"For the sake of a fair fight" , Honoka screamed, her opal eyes shining with malice. She sheathed her two swords, crossing them in front of her chest, forming the shiniest X one can have the pleasure of seeing. "Put down that fire, or you will not find the strength to survive this battle"
The demon hissed, then did as she was told. Noah, still on his hands and knees, looked back at the house. Just as he had expected, it was still intact, not a single spec of ash, not a single scratch on it.
"Noah" , Honoka whispered. "What are you waiting for? Go!" Despite the darkness around, the boy could still notice the shadow of fear on the girl's face. Without another thought, he stood up and took off running, away from a war he had already lost.
The front door of the Orphanage was open, and the inside of the house was as quiet as a graveyard. As if it was trying to conceal a girl's cries.
The rainbow-colored glass greeted him the moment he entered the hall leading to the spiral stairs, and he noticed for the first time the shapes drawn on it.
Humans.
Humans with horns and skeleton-made wings. With a floating circle on top of their head. Women and men, with smirking faces that seemed to look Noah directly in the eye, to laugh at his weakness, to make fun of his existence.
Why are you here ? Why are you risking your life for nobody?
Fool. You are nothing but a fool.
You shall never be the king you wish to be. You shall never find what you seek.
Shut up! Noah screamed inside his head. He forced himself to look away from the windows, and with one last sprint, he climbed the spiraling steps until he reached the long corridor that led to the orphans' rooms.
"Hitori!" , he called, but only the echo of his voice responded to him. He glanced left and right, searching for the door that would lead to Maya's room. One odd name after another, one more minute lost with each step he took. The wood creaked under his feet, matching the beating of his heart.
Finally, after the sixth room, he found a half-open door, on which was a name crossed with a dozen black lines, over and over again. The ink went in circles, then in straight lines, hiding every letter underneath, as if the one who did it had as much hatred for the name as for its owner.
Noah shuddered. The hairs on his back stood up, and he felt like they were inside the den of a monster, blinded by its own rage.
He pushed the door open. He didn't need to turn on the lights to see. His eyes often adjusted quickly to the Darkness.
He looked around the empty room, and before he knew it, his irises shifted to the floor.
What he saw inside the room made him regret ever coming in.
There was a person lying on the floor. If one can still call it a person. Noah had no idea if she was still alive or not. But it was far more than he had seen in his entire short existence. Even his parents didn't get this far with torturing humans. Even his parents wouldn't dare do this to a living being.
Noah felt his eyes turn ice cold. He knew their color now became a shade of blue. The same ocean that once graced Hitori's hair. He did not know why they kept taking on her colors, whenever he saw her. And he had no idea how to feel about any of this.
He took a step closer, then kneeled next to the frail little thing.
They were too late. What was left of Hitori's face was nothing but the flesh underneath it. Her nose was no more, replaced by a magma of ashes. Her once-gleaming honey-coated eyes were now closed, her long eyelashes burnt away, and her rose-tainted lips were pitch black, nearly exposing the teeth underneath. She was like a doll, thrown in the fire where wax and ashes mixed, creating a hideous corpse.
Strangely, the rest of her body was not yet scarred. Her clothes were burnt, but her skin was still intact. She still had all her limbs, and her fingers were still thin and pale, the black nail polish resisting to the immense heat.
Aoki, Noah realized, must have wanted to ruin her face first, just to see how ugly she had become. Just to humiliate her, even after her death.
He put his head on her chest, listening in for the heartbeats he hoped he would find.
At first, he couldn't catch a thing. His own heart danced frantically inside his chest, making way too much noise. Why was it even acting this way? He felt as if a hand was gripping his heart, squeezing it then releasing, over and over again. He didn't remember the last time he felt this way, and he didn't know what to call it. He closed his eyes, imagining a beating ball of flesh, pumping blood. If he could envision it, maybe he could---
thump-thump-thump
It was faint. So faint Noah could have sworn he imagined it. He stayed in the same position for another minute, until he was sure of what he heard.
Then...then he stopped.
Now what?
Hitori was still alive. So what? She would die soon if he didn't save her. He knew he could. But something tugged at the boy's conscience.
Something familiar, yet he couldn't grasp what it was.
What are you doing? Since when do you care what happens to humans? She has not served you. She is not needed. What you really need is strength. And you will never get it from a human.
That's right. Noah was only allowed outside his home because he needed to study humans' behavior, then manipulate them. Conquer them. Make them his slaves. He didn't want to help anyone. He didn't want to die protecting anyone. If she risked her life, it's her fault, it's none of his---
I trust you, through and through. She had said.
Trust. Right. That concept he did not quite understand.
He was starting to remember now. His thoughts before he faced Aoki.
He had promised himself to ask her what the hell she had meant. He kept her by his side because he wanted something from her. How could he let the only person who could answer his question die? How could he waste such precious intel?
You can die, you know. You can die while saving her, and none of this silly deal you've made will matter.
This was a bad idea.
Saving someone he didn't really care about.
Risking death.
Out of sheer curiosity.
Noah laughed at his own foolishness.
What if he chose not to save her? What if he chose to spare his own life instead of hers?
What difference would it make? For as long as he could remember, the boy lived to get stronger, to survive his everyday training, to not disappoint his father, to be a son his mother could still love. He wanted to be a king, and for a long time, he believed he was.
Until today.
If he was weak, then what was the point of living? He wasn't the Chosen one. He simply didn't have what it takes.
He would rather die than live in shame.
Noah decided.
And began to chant for one last time.
Voodoo Spirits, hear my plea
For I become one of Thee
He took out his knife. Made a small cut on his forearm. The scarlet blood that spilled reflected in his wet eyes. He lifted his bleeding arm, placing it on top of what was left of Hitori's mouth. With his other hand, he forced the lips to open, and he waited until his blood made its way down his arm, till the edge of it, and a single drop fell in the charred mouth.
A soul unworthy of Death
Shall walk Earth until their last breath
A wound meant for another
Shall never be a reason to suffer
Let the pain become the Doll
Now there will be no pain at all
Noah didn't even have the time to lay down. He felt really dizzy, his head spinning in circles, the world around him turning into endless darkness.
The last thing he saw was a girl with ocean wavy pixie hair and honey colored eyes, giving him the most gracious of smiles.