Chapter 37: Burning Shadow
A tall man walked in an illuminated hall covered with glass that magnified the power of the sun. Most would be blinded by the intensity of the light, yet the man walked as if everything was normal.
The man was completely covered by a long red dress that covered him from head to toes with some golden inscriptions along his robe. His face was covered by a golden round mask with twisted horns on its edge, and the center was the motif of a large smile that almost exceeded the outline of the mask. Finally, its eyes were shaped to be shown to be wide open, as if he wanted to tell that he was constantly looking at everyone.
The only other part noticeable from him was his hand, which was covered by a long golden glove with some crimson on its fingers.
Of course, this colour wasn't there normally, instead, it came from the blood of the little kid he was grabbing by his white hair. The kid was also covered by his own blood, but it was mostly on his short kimono, which didn't even cover his shoulder, that the blood was concentrated, whether it was from old or new blood. But what was sure, was that it all came from him.
However, even all the blood on its body wasn't able to overshadow the crimson in his eye. Despite looking as lifeless as his body, his eyes were still the most brilliant thing in the whole room, including the sun.
"Stop bleeding, you're making a mess on my floor." The tall man suddenly ordered Luciel as he continued to talk to him.
And indeed, Luciel's blood was indeed leaking from his broken leg all over the ground, but he had no way to see it. Yet, he didn't dispute the order, as he simply made it stop.
He received no words of thanks from his father despite having fulfilled his task, not that he was expecting any.
After all, it was his fault that he dirtied the floor, he just had to not breathe too hard if he didn't want to cause this mess in the first place. After all, his progenitor had warned him by whipping him that he wasn't allowed to do it, yet he still did it.
Of course he didn't notice any variation in intensity between his breath, but if his father said he did, then he must be right.
But that was only for his broken leg, the reason why his progenitor even bothered himself to touch the abomination that he was was because he had committed yet another sin.
Luciel had stolen a piece of bread.
The punishment of course had to be at the size of his sin, yet his father said he was feeling merciful today, which was why after breaking his arm, he allowed him to pay back his sins with a simple task.
Protecting the egg of the sun.
Which was the location he was bringing him to, and also the place Luciel liked the least.
The reason became apparent when the Emperor of the Barren opened the door at the end of the hallways. Immediately, both of them were faced against a torrent of light, as if the other mirror had the only task of amplifying the ray of the sun, those in this room were condensing it, creating an unbelievable amount of heat and light so dense that it would almost feel possible to touch it as if it was white wall. All of these installation were destined only for an egg, which was carefully placed in the middle of the room, generating even more heat than the combination of every light inside the room.
Even the Chosen of the Sun didn't want to stand in the room more than needed, so he simply launched Luciel toward the pillar, making his back break. Luciel's body then fell like a ragdoll onto the ground, as his progenitor slammed the door behind him, leaving him into the light.
The moment he left, Luciel immediately started to hold his broken part as tears flowed out of his eye, but they immediately sizzled up and started to melt his skin.. "It's hurt…" He murmured between his tears, but without any specification about what was hurting the most…he probably didn't know either.
But he didn't have the time to complain, as he noticed that his skin started to redden from the heat the egg emanated, so he had no choice but to release his broken arm and slowly ramped towards the corner of the room to avoid his skin burning up.
The temperature was just as hot even there, but at least it had the benefit of giving Luciel the illusion that it worked.
'It…hurt…but I deserve it…it hurt…but that's because of me…it hurt…so I just have to endure it…' Like a broken mantra, Luciel kept repeating the same sentence inside his head as he grabbed himself to be in a fetal position. This was the only way he knew he could minimize the pain on his body.
But the broken mantra wasn't to keep his body safe, but his mind.
'It hurt…but I deserve it…'
He didn't even try to look out for the egg, he was already used to being sent inside this room, and he knew that nobody could infiltrate this place as long as the sun shone.
So his task wasn't to keep bandits out of the room, but the show everyone what would happen to them if they dared to think of stealing the egg.
Which was why he wasn't expecting to hear another noise inside the room.
"Ki…"
Luciel's eyes widened as he turned around to look at the room, but the light immediately started to burn his irises, so he had to close them again.
