“No!”
Sora felt as if someone shattered her heart to pieces as she saw the two dwarves, on the ground, bleeding profusely. The fear she felt at that moment was simply indescribable. Then, a third man emerged from the darkness like a ghost and stared down at the two dwarves coldly.
His eyes seemed to peer through anything with immense precision. Sora couldn’t see his face nor the expression he had at that moment, but, she recognized that look. After all, most of the horror she witnessed her entire life came from that man.
Slowly, the man shifted his gaze to his two subordinates, making them visibly flinch. He didn’t need to utter a single word for them to understand what he wanted.
“They were too fast, boss! We coul-“
“Shhh.”
Before they could even say any excuse, the man shushed them gently before he slowly stepped over the two dwarves and walked toward them. The two felt their hearts sink in as they realized what was about to happen.
Stopping in front of them, he crouched down to their level and stared at them silently. The two froze in place, not daring to move.
“We will talk when we go back.” He said calmly, almost in a soothing tone. But, as if those words were a guillotine, the two paled even more. The worst sentence they could’ve ever heard was just spoken to them and what was about to happen was simply hell.
But, even then, they still didn’t dare to object or say anything. So, the man stood up and finally turned his head to Sora. The girl felt her entire body shiver from that strong look.
“It has been a while, Sora.” He said as he approached the barrier and then put his finger on it. But, immediately, the barrier deflected his touch with a sharp pain to his fingers. The man retracted his hand and stared at it. “Interesting… It seems whoever brought you here expected something to happen.”
“…”
“Tell me. Who are these new people you found?” He asked.
“…”
The girl didn’t reply as she remained frozen in place as if she couldn’t move at all. Even though the barrier was protecting her, Sora didn’t feel safe at all. She was afraid beyond words, with all the memories she had inflicted upon her, she was experiencing what could only be described as PTSD.
The man seemed completely aware of her fear as he simply shrugged. “Well, either way, your two friends are completely out of it and your little barrier will run out with time. So…”
Saying that, the man turned around and looked around him before he walked and picked up a large rock on the other side of the room before he put it in front of the barrier, and sat down.
“We will wait till it runs out.”
As if Sora wasn’t already terrified enough, those words made her almost lose her mind. Tears slowly rolled down her eyes as she stared at the man.
“Please… Please… Just let me be… Please…”
Her voice wavered as she begged the man with a low tone. She was extremely tired of everything. She didn’t want to come back to that hell. She simply wanted to live life free and be with Arthur and the others.
Why was she destined for all of this pain? What did she do for the world to be so cruel to her? Is it simply because she existed? Is it really just because she was born into this world?
‘I’m never… I’m never going to make it…’ Looking down, she cursed her life and her existence. She couldn’t understand why she was even still alive at this point. It was indeed far better if she would end her life right here and now.
‘I can do it… I can just end it all here…’ She muttered as she slowly looked down at her hands. It was a few moments of pain and then everything will be over and she will finally be free from this suffering.
Shakingly, she lifted her hand up, her eyes focused on them. The man seemed to notice what she was doing as he raised an eyebrow.
“What are you going to end it all?” He asked. “It is useless. You are a vessel, Sora… A broken, useless vessel, but still a vessel. They have gotten rid of you because of that. But, I saw potential in you and took you in. You should never bite the hand that feeds you, girl.”
“…”
Sora ignored his words as she kept moving her hands up to her neck.
‘I can end it all!’ The determination in her eyes made the man raise an eyebrow.
‘Could she?’
***
*One day later*
“Damn it, is it always so cold?” Arthur shuddered slightly as he looked around him. The city was as cold as ever, perhaps even colder that day for some reason.
‘Isla told me she would be a little late. I need to go check on the kids.’ He thought to himself before he started quickly moving toward their new headquarters.
He had made sure to log in as soon as he finished school just because he was worried about them. This was the first night they spent in such a place. He didn’t forget the accident Sora experienced yesterday.
Without realizing it, Arthur picked up his pace as he approached the place. Eventually, he took a turn and he saw the wooden building.
‘Hmm, it seems intact, good. There was no one that infiltrated the place.’ He thought to himself.
Reaching the door, Arthur slowly opened it and peeked inside. “Sora? Finlay? Serko?”
However, upon seeing the interior of the building, he frowned. There was no one there. Slowly, Arthur pushed the door open and walked inside. He looked left and right.
“They’re not here…” He muttered with a frown. His feeling of worry started growing deeper and deeper. “Guys! Where are you?!”
He started walking deeper into the building, looking around him. However, when his eyes slowly shifted down, he noticed that his foot had stepped on a large red spot…
Arthur froze for a moment, his heart sinking in.
‘Blood…’
A//N: Short chapter, was a little busy. Thanks for reading!