Chapter 75: The One Above

Chapter 75: The One Above

Iris was sitting in an infirmary room, peeling an apple. She went about the task in silence, her face closed.

In front of her, Thomas was lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling. The sound of the air conditioner was the only sign that time had not stopped.

Iris finished peeling the fruit and proceeded to cut it up, and for the first time since that day, Thomas was able to speak.

"You should have gone with them."

Iris froze for a moment, holding the apple and a knife, then, silently, resumed her duty.

Thomas, still looking at the ceiling, folded his hands behind his head.

"There's no point, really, I'm fine, a little lighter than before, but at least I'm alive."

He raised his right arm and looked at the back of his hand.

Noticing the silence, he smiled, mockingly and turned to Iris.

"Don't give me that, if you're angry because you stayed here instead of following them, it's your fault...

Ah, but good for you haha, now you're stuck here with a loser. "

He laughed lightly, Iris, with trembling hands, placed the knife and the fruit on a plate.

"Could you stop that? If you don't have anything better to say, just stay quiet."

She placed her hands on her knees, clenched together.

Thomas sat up, looking at the palm of his hand.

"Are you saying that because it's your honest feeling or is it your 'he's too weak to deserve my attention' side?"

"sigh... What did I say? I could never understand you... Why did you have to do that?"

Thomas looked at her for a moment, her face illuminé par les rayons du soleil couchant offrait un spectacle angélique.

He remembered the first time he lost the ability to speak, as he watched her.

He gently smiled, turning his gaze to his hand.

"I tried to help you... If I had lost, you would have been his plaything... Somehow I feel like you wanted that."

Un bruit sec résonnait dans la pièce. Thomas porta sa main à sa joue rougie.

He smiled and looked at Iris, who was shaking.

"Idiot... Idiot!... Why are you always like that... One moment you say something about me and then you insult me... I can't understand you... Why are you so mean to me?... I just can't get it..."

She clenched her fists, a spark of light running throughout her cheek.

"... You said..."

"Forget it, it wasn't important."

She opened her eyes widely and slowly leva la tête.

"Everything that happened before will stay in the past... Everything."

He turned toward her, his smile disappearing.

"Thomas Villeneuve is dead, consider that the one I was before doesn't exist anymore."

He turned his gaze towards the window, a melancholy expression on his face.

Iris looked at him, as if waiting for him to say it was a joke. But the pun never came up.

Head down, she muttered.

"This is what you want?"

Thomas smiled again and looked at the palms of his hands.

"It's the only logical outcome, I know how this world works, I know how everyone sees the weak... how you see them. I'd rather be the one to cut ties."

She took her bag and slowly got up. She looked at him for a moment.

Thomas didn't dare raise his head, he forced himself to smile and clenched his fists.

"I'm really disappointed. Hurt and disappointed... You really hurt me today."

She turned her back on him and started to walk away, but as she reached the door, she stopped and began to slowly turn around.

"Don't do that, Iris. We both know you want to see him... He can give you what you want, isn't that amazing? Meanwhile, I can't... I can no longer... "

He opened his hands, his voice starting to sound broken.

"I don't feel my power anymore... I can't see the stars anymore... I saw their eyes, I saw how the teachers looked at me... I know it's not just fatigue... I have lost all my power, Iris. I can no longer stay by your side... please go away."

He lay on his side so as not to show his face.

Iris looked at him one last time with a frown.

"You keep saying I'm obsessed with power but look at you... Do you think I need people to be strong to care about them?"

"You don't even realize it, it's the worst thing about you!"

He stood up, tears streaming down his eyes.

"That's why I wanted to defeat him now... because I knew... I knew... I did all that and now what do I have left?!... If you can't not understand now, just leave..."

He lay down, covering his face with his arm.

Iris gave him a pitiful look then shook her head and left.

In his bed, Thomas murmured.

"You're such a bad liar... I looked at you... I watched all your reactions... you smiled when he put you in the bet... I saw your face when I was about to defeat him... You were desperate... I saw your joy when he got up... what was I fighting for?"

He laughed lightly, alone in his bed, supported only by the rays of the setting sun.

*

*

Meanwhile, the car stopped in the courtyard of the royal castle.

The surroundings were luxurious, beautifully decorated, and reminiscent of fairy tale gardens.

Dora got out of the vehicle, followed by Moonra and Solaria.

In the vehicle, Freya, Mercy, and Zuri were with Eryl.

Hope had remained at the academy, at Mercy's request, for fear that Dora would regain enough strength to erase him from existence and Cid had received the same order from Freya.

Solaria and Moonra looked around.

"Isn't anyone there?... Damn, so Mother is really planning something..." Moonra sighed.

Solaria, walked next to Dora, with a worried expression and after taking a few glances around them, she whispered to him.

"Look, maybe we still have a chance, if you tell her that you really want to become my knight, that you really, really like me, my charisma, whatever you could say... maybe she will see you as a toy instead?"

"... Is this another attempt to trap me?"

"You fool! You don't understand who you're dealing with! Look around you... She's probably asked everyone to leave the castle... She's not just waiting for you, she's expecting a Sin... anything could..."

"Geez, princess, you really need to fix this running tongue problem." Eryl appeared right behind them, startling the two heirs.

"I-I was just advising him! Stop being scary!"

The servant placed a hand on Moonra's shoulder and slowly stroked his neck.

"Your mother would prefer that he wasn't a normal citizen, she wants to meet a pure Avatar, you know what I mean? How about you join us in the car instead? I'll tell you the whole story as promised."

Moonra and Solaria lowered their heads and walked towards the car.

Solaria looked at Dora with a pleading expression.

