The only way to have a friend is to be one.

Zane didn’t know when he began to think of Xavier as his friend.

Maybe they talked for a long time? Maybe he was his Ashbearer? Or maybe Zane was lonely enough to befriend anyone who reached out to him?

Nevertheless, seeing Xavier after witnessing his house burning, Zane felt a relief he couldn’t explain in any way.

He tore through the crowd and stopped in front of Xavier.

His heart sank seeing Xavier as the man looked malnourished.

Dark circles rested under his eyes and he had become thinner than the last time Zane saw him. His cheeks had sunken inside his mouth as if his tongue wanted to eat them.

In one day, Xavier went through a change that couldn’t be explained simply by looking or by an excuse of bad sleep.

But as soon Xavier saw Zane, his eyes lit up.

Zane wasted no time and held Xavier’s hand.

He dragged him to the side and asked the burning question:

"Are you alright?"

"Screw that. What did you do with the candy?" Xavier asked a question of his own.

Zane lips twitched. "Candy? I forgot to give it. It lost its favor in my pocket."

Xavier let out a heavy sigh. "Thank the heavens."

"Forget that, are you alright or not?"

Xavier rubbed his eyes. "So you saw it too."

Zane nodded like a chicken. "Yes. Your house was burning. What happened? When did it happen? And isn’t it dangerous to come here today?"

Xavier held Zane’s shoulders.

"Calm down. The world isn’t ending yet."

Zane laughed a little and controlled his breathing.

Xavier let go of his shoulders.

"I already knew that house would be burned."

Zane’s brows shot up.

Xavier smiled.

"When I asked Horum some questions, he asked me about my house in return. I am not stupid enough to reveal my real location."

Xavier leaned towards Zane’s ears and whispered:

"I gave them a fake house."

Zane’s eyes widened.

"You did not?"

"I did. And not only my home. The name I gave them was also fake."

Zane held his head.

Then was I wrong? They weren’t his parents? They were random people? But they smiled seeing him?

Zane knew about the name being an Alias but the house too?

"Wait. First tell me your real name?"

"It’s Liberi. Liberi Heart."

Zane frowned.

"If that’s your real name then how come your pet name is Xavier Reivax? Liberi and Xavier are nowhere near close."

"What’s so strange about it? I named my pet what I liked. And Reivax is a made up last name I used for the church. It’s just a reversed version of Xavier."

"What?" Zane’s brows twitched. "I thought your pet name was Xavier."

"Yes. My pet name is Xavier."

"Do you even know how to use words? You should have said: The name of my pet is Xavier. Or my pet’s name is Xavier."

The man waved his hand. "It doesn’t matter. They burned the house which I lied was mine. If I had told my real name, they would have stabbed me in my sleep."

Zane went silent.

He found Xavier’s thinking on point.

He only lied to save himself. Zane would have done the same.

Zane shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Fine. But I will only call you Xavier now. I became used to it. Anyway, answer some of my questions. Don’t lie. I want the truth."

Xavier shrugged. "Sure."

Zane gathered all his doubts and asked them one by one.

"Your parents are dead?"

"Yes."

"I saw you going inside the house beside the Lumen Reservoir yesterday. A couple had come out and they looked like they knew you. They were smiling. Who were they?"

"You saw that? Well they were the parents of my childhood friend. Whom I grew up with."

"Where are they now? Dead by the fire?"

Xavier smiled. "Why do you think I went there yesterday?"

"Why?"

"I warned them of the danger they would face. After eating dinner with them, I shifted them to my house. No one died in the fire."

Relief escaped from Zane’s heart.

No one died.

"Where is your friend now?"

Xavier hesitated. "He is dead."

I shouldn’t have asked.

Zane regretted asking such a thing but along with sadness, he also saw guilt on Xavier’s face as he mentioned his friend.

The guild made Zane ask:

"How did he die?"

Xavier’s jaw tightened. "My father and mother killed him."

Zane’s pupils widened.

There is nothing normal in his family. I should not go deep into this. Not right now.

Zane had gotten the answers he was looking for the past day.

Xavier’s parents were really dead. The couple weren’t his parents. His real name was Liberi Heart. Now only one thing was left.

"You have said that you didn’t know my name until you asked me. But when I awakened the skills, Priest Coin had shouted my name announcing that I awakened three Gleam tier skills. So you should already know my name. Why did you lie?"

Xavier rubbed his head. "I didn’t lie. I simply wasn’t paying attention to the Priest. Yes, he had announced your name. But I must have missed it. So I asked you directly. You are simply being paranoid now. Not everyone is your enemy for gods’ sake."

Zane sensed the frustration in Xavier’s voice and he might be right.

Priest Coin had announced Zane’s name but most of the people wouldn’t have paid attention to the name of a Gutterborn. Xavier had only met Zane that day as well. He might have also not listened to Zane’s name.

"You are right. My bad. But why do you look so... out of your element? Did you not eat today?"

Xavier shivered. "Don’t talk about eating to me. I will never eat anything from now on."

Zane’s brows quivered.

"Something happened? Did someone try to steal your food?"

"No. This happened because I stole the food."

Zane frowned but then his eyes lit up.

"The candies. They harmed you?"

Xavier had stolen Sun Drop Candies from the shop of the Offerings.

"Harmed me? Remember the countermeasure for stealing that Priest was talking about?"

Zane nodded.

Xavier held his stomach.

"I found it."

"What do you mean?"

"I ate all the candies before sleeping. They were delicious. But the moment I was finished with all of them... they finished me."

He jerked his head at Zane.

"I have spent the entire last night in the toilet, emptying the intestines of my whole bloodline to the last drop! The candies made me choke the sewage line of my house and I swear I saw my soul peeking out of my hole after my fifth continuous hour in that cursed space called toilet!"

Zane’s words gave up on him.

But Xavier’s pain made his voice louder as a result, someone heard him.

So instead of going inside the Cathedral, that someone dashed towards Zane and Xavier.

They peeked their head between the two men and the moment Zane saw the person, he smacked his forehead.

Xavier didn’t understand the reaction but the new person focused only on the sleep deprived man and asked:

"Do you want to cure your loose-motion..."

Xavier raised his brows. "Yes. Of course!"

"And Erectile Dysfunction?"

"Yes! No. No. What the hell?"

Zane’s shoulders slumped.

Things were out of his hands now.