It was true, to them I had been dead for weeks. But hearing it come out of her mouth put me off. They didn't even leave a slight possibility of my survival in their mind.
The stone wall of the kitchen, the residual heat from the breakfast mass. A window that showed another small room. One with a chair and the subject of interest.
I peeked inside and saw the faces that I'd been waiting to see for so long. Quickly followed by the faces of the two strangers.
I was pretty sure that they weren't Luoris. Men dressed in white sitting in front of my family. There was a knife being sharpened in the kitchen. That was where the sound of the blade originated from.
"haah..." I briefly sighed. My family was safe for now.
That was all I cared about presently.
It was the church that intruded on my home. They were probably here for their final check. Doubting the slightest chance of survival after having me killed. The men of God were actual scum living amongst us humans.
I understood that going in wasn't an option for now. If Mom and Sis saw me they would react. If they reacted, the church would find me out. Our safety would be compromised.
"Why are you here?" Sis asked with a coarse voice. She was almost furious.
My family probably got the news that I was killed while being thrown off a cliff and that the clergy were behind it. The clergy was seated in front of them. No wonder they were furious.
"Don't be like that, miss." The priest said. The worst part of the exchange was that the man sounded sincere and not sleazy. As if they convinced themselves of the bullshit they were about to spout.
"Do you expect us to be nice after all you did?!" She slammed her hand on the table.
"It was Elyan who started the fight." The priest wiped his brow.
"Cut the crap, that boy was such an angel. And he had no reason to pick a fight." She shouted again.
"My my. Don't be too quick. We are here for reparations."
The room went silent.
"What reparations?" Sis' voice was a little weak.
"Nothing much. Just a little promise." The man poured himself some wine. "Just promise us that you'll tell us if Elyan returns. Again, if he returns." He made sure the if was pronounced.
'Eh?'
"How could he return?! He died 2 weeks ago!"
"I know. He can't, can he? So this makes for a perfect deal favouring you. You get paid for an impossible feat!"
It's not impossible! I'm right here! What the fuck was going on?!
He was paying them to lose all hope of my survival. Of the slightest chance that I may return. He was buying my absence from their lives!
"Why?"
"We just have to apologise." The man ran his finger across the butterknife. There was no way they didn't know what the man was talking about.
I could hear the sound of sips coming from within.
"How much?" This had to be a misunderstanding. "We'll tell you if he comes back. Or maybe we won't. It depends on how much you offer." What was Sis on about?!
You can't do that!
'MOM STOP HER!' This had to be a joke right? If she told the- If she- There was no way I could take the church on by myself. Mom just sat there in silence. Before I knew it I was standing in front of the door not even trying to hide.
But no one even looked at me.
"Quite the smart miss. How does a MILLION Uln sound?"
"A million five hundred." Her head hung back as if she had the deal in her palm.
"You got it."
They signed a deal over my life, in front of my eyes. My nails were digging far into my palm. What was I supposed to feel? My vision was getting blurrier…
Right in front of my eyes, three small boxes got handed over to Mom. She quietly took them. That was all my life was worth.
A year's worth of business.
"I thought that it would take a while for us to come to this conclusion. I'm quite glad that this didn't have to be longer than it was." The priest got up.
And suddenly a voice grazed me. As a palm wrapped around my forehand. I didn't even notice her presence until she was right there. She ran through the town and had caught up with me. Her chest expanded and contracted as she tried to compensate for the lack of air.
"Master Elyan why are you-" Anino's voice stopped after looking at my face. I caught a glimpse of her instantly cowering and trembling in ridiculous fear. I must have looked unsightly for her to show this level of disdain. Sweat ran down her body. Almost blue for disgust.
Her small hands wrapped around her neck as if she was choking on something. I really must look like a monster to her.
My whole life shattered in front of me. I'd be insane to not be insane.
"Of course, I didn't need to think too much about it… Elyan was useless afterall." My sister flicked her hair.
The final string holding me together broke down.
[ The lack **** has been compensated. Emotion Grief has tampered (Growth). ]
[̸̙͑*̷̰͔̂͠*̴̡͔̓́*̸̺͝*̷̣̑̍]̶̮͙̑͘
An unnatural river of blood started to flow down my hand.
[̴̢̡̛̩͕̞̪̙̼̿́̃͊́͛̍͌͜*̴̢̛̤͍̻͓͉̙̄̐*̵̧͓͔̩̦͙͍͊͛̿͌̏*̵̠͎͇̹̼̮̒̇̇̾͝*̷̢̡͕̟̹͉͙̌̀̓͑́̓͆̚ͅ]̴͓͒͊̈́͐
Some of my skin started to peel off and got covered by an entire exoskeleton.
[̵͈̪̩̭̦̑*̶̛̙̉̄́͐̈́̈́͑̿̀̆̚*̵̀̀̆̀̀̐͊̂͆̓̕͝ͅ*̶̥͕͇̂*̶̜̲͚̎̓̑̃͒]̴̡̡̛̼͙͙̯̾̓́̈́͊̌̈̾̇̇̓͐̔ͅ
My tattoos started to burn and glow. Anino was trembling next to me
[̷̢͈͚̱̘͓̖͈͔̓̂́̉̔͐͊̌̿̌̔́̒͜͠D̵̡̧͎͍͎͙̹̮̦̬̀͒͐̋́͊͑̃͑̀ą̴̥̦̖͖̠̫̲̗͜͝ͅe̴̡̡̙͉̠̼͔̲̐͜m̵̟̗̝͔̍̈̐̒̂̏̏̑͘o̴͖̺̳̕n̴̰͖̔]̵̧͙̻̩̩̖̦̲͇̙͖̖̎̈́̊̀̈́̇̐̎̿̊̕͘͜͝
My blood began to boil.
[̵͍͙͓̒̋̈D̷̼̖͕̩̭́̃͑͒̅͝ä̶̖̖͍́̉͝é̵͖͎̯̉̇͠m̷̛͗̒͆ͅỏ̶̻̖̠̳̓̈́̾̇́n̶̘̒͑̏̊]̵̞̈́̈́̕
I felt rage.
[̸̎͜D̶̨̖̣͐̕a̷̟͊̇̂e̷̖̐͘ḿ̸̼͆ȍ̵̞̹̗͊ñ̸̘̐̚]̸̡̜̠̑̂
Immense rage.
[̵D̴a̶e̶m̸o̷n̵]̷
I just wanted to end it all.
[ Class : Daemon ]