Chapter Text
A weak body collapsed onto the ground, a faint noise of shaky, rapid breaths following it. The deafening silence wrapped around Nick’s head, buzzing with taunt. Though Nick was alone in his horrifying room, the feeling of being observed pierced through his skin.
Eyes slightly widened, he stared at the window and swore he could see a pair of eyes glance at the violent shivers coursing through his body. A curse escaped itself from his mouth which didn’t relieve him of the burdening, growing guilt within him. He resented how familiar those feelings were.
Still dreadful, he shut his eyes.
He was met with darkness drenched in hostility, in judgement due to his strongly immoral decision. Terrified of this eerie environment, he desperately excused himself though he was aware of how pointless it was. No amount of apologies would suffice to appease his own cruel mind.
Hands clenched to his stomach, Nick wished he could shrink so he could never face the hateful look on their faces when the time will unfortunately, miserably come. He heard his own heart break at the vision, noises similar to a paper you’d savagely tear apart without much thought.
A shadow reached his slender fingers towards Nick, caressing his shoulder. Their grip abruptly tightened as their nails dug onto his skin, drawing a sharp pain out of it — if not blood.
Nick shrieked when something from behind him pushed him where the xenophobic gloom impatiently awaited him. He was falling into a never ending void, on the verge of death he hoped in exchange of the guilt he was suffering through.
His eyes blew wide open. Nick was still on the icy ground, uncontrollably shaking and whispering cries of help. Unable to stop panting, he tapped his gaze anywhere he could and found no sense of familiarity within these walls he has lived in for long months.
He refused to question how objects distorted themselves into an impossible form, how the walls lazily danced around, and how his limbs were exorbitant from the odd reality. The notion of reality escaped his grasp before it sprinted way from Nick, grinning mischievously.
When his eyes kept stinging, he convinced himself a single blink couldn’t hurt him. He blinked. Nothing seemed to change after he did, which made his shoulders reluctantly drop.
After what felt like an eternity, his bedroom went back to its initial state. Memories of what he’ll have to endure flashed in the back of his mind. Perhaps the deal he struck with the past will be worth all the pain he’ll eventually cause them anyway, since he’ll always be TCNick2.
Not inflicting death wasn’t his nature, according to him. His childhood was blurry and unclear, as if it’d distract him from his most profound trait. Everyone around him existed, truly did. He didn’t exist. Nick believed all he’ll ever be is a soulless machine with weapons as limbs. That’s what he was.
Even briefly considering another purpose, another use for himself was nothing but an idiotic mistake. The red threads of manipulation horrendously twisted his mindset as they so pleased, remaining in the only part of Nick’s brain he couldn’t control as much as he would wish to.
Tears blinded his vision before pouring down his cheeks in warm waves, sobs timing them. Guilt made proper breathing seemingly impossible. Nick was obliged to take in an excessive amount of air before shakily exhaling it. The pain he’ll give them would be less terrible than the pain he would have someday given them anyways.
At least he hoped so.
He couldn’t change his mind now.
“Nick !” Vernias preached from downstairs, glancing at the top of the stairs.
“I’m coming !” Nick retorted sharply from inside the bathroom, scrambling to push the guilt away. Gazing at his reflection in the mirror, he resented the dark circles under his eyes who vaguely indicated how little he slept last night due to the eventful day he went through yesterday.
A small amount of satisfaction stemmed from seeing no signs of weakness stain his face plastered in makeshift pride. With his finger he stopped a tear from forming in the corner of his eyes. All he could do to evacuate his throbbing feelings was to take a deep, slow breath.
Running a hand through his ruffled hair, he ignored his cruelly teasing thoughts before rushing out of the bathroom. He fled down the stairs where he saw impatience burst out of Vern’s mouth. “Took you long enough. I swear if you made us late…” he mumbled, giving Nick a disapproving look.
Vern already had his pink backpack on him and his hand clutched to his suitcase. Opening the front door, he left Nick’s belongings on the floor and exited his home.
Nick rolled his eyes at the words, having already forgotten the mess inside his head. Throwing his grey backpack on one of his shoulders, he grasped the handle of his suitcase and followed Vern outside. While Vern struggled to lock the door with his key, Nick took a last look around.
