Chapter 284: The ash that lingers in the air [3]
Creak-
I was eventually able to pull the door of the cabinet open. What greeted my sight was a torn- out room. Bed sheets, toys, pieces of furniture, and the shards of a broken mirror... the floor was littered with all sorts of objects.
It looked like a hurricane had swept through the room.
.....What happened?'
A crunching sound echoed as I took a step forward.
It took a moment for me to completely register my surroundings. I looked through all the little clues that were scattered around the room, from the pictures to the teddy bears that were torn, and the pieces started to piece themselves together.
"This is Kiera's room.'
Right now, it was a complete mess and I was the only one present.
For some reason, I was still stuck within the realm of the third leaf. Thinking about the third leaf, my head throbbed.
"The second time."
This was the second time that something I couldn't make sense of occurred.
The first time with Delilah and her chocolates, and the second time with Kiera and the... cigarettes.
"... Is it really time travel?"
But how was that possible...? If it was really time travel, then was I the one who influenced both Delilah and Kiera? Did that even make sense?
"Could be some sort of paradox where I'm just following what has already occurred."
In that sense, if I was really the one who had influenced the two of them, the world's timeline had already adjusted to take into consideration my future actions.
That...
Quite frankly, I had a hard time wrapping my head over that thought.
What would happen if I just went ahead and killed them? ...Or could there be that there were restrictions? Like the invisible wall that blocked me from getting near Kiera?
"That could be it...'
But I was more inclined to believe that I was merely relieving an altered version of their deepest traumas. In Delilah's case, the person who had given her chocolates was someone else, and the one who had been lighting up the cigarettes in the cabinet was Kiera herself.
Thinking about the time that I spent in the cabinet, I turned around to look at it.
Just like the rest of the furniture, it was quite worn down, filled with all sorts of scratches and dents on the outside.
The latch was broken, and when I looked at it, I realized something.
'I should've been able to push the door open without a problem.'
Creaaak-!
As expected, the moment I touched the door, it creaked as it effortlessly opened at my touch. That was when I realized that the only one trapped within that cabinet was me.
Kiera... she wasn't trapped.
She was merely hiding in there.
"Ah."
I also understood something else.
"So that's the case..."
The reason why I was trapped, suffocated, and felt hungry... It was because the third leaf was making me experience everything that Keira had felt back then.
From how she felt trapped in the dark, to the fear and sense of helplessness that engulfed her.
I was made to feel everything.
"....."
Closing my eyes, I quietly recalled all of the sensations and seared them into my mind before opening my eyes again.
The moment my eyes opened, I found myself standing in the familiar alleyway.
Kiera was lying before me and I could hear her aunt's voice from the side.
I understood then...
'I'm back.'
The vision had ended. I thought I'd be able to understand more about the situation, but it only led to more questions.
Nonetheless, piecing everything together, I had an idea of what had happened.
"Are you not listening to me?"
"....I am."
Raising my head, I looked toward Kiera's aunt. Her eyes were narrowed, and I could tell that she was annoyed with me.
But for some reason, she held back.
I had an idea as to why, and I used that to my full advantage.
"How many years has it been since you've been tasked with finding the mirror?"
||
||
The moment my voice fell, her mouth closed. She just looked at me without saying a single word. It was a pity considering that I was doing this to get information out of her, but I was a
patient person.
I continued to try to tear her walls down,
"You've become desperate over the years."
I lightly glanced in Kiera's direction.
"In your fit of rage, you almost killed her. Your precious niece. But in the end, you still didn't
get a single clue as to where the mirror is."
"It's pathetic."
I made sure to emphasize the last few words.
....As I spoke, I thought about lightly injecting a bit of emotive magic into my voice, but I held myself back. While the chances were not high, there was a slim chance that she'd detect
something.
For that reason, I held back on that notion.
I just didn't think I'd need it anyway.
"Killing her will only jeopardize our situation. The Chancellor is in town. The moment Kiera
dies or disappears, you won't escape her sight. Bremmer might be under 'our' control, but there's a limit. If that monster really tries, none of us... and I mean, none of us will be able to
escape her."
If Deliah was dead set on hunting down the person responsible for killing Kiera, then nobody would be able to stop her
Not Atlas, not the Emperor, and not her.
There was no running away from Delilah, and Kiera's aunt started to understand this as her
expression started to relax.
The moment I saw this, I didn't relax.
Rather, I grew more tense and stopped speaking.
||
She didn't say a word either and just stared at me in silence.
Not to be outdone, I stared right back at her. Into those familiar-looking ruby-red eyes until
eventually, her lips twisted into a light smirk.
"You're lucky."
It was just two words, but they were enough to make me understand her decision.
"...I feel really tempted to just kill you, but like you said, it won't end well for me if I do that."
She shrugged.
"Such a pity. I thought I was close to finding the whereabouts of the mirror, but she really is a
tough nut to crack."
Lowering her head, Rose's gaze paused on Kiera.
"Truly... what a pity"
Rose turned around.
She wore a gray suit that fit her contours perfectly. A white blazer draped over her shoulder,
flapping behind her as she turned around.
Without looking back, she left the alleyway with her hands in her pockets.
