Luke, Alejandrinos, and Kelly entered the Astron mansion. Immediately upon entering, they were greeted by an entourage of servants, who wore French maid uniforms. They led Luke and his guests to his room, which by itself was larger than a house in the city.
The room had several paintings and sculptures, giving it an elegant appearance, but at the same time, it had various toys and different types of swords. In other words, it was a mixture of diverse elements without any type of cohesion between them.
During the journey, Luke was surprised by a certain concern among the mansion's workers. They seemed nervous about something. Curious, he wanted to leave his room to find out what was happening.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kelly stopped him.
"Uh... I'm going to the bathroom." He moved his eyes in all directions. Realizing she would discover his lie, he thought of a plan to distract her in the midst of his desperation. "Play with this in the meantime."
He threw her a doll. It belonged to his sister, who had left it in his room after coming to play with him a few days ago.
Without even turning to look at her, he left the room, leaving his guests behind.
"He must have really needed to use the bathroom," he heard Alejandrinos comment behind him.
Luke asked a maid about what was happening. She explained about the disappearance of his cousin, Alexa Astron. All the mansion workers were busy searching every corner of the mansion, while others were investigating outside. Apparently, no one saw Alexa leave, or anyone suspicious enter the mansion, so what happened to her was a complete mystery.
You must know what's happening, right?
What makes you say that?
I know that because of that "video game" and "timelines" stuff, you know about events that will happen in the future. Remember that I can hear your thoughts.
Well, you're right. I know what's happening, but I have no obligation to tell you. I already explained that the best option was to let everything happen without making any changes, so I won't intervene in anything that happens from now on.
Given Luke's typically passive attitude, Aaron expected him to give up after saying that. But his words seemed to have the opposite effect. His face turned red and he arched his eyebrows, showing his anger.
Remember that I can see your memories. You will tell me now what will happen, or I'll look at all your most embarrassing memories!
The threat didn't matter much to Aaron, but the idea of Luke seeing some of his secrets was something he preferred to avoid.
I guess it's okay... I'll tell you what's happening, but I'll only do it once, so you better pay attention.
This entire kidnapping is part of a plan that seeks to overthrow Amos and build an empire. Surprising as it may be, there is a terrorist group infiltrated in the city that seeks to establish an empire in Astros, with the leader of this group being a member of the Astron family. They will succeed in their mission, allowing this person to become the absolute king of Couprisia, and he will use that power to conquer the entire Zodiac Island.
As you know, Amos Astros had five sons, in order of birth they are: Priscus, Terminus, Alain, Evander, and Van. The only important ones here are Alain and Evander. The first is the one who devised the plan, the leader of this group, and who will later become the emperor of Astros; the second is the one who kidnapped Alexa, who did it in exchange for money offered by Alain.
Right now, Alexa must be in Evander's room. If you want to rescue her, you'll have to find that room, of course you'll have to face Evander himself, who won't let us take her so easily. You'll also have to stop the entire conspiracy group, who will surely come after you for stopping their plans.
That would be the least of my concerns, all I care about is that Alexa is safe and sound.
After expressing such a heroic sentiment, he ran throughout the mansion in search of Evander's room. But, unfortunately, he had no idea where it was. The mansion was simply very large, and most of the time he spent in his own room.
He tried to ask some maids, but upon knowing he was looking for Evander's room, they left the place with cheap excuses. They were clearly terrified by the mere mention of that name. Realizing that finding it would be impossible, only one idea occurred to him.
You know everything because of that video game thing, don't you?
Aaron took a while to respond, but he responded anyway.
Not everything, but I suppose, yes...
Then, please, take control of my body again and take me to that room!
And just as Luke wanted, Aaron took control of his body again. The surprise in Aaron was quite large, because a few days ago he had tried incessantly without result. The answer he reached was clear: to take control of his body, Luke needed to give his permission to take control of it. In the same way, Aaron had to give up his body to Luke for him to regain control, just as what happened during the tournament.
Understanding the situation, Aaron only expressed one thing to the other person inside him:
Of course I have no idea where that room is, the mansion was only mentioned, you didn't have the option to explore it in the video game. Now that I've regained control of this body, I'll do what I want with it, and I won't let you take back control!
