"Sir?"Gala lets out an annoyed sigh. "What now?""Let me help. So it'll be done faster, Sir."Gala usually doesn't get triggered to anger or annoyance, but since earlier, when he was tidying up the kitchen area that resembled a shipwreck—almost like his own kitchen but currently less painful to look at. Whatever Dice was doing, the kitchen and dining area looked neater and livelier. Gala often struggles to find time to tidy up this spacious but not-so-spacious flat. He's like a busy employee with tons of tasks, yet his tasks involve dragging trash and washing a mountain of pots and dishes."Come in," Gala orders. This time, he doesn't tolerate all of Dice's words around him. He's lucky Mr. Richard is visiting his son. He's free to remove Dice from the box hanging around his neck."But, Sir." Dice speaks again. His eyes gaze at Gala with a hint of plea. Since a while ago, he's noticed that his boss hasn't complained at all about the work in front of him. It's the same in the restauran
"Sir," he calls softly. No response. "Sir, can you wake up? Dinner is ready." This time, Dice slightly nudges Gala's leg, making the young man groan softly. He blinks a bit while scratching his face. Then back to sleep. "Sir. Don't blame me if you get surprised later."He touches Gala's bare foot. A little light emits from his fingertips. Then..."ARGH!!!" Gala immediately springs up. His body sways until he falls near the sofa table, where there's a cabinet full of dusty, old figurines starting to fall on him. "OH MY GOD!"Dice just looks at Gala without intending to help him. "Sir, are you okay?""Did you do that on purpose?"The hologram girl tilts her head slightly. "On purpose? What did I do on purpose?""Shock me?! You're insane!" Gala jumps up hurriedly, not caring if his head hits his mother's old ceramic vase from the collection. He checks a bit, noticing a bump that seems to cause enough pain to make Gala grimace. "Damn," he mutters softly."Sir needs to eat first."Gala gru
All night, Gala couldn't sleep soundly. His mind kept replaying his conversation with Dice, especially about his father. From what he remembers about Xavier, the man is gentle and often smiles. Quite the opposite of what Dice said. When Gala voiced his concerns, Dice just smiled awkwardly. Then...I don't know what Dice did, but in front of Gala, it's like a big screen where he sees someone he recognizes: Xavier. Walking cautiously with a large gun-like weapon slung over his shoulder. His eyes sharp, scanning the surroundings, his body moving agilely through trees and plants."This is Mr. Xavier hunting the owner of an illegal store in East Metro, sir. At that time, he hadn't met Mrs. Bellamie yet.""Does he ever age?""What do you mean, sir?" Dice is confused by Gala's question.While Gala shrugs, "Yeah... you said Xavier is around 800 years old. His face doesn't look old at all. Just as I remember him before he left me abruptly." There's frustration and anger in Gala's voice that he
Gala shakes his head in disbelief."Maybe because my programming can change the weight of an object to a size I can lift.""That makes more sense, Dice." Gala leans back on the sofa a bit. "You're really advanced.""That's just part of it, sir."That immediately makes Gala sit up straight again. "Is there more?""Hasn't sir been paying attention to what I've been saying?"Innocently, Gala shakes his head. "Looks like I do have a weakness, Dice."The holographic girl laughs softly."You can laugh too? I thought you only nod and smile oddly.""No, sir. Just a little. And only if I find it really funny. Like sir's recent statement. Weakness. Sir is not weak."Gala's brow furrows."Want me to show you anything I have? As a protector of a Horratio like your father and now you?""Anything?" Gala squints a bit. He's somewhat hesitant after hearing Dice's previous statement, but he's curious. Starting from a box the size of his fist that can change to as small as a pendant. The holographic gi
"Gala, can you be faster? The customers are waiting, oh my god!" Marta arrives with a flushed face. The circles under her eyes also look darker than usual. Gala quickly turns and thinks, he has already placed the glasses Marta should use in their designated spot. So, what's the problem now?"Are you looking for glasses?" Gala asks with a puzzled expression. The girl, who would actually be pretty if she just looked a bit more normal when applying makeup, sighs in annoyance. Her tied-up hair, with some strands sticking out, slightly obstructs her vision. Not to mention her lips not showing any signs of a smile."Yeah!""On the shelf, Marta. You can check it yourself."Gala feels like he's just informing, not engaging in a two-way conversation, but Marta's face, for some reason, turns purple. As if holding back anger, she raises her middle finger perfectly at Gala. "What did I do wrong?" he wonders. Following Marta's movements as she quickly takes the glasses, her back disappears from th
"Don't repeat yesterday's actions, Dice," Gala warns. They walk together where Gala pushes his bike. Dice is next to him. Whether walking or floating, Gala can't bring himself to look down. In the flat, Gala can still see Dice walking like an ordinary person. Perhaps it's the same now.This time, Dice displays a calming violet light. Making the usually empty hallway Gala's path home bright enough. Occasionally, there's the squeaking sound of rats scurrying around without fear. Sometimes, there's food residue in their mouths. Rushed to their nests, maybe."Alright, sir. Thank you for forgiving me." Dice pulls his stiff smile. The glow from his body intensifies. Making Gala turn to look at him. "Are you hungry, sir? What do you want to eat?""There's nothing in my fridge. It's useless." Gala straightens his path again. Tonight, he doesn't have a schedule to go to Mr. Jian's house. Besides, his body really feels shattered. There's been so much work today. Luke also added to his list of t
Gala shivers with cold. The flashes of memory from earlier terrify him. Luke's stern face makes it seem like Gala is taking his last breath. It replays in his mind until he can't sleep tonight. Despite drinking repeatedly, he thought it might help him forget along with the water passing through his throat. But it turns out it's all pointless.Gala even skips his dinner. He lets Dice do whatever she wants in the kitchen, which he finds a bit messy. Dice's presence turns out to be quite useful, keeping his stomach from growling too much.Since entering the small flat Gala occupies, Dice knows her master is in disarray. Along the way, he mutters, his hands shaking, not to mention his facial expression like someone confused. Dice wants to talk, but she abandons the intention. It's useless. Gala, in this distracted state, might be even more shocked to hear her explanation.Allowing Gala to enter his room without changing clothes, Dice glances at him briefly to see what her master is doing.