But at least he was able to observe the room long enough to see that the noise didn't come from the egg, which meant it still wasn't close to hatching.
'Then…then what is this noise?'
Luciel pitifully stood up with only one leg, before falling on the ground as he was unable to put any weight on his body.
'Oh…right…I didn't eat anything since…seven moons…I don't have any energy left…but…but if anyone was able to infiltrate this place…it would mean that my progenitor would hurt me even more…I…I must look… to stop it.'
Luciel thought as he opened his eye once more to take another look at the room, even when the light threatened to blind him, he kept them open. Losing a sense wasn't something possible for him anyway.
Once more, he saw absolutely nothing inside the room, but he kept searching to no avail.
'Did…did it leave? Oh no…if I can't catch him…I will be hurt even more…'
"K…i…"
Luciel sensed deculpled, but with the exception of his shadow, there was no one else inside the room.
'…wait…my shadow?' Luciel immediately looked behind him as he realized that there was no shadow that could exist here without any outside intervention.
But the shadow realized it first, as a black tendril immediately appeared and pierced Luciel's torso. It attacked right where his heart was, but the power behind the attack wasn't strong enough to reach it. But this assault would usually be enough to render any normal being into agonizing pain…but it didn't.
Without even bothering to scream in pain, Luciel reached for the tendril and tried to pull it out of the shadow.
"KYU!" The shadow immediately resisted with all the force it had left, which was why it was surprised that it was enough as Luciel slammed to the ground.
"Ugh." Luciel groaned as he hit the ground, making his head feel directly onto the shadow.
"MIII!!!" Despite his victory, the shadow looked more panicked that Luciel was now able to fully see him as he tried to escape.
But it was too late, as Luciel was finally able to see that it wasn't a shadow on the ground, but a being, a being so small and insignificant being, yet despite how small he felt, the headache Luciel received from looking at it was anything but small as ignored all the pain inside his body just to fall on his back in agonizing pain. "AAAAH!"
Luciel immediately drowned the memory of the pokemon deep inside his mind, but the damage was already done as he rolled around to try to make the pain on his body even more painful than the one happening inside his mind, just so he could distract himself from it.
As for the shadowy pokemon, he looked at Luciel before eying the egg of the sun.
After some hesitation, he decided to move toward the egg instead, as despite feeling less energy inside the egg compared to a single drop of blood of the child, it was at least not dangerous to him. And when it will be able to absorb the energy the egg contains, he will have enough power to have a chance to run away again in case the monstrosity tries to beat him once again.
Of course it had no hope of beating him, as he was able to render him in completely powerless even when he was at full power, the only reason it was able to survive was because he separated himself into such a pitiful form that the monstrosity didn't prioritise him over the billion of separate identity his main body created…even if by now, the being felt more and more of his part being killed each second, some even stronger than itself.
Which was why he needed to prioritize getting enough energy to separate again in case it would be needed…even if it meant of robbing the future of an unborn being…or that what he told himself, as he reached one of his tendrils toward the powerful egg in front of him.
"…C…u…t…e…"
The tendril stopped for a short moment, as the pokemon tried to understand the words he just heard.
"So…cu…te…"
he turned around to confirm if the cursed noticed another being inside the room. In his current form, he wouldn't be able to defend himself appropriately.
But that was why he was even more shocked to see that the child was looking at him, before grabbing his head and screaming in pain once more.
Ȋ̴̧̨̭̫̄̇̄̃̑ş̶̛̖͇̣̫̰̣̪͉̻̻̲̋ͅ ̶̨̨͔̹̝̱̤͚͙͕̯̻̙̎̆h̴̺̭͉͛̓͑̋̽̐̓́̃̕̚͘ę̷̧̥̭̜̪͒͒̓̐̆͒͛͝ ̴̧̹͇̝͍͉̦͕͉̻̠̓͑̏̌̀̓̋̄̊͊͜ͅs̷̮̖̻͕̖͔̥̬̩͕̰̍͊͑̈̀̀͠t̸̙̜̳̤̱̥̖̤͗͌̓͒u̸̧͓̬͙͙̬͓͕͓͆̍̈́̊͂͊͆̎̈́͐̀͝p̶̛͔͔͕̜̃͒̐̄͆͊́̓̃̽͂̅ỉ̴̯̫͚̜̣͖̭͜d̶̛̤̖̍̔͂̊̒̒́̕͝?̷̧̧̜͇͎̠̤̠̜͇͍͚͙̞̔̿̾̃͘͜ The pokemon couldn't help but think, as the first time was his own fault that he looked at him and caused this innocent cursed being an immense pain he didn't deserve…yet now he inflicted himself this pain willingly.
