( Luke's POV )
Logging out of the game, Luke felt absolutely devastated at the thought of having to face Leo.
Ideally, he did not wish to let his brother find out through Cervantez that the DarkSky guild had rejected his proposal, however, he could not muster the courage to face Leo all by himself either.
In life, there were only a few rare moments where Leo ever placed any expectations on him, and this was probably the first time since they came on the Arc Ship that he asked for his help.
However, Luke had failed to meet his brother's expectations and felt extremely ashamed about his failure.
Nonetheless, having no other option but to report the bad news, he walked towards Leo's mansion with a sunken heart, and knocked on his door with trembling hands.
"Come-in" said Leo, as Luke entered the door, only to find his brother shirtless, doing push-ups on the floor.
"Oh brother… What brings you here? Isn't this your meditation time?" Leo asked, as he felt surprised to see Luke visit him, so early in the morning.
"No, there's something weighing on my mind…. We need to talk" Luke said in a solemn tone, as listening to his grim voice, Leo immediately stood up, his eyebrows furrowing as he picked up the guilt behind Luke's voice.
"What happened?" Leo inquired, as Luke let out a long sigh and began his apologetic explanation.
"I'm sorry, brother, the DarkSky guild has decided to reject your proposal…." Luke began, as Leo blinked in confusion at his words.
"They did? But why? I don't get it, every other guild that I approached happily accepted my proposal, why did your guild reject it?" Leo asked, as he did not feel too offended yet and only curious as to why his brothers guild rejected his offer.
"My guild has decided to backstab you. Now that they know your plan, they have decided to prepare to thwart your attempt at taking control of the Western Duchy.
So when you kill the West Duke, the guild intends to claim the Western Duchy as an independent territory" Luke said, as only now did Leo start to feel offended.
"Oh?" He said, raising an eyebrow, as he did nothing but observe the facial expressions of his brother.
"The decision was made by the council of elders, everyone had one vote to cast.
I voted to join you…. But the majority of the guild voted otherwise.
There was nothing I could do at the end…. I-I failed you" Luke said, as Leo's breaths started to become more haggard now, as he could hardly contain his anger.
"Well, what happened, happened yeah…. But then you quit the guild right? I mean, surely you're going to join me against them in this fight, yeah?" Leo asked, as Luke only hung his head in shame in response, having no words left to respond.
"HA— SO YOU DID NOT EVEN QUIT" Leo said, chuckling out loud, as he was audibly disappointed in his brother.
"I'm sorry, Leo, I wish things didn't turn out this way" Luke said, as Leo simply shook his head and refused to accept his apology.
"You know, brother, I'm not comparing the two of us here, or questioning your love for me.
But I WOULD NEVER do this to you.
If you needed me to quit the rebellion or betray the world, it would not take me two breaths to do so. Because for me, family comes first and the world comes next.
But clearly that is not the case for you.
Time and time again, you prioritize your guild, your career and your friendship with Cervantez over your brother and it stings me deeply, everytime I think about it" Leo said, as he began venting his anger out on Luke, expressing pent-up feelings that he had been holding back for a long time.
"You are the Vice-Guildmaster of the DarkSky guild, but I have yet to see you make a single major decision by yourself.
The current you is no better than Cervantez's right hand man, and you may be happy being just that, but I'm not happy seeing you be that.
It doesn't sit well with me that you're number two, and that the decisions you make hold so little weight in your guild that you devote your heart and soul to—" Leo said, as he pointed his finger towards Luke's heart and poked him on his chest a few times.
"Prepare your guild well brother…. Since you have chosen to be my enemy, I hope you prepare them real well. Because when I come down on that battlefield, it won't matter how many men you have on your side, I'm going to crush them all, that is my promise.
I don't need the DarkSky guild to conquer the Empire, and I'll take the West with or without your support" Leo said, as he pushed Luke's shoulder away and turned his back on his brother, just like Cervantez turned his back on Luke just a while ago.
"I hope that someday you will put your family first, brother.
I hope someday you will respect me the same way I respect you" Leo said walking away, as he entered the mansion's meditation room, leaving Luke all alone to wallow in disgrace.
"You're not wrong Leo…. You're not wrong at all" Luke mused, gritting his teeth, as somewhere deep down, he knew that every word that Leo spoke today was true.
Unlike Leo, who had complete faith in his own abilities, Luke felt more secure playing the role of a number two.
Having grown without any backing or support back on Earth, all that Luke searched for was a reliable shoulder to lean on, and when he found such a shoulder in Cervantez, he had attached himself to that man too deeply.
Just because Cervantez guided him well during the early stages of the game, Luke happily devoted his life to the DarkSky guild, but it was only today that he realized the folly of his ways.
The guild he helped create was now going to become a thorn in his brother's side, and despite him being the Vice-Guildmaster, he could do nothing about it.
What good was his position within the guild, if he could not even make such a simple decision?
As today, Luke realized just how naive he had been up till this point, having put blind faith in strangers, who did not respect him the same way he respected them.