For a moment, he forced himself to remember the leaves cracking under his shoes, the red and brownish leaves falling from the trees’ strong arms, the last few birds chirping at the tender arrival of fall, and the chill air he was inhaling. Appreciation for the warm fabric covering him ensued.
Many citizens passing by glanced at them, a bright smile tugging at their lips at the sight of their adored leader and his curious-looking friend. Ever since Nick arrived as Vern’s roommate, he was the Nation’s favorite subject to happily discuss within families and neighbors.
He was certain they were all speculating about the origins of his scars, about his low temper he often displayed, and about his life in general but none dared to question anything out of respect for his privacy. It’s as if his presence will always have this captivating aura, whatever the nature of it may be.
During his childhood crafted of headache-inducing and fuzzy memories, Nick was intensely observed for reasons he forgot about. Following that, all eyes were on him and his dagger dirtied from the blood of dozens. But now; perplexing mystery surrounds the odd character Nick is.
“Remind me why we have to take the train instead of just- miraculously teleporting there,” Nick inquired as he grabbed Vern’s keys out of his hands before swiftly locking the door.
Vern glared at him, taking back his keys and stuffing it in his pocket. “So we can hang out with Sophist there instead of just seeing him for a minute in a bubble. Plus, watching the scenery is much nicer than teleporting,” he countered, pointing at Nick with a finger before leaving.
Huffing at the gesture, Nick nonetheless hurried to his side and walked as well. “I guess ?” he hesitantly muttered, frowning at the rapid pace Vern was maintaining. “Knowing Sophist, he probably missed the train or something- so why are we basically running ?!”
“Because,” Vern emphasized. “Sophist isn’t late for once ! I would know : he literally told me a few hours ago that yes, he was in the train. Apparently he’s got us gifts ! Which is nice and all, but since it’s Eevee, I’m very terrified of what these gifts could possibly be.”
Nick paused for a second. “Wait wait- he got us gifts ? And what do you mean he told you ? Don’t tell me it’s another magic power you have among thousands. If that’s the case, you’re cringe.” he warned, dismissing the dark fog of guilt that threatened to abruptly overcome him.
“Yes, he got us gifts and I’m very worried about that,” he confirmed, earning a silent chuckle out of Nick. “And I’m sorry to disappoint but you are correct; since Sophist is a staff user, we linked our staffs together so we can, within a limited time, telepathically communicate.”
“You’re cringe,” Nick retorted bluntly, wholeheartedly unimpressed.
Vern’s mouth went agape at that. “What- oh come on ! You do realize how incredibly useful that could one day turn out to be ? If one of us four were to be in danger, having at least two of us always in contact could be life-saving !” he exclaimed, looking at Nick with a blinding smile.
Nick’s stomach twisted in dread at the sight. He couldn’t help but notice how blatantly obvious ‘us four’ was to them, how it was natural to refer their friend group as something unique.
For a split second, Nick wondered if ‘us three’ would sound any better.
Stepping into the train, they frantically searched for their spot where Sophist would be theoretically waiting for them. Vern was glad to see there wasn’t many people taking the train while Nick was yet again drifting away into the same sea of thoughts. Guilt stared at him.
It was tempting, alluring, bewitching. Sinking into its obsessive arms was Nick’s wish, but he knew doing so would drown him. All it wanted to do was slowly kill him by poisoning his mind until it was all he could think about. However, Nick could feel himself already contaminated. He was infected.
Nick was about to embrace it, to embrace the soft pain that would torturously course through his body. It would’ve stayed there, cuddled next to him as he’d silently succumb into the grave he dug for himself. Guilt wished to kiss him, but a distinct voice broke the trance.
“Sophist !” Vern preached, face lighting up when his gaze laid on an all too familiar face. He shook Nick away from his unhealthy love, calling him from across the vehicle they were in. Nick didn’t have the chance to protest or glance one last time at the cursed beauty. Instead he brought himself back to reality.
“Hey buddy,” Eevee smiled at Vern, standing up so he could hug him. “Nice to see you too, Nick.” he greeted, watching Nick put his suitcase in the compartment above their seats and his backpack under the rectangular bolted table with four seats aside of it.
Nick hummed at him, picking up Vern’s suitcase into the compartment as well (he’s way too short to physically attain it, like 4’2 or something). “Oh yeah- nice to see you. I guess.” he muttered mindlessly, not noticing Sophist approaching him.