But this was when he started to truly consider his words. 'H̴̰͎̦̲͓͓͎̉͂̃͐͜͝Ẻ̷̫̖̪̝̗͎̀̉̈́̾̒̿͐̊͂͝ͅ ̵̧̟̹̺̫̹̖̔̔͛͂͗̆̉͆́̂́̈́͘͠͝Ṱ̸̢͉̺̰͓̭̥̮̻̙̲̭̽̈́̒̋̔͗̈́́̿͜͠H̷̡̝͕͖̭̠̹͓̓͌̑̓̈́̈́̑̊͒̏̚͘͜͝͝Į̶̫͚̫̞͖͉̤͖̳̘̠̠̒͗̈́͆̈̋͝N̶̡̧͍̬̳̠̩̘̼̬̈́̊͂̎̆̕͘̚͜ͅḰ̷͓͍̫̹̖͕̠̱̱̬̲̙͚̽̍̏́̐ ̴̗̰̭̱̥̞͇͈̭̬̻͗͒̂͐̃͒̈́͘͜ͅI̴̡̘̞̥̾'̴̩̻͙̠̰͖̏̀̀M̶̡̩͉͊̈́͐̓̉̌ ̴̢̢̢̤͕͎͚͈̙͎̟̘͇͔̣̃̈́͛̃͗̒̕̕C̷̨͉̥̦͕̩͙͗͜Ǔ̶̘̑̏̃͠T̷̖̘͖̺̹̭̉̔̿̈́̒͘E̴̘̜͉͗͌̌?̴̣͔̬̗͖̪̪͛͜ ̵̡̻͇̼̠̝̻̥̹̈́͐͆̽͑̑̀̾̾͝͝'
Maybe this being was even more stupid than he thought…which means he probably only imagined the danger from before.
But that's perfect! As he detected a lot of energy inside the body of this child, enough energy that would probably allow him to immediately come back at full strength!
Which was why he ignored the egg to move toward Luciel instead, as Luciel looked at him once more, just to scream in pain. Yet, after recuperating, he immediately gazed back at the pokemon despite knowing the pain that would come.
The intensity of his movement actually made the pokemon stop his movement as he was truly perplexed by his acting, and even more confused why he was still alive despite looking at him for so long.
But the reason was even more stupid than he could have imagined. 'HE'S SO CUTE!!! HE ISN'T FAKE! OH NO! I ALREADY DROWNED THE MEMORY INSIDE MY MIND! I NEED TO HAVE A NEW PICTURE OF HIM!' "ARGH!!!"
Finally, having had enough of Luciel's constant suffering, the pokemon decided to strike him again on his heart to absorb his energy, but also to stop his pain. As for some reason, it troubled him.
This time, his tendril was able to fully pierce his heart, but this was when he was left even more confused by the situation, as despite striking the part where all the energy converged, he didn't felt a single ounch going inside him.
"Oh…sorry…I can notice that you want my power…but it's not your…." For the first time since he arrived, the pokemon heard the human speaking calmly instead of screams of pain. This surprise was the reason he was taken off guard as Luciel took him into his arms.
"I̵̢̩̱̝̮͕͍͓͉̹̫̲͙̭̰͒͛̐̉̚͝t̴̨͕̪̬̰͚̻͔̻̼̙͈̒̿̀͛̍̑̉̉̍̉͜͜ ̸̧̟̠̰̍̈́w̴͕̪̹̙̦͎̜̬̺̺͈̜̆́̃͂̅̑̂͘͜͜ǎ̷͚̬͈̳̪̭̓̑̚s̷̡̛̝̗͓̼̯̲̟͕̑͑́̔͐̔̍͝͠͝ ̸̪̗̖̙̲̝̥͇̏̔̅͌̓̓̆̓̀͊̂̋͘͝à̴̺ ̸̪̬͂̔̈́̔̓̀͒̕͜ṭ̵̲̼̯͓̦͎̫̙͒̓̀͑̓́̔͒̂́͝͝ŗ̵̺̯͊̈́̔̓̏̇̾̂͂̓͑͝a̵̮̰͔̲̺͇͍̝͊̿̽̆͘͠ͅp̶̝̜̪̞̙̰̝͇̞̝̃̀̋̍̽̓͂̑̏͘͘̚͝͝͠!̵̢̘̥̲͎̙̯̖̙̳̐̃̎"
The pokemon try to escape by lashing out at Luciel, creating multiple cuts on his body, but none that were deep enough to cause him any damage.
