#aemplstory

The travel to Magatia left Alpha full of questions. What exactly was Rachael trying to accomplish? He didn’t think that she was really a Goddess Teardrop, but then for what purpose did those tests serve? Yet, most of all, she looked incredibly familiar. Why?

  He and Beta returned to the temple, and Alpha was determined to get to the bottom of things. He needed to start asking some serious questions.

  “Lagoon, did you ever have any siblings?”

  “Siblings? This world is not ready to hold all that charm, don’t you think?” Lagoon raised an eyebrow and looked like he wanted to laugh.

  “So that’s a no? Are you absolutely sure?” Because honestly, Alpha thought, this was too much to pass for coincidence.

  “I certainly do not recall any siblings. And even if I did, they would doubtlessly be dead by now. We’ve all been stuck in stone for so long.”

  Beta elbowed Alpha and whispered to him, “How is this related to anything at all?”

  Irritated, he replied, “You’ll see.”

  Again, Lagoon raised his eyebrow at the two. “Why do you ask?”

  “See, the girl we just met in Magatia looked just like you! She had the mole under her eye, the curly hair, and she always looked like she was laughing at us! You two must be related, somehow.”

  Lagoon just shook his head. “Normally, those who wish to become priests are brought to the temple at an early age. And if those people have siblings, it is rare for them to be brought apart. Take Benedict and Cassius, for example. They’ve been together all their lives.” He closed his eyes. “Thus, it is unlikely that a beautiful and unique person such as I,” Lagoon puffed out his chest proudly, “would have a sibling.”

  Beside him, Alpha heard Beta take in a breath. Finally, she understood.

  “That’s wrong. Remember Arsen from Edelstein? He looked just like you, maybe a bit older,” Alpha scoffed.

  “W-what?! Impossible!” Lagoon looked genuinely hurt. Couldn’t bear the fact that someone else looked like him? It wasn’t really something Alpha could relate to. Oh wait. He could.

  There was another jab to Alpha’s side. “Ouch! Beta, that was totally unnecessary.”

  “Just leave Lagoon alone,” she said. “He’s distraught enough over this.”

  “Yeah, but he’s being unreasonable.” Beta just looked at him with disappointment. “Fine, I’ll leave him alone,” he said.

Sometimes, Benedict noticed that Cassius’ shoulders would hunch over just a tad more than usual. Other times, his brother would close his eyes for longer and let the strange air in the temple blow through his hair.

  Benedict knew his brother was the kind that liked to keep to himself. Though really, it could be said that most priests at the Temple of Time were all rather reserved, and that he was an exception. Yet, this new level of withdrawal was odd.

  The symptoms continued to pile up. The bags already present under Cassius’ eyes grew, his attention had a tendency to wander, and his focus would waver just a tad. Eventually, Benedict came to attribute these qualities to a distinct lack of sleep on his brother’s part. That, unfortunately, was not too uncommon an occurrence. Cassius, he often noticed throughout their life together, had a habit of driving himself into ruin by foregoing rest. And it was Benedict’s job to make sure that Cassius took better care of himself.

  That day, Alpha and Beta were outside of the temple, searching for the second Goddess Teardrop in Henesys. Meanwhile, Benedict was determined to confront his younger brother about his worries.

  “Hey, Cassius!” Benedict put on his best smile and walked up to the other.

  The priest in question looked up. “Oh, Benedict... Hello.”

  “What? Just 'hello'? Nothing else to say to your big bro?” Alright. Maybe that wasn't the best way to approach the topic.

  Cassius ignored what he just said, for the most part. Instead, he said, “Is there something you needed?”

  “What? No. More like, is there something that you need.”

  “I'm fine, Benedict...”

  “Don't be like that. Are you sure there isn't something? Like, for example... Trouble sleeping?” Darn. That was too direct.

  Cassius just raised an eyebrow. “I've been perfectly fine.”

  “Uh-huh... Like I'm going to believe you, after all these years.”

  He frowned slightly more. “It's nothing. It's just... Some dreams.”

  “Just dreams,” Benedict repeated.

  “...Yes.” Cassius gave him a half-smile.

  “Alright…” There was nothing he could really do about that. Unfortunately. So maybe he didn’t think this out so well. He should have expected that. “But you know, you can tell me anything, right?”