C:SOD Chapter 31 (Update 2/2 (Patreon)

"Mavis was the one who died..."

A phone suddenly rang in the hallways. Hermes jumped in shock, but turns around with heavy breaths to see if someone was here at this late hour in the night. "Hello? Who's there?"

Hermes closes everything and gathers his things, going out of the room in case someone is patrolling the hallways. The phone, however, doesn't stop ringing. Hermes doesn't want to check it out, but the phone found him, seemingly waiting in the middle of the hallway. Hermes looks around for the owner, but picks it up nonetheless.

Caller ID

ZENITH, REX

Hermes' stomach dropped. It's the same brand of phone he broke at the mansion. Does that mean he's here? This phone had to come from somewhere. Before Hermes answers it, he enters a library where he goes to a corner so no one will be able to push him over anywhere.

He presses answer on the persistent phone.

"Darling... come home already."

"Where are you. Show yourself right fùcking now."

"I love a man who knows what he wants. If you want to face me, come have coffee with me at the 3rd year lecture hall. Bring a book from there if you want to relax."

He knows where I am. Hermes rushes out of there and goes down flights of stairs to get to the lecture hall, preparing his phone flashlight to make sure he sees the bástard's face.

"Slow down my Darling, I don't want you to hurt yourself. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm not your Darling," Hermes coldly dismisses.

"You seemed to be very interested in Mavis. Is there something you want to know?"

"I already know everything. Come face me, motherfúcker." The lecture hall is right there. Hermes enters, but invaded a seemingly empty lecture hall.

"Well, I don't know everything. Care to help me catch up?"

"Where are you?! Come face me!" Hermes yells in the lecture hall, making sure anyone within distance hears him. "I know Mavis is dead, he's been dead since he was 8! He was the one who died in the car crash!"

The projector turned on, showing a man standing and facing the board, away from Hermes. His phone is to his ear, and it's clear he's been the man Hermes was talking to.

"Poor Mavis... he's dead to you. How heartbreaking."

Hermes drops the phone, recognizing the silhouette of someone he considered special to him. His face remains stone-cold, but his eyes threaten to spill tears. "Mavis is dead."

He was still talking to the phone, representing Thena's last conversation with the both of them. "The Mavis you never knew... died in that car crash. The Mavis you knew... is but a shadow."

Mavis turned around to show himself to Hermes, the projector showing all of him to the teacher.

"Who are you?" Hermes slowly asked him to make sure the words seep through. "Because you're not Mavis."

"You already know my name, you just chose to call me another." He smiles, the man who looks exactly like Mavis, and may even be the same person. "I am Rex, my love."

The son of a maid, Juni Rex Hiedjer, was Mavis Levough's' look-alike and close friend. Too close, that people would mistake the both of them if they dare dress the same. And on that unfortunate day...

"Come with us," Mavis giggled. "Grandma makes the best food. We switch when they go out, because I don't like to go out to the field."

"Are you sure? What if they find out?" Rex asked.

"The butt of the car," Mavis suggested he hide in the back.

Children, so innocent and unaware of the consequences of their actions, agreed to their dumb idea. Little Master Frans rolled his eyes, knowing that he can't stop two scheming morons.

Rex had fallen asleep in the back of the car among the luggage. Whenever Mavis knocks two times, Rex would knock three times. But this time, Rex didn't reply.

"... Is he... dead?" Mavis gasped, fear coursing through his underdeveloped brain. "Dad! Dad, stop! Please stop! Rex is dead at the back!"

"What?" His father looks back confused, trying to stop Mavis from pulling his shoulder back. The little boy was crying hysterically while his mother tries pushing him to behave.

"Rex dead! Stop, I have to make Rex alive!"

"Honey, what are you talking about?!"

"Mavis, stop!"

"Rex can't breathe, stop the car!"

"Please Mavis, sit still—!"

"WATCH OUT!"

...

The next thing Rex woke up to, he was in a field full of rocks, grass, open luggage, and clothes. Something hurt in him, his ankle is broken and his wrist is sprained. Finally having the energy to open his eyes, the smoke from something burning tried to keep them close. But Rex couldn't close his eyes, for they were wide open staring at the broken car that earlier rolled down the hill and is now stuck against a rock, the underside burning.

