Dusk Town

Chapter Twenty

Quinn is missing and it's our fault. We were in the cellar together when the lights suddenly went off and then she's gone. We messed up and Sebastian looks like he's going into a rampage. We're sure that it was Callum who took her and probably to use her against Sebastian. The witches and ogres seems to outnumbered us even with the ghouls. It appears like they are reproducing. We felt something is wrong about this.

"Sebastian, we need to find Quinn. We can't let her get hurt," I said.

"Go on, save her. I can handle this," Trent suggested, blood dripping down on his sword.

"What's Callum thinking? Fuck. I know he's up to something," Sebastian said. "And this... felt wrong. They just keep on coming and coming even if we killed lots of them already. We might be stuck in a time loop," Sebastian told us.

"Can Callum do that too?" I asked.

"I don't think so but Chles can surely do it," Sebastian answered.

"What should we do?" Trent asked.

"The portal...maybe it's fake!" Sebastian yelled.

He ran towards the lighthouse and he pounded it with his hands over and over again until it cracked, leaving nothing but dust, revealing the real ogres and witches from Moonfall. They shouted, declaring the war against us. The ghouls are powered by their adrenaline just by the presence of so many flesh to feast on. They charged on the enemy, knowing that they have the upper hand.

"Go on. Find Quinn and save her," Trent shouted amidst the chaos.

I hate this feeling and it hurts because I know I deserve to feel awful about myself. I might be a jerk most of the times but I know this time we did something bad to a person. We shouldn't have done it to her or to anyone. What we did was inhumane and we deserve to feel disgusted with ourselves. Especially when Quinn told her story why she was living near the forest. I didn't expect to hear those things from her.

When we were talking on that forest after he saved Sebastian and I asked her about what Sebastian saw from her, she couldn't answer my question but the look from her face is enough for me to know that there's something wrong. I didn't want to open up that topic because I know it will just make her uncomfortable. I know that she wandered off to the forest and Sebastian found her. When they got back, she's a complete mess. He was carrying her on his back because she fell asleep due to extreme exhaustion.

We're almost there at Moonfall's portal. Sebastian has kept his mouth shut since we left Aletheia. It seems like there's something bothering him and he doesn't want to talk about it.

"Quinn was right. We dragged her into this mess." I said, no response from Sebastian, he just kept on walking. "Talk to me, doofus! We need a plan! We couldn't just barge in Moonfall!"

We've known each other for years but I know little about this guy. He doesn't talk much when it comes to his life. I didn't know he's friends with that infamous mage who turned into a ghoul. I don't know at first that he killed Callum and why he did that. I don't know personally know his creator but she's the main reason why I stick with Sebastian. I also want to go to Earth. I missed being there. We both share the same goal and he never asked me once why I want to go there. Sometimes I just want to crack Sebastian into half, hoping his secrets will spill out.

He suddenly stopped and leaned on a nearby tree, looking defeated. This is my first time to see him like this. He never showed weakness from me ever since I met him. He's just standing still for a long time now and couldn't even say a word to me. He turned his face towards me, despair is visible in his eyes.

"What's the point of all of this if I can't even remember her face? How would I even know if it was her?"

"Your creator? You can't remember her? Since when Sebastian?" I asked, shocked.

Why did he kept this secret from me and since when did he forgot about her? Is this what's bothering him? Shit. What's really the point of all of this if he couldn't even remember his face! We even put Quinn's life at risk just to find her.

"I hadn't realized it until Quinn asked about my creator's name. Maybe it happened on Moonfall. I'm unconscious most of the time because of Tadhiel's flute. Chles probably put a curse on me while I'm utterly vulnerable," he explained.

"Oh jeez, it's her way of getting back at me for killing Callum," I said.

"I didn't really want to kill him but I had no other option back then. I had a contract with Callum's nemesis for a long time. My contractee was too fiendish for me, the things he made me do were sickening. He told me in order to set me free from our contract, I had to kill Callum."

The choices that he made a long time ago still affects him. This is his karma. It's the domino effect of all the decisions he made. I am Sebastian's lone companion for two years now and I know that he has a good heart despite his cold demeanor. I have to help him because he has no one else aside from me right now. We currently have two problems. One, he obviously need Chles to nullify the curse. Second, Quinn.

"What about her? Will she recognize you?"

"I don't know but the reason why we got separated is when she can no longer see me because she forgot about me," Sebastian said with worry in his eyes. "I've been keeping this to myself for a while because I don't want to expect anything and I am so scared that it might be true."

"What is it Sebastian? You fucking doofus! Why are you telling all of this on me right now?"

If he's more open to me then maybe things would have ended differently. We could have find a solution immediately but being a lone wolf that he is, he chose to kept it a secret.

"Back at the forest of Moonfall, when I lost full control of myself and Quinn was there trying to bring me back. I looked through her past, search for something I can use against her and I found a little girl being abused," He took a moment to continue what he had to say and closed his eyes for a second then he said, "My creator is a child."

Holy crap! Could it be her? But there are millions of young girls on Earth. What are the odds, right? If she was just a kid when she created Sebastian then she's probably older now.

"How long have you been separated from her?"

"I... don't remember."

Quinn mentioned earlier that someone died from her family that's why she couldn't bring herself to face that house near the Earth's portal. Could it really be Quinn? Is that the reason why Callum snatched her away? Could Chles and Callum knew about this and this is all part of their plan to make Sebastian suffer?

"Chles knew her identity but I am sure that her name is not Quinn and the fact that they took Quinn away from us could be a hint that she's really my creator. Why would they take Quinn away for no reason, right?" Sebastian asked.

We need to find Chles as soon as possible but first Sebastian needs to settle things with Callum. I don't know how he will kill that demon by himself. We don't have time to waste because Quinn needs us. I will make sure that she will get home safe because it's the least thing I can do for her.