บท 163: Trick 162: A visit from Yao
Jack and Margaret poked their heads out from a doorway, asking "Dad… Are you okay?" Ace smiled at them saying "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Jack looked at Margaret and pushed her out, whispering "You said you would do it. Go!"
Margaret clenched her hands saying "Why can't you do it?!" Jack frowned "You're better with words, you do it!" as he shoved her forward, staying behind the door and holding onto it, showing his little hands as Margaret walked forward nervously, touching her hands together.
Ace leaned on the table and smiled, "What is it, baby." Margaret swallowed and said "Well, um… me and Jack, we- Uh… We think you and mommy should, um, stop fighting…" as she looked at the ground, playing with her hands, her blonde hair falling down in front of her face.
Ace cleared his throat and made a funny face, asking "What?" Margaret whispered, "We don't like it when you fight, so… Um… Please stop." Jack gripped the door and said "Come on!"
Ace looked at him and picked Margaret up, sitting her on his lap as he said "We're not fighting-" Jack ran over and pointed at his face, shouting "You did! We heard you! You and Mommy were shouting at each other and making a ruckus!" Ace looked at him and asked "Oh? And mind telling me how you heard that from 4 rooms away?"
Margaret looked at Jack, who frowned hesitantly, Margaret leaned over and whispered "We, um, we can talk to each other from far away and hear things…" Ace paused and frowned "What." Margaret frowned in worry as Jack just said it "We have superpowers too! Just like you!"
Ace looked at him in confusion, "What superpowers?" Jack pointed at Margaret and said "She just told me to shut up! I heard it in my head! We can talk to each other without making our mouths move! Also! We can hear from really far away! Like REAAAAAAAAALLY far!" as he spread his arms out super wide, as though to demonstrate the distance.
Margaret and Jack said in unison "And also see far away." Ace asked them with a frown "How far?" Jack and Margaret shook their heads, Ace grabbed them and disappeared.
They appeared in a field and Ace snapped his fingers saying "You see that?" as he pointed in a direction. The duo looked over and said "It's a bunny." Ace raised his brows and said "That's 2 miles out… What about now?"
Jack held his ears and said "It's a tiger." as Margaret added, "And it said in English 'Can you hear me?'" Ace was stunned before returning to the high rise. He frowned at the two before grabbing Jack and disappearing, leaving Margaret there.
The two appeared in the Artifact room of the house as Ace said "Can you talk to her now?" Jack blinked and nodded. Ace was startled and said "I'm gonna tell you something and I want Margaret to tell me what I said, okay?" Jack nodded and Ace said "I don't believe you."
Jack pouted at him and Ace disappeared, returning to Margaret who also pouted "You don't believe us?" Ace was stunned silly and said "You can actually communicate from this distance?!"
Margaret covered her eyes and said "I can also see what he sees. He's looking at the weird lady in the Artifact room. She's wearing purple clothes and posing weird." Ace returned home and saw Jack looking at Agatha in confusion, tapping on the glass in confusion, "Hello? Why are you in my house, lady?"
Ace grabbed him and asked "What did Margaret just say to me?" Jack looked up and replied "She told you that she can see what I can see. I can do it too!" Ace was shocked and picked him up, bringing him back to the highrise, sitting the twins down.
He held his hips and frowned at them, asking "Did you tell your mom?" Jack and Margaret shook their heads, Ace snorted as he said "You should've told your mommy." Jack and Margaret looked worried and Jack said "We wanted to! But…" Margaret added, "She was so sad all the time… So we just trained hard to make her proud…"
Ace looked at them, his frown turning sad as they said "We don't really care about the people we shoot or whatever, we just want to make mommy happy. She's always crying! Jack said that if we did good at killing people, mommy would be happy!"
Jack waved his arms, adding "And we did! A lot of bad guys were after mommy so…" then they added together "We killed them." Ace waved his hands, saying "Enough." before pulling out their souls from their chests.