"Mavis...?" Rex was looking at him, who was so paralyzed yet he is reaching out for his little friend. Mavis' eyes were calling out to him, though fast since the smoke is covering him. His bloody arm, reaching for his friend.

"M... Mavis..." Rex crawled with his ankle dragging against the painful rocks, tears rolling down his eyes the more smoke covers the car. He is too far, almost 30 feet away from the main debris. "Mavis! Ma... MAVIS!"

There was nothing left but charred remains of the Levough family, scattered worst than the metal when the car exploded, even knocking Rex unconscious with debris flying and scratching his body, enough to leave scars.

"I was brought back to the mansion, with the lawyers and doctors identifying me as Rex Hiedjer." The man's eyes cast down, "But not Frans. That cold-hearted bítch, who just inherited everything Mavis was entitled to, refused to acknowledge Rex. He saw me as his cousin, and refused to see me. For years, Frans refused to talk to me unless I pretend to be Mavis. I'd get kicked out of the mansion if I didn't pretend to be Mavis, because I was of no use. So... I did what a kid had to do to avoid homelessness."

Children are vulnerable, innocent creatures. Ignorant to the consequences of their actions, and hangs on to the very little happiness they can get.

Hermes stood there in disbelief, clutching his stomach with one hand as he fought the urge to puke. The Mavis he knew...

"The more I pretended to be Mavis, both for me and Frans' sake, the more Mavis... became his own. The more I act like Mavis as a child... the more his memory takes over my body and identity. I couldn't find the difference between reality and play-pretend."

"Mavis is not one to break from old habits," Frost once said to Hermes. Those habits are of his childhood, which stuck because it's the only thing Rex knows.

Hermes shakes his head, backing away and angrily screaming. "You're lying, YOU'RE LYING TO ME! Mavis, stop this act right now it's not funny! Mavis, just admit you were the mastermind behind all of this, you don't need to make up another personality!"

The man tilts his head, "Darling, Mavis is the other personality. Why do you think I have a tight hold on Frans? I can get rid of Mavis. I can simply lock him out of my mind. And if I want..."

He removes the bandages on his neck and arms, revealing the bruises Hermes knew to be there. But they weren't anemia or accidents. In fact, this body never had any sicknesses. The man chuckles, "... I can hurt Mavis however I want. Do you think Frans is mentally stable? He's willing to go through all this just to keep his only cousin. His only friend..."

Mavis, no... Who truly is this man? How will Hermes see him now? The Mavis he met, or the man whose body is borrowed by the memory of a dead little boy?

"Every time staff mentions I'm not Mavis, Frost fired them and even threatened their lives. Everyone, all replaced, until the people here only knew me as Mavis. I was wiped off the face of the earth, it's like I, Rex Hiedjer, never existed. Until..." He paused, "Until..."

"If you're here to tutor Mavis, he's not here," Rex said one night to a female teacher whose personality glowed like the sun. "Come back after I've fallen asleep."

"Oh, Mavis and I don't have a schedule," Thena smiled widely, "I'm here to see you."

This woman... throughout the years of being Mavis' teacher...

"Don't you fancy Mavis?" Rex asked while watching Thena read a book. They were waiting for Rex to fall asleep and make it easier for Mavis to surface.

"Mavis isn't really my type, he's so cute and innocent..." Thena answered, "You're the original, right? I'd like to be with the owner of the body more than the host."

"You want to... be with me? Not Mavis?"

"Mavis wasn't the one who made me a fancy candlelight date... he wasn't the one who took me book shopping, and he wasn't the one who saved me from my ex." Thena honestly tells him, "I've never seen a more genuine person than you."

"What did you do to my sister?!" Hermes screams, still refusing to believe Thena would kill herself, especially when that 'truth' came from 'Mavis' whose existence he is questioning.

"I did everything for her!" Rex yells out, triggered by the thought and mention of his late lover. "I did everything for her and what did she do? WHAT DID SHE DO?!"

"I can't go to dinner with you, Rex..." Thena once said. "I need to study so hard to become qualified to be a homeroom teacher. I'm against Miss Allen this year and she's so much better than me."

"Oh... well, no need to fret over that, my love..." Rex, the 1st year college student, kisses his lover, "I'll take care of it."

With that, Miss Allen was fired and Thena became a homeroom teacher as she was the only running candidate for it.

In another time, a pissed Thena stomped to her office where Rex is sitting on her chair. "Miss Freed spread rumors about me sleeping with the Principal! If you hear anything about that, please ignore it! Ugh, they're stressing me out, is this because I'm the youngest here, they have to smear me?!"

"Who are the teachers who spread that rumor?" With his command, they are all replaced in an instant. Countless of times, Rex would request Frost to make Thena's life in Carvalle as comfortable as possible.

Her having a bigger classroom budget.

Her being exempted from dress codes.

Her having a bigger salary.

Her getting any promotion she wants.

Her getting to choose her curriculum.

Her getting a full pay even without full attendance.

Her... "Rex, baby. Mrs. Greta knows of our relationship. Sh-she's going to tell the others... she told me I never deserved Teacher of the Year award b-because... I was... w-with you..."

"I'll take care of that, my love."

"REX?!" She can't help but freak out after knowing what her boyfriend did this time. "Y-you... no, I can't believe it... you... killed her?"

"She was going to report to the Board if we fire her, she's better off dead. Or missing, as it seems. The twins were happy to do so, Ray needed a stress reliever."

"Rex, I—!" Disapproving of the murder, Thena was starting to freak out.

"This is for your sake, Thena." Rex told her, "Do you really want to lose everything you have right now? Get kicked out? I won't let you get arrested but... Carvalle has been everything you worked hard for. Don't let it go to waste. Trust me, it's Carvalle."

Thena took deep breaths. "A-alright..."

Until, it escalated.

Father Daniel once listened to Thena's confession.

"At first, I was against it... but there was this one teacher that pissed me off, she's so nasty to me! I didn't even do anything to her... but, Rex got her fired."

At the next, "I confess that I don't feel guilty making Rex get rid of this sparky female student that called me a whore earlier. I mean, it's Carvalle, right? Frost's the King, Rex is the God. And if God does miracles for me, who am I to reject it?"

"Thena..." Father Daniel warned her, "Rex is not someone who knows what is right or wrong. He is merely loyal. And right now, his loyalty is to you."

"And that's good, right?" Thena happily laughs, "I've never had someone love me like this before... it's so romantic. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Mavis for him."

She was lost, given into Carvalle, brought down by the devil inside these walls. She committed sins herself, worse than an average person. She worshipped a devil, and became its Queen.

Telling her secrets to Father Daniel,

Making Au express his love for her,

Making the twins disobey their leader,

Keeping Mavis in the dark to keep Rex at the surface

And;

"... after I punished Mavis for Frost fúcking my girlfriend behind my back, that's when it all fell apart. And when... I regrettably..." He recalled how horrified Thena looked when he threatened her with a knife for defending Mavis and Frost, their argument turning more violent which lead to her realizing how wrong everything was. Thena snapped back to reality as she realized Carvalle had poisoned her mind. She became one of them, and they are not good people.

Hermes was slowly inching toward the door, and Rex has noticed it.

"Didn't you want to find out what happened to your sister?" He asks.

"I already know," Hermes mutters with gritted teeth.

"She couldn't forgive herself for abusing the power of being my lover. Abusing my power. She saw herself as what she was. A sinner," Rex announces. "I think she even loved Frost more than me... the whóre. Not being able to live with that... not being able to live with me, she killed my kids along with herself. She escaped Carvalle."

Hermes stood there, legs itching to run from this maniacal man.

But Rex smiles at him saying, "But you won't. You can't."

Hermes ran. Outside, away from someone who he thought was a friend. Even though mentally, that wasn't Mavis, he is still terrified knowing what that man can do. But, the more he ran into the hallways, the stronger the rain becomes. And, Are the windows open? Why is the floor wet—

Hermes slips while running through the dark hallway, sliding down a wet floor and painfully landing on his hips. "Shít, shít, ow... a..."

