Before stood the man who had once been the head of the best guild in the kingdom, the head of one of the most influential noble families in the kingdom, even if he was no longer in the sa position, but to anyone looking at him now, he was just... broken.
So broken that if I blew on him he would shatter into pieces.
"She won't eat, she barely drinks water, she refuses to co out of her room, she cries, and whoever she makes eye contact with is terrified and starts screaming. Do you know how I felt when I saw my daughter like that?"
He clenched his fist again. He clenched it so hard that I saw red between his fingers. The blood mixed with the rain and slowly trickled down his hand.
"Guilt."
"Guilt. Guilt for not giving her a normal life. Guilt for creating a boss-employee relationship between us rather than a father-daughter. Guilt for not giving her enough attention. Guilt for not being there for her..."
His soulless eyes turned to and a smile appeared on his face.
His bitter smile lacked the joy, the pleasant feeling of a normal smile. It was full of emotions he couldn't hide: sorrow, longing, and regret.
"Still... thank you. Thank you for protecting my daughter. Thank you for taking her into your group at the academy, for making her happy. I don't give a damn who you are, what you stand for, Aiden Tenebra. Not as a guild or family leader, but as Ronald Potenbea, Celine's incompetent father. At least for being there for her instead of , for trying to be there for her, even if that wasn't your goal."
With a bitter smile on his face, he finally stretched slightly and stood up.
Even this simple gesture of the man in whom I used to find grace and nobility in every little gesture was hobbled.
"I just wanted to say, thank you for listening to this old man, Aiden. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to co to and I will do my best."
Ronald Potenbea looked at one last ti. He opened his mouth almost imperceptibly, he was going to say sothing, but he was silent. His smile fell, and I could see sothing in his soulless eyes.
I felt sothing stirring inside , but I couldn't think too much about it, because I was too busy cursing myself as the sorrowful man I had just spoken to walked slowly away from with his limping steps.
I... I wasn't there for Celine, on the contrary, I walked up to her with a disgusting smile on my face. Adrian says he doesn't know, but... I might have even hurt her.
I don't deserve any thanks. Celine is suffering in her room even now and all I do is loaf around. I'm the one who put her in this situation, and yet I'm not even having a hard ti smiling.
I'm an asshole, so I should at least try to deserve this 'thank you'.
"Can I see her?"
Ronald Potenbea paused. I quickly interjected.
"You thanked . You thanked , but... I don't deserve it. If I really deserved it, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all. Celine wouldn't be in this situation and neither would anyone else at the academy. That's why I want to at least try, to see for myself the consequences of my mistake, to correct it if I can."
He turned away, his soulless eyes fixed on mine. And then a smile appeared on his face again.
That's when I realized what I had just seen in him.
He had asked for help. He hadn't told , hadn't even thought about it, but in his eyes he had begged for help, unaware of himself. He was broken, unstable. Until now he had refused to ask for help, but it was inevitably reflected in his actions.
His smile now was not as mournful as before. It was more sincere, and for a mont he looked at as if I were his own son.
He had accepted my help.
"You're just like , Aiden, more like than I thought. You believe you're going through this because you're powerless, just like the old ."
There was a flash of lightning, and then the rain got faster.
"Follow ."
So he started walking in the direction of the academy hospital without saying anything else.
As I looked at this man walking away from in the accelerating rain, I realized once again how broken he really was.
The person walking in front of didn't look like a legend. He had lost all the aura he had when he was in the ga.
I only hated myself more when I saw soone like that... fall like that.
I'm not a hero, I'm not the one who can make everything right. The only thing I get out of every action I take is damaged people, I'm just a magnet for disaster...
I'll do my best anyway.
I clenched my fist and followed Ronald Potenbea, who kept walking away from .
*******
We entered a large room through a wide corridor.
Inside the room, there were countless holographic screens and a door on the side leading to the room where Celine was. In short, I was now in the control room.
"You can push your luck a bit, but if you feel things are getting worse, co back quickly. There is a cara in there and it will stay on, but the voice recorder will be off. But don't forget that we can still see the patient's vital signs, stress levels, etc."
This was a warning given to by the doctor in front of .
They would not know what I was talking about inside. It's a private thing, but since they were monitoring Celine's behavior and vitals, it was easy for them to know if I was going to do sothing bad. What she was saying was basically, "Watch your behavior. We know what you're doing."
"Got it."
"Good, now..."
The Doctor looked at the holographic screens in front of her and clicked on so things, and then the door on the side opened slightly.
"You can go."
I nodded, took a deep breath, and opened the door fully.
In front of was a corridor, not very long.
I took my first step slowly, and with each subsequent one, I only felt myself tense up even more. My steps were getting heavier, maybe I was scared.
When I finally reached the door at the end of the corridor, I opened it slowly and was greeted by a very dimly lit room.
The inside of the room was quite simple. On the right side was a bookcase full of books, a small table, and an armchair. On the left side, there was nothing but a door that I assud led to the bathroom and a few peaceful paintings next to it.
Apart from that, there was another closed door directly opposite and it was not hard to guess what was behind it.
I swallowed, took a deep breath, cald myself, and stayed where I was for a short while. Finally, I made my way to that door.
I knocked a few tis, slowly. But no matter how long I waited, there was no response. So my hand wrapped around the doorknob and I felt my heartbeat quicken.
Nervous, I encouraged myself and turned it a little.
But... just at that mont, a voice ca from inside.
"Don't open it."
She used to always sound determined, even when she stamred she had a tone of voice that said she was a noble. But now... it was all gone, just like it had been with her father. Her voice was hoarse, as if she had been crying non-stop for a long ti.
"Celi-"
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
I stiffened where I was when she suddenly shouted so forcefully, so angrily that her throat almost ruptured, on top of her previous calm and low voice.
The world crashed down on for a mont, ti just froze.
I... I hadn't imagined it like this.
"LEAVE ALONE!"
I felt her anger in every cell of my body, I realized how much I had underestimated what she had been through, I realized I was a fool.
I could do nothing but stand there.
*******
After long darkness, a long silence... I woke up.
My body was in an even better condition than before, as if nothing had happened, as if I had never suffered, as if I had just been born. I could feel it, yet there was nothing to think about as I stared at the white ceiling above .
I didn't care who I was, where I was, what I was doing. And then... I rembered.
At first, I thought it was all a dream, a nightmare. After all, if what I experienced there was real, I couldn't be alive now, but at this mont reality hit .
I was in the hospital, it was too real to be a dream. Even if it didn't hurt now, everything was in my mind as if I had just experienced it. I rembered the pain.
The appearance, the voice, and the touch of the man with the purple eyes appeared in my mind. I felt again the torture-healing cycle I had suffered so often, I rembered the monts when I felt the warmth of my own blood all over my body.
My eyes watered, I scread, I called for help. Doctors and nurses rushed to my side, but the mont I saw their faces, fear filled my whole body.
Their eye colors slowly turned purple, their voices changed. They murmured, their lips curled upward and slowly took the shape of a smile. mories enveloped my body again.
I thought I was having a nightmare, but as the doctors continued to walk over with that expression, I felt sothing moving inside .
I was scared, I cried. I tore my throat, I ran away from anyone who ca near .
Why?
I could think of nothing but this simple question.
Why?!
I cried even harder, biting my nails.
Why... why did he find ?!
I got tired of the nightmares, the visions I saw every ti I slept. I stopped sleeping out of fear.
I ignored everyone, including my own father.
WHY?!
WHY?!
WHY?!
I didn't even know how much ti had passed since I woke up. All I did was hide under my covers all day long.
But after a while... a strange feeling suddenly enveloped my body.
I couldn't understand what it was at first, but then... I rembered this alien feeling.
I heard the door handle moving.
"Don't open it."
Actually... when I think about it, isn't it his fault?
Wasn't he talking to that man when he was torturing to death?
Isn't he responsible for what happened to ?
"Celi-"
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
Isn't he the sa as that guy?
Didn't he walk on too?
Didn't he also want to make suffer?
That otherworldly sensation enveloped my body even more violently. I felt my head start to spin.
"LEAVE ALONE!"
If there was anyone I didn't want to see, it was him in particular.
If there was anyone I hated more than that man, it was him.
"Celine, I wa-"
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH?!"
