I wasn’t even sure why I was doing what I was doing.
What I had told Leon wasn’t exactly the truth. While the nickname did bother me, I wasn’t helping Linus because of that.
‘Ah, fuck. Why did I even have to remember that moment again?’
Rubbing my head with my free arm, I looked at the trembling Linus before me. His expression was pale and his eyes were unfocused.
Whatever he was experiencing, it was probably traumatizing.
‘… He might misunderstand this and even think I’m messing with him, but that’s fine.’
I thought back to the time when I first came into this world.
To the time when everything felt foreign to me and I was suddenly thrust into a precarious situation that could’ve cost me my life.
‘Even now, I can still remember the cold touch of Leon’s blade against my neck…’
What truly helped me calm down and process my emotions was the first leaf. Experiencing such powerful and intense emotions, I was able to keep a hold of my emotions. This was different compared to my time in the weird cult.
I didn’t have such a weird experience, which in turn made it a lot harder for me to think properly.
“The situation was also quite a bit more extreme…’
In any case, I believed that the best way to help Linus keep control of his emotions was through a similar stimulus I had experienced at the start of my journey.
‘Even if your personality is nasty, if you don’t reject them, there’s bound to be some people who will stick with you.’
“Ah, fuck.”
Hearing Noel’s voice in my head, I scratched the back of my head once again.
Staring at the shivering Linus, and seeing the frown on his face, I rubbed my head even harder.
‘I can’t promise I’ll ever make friends, but I’ll listen to what you said. If it’s too troublesome I’ll stop, okay?’
“….Leave me alone.”
***
Linus was apprehensive upon entering the training grounds.
He knew that he could just avoid the message sent to him by his brother and not show up, but he also understood that with his brother’s influence, he could make his life even harder than it already was.
In preparation for what was to come, he made some arrangements.
If something were to happen to him, everyone would know it was Julien.
With all preparations done, he arrived at the training area. He was confused about the location but still steeled himself and entered.
It was dark but he could see his brother’s silhouette, sitting in the middle with his legs crossed.
What happened next happened quickly.
Before Linus knew it, Julien pressed his finger against his forehead and he felt his vision go blank.
Sweat started to pool down the side of his face.
His heart clenched, and his breathing became fainter.
‘W-what is going on?’
Linus’s mind became a mess.
He could hardly think or see.
Everything just felt so… out of place.
“A-ah, h-elp.”
He felt something invisible creep in from the depths of his mind, pulling at his brain and making his body grow stiff. The bottom half of his body started trembling and he almost felt his bladder shake.
He just barely managed to contain himself as a voice reached his ears.
“You have five minutes to calm yourself down.”
Linus felt his stomach drop at the sound of the voice.
It was low, almost like a whisper. However, to the current him, it sounded like it came straight from the depths of hell. It sent shivers down his entire body.
“….If you can’t calm down within the next five minutes, I’ll throw you out of the training grounds naked.”
Linus’s entire body stiffened.
Why..?
Why would he do this to him?
A certain emotion rose from the depths of his chest.
He was just about to speak when the finger pressed up against his forehead pushed down
further.
“I’m increasing the intensity.”
“Ah-!”
Linus felt his mind numb.
His already fastly moving heartbeat beat even harder and he lost his breath.
“Akh.. Arkh…!”
Weird sounds came out of his mouth as he started to suffocate.
‘No, no, no, no…’
With the last shred of sanity within his mind, Linus bit onto his lips. He couldn’t understand
why Julien was doing this to him, but he didn’t have the luxury to think about it.
Recalling the words Julien had said to him, Linus started to panic.
…A-anything but that!’
He knew his life would be over the moment people spotted him.
Furthermore, he didn’t doubt for one second that his brother was going to keep his word. He
knew his brother all too well.
‘D-damn it!’
Linus clenched his shirt and gripped it tightly.
At the same time, he bit tightly onto his lips as something dripped down from his mouth.
“Ukh.”
Falling to his knees, Linus pounded the ground with his fist.
Thump!
The pain served to help him distract his mind.
For a brief moment, his mind cleared up.
Thump, thump-!
That brief moment of clarity made him realize he could get out of the situation. Without a second thought, he started to punch the ground with all the force he could muster.
“…Just… let… this pass!”
His hands felt wet, and he had to stop several times in order to remind himself to breathe. However, in due time, he was able to clear his mind.
Linus was able to push the creeping sensation that was controlling his mind.
