Chapter 39. Point of No Return (3)

“—and that concludes my story, Arthur-sama—…ara.”

Violet wanted to see Arthur’s reaction—however,

“…Fufu.”

Next to her was Arthur’s sleeping figure. It seemed that he was having a nice dream.

“My, what a cute sleeping face he has~!”

Violet smiled, and thus, stroked Arthur’s silver locks. Then, she gently dropped her lips upon his cheek.

Her eyes, which were staring at Arthur, were filled with compassion.

“The night is still long …please sleep well.”

She whispered gently to Arthur’s ear, and gently descended from the bed as to not wake him up.

“…Have a nice dream—“

—and so, Violet quietly left the room.

When I finally noticed it, my entire vicinity was dyed in black.

Darker than black—the jet blackness of an infinite darkness.

The cold air that seeped through the gaps of my clothes gradually made the hair on my back rise.

…is this a dream?

My eyes were wide open, and yet, even after forever, they failed to get accustomed to the endless darkness.

“Where …is this?”

It was like being trapped in a tunnel—without an end nor light in sight. I dropped my gaze at my feet—yep, I can’t even see my own feet…

“—oi!!! Violet—!!!”

I shouted, however, my voice only caused a slight ripple before being swallowed entirely by darkness.

—funny, I should be in the room with Violet right now …how did I end up in such a place?

“…tch.”

The darkness went widespread in all of its glory. I had no choice but to walk—I couldn’t even tell my right from my left. In the darkness, I couldn’t even hear my own footsteps…

However—I wonder why…

I did not feel anxious or afraid at all. While pondering about the reason, my feet never halted.

—then, I recalled it…

…I had been here so many, many times in the past.

“—right, this place was…”

The moment I realized so, the enshrouding darkness faded away—

—then, my field of view opened. In it, was a long corridor with gloomy air.

“I thought I would never come here again…”

I muttered to myself. I looked up at the amber, dull ceiling.

Nothing has changed since then.

The ceiling that almost collapsed was supported by numerous thick pillars. Those pillars too looked they could break at any given time. On my right, between the pillars, was a ruined garden that hadn’t been touched in ages. The sky was about to burst in tears.

“…”

I just stared at the cold wall that stretched along the straight corridor.

There were dozens of small paintings—no, hundreds. Every single one contained my own figure.

How many years had it been… since I last came here?

“…this isn’t funny.”

What a damned place this was—to the point of nauseating me. However, I couldn’t escape—I was unable to do anything…

…even though this was unmistakably a dream…

Even if I desperately wanted to wake up, such thing ironically wouldn’t come true.

“…”

I gave up and stared sadly at the garden, which was beyond repair.

Why am I here again…?

The reason must have something to do with my sub consciousness—but I couldn’t come up with one.

While I was ransacking my brain, I sensed something at the end of the corridor.

“—…”

At the end of the corridor was—

“…a child?”

The child slowly approached me, before finally halting at some distance.

Funny, I never realized the presence, but the child said to me they had been watching me.

“The garden’s terrible.”

The child laughed and eyed the desolate garden with a smile.

“It’s my dream. The garden reflects my rough heart—you can laugh if you want.”

However, the eyes of the boy who commented such didn’t laugh at all. His eyes were both dark and gloomy—

—and I knew why;

“Hey, why are you here?”

The boy said so while staring at me.

The small voice stayed the same. Silver hair that extended to the shoulder—one of his eyes—the right one—shined within the darkness.

It was unmistakable—

“I am you.”

With a very calm head, I looked at myself, whom stood in front of me.

He furrowed his eyebrows.

“You’re …me?”

‘I’ whispered.

“But your right eye isn’t red. Why? Did you hide its true color?”

—why?

I went speechless.

Because I was able to control my power? —or at least I think so, I can only vaguely remember why…

“—right, for a long time now, it has been this way…”

“Huh, I see.”

Towards my answer, my old self leaned back dissatisfiedly—then, his self-ridiculing laugh was back.

“I wish I could become like you soon.”

“…”

His expression was full of contempt and disgust—and they were all directed at his own self.

It was unexpected, I frowned—

—did I used to hate myself to such an extent in the past…?

I suddenly felt disgusted—the boy who noticed it grinned.

“Such a weird face~ Why do you having such a face~? Are you really me? Then you should know my feelings better than anyone else~”

“—”

The boy’s distorted grin and eyes full of hatred were aimed at me.

“Because of this red eye, everyone hated me—but now, that you look different from me, did you forget that feeling? Hey, have you forgotten?”

“…”

The boy’s calm tone gradually turned into blaming.

“How evil you are. I locked myself away in such a place to save myself—but you threw me away. Look, look at me. Because of you, I’m all alone—do you think I find this pleasing?”

“What… are you fussing about?”

Cold sweat drenched my back.

—what was with this boy? Was this really a dream? Was this boy in front of me really me? What was he talking about?

I just stood there, dumfounded. Mocking me, he laughed with his red eye glowing.

“Hey, Arthur, after seeing me, how do you feel now? I’m your darkness—your ugly, timid self that you desperately try to hide from everyone else.”

“…”

My heartbeat went rapid. I couldn’t move, as if my feet were sewn on the ground.

“Arthur, I’m you, and you’re me. Until today, not even a second has passed in which I don’t think of you. I’ve been watching you all the time… From now on, and forever—never forget that, Arthur.”

“…Shut, up.”

His aura gave me severe nausea. At the same time, unnerving pain split my head—my field of view distorted—

“—never forget, Arthur, I’m you…”

A Right eye that glowed red. In the sinking consciousness, the vivid image stuck to my mind—which I probably wouldn’t forget in any time, soon.

***T/N: Prince Arthur, it’s actually easy, you know? You just hafta’ accept that darkness edgy shota version of yourself and scream PERSONAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA