56 | reset; binding presents

Elias stared out the window with a layer of impatience on his features as the hanging clock ticked by slowly. Second by second passed, and Lucas' closed eyes remained shut, in a gentle slumber.

Although who could know what horrors that man was currently facing?

He glanced sideways, laughing in displeased amusement, mocking himself. "Look at me waiting so patiently for you, darling."

There was no response.

Elias looked down at the open book on his lap, and the pencil that rolled to the middle indent, where the pages met. The blank sheets gazed back at him, the same colour as Lucas' gaze.

The idea was ridiculous, but Elias had casually skimmed over Kane's diagrams, sketches of the human body from previous studies, embedding it to memory.

And then, he stole an empty notebook from the locked desk.

Picking locks was a common skill, wasn't it?

He tapped the pencil against the paper, twisting away from the cloudy skies outside, and moving his stare to Lucas, whose chest rose gradually before deflating. A sign of life—how long would it last?

The pencil scratched against the paper, erased and redrawn, over and over.

Too big, too long, too short, now it was out of proportion. His fingers were surprising light and patient as he erased the image again.

How could a man who thought everything was boring, be moved to impatience with his lack of skill? He had too much time, and too little to do. And it just so happened that his favourite form of entertainment had slipped out of his grasp.

The pencil dug into the paper with more depth, a harsh line appearing on the page. Elias blinked calmly, spending time to erase the deep depression.

Then he laughed out loud again.

"Am I going mad?"

He shook his head, focusing on the drawing again. A hobby that could be used for capturing memories—wasn't that such a foolish thing to do? It suited that sponge perfectly.

Memories...

He closed his eyes, seeing the obsidian throne, emanating a dark wave of loneliness and terror, with blood pooled at its royal feet. A sword embedded into his back, the roaring pain that came not from the wound, but from the reflection in his eyes.

From seeing the familiar hand holding the hilt.

The deep blue gaze opened slowly, revealed its ocean depths of sunken emotions, long buried.

Soon, Lucas would explore even darker sides of the apocalypse—The End's Delusion. He would venture into more danger, and more abuse to his gentle mind that absorbed the emotions around him.

Although their group had faced much death and destruction, to the point of finding it expected, they were rather lucky.

How about the ones limping on the streets with missing limbs, calling for the names of their lost ones? The ones in a cycle of torture, played by the twisted Tellers' whims? The ones who were abused and beaten for their weakness?

Elias drew the eyes on the serene face on the paper, sketching out the lashes that shadowed against the man's cheeks.

Would Lucas' pure white eyes become corrupted?

They were already slowly changing, hiding away the emotions that they saw and witnessed and felt. At some point, the barrier built would collapse.

And what would become of that man?

Elias felt a wretched hesitation, his fingers stopping on the page.

His role, that he had to adhere to, was that of a bystander. It was one he agreed to, and chose to detach himself from reality. If he cared for nothing, how could he lose anything?

Well, he didn't mind breaking the rules. It was just a matter of whether that person was worth it or not.

He felt as if he already knew the answer to that, amusing as it was.

There was a knock on the door, and Elias lifted his gaze to see Kane walk inside without waiting to hear an answer. A personality that very much followed their own rules.

It seemed that his most recent hobby was finding similarities between this eldest brother and his younger sibling.

"Are you perhaps looking for me?" Elias' lips curved at the corners, but his disposition was despondent and indifferent.

Kane didn't care. He already vaguely understood the twisted underside of this well-dressed man and decided not to dig any deeper. If he unearthed something too terrible, then would Lucas be in danger, too?

"I buried the bodies." said the doctor simply.

"Congratulations," said Elias with a hint of sarcasm. "I admire your humanity."

It was true, really. After all, humanity was a crucial aspect of Lucas that he found the both endearing to behold, the kindness hidden behind rationale.

"Nora is taking a walk with Shen. He isn't responsive, though I believe that is due to his inhumane quality. I have determined he poses no harm to her. Additionally, Elliot is teaching Rome how to fight and use... unethical tricks."

Elias raised an eyebrow. "Are you reporting to me right now?"

"You cannot remain ignorant of your surroundings. It is best to be aware of the things happening around you—"

"Even if I don't care?"

Kane stared at him deeply, adjusting the glasses on his high nose bridge as he scrunched his eyebrows in dislike. The older brother was a little more robotic than the younger, in appearance, at least.

"If you continue on with that outlook, you will be unable to meet the same wavelength as my younger brother."