I started to tear up, my whole body trembled as that strange feeling enveloped . I wanted not to speak, but my lips parted on their own.
"IT HURT! I WAS SCARED! I WANTED TO DIE!"
Those monts I didn't want to rember ca back to .
"ALL I COULD DO WAS SCREAM AS I WAS BEING SKINNED ALIVE!"
I don't even have a scar on my arm now, but that pain was burned into my bones in a way I will never forget.
"AS MY LEGS BURNED, ALL I COULD DO WAS WATCH THEM SLOWLY TURN TO CHARCOAL!"
It's all because of him, isn't it?
"BECAUSE OF YOU! BECAUSE... Because of you... all of it happened..."
I stopped screaming because my throat started to hurt, but the tears didn't stop. The feeling that enveloped my body beca more intense. Strangely... I felt myself calming down.
"I hate... I hate my father, the nobles, the humans, you... I hate everything, all of you..."
I'm saying this, but...
Why do I feel... peaceful?
Why I don't want him to go when I take my anger out on him...?
So I realized.
That strange, otherworldly feeling was comforting as it enveloped my body.
"Yes, it's all because of ."
His voice echoed in my ears when he finally had a chance to speak.
"I'm sorry, everything is my fault. If... if it wasn't for , none of this would have happened. I'm sorry for bothering you Celine, if you don't want to, I'll do my best to never appear in front of you again, but... at least I want you to know that I'll heal you, I'll find that man."
My head started to spin, again. This ti even more violently.
The strange sensation that gave peace was getting more intense. It enveloped my body even tighter, almost cleansing my thoughts.
"I'm going to find that man and I'm going to make sure he suffers the maximum pain he can suffer. I'm not going to kill him, I'm going to throw him to the bottom of a hell he'll never get out of. I will do whatever it takes to make you better, whether it takes three, five, or ten years. I will do it no matter how long it takes."
So he was silent for a mont. I heard him turn around and take a step away from . He was walking away from , just the way I wanted him to.
As this was happening, I realized sothing else.
He... doesn't sound strange when he talks to , he doesn't suddenly start mumbling strange things.
"Goodbye."
My eyes widened for a mont.
His voice doesn't change like the others, he doesn't tell what that man said.
"Don't go."
Aiden paused.
"Don't go..."
I don't want... I don't want the only person I can talk with to leave. I don't want this feeling that envelops my body, that comforts , to disappear.
"D- don't go..."
I am angry with him, I hate him, I don't want to see him, I hold him guilty even though I know he is not guilty. But... I want him to stay with , I don't want him to leave.
I... what do I feel?
What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to feel...?
"If that's what you want, okay."
I heard him approaching . I waited for the door to open, I was ready for it to open, but Aiden didn't open the door. Instead, he leaned his back against the door and let himself fall to the floor.
"If you want to go, I'll go. If you want to stay, I'll stay. If you hate , I'll never show my face again. I know what happened to you because of . I watched the whole thing with my eyes open and I... I just... couldn't do anything."
His voice trembled for a mont, so he paused. He took a deep breath, then continued.
"So, now I will do whatever I can for you. Whatever you want, don't hesitate to tell ."
I didn't say anything, I couldn't.
Silence slowly filled the room.
I finally sat up, got out from under the covers, letting the feeling envelop my body. I felt my thoughts clouding again, but... it was peaceful.
No... I should be closer.
When I tried to get out of bed, I realized that my legs hurt, that it was difficult for to take a step. Still, I approached the door, and without thinking for a mont I put my hand on the handle. But then... I hesitated again.
I can't... I'm not ready yet. I'm... scared.
I leaned my back against the door, just as he did, and slowly let myself fall to the floor.
The target of my anger was the only person I could relax and talk to. Even though I blad him, he didn't yell at , he just accepted it. He didn't hesitate to take my anger out on himself.
There was only a door between us. If I focused hard enough, I could even hear his breathing, and the feeling emanating from him felt more real and comforting than ever.
Just standing next to , even if it was a strange reaction caused by my skill, filled with serenity.
I pulled my legs to , wrapped my arms around them, and put my head between my knees.
For the first ti since the day I woke up, I felt like I could sleep properly.
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