Despite agreeing to meet with Aion, Alphonse sat in his chair looking dead inside.
"..." Aion could only sit with his hands folded together at the sight, creating an air of tension he couldn't slice through.
One that Alphonse wasn't willing to slice through.
Aion recalled a while back when someone he knew, a close friend at the time, had broken up with their girlfriend. At that time, Aion remembered he was just as useless as he was now.
Perhaps it's because Aion was unsure what romantic affection was like, or maybe it was a barrier he placed between himself and others.
He couldn't quite say.
But at the time, Aion had let the rest of the group handle the situation. Of course, he offered words of advice, but nothing substantial.
He remembered that friend had never actually confided in Aion. At the time, he thought of it merely as a logical decision. After all, that friend, as far as Aion was concerned, confided in some of the members of their group who have had relationships. And Aion certainly wouldn't qualify.
But as time went on, he couldn't help but wonder if it had just been the extent of their relationship.
It has been a while since they last talked. In fact, the last time they met up in real life was on graduation day for high school. That close friend Aion had thought he had turned out to be nothing of the sort, and they rarely talked after that.
More than likely he was overthinking it. That's what he thought. But he couldn't help it.
He felt useless.
He felt unwanted.
He felt unneeded.
And now, he found himself in a somewhat similar position. The person lost someone he loved romantically.
Hell, Aion thought, Alphonse has lost two people today that are important in his life. Maybe even three, I suppose he could've been close with William…
So now, what was he to do? Even if the circumstances were more extreme, Aion couldn't help but parallel the two in his mind.
Even though Aion didn't like Alphonse, he wanted to say the right thing.
One could argue it was self-serving since if Alphonse were back on his feet, Aira and Sam could be in a safer position.
But still, even if he was motivated for something wholly different than wishing to simply help Alphonse, it still led to a desire to help Alphonse.
So he—no matter what—cannot screw it up.
"Alphonse…" Aion said, his voice barely being caught by Alphonse.
Alphonse slowly looked up, his eyes swollen from crying, the life that once existed within them almost extinguished.
Aion's mouth fell open. He was surprised. To think that the Alphonse that he saw of the last loop looked like this now.
"Aion…" Alphonse said his name back, his voice shaky.
Aion's lips tightened, and he said no more.
"Aion…I…appreciate this…" Alphonse decided to continue. "I know that you aren't the biggest fan of me, and I certainly am not blameless in that. But I think I finally get why you chased after Luna yesterday."
"Huh?"
"I'm sure you're much fonder of Luna than I. And I think that's good, her having someone in this town. Although I guess you'll probably be leaving soon anyway." Alphonse laughed half-heartedly before returning to his depressed expression. "But still, I think it's more of just wanting to help others."
"..."
"You know, you helped Esme when you first met her, a complete stranger. And then, you helped Luna. And you're even helping Sam and Aira. And now, me. I suppose that might just be who you are. This whole time I was just overthinking it; behind all the bluster of doing things for yourself and not liking me, or even being rude to others, deep down, I think you're just someone who likes to help others. Aion?" Alphonse finally noticed Aion's head had fallen, hiding his expression.
"Alphonse…I'm not that good of a guy…" Aion said, still looking down. "The person that you think I am isn't the person I actually am."
"Then why do you go out of your way to help others?"
"..."
"I think you're too good to realize it yourself, so thank you."
"I haven't done anything."
"You have."
"I haven't. When I tried to help Luna, I failed." Aion's voice cracked a bit. His hands trembled. "I tried to reach her, but my words couldn't reach her. She's too convinced that she's the worst of the worst, a murderer and a terrible person. All I did was hurt her even more. I didn't help her for a second."
"You still tried."
"And when it came to Aira and Same, I put them in danger by exposing the killer's possible future intentions. I put them at risk, all without realizing it. How can I say that I'm doing anything good like that?"
"..."
"You can't, huh?"
"Perhaps. But they're still alive. You still stand a chance. You have an opportunity I no longer have."
Aion's breath hitched and he felt his heart squeeze. Was he going to cry? Maybe.
"Alphonse…can you tell me about Esme?"
"Huh? Oh, are you trying to figure out why she may have been targeted? Wow, you really are serious about all this. I guess you should've led."
"No, I just want to know how you met, how you fell in love, what she meant to you, and everything in between."
