"So you managed to finish the director and his lackeys. Your revenge was over, right?" Dustin's voice brimmed with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, his gaze fixed upon Noel with a mix of disbelief and unease.
His eyes searched Noel’s face for any hint of remorse, any sign that the horror of what had happened weighed upon him.
"Yes. Sort of," Noel replied nonchalantly, his tone devoid of remorse or regret as he brushed off the gravity of his actions with casual indifference.
His posture was relaxed, almost bored, as if discussing nothing more significant than the weather.
Dustin's anger simmered just beneath the surface, a palpable energy that crackled in the air like static electricity.
His fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles white with the force of his grip.
"Then why did you do that? Why did you burn down the orphanage along with the children in it?"
His words were laced with accusation, each syllable dripping with righteous indignation as he struggled to comprehend the senseless tragedy that had unfolded at Noel's hands.
But despite the gravity of the situation and the intensity of Dustin's's anger, Noel's attitude remained unchanged.
He met Dustin's accusatory glare with a cool detachment, his expression unreadable as he calmly explained himself.
"I didn't burn it. It was some kid trying to attack me with his fire ability, and I only dodged. The fire accidentally started," Noel replied, his voice flat and devoid of emotion as he absolved himself of responsibility for the devastation that had ensued.
His eyes, cold and unyielding, held no hint of the shred of remorse.
"But you could've helped those children escape from the fire. What was their fault for you to let them die like that?"
Dustin's frustration boiled over, his voice trembling with suppressed rage as he leveled a damning accusation against Noel.
"Can you think about some flightless birds?" he inquired, his question seemingly innocuous but laden with unspoken implications.
The casualness of his tone, given the gravity of their discussion, was jarring, almost surreal.
Dustin's brow furrowed in confusion, his gaze fixed upon Noel with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
The question seemed absurd in the context of their heated exchange.
"What are you trying to do?" he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty and an undercurrent of frustration.
The shift in conversation was disorienting, like a sudden plunge into icy water.
"Just take your time and try to think about it," Noel urged, his tone calm and measured, as if they were discussing a philosophical puzzle rather than the harrowing events that had transpired.
His demeanor was unnervingly serene, a stark contrast to Dustin's emotional turmoil.
Dustin hesitated, his mind racing to recall any flightless birds he could think of.
The absurdity of the request clashed with the dire seriousness of their situation, yet Noel's unwavering gaze compelled him to comply.
He closed his eyes, searching the recesses of his memory for any hint of avian familiarity.
Images began to form in his mind – the iconic silhouette of a penguin, the stately form of an ostrich, the awkward waddle of a kiwi.
He opened his eyes, a flicker of understanding mingled with confusion.
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"Okay," Dustin finally replied, his voice tentative as he began to piece together his thoughts. "Let me tell you—"
But before he could name any birds, Noel interjected, cutting off his train of thought with a preemptive strike.
"There's no need to tell me. Just answer my question," Noel interjected, his words a gentle reminder of the task at hand, yet tinged with an undercurrent of impatience.
"Ask," Dustin replied, his frustration palpable in the strained timbre of his voice, his brow furrowing as he tried to understand Noel's enigmatic line of questioning.
"Dodo. Did this bird's name come into your mind?" Noel's question hung in the air like a weighty revelation, its implications reverberating through the silence that followed.
The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in as Dustin pondered the significance of the dodo.
"No. It didn't," Dustin replied, his voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty as he shook his head in response to Noel's question.
The unfamiliar path of their conversation left him off balance, struggling to grasp its relevance.
"Do you know anything about it?" Noel pressed, his gaze piercing as he awaited Dustin's response, the intensity of his eyes demanding attention.
"It was a flightless bird native to Mauritius, but it quickly became extinct in the late 17th century due to..." Dustin began to explain, his voice trailing off as he delved into the grim history of the dodo's demise.
His thoughts were a whirlwind of facts and images, each piece of information a step closer to understanding Noel's point.
But before he could continue, Noel interjected once again, his tone laced with a bitter sense of resignation.
"Due to humans. They were harmless, stupid, and curious creatures, which made them easy prey for human hunters. Not only were they hunted to extinction, but humans also introduced other species to their habitat, further hastening their decline." Noel's words were laden with a deep-seated cynicism, a bleak reflection on human nature.
Dustin's brow furrowed in confusion, a flicker of realization dawning in his eyes as he pieced together Noel's words.
"What are you trying to tell me?" he asked, his voice trembling with a mix of apprehension and curiosity.
The room seemed to close in around them, the weight of Noel's words hanging heavy in the air.