The water was thicker than rainwater. The windows are closed and there isn't any strong wind or spray of rainwater. Hermes realized from the copper smell, he is sitting in a massive hallway of blood.

"Ahh!" Gasping, Hermes carefully gets up and rushes to the windows, where he finally sheds moonlight upon the gruesome image on the 3rd floor. He had to scream, but slams his bloody hands against his mouth.

His classroom, Class 3 - A, was open and limbs were peeking through the doorway. Hermes never should've gone and looked inside the classroom because he puked right there on the spot. Over 10's of students were dumped all over the floor and some were hanged like miserable pig carcasses. Their beauty is no more, freshly slain like the flowers planted outside the rainy courtyard. Of all classrooms, this is what they used to temporarily store the bodies. Hermes cannot count the bodies of the poor male and females that were unfairly judged by the Equestrians. He has to get out of here...

The walls are closing in and he can hear footsteps. When his footsteps turned dry, Hermes can finally let out angry and disgusted tears from what he saw.

Just as he thinks of many dead kids, he smashes into someone whose clothes glow amidst the dark, stained by Hermes' fear. "Frost?!"

"What the—why are you covered in blood?! Were you being pranked?" Frost scolds him.

"Why are you here!" Hermes couldn't trust him and pushed him away.

"The maids told me you snuck out of the mansion! Are you dumb?! Do you know how dangerous the school is right now? We're going home," the man in a white shirt and white khaki shorts demands, pulling Hermes' wrist to take him away from this dangerous place.

No, "No, I can't go there! Frost! Please, help me... you've tried to help me back then and I didn't take it, now please please get me out of here!" Hermes demands of him, lowering down because of his sudden hyperventilation. Things aren't in his control right now, and this time his act is genuine.

Frost looks back at the hallways, horrified at his conclusion of what has happened. "You met him..."

"Frost, I can't stay here... I can't-"

"Come," Frost pulls on him. "Before he finds out I'm here..."

"Oh, thank goodness..." Hermes smiles at him, truly happy that Frost is here. He may be delusional enough to keep a figment of his cousin's memory, but he is still the sanest equestrian. "Can you call the twins? Tell them to--"

"You cannot stop them, Hermes. Don't even think about it."

later in the car,

Hermes was getting a little concerned with how fast Frost is speeding up. He looks at the meter and it's 122 km/h.

"Frost, you might kill us before you could help me..."

The man ignored his question. "What do you know?"

That... question again... Hermes stops himself from crying as he says in a low voice, "I know why Thena killed herself, now. I... I know who's been tormenting me. It's Mavis..."

"It's not Mavis."

"Whoever that man is, he's evil!" Hermes exclaimed, "And you... you've been hanging on to someone inside that man who will never replace your cousin!"

"The more I pretended to be Mavis," by Frost's demand, "The more Mavis became his own."

"The Levough Empires is NOT mine, Hermes!" Frost yelled while gripping the wheel, "Carvalle and the Levough Empires has and always will belong to Mavis. We made a promise to rule the world together! I can still fulfill that promise through Rex!"

"He's not Mavis, Frost! He's a cold-blooded serial killer!"

"He has a purpose to do what he did..." Frost mumbles, as if to convince himself. "You don't understand, Hermes... but you should! You've been hanging onto Thena's memory so much, that you're willing to do everything you have done until now! Why am I so different from you?!"

"Frost..."

"Mavis is here..." Frost starts to tear up, hands gripping so tight, his knuckles turned white. "Mavis... is here with me. I don't care if he's only a branch of Rex's mind, but to me... my best friend is here. My only friend... he's all the family I have left. If Rex gets rid of him, I... I..."

Hermes cannot say anything. For he is no different from Frost who had to settle for a split personality as his only family.

Hermes mumbles, "Is it truly Mavis... or Rex pretending to be Mavis?"

"Brain scans found way different brain activities for each of them. Mavis is right-handed, Rex’ is left. Mavis involuntarily pukes out the food he was supposedly allergic to. Mavis remained, and I want to keep him alive, Hermes."