"I'm well aware." said Elias dangerously, in a lowered voice as his gaze flickered to the side silently.

"...you seem to lack several emotional functions."

It was blunt, but honest. Kane wasn't one to hold back to a person he suspected, or held no affection for. Additionally, even if it ended up triggering the man, at least it would reveal another side of him.

Elias stared blankly, losing his smile. A throb made his left eye twitch as he slowly stood up, casually walking closer to the door. The top of his white button-up had been undone, ripped from a previous battle.

He stared calmly at the doctor, whose expression didn't flinch.

"Tell me, doctor, for people like me, do you determine them as obscure or strange? Would you name them terrible, or terrifying?"

"Would you like me to answer objectively or subjectively?"

"As you please."

Kane glanced at Lucas' resting face, the still body that seemed pale and lifeless. Almost as if he were a corpse, and not just in a deep slumber.

"I dislike people like you." admitted Kane honestly. "And I like people like you around my little brother even less. He is not one for you to toy with, or play games with, or carelessly make a mockery of—"

"I think you underestimate Lucas after being away for so long. He's no longer a child you need to protect."

Kane gritted his teeth, expression darkening. "He is my little brother—"

"Did you chase him away by giving everything to him?"

The man's expression showed signs of collapsing as his narrow eyes widened in surprise. Elias looked at him impassively, chuckling.

"The only person who can tell me to leave is your brother himself, unfortunately."

Elias passed the man, indifferently glancing over as he made his way down the hall, ignoring the blood splatters that had been too dark to easily remove. There was a little chaos in his slanted gaze.

He wondered, would that foolish sponge call him terrible as well?

Perhaps even a monster?

Lowering his head as he continued alone down the hall, he shook his head with another low laugh. If it was from that sponge, maybe being called a monster wouldn't be so bad.

"This wonderful monster," muttered Elias darkly in his daze. "Wasn't born, but made."

———XXX———

Kane's dreams had always been whimsical fantasies of various natures. A black and white replay of memories he didn't know, animated and painted with neon colours—anything that one could imagine.

He lived passionately, reaching wherever his wings could fly.

Tonight, he dreamed of the endless blue skies that he'd seen so commonly, an everyday sight that he was accustomed to.

He lifted his head, mind hazy but clear enough for him to understand. That this was just a dream.

A cold metal brushed past his collarbone as he mindlessly reached out to grab it, the cool metal ring that had been his parents keepsake. Thinking about it, had Lucas been wearing it?

Was it hidden under his shirt? Did some part of their past still remain?

Birds flew high in the skies, in flocks and alone, spanning the space he yearned to reach. The doctor had many wishes in life, but he'd put them on hold for the sake of his youngest brother. He wondered, if that selflessness of his had actually been selfish.

He was willing to give up everything for Lucas.

And that had been what made that same child run away, barely a teenager.

Kane and Lucas were both similar, quiet and comfortable with their introverted nature, but sentimental and caring inside. They were similar, and yet they were different.

The eldest, striving for the stars and reaching it, responsible and well-mannered while standing in the spotlight without intending to do so. He was as bright as the summer's sun, shining everything in his path.

The youngest was different. He desired nothing but the casual flow of life, enjoying what he had and not aiming for much more. Chaotic, and seeking fulfillment without effort, while choosing to blend into the backgrounds of the moonlight shadows.

But the sky that they saw was the same, even when separated.

Kane had thought about it for endless nights after Lucas left. Where had it all gone wrong, where did he lack?

Until he realized that way of thinking was the fundamental reason of their separation. Lucas wanted his elder brother to rely on him, for the two to strive and work together to live a life satisfying for them both.

He sought satisfaction, not achievement. While Kane assumed that he sought the latter, and gave up his own determination for Lucas.

Kane wanted to give Lucas the sky, but Lucas didn't want it.

That was where their issues lied.

His shoulders deflated at the thought, and the sky felt more distant. The proud, intelligent doctor's face scrunched up, crying with no tears.

"God, you're thinking of that fool even in your dreams? A little obsessive, aren't you, doctor?"

The scene changed, and suddenly the man was standing on an expansive rooftop. A woman sat on the edge of the rooftop railing's, balancing dangerously on the edge as tumbles of raven locks danced in the gentle breeze.

Her eyes fixated on the future, stared ahead at the sun's warm glow coated in a soft honey colour.

He took a step forward on the platform.