His arms grazed Nick’s skin, only good intentions behind them but he still jumped. A rapid series of images briefly overwhelmed his vision before disappearing, leaving him wide-eyed and terrified. He could barely recall what the touch had instinctively reminded him.
Watching Sophist back away in surprise and Vern frown only aggravated the anxiety loudly buzzing inside of him. Worry covered their faces and he didn’t have an idea why.
“Okay- well no hug I suppose,” Eevee whispered to himself as he went back to his seat, a hint of disappointment audible in his voice. He tapped the place next to him, where Vern happily joined him. A conversation easily started between the two of them.
Nick sat at their opposite, scratching at a dried stain of coffee on the bolted table.
“Sorry,” Nick finally mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers in shame. Brent nor Nick told them about the arena in the sole objective of letting the past stay there, far away from them, but it’s as if he was outright lying to them. Perhaps he was truly undeserving of freedom.
Sophist seemed caught off guard by the ashamed apology. “Why ?” he inquired before chuckling dismissively. “I hope you’re not apologizing for not wanting to hug me : that’s totally fine. I probably should’ve asked for permission first anyways because boundaries and all that.”
Nick was speechless for seconds who felt far too long to be seconds. “I don’t know- just thought I had to say something for refusing a hug, since it’s a really rude thing to do,” he assumed in a shrug, purposefully avoiding Sophist’s deadpanned gaze that burned his skin.
“Bro, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and I’m the one saying that !” he commented in amusement. “You’re allowed to not like physical contact, that’s just you. We’re not gonna force you to enjoy touch. I can’t believe I’m using common sense. Really odd of me…”
“Right,” Nick retorted, almost breathless. He profoundly hated the warmth near his eyes provoked by the softness of the words, said in such a casual fashion. As if treating him as a human with feelings was the norm. He knew it wasn’t. If it was, it wouldn’t be new.
Vern intervened, brows furrowed at Nick who appeared weirdly exhausted in his opinion. “Are you okay Nick ? Since this morning, you look very preoccupied by something.” he slightly tilted his head to the side, glancing at his picked fingers.
“It’s nothing, I just don’t have only good memories with train workers or whatever their name is,” he smoothly excused himself with sarcasm, which didn’t fail to immediately ease the tension that settled in earlier. How great of a liar he fucking was.
“Really ?” Vern inquired, surprised by the information.
“Yeah. The first time I went on one, I was food poisoned by some random fish they served here.” Nick acted disgusted by the memory he made up on the spot, drawing pitiful chuckles out of Vern and Sophist.
The automatic doors of the train slowly closed, followed by a message given by the driver. Eventually, the train began to move and all passengers felt vibrations under their foot. Nick talked as much as possible within the discussion they were having, mostly succeeding to maintain an unsuspecting behavior.
Gazing at the large fields without any fruits or wheat left surrounded by wooden barriers and glancing at the clouded sky, Nick noticed his own reflection : an utmost hateful being with his friends, undeserving of him and what he’ll cause them. Nausea took hold.
“By the way, didn’t you have a gifts for us ?” Vern reminded Sophist who grinned widely.
“Indeed I do ! You’ll have to wait a bit longer though, since I wanna give them to Brent at the same time. God I’m so excited to see all of your reactions to them.”
Fear swelled up in Vern’s stomach at the enigmatic comment.
After two hours in the train, they all finally arrived at their destination : the Kingdom of Skill. The friend group had agreed a few months ago that Brent’s Kingdom was the best place they could all hang out at. Vern and Sophist could more easily leave their Nations than Brent who, as King, couldn’t afford a simple departure.
The moment they arrived in front of the castle, a knight recognized them and warmly welcomed them. After being showed their rooms where they stored all of their belongings in, she lead them to where she was held aware of the King’s presence thirty minutes prior.
Beaming, she gladly informed them about Brent’s newest accomplishments, not even slightly concealing the pride in her voice. As she rambled so happily, she slipped the information about her recent promotion to Second in command in the zone she’s been in for ten years now.
After several minutes of small talk, Sophist suddenly questioned : “Where’s Brent ?”