"That wasn't Mavis..." Hermes cries, "... it wasn't always Mavis with me, right? He just used Mavis when sleeping with me, right?"

"I don't know." Frost's speed starts to dwindle. "I don't know... but I'm not letting you hurt him. So please, please Hermes... leave us alone."

"I will and I want to..." Hermes cries, looking out of the window. "I'm sorry for getting too involved. I have everything I need..."

"You know too much," Frost once again presses his temples. "But, I'm happy you got what you needed."

Hermes turns to ask him, "You love Mavis so much, huh. And my sister..."

"Your sister wasn't an angel, Hermes, forgive me. She took advantage of Rex’ inability to refuse her. She got everything she wanted in Carvalle..." Frost paused unexpectedly, focusing on the road.

"And...?" Hermes looks at him. "Did she use you, too?"

Frost hesitated to answer, as it will expose what kind of man he truly is. Someone lacking dignity. For he, Frost, was smitten by her leading to him doing anything she asked as well. Despite her belonging to another man, "She knew I was in love with her. And she keeps me falling... and I let her. I loved her so much, Hermes. I failed to keep her in reality. I watched as she fell into Carvalle's trap."

Frost blames himself. "Well, you tried to pull me out of it. Right, Frost? You're saving me right now."

Frost glances over to him in a split second, knowing full well it's not just because he's Thena's brother. They're out of the Carvalle road now, and into the main highway.

"Frost?" Hermes starts pulling on the chain weighing his neck down, the silk robe covering the chain on his left thigh, connected to the side of the bed. Hermes starts to get pissed. "Frost, what the hell?! You brought me to the mansion?!"

"I'm sorry, Hermes... he promised to keep you safe, and he promised to not keep you for himself as well." Frost looks down. "This time, I'll get what I desire without sacrificing anything. You'll stay and become ours, Hermes."

His stomach drops. "Yours?"

"I thought you'd be unhappy with me," a voice suddenly appears at the door, to which Hermes sees Mavis leaning on the doorway. But this wasn't Mavis; the eyes are less tired and he's not slouching. His voice was a little deeper and much more stable. This was Rex, who has taken Hermes out of schedule. "So, I'll allow you to have fun with the others. I'll be hitting two birds with one stone; keep them loyal, and keep you here."

"You..." am angered Hermes glares at Frost, "You traitor! I trusted you!"

Hermes removes the covers to stand up, only to find out he's chained to the bed with heavy-duty steel. Frost looks down, before turning away from him. "This would be the only way to make sure you won't escape the way Thena did."

Rex nods at him, "Good choice, Frost. Thena's death would've been prevented if we kept a close watch on her the moment she started going against the Equestrians. She was one of us, after all."

"Thena is not one of you," Hermes says.

"You'd be surprised," the charming young man smiles at him.

Indeed, he has Mavis' face, but this persona is so handsome and charming, that it's impossible not to fall. But Hermes is not falling, except in the heart of despair.

Rex and Mavis have dark undereyes because when one is asleep, the other one is awake. The body stays awake and barely gets any rest, Hermes concluded, staring at the smiling man in front of him. Then, his eyes lower to the bandages. He hurts Mavis.

And he's gonna keep hurting others. "You're gonna massacre in the Festival, are you?"

"Not me, my darling. I stay away from the sin of murder," June politely answers, a hand laying on Frost's shoulder. "Frans, ready the twins and make sure Hermes' absence makes sense. A broken leg, maybe? If he runs away, make that a reality."

Hermes wants to scream at him, to rage. But his chains clang against his feet. That wouldn't do anything but make them restrain me more. It's five against me.

When Frost exits without a word, guilty for his betrayal, another pair of footsteps came rushing into the room. Heavy and familiar, as one tall and dark man barges inside the room.

"You took him already?!" Yells out Carvalle's priest.

Hermes felt even smaller, heartbroken. "Daniel...?"

"Why would you suddenly take Hermes?!

Rex calmly responds with a lighthearted smile, "Mavis told him of the 20 students I required, and the upcoming accident at the Festival. I know he'll be trying to stop it, my Hermes is just awesome like that."