"...I'll be coming again soon. I'll leave her in your hands."
As the gentle clicks of her heels grew more and more distant, my eyes locked with that of the
Professor's. He didn't say anything, but I understood his intentions. Subtly nodding my head,
he nodded back and turned around, following Rose from behind.
||
||
Shortly after they left, I stood in silence, quietly staring at Kiera lying on the ground with her
hair scattered across her face.
Memories of the time that I was trapped in the dark space resurfaced in my mind.
I wasn't sure for how long I stood, but eventually, I lowered my body and picked her up.
Mist began to spread from my body, enveloping us both entirely. I then took my first step out
of the alleyway and headed back to the residence.
'Just this one time.'
***
Kiera felt herself go in and out of consciousness.
A face continuously popped up in her mind, causing her heart to beat in agitation.
Slipping in and out of consciousness, she'd see the familiar darkness, and her heart quivered.
The dark... she hated it.
No, feared it.
...The more she was exposed to it, the more her anxiety grew.
It was for this reason that she never slept with her light off. It reminded her too much of that
time.
She did everything in her power to forget that time.
From cleaning up her room and being tidy so that she wouldn't be reminded of the state it was
in after she came out, to making sure she'd never be alone in the dark.
Kiera did her absolute best to forget.
And yet...
The face flashed in her mind again, and her eyes flared open.
That bitch!
Lurching back, Kiera's expression twisted as she felt herself held by something.
"You bitc-!"
Her words stopped the moment she realized something amiss.
"Uh?"
Looking around, Kiera was stunned to see her leaning against someone's back. It was a wide
back, and as her gaze fell on the person carrying her, she realized he looked familiar.
"....You're awake."
Even his voice was familiar.
Who could it...
"We're almost there."
As his head turned, Kiera was finally able to see his face.
With soft black hair and deep hazel eyes that carried a certain dignity that was hard to hide, it
was none other than Julien.
And it was only when she saw him that she finally registered what had happened as she relaxed. But not for long as her head flicked to check her surroundings, only to be stunned to
see that they were surrounded by a mist.
"Wha-"
"An ability of mine."
"The situation called for it."
"Oh."
Kiera looked down and understood. Indeed, if he were to walk around like this, It'd be pretty
fucking weird.
"You can let go."
"Sure."
Julien stopped, and Kiera hopped off his back. She looked at the mist for a brief second before
shifting her attention back to Julien.
There were a lot of questions that she was meaning to ask.
"What happened? Why are you carrying me?"
"....Beats me."
Julien shrugged.
"I found you in the middle of an alleyway passed out. I'm the one who is most curious about
your situation."
"Oh."
Kiera's eyes narrowed.
For some reason, she didn't believe him.
He definitely knew something. Still, she let go of it. Since he didn't want to say it, she didn't
press him on it.
"Right..."
Kiera cleared her throat and faced Julien directly.
"My aunt came."
"She's the reason why I am in the state that I am."
She didn't hide anything at all, telling him everything. As she did, her gaze was fixed on him.
She wanted to see what reaction he'd make. See some sort of opening she could exploit, but...
||
That opening never came.
The entire time his expression remained stoic.
It annoyed Kiera, but what could she do? It wasn't as if she could force the information out of
him. Just as Kiera was about to resign herself to the situation, Julien finally spoke.
"Your aunt survived, how do you feel about that?"
".... How do I feel about that?"
Kiera scoffed, looking at Julien with a mocking look.
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Wasn't the answer obvious?
She felt like shit. Like absolute shit, and just when she was about to say that to him, she
realized something.
Her mouth... It refused to let those words out.
'Uh?'
Regardless of how much she tried, the words just refused to leave her mouth. Stunned, Kiera looked at Julien who was looking back at her with the same aloof gaze of his.
Kiera stared into those eyes for an uncomfortable amount of time before eventually biting her
lips and lowering her head.
"Happy."
"....Why?"
Rather than being surprised, Julien's tone remained passive.
Kiera stood in silence for a brief moment before raising her head again.
"Because I wanted to kill her myself."
Right, Kiera wanted to be the one to kill her aunt. Not Julien, not anyone else, but herself.
Julien stood in silence for a brief moment, taking in her words before opening his mouth
again,
"What if I were to tell you that I was the one who helped her escape?"
Kiera froze for a second, unable to fully register his words as she dumbly looked at him. His
expression was indifferent, staring at her and seeing what her answer would be. Kiera didn't know how to react as her brows knit together.
Was he being serious or was he joking? Kiera thought back to that time in prison and thought
back on his actions.
But the more she thought about it, the more she found it unlikely for him to have had any play
in her aunt's escape.
'He most likely thinks he helped her escape with his attack.'
Or some sort of bullshit like that.
That's when she thought properly about the question, and soon enough, her lips twisted into
a smirk as she walked into the fog.
"I'd thank you for it."
Kiera chuckled.
"....But also kill you for it."
Her figure eventually fully merged with the fog, making her disappear completely and leaving
Julien standing by himself.
Raising his hand, he looked at his palm.
"Kill me for it?"
The corner of his lips gently pulled up as his hand closed.
"....I guess that's to be expected."
Kiera Mylne Slumber
: Progress - 13% --> 19%