"There are many animals like the dodo that suffered and are still suffering thanks to humans. What's their fault for them to suffer like this? What sin did they commit for their species to be wiped out?"
Noel's voice was tinged with a sense of righteous indignation, his eyes blazing with a fervor.
Each word was a poignant reminder of the injustices inflicted upon the innocent creatures of the world, a harsh indictment of humanity's cruelty and neglect.
Dustin remained silent, his gaze fixed upon Noel with a mixture of contemplation and uncertainty.
The metaphor, while stark, was beginning to take root in his mind, its implications dawning on him with a slow, inexorable clarity.
"Well, since they belong to different species, forget about them," Noel continued, his voice carrying the weight of centuries of prejudice and oppression.
His tone shifted, becoming more pointed, each syllable cutting through the air like a blade. "Now, there's this one term... what was it? Yeah, discrimination. Do you know why it exists?"
Dustin still said nothing, his silence a tacit acknowledgment of the harsh truths that Noel's words laid bare.
His mind raced with thoughts of history, of the countless instances of oppression and segregation, of the deep-seated fears and hatreds that had driven people to such cruelty.
"Because people don't like change. They always want to be with like-minded individuals, to follow and care for each other. But when it comes to others, they don't give a damn!"
Noel's voice swelled with emotion, a simmering anger bubbling just beneath the surface as he spoke of the rampant injustices that plagued their society.
His words were a condemnation, not just of the abstract concept of discrimination, but of every individual who had ever turned a blind eye to the suffering of others.
"What are you getting at?" Dustin finally interjected, his voice tinged with a hint of frustration as he struggled to grasp the significance of Noel's words.
The room seemed to close in around them, the weight of the conversation pressing down with suffocating intensity.
"I thought rather than letting those orphaned and disabled children out in this cruel world, it would be better for them to perish there." Noel's voice was laced with a chilling detachment, each word a shard of ice piercing the air.
"Why did you think so?" Dustin asked, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and desperation.
He couldn't fathom the twisted logic that Noel was espousing.
"You think they would accept those children? No, they won't. Because I know. Humans don't care about anything unless it's their problem." Noel's voice echoed through the room, heavy with the weight of resignation and bitterness.
His eyes, once dull and lifeless, now glowed with an eerie blue light, a manifestation of the power that simmered within him.
The intensity of his gaze was almost unbearable, a cold fire that seared into Dustin's soul.
As Noel spoke, his aura began to envelop him, a pulsating energy that crackled with raw intensity, only to be abruptly halted by the cold steel of his handcuffs.
His face contorted in frustration, his features twisting into a mask of defiance as he struggled against the bonds that held him captive.
The metal bit into his skin, a cruel reminder of his captivity, yet he fought against it with a feral intensity.
"Whether a person takes their own life due to poverty," Noel continued, his voice a whisper that cut through the silence like a knife through butter.
"Or someone burns to death."
His words hung in the air like a death knell, a grim reminder of the harsh realities that plagued their society.
"Or a child begging for food in cold."
Each sentence was a wound, reopening old scars and carving new ones into the fabric of Dustin's psyche.
As he spoke, Noel's face underwent a sudden transformation, his left eye marred by a burnt scar that spoke volumes of the pain and suffering he had endured.
It was a visceral reminder of the injustices that had shaped his existence, a silent testament to the cruelty of fate and the indifference of humanity.
The scar was a grotesque testament to the brutality he had faced, a permanent mark of a past filled with torment.
"You—!" Dustin's voice caught in his throat, his breath hitching as he gazed upon the scarred visage of the man before him.
The sight of the burnt scar etched across Noel's left eye sent a shiver down his spine, a stark reminder of the pain and suffering that lurked beneath the surface of his stoic exterior.
In that moment, a flood of memories washed over Dustin, each one a haunting echo of the words Noel had spoken.
Scenes of desolation and despair played out in his mind, each one more harrowing than the last.
A person taking their own life, driven to the brink by unrelenting poverty?
A figure consumed by flames, their screams a symphony of agony?
A child, eyes wide with hunger, begging for food on a cold, indifferent street?
The images played out in his mind like a grim tableau of despair, each scene a testament to the cruelty and indifference that plagued their world.
They were specters of a broken society, shadows of lives extinguished too soon.
"They just don't care about it. So would it have been correct to let those children out into this world, filled with such humans? Tell me," Noel demanded, his voice tinged with a bitter edge of defiance as he stared down his accuser with a sense of righteous indignation.
His words were a challenge, a dare for Dustin to find fault in his twisted logic.
The room fell silent, the air thick with the unspoken pain and regret that hung between them.