"Why?"
"Because I want to carry a part of your burden."
"..."
Alphonse might not know, assuming he wasn't looping, but he doesn't know that Aion already knew Esme's death was imminent. At 7:00, he hadn't even tried to prevent it. Even if it didn't come to pass, his actions were damning. He had effectively let her perish without a fight. Even when he went to search for her, Aion already suspected that Esme would be dead.
So as penance, he wanted to know everything.
That way he could never forgive himself.
"Alright…" Alphonse agreed after a long moment of silence. "I don't exactly know when we met, but for as long as I can remember, she has always been present. When I was younger, I often played with all the children of Magna. And at that time, there were no worries for the future, no sins committed that forever altered our paths, and no matter what we did, it was like nothing mattered at all. Honestly, at that time, the only person I was truly close to was Sam. Juno and I hadn't been set to be engaged until much later in our lives, and—no, I suppose that much isn't necessary to say."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, at the time, my partner for engagement was someone different. It hadn't been solidified quite yet. And now, that person is gone, in the tragedy of twelve years ago."
"...I see…"
"It seems like you know a bit about it, but that tragedy isn't relevant. The main thing is I was soon pushed into training to succeed as the next Magnatium head. It was exhausting; it felt like every day I was going to collapse. It felt like my life had nothing but that. Sam had drifted away at the time, not that I can blame him, and I was left with nothing. Every day I was molded to be the perfect heir. It felt like everything that was 'Alphonse' didn't exist in my father's image of it in his head. After all, I was to marry the reincarnation of Lunalis. I had to be perfect. Someone who could bring about the prophecy foretold in the Book of Lunalis.
"At some point, I think if nothing had changed, I might've finally broken. One day, when I was done with it all and avoiding my responsibilities, Esme had greeted me. It had been years since we last interacted, and yet she treated me like the same old Alphonse. It was so…refreshing…I think that I fell in love with her a little easily. But I guess there's probably nothing wrong with that.
"But even with that, I knew we could never be together. I was in a loveless engagement, and Esme was a commoner. Sure Magna has the myth about the Festival's Eve, but very few people actually put it into practice. It's not like it's exactly scorned. I suppose, it's more that someone like me doing that is unthinkable. I am, after all, the future head of the Magnatium family. We have governed this town for generations, dating all the way to before Lunalis ever appeared before us.
"So I had to marry Juno. But…tonight I had planned on defying my father's will, not the whole of the nobility's will. Actually, maybe it was Magna's will. I'm not sure, to be honest. I had asked Esme if she wanted that too, and she had agreed with a smile so sweet, so beautiful, that I think if I had died right then, I would've been satisfied. But I couldn't die quite yet. No matter what, I believed that I had to finally marry Esme and bring her the happiness she brought me.
"But now she's gone…I never even got to hear what I always wanted to hear from her…"
"What you always wanted to hear from her?" Aion asked.
"Yeah…I never did hear those words…" Alphonse said as he looked somewhere far beyond Aion.
Aion knew he couldn't ask. Some sort of feeling in his gut told him to not pry any further. He wasn't quite sure why, but at this moment, he listened to it.
"Alphonse, you know, I think I can sympathize with you a lot more now," Aion said.
"Does that mean your opinion has changed for me?"
"...I'm not sure…"
Alphonse's eyes widened and he smiled.
"What are you smiling at? You know what, my opinion is the same!" Aion said, looking away.
Alphonse laughed, not a small laugh, but a big one.
"Aion, thank you."
"Yeah, no, you're welcome."
"Before I can truly grieve, I'll solve this so I can put Esme to rest. At the very least it should be known who did it. Because I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if I didn't find out."
Aion smiled and said, "Alphonse, I know I said I wouldn't help earlier. But I want to."
"No, please let me. I want to be the one who does it, no one else."
"Alphonse…I…"
"I know you have people you want to protect. So do what I couldn't."
Aion's eyes widened, and for the first time since he came to this world, he felt like he had no need to pursue this case. For the first time, his mind was free of the infinite circle of reasoning through narrative and the situation.
"Okay," Aion said. "Just, to spare you needing to see that body, please at least let me explain the scene."
"Thank you, Aion Belial."
And so, Aion explained the scene.
* * *
Upon return, Alphonse and Aion came upon a situation.
