Chapter 56

 

 

 

Chapter 56

 

HOW long had Yuki kept her face buried in her knees? Shae had stopped shouting at the door. She had either given up and left, or waited on the sofa for Yuki to finish. Either way, Yuki didn’t feel like checking because she didn’t want to see her face. Sliding down the door to her butt had rolled her skirt up and exposed her thighs to the chilly air in the room.

Luca…

Sluggishly, she rose to her feet and stumbled over to his bed. She sat heavily on the mattress, the springs squeaked under the new weight. Luca still hadn’t opened his eyes. Color had returned to his skin and a sense of tranquility settled over his sleeping face. The pained moans she heard earlier seemed like an illusion.

“…I’m…so…sorry…” She gripped at the dress covering her chest. “It would have been better if we never met…. It would have been better if you had entered a bonding contract with that woman rather than me.”

Shae possessed breathtaking looks and a noble upbringing. Yuki believed she didn’t even deserve to be compared to someone who astronomically outclassed her.

“Had we never met—had you never made me your Master—you would have never needed to suffer like this.”

Yuki reached out her hand and affectionately ran it down the side of his cheek. The dried scabs peeled off under her fingers, leaving a trail of glowing skin behind.

“If I disappeared and that woman took my place loving you…would you stop suffering?”

No one answered. She peered down at Luca’s face. His eyelashes didn’t even twitch. The only signs of him being alive came from the sound and movement caused by his regular breathing. Sunlight spilling in from the windows dulled into a dark-orange. Tears rolled down her cheeks and splattered on Luca’s cheek.

“It’s all my…fault,” she whispered.

“That’s right. You’re the cause,” Vivi’s voice boomed. A whirlwind of red rose petals filled the room.

“Vivi!”

Vivi’s cackling bounced off the walls. It wasn’t windy inside, but the rose petals danced from the floor to the ceiling. Vivi’s voice and cackling came from all directions. The petals swirled around Yuki as if each one was an embodiment of Vivi. Within the blink of an eye, the petals and cackling vanished. In their place was Vivi sitting on the opposite side of Luca with her back to Yuki.

“Aaah, what an amusing show. You should’ve seen your face! I’m in pain from stifling my laughter.” Vivi turned only her neck toward Yuki. Pure bliss perfectly described her complacent grin. “On top of getting your Knight deathly sick, your ring was taken and worn by another woman! Can you be any more of a failure Master, or what? Not only did you not have a connection or bond—you have nothing with him at all.”

“……”

Vivi was absolutely right, which is why Yuki had nothing to say. She hung her head in shame, the torment she felt showing on her face.

Unconcerned with Yuki’s depression, Vivi continued through her silence, “So? What are you going to do?”

Yuki’s head jerked up at the abrupt question. Seriousness replaced the pleased grin on Vivi’s face.

“You interfered with my pleasure,” Vivi supplied when Yuki didn’t answer her.

“…That’s not—” Yuki trailed off. She didn’t know Vivi was involved and she couldn’t let someone suffering in front of her go unattended when she could save them. Above all else, she saved the queen to gain access to Luca.

“It doesn’t really matter. It’s just through your actions I failed to accomplish what I planned on doing.”

“What you planned on doing? You mean kill the queen?”

“The queeeeen? Ha! Nothing so worthless. What I’m referring to is this world.”

“This world?” Yuki didn’t follow the sudden leap in topics.

“Yes. War has swept the world into chaos. Invasions and tyranny are running rampant. Killing, being killed, and more killing. An ocean of blood is being shed. Those things are slowly disturbing the world’s equilibrium.”

Aridol was strained with countless wars. Blood was shed, sorrow abounded, and happiness was stripped. Learning Vivi grieved over the war made her more relatable to Yuki. Vivi flashed a wicked grin when Yuki nodded. She was all too familiar with this expression—it was the one Vivi used whenever she was scheming.

“With that said, Yuki, why don’t we play a game? This game will be just a smidge harder than the last one. There are only two results,” Vivi held up two fingers, “will the world crumble first or will you restore the equilibrium?”

“…What kind of game is that? This isn’t a funny joke, Vivi.”

“Joke? Now that’s the real joke. I’m always one-hundred percent serious. I’ve grown sick of it,” she intoned loudly. “There’s something that had to be done. It didn’t have to be me who did it. But I still did it, you know? I’m so sick of doing it and then someone had to go and interfere with the job I already didn’t want to do. I’ve lost all interest in doing it now. So I’m handing the torch over to you whether you want it or not. Got it?” she asked, her lips curling.

The smile would have been cherubic if not for the evil glint in her violet eyes. Her smile instilled cold-hard fear into Yuki. “I don’t really care. I don’t care if this world falls apart or whatever else may come.”

“Fall apart? …You’re getting too abstract for me to understand what the heck you’re talking about.”

Cackling, Vivi flipped onto the bed and crawled over to Yuki until their faces nearly touched. “Every single volcano across Aridol will erupt. And monsters will come pouring out. I’ve already heard the small monsters are popping out and attacking people in mountains more frequently recently—enhanced beasts, a tad stronger than normal. But they’re nothing compared to the real monsters who will come.”

“Monsters…”

Yuki once heard about how on extremely rare occasions monsters will appear in Aridol. She heard the stories, but she hadn’t seen pictures of them, much less the real thing.