Bastard!
That was the first time Luke said something that even approached an insult. He was completely tricked by trusting Aaron.
Luke simply went quiet and resigned himself to his fate within Aaron's mind.
Kelly was very angry with Luke. Beside her was Maximus. Both in complete silence, waiting for Luke to return and ease the awkward silence that formed after he left. Who invites someone to their house and then leaves them alone with someone they have no idea who they are?
Minutes and minutes passed. There was no sign that Luke was going to return.
"Are you going to play with that?" Maximus asked her, pointing to the doll that Luke had abruptly given her before leaving.
"Of course not!"
Kelly hadn't played with dolls for years, and she wasn't going to start playing with them now.
Unable to wait any longer and having an absurd conversation with Alejandrinos, she ran out of the room as fast as a professional athlete.
She tried to find Luke, but the mansion was too big. She entered every room she saw. Slowly and silently, for fear of finding someone inside doing something she shouldn't see. But all the rooms she entered were empty. That is, of course, until she opened the door to Evander's room.
Suddenly, expecting to find Luke, she found a girl her age tied up by her hands and feet, and with her mouth covered with duct tape. Without understanding much of what was happening, her first reaction was to untie the girl and free her mouth, so that she could explain her situation.
"Thank you very much," she said immediately upon being freed, with tears in her eyes. "That idiot was afraid I would attack him again, so he tied me up completely. The jerk knew I still don't know how to untie knots."
"Who did this to you? Maybe..."
Could it have been Luke, and is this a girl he kidnapped and keeped locked in a room? Maybe he lured her to his house the same way he did with me, and when he left the room, what he went to do was look for a rope and duct tape to lock me up just like he did with the girl in front of me...
Kelly was already getting goosebumps. But before her imagination could run even more wild, Alexa explained the whole situation to her.
Both went to Amos Astros' room, where they told him what Evander had done. In response, the old man said he would take care of it personally. He rose from his immense and colorful throne, and left the room at a slow pace.
Aaron finally regained control of Luke's body, but once he did, he remembered that the situation was still problematic. He didn't know how he should interact with Kelly, or what was going on between them before the video game story began. Thinking about it more coldly, the idea of not having control of his body, as uncomfortable as it might be, was the best option if he thought about his survival.
Hey, Luke. Are you there?
To make things worse, now Luke wasn't even answering him.
In the midst of his dilemma, he crashed into a person's body.
"Be careful where you walk."
That person said slowly and monotonously. With both hands in his pockets.
Aaron looked in the direction of that voice. What he saw froze the hairs on his skin.
Uncle Evander?!
Luke said in his mind.
Aaron said nothing. He simply remained silent as he watched Evander continue on his way.
As Evander took each step, Aaron's mind began to wander. He knew he was going to kill Alexa, it was a matter of time, that's how it had happened in the video game after all. Anyway, it wasn't something that interested him, he had to make everything happen just as in the video game, or he would end up causing changes that could endanger his life. If he had to place the lives of any person on a scale, none had even half the value of his own life, he could let anyone die if it allowed him to stay alive. That's how it should be.
But...
"What are you doing?"
Aaron stood in front of Evander, blocking his path. His head down, staring intently at the floor. With shame, but not of something foreign to him, but shame of what he was doing.
"I won't let you kill Alexa," Aaron simply couldn't allow someone to attack someone who couldn't defend themselves, it wasn't something he could let pass. "I won't let you fulfill Alain's plan."
"How do you know about that?" Evander's inflection wasn't very emotional, but his face showed the most emotion he had shown until that moment. "I guess I can't let you live."
Evander got into a fighting stance. Aaron lunged at him as fast as possible, but couldn't get close to him before Evander gave him a kick that left him on the floor. It was impossible for him to hit him, as Evander's reach, being an adult, was much greater than him, being just a child.
The decision was obvious.
Luke, take control of my body and defeat Evander.
I will.
Luke responded dryly. Then he took control of his body. He immediately changed his posture and began to hit his uncle using the Astros family's movements. But as expected from another person of the same family, Evander's movements were much better, and he could read each of Luke's attempts to hit him.