"Mom, why do the leaves keep falling? Will the tree die?" Gala asks. His hands, wearing bright orange gloves, tightly hold the hand of the woman he calls 'mom.' The woman turns, smiles, although her face is not too clear, Gala can feel the warmth of her smile there."There are times when leaves leave the branches of big trees, Gala. Later, new leaf buds will grow. New life will continue.""Will the tree not die?"The woman shakes her head. "Unless someone cuts it down.""Ah, that's cruel."Once again, the woman shakes her head. "Trees are useful for human life. It's just that sometimes they want things in excess. South Metro is still beautiful for us to enjoy, Gala. There's an even more beautiful place. West Metro. Someday, maybe you'd like to visit there?"Gala looks up, staring at his mother in confusion."Later, when we go there, you'll encounter many things that make you forget your origins..."Gala's forehead wrinkles. His heart beats irregularly, gradually faster. What he just e
"Maverick!" Alex yells, where his sword has been pulled perfectly. Repelling the sudden and quite brutal attack because these big cats are very different from the animals that have been showing the way to this strange forest. Where pine trees that used to look dense now begin to shift or not, who knows. In Alex's eyes, everything seems to be moving away as if bringing them to a fairly large but rocky place.The sky is still as dark as Alex knows. His sword swings several times, pressing the cat to retreat, but it seems their strength is immense. Alex fights against almost four animals, which have very long fangs. Their orange eyes and hisses are terrifying. Alex is sure that if he gets bitten by those fangs anywhere on his body, it will result in a deep wound. Moreover, if these creatures are mythical, it means the injuries they cause can be severe."Try not to get bitten," Alex says loudly. His sword swings again to hit one of the heads of the creature that suddenly jumps to attack h
"Okay. Forgive me. I don't know why you keep saying that I'm careless because I want to throw away the die. You owe me too much, Cathleen.""I know." Cathleen smiles thinly. Her eyes again stare at the link of their hands. "We will live long while holding hands like this, sir. Trust me. The time waiting for you won't be long. And when that day comes, I'm sure we'll all be happy together."Actually, Gala doesn't want to release the girl's grip, but once again, Cathleen's gaze is so convincing. "How long?""Be patient.""How long, Cathleen?" This time the question is so firm because Gala is not a person who likes to wait for a long time, it turns out. Especially when it comes to Cathleen. The question receives a wide smile from Cathleen. She closes it with a sweet kiss as a farewell before she really releases the link of their hands."Do many things with the people who love you, sir. I think the time waiting for you won't feel long."Gala blinked slowly."And never, ever intend to throw
Gala blinked repeatedly. He even woke up with very slow movements as if savoring the moment. In front of him, Cathleen stood with her sweet smile. The color of her face looked fresh. Her blue eyes were lively. Not to mention... oh my! Gala could hardly believe his own eyes."You... you... real?"Cathleen sighed loudly. She walked with a bit of lifting her somewhat bothersome dress. "Actually, I haven't finished my task. Why are you so careless!"The young man stood silent, motionless, with his eyes fixed only on Cathleen, who was now approaching."I've often said that this die can't be handed over. It has a special authentication code regarding its owner. When you intend to discard it, negative energy comes out just like that. And do you know what happens?"Gala is still confused. "Wait, wait! Don't say things I can't digest so quickly.""When are you going to respond to all my statements?" Cathleen grumbled to herself. She carefully took the die hanging around Gala's neck. Her lips s
Gala coughs violently. The pain in his back makes him suddenly breathless. He falls to his knees with a grin that still doesn't want to diminish even a bit. How could it diminish when he repeatedly had to hit trees or large rocks around him. The die still can't be touched again and emits a stronger blue light. Gala still remembers the first time they met in that corridor. The blue light... bright but also makes his heart quite comfortable. But this time, the blue around the die is different.Which Gala eventually realizes, the blue light comes from the hologram girl's projection. The original color of the die itself is a not-too-bright orange, not dazzling, but always makes Gala excited. Somehow the die has a way of being near Gala, but that's what the young man feels."Return," Gala whispers softly while wiping the corner of his lips slowly. The intention to throw away the die as far as possible seems to have to be reconsidered. What he is experiencing now seems to be a protest from
