"Calista!" Adriel's enraged voice boomed past the walls of her safe zone, startling the angel from her books. "I demand a really good explanation! What were you thinking? Honestly, what are you even planning? It feels like ever since you were put in charge, everything turns upside down. Why do you even do that?"

"Don't speak to me in such manner, child. Watch your tone. Have you been mingling too much with the humans that you forgot respect?" Calista questioned, standing up from her seat, allowing the feathery dress to kiss the invisible ground and raised her eyebrows at Adriel. "I am going to assume that you are talking about Felix, your mortal lover."

"Do I look like I am talking about your lover?" Adriel spat bitterly, deciding to stop at those words before they triggered Calista's anger and ego. "What did you do to him? Why must you choose him? There are millions and billions, even trillions of mortals out there, yet you have to choose the one person I decided to hold on to for the rest of my life. Why?"

Adriel heard hysterical chuckles escaping Calista's rosy red lips. It made him sick to see how the guardian seemed to be having too much fun. He tightened his knuckles, hiding them behind his own body to prevent Calista from reading him like an open book. He hated the idea of Lithius sharing Felix's body. Not that he had anything against his once soon to be brother-in-law, but each time he sensed the angelic energy radiating so strongly from Felix's body, he felt disgusted as if he had cheated on his deceased sister. Adriel couldn't deny the idea that he was madly in love with the man, yet knowing that Lithius's soul will be residing in it, a thick lump formed in his throat and challenging his devotion for his beloved sister.

"You have choices, Adriel. Stop acting like a child. You can choose to leave Felix until Lithius has finished his trial or you can choose to frolic with him till the end of his trial," Calista said, moving to the sparkly window that held stunning scenery on a few white Pegasus surging across the wind. "Since Felix's destiny crosses path with Lithius's, I cannot prevent that from happening. Isn't it what you will call fate in the mortal world? Your fate with Felix and Lithius both. A trial is a trial and there is no way I am reversing what has to be done."

Adriel's purple eyes widened at her words. He scoffed, crossing his arms together and brushed the tip of his nose. Without saying another word, Calista disappeared from his sight, leaving him in a world of silence. It felt as if the angel had decided to give him the peace to think. The Pegasus disappeared from his sight, replacing it with his favourite hideout in Halion. The willow tree swayed gently against the harsh wind, standing tall to express its beauty on its own. Biting his lips, Adriel slumped down onto the cold ground with his mind raging in various directions. He weighed the consequences. A trial usually cost a guardian about two years, but with Lithius's constant delays, Adriel knew it would be more than two.

"Five years," Uriel's throaty voice disrupt his thoughts. "My brother is going to take approximately five years, Adriel. I do not want to be the reason you regret your choices, but after weighing your loyalty towards Cyril, I will recommend you to leave Felix throughout my brother's trial. It is an unfair choice to ask you to stay by Felix's side along with his trial. The purpose of his trial is to inflict strong emotions in his soul and make him learn. Leaving him will help him grow."

The younger angel sat in silence. His silver hair fluttered gracefully. His palms trailed against the cold ground with his eyes unfocused while his lips pressed together so tight that it seemed like it was being forced shut by an unknown force. Adriel recalled his first met with Felix that made him fell in love with the boy that instant. If he did not fight for their love back then, perhaps the boy wouldn't be selected. Meeting Uriel's jet black eyes, Adriel saw a star glimmered within those familiar eyes. Something had been different about Uriel since they last met. He could see the dark energy surging through the once innocent guardian, just like how Lithius's angelic trials and soul changed Felix's innocent and indestructible one.

"You are different," Adriel muttered heavily, pushing himself up from the ground as he stretched the tight muscles on his bluish-purple wings. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," Uriel answered, clasping his palms together. "Now, this is not about me. This is about you, Adriel. I can assure you that you do not have to worry about Felix's soul. It is well preserved with my brother's power. This might come out cruel, Adriel, but for my brother to return and for you to regain Felix, you have to contribute to his trial. Break his heart and inflict the pain. Only with pain, my brother will learn. I know this is a terrible thing to ask especially with Felix being your lover, but this is the only way. Walking alongside him will cause only more trouble."