The guard smiled at them. “He’s been practicing in the training grounds, with the Queen aiding him. I wouldn’t be too surprised if they were to use something other than lifeless dummies, if you know what I’m saying,” she insinuated. “Sadly, duties can’t wait. Farewell !” With that, she left.
After haphazardly walking around for a while, Sophist, Vern and Nick finally stumbled across Brent and his mother who were around five meters away from each other, both of them tightly holding the handle of a long, iron sword. A small smile came up on their faces before fading away.
Almost instinctively, they started turning in a circle, each step cautious and slow. Maintaining an eye contact with his mother, you could nearly witness the electric tension between them ignite from the shared gaze only.
Brent, teeth gritted, leaped from his spot to swiftly land to his mother’s right, a mere meter away. Before she could properly react, he brandished his sword in the sky and made an agile blow.
She barely parred Brent’s blade, then attempting to throw away his weapon in vain. Though Brent kept a firm grip on his sword, he was obligated to severely back away.
Gracefully taking the opportunity, she rushed to him and attacked him from behind but only pushing him with the side of the sword, purposefully avoiding any edges.
A groan escaped Brent’s throat as he made a roll forward before smoothly jumping back to his feet. His friends were speechless, watching the fight with great incredulity — either hidden or evident.
For twenty seconds who went by as if five, Brent and his mother continuously assaulted each other with sharp, short blow who were canceled by one singular gesture.
They kept turning around each other, defending themselves before trying to catch the other off guard. Brent refused to lose his focus for one split second.
Eventually, his mother made him fall over with a discreet feet in front of his legs. Brent yelped as he crashed onto the harsh ground, loosening the grasp on his sword.
The tip of a blade lightly pressed his back.
Brent remained laying down in the dirt and his mother next to him, standing up, for a long minute, panting heavily and foreheads gleaming in the sun due to the sweat.
“I thought making your opponent trip was a cunning and dirty move,” Brent was the first one to speak up, breathless. His heartbeats slowed down though still audible to himself.
“You’ll learn that many opponents do not care about how honorable their fights are, which is why I am teaching you another lesson : don’t follow rules in real fights and win,” she uttered, a smile on her face. She put her sword inside her leather sheath before offering her hand to her son.
Brent accepted, mumbling a word of gratitude as he sulked in his defeat.
Vernias loudly clapped in complete awe, quickly grabbing their attention. “Wooo ! That was such a cool duel to watch- like you were just flying from place to place, attacking each other so effortlessly… oh and we are now here, Brent,” he said in a blunt manner.
“Oh is it really noon already ?” he asked in disbelief. “I thought I still had time to properly prepare myself, but I guess not. Nice to see you’re finally here ! It feels great being with you guys again after… a month or so ? Has it really been that long…?”
Sophist chuckled at the dirt and straws of hay in Brent’s hair and stuck on his face. He plucked one of off his cheek. At that, Brent ran a careful hand through his hair and vigorously scrubbed his face, resulting in a bit more of a dignified state.
“Absolutely ! It was extremely funny to see you get beat up that fucking easily, let me tell you that,” Sophist teased in an unruly manner, making Brent flush a deep red as he scratched behind his neck at the words.
He heard Brent’s mother genuinely laugh. “Don’t say that : he has actually improved a lot since the last time we fought. You have really developed nice reflexes, not to mention you truly scared me at the beginning,” she casually admitted, appearing very proud when she looked at her son.
“Thanks, mom.”
“Anyways, I’ll leave you to enjoy your friends’ company alone. Just don’t be late to the dinner we’re having with the Tremblay family this evening at 6 pm. You can, of course, bring your friends if they want to come along,” she reminded him, already heading towards the castle.
Brent retorted to her, shouting : “I won’t !” He looked at his friends. “The Tremblay family is a noble family from the North, made only of excelling and bright individuals. Each generation is overwhelmed in accomplishments. Ever since our ancestors we’ve been friends with them.”
“Oh that’s just… so unsurprising,” Sophist mocked in a deadpanned voice. “What did they even do to earn such recognition in the first place ? Like- save the Kingdom or some shit ?” he wondered with heavy sarcasm tainting his voice.
“Basically yeah,” he answered, making Eevee roll his eyes while Vernias silently chuckled at Eevee’s reaction. “Their ancestors, ‘the Tremblay brothers’, saved the King’s life in a huge war - a story my people and I learned about only recently. I just thought we liked them because they’re well-known.”