"Oh…so you want to cause me pain? Well…go ahead… as long as you're not targeting the egg." Luciel sounded disappointed, but he still didn't try to release the pokemon, which made him grow even more restless to try to escape.
"KYUUUU!!!" What should have happened happened, as one of the tendril finally broke under the relentless assault. "MIIII!!!"
"Oh…you're in pain too?" Luciel asked nonchalantly. "Do you wish me to kill you then?"
"KIIIII!" The pokemon screamed in horror at what he perceived as a threat, but he didn't have the power to free himself.
'I̷̡̮͖͉͖͐̑̔̑͋̀̀̕ ̸̢̜̀̃͐͛̐̕͝c̸͉̽̕͘͜͝ạ̷̙͓̈ṉ̴̭̻̤̓̌̐͋̂̔'̶̤̲̜̣̻̰̲͓̐͂t̷̡̧̳̠̜̝̭̑̉̐͗͐̓̍͝ ̷̞̪̙͗d̴̡̡͇͉̗͎̎͘͜͝i̸̯͋̏̋̅é̸̢̧̨̼̞̥̪̪̼̄̎͝!̵̫̰͓̙̀̃̈́͘ ̴̯͆͊͐̒̏̆Ṉ̸̯̻̬̈̇ơ̸̢̺̣̅ṱ̶͙́͐́͋̀͝ ̵̧͓͉̭̉̔͜ͅn̶̦̯̲̥̘̞̜͚͆̍̎͂͠ỗ̵̡̞w̴̳̙̺͚͎͕͈͎̚ͅ!̷̢͍̳̩̼͘͠͠' The shadow noticed that more and more of his split form were getting eliminated, making only ten still…nine still ali…eight still alive. It couldn't allow itself to die, especially when its organism still wasn't able to answer the only question that mattered to them.
Luciel seemed to understand what the creature in his hand was thinking, as he released it from his hands. "I will take it as a no then…sorry."
The pokemon looked at Luciel in confusion while hitting the floor, but his surprise only augmented with his next move.
"I suppose you are in pain because of me…so let me take it."
Right after he finished speaking, Luciel fell on the ground and started to spasm around as if someone just hit his cerebral cord.
The creature of shadow was shocked by his sudden reaction, and tried to move his tendril toward him, until he realized that he felt no pain doing this action. But what was even more shocking was that Luciel suffered only augmentation after his own action.
What surprised him wasn't that this kid somehow took aways his pain for himself, but that he was actually able to survive it. Not only did he endure multiple gaze toward him, he also survived the pain of his own existence.
The situation started to become so unexpected for him that he didn't even realize that he was currently among the only two split shadows of the Forgotten Sin still alive. He also forgot his original objective as he approached Luciel without any bad intention this time to drop three simple words. "Ă̶̛̘͙̠͍͉̜̜̜͐͗̋̀͜͠r̵̨̬͔͖̯̠̣̓̍͜e̷͙̮̟͐͊̏̈́̃ ̷̧̨͇̠̦͂̐y̶͕̩͙̪̞̪͙͗̈́̋̐͌̈̆͝õ̴̙̘̬̞̆̏͛͆̆͠ṳ̴͈̦͗͆̈̍̒̆͠ ̵̨̡̰͔͓͍̥̈̽a̴̯̓͑̀͌̌͋̅l̸̨͍̩̮̗̘̊͐̈́i̵͍͓̓͛͛̋͊̋v̵̛̗̩̣̟͆̅͒̃͒͛̎̂͜e̸̢̬͔͇̜̖̣͒́́̌͝?̶̡̛̛̦̳̫̏͊̌̽̊͐̿͜" But his only answer was scream.
