1171: Always Read

Always Read

"There were no signs of struggle, none that he even tried to put up a fight. His body just lay there with that same old smile we all remembered. Can you believe it? He was smiling even on his deathbed!" 2

Jin Wang stole a glance at Albus and he seemed unnaturally calm about hearing of his demise.

'Maybe he really is an imposter.'

Hyde was about to continue but Jin Wang stopped him.

"That's enough. Since you knew him so well there should be a lot of things that only you two would know, correct? Nothing too special, the more ordinary the better, something you wouldn't ever mention to anyone else. Ask him and if he knows the answer then we have no choice but to believe him."

Hyde obviously didn't like the way Jin Wang was talking to him but at this moment it didn't matter. He also wanted to know the truth.

It took him a moment to come up with a question but his eyes lit up the moment it came to him.

"My name. The name father gave me, I rarely ever used it, why?"

Albus instantly smiled when he heard the question, for more than one reason.

"You always did like to play tricks on me ever since you were a child."

Hyde's fist clenched in fury. To him he was nothing more than a stranger trying to use his brother against him. And seeing him about to pop off Jin Wang quickly stepped in once again, "Please answer the question if you don't mind. It would really help push things along."

Albus nodded with a deep sigh before meeting Hyde's gaze.

"You used the name all the time, at least with us. And from what I can remember you never told anyone to call you by anything else either but I remember how much it bothered you."

He then looked over at Jin Wang, "He was always a hothead but whenever something really bothered him he kept it bottled up inside. The name 'Tragon' meant 'greedy' in the primary language that was used throughout the empire. He always thought father named him that because he was greedy as a child but that's not true."

Even though Hyde wasn't even looking at him anymore Albus still talked to him like in the past.

"The language on Solum evolved as time went on and became simpler, sometimes seeing significant change when other worlds and cultures were brought into the mix but both father and I are still scholars of the old ways."

"I asked Father the same thing when he gave you that name, I was there. I was concerned about how it would look but he told me that in the old language it meant something completely different. Do you want to know?"

He craned his neck to the side to try and meet Hyde's gaze but he turned away completely.

"It's fine, I'll tell you anyway. Back when Solum was just a bowl of dirt ravaged by war on all sides, there was a time that no greenery grew on its surface for several decades. The first plant that was able to adapt to this environment and bloom in the harshest of places was called Tragon."

"Once a month it would give birth to a very small purple flower that bloomed with the first light. I have heard that father loved its scent more than anything else but unfortunately, it went extinct soon after. The name, however, remained. Father coined it himself and it meant 'First light of the Sun' back then. I never told you this myself but-"

"HAHAHAHAHA," Hyde burst out laughing.

"What a load of SHIT! Now you're just making up things that can't be proved either way just to appeal to my emotions? Do you really think I'm stupid enough t-"

"Would you let me finish?" Albus glared at him which immediately silenced Hyde.

"The birthday present I gave you when you turned ten. It was a book, 'History of the Empire'. On its second last page was a drawing of a small purple flower with a note detailing its origins, and the true etymology of its name. It became a running joke between us but do you remember what I asked you every time we met on your birthday?"

His words rang like thunder in Hyde's ears who absentmindedly repeated them out loud.

"Did...you finish the book yet?"

Albus only gave a silent nod in return.

***

Author's Notes:

This went on for a bit longer than I expected but it was a very important moment that will have a significant effect much MUCH later on in the story, both this one and some of the sequels. Because of the 'time travel' troupe I have a lot of new things to try before the conclusion.

pqdm.com