Noticing the disturbance, the woman tilted her head back as her lips parted slightly. In that moment, there was no sense of disturbed chaos that she normally contained, no reckless amusement or sarcastic teasing.

A thoughtful sheen veiled over her expression, and she smiled habitually.

It was a cheeky and relaxed grin.

"Well, well. I did intend to drag you in here, but I didn't mean to do so yet."

Kane took another step, standing only meters away. He swallowed, calmly watching her movements as her legs swung.

"[Joker's Playground]. Although being cursed was pretty terrible, there are some benefits. Though enough of that... you're wondering why I summoned you here, right, dear hero?"

Wren watched as the doctor raised an eyebrow in response, walking over to swing his long legs over the railing to take a seat beside her. It would've been cool if he hadn't struggled momentarily.

After all, Kane was a well-mannered and proper student; he didn't climb railings in his youth. Though he felt no shame in that.

Silence fiddled in the staggering air as they watched the setting light and the darkness that echoed far below. Wren observed the differences between the siblings—Kane, who held the railing tightly as if careful not to fall.

Lucas, who would've released his hands without a care, and closed his eyes to the blowing breeze. To the skies that would remain permanently clear in her fake world.

"I didn't intend to get involved. I wanted to just watch." said Wren slowly, clicking her tongue as she recalled Lucas' empty stare into the darkness as the children hugged him and wailed loudly around him.

Her eyes shuddered, fluttering shut for a moment. She smiled, but it was faint in melancholy that seemed to carry sorrow.

"Disaster awaits you." Her eyes changed, turning completely black as she continued staring ahead. "One of you will undoubtedly meet something terrible, as tragedy links to you."

They flickered back to their normal state, and she smiled wryly, turning her head. "Well, it's not guaranteed that you'll die. I only know that things don't look positive, ultimately."

Kane's fingers curled around the handrail more tightly. "What do you mean?"

"Dear hero, your determination to help others could very well be your end. But Lucas has determined to change that, so it's only fair that you also realize it."

Kane startled, his low voice raising. "He's determined to sacrifice himself?"

Her face turned solemn. "I can't say. I don't know what he wants."

She took a deep breath, as if searching for a calm to soothe her in this false world. One that she could shape and mold as she willed, but could not force courage in.

"I have a bad feeling about this Story." spoke the woman finally. She stood up, wobbling on the edge as Kane reached out to help her, only to have her balance on the railing with a smile.

"This man-made Teller, the Joker of Ruined Sanity."

The wind blew more violently, but as if practiced, her balance never wavered again. She stretched out her hands and walked along the railing, further away.

Then she spun around and walked back to the doctor, whose coat billowed in the wind like a shield of pure white.

She smiled.

"Though you know, that's just a Title I made for myself. A perk of being a Teller, really. Though the Title has no power in my name—but it allowed me to grant it to Lucas, as he signed a contract with me."

Tellers all had particular Titles tied to their name, as Cinderella had power over the Titles related to her Story, and Snow White, and so forth.

Wren, a Teller made due to the consequence of some obscure Story, could make a new Title tied to her name, though it was severely limited and granted minimal abilities.

"What was your original Title?"

"I am stuck in a loop of the present." She crouched down low, hopping down as she continued to grin at Kane. "That was my real curse, not just my stupid becoming a Teller nonsense. Well, I mean, that was true."

"Your Title, Teller?"

Wren tilted her head, looking down below at the nauseating sight of the ground that made a person's mind spin from the fear of falling. But her mind had already gone half-mad.

"I am the Joker of Binding Presents. Stuck in a loop of this apocalypse."

"That means—"

She threw her head back and laughed loudly, wildly. Then her eyes lost any luster even as her smile remained. "It means I recommend you take every single warning of mine very, very seriously."

"Because I watched you sit on that throne, once, doctor."

"And I watched the entire world reset."

———XXX———

[ding! message from lukiyo...]

OKAY

Admittedly, things may be confusing upcoming and presently, but I promise it will be explained in further detail in the future! And if it isn't, I swear I can clarify and provide you with more information (although I hope it all makes sense LOL)

Regardless, I hope you're having an absolutely wonderful day!

I might not be able to update on Saturday as I'll be out all day and the next for some New Year celebrations (I apologize) so HAPPY NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE! Of course, there's like a little chance I'll have some time so it's sort of an unknown situation, but it's likely that I won't be :c

Thanks for your understanding!! Much appreciation to you all <3