Of Everlasting End

16 | deal; a promise to forget

[i will renounce humanity for the sake of you]

——xxx——

"All right, get in line! Move!" The back of a baton continuously jabbed at Lucas' back, forcing him to follow the group of prisoners, herding together like livestock. They were being moved into a pitch black room, shuffling in confusion.

Elias had dragged him here, then ran off to mess around. It would be ideal to find somebody he knew, whether it be that bothersome guard, or Nora and Rome.

The open doors that had been the only source of light closed.

Just as the muttering among the crowd grew chaotic and panicked, a blinding spotlight blasted onto the front of the room, and Lucas squinted in irritation.

"What the hell is this?" A voice shouted, pushing through the crowd.

Another banged on the door. "Let... let me out, let me out! You can't do this!"

"Damn it! Screw you!"

Lucas kept his eyes on the front, or more specifically, the woman's statue that towered over them, the top of her stone hair grazing the ceiling. In her two, outstretched arms, she held a scale.

The Scale of Justice.

This was the life-saving item that Lucas needed, in order to survive a torture session with the Punisher. In the novel, his brother won Lady Justice's favour with his light and pure soul, untainted by any misdeed.

She granted him the reward as a blessing.

The balance allowed him to exchange two equivalent things, by weighing it on the scale. If the thing was of the same value, it could be exchanged.

Kane placed his kindness on the scale in replacement for his life. In the end, that price had become something cruel to the man, conflicted between his desire to save and the apathy in his chest from having given away that emotion.

Of course, what was exchanged could still be regained. But for a while, the gentle protagonist went on a heartless rampage.

For Lucas, such a thing was impossible. He'd killed, stolen, injured—he was the very opposite of his older sibling.

Of course, what she was judging currently wasn't the quality of their souls. So although he couldn't win her favour, he wouldn't die either.

The prisoners were required to step up onto the platform, with the leading stairs that dangerously hung over an empty chasm. There, they'd speak the crime they committed aloud, and if it was incorrect, they'd meet their deaths.

This Lady Justice was a fake, constructed by the story. Despite this, her power was undeniable, and it was a fact that she treated those with pure souls more kindly.

"...mister." A quiet voice called out to him, interrupting his flow of thoughts.

Lucas glanced down at the expressionless boy, blinking his large eyes calmly at him. However, the small hands that gripped the fabric trembled slightly.

The man crouched down to meet the boy's eyes. "Rome. Do you know what crime you're being accused of?"

If the child said no, then Lucas would give the answer. But, he would also leave Rome in the care of somebody else—somebody who could protect the boy in whatever way he needed.

That person could not be himself.

Rome lowered his eyes softly, before nodding his head. In fact, the child wasn't stupid enough not to be aware of the other's feelings. In the innocent mind of the boy, the man before him was a saviour.