A choked sob slipped free, my body trembling as my fingers pressed against wood. My hands stung from the punches, bleeding along the knuckles.
Despite it all, I attempted to stand. To walk towards her.
The laughter of my parents rang in my ears, cruel and mocking. But I didn't care. I couldn't look her in the eyes.
And that… Broke something inside me.
The only one who ever loved me... for me.
Not as some tool. Not some future investment. But, for being her brother.
I squeezed my eyes shut, the images refusing to stop, flames swallowing everything, the warped metal groaning as it caved in.
Then...
Tenshi's voice, desperate, afraid, screaming my name.
"Tenshi... Your right.
I... killed you." I whispered, the words barely leaving my lips.
She took a slow step forward.
I felt her presence loom over me, the smell of pomegranate filling the air. She was close.. Yet, impossibly distant. I forced myself to look up. I forced myself to meet her gaze.
She wasn't crying anymore.
Instead, her lips curled into a bitter, mocking smirk.
"But why, Hiro?" Was it for our inheritance? Or was there some other ulterior motive?"
I flinched as if struck.
"What…? No!" The words shouted from my lips.
My breathing stopped as I stared at her, searching her face for something recognizable, anything, but all I saw was that same cold expression.
Wavering, my tone softened. "How… Could you think that?"
Is that why I killed them?
Suddenly, a new mocking laugh rang through the room. Louder than my parents
Hers.
Tenshi turned her back to me, stopping before the doorway.
The sound that followed… It wasn't just hers. The laughter of our parents twisted into it, merging into a chorus of cruel taunting, clawing into my soul.
Their voices, their laughs ringing louder and louder.
"You don't even remember what happened that day, do you?" Tenshi murmured, tilting her head.
Then… She turned towards me, pointing.
"Hiro… You killed me out of spite."
Her voice was steady. Unshaken.
"You killed us."
Something inside me snapped.
"I Know!" I screamed, my adrenaline surging as I lunged forward.
I had to reach them.
Tenshi. Mom. Dad.
Please... Don't leave me again.
But as I reached out, desperate, shaking, pleading. Tenshi's expression hardened.
She took a step back, hiding behind our parent's twisted smile.
"You're not my brother anymore."
My heart stopped.
But, my body reacted. My arm extended, my fingertips reaching towards her. Through the tears, through the pain in my heart. I aimed for her sleeve.
Just their figures dissolved into black mist.
Then... before they collided, their figures dissolved into black mist.
Their laughter echoed, fading as the warmth of their presence disappeared.
And suddenly... I was alone.
Again.
My body crumbled to the floor. My breath shuddering as I cried, barely a broken whisper:
"Then… what am I? Why… Why am I here." I sobbed.
It wasn't a question.
It was a plea.
But no one was left to answer.
The silence itself is my answer.
I already knew.
I shouldn't be.
"Tenshi... I'm sorry," I pleaded. Knowing it would no good.
Out of the corner of my eye, hidden in darkness, tiny embers drifted toward me. Like tiny wisps, soft, weightless; flickering in and out of existence.
Moving without direction, drifting through the air like dying fireflies. As I sniffled, I rose to my feet, hopeful.
My throat burned. Tears slipped between my shaking hands as I begged,
"Tenshi... Is that you?"
No response.
Suddenly, my vision blurred and my chest began to glow. The embers slowly engulfing my entire body.
I flailed my arms, attacking the embers as flashes of a stranger appeared before me, a woman. We never met, yet she seemed oddly familiar. Radiating a type of warm aura from her expression, disappearing and reappearing every few seconds.
Through the haze of embers, I saw a flicker of something… Eyes, watering, panicking.
The sudden flare of deja-vu refused to leave my mind, Where do I know you.
She stared back at me, her vibrant hazel eyes gleaming the utmost kindness.
I stopped flailing, my knuckles dripping blood onto my lap.
Another flash.
A silhouette of a face, covered by embers. The face of a young woman, with the same hazel eyes. Everything else was hidden.
"Who are you…" I called out.
Another flash.
Webs made of fire consumed my hands, violently moving across my palms. They didn't burn, nor hurt.
Instead, they merged with the embers, forming 2 hands that held mine close. The hands were small, but lifelike.
