the Pain of Truth [Ray X Reader] (the Promised Neverland)

71

(Y/N) Pov:

"What? What do you mean, 'failure'?" asked Emma, a confused look on her face. I stared at her with wide eyes, then pointed at the small screen, saying: "It reads 'failure'."

She quickly checked, her green eyes widening. "No way! Why? What went wrong? It was working just fine!" she called out, staring at the screen.

A new sound suddenly erupted, making me gasp lightly, having not expected it. We all turned to face the sudden noise, finding a telephone standing there, ringing.

"A telephone?" asked Emma, making me nod slightly. Without wasting another second, I walked up to it, taking it into my hand. After taking a deep breath, I lifted it up, holding it close to my ear.

Emma and Lucas quickly joined my side, listening in. I didn't say anything, instead, I waited for the other person to speak, which they eventually did.

"Hello, I'm William Minerva." Our eyes widened, but we kept silent. "I trust that you, who picked up this phone, are an escapee. I shall keep it short. First of all, I'm obligated to apologize to you... I'm sorry."

I furrowed my brows, concentrating on the phone call. "The elevator that stands before you leads indeed here, to the human world. However, it's not working anymore." What? It's not... working anymore?

"Why did it stop working?! Where are you right now?" asked Emma. Minerva-san said: "I don't know in which year you are listening to this, when you broke free, but if you can listen to this recording, it means the elevator has stopped moving."

A recording, huh? Then that means... Minerva-san can't contact us, after all? That could be it. "It doesn't work anymore. The path has been closed. My own carelessness is to blame. I failed to predict that a trusted ally would betray the cause."

So he was betrayed? That's probably how this place was made into a hunting ground. "The village that I build there, at A08-63 probably isn't safe anymore. After what that person did, it's probably been destroyed or else found out by them."

I see. So I was right. This is... bad. If they found this place, then what keeps them from finding B06-32? "I'd like to atone for my faults. My real name is James Ratri. I'm a descendant of the clan who sealed the promise with them, 1'000 years ago."

I glanced over at Emma, just to make sure that I wasn't imagining this phone call. "I am the 35th generation clan leader. The promise has been carried among us, generation after generation. We're tasked as conciliators between the two worlds."

I don't think I like where this is going... "For the sake of keeping order in the human world, you, human cattle, have been forced to be sacrificed. For a thousand years, generation after generation, the promise was kept..."

"I couldn't just abandon the duties that fell upon me. There would be consequences for the human world. However, I couldn't take it anymore, either. I couldn't turn a blind eye to this horror as a fellow human being." That's just like us back as Grace Field, isn't it?

"At last, I decided to give you the chance of choosing your own future. So I inserted a code in the books destined for the plantations, assuming the alias of a fictional figure, William Minerva."

"It was a poor, deficient strategy, but even if only a few children would find it... I wanted to give them a safe place. And a secret escape route, open to all who found it."

"But now the route has been closed, and the village, too, is probably unusable by now. In addition, after that person's plans were set in motion, my own clan is now targeting my life." What? That's horrible. His own family...

"I'm recording this on the 20th of march, 2031. When you listen to this, I'll probably already be gone." "Wha-" started Emma, not being able to finish that simply word.

So he's already dead? Of course... This is... What he did for us is... It's unforgivable for them. Demons don't care about us at all, unless we have a certain score. And killing off one capable person just to have the privilege of eating more and more full-score children is probably worth it.

I lightly shook my head, continuing to listen. "I'm so sorry. Still, we're not defeated yet. I don't have any intentions of letting them kill me. And I'm not the only one on your side, either." There's more? Please, at least someone has to still be alive...

"Furthermore, that elevator isn't the only pathway through. The way forward is quite dangerous, yes, but there are numerous routes of escape. For example, the Grace Field House." Our eyes widened once more.

This time, it was Emma that looked at me, making sure she heard that right. I nodded at her, showing her that she did hear that right. So we were always that close to cross the worlds? Norman... We were always this close...

"Also Glory Bell, Grand Valley, and Goodwill Ridge. At the very least, the pathways that lie inside these four high-quality plantations are different from Goldy Pond. They can't be closed."

"Choose now the future you wish to bring forth. If you'd like to escape here in secret, we will send supporters to help you. You and your comrades, if you have any, will be taken through some pathway or another."

"If, however, that's not what you want, if you feel like you must end the peace, break the promise, and destroy the warped system that protects this world... Then destroy it."

"Raise the banner of war against them. The two worlds will then go back to how they were before. It would be kill or be killed. But who could blame you?"

We should break the promise? Didn't we already do this? "I won't break the promise myself. But I won't stop you, either, and neither will my allies. However."

"If you can't see the future you want in either of these options, then look for the seven walls." "The seven walls?" asked Lucas, eyeing us. Emma seemed to be frozen. I'll ask her about it later. Maybe Mujika told her something about the seven walls?

"I'm sorry, I can't speak more. If you're interested, you can find the details in Marvin's Nest. All I need to tell you will be there. About everything so far, and about what comes next, too."

"Congratulations on coming this far. You probably had some horrible experiences along the way. But you've overcome it all, and managed to arrive here. I really wanted to hear your voice, and of your friends. You're probably with them, right?"

"I wanted to see all your faces. There is a light. Seize it with your hands. Live. I'm praying for your success." Then, there was nothing to be heard. "It's over." noted Emma. I put the phone back down, stepping back a bit to think for a few seconds.

This whole situation is... it's making my head hurt. I leaned onto the wall for support, trying to sort my thoughts. Minerva-san was betrayed, A08-63 was found out about, and Minerva-san was dead all along? I just can't focus. This is too much.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Picture from:

https://www.pinterest.ch/pin/667306869793051168/