Humans are fundamentally irrational,they use whatever rationality they have to justify their irrational behaviour.
.....
I've never liked people who use fear and superiority to corner others.
You know those types where they show up in hospitals, offices, family dinners anywhere you're too vulnerable to fight back and start spewing lines like:
"Your disease can't be cured. You should really consider chemotherapy or you might not make it through the night."
Right. Because apparently, that's how compassion works now. They say it like they're giving you options, but it's just pressure in a lab coat.
Then you meet the corporate versions of them:
"Our salary package is more than enough for someone with no real experience. You should be thankful we're even considering you."
Translation: Shut up, take the crumbs, and pretend it's cake.
And let's not forget the workplace prophets of doom:
"You're not as good as your seniors. You need to change your ways, or you're out."
As if every great person wasn't once just a clueless rookie trying to keep up.
These aren't just random statements. They're tactical words chosen to chip away at people.
I've heard them.
I've swallowed them.
I've sat in rooms where those words bounced around my skull, while I clenched my fists under the table and nodded like I agreed.
Mouth shut.
Ears tuned out.
Dignity packed and hidden away somewhere safe where no one could reach it.
And yet, somehow I made it through.
Not because I fought back in some grand, heroic way. But because I endured. I stayed on my feet, even when I felt like collapsing.
I survived long enough to see those people fade into the background while
I kept walking forward, even if it was with scraped knees and shaking hands.
People always talk about dreams as if they naturally lead you to some peaceful, shining destination.
That's a lie.
Most of us start with hope and end up in chaos, surrounded by people who expect us to accept the mess with a smile.
And when we don't?
They call us difficult.
And now? Now I'm standing in front of this so-called "father" ,this fantasy character knockoff who isn't even my real dad, but talks like he owns my fate.
He points a dramatic finger at me and says,
"You are hereby banished."
Seriously?
That's the line? That's the big climax?
I've been through bureaucratic rejections, medical cold calls, career gaslighting and this guy thinks his wizard cosplay and banishment decree are going to shake me?
No.
I almost laugh. Not because it's funny but because it's pathetic.
You need more than curses and magical tantrums to scare someone who's already faced real life.
The kind of pain that doesn't need special effects. The kind that lingers even when the spotlight fades.
He's not the first person who's tried to make me feel small.
He probably won't be the last.
But here's the thing: I'm still here.
And it'll take a hell of a lot more than a fake dad with a superiority complex to undo that.
So here's my answer,
"You don't have to throw me out or anything.....I QUITTT."
The room froze.
Not in that dramatic, lightning-flashes kind of way. Just awkward. Stiff.
Like a meeting had gone off-script and no one knew whether to keep pretending or shut it down.
A few people looked around, waiting for someone to say it was a joke.
One of the guards raised an eyebrow, the scribe paused mid-scratch.
Even the guy standing by the door tilted his head like he'd misheard.
Dawn Blake,the self-declared father figure, mentor, or whatever role he was auditioning for stood completely still. His mouth was slightly open, like he expected a different line.
His eyes didn't show anger or disappointment yet just... confusion. The kind you see when someone's GPS reroutes and they don't trust it.
"You… quit?" he said, slowly. Not loud. More like he was double-checking.
"I said you don't have to throw me out of this house. I said, voice flat.
"I will leave even without your permission"
No one responded at first. It wasn't silence, exactly just a slow, collective intake of breath from a room that expected a sentencing, not a resignation.
I wasn't supposed to speak.
That's what made them nervous.
Dawn stood like someone had just knocked a book out of his hands and stepped on the last page.
His jaw moved, but nothing came out right away. You could see the gears shifting behind his eyes, trying to reframe the moment.
Banishment was his call.
Mine wasn't supposed to matter.
"You were already dismissed from this house,before the trial was even called.
Don't act like this is your decision."
I turned to him fully, hands at my sides, nothing defensive. Just tired. Just done.
"No" I said. "It wasn't my decision. That's exactly the point."
A flicker crossed his face,he didn't expect me to press.
"You passed judgment before I could even speak" I went on.
"And now you want to sit through this trial like it's ritual, like it's about truth.
But it's not. It's a ceremony to justify a sentence you already handed out."
Dawn's voice hardened.
"Your presence disrupts the balance in this house"
I tilted my head slightly.
"Maybe the balance was fragile to begin with."
He didn't respond. He didn't have to. That look on his face said everything he still believed he was right. Or at least, he needed to.
I let it go. There was no point trying to shake a man who'd built his faith on certainty.
Instead, I turned toward the priest seated near the ceremonial dais,Fredrick.
He hadn't said much the entire time, just watched with those distant, careful eyes, like someone listening to a funny song no one else could hear.
"Priest Fredrick,If the Church makes a mistake... what happens?"
He blinked, slowly. That caught his attention.
"If it casts judgment in error...or something like the church exiles someone who didn't deserve it.
For cases like that, is there a protocol?
Some kind of restitution? Or does it just move on, say a prayer, and call it divine?"
The room shifted again not outrage, not disbelief. Just discomfort.
The kind that comes when someone points out the cracks in the stone everyone pretended was whole.
Fredrick folded his hands together. "The Church does not claim perfection."
"That's not an answer I need Mr.fredrick".
He studied me for a moment, like he was trying to decide if I was testing him or something else.
"If there is injustice..." he said finally,
we will correct it."
"Quietly, where we can. If we can.
But some things, once done, can't be undone."
I nodded slowly. "Convenient."
He didn't flinch.
"What are you asking, Lynn?"
