Maxi's maid looked at him, worry etched across her face. She was shaking, clearly rattled by what had just happened, her wolf ears where down flat on her red hair.
"Young Master… you screamed, and then… you collapsed. Your muscles started spasming, your eyes rolled back into your head, and… and foam came out of your mouth. I didn't know what to do, so I called the Big Mistress. She told me to just put you to bed and that she would arrive soon."
Maxi blinked, then sighed. He reached out and gently patted the maid's head with his right hand.
"Don't worry. It's okay. Sorry for making you go through that. But I'm fine now."
The maid puffed her cheeks in frustration, balling her hands into fists.
Maxi flinched, already predicting what was coming.
Called it. he thought before saying
"Please don't hit me too hard. It still hurts."
She huffed and lightly punched his shoulder.
"Don't make me worry like that ever again, okay?"
Maxi sighed in relief that she didn't hit harder and gave a weak smile.
"No promises."
She raised her fist again, and Maxi immediately leaned back.
"Okay, okay, fine! But I don't control fate or perform miracles."
She let out a small sigh and then muttered into the fabric of his blanket,
"Yeah, I know… that's what gods are for."
Maxi raised an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't know that."
She straightened up, adjusting her maid outfit, one hand on her hip.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Your father didn't give you a tutor until now. So uneducated."
Maxi smirked at the sudden familiarity growing between them.
"Uneducated isn't the right word. I read books daily, while you just stand around all day."
The maid tilted her head, pressing her face closer to his with a playfully annoyed expression.
"Stand around all day? Is that what you call taking care of you? Bringing you food? Buying the books you oh so desperately wanted?"
Maxi leaned backward, looking away. "Point taken."
She grabbed his arm, pulling him slightly so he had to face her.
"You're gosh dang right, Young Master."
"Alright, alright, I get it,"
he muttered, pulling his arm away.
But then he glanced at the symbol on his right hand. The top eye was still looking straight ahead. His stomach twisted. It wasn't a hallucination.
Acting on instinct, more than curiosity, he lifted his right arm to examine it again.
The moment he and the eye locked gazes—
The world shattered.
Colors twisted and merged, swirling violently before cracking like glass. Suddenly, Maxi wasn't in his room anymore.
He stood in a bustling city. The smell of smoke and asphalt filled his lungs and the honk of car's from a distance filled his ears.
He looked down. In his hand was a note, scribbled with a dorm room number.
He climbed a set of stairs, reaching a door. His heart pounded.
He pushed it open.
Inside, amidst a pile of trash and discarded food containers, sat a young version of her. His wife Anna.
She was gaming, completely unfazed by the mess around her. he filt himself sigh as he walked over to her to introduce himself
Time skipped forward it fast forwards like a video on double speed but dispit that he could tell that a week passed.
While she was out, Maxi cleaned the entire room.
When she returned, she was stunned. They argued—she didn't like being helped, yet she clearly did. It ended with Maxi carrying her, quite literally, into the bathroom and forcing her to take a bath. She looked miserable the whole time… but deep down, he knew she was grateful.
Time jumped again about a month.
He was watching TV when she arrived home—with another man.
Maxi barely reacted and was only fouced on the show he was watching.
She and the man went to her bedroom .
Before anything could happen, Maxi turned up the TV's volume, drowning out the world, not wanting to hear what come next .
Another time, skip.
The man was gone, angrily grabbing his clothes and slamming the door on his way out.
His wife tried to go after him but was too exhausted, both physically and emotionally.
Maxi helped her, holding her as she broke down.
And then, his past self spoke, the words so clear they sent a shiver through him.
"Anna, you rely on people too much, which gets your expectations up. And when they don't live up to them, you try to force them to. But that only pushes them away. You need to learn to have expectations for yourself and live up to them instead of having them for other people. You can't keep trying to make others fit into your ideal."
"If you can't do that… then I will help you. Just say the word, and I'll guide you."
His wife's reply was muffled, but he heard his own voice answer:
"Sure. I'll be your boyfriend."
The vision shattered.
Maxi gasped as he found himself back in bed, staring at the top eye of his symbol—a reminder of the world he was now trapped in.
He sighed, rubbing his temples. "So that's why…"
He got out of bed.
His maid looked at him curiously. "Where are you going?"
Maxi shook his head. "I am going to my brother for my "training" if I don't go to my brother, then…"
A booming voice cut through the castle, shaking the walls.
"OOOOOOOHHHHH MAXIIIIIIII BLOODHEART! YOU'RE LATE!!!!!"
The door to his room exploded off its hinges, flying across the room and smashing into the opposite wall, leaving a gaping hole.
Maxi's head snapped toward the entrance.
There, grinning wildly, stood his brother. His sharp teeth gleamed, his long pink hair cascading past his shoulders. His red and gold royal training clothing huging his bosy tightly his short red and gold shirt, having the family crest on it a staped bleeding heart which blood His forms half of a crown. his gold crown hagging lossly on his head as his glowing red eyes darted around the room, searching for him.
Maxi groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Man, I can't catch a break."