Once his mind was clear enough, he stopped punching the ground and forced himself to sit
cross-legged while closing his eyes.
It was there that he started to focus on his breathing.
‘Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.’
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he knew he didn’t have much time left.
‘Breathe in, breathe out…’
He persisted.
‘Breathe in, breathe out.’
He had to persist.
He couldn’t let his brother win.
He couldn’t!?
Linus clenched his teeth. The rage that had been bottling within his chest surged all at once,
replacing the artificial ‘fear’ that his brother had implanted within his body.
That was when his eyes snapped open and his mouth opened, preparing to shout at Julien.
“Why are you-A-ah?”
Linus’s words stopped right as they were about to leave.
Opening his eyes wide, he looked around and realized.
He was… alone.
The training ground was entirely empty, and his brother was gone.
But… didn’t he?
“Wait, what time is it?”
Taking out his pocket watch, Linus checked the time.
It was; 8:47 A.M.
His eyes immediately shot up as he hastily stood up from the spot. While he didn’t understand
why his brother was gone, he didn’t have much time to dwell on that matter.
He was late for class!
Without a second thought, he sprinted out of the training grounds.
As he sprinted out, a figure appeared by the end of the corner of the room, leaning against the
side of the wall. Cancelling ‘Veil of Deceit’, Julien yawned.
“Huam.”
It took about three hours and fifteen minutes for Linus to remove the influence of his emotive
magic. While it sounded like a lot of time, Julien did go quite hard on him.
His persistence was quite noteworthy.
“Yeah, not too bad.”
Letting out another yawn, Julien took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
That’s when his eyes snapped open and he immediately shot up on his feet.
“Fuck!”
Rolling his sleeves down, Julien similarly rushed out of the training grounds.
He was also late!
***
“Sir, we apologize. We are unable to find the whereabouts of your previous assistant. We’ve
sent out several Keepers, but we’ve yet to find a single trace.”
“….I see.”
Ivan glanced at the white-clad figures-Inquisitors-standing before him and gave a slight nod. As he did, his hand instinctively moved to rub his forehead.
“It’s been days since her disappearance, and she suddenly disappeared from out of thin air.
This shouldn’t make sense. I have a feeling there’s more to the situation. No, never mind.”
Ivan waved his hand.
“I’ll take care of this myself.”
“But sir…!”
“Just go. Tell the others I’ll be the one to handle this. Nobody can touch my people without
my permission.”
“… Understood.”
Seeing the seriousness in Ivan’s tone, the two Inquisitors looked at each other before
lowering their heads and leaving his office.
Clank!
The silence that followed right after their departure felt suffocating.
Ivan stood still, his gaze locked on the door. From his position, he could faintly hear the
muffled sound of footsteps echoing as they passed through his area. A strange ringing sound echoed in his mind and his eyes started to lose focus.
He stood like that for several minutes until he finally snapped out of it.
By the time he did, he found his palms to be strangely sweaty.
…..This should end things.’
Days had passed since the ‘incident’ and his already terrible sleep only grew worse. He had
done his best to cover up his actions, but there was always this nagging voice at the back of his
mind that told him he had missed something.
That…
He was going to be found out soon.
Fortunately for him, he was never found out. All investigations led to empty air and with him
now taking over the investigation, it was safe to say that the entire situation was taken care
of.
“Ho.”
Slumping down on his chair, Ivan leaned back on his chair and blankly stared at the ceiling.
His eyelids felt heavy and a strange drowsiness overtook his mind. He wanted to sleep, but he
knew he couldn’t. With everything that had happened, he had neglected a lot of work.
He had a lot of work piled up and he knew he couldn’t leave it any longer. Rubbing his eyes, Ivan leaned forward and reached out for his pen when his hand suddenly
paused and his expression changed.
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
The unsteady beat of his heart drummed loudly within his mind as his eyes shook.
A lump formed in his throat.
“No, it can’t be…”
As his breathing grew visibly more labored, Ivan blinked his eyes a couple of times. But he had
a hard time as a box appeared right on his desk.
It was a familiar box.
….One that he recognized in an instant.
How could he not?
After all, it was the same box that started this entire mess.
“No, this makes no sense.”
Ivan stood up and shook his head, his palms growing even sweatier as he fixed his attention
on the box in front of him. Pursing his lips tightly, Ivan was just about to reach out for the box
when a slender hand reached out for his shoulder and a voice whispered in his ear. “You look tired. Why don’t you have a drink?”