I glanced back at Dawn, then at the hall. "I'm not asking.
I'm just wondering who'll speak for me when the story you guys made for me isn't so neat."
Fredrick didn't answer. Dawn didn't move. And I didn't stay.
There was no shouting.
Just a man leaving a house that had already locked its doors long ago.
Lynn took a breath. His jaw was tight, but his voice came out calm. Almost too calm.
"I hereby withdraw from all relationships and all rights from this house, and anyone tangled up in it by blood, by gossip, or just by standing too close."
There was a shift in the room.
Not drama just confusion. People weren't sure if they'd heard right, or if Lynn was improvising again.
He kept going, unfazed.
"But I'm not giving up the name Blake."
That got a few stares and sudden
spike in murmers,
"Yeah. That name came from my parents. That includes you, dad.
Dawn said nothing.
"You want me to drop it? Fine.
Call down some divine punishment, while I sleep.
I'll take another ten sets of those things,but I'm keeping the name.
Not for the perks. I don't even know if there are any benefits.
I've got memory loss, remember?"
"This house" Lynn said, glancing around, "whatever kind of disaster it is now, is still where I started,my origin.
And I'd like to believe somewhere in this mess, my father and mother still live. Whether they like me or not is a separate issue."
He paused, giving Dawn a direct look. "And I'll try to keep up with your expectations too but don't expect too much."
"I'll try to regain what I lost from you. Dad."
The word landed like a coin dropped into an empty well.
Dawn didn't flinch. Of course he didn't. That would require emotion.
"I'll leave this house" Lynn said, backing up a step"but on my terms. Not yours."
My voice was steady.
These people don't care for Lynn,I can see that clearly here but it's not my call to sever his origins just because his relatives are irrational braindeads.
And most importantly this man ,who claims to be Lynn's father.
This guy needs to be taught a lesson,not through strength but through a reality check.
"Head of the table or not, you don't get to write me off like a failed project.
You know it, too right?...dad.
No matter how much you wish otherwise, you can't erase your connection to me. Even if I drop off the edge of the map, even if I disappear for good ,dead or alive, I'm still your son."
Still no reaction from Dawn. The man had the emotional range of a wall.
Lynn gave a half-shrug.
Then he turned around and started walking.
Just like a man tired of being dragged through other people's expectations, choosing finally to leave with what little dignity he still had.
His name. And his terms.
Just as I expected,Fredrick called out again. Right on cue.
These priest characters are always upto no good in most of the novels.
The man had a timing problem always five steps behind but never quite out of breath.
"Young mast... oh. Lynn... Please wait."
His sandals scuffed lightly on the stone floor as he caught up. "Where are you going, actually?"
I stopped walking and turned just enough to meet his eyes.
"Lynn Blake that's my name,
Mr. Priest."
I gave him a tired smile, the kind that says this again?
"Ah, sorry. Forgot about the question,
I was going outside.
To the church.
You know the place where I supposedly did the whole THING you all blamed me for…"
Fredrick blinked like I'd just told him I was taking a stroll into a grave.
"Huh? What? Why the hell do you want to go there?"
I tilted my head slightly.
"Are you really a priest from the Church of Disparity?"
His face twisted.
"It's Divinity, not Disparity.
Don't use such crude words. You might get other consequences for it."
I shrugged. "Sure. But you see it's difficult to respect something, or someone, that has to ask for it instead of earning it from me."
Fredrick sighed and straightened his robe like it would somehow help him win the argument.
"Memory loss might have made you reckless."
"But not brainless, Priest Sir" I said, evenly. "I just want to see the church.
And maybe I will host my trial there in private, away from this family-theatre version of justice."
"Since my father and sister told me to handle my business outside for the time being... figured I'd follow through."
He frowned.
"You clearly seem reckless to me.
I trying to make you understand your current situation before you go walking into dangerous ground..."
I held his gaze. "No need" I said. "What's worse than death anyway? Half the people in here already treat me like I'm some killer.
No trial. No questions.
Just quiet shame and loud whispers."
I paused and let my words linger.
"It's always funny when some people believe the church above their own brother. Or son."
Fredrick crossed his arms, clearly uncomfortable now.
"Church itself is the center of believe, if anyone questions it's authenticity,then it's our duty to answer them appropriately regardless of their origin.
That's the case with you too."
Ohh damn,this conversation is getting tiresome.
I decided to shut down this argument for good.
"Beliefs are something that always be questioned,one way or another but the only thing matters to me right now is the truth"
"You still haven't answered my previous question,Mr.friedrick.
Is the church righteous as it claims to be?
Do its members carry enough shame to offer even a mild compensation if there's a mistake?"
Fredrick straightened.
"The church usually makes no mistakes. I can assure you that."
I smiled faintly, a tired edge on my words.
"But what about me, then?"
"I'm still alive, aren't I?
Isn't that a mistake from the church's side?"
That landed,Fredrick's mouth opened. Then closed.
Then opened again, slower this time. "I… I'm not sure about that, Mast...ah… Lynn…"
I raised a hand. "No need for titles. I'm not anyone's master. Not anymore."
"I'll see you at the church, Mr. Fredrick."
I glanced at Dawn one last time and smiled gently for a moment.
Whether he takes my smile as a mocking or something else is clearly upto him.
And with that, I walked away.
The members of Blake's house had expressions like their dressup party just got cancelled, unfairly.
Then, walking halfway to the exit of this grandish house, I froze.
Wait....mmm?
I think i forgot something important.
"Uh… where is the church again?"