution, an angelic woman seems to fall from the sky. She was a woman worthy of mythical legends, for she was so pure and righteous that she seemed to be born of divine right.

Here she was, a woman with lustrous golden hair, shining brown eyes, tending patiently to injured soldiers' wounds. She was like Florence Nightingale reincarnated- except that she was more ambitious, and was better than the great Florence Nightingale ever was. The angel had a hidden desire for power, and the hunger could never be sated. The angel was unlike the respected nurse too, for a great darkness grew within her.

When she met two men named Mallory and Valesque, her world changed, as would the real one later. She started to build a building that would become an iconic symbol of hope for the war-weary and defeated world- and it was called the Ascendancy Agency.

There was a reason why it was 'Ascendancy Agency', as the angel had a vision. And that was for worthy people- healthy, fit, willful ones- to train there, and climb to the top of power to make the world a better place.

Before she had a first-born and when the Agency was a small secret, one of the very first tests to see if one had strong will was through inventive ways of torture.

"If someone really wants something, they will sacrifice everything for it. They will go through with whatever they are subjected to with iron will." was what the angel always chanted. And her supporters supported her and believed in her words.

The angel, wanting to prove herself to her people, promised to subject her future children to it too, to maintain the balance and impression of equality.

And she kept her word and never went back on it."

"Lara never went through what I did," rasped Renald, fat droplets of tears trickling down his face as his heart broke again.

"That's not true. She did. Yours was more of a physical one than a mental one. Hers was both. Like you, her whole life was a test set by your angelic mother, except that she had more choices than you. Why? Because she is a girl- born after the Blood Revolution, a revolution that happened due to females fighting for their rights and having more choices in their life.

Your mother believed in that cause too. To honour that, she gave Alara more choices."

"Then why did she support the Governors?"

"It's time for another story, I see." With that, Valesque continued.

"The angel's plans were a success, but she, like many other aspiring politicians, found herself in debt. The construction of her stunning vision cost her ten thousand bloods, which was something that even she, our angel, didn't have.

Therefore, she forced herself to align with the richest and influential people of that time- the Governors. She couldn't see why they had to steal children from low castes, and she made her detest for them clear.

But they didn't mind, and were willing to make any alliances that would bring them more power and loyalties. In return for her to clear her debt, the angel half-heartedly gave them stakes and control in the Agency.

But one day, she saw the beauty in the Governors' plans. They weren't wily or immoral, rather, they were preventing unnecessary wars that Excidium did not need. They were saving the lives of their people!

Harmonia, Serium had the common issue of low birth rates. It was without doubt that if they heard the people of Excidium had the highest birth rates and population, they would want to know why.

Using that, the Governors managed to victoriously get them to believe that children were born yearly by arranging the leaders of their allied countries to come to Excidium, where the Governors would show off babies or young children, and feed them false lies about how they did it. In exchange for the lies, the Governors made them swear that they would never attack Excidium, and they agreed.

Cunningly, they made them promise if the secrets they shared with them did not work, it was none of Excidium's business and that no harm would come to them.

The allies, caught up in their desire to end their stunted growth, readily consented.

It was then when the angel decided to be loyal to them forever and cooperate fully. Ever since, both allies had been exchanging everything they had with each other.

As the Agency was built under the impression they were going against the Governors, the trainees were trained to fight- not against them, however. The 'Agents' served as spare soldiers for the Governors without their knowledge in the end. Just in case, really."

"So they were- and still are- played, then. All these while." stated Renald pensively.

"Yes, they were." Valesque answered nonchalantly, as if the truth was not one that could turn the world upside-down. "And now you know the full truth. So you die."

She had heard everything. How her life had been a complete lie, and that she had fallen hook, line and sinker for it.

But can I really do anything now?

And if the Governors did everything to prevent war... and though my mother was clearly a villain... but was she a necessary one? She had stayed stunned to the point of speechlessness while Valesque revealed the truth of everything. Before she could even utter a word, Valesque held the gun steadily in his head, shooting her brother with a horrific alacrity.

No! Renald!

Running towards the sound, without a single thought for her own well-being, Alara was acutely cognizant that she was shouting her precious brother's name as she ran to his side. Her knees became so wobbly that she soon fell to her knees when she saw her brother's bloodied body and his brains blown out.

Renald's eyes were still open, full of shock and a hint of fear, marking the last moment of his state of mind.

My brother died not in peace, but in fear. Renald... my Renny...

Blankly, she stared at him as he tauntingly walked towards her, brandishing the weapon that took her brother's life. As he chuckled, he pointed the gun at the direction of her knee to her stomach, finally stopping midway in the air as he aimed it at her heart.

"Should I kill you, too?"