A Victor's Way of Life

Victory.

That term, which I once considered completely detached from myself, was slowly becoming more commonplace. Today could also be broadly considered another victory.

And yet... and yet there was still a storm brewing in my mind. A feeling like I'd only just nudged the first domino in a long line. 

Even after everything, there were still issues that needed to be dealt with. 

Sitting across from the beautiful empress, I had an uncomfortable expression. 

After everything was said and done, Charlotte escorted Jean home. Cacophony and I made our way home and found ourselves sitting across from each other at our dinner table.

The afternoon sun lazily shone through the blinds and into our living room. The appearance of clouds welded the sky into a series of mismatched greys and blues that bullied any sunlight that even so much as attempted to break through. Alternatively, perhaps even the sun had been saddened at the realization that not even its power was enough to burn the absurdly powerful Vampire Empress.

Contrasting with the bleakness of the sky, Cacophony was in an eerily good mood following her meal. She twirled a strand of her scarlet hair and looked as though she didn't have a single worry in the entire world. 

"Veri," she purred, the name slithering off her tongue like silk. "Are you brooding? That would be so terribly unlike you."

"Hmph! Brooding?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. "It seems even the great empress is incapable of comprehending the deep and complex nature of one such as myself. I am merely basking in the glory of my most recent triumph. Yet another victory for the Dark King."

"Yes, despite everything I had assumed, you seem to be fairly adept at dealing with situations." 

"Hey... If you say it like that it sounds like you never really believed in me at all..." 

A grin spread across Cacophony's face as she laughed at my show of weakness. 

"Ah, no it's not like that. It makes perfect sense that you'd be so flexible, you're my servant after all. My premier servant at that."

Hearing those words, my heart began to swell with pride and confidence. Ever since I met Cacophony I've been working myself down to the bone. Getting a little praise for all my hard work felt nice.

Still twirling her hair like a winter beauty, Cacophony spoke once again, "Still, you have a bad habit of thinking of such childish solutions."

Before I could fully immerse myself in that pride, yet another emotion that I rarely get to feel, Cacophony burst my bubble. No, she sliced my bubble wide open with the precision of an obsidian knife.

"Childish?" 

"Hmmm? Yes, quite childish. The way you resolve conflict could only be a byproduct of having been raised in this current era." 

Those words slyly slipped from her lips as though they were the most basic of common sense. So much so that as she spoke she casually bent down to pick up a manga that I'd dropped earlier that day.

Flipping through the pages, she excitedly took in all the nice art and drawings while ignoring any of the words on the pages. It was typical behavior coming from her, but in this situation it caused me to be somewhat unnerved. 

While I wanted to question her on the meaning behind what she was saying, if I come out and say it she might think it's a stupid question and dismiss it.

Nervously, I still decided to speak, "Alright... Yeah, I totally get what you mean... But, well, how exactly would you have done it... to make it less childish I mean..." 

As she rummaged through the pages of the manga she didn't so much as take a single moment to ponder and think. It made all my overthinking seem wildly unneeded.

"To start, I would have simply killed Fang and went about my day. He was a mage and he was attempting to threaten us. Trust me when I say that you were lucky that he was capable of being won over. Most mages are closer to what Fang's family is like, a rough exterior with a bad personality and grit that isn't downplayed. Simply assuming that they have a good heart and can be won over is childish and shouldn't even be considered as an option... And yet you managed to do it."

I was surprised by her words. I already knew and understood how she'd felt about our encounter with Fang, but hearing it again didn't lessen the impact. 

Continuing to scan through the pages of the manga, Cacophony went about her explanation, "Then there's what happened at that dojo. You all continued to jump through all sorts of hoops and put on an annoying performance. I went along since it was entertaining to see two of my servants trying so hard, but it became something of a hassle. That's without factoring in what happened with the angel. Ha! Really, you should have just asked me to sort everything out. At my current level of power, it may have taken some work, but I'm certain that defeating those two officers would've been simple!"

Slowly, her calm and lighthearted demeanor was fading and gave way to an underlying annoyance and frustration. I understand that Cacophony is someone who could only be categorized as strong and people who are strong have their own ways of going about things that the weak may not fully understand, but... Isn't this just a complete warpath? Not to mention how she admitted she might have some difficulty in the same breath that she said it would be easy. 

Slamming the cutesy romcom manga onto the table, Cacophony's brow furrowed and she glared into my eyes—into my soul. Or at least she tried. Apparently, my soul is quite blurry so even staring into my eyes wouldn't have been enough to get a good look. Still, it was more than enough to give me goosebumps.

"Then there's this morning! While I admit that it was fun to reunite with Jean and amusing to watch that purple-haired girl fumble around, that entire encounter could only be considered to be something straight out of a child's mind!" 

Cacophony paused with a huff as though voicing her opinion was a chore in and of itself. Sadly, a devilish curiosity had taken root in me.

"And... why's that?"

"Isn't it obvious? That girl, that—uh—Char, yeah, Char! Your mistake was trying so hard to push her in the first place."

"Huh?"

"People need to deal with their own issues and idiosyncrasies. Merely relying on the support of the people around you is a formula for failure. She's like a baby bird that's too well-fed to leave the nest. Her problems will only grow if she leans so hard on you and Jean."

My eye twitched at Cacophony's words. They were so nonsensical to me that I could feel something welling up in reaction to them. To a boy like me who'd lived in the modern era... no, to someone who'd lived in the way I did, separated from people but unable to shake a need for others, that idea was horrid. 

"That's— That's ridiculous. You don't actually believe that, do you?"

Cacophony crossed her arms, tilting her head as if I'd just asked whether the sky was blue. "Of course I do. In fact, I would say it's an irrefutable truth."

I sat forward, "Then what about you? You have servants, don't you? You even said that Kana and Tiana were allies. Even back in the day I'm sure that you had people around you. Doesn't that mean that even you don't live alone?" 

Cacophony's lips curled into something between a smirk and a sneer. "Oh, Veri, you misunderstand," she said, for the very first time I considered her voice to carry an almost patronizing lilt. "I don't rely on people. While I keep useful and interesting people around me, I command them. That's the difference. At the end of the day, I understand that my own personal strength must come before all else. After all, I go down, all those around me will be left with no support. If I were to fall, everything would crumble around me just as it did back then. No, actually I misspoke. It's always been that way since the day I was born. Actually, I think I may have misspoken again, it's been that way since the age of the gods."

I gritted my teeth. "That's— That's just semantics! If you surround yourself with others, if you expect them to act in certain ways, then isn't that still a form of dependence? You're relying on them for all kinds of things, things you might not be able to do."

She rolled her eyes, picking up the manga she'd slammed down earlier and flipping to a random page. "Not in the slightest. I take in people who serve a purpose, and who contribute to my goals. If they fail me, then that's that, I'll simply move on. I'll always continue marching forward, alone, surrounded by those who can be useful, but always marching no matter what. That is the nature of power, Veri. It isn't about leaning on others—it's about making sure they lean on you. At the end of the day, there isn't any person who I require to survive and there will never be someone that I miss."

"I... I don't believe that... If that's the case then why did you take me up to the top of the skyscraper after what happened with Fang?"

"Excuse me?"

"I thought about that moment a lot and... There's no way you'd have gone out of your way for some garbage reason like that right?"

At that moment, Cacophony's glare got far more intense, I'd trespassed on grounds that I shouldn't have tread on. 

She didn't give me an answer. The gears in her head were clearly turning, but she didn't give me an answer.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. Unexpectedly, I'd been given the last word in my very first true argument with Cacophony.

"...That's an awful way to live."