Yesternight past midnight: downtown Oakland's mortuary:   The corpse of the elf king was left inside the morgue's drawer, unattended and naked. As the hour of death was less than twenty-four hours, no one cared to embalm the body, for they believed the freezer alone should be enough to slow down the decaying until the working time tomorrow. The mortuary was old and small except for the dim bulb on the outside hall. The room and the entire building overlapped with the night's darkness that even the security had to use a flashlight to see his way better. "The lighting needed fixing. This building, too. Who knows when this morgue is going to crumble down? It seems older than my ancestor." The security guard murmured as he patrolled the silent hall.

Yesternight past midnight: downtown Oakland's mortuary:   "So, that bright light brought me to Earth?" Oswin asked after he finished recalling what happened on his last day at Aldous. Genevie nodded. "Yes. The trial began that day." "That explains how l lose my power. But why did this memory get erased?" "I am not sure, Oswin. Maybe this trial wants you to learn about humanity through love and not fear. If you remember this accident, even though you won't hurt a mortal, it was only because of the elf's weakness. In short, it was more like an obligation. But if you don't remember, every action that you forgive a mortal will be purely based on your heart. I think this must be it." "This could

"Now, speak," said Oswin in a threatening voice. His face showed not a single trace of mercy as he glared at the two men kneeling before him. Things weren't sure whether the elf king was too intimidating or the witnesses felt threatened. There were no words spoken in the whole two minutes. And it irritated to the point that his body began glowing off a golden light, causing the kneeling humans before him to tremble in fear. "Why don't you speak? Are you deaf? I order you to speak!" He raised his voice and sat bolt upright on the couch, eyes shooting a deadly glare. "Oswin..." Sean drawled as he came to join his lover on the left side, brushing their shoulders together. "They aren't deaf. They are mute." "Huh?" He turned to look at Sean perplexedly. "Mute? But they ta

The sun was blazing hot on the outside, dehydrating people that walked on the street, making them imagine seeing steams coming off the cobblestone pavement. Nevertheless, the hotness and steam were literally happening inside a small apartment, for Sean felt like he really saw smoke rising from Oswin's head as he glared at the person in front of him with eyes as sharp as a blade. "You're saying you don't have anything to say?" asked Oswin. Each word was enunciated clearly as if he couldn't believe what he had heard. "Of course. What else do I have to say?" Benji answered fearlessly with a mocking face. It was hard to blame Benji for his sheer dumb courage because he hadn't witnessed the power of the elf king yet. When he was taken out of the hospital, he was unconscious.