Time passed, and it was clear that Luke couldn't beat him.
Don't worry, you can beat him. But for that you must...
No, I won't listen to you, I'm angry with you.
Listen to me, idiot, or we'll both die.
I don't care!
Luke tried to hit Evander, but he easily dodged and gave him a blow to the stomach that sent him flying several meters. He rolled several times on the floor until a wall stopped him.
Will you listen now?
Ugh... Alright, but you better never deceive me again!
Yes, yes, I promise. Listen, what we'll do is the following...
Luke's face, which was weak and haggard, lit up in a second in response to Aaron's plan.
"What's happening, why does it seem like life has returned to your body?"
Luke crouched down, touched the floor at his feet, and lunged at Evander.
"A kamikaze attack?"
As soon as they were at a point where their blows could reach each other, Luke retreated, causing Evander's blow to hit the air. Then Luke crouched again and threw himself at Evander, and the same exchange was repeated again.
"You plan to do this all the time. You should know that I don't mind being here all day."
This time, Evander ran towards Luke. It was in the middle of his path that Luke made a jump, landing his feet on a piece of wood beneath him. This piece, when hit with his feet, went down on the part where Luke was and rose where Evander was about to step, like what happens in a seesaw.
The wood rose under Evander's feet, and sent him flying through the air, propelled by Luke's jump and part of the momentum with which he was running towards his nephew. He crashed into the wall, causing a good amount of debris to fall around him.
That was the plan that Aaron devised. He knew that Evander was a distracted person and wouldn't notice that he was loosening the wooden boards at his feet before each attack. Then he would jump when he lost patience and tried to attack him, causing this piece of wood to hit him unexpectedly.
Anyway, that wasn't enough to defeat him. He got up easily, with eyes full of veins.
"This is your end."
He ran towards Luke. This time there was no plan that could save him from that situation.
No!
At that moment, a voice sounded from an unrecognizable place.
"Good job keeping him busy."
The voice came from Terminus Astron, Alexa's father. He appeared behind Evander, almost as if he had teleported. With an immense sword he was carrying, he pierced Evander's chest. Then he withdrew it with a subtle movement. Streams of blood came out of the wound he made.
Despite the wound, Evander remained standing. He turned and looked directly at Terminus.
"This won't end the revolution," he said in a weak voice. "A pity, I hoped to live a little longer."
After saying these words, Evander fell dead. Blood was pouring from his body, forming an immense puddle around him.
Once his body paled, Terminus made a movement with his hands that made a black portal appear next to Evander's body. The portal absorbed the body from the room, as well as all the blood, making it seem as if nothing had happened. That was one of the spells that could be performed in the world of Starlight Legends, its name was Infinite Bag, which allowed storing in an infinite space anything that cannot move on its own.
"You can come in now," said Terminus once the room was completely clean.
Kelly and Alexa entered, with Alexa clinging to Kelly's arm as if she were a lifelong friend.
"You're amazing, dad! It took you just a few seconds to take care of him."
"There you are! Don't you know I've been looking for you all this time?!" Kelly shouted as soon as she saw Luke.
"What's happening here?" asked Luke.
"Apparently, while Kelly was looking for you, she found my daughter locked in a room. Both went to see Amos, where they revealed that Evander was behind the kidnapping of my daughter. Then Amos told me the situation, and ordered me to get rid of Evander forever. And so I did."
After that explanation, Terminus went to notify Amos that he had finished the job that was given to him. Aaron, Kelly, and Alexa were left alone in the room.
Aaron had no time to think about anything other than Terminus's words and what had happened in that room.
Evander is dead. Wait, wait... This is very bad. In the video game, Evander betrays Alain, ending up as the emperor of the Astron Empire; then, at the end of the video game, he leads an army against Sol, the leader of the Vestals, helping the protagonists to defeat her. That event is perhaps the most important to be able to defeat her. With him dead, Sol's army will be able to easily devastate the hero's group, not only killing me with him, but destroying the entire world. This is bad, this is very bad...
Aaron, one moment... are you sure Evander didn't die in that so-called video game?
Of course not. And don't talk to me like that, don't you realize. All this is your fault!
Mine?
Obviously, don't you remember what you told me this morning.