"Young master!" Sebastian rushed over.
"Sebastian?"
"It's simply terrible! The younger Astra boy and Aira got into a heated argument, and Sam decided to leave!"
"What?" Aion asked, his expression filled with alarm.
"And on top of that, some of the noblemen didn't feel safe here anymore, so they locked themselves in separate rooms…the situation is falling apart!"
"What about father? Was he not supposed to be leading?"
"Ah…" Sebastian went even paler somehow, and tears formed in the old man's eyes. "He's been poisoned…which sparked Sam and Aira's argument…"
"Why didn't you lead with that!?" Alphonse grabbed Sebastian's shoulders and squeezed tightly, causing Sebastian to wince in pain.
"I—I—ah!" Sebastian let out a moan of sorrow, and he said no more.
Alphonse quickly scanned for his father and quickly found the man lying on the floor.
Walking over, he knelt down next to him and whispered something that Aion could not hear at that distance.
Aion, on the other hand, looked to see who remained. Dorothy was in a corner shivering, her eyes looking traumatized. The rest of the Astra family was here, likely in case Sam ever returned. Raphael sat in a chair with the Book of Lunalis flipped open, but it seemed like he wasn't actually reading. And finally, Odelia was sitting in a chair, hunched over in despair.
Everyone else was missing. Meaning any murders from now on would be essentially untraceable.
Bang! One of the doors opened violently, and Aria and Aira both came into the room breathing heavily.
"Aira and Aria?" Aion addressed them and both turned in his direction.
"Ah, sir, you're back…" Aira said quietly.
"Yeah, I am. What's wrong?"
"It's terrible!" Aria jumped in, her eyes watery with tears. "They—they're dead!"
"Who's dead?" Aion asked.
"Just follow me! You're solving this thing, right?" Aria grabbed Aion by the hand and started dragging him down out of the room before he could protest.
Aion looked back at Alphonse, who was still hunched over his father's corpse.
At the very least, I can follow, Aion thought.
It seemed like no one else had any motivation to leave, so Aion broke free of Aria's grasp and said, "I can follow on my own."
Aria nodded, and soon the three set off through the winding halls and ended up in the place of Sam's original death. What was inside the room caused Aion to stiffen.
On the ground lay three corpses, James and Mark, who were poisoned, and in the center of the room, bathed in the creeping crimson light of the lunar eclipse, was Cassie, who was strangled to death.
Her expression was ghastly, like she had fought desperately. Under her nails was blood, probably from trying to scratch at the culprit. Her bloodshot eyes seemed to almost bulge out of their sockets, and her mouth was open wide as if she were trying to scream out in agony.
"My God…" Aion mumbled, averting his gaze.
"The truth is, we servants had all split up…" Aria began. "We thought that we needed to confirm the situation with everyone in the Manor, and splitting up seemed like the best course of action to cover ground faster."
"Why would you spit up in a situation like this!?" Aion raised his voice. He just couldn't believe such a stupid move.
"I'm sorry!" Aria apologized, her eyes filled with guilt and fear. "I'm sorry! I swear I am. I just thought that since the culprit used poison, they'd never be bold enough to attack anyone! And I thought us servants would be safe. I really did, so please stop looking at me like that!"
"Esme was killed by a knife through the back!"
"I didn't know! I didn't, I swear! I really didn't. I thought she was just found poisoned, so please, please forgive me!" Aria was crying as she started pulling down on her twintails, her mouth quivering.
"You…didn't know…?" Aion repeated.
And then he realized he never mentioned how Esme had died. He had been too much of a coward to talk about it in front of everyone. And now, Aria took what seemed like a logical approach; after all, three of the four victims she had witnessed up to that point had been poisoned, presumably from a poison that would be too late to stop at this point in time.
But she didn't know that the other death hadn't been poison; rather, she had been stabbed and left to die.
And to top it off, she probably didn't know there were other methods to poison someone outside of ingestion.
"Damn it!" Aion cursed himself. He should've been more upfront about it all. More than likely Aria had already been under a lot of mental stress to begin with, so her judgment was impaired. And add on a lack of information, and the situation was inevitable.
No, perhaps not. Maybe there existed something else that could've prevented this. Something that he should've considered from the very beginning.
