To Perceive an Image

Forty-Six: Images of My Life's Disaster

Just as my finger graced the button, the sound of a tsk interrupted any proceeding actions.

Turning around, my eyes land on the last person I expected to see here.

"Noir? What are you doing here?" Flynn asked.

It was at this moment Noir's eyes ever landed on mine and never strayed.

With a growing look of pure hatred, he seethed his words while staring straight into my eyes.

"Destroying every piece of an advantage you thought you had," he declared, sounding so sure of himself.

People around us grew understandably confused and stressed as they started throwing multiple questions at anyone who could respond. For the sake of staying focused, I ignored their desperate pleas.

As if I had no control over myself, I felt my body grow unstable in its stance. My legs and hands shook in uncertainty about what to do and how to fix the undeciphered problem. The time it took for my eyes to brighten with positivity became the same time they deleted every bit of emotion, becoming angry.

With the sternest voice I could use, I asked the same question with a different motive.

"What are you doing here?"

The way the smirk on his face grew more sinister aggravated me.

"What the fuck do you want?" I yelled, having already had enough of him and his vague responses.

"Well, my first motive was to lure you in. My second motive was to make you a hero. And my third and final motive was to destroy all that I made you become."

I paid no mind to the bullshit he spewed, choosing to ignore him altogether. I ignored the world around me as I pressed the button; and continued to do so as I pressed it again when my surroundings didn't change.

We were still here. Nothing changed.

"Oh, stop trying, you look pathetic. Nothing you try will work, and certainly not the fake button I gave you," he said his words in a way that made it sound like he was joking with me. As if we were friends who did that every day.

I look at Flynn for help, begging him to come here before I let everything overwhelm me. I watch him place Malak on the ground, receiving a reassuring squeeze from khalto before coming toward the chaos that is Noir and me. He gave everyone a look before shouting words we all needed to hear.

"Don't worry, everyone, everything's fine."

Sad to say that his kind heart didn't achieve what he wanted with his words, but there are dire problems to deal with more than that.

Noir, practicing anything and everything chaos, roared the words that ruined my life.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, everyone. Go home," he pauses, letting out a scoff, "wherever that may be."

I attempted to lunch at him with violent intentions, but Flynn held me back by the arm. When I look at him with a ridiculed glare, he does nothing but mutters reassurances.

Where is he getting reassurance?

Noir continues, now adorning a big smile, "Azail here thought well outside her comfort zone when she agreed to help you all. I'm sad to say that nobody will go anywhere today. Except for Azail, she'll be coming with me to where you all are begging to be. She couldn't help you all, after all. Imagine being dumb enough to use the first tools given to you like a fool," he lets out a laugh. Wiping his nonexistent tears with his index finger wrapped with a silver ring, "ah, so emotional. Sorry for the inconvenience, and Flynn?" He calls an angry Flynn, "don't trust and fall in love so blindly next time. You don't know when someone can betray you at the drop of a hat. Or in this case, a useless button."