But this was enough for him to get his answer, whatever this human was…alive wasn't one of those. As no alive being could force themselves to be subjugated by such a high amount of pain, especially not to help him.
The pokemon finally took the time to observe the room he infiltrated himself in, the only reason he entered this dome was because not only did he think that the constant light amplification would be able to hide him from the sight of the sky, but also because he felt two high sources of energy inside it.
But now that he inspected it clearly, there was certainly a high level of temperature inside here, one that he was only unaffected by because his body was constantly absorbing the heat energy, but one that would be intolerable for any human. And he was sure that the intensity of the light wouldn't be fun for this human either.
After finishing looking at the room, he inspected the boy, and finally noticed that he carried multiple wounds that weren't caused by him.
Soon, he was able to assemble every piece of the puzzle to arrive to a very simple conclusion. "H̸̼͖͉̓͑͂̀̈́͜e̴͇͔̟͉̬̺̞̗̒͗̾͜ ̴̡̯̫̻͈͖̝̝͐̃͗͛̓͠ẉ̵̤͒̾̔͆ắ̴̡̜͍̣͖̹̓̍̿̀s̵̙̥̩͈̩̖̺͕͐̍ ̶̤̺̣̿̾b̵͕̓̑͗͑̎̔̍̽̄ò̴͓̠̪͊̚ȑ̵̳͍̭̲̲͔̀̀̓̇̇̚͝n̷̰̤̼͔͉̤̝͎̉̆̍ ̴̺̖̩̿͊t̷̲͎͇̫̙̎͑̌͝o̶͙̿͑̏̏̒͝ ̷̧̼̭̍̎̇̄̈͒s̵̢̡͔̈̒̐̋ṵ̶̞̀f̴̖͖̞̹͔̅̉͒͋̐̈̃͐͜͜f̶̨͉͉̳͕͒̃̔͆͊̀e̶̢̛̜͍̹͎͛̋͝ͅṛ̴̳̘̳̯̩̮͑̈́͊́͂ͅ.̴͔̈́̃̽̈̅͊̕͠͝.̴̡̲̮͔̈́̾̋͘͝͝͠.̴̪͖̲̂͋́͊̑͗̓̃̚ͅl̴̨̨̡̖̰̞̳͐͒̓̌͂̈͒͜͜͝ḯ̶̢̓͋͛k̵͙̅̅̋ę̸̩̫̤͓̻̮̯̠̂̈́̏̑́͠͝͝ ̸̬̼̙̪̥̃̉͗́m̴̧̝̐̍̾̀̽̇ͅͅe̴͎͋.̵̠͔̿̽" He knew that other humans weren't always kind to each other, but he also knew that they always needed a justification to do it, most of the time greed. For pokemon it was usually fear. And he only knew one being whose greed was big enough to justify this suffering, and fearful enough to commit to it.
The same being who created him with the curse of not knowing its purpose, only a name…Mimikyu.
This already removed most of his intent of killing him, as he had nothing he envied from that child, so he had to pay no due.
But then he had a thought, if this being is the same as him…then did he get an answer? Does he know his purpose…and if he does…then it probably means that his one would be similar.
Suddenly, stealing this being's power didn't matter anymore, he didn't need to regain his lost power if it meant killing the only one who had an answer on why he should live!
And now that he had a purpose, he could make him suffer as much as he wished to! As nothing else matters…
Whatever he was thinking…whatever he imagined, stopped having any importance as he felt something above him…something…that all of his split shadow knew…or more precisely, the last thing they knew, as this exact presence was what ended them.