Sophist snickered. “Brothers saving the life of a Royal, uh ? Never heard that before,” he mumbled to himself in an ironic tone. “Why is it always brothers though- why not sisters ?”
“The brothers did in fact have a sister who helped a lot. She accepted to be experimented on during a plague-like epidemic spread across the Kingdom, thus contracting deadly diseases and perishing in unimaginable pain — which was a request by one of the more science-driven brothers.
I actually did some research about the whole family line and by research, I mean I spent two days at the Library without ever leaving. She is probably the most interesting out of the entire dynasty, yet barely anyone even remembers her. Apparently she was harassed by family members.”
“What a great life,” Nick commented, earning a dry chuckle out of Brent.
“That seems so incredibly cruel and tragic,” Vern empathized. “Imagine being humiliated your whole life, experimented on for the greater good and suffering until death just to have absolutely no recognition afterwards. I feel so freaking sad for her,” Vern rambled.
Sophist grinned. “Know what else is sad ? Just how pathetic it must’ve been for Brent to be beaten up by his own mother, in front of his friends ! Why are we not vividly humiliating him right now ? Like- tell me it wasn’t extremely funny to my face. If you do, you’re a liar.”
Brent laughed with a sincerity Nick found touching, and for once, he paid extra attention to his face brushed in hilarity and ease knowing he might not have the chance to see it many times again. The thought didn’t fail to abruptly sadden him, feeling the guilt breathing down on his neck.
“I’m not that ashamed about losing to my mom : lasting this long to her in a fight is pretty flattering if anything. I kind of expected her to win way sooner so I’m satisfied of my performance,” he admitted in a smile that made Sophist mumble something about it not being fun.
“She did look very impressive !” Vern retorted in a tone more high-pitched than usual. “Wait- can I ask one little question out of curiosity ?”
Brent nodded. “Yeah sure, go on.”
“Have you been training with her your whole childhood ? If that’s the case, I’m genuinely scared of you.” He nervously chuckled.
Brent paused, hesitant. “I would’ve preferred to say no, but she has in fact taught me a lot of things. I even used to train with my older brother though our duels were way more competitive since we weren’t on really good terms back then- and still now.
Even my father has helped me with my fighting logic, albeit very reluctantly. I wouldn’t be too surprised if my mother had forced him to, since he was really harsh with his teaching. But hey : I haven’t got the chance to fight my mom in a while so I’m really glad about that !”
“Is it me or all Royal Families have at least some kind of personal issues ?” Sophist mumbled before yelping when Vern shoved his side with his elbow. “Hey ! What did I do ?” He glared at Vern, impatiently expecting a reasonable justification.
“That’s such a rude thing to say !” he protested, making wide gestures with his hands.
Brent giggled, quickly catching both of their attention. “Don’t worry : I’m not even slightly offended by that. I mean, you can’t really blame someone for telling the truth.” Those reassuring words made a grin appear on Eevee’s face and Vern’s shoulders drop.
Nick stared at them, unable to prononce a singular sentence without a supposedly invented pair of eyes boring onto the back of his head. Attempting to dismiss this belief of being constantly observed, he didn’t linger on another possibility; a possibility where his impression wasn’t just an impression.
He was abruptly brought back to reality when Brent invited them back inside to hang out more in the chambers they will be staying in — earning a perfect consensus among them. As they walked away, Nick couldn’t help but press his gaze anywhere around him.
The group chatted idly about whatever subject came to mind, apart from Nick who had too much of a busy mind to care about any topic to bring up, thinking of themselves as far away from any ill-intentioned intruders. The warm safety enveloping them was an illusion.
Behind the thick trunk of a tree within a small park next to the training grounds, a hooded figure stilled themselves when they noticed Nick frantically glancing at their hiding spot. A smirk grew on their darkened face at the terror they were inducing. Their head spun at the unhealthy glee.
Resisting the obsessive urge to reveal their identity in a grand fashion, they swiftly flew away from the park at an impressive speed, leaves and sticks cracking under their feet.
A nearby servant, who thought himself as alone, was momentarily alerted by the noises but he brushed it off as the steps of a wild fox. He was unaware he had heard the steps of an immensely more dangerous and unruly creature, a monstrously cruel beast.