Chapter 31

499 47 6
                                    

"You-" Petir leaned away from Cahaya, taking his hand away from Cahaya's. "What are you saying?"

Cahaya gritted his teeth. Hasn't this man been through enough?

"This isn't the time to talk about this," Cahaya hissed. "Minte and Pyra are trying to kill you because of the amount of akumas you attract. They're trying to stop you if you ever fall victim."

Petir stared at him, his hand hovering above his wounds. His expression was frozen in surprise and Cahaya couldn't blame him. As much as he was disappointed in Minte's decision, he wasn't surprised either.

"So that's that, huh?" Petir chuckled bitterly. "I exist just to be someone else's target."

Cahaya frowned. "Don't say that," he pleaded. "I'll get us out of here, one way or the other. I promise."

"What can you do?" Petir demanded, but there was no malice. It was despondence, a hollow tone that lost all hope of living. Rather than be spiteful at Minte for trying to kill him, Petir was disappointed at himself instead. "You can't transform, so you have no powers. Besides, your identity is supposed to be a secret."

He moved his leg, gasping in pain as blood splurged from the wounds. They were deep slits in his flesh, drawing blood with every move.

"Besides," he spat, words raspy, "you're not the one they want. You can leave before they find out who you are."

"I don't care about that." Cahaya didn't listen. "If their methods resort to bloodshed, then they're not allies in my eyes, much less people I want to ever see again."

Petir pressed his back to the wall, body shaking from the pain. "Minte's the only one that can purify the akuma," he rasped, laying his leg on the ground. A pool of blood was already forming around it, staining the concrete floor crimson red. "You need him."

"I'll take away his Miraculous," Cahaya snapped. "He's not worthy to be a hero. I-I'll give it to you instead. You can be my partner."

"No." Petir glared at him. "He was given that Miraculous for a reason," he added. "After all of this, he's not wrong. I am a huge liability. I am a danger in the future. If Hali really is an akuma feeding off my emotions for years, then there's no stopping me if I ever break."

"Why are you defending them!" Cahaya snapped. "They're trying to kill you! They don't even know who you are, they never met you, but they just decide that you needed to die! Aren't you mad? Don't you want revenge?"

To Cahaya's disbelief, Petir shook his head, though it was pained. Petir kept his head hung low, tears gleaming at the corners of his eyes-he didn't want to die, either-but he believed that this was for the best.

To keep the future safe, to stop Nightsong's plans from coming to fruition, to keep Cahaya safe... he would have to die.

"So please, Cahaya." Petir reached for Cahaya's hand. Both of them were tense, but Petir's was bloody. "I'd rather you kill me. I don't want to let them be the one to do it."

"No!" Cahaya blurted, gripping Petir's hand with both of his. "You're not dying! No one's dying!" He stumbled to his feet, clothes stained with blood. He knelt down, and forcibly carried Petir on his shoulder against his will. "I'm getting you out of here now!"

Petir didn't object, but he hissed as his wounds were irritated. Cahaya managed a brief apology before kicking the door open and looked around for the two bastard heroes. It was empty.

Cahaya drew his mind like a slave. If he'd entered this paradox by going into the class's door, then leaving the same door should lead him out. The Monkey Miraculous was tricky, but monkeys can be outsmarted and illusions can be destroyed.

One Miracle [✔️] | mlbb x bbbWhere stories live. Discover now