"I̶̥̗̣͎̰͑̆ͅ ̶̨͚̝̹̙̗̮͉͌̿ẇ̴̢̏̀̑i̶͉̞͇͐̍͊̊̇̚l̷̮͔̫̈́̌̍͗͆̈́̕l̸͈͎̗͓̼͍̃ ̵̦͍̈́c̵̨̛̛̳̪̺̻̰͔͌̋́͋e̶͙̱͎̬̘̲̗̐̃͝a̶̘̬͈͈͇̪͆ș̴̤̠̳̓͌̍̅̇̀̚͠e̷̢͚̩̦͌͆̕̕ ̵̛̮͎̞̲̤͓̈́ͅẽ̵̩̬̫̻̰̻͇̅̄̾̒̾̈́͘̕x̷͕̹̓̀ĭ̶̳͕̞̱̼͜͜s̸̢̳̫͇͛t̶̢͓̼͇̹͖̙̂͜ì̵̹̹̯̳̦͇n̷̺͍̙̆̎̈́͗̀ġ̷̨̡̢̢̦̼̪͉̳͆̉.̷̡̰̫̆̎ͅ.̴̤̗͚̤̱̦̣͕̇̉̅̇̀.̴̢͍̞͉̥̗̻̗̆ͅw̸̠͍͌͒͂͋̊̏̊ĭ̶͚̗̥̻̪͉̱̺͌͋̒t̶͕̖͉̗̬̱̳̮̾̇͆̆̎̎͝͝ĥ̵̲̱͎̙ọ̸̧̳̮̊ȕ̴̘̘̤̥̠̜̗̖́̅̿̋̚͜t̵̬̑ ̴̼̼͔̖̺̠͇̀̿̈́̀̎̒a̷̧̪̙̩̠̖̎͆̒͊͆n̷̛͍̗͛̽y̸͈͙̌̍̊̀̑ ̴͖̟̍ȁ̸̞̬͔̮̟͉̦̐̎̏̈́̑̔͘͘n̶̡̪͇̺͙̯͒̈́ͅs̷͚͛͘͜ẇ̷̧̻̮̪͙̈́͋́͝e̶̝͑̒r̶͖͔̟̰̣͙̥̽̿̉̑.̵̥̳̪͉̯̌̅͆̈̄͋̂͝͝"
At the same moment, he also realized that he was the last split alive, the only one with the possibility of reaching an answer…yet he was going to cease.
This thought, should have been his last.
But it wasn't.
As he suddenly felt a pair of arms slowly covering him, before was rested against a bloody chest.
"I took your pain…so why are you still afraid?" Luciel's eyes were wide open as he looked at Mimikyu's form, yet the only pain he received was from the light in the room.
"I was right…you truly are the cutest thing I've ever seen. I'm happy that I'm able to keep you inside my memory now."
Mimikyu's mind momentarily forgot about the danger he was in as he was as an unfamiliar sensation around him, but he resumed being panicked when he remembered that the one who put him in this state in the first place was going to kill him.
…wait…how is he still alive then?
He looked up and he could still feel the presence of the being, yet he didn't face him. It felt especially wrong considering he killed all of his other copies in one instant…so why was he sparing him?
His confusion only augmented as the presence slowly left, as if he was still searching for it. Mimikyu knew that the dome of light would indeed be strong enough to interfere with the vision of the being, but only for an instant.
So what could possibly…
His thought was interrupted as he suddenly felt his skin being pinched. "…can you even understand me?" Luciel questioned while his finger skin was currently melting off his finger. "Oh…sorry…I didn't want to drop my rotten skin on you…you can hit me to compensate for it…just make sure to not cover your fist with blood, I wouldn't want to dirty it even more…ah! Of course if you still want to do it, then be free to do so…"
Luciel didn't even bother to try to calm the pain inside his body and let Pandora get on the ground before lowering his head so he could hit him easily.
Mimikyu was confused by the situation, but what was certain was that he wasn't considering stealing Luciel's energy anymore this just became worthless.
…and something tells him that it was because of him that he was able to preserve his life…so he just had to stay close to him, and maybe he would be able to recuperate his full strength.
But as he thought that, he noticed that the rest of Luciel's skin was starting to redden, as his blood started to flow out of his mouth too.
…well it needs to be able to breathe if he wants this individual to protect him…and it would be better if he can have more strength in case he needs someone to protect him.
With this thought, Mimikyu slowly covered Luciel's skin, just enough so that the heat didn't affect him.
Luciel also noticed the difference and looked at Mimikyu with shock, but it was short-lived, as he lost consciousness right after, from the pain finally becoming not unbearable enough for his brain to shut down.