"You are talking about burying me and Felix both in broken dreams," said Adriel truthfully. "I have been together with Felix for almost four years. Leaving him now is like losing a part of me. I don't want to know what it will be like to live without him, Uriel. Having to travel between two realms is already trouble, but leaving him completely, it feels so unfair."

Hearing those words left his lips, Adriel frowned. Things are never fair. Sometimes even the strongest tree wilt. He clasped Uriel's shoulder tightly, feeling the cold tingling sensation coursed through his veins. Meeting those black eyes, Adriel understood that this is something that had to be done. Helping Lithius to go through his trials means he could have more time with Felix once the trial is over, but if he doesn't, Adriel didn't know how long he had to wait. He sighed, squeezing Uriel's shoulders one more time before spreading his wings majestically and flew out of the room, leaving dark blue glitters onto the cold ground.

Felix hummed at the song playing on the radio. Leticia's choice of music suited his, thus the siblings often spend most time alternating their turns to select their favourite music. Standing up to refill a new glass of black tea, Felix ran his fingers across the painting, doing some minor touch-ups to complete it. For once, he felt grateful to have his classes cancelled for the day. He had agreed in conducting a video call with Gale tonight to finish up their group projects, thus he had to finish up his individual assignments now. The golden scroll sat perfectly on the side of the table, serving as a decoration to the messy table.

He sipped onto the tea, reaching out to grab the scroll. Meeting Adriel last night allowed Felix to pour new hopes that he would be seeing him more often than before. He never knew where Adriel stayed because each time he asked, Adriel will brush the topic off, only giving him strong assurance that he would visit Felix at his home. Respecting the boundaries they have, Felix never pushed. He rolled out the scroll, reading those cursive writings that somehow made no sense to him. A new line of words has carved itself onto the gold, making it look like an expensive set of calligraphy ready to be auctioned.

"Does these words make sense to you, Leticia?" Felix questioned, glancing towards his sister who seemed to be working on her research paper. "Words like drunk, the other side and..."

Felix squinted his eyes on another newly formed words.

"A chance to dance," he mumbled.

Leticia lifted her head from her laptop. Her fingers were still busy typing out the raging ideas in her head. Once she finished the second sentence, she picked up the glass of kale juice, sipping onto it lightly. Felix watched her eyes squinted at the taste and giggled. He didn't know why his sister attempted on the kale juice even though she knew about the dreadful taste of it. When she settled the now empty glass on the table, Felix paid full attention to his sister, hoping that he would be given an answer this time or a tiny hint.

"The other side?" Leticia spoke multiple times, letting the words run across her tongue and clicked them. "Isn't that a song? You used to love that song a lot when you were twelve. It somehow reminded you of the fantasy universe you love to daydream about. I think you still have the song on your phone. If you don't, I have the back up in one of my hard drives. Why the sudden question?"

"These words keep appearing on the scroll for days. It feels as if they are giving me a hint on something, yet I could not put my finger on it," Felix said, picking up his phone to check on the music gallery in his phone.

"Perhaps you have to look in between the lines?" Leticia questioned, writing something on a new piece of paper. "You can't judge a song by their title just like how you can't judge a book by its cover. Maybe you have to understand the lyrics, but even that, everyone is entitled to their own opinion of the meaning. Music speaks in different ways for different people. Well, I have to rush through my proposal, but if you need me deciphering any music lyrics, I am always down for it."

Felix chuckled, seeing his sister buried her head in between the laptop again. He began scrolling through the music gallery only to see two different folders in it. One was labelled music while the other was labelled tranquil. Clicking onto the folder labelled tranquil, Felix saw a list of songs with various languages. He hummed, reading every single word and much to his surprise, he saw a few of the names that mirrored the scroll. Picking out a new piece of paper, he began writing out all the name of the songs in the folder. Even without knowing the purpose of the scroll, Felix felt his soul stirred at the moment, igniting a few vague memories.

He saw a lady standing by the edge of a table, twirling the similar scroll that laid in front of him and a pair of purple wings spread, blinding him from his sight. Felix felt his body basked in glory the second he felt something weighing down his head as if he was granted the power as a sovereign ruler. The feelings did not stay for long. They shifted into an infinite amount of fear. Sound of whips echoed in between his ears, triggering ugly sights of blood, flesh and sweat. Immediately, those scenes triggered that purple ring that clung tight on his finger, hurting his bones while a pair of bluish-purple wings spread across his mind only to disappear the second the doorbell rang.