Luke remembered a conversation between the two that occurred while they were taking Kelly to the mansion. Aaron was surprised that someone as mentally puny as Luke had the courage to invite a girl to his house. To which Luke responded, blushing.
It's not about anything romantic. Besides, while I normally wouldn't be capable of inviting a woman home, I'd say that some of the bravery you showed in the tournament inspired me somehow. I feel like I'm capable of doing anything!
Then you must be very easy to inspire... In the tournament all I did was make a fool of myself in front of thousands of people. Didn't you see the blows I received or how I was destroyed by your grandfather.
I don't think it was like that, not at all. It's not your strength, but your mentality that inspired me. Oh, by the way, now that you're here, I'd like you to give me recommendations on the best way to act. You know, I don't have friends, and I don't know very well how to talk to women.
Damn idiot. Are you making fun of me? You should know well that I also have no experience with women.
Ah, I'm very sorry. I already told you that I don't like looking at your memories. It feels very invasive to me.
You'll see what I'll do to you when I take back control of this body. You'll see!
Back in the present...
That final part wasn't important to remember...
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But I'm glad to know that even you are similar to me in some aspects.
You do nothing but infuriate me every time we talk... What I'm trying to say is that, it's the fact that you invited Kelly because of your confidence boost that caused this massive change in the game's events. Because she, due to her nosy personality, found Alexa and reported everything to Amos, completely destroying Evander and Alain's insurrection plan.
That means they're not going to take power, right?
That means I don't know what it means. I know there were more people involved, but I don't know who. It was probably written in the game's codices, but I never had the spirit to read them. Most likely there will be other attempts to seize power by Alain, but whatever he does, I won't know about it before he acts.
Then, why don't we tell Amos that we suspect Alain wants to kill him?
That's easier said than done. Alain is his closest son, basically his right hand man, that's why he never suspected him until his death. Besides, if we tell him, we could become a target for Alain and his group, and as strong as you are, you don't have the level to defeat any of the adult Astrons.
Does that mean we can't do anything?
Unfortunately, and due to the critical nature of the situation, only one idea comes to mind that will allow me to survive. The problem is that I'll need your absolute collaboration for it to work.
You can count on me, I'll be willing to do anything to save the people of this world.
That's what I feared... I guess I have no other choice...
Aaron returned to Luke's room along with Kelly and Alexa. When they arrived, they saw Maximus absorbed in an intense game with Luke's sister's doll.
Some time later…
Isaiah Tellus was a child. He was only 12 years old, and as far as he could remember, he always helped his parents work on the farm. He didn't go to school, and dedicated most of his time to plowing, his only friends were the animals on the ranch.
That day his parents had asked him to bring some water from the river to bathe. In the middle of the path, a beast from the forest attacked him. By mere luck, he managed to dodge its blow and run a few meters away from it. It was a black monster with torn clothes, which moved very similar to a zombie.
He had been attacked by monsters before, normally he just ran back home and waited for them to get tired and then go back to the forest. However, on this occasion, he couldn't run because he wanted to collect the water no matter what. He couldn't afford to go the day without bathing.
He went down to the river at a quick pace and filled some baskets he was carrying with water. When they were already full, the beast from the forest appeared again.
Isaiah hurried to get away from the monster, but he realized he had made a miscalculation. The weight of the baskets full of water significantly slowed his pace, making it possible for the monster to get close enough to touch him.
Isaiah dropped one of the baskets, which spilled all the water on the ground around the monster.
While Isaiah was clear that he had to abandon the water if he wanted to escape from the monster, a figure appeared out of nowhere.
The figure attacked the monster with a sword, cutting it cleanly in two. Destroying the monster completely with just one blow. A feat he had never seen.
He had no idea, but that mysterious person was none other than Luke Astron, the prince of the kingdom of Couprisia. He was wearing a black military uniform and a gray scarf that covered half his face.
"Isaiah Tellus, the chosen one," he told him with a voice that seemed otherworldly. "My name is Super Nova, and I will help you fulfill your destiny."
Little did Isaiah know about the adventure he was going to be forced to participate in, and that he would become the hero who would save the world from the Vestals. At least in the Starlight Legends video game.