Xavier's earlier remark makes Maverick chuckle. "If you're joking, you should pay attention to your surroundings. If you leave my body there," Maverick points quickly, "What will happen to South Metro without me?"Xavier remains silent. He starts thinking about how to cross this seemingly endless chasm, except for the dangerous fog and steep rocks. He never knew there was a black panther guarding East Metro. He should have asked who this big cat really was before deciding to follow it. Ah, it's all because of Maverick who casually requested the big black cat for this Gala search.For some reason, his heart is restless, and everything revolves around the dice. He feels that the dice did something to Gala, and that fear is proven. In front of him is no longer the forbidden forest where the end should be a twin hill, one of its slopes slightly sloping. Indicating the border with North Metro, but what he sees is no longer what he imagined. Everything looks very different.He has lived for
Moreover, until that moment, his whereabouts were unknown. And now, for some reason, what really happened and what he went through made him even more curious."What do you want to ask, Alex?"The sturdy man is quite surprised to hear a question from Xavier. When he turns, the man next to him just laughs."Your head is so noisy."Alex blinks slowly. "Don't tell me you know what I—""You guys are too noisy," Xavier quickly interrupts, then his eyes turn to Maverick, who is still enjoying his cigar. "Especially you, Mave.""You know, I do love talking. My mouth feels cramped just being silent like this all the time. Luckily, the cigars I brought have enough stock until tomorrow." Maverick only glances briefly. "I'm sure whatever's in my head Alex won't be easy for you to share, right? So don't bait us to pressure you to speak."This time, Xavier laughed. "I still can't find the right correlation about your relationship with Gala. Has my son often visited you guys?"Both Maverick and Alex
The last trace of Seth's troops deliberately following Gala ends near the Netland village border. One of the quite remote villages but is one of the most popular tourist destinations for residents of North and South Metro. Most tourists come from both Metro regions. The village is still surrounded by evidence where snow perfectly covers its peaks, but it gets the most sunlight. Strangely, the warm light cannot make the hilltops melt. Only pine forests that still grow lush and maintain their authenticity.For this search, Seth was asked not to join, although the man insisted. But what Jiro said was true. At least for the next few days, Seth shouldn't leave the White House, especially when his heart is still uncontrollable. Losing Cathleen must be a severe blow for him. Kyler, who came earlier, also agreed with what Jiro said. Choosing to accompany Seth in this city center.Actually, for Xavier, this search is not too necessary. He is sure Gala is fine. Even if this search needs to be d
"Have you seen Gala?" Maverick has been quite curious about the young man since earlier. Since that news came, he hasn't wasted any time. Seth Rafael can't be lying, but after hundreds of years? What really happened? And how can this young man seem to know the girl in the white coffin very well? Maverick is not blind to notice that some people, including Xavier, seem very affected by this event.As far as his memory goes about the battle that took place between all of them and Gideon, there is no leader of the regions who did not survive. Everything returned to normal despite suffering some injuries. Only Gala. Yes, only that young man didn't come back. Xavier, who last met the young man, did not answer any of Maverick's questions about the whereabouts of his son. As if they were hiding something, but Maverick didn't understand.They returned with a lot of questions, which also made Mave and Alexander agree to search for the whereabouts of the young man. Although Maverick doesn't have
For someone who spent a lot of time alone, where he once thought he could never meet his parents again, trying as hard as possible to survive. It doesn't matter who underestimates him. He doesn't want revenge to be his own vendetta. Suddenly, someone appears who observes him, cares for him, raises his hopes, tries to forge him to be better – undoubtedly, the arrival of this new person means a lot to him. And when that new person leaves forever, the young man doesn't know how to face his life anymore.Although... he managed to find both of his parents. He saved them. And at least, what he wanted is achieved. To live peacefully with his family.The sky he's looking at now still offers the same beauty as when he first set foot here. In this wooden cottage, his father spent a lot of time during his visits to East Metro hundreds of years ago. Usually, Cathleen was always by his side. Talking about all kinds of possibilities was also something that left a deep impression on him. The journey