"Did you invite anyone to our house today?" Leticia questioned, staring at her little brother with curious eyes. Her fingers still typing away.

"I did not," Felix answered, pressing the button to close his phone. "I'll go and have a look."

Seeing no further response from her sister, Felix walked towards the door only to see Adriel standing there with a weary look. His lips curved upwards into a smile, stepping aside to invite the elder in, but when Adriel refused, Felix squeezed his eyebrows together. He stepped out of the house, shutting the door behind him. Somehow, instead of the cheerful Adriel last night, Felix felt as if something was twisted in their meet. Adriel's cheerful smile disappeared behind bars, leaving him in a list of confusion while his fingers trembled nervously behind him.

Was it because he was too drunk last night that he said something unintentionally?

"I don't want to delay your time, Felix. It's hard for me, really hard for me to make this choice. I have given it real good thinking for the past few hours. Breaking this news to you is not as easy as it sounds like," Adriel said in broken words, his voice shook like an unstable skyscraper ready to collapse at any moment and he continued with his brown eyes staring right into Felix. "We need to take some time off each other. Just for a while. I would be lying if I say it's months, but this time, it might take years. I can't live without you, Felix, but I had to do this. I need to be away from you and stay on the other side of the world to save you from this tiny misery."

"Save me?" Felix exclaimed, gritting his lips and his eyes wandered across Adriel's features in confusion. "Adriel, no. I am not agreeing with this. I know I made mistakes. Sometimes I could be annoying, wanting and craving..."

"No, no," whispered Adriel, taking a few steps forward to hold onto Felix's cheeks and brushed them lovingly in circles. "No, you did not make any mistake, Felix. This choice I made has nothing to do with you. You are so perfect in every manner that even the angels would die for it. I never see this coming, I swear, and it hurts me just the same to say these words to you. If I do not do this, I might lose you forever. I'm so sorry Felix. We have to walk these upcoming few years on different routes, but when the time comes, I promise, I promise I will always be here for you."

Felix shifted his gaze. He blinked away those tears, holding in the voice that seemed to be finding a tunnel to crawl out of its confinement. At that moment, he couldn't bear to even look at Adriel. He felt a soft kiss at the corner of his lips, palms tight onto his cheeks as if Adriel didn't want to leave, but the angel pulled away harshly. His chest ached at the feeling. He studied Adriel's determine eyes to leave and without letting him say a word, the elder moved away, stepping down from the stairs and disappeared at the end of the road.

It was a simple meet, but Felix felt as if he had been standing on the porch of his house for some time. He craved for Adriel's presence, but this time, even if he reached out, he knew the boy would never return to his side. Felix wrapped his arms around his shoulders, assuring himself that everything would be fine. His chest heaved, examining the sunsets while the birds returned to their nest. It felt surreal to have Adriel, the boy whom he had fallen in love with for the past four years breaking up with him for an unknown reason and he didn't know if he deserved the pain. Felix felt a part of his soul shattered that evening, dragging him into another side of his reality.

All his years with Adriel, Felix never wanted to know the feeling of having to live without him, but now, he had no choice but to succumb to the other side of his thoughts. 

A world where he had to recover all the broken pieces on his own. 

Track 06: 2,660 words

Cumulative Count: 13,416 words

Author's Notes on 28 March 2021

Good day, everyone! I would like to thank everyone for the massive support in this book. I never thought this book would go well or pass the round 1 qualifiers when I was writing it. I am also a little sceptical to start it at first because I am afraid I won't finish the book or reach the 20K mark before the ending of the contest. I really have a very tight schedule and I try to fit in time to write once in a while. Thank you so much for all the support from each one of you! You are all so amazing! Congratulations to all my lovely friends who managed to pass round 1 and good luck for all the upcoming rounds! I wish every single one of you the best! 

To those whose books I am reading, I would like to apologize in advance for all the inconsistent readings. My readings will be really slow from here on. I would really love to dive into all those amazing stories, but I can hardly find time for it yet. I will try to squeeze in some time here and there to read the chapters. Thank you so much for all the patience you all have! And also, again, thank you for all the support you have all given me! 

Have a lovely day, everyone!