"You're not alone…" a panicked voice sobbed. I know this voice.
Doctor?
The embers touched my skin, sinking into me, one after another. And with each ember, a warmth spread through my veins, just lingering.
Somewhere inside that warmth, the female doctor from my dream shouted.
"Come on!! Please wake up."
Dazed. Overwhelmed. And exhaused from crying. My body reached it's limit, swaying forwards. The embers consuming me as I fell face first into the doorway.
"Just leave… Me … Alone," I mumbled. My voice hoarse and sore.
My eyes fluttered open, drool clung to my cheek.
The warmth of the embers were gone, replaced by the damp chill of sweat clinging to my skin.
I wasn't home.
I wasn't in my room or anywhere I recognized.
But it felt… familiar.
It wasn't a dream…
I tried to move... My body heaving like lead. Limbs sluggish but no longer numb.
My fingers curled against the sheets, my toes twitched, my chest rose with every breath. I could feel everything.
I smiled… barely moving. But, at least the conversation with Tenshi wasn't real.
I guess I owe the doctor. After all, I was still alive…
Though she was the cause of my situation.
My mind barely settled before my stomach felt uneasy, Where is she?
Everything was slow. My eyes, slow to adjust. Body, slow to move. Even my voice was slurred.
The room was dimly lit, allowing shadows to bouce from the polished stone walls opposite the flickering glow of candlelight. It was small yet eerily lavish, like it was meant to impress, not comfort.
It reminded me of my parent's guestroom, the one mom redecorated three times, not for us but for travelling family members.
Walls were carved stone, smooth yet fractured with age. Scents of candle wax and herbs rushed my nose, pleasant but strong.
Then... a sound. I frantically looked around, the candlelight dimming,
What was that?
A muffled whispering voice.
I lifted my head as far a could, holding my breath.
Someone was talking outside the room. At first, the words blurred together, indistinguishable. But the harder I tried, the easier it was to recognized the voice... the female doctor.
"He's dangerous," she whispered. Terrified. "I saw it. He... he killed someone."
My fingers twitched against the bed sheets, my heart suddenly pounding out of my chest."
No. That's not… It was a dream.
"He admitted it." Her voice trembled. "I heard him say it. I saw it. The flames, the wreckage… the bodies."
A cold chill went up my spine as the hair on my arms stood up. She believes it.
I shuffled, trying to move, to sit up, to say something. But only my toes wiggled. My limbs felt strong, yet somehow still betrayed me.
Why! Please move.. MOVE!
I barely turned my head, the effort draining what little strength I had left. What could I even say?
"Hey! What you saw was actually a dream…"
But it wasn't a lie.
I did kill them.
If only she'd listen to my story.
Outside the door, silence stretched.
Then, another voice, a elderly man, spoke, his tone gravelly and cold. "Then I must tell the king."
My stomach lurched. King?
Footsteps slowly faded down the hall, leaving only the woman's shadow in the doorway.
With a long inhale, she slowly pushed the door and light filled the room.
It creaked open, casting a beam of golden candlelight onto the bed. The woman stepped inside, closing the door behind her with an unsettling softness, like she didn't want to wake me. Or maybe, she didn't want to be alone with me in the first place.
She stood near the doorway, hesitant, her fingers lightly gripping the sides of her robe. The warm glow of her candle did little to soften her expression.
At first, she didn't notice I was awake and I wasn't about to scare her. I pretended to still be asleep until I heard her footsteps move around the bed, towards the opposite side of the room.
She was afraid.
Of me.
After a moment of realization and awkward tension, she softly gulped, forcing the words to speak.
"Your awake!?"
Before I could answer, she hesitated by the table; the candlelight painting golden lines across her face.r face.
"You're awake?" she asked again, this time softer.
I nodded slow and calculated, carefully watching my every move to not startle her.
If I thank her too gently, she'll think I'm pretending. If I sound too calm, she'll think I'm hiding something. Or am I overthinking it?
"I am... Thank You."
She flinched at my voice, her gaze lowering as if hearing it confirmed her fears. She twitched slightly, her hands shaking as the candle wobbled within her grip.
"You said… you killed them." Her voice wavered, afraid of the answer.
I looked away, my eyes cowering.
"I did..."