"... please... watch your mouth..."

They left, followed by Eryl who returned and smiled at Dora.

"Oh, my apologies, you might be a little lost. The castle has been completely booked to welcome you, so there's no one... Well, there is one person, and she's waiting for you."

Dora glanced at the huge golden gates of the castle and turned to Eryl.

"Okay... Am I going to be executed by the devil or something?"

"... Terribly accurate."

His eyes opened wide, and Eryl slowly turned towards the vehicle with her natural mischievous smile.

"I trust you, you are a very smart person, you won't let the situation lead to that."

The huge doors opened, without anyone pushing them.

Dora, grimacing, began to walk. Step by step, without any knowledge of his direction, only Eryl's words.

He walked through the door and suddenly lowered his arms.

"Ah..."

He placed a hand on his chest, his heart beating gradually, then turned towards the door, only to see an endless corridor.

"Damn..."

He looked furtively around him, like a beast in a circus.

In a matter of seconds, he found himself standing at the bottom of a grand staircase, bewildered by the sudden change of scenery. As he took in his surroundings, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

Suddenly, a new message appeared in front of him.

|Special Quest: The Path to Survival

|Escape the castle in 60 seconds

"... What?"

*

*

In the car, Eryl was about to begin her meeting with the nobles.

The vehicle was a long limousine model, popular among the bourgeoisie, and the passenger seats faced each other and were separated by a small table, usually intended for storing alcohol.

"Very well... I hope this time you won't tell us another nursery rhyme." Freya crossed her arms.

"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't have used the name Gluttony if I hadn't wanted to change the world today... I'm not just going to tell you the story, I'm about to teach you history, and thereby condemn your peaceful life."

Eryl leaned back in her seat, her hair turning a shade of purple and her orange eyes making the girls in front of her, as well as Moonra, shiver.

"What is this...transformation?"

"This, Lady Mercy, is the result of what is called the blessing of sin, but we will have plenty of time to talk about it. For now, let us begin with the origin of all things."

She ran a finger over her chin and crossed her legs.

"Have you ever wondered why this country is still a traditional kingdom?"

*

*

In the infirmary, Thomas' mother was crying on the floor. Her husband held his face to the point that drops of blood beaded from his scratches.

"Idiot... now you've done it... You've sacrificed your entire family..."

Thomas was stunned. He expected his parents to blame him for losing his power, jeopardizing their inheritance in the royal knights, he had publicly insulted the nobles, in his eyes, there were many reasons to disinherit him of his own name, but what his mother had said before collapsing to the ground had just dealt him a big blow to the head.

"How could you fight a sin?... What have I done to the Good Lord to deserve this? Do you want us to die so badly?"

That day, for the very first time in his life, Thomas's eyes were opened to the reality of the world around him, the real reason why his parents had violently rejected a poor girl.

*

*

Dora, in a state of urgency, hastily opened the door to a room. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he scanned his surroundings. He found himself in a culinary space, filled with an assortment of cooking tools, including sharp knives and a hot oven. Two tables were set before him, each one adorned with an array of delectable dishes.

"Stop... Make it stop..."

He looked exhausted, in a completely new way. Every instinct urged him to leave, the System offered him a new quest to support his worry, and most of all, every time he turned to look back, the room he was in instantly changed.

He suddenly remembered that he possessed the power to teleport anywhere in the kingdom and began to focus his energy.

"Don't even think about it."

Midgard's voice echoed in his head. He opened his eyes, feeling a cold wind on his back.

"...Why? Even the System asks this, so why?"

"Do you believe in me?"

He placed a hand on his chest, the beats of which continued to intensify.

"I will... die if... I stay here..." n)(0VelbIn

"We may... But I can assure you that we will if you run away."

He lowered his arms, trying to recover his composition.

"Did you know about this thing? How many secrets are you still keeping? How can I trust you like that?!"

She was silent for a moment, the wind grew colder behind Dora's back and he felt the pressure of the last messenger of a human's life: death.

"I didn't have permission... to talk about this. I know you won't trust me again but... just for the last time, please turn around."

"... Midgard, I'm going to die! I can feel it! It's right here!"

He began to tremble, his teeth chattering against each other, a very rare sight for this formidable individual.

He raised his head, staring desperately at the ceiling.

"Everywhere... It's everywhere... How is this possible? This entire castle is the palm of one hand..."

"Dora, we were doomed the moment we walked in... Please turn around."

The first drop of sweat hit the floor, echoing throughout the room.

He lowered his head and watched the palms of his hands tremble.

That day, Anesidora discovered a feeling that he inspired in others without ever experiencing it: fear.

He was not a danger, he was not trying to escape to stay alive but to answer a natural call.

He knew he was already done.

As soon as he arrived, his life no longer belonged to him.

As he turned around slowly, the icy wind grew stronger and stronger, and when he finally faced the front, the landscape had transformed again. It was now a luxurious garden with richly decorated fountains and squirrels and birds perched on the trees. Dora observed this paradise around him, and the air had become pure and light. He gazed at the setting sun which cast a golden hue on this wonderland, as if to distract him from the nightmare he found himself in. Suddenly, he froze his focus on the ground and began to smile cynically. The sound of a glass of wine being placed on a plate sounded like a funeral oration.

"Ah, I was wrong, I almost thought you wanted to run away."

A woman's voice behind him.

He turned around for the last time and finally saw her.

Long Golden hair, blue eyes, a bang hiding her right eye, and was wearing a black dressing gown.

The ruler of the Kingdom wearing a name well-known and feared beyond the horizon, Avatar of Gluttony: the Queen, Gloria.