The two were spooked and shouted "Ghost?!" Margaret cried "I don't wanna die!" Jack smacked her, saying "We're not dead!" Margaret punched him, shouting "Don't hit me!"
Ace smacked them both, saying "Look at daddy." they turned to him and he pointed at their souls, saying "You see this?" they nodded and Ace explained "This is your soul." he was a bit confused himself if he was being honest because their souls were nearly sparkling white.
There was only a slight dimness!
Ace continued "When you kill people, your soul gets darker and darker. Bad people have black souls." Jack asked, "Mommy is a bad person???" Ace frowned and replied "No. Who told you that?" Margaret pointed at Ace's nose, saying "You said that."
Ace waved, saying "Don't worry about what I said. Your mommy is different. Anywa-" Margaret covered her mouth and giggled "Because you LOOOVE mommy~" Jack covered his mouth and said "Ouuuuuuuu~"
Ace's lips twitched and he laughed angrily, "Focus! Or I'll tell mommy!" they shut up immediately as Ace snorted in amusement, going on to say "When you kill someone, your soul gets dark. Then when you die, you get judged based on the quality of your soul. S-"
Jack interrupted, stunned, as he shouted "Mommy's going to Hell?!" Margaret scoffed at him, "Daddy is the God of Death, how can mommy go to hell?" Jack blinked "Oh yeah! So then why does it matter?"
Ace closed his eyes and inhaled before lifting them up by their collars, shaking them as he shouted "LISTEN! It matters because I don't want you to become bad people! I want you to live normal lives! Not like me and your mom! What am I fighting for everyday?! If you can't have a carefree life without trouble and worry then what the fuck am I doing?!"
Margaret gasped "You said a bad word, daddy. I'm telling." Ace sighed and put them down, rubbing his face as he sat in between them, frustrated. Jack patted his leg and said "Don't worry, daddy." Ace looked at him through his fingers as Jack smiled, waving his fist excitedly "I want to be a hero like you! Making the world safe! Mommy said you saved the universe, I want to save the galaxy!" Margaret snorted "The Universe is bigger than the galaxy, idiot!" Jack blushed in embarrassment "Shut up, you play with dolls!"
Margaret exploded "SO!? You're stupid!" Jack lunged at her and Ace caught their collars, lifting them up in the air as they clawed and kicked at each other. He frowned, "But I don't want you to be in danger."
Margaret smiled sweetly, hugging Ace's arm, replying "I heard Daddy say there will always be danger." Jack crossed his arms and nodded, adding "We want to fight bad guys too! Like Captain America on TV." Ace sighed and hugged them, looking at the wall in silence.
The two of them were like dolls as Ace said gently "Sleep…" they quickly fluttered their eyes before falling asleep instantly as Ace teleported to their room, laying them in their beds and tucking them in with a confused frown.
He returned to the couch and pulled out his own soul, seeing that it hadn't changed, he put it back.
Suddenly, he heard a voice "Troubled, are we?" Ace turned his head, seeing Yao, sitting at a table with a cup of tea. He turned back and frowned "I don't understand anything anymore. I feel like everything is slipping out of my control."
Yao stirred her tea, smiling gently "Ah… Quite the problem, indeed. As a Sorcerer we aim to control whatever we can. It is inherently in our nature. Controlling the forces around us, events, past, present, and future… However, Ace, have you noticed?"
Ace turned to her and she tapped her chest, continuing "You've become obsessed with what you believe you should be. You're fixated on keeping your soul stainless. How many times have you checked now? A dozen? A hundred? Hm?" Ace frowned and Yao pointed at a seat, smiling gently.
He walked over and sat down, she sipped her tea, saying "You're worried for your children?" Ace held a coffee cup with both hands, staring at the coffee inside as he replied "Among other things…"
Yao curled her fingers, sugar cubes floating into her tea as she replied gently "Of course, the lovely lady as well. I remember when I tried to control you, it didn't turn out very well~" Ace looked at her and said "It's different! I didn't-"
Yao cut him off, smiling at him, "Is it?" Ace fell silent and she added "You didn't kill people. Yes, this is true. However, have you thought of perhaps what she thinks to be right? Your lover is a fighter, born and raised an agent, no path forward but the one she knows now. Have you considered that what you see isn't true?"