"Sister…I'm sorry…" Aira mumbled. She too had started tearing up. "I knew that Esme had been stabbed, but I just didn't think of it during the breakup!"
Aira gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.
"Aira…Aira!" Aria embraced her sister as tears flowed from her eyes and she let out more wails of sorrow.
Aira had a surprised expression for a moment before it transformed into one of grief.
"Sister…!"
"I forgive you, Aira…I do! I do, I do, I do, I do!"
Aira only cried more in response as her arms remained at her sides.
"Fuck…" Aion mumbled as he started to exit the room.
He didn't want to see this. Not at all. He felt like he was going to vomit. Like his head would split open.
His own stupidity and naivety had led to this. So he needed to finally do something that only he could do.
He needed to go tell Alphonse everything. He needed to no matter what.
So he slowly made his way back, leaving Aira and Aria in their grief-stricken state.
He needed to do this. He needed to! He was certain of that.
He clenched his teeth and finally made his way back to the game room.
"Alphonse!" Aion called out, but he wasn't there; instead Sebastian came over.
"Mr. Belial," Sebastian began, his expression still pale. "The young master told me that he would be heading to find Agarus."
"Shit…" Aion muttered. "Where is that?"
"I believe Alphonse headed for the first floor."
"Okay," Aion said and rushed back out, running top speed despite his legs burning in agony; his breathing shallow, he pushed forward regardless.
And soon, Aion was at the entrance.
Alphonse stood facing toward the painting, and someone lay against it—Arthur the chef.
"Ah, Aion." Alphonse noticed Aion's presence immediately. "It's terrible, but when I tried looking for Agarus, all I found was Arthur dead…"
"Mark, James, and Cassie died too…" Aion said.
Alphonse's eyes widened and he said, "We're being picked off pretty fast now…"
"We are…"
"So did you come to tell me that?"
"Yeah, of course…"
"You have something else, don't you?"
Aion stopped breathing for a second; Alphonse had seen right through him in an instant.
"Alphonse…I have a confession…"
"...A…confession…?"
Yes, he couldn't keep it locked up forever. And since he was confident Alphonse wasn't the killer, he could share this. Maybe he'd be looked at like he was insane. But he needed to. He couldn't not use the single advantage he had, not when Aira's and Sam's lives were nearing their finale.
"What's this confession? I know you're not the killer, so it can't be that."
Aion breathed in; his heart pumped rapidly. Then he breathed out. Yes, this was fine. Most assuredly fine.
"The truth is, this isn't the first time I've experienced this night."
"...What?"
"You see, for whatever reason, I looped back in time, and I'm back here again."
"...You're kidding me, right?"
"I…knew a bunch of murders were going to take place. And the reason I didn't like you was because of that first loop…"
"You're really going down this, huh?"
"I'm not lying!"
"..."
"I swear!" Aion at this point had closed the distance and lowered his head as a sign of respect. "Please, please just believe me! I have information that no one else has! So please let me help! I swear it's all the truth! So please! This is the only way I can save Aira and Sam! They died last time. I don't want to see that happen again. So just believe me!"
Aion felt hot tears streaming down his face. He kept his head down, not wanting to see how Alphonse reacted. He didn't want to see the rejection in his face.
It was unbelievable. That was the best way to describe Aion's plea. After all, looping back in time? How could anyone believe that? But Aion thought something: if there was a person who could, it was most definitely—
—Alphonse.
Alphonse should be able to tell Aion was being genuine. He should. He most certainly should.
"Aion…you…"
Aion squeezed his eyes shut, trembling at the same time.
Please! Please just believe me! That's all I'm asking! Aion's thoughts were desperate as he tried to not just run away.
"Thank you, Aion." Alphonse's words caused Aion to shoot his head up and look at Alphonse, who was smiling gently. "I'm sure you thought that there was little chance I believed you, but your feelings are genuine, I can tell."
Aion's face relaxed, and a smile so full of relief formed on his face as he laughed and cried at the same time.
"So Aion, please tell me everything. That way we can stop this for sure!" Alphonse said with a fierce look of determination.
And Aion breathed in, ready to recount that first loop.
Removing the weight that he wore, and providing information no killed could predict and counteract.
Yes, Aion should've done this from the very beginning, or at the very least try to stop the murders from happening in the first place.
He should've acted the way he always wanted to.