"Daniel, I thought you weren't with him!" Hermes angrily calls out.

"I'm not!" A breathless Father Daniel says.

"The Equestrians has four horsemen, Father Daniel cannot simply quit as he is one," Rex quietly responds while fixing his tie.

"What... F-four horsemen, the Equestrians are already four!"

"Frost, the Knight of Conquest,

The Masked Twins, the Knights of War,

Au, the Knight of Famine,

... and Daniel, my Knight of Death...

who chooses who will be judged."

Hermes is stunned by his wrong conclusions, and he can only stare at Father Daniel in disgust and betrayal.

"I no longer do that, I came here for Hermes!" Father Daniel grabs Rex by the arm, "The keys, now. We're going home."

He once again ignores the demands, for he is not a person to be demanded of.

"I'm willing to have you here," Rex calmly says despite being manhandled by a taller and bigger man. Father Daniel stares at him, confused. "If Hermes wants to keep a relationship with you, then I'll have you here. As long as he stays here, he can be yours as well. What do you say of this proposition, Father Daniel?"

Hermes angrily cries out, "No Daniel, please! Don't listen to him, he'll fùcking torture me!"

Daniel knew Rex is not one to do that to someone that will replace Thena and raise his children. To add to his dilemma June says, "Did you really think he'll stay with you after what you did? If he leaves Carvalle, he'll leave you forever."

"Daniel no, don't listen to him!" But, it was the truth. Daniel is part of Carvalle, and a Knight can never leave.

"You're manipulating me," Daniel quietly says to June, as the only one who could see through this man. Frost is too far gone to be able to do this.

"It's not manipulation if it's an honest deal, my friend..." Rex smiles. "But, go ahead and take him. Bring him outside of Carvalle, or the country. It's not like I can send the twins after you and... hmm, I guess I can. And they don't really like you now, do they? What do you think they will do once I give them a go to eliminate you? They'll catch up even after a headstart, I know Rain can pilot a helicopter."

Daniel looks at Hermes, who now has tears streaming down his cheeks.

Rex finally breaks him with, "You know, after retrieving him... he can still parent my kids with two broken legs."

Father Daniel grabs him by the collar and violently pulls him in, angrily spitting out, "Fine. He can stay but the minute you hurt him..."

"What?!"

"—is the minute he tries to run away from his sister's debts. So, you better watch out for him. You can even watch over him intimately," Rex smiles to the point his eyes squint, to mock the both of them. "Well gentlemen, I have a meeting with the twins. They still haven't known Hermes is here and will stay here. I'm sure they'll be delighted, Ray can finally stop using your shirt on his díck."

Horrified, Hermes is left alone, looking at the priest in disbelief. "Daniel... why..."

He couldn't answer that question, for this was not an answer: "I love you."

Silenced, and finally feeling the dreadful defeat, Hermes is left alone with his thoughts of failure. Was he truly the one manipulated into trusting them? He found out the truth at what cost, or maybe...

"He was already trapped the moment he stayed inside Carvalle, my friend," Rex, in his bedroom, nods at his own reflection as if talking to Mavis, removing his clothes to get into more appropriate ones that fit his image. "Because there is no more hidden information to give him a reason to stay, I had to take him. If only you didn't tell him, Mavis... you weren't such a big help now, are you?"

Maybe it's a hallucination, maybe it was not, but a crying Mavis in the mirror replied, "I only did that so he'll finally leave... he needs to stay away from us, or he'll end up like Thena!"

"He won't," Rex proudly replies, "Because the only mistake I made with Thena was... I didn't chain her to the ground."

"Rex, Carvalle will close down if you massacre the Festival!"

"It won't..." Rex looks back at his reflection while rolling his sleeves, seeing Mavis do the same except saddened. "Oh come on my friend, do you really think I'm so incapable? That might be you, but you're only borrowing my body. And both my body and mind are stronger than yours. Trust me on this. My children will be raised and they will go to a perfect school void of sin."

"You're crazy..."

"We've only just begun," Rex smiles at him, forcing Mavis to smile as well.