Ace looked at her in confusion as Yao waved her hand, showing Ace what Sharon was doing right now.
Yao tapped the air and everything melted away, revealing Sharon's soul. It was only a light gray. Ace frowned and said "That's not right, I clearly-" Yao interrupted him, saying "You are looking through tinted glasses so to speak. Ace, your intentions are pure, however they are still a form of control. You cannot control everything…"
She waved the view away, looking at him, "Your perception is warped by your ideals. You believe the world should all be stainless, however, for some people that option is not available. Look at your adorable little children, their souls are nearly spotless. They have collectively killed over 30 people. Are they sinners as well?"
Ace retorted instantly "Of course not!" Yao smiled at him silently and he frowned, adding "But that's different! They-" Yao nodded, "Yes, your children. How could they be criminals? And of course, punishing evil is not a criminal activity. Do you know how many sinners have been purged by your riders?"
Ace shook his head and Yao smiled softly "Millions. In the Universe, your two riders have worked very hard. Do you understand the cause and effect?" Ace nodded and replied "Every action has a reaction."
Yao nodded and snapped her fingers, saying "Ace, you may be a very intelligent boy, however you do not have all the answers. Your soul is still stainless, why?" he replied "Because I haven't killed anybody."
Yao tilted her head and asked "Haven't you?" Ace frowned and Yao smiled, "When you send out your riders, they are effectively sending souls to your Realm. Ending their lives and bringing them to the afterlife. Under your orders, is this not killing someone? The cause is your order, the effect is a death."
She made a link to 5 flames and Ace, adding "Have you learned nothing?" Ace paused and frowned "But then why?" Yao waved everything away, smiling "Indeed, why? When you marked Karli Morgenthau for Death, you knew your Riders would go after her and yet you did it anyway, why?"
Ace fell silent and Yao smiled "Because she deserved to die? It was her time? To scare her? Ace, please. You may fool others, but you cannot fool me. You were angered by her actions towards your children and wanted her dead."
Ace refuted "But I didn't kill her!" Yao nodded, "Yes, your better judgment won in the end. Therefore your soul remains stainless. You haven't abused your power as a God of Death… Well, not for nefarious purposes at any rate." as she chuckled to herself, sipping on her tea.
Ace snorted "What are you trying to say?" Yao pursed her lips and looked at him, saying "What I'm trying to show you, is that stainless is not everything. You obsess over the quality of souls and yet condone certain people all together. Tony Stark's soul is quite murky and yet you seem to have no problems with him, so why the fuss and confusion now?"
Ace opened his mouth and Yao pressed on his lips with her finger, continuing "You believe that you must control the ones you love because you do not wish to see them become the murderers or monsters you loathe, however it's not them changing. It's you. When you came to me, you were a free spirited child. A boy with a love for magic, and a dislike for the rules. Now you seem to have given up on your love and wish to enforce your rules onto others."
She tilted her head and went on with a gentle tone, "You cannot control others, Ace. Trust me, I've tried… Many times, my most recent failure was you. I do not wish for you to end up on the same path as I was. You left the Eye after they enforced their wishes onto you, then you left Kamar-Taj for the same reason. You left the Avengers because they wished to shackle you, so why are you trying to shackle others?"
Ace fell into a silent confusion, staring at his coffee as it seemed to reflect his mental state at the moment. Massive waves crashing into the walls of the cup. Yao patted his hand and smiled warmly "A wise boy once told me 'I am not God, I cannot cast judgment onto others.' He was a very smart boy."
Ace looked at her as she faded, adding "You cannot control everything, Ace. Refocus your heart to where it once rested." before disappearing entirely. He held his face with both hands and leaned his elbows on the table, thinking to himself.
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