“The dragon will awaken and monsters will run rampant. The world will return to its beginning. Put simply: the world will reset itself and start anew.”

“Dragon?”

Yuki dug through her memories to see if she had heard anything about a dragon. Irritation slowly bubbled inside her at Vivi’s offhanded explanation. She didn’t understand what Vivi was after, what she wanted, or why she was telling her these things. Would she answer if asked?

“…Why?”

“Again with the whys. Didn’t you hear my answer the first time? I’m tossing my bets and investing in you.”

“Investing in me…?”

“I saved your life. As such, you have an obligation to entertain me. Furthermore, you interrupted and interfered with my fun, thus stripping yourself of any right to refuse me. That’s. What. This. Means,” she stressed.

Yuki’s jaw dropped. What did she mean? An obligation to entertain Vivi. The price for interfering with what she was doing. Those things didn’t add up to playing a game with the world on the line. This wasn’t a funny joke.

The world is going to…fall apart.

She couldn’t fathom what it meant for the world to fall apart. Monsters appearing didn’t mean much to her when she had never encountered one before. Sure, she had a concept of monsters from movies, but how they would be in reality exceeded her imagination. Back in Japan, she had studied about global warming in school and how an increase in heat would melt the polar icecaps sending Earth back to the Ice Age. But global warming seemed like a different kind of world ending than falling apart or crumbling under the threat of monsters and dragons.

Things are going to return to the beginning? What was this world’s beginning?

In her own way, Vivi was trying to impart crucial information to Yuki, but it wasn’t sinking in.

“…Why?” she asked again.

“I told you it’s because I’ve grown sick of it. That’s why, Yuki, you need to put your life on the line to do the best you can to entertain me.”

“…That’s not fair.”

It was as if someone had given her a math test with a problem that didn’t have a formula—she needed to solve the problem without knowing how to do it. As Yuki became overwhelmed and dispirited, Vivi’s elation grew.

“I like you, Yuki. You’re honest to a fault and are more ignorant than a fool. I’m titillated and filled with fondness for precious little Yuki. So do your best, would ya? This is a game. The stakes are the world itself. I’m positive this will be a thrilling and fun game, Yuki,” Vivi chirped. Sparkles glimmered in her eyes and she hopped on the bed like an excited child.

Once she got this way there was no stopping her. Filled with despair, Yuki could only watch Vivi bounce away.

“…That’s a big game for just one person,” said a terribly nostalgic voice.

Yuki had longed to hear that voice for so long she thought she was hearing things. Paralyzed, she couldn’t turn toward where she heard it. Barely managing to cast down her eyes, she saw the sky-blue eyes fringed by platinum lashes blink on the face of the person who had been sleeping.

…How?

When someone is unduly shocked, it renders them speechless. Luca’s eyes were open. He stirred in bed and clumsily pushed himself upright. Too stunned to do anything, Yuki dumbly stared at Luca’s back as he got up. His sky-blue eyes wouldn’t look at her—his gaze was locked on Vivi.

“Oh? You were awake? Is it all right for a gentlemanly prince to eavesdrop on a lady’s conversation?”

“It’s not a problem. I would have learned of it sooner or later,” he said smoothly, casting doubts on if he was really in a coma for months.

“Good for you…. You’ve spiked my interest in how you would have learned of it. Yuki might not have told you? How would you get it out of her? Torture? Seduction? Sex?”

“…It doesn’t matter. Do you care if two people take part in this game of yours?”

“There would have to be someone whose head is so messed up they would be interested in playing. I’d say you can do what you want?”

“Can I?”

“You see, I’ve started to have itty-bitty expectations of Yuki and her newfound impudence.”

“…Is that so?”

“Well then, I’ll be watching you.”

Their conversation went through one ear and out the other. Yuki heard their voices and saw their lips moving, but their words meant nothing to her. Luca had his back to Yuki and she couldn’t see his face.

“The rest is up to your discretion! I’m looking forward to seeing how you play the game! See ya!” Vivi smirked. With a snap, she transformed into bright-red rose petals and scattered away.

The strong scent of roses filled the room. Even after the petals turned transparent and disappeared, Yuki couldn’t move an inch. Luca’s once white pajamas were dyed scarlet with his dried blood. Patches of darkish-brown and white stained the rest of the material.

“……”

Silence filled the space between them. There was no wind, sounds from the town, or trees rustling to ease the quietness. Only the sound of Yuki’s hammering heart pounded in her ears.

Finally. I’ve finally reunited with him. He’s alive. He’s moving. He’s awake.

Yuki’s tears fell without pause. The inside of her nose twitched and heat built behind her eyes.

“…It’s cold in here, isn’t it?” Luca remarked, breaking the silence first. “It appears I’ve been asleep for a very long time…. I’ve also put you through a lot.” He didn’t turn around to look at her. His back was still pointed toward her, but she still vehemently shook her head.

“That’s not true! You didn’t do anything wrong! I-I…I…”

I was at fault for all of it. Those words lodged in her throat and wouldn’t come out. Tears continued to fall; she could only suck in ragged breaths through her sobs.

“…Luca,” she hoarsely whispered.

The mattress springs squeaked as the back in front of her twisted around.

Red. White. Gold and sky blue.

The instant all those colors filled her vision, they were consumed by a plethora of bright-red rose petals.