'̴̰͙̋͒͘…̸̳̈́w̴̜̽͂e̷̖͕̲͊͝ì̶͔͈͘ͅr̷̫̘͌̈́̓ḑ̸̰͍̔ ̴̭̜̻͒͂͘k̵̠̟̽͠i̸̲͓̿͘ď̸̳̬̊͌ͅ.̵̱̬̦̓'̶̟̟͑
***
As I remembered these memories, Pandora started to squirm on my shoulder from embarrassment. I didn't remember when I got Pandora's side of the story, but it seems he told me if I was able to remember it so well…I just don't know who was the being who purchased him…it must mean it was something he really preferred to not remember for some reason…probably pain.
Rika's eyes softened as she looked at me. "It seems you remembered a good moment…might I ask what it was?"
"The moment I met Pandora…and also the first moment someone showed me any kind of affection…and also when I saw the cutest thing ever!" I keep adding on, which made Pandora even more embarrassed, but for different reasons now. But Rika only looked even more satisfied as she looked toward Pandora.
"It's true that he seems very gentle, I'm happy that you met such a wonderful partner during your hard time." She said while standing straight again and looking toward the other side of the hallway. I followed her gaze and saw nothing special there, so I looked at her again to understand what it was. "Well, it's time for you to go see your friend again."
Her words made me freeze as I looked at her with worry. "…but they would just hate me…I hurt them…so they probably don't want to see me unless it's with my head on a spike…"
Rika strained her smile, but she tried to keep it straight. "So you want to just leave them because you made a mistake once?"
Seeing absolutely nothing wrong with her answer, I nodded. But I don't think that was the answer she wanted as she pushed an exhausted sigh.
"Luciel, you don't give up something because you made a mistake alright? At least, try to correct your mistake, the worst case scenario is that they can't forgive you, but they will still remember you trying. And that's what matters."
"But I already tried to apologize before, but it also seems to make it even worse for them. So…I don't want to cause more problems this time."
Rika raised an eyebrow at my answer, and tried to press for more. "And how did you try to apologize exactly?"
"Oh! That's simple, I just proposed to them to hit me to compensate for the wrong I've done to them!" I responded excitedly, proud of finding such an awesome idea…but it died down as I realized that it might not have been such a good idea if it doesn't work anymore, especially if it only makes others uncomfortable now.
And it seemed Rika thought the same, as her expression only showed that she was expecting an answer of that type. But instead of ridiculing me, she asked another question. "And how would that help them forgive you for your mistake?"
"Well… that's what my…progenitor told me…that if I cause wrong to someone, I must immediately allow that person to pay it back with my own body…but…but I was the one who had the idea of letting him hit my head first, as this is where I would feel the most pain…and as I would feel pain…the person I wronged would feel more joy from causing pain to me than anger for me making a mistake toward them…"
"And what type of mistake was usually enough to justify punishing you?"
I pressed my two fingers together as I tried to think of every reason I was given…when I was even given one, before giving up as I didn't have the time to remember each memory. "Usually… it's whatever the person considers…like breathing too hard…or not breathing hard enough…you know…normal reason…in fact…I'm still wondering why my friend felt uncomfortable toward it…I've done way worse than that."
"Oh, so you're able to deduce that your current action has a different severity compared to the one they used to justify hitting you?"
Panic invaded me. "Did…did I make a step too much…was I not allowed to make this deduction? Don't worry! I will forget about it immediately!"
Rika didn't seem to take my words seriously until she saw that my face eased up after saying…what did I say?
"Luciel…can you…just remove a memory on command?"
"Of course! That was one of my best discoveries…even if I don't remember why I discovered it in the first place…" I tried to find the reason deep inside, but it seemed that it was deeply hidden among other unpleasant memories, so I stopped trying to find it as long as she didn't order me otherwise.
Happily for me, she didn't and just pushed a sigh…but I wasn't able to tell if it was out of relief or frustration. "Alright Luciel, we will have a lot of work to do, I will tell you more details later on, alright? But first, try to find another method that you could use to make your friend forgive you, even if I'm sure a simple apology would suffice."
I was about to shake my head, but a sudden cry interrupted us. "There he is!"
I barely had the time to look at my left when someone already jumped on me, making me fall on the ground.
"Luciel! Why did you run away again!? Did you really think your little scary aura could have any effect on me?!"
"…Cynthia?"