Soothing air filled his nostrils from the very top of a seven-thousand-tall skyscraper; the view below utterly felt surreal as the distance between the top and the bottom became as clear as the current day. On that tip, the verge of the frontal side of the rooftop, with his left hand softly supported on the peebles midst the rocky ground, Viktor took a crescent bite out a peeled-off white onion as if he was eating a regular red apple.
He pondered the very meaning of the beautiful sight that encapsulated three suns; the purple lower in the western horizon, the yellow far up to the top, and in the same trajectory as the purple sun---the white one lay in the eastern horizon. Furthermore, crystal clear planets had their surfaces visible from afar but not as apparent as these three specific stars.
Devouring the white onion, Viktor decided to grasp the naked eyeball around his neck in the shape of a necklace. He redirected its retina in his direction without saying a word.
He entered a state of deep thought as he pondered what he would do. Shortly after, he got up and balanced his body on the thin border that would separate the skyscraper's rooftop surface and the empty space ahead that would instantly make anyone a victim of the falling vacuum leading to the inevitable downfall below.
Gazing profoundly into one specific location ahead of him in a skyscraper of a slightly lower height than the current one he is in, Viktor then looked below as he felt the peerless pressure from the altitude.
"Retina scans won't let me get inside there, so much for that..." He backed off a bit and went for a large black bag with equipment that he had brought earlier "It doesn't matter what type of retina I steal from people's bodies, there is another system at work here." Viktor reflected on his previous attempts at capturing other people's eyes through more morally questionable methods in order to have access to the intricacies of Arkapella.
Strapping a crossbow with a metallic anchor attached to it that could travel a grand total of five hundred meters; Viktor fired it at the mirroring skyscraper in the north direction from his perspective that had a height of six-thousand and seven hundred meters; amassing a height that is almost comparable to the skyscraper he is in. The moment the anchor landed on the stern border of the rooftop of the targetted skyscraper, Viktor dragged the hook line from out of the crossbow and wrapped it around a metallic harbor near a metallic antenna. By wrapping it and tying it around at least ten times, it was practically unbreakable and it would stay that way.
With that out of the way, a path for Viktor to cross from one rooftop to another had been paved. He went back to his black bag with numerous metallic tools at his disposal and took possession of a dual rod that he applied to the hook line that was connecting the two intersections. Not only was it authentically stuck and glued to the metallic intersecting line; it was heatproof which meant that no matter how fast it went, the wire would never turn into fire as a consequence of the speed of the friction.
Ultimately closing his heavy black bag that was longer than the usual one; Viktor wrapped it around his right shoulder and took off as he fearlessly traveled from the current rooftop to his target through the metallic wire supported by the traveling rod.
Although he wanted to gaze at the sight below as it incorporated endlessly stacked metallic structures that contained various roads where cars, trains, and flying autodromes would travel in, he kept his eyes forward as the velocity he was going under quickly approached danger. Not only was it becoming unstable, but it was also threatening an unsafe landing if Viktor didn't do something about the upcoming crash that was about to happen.
Tied to a border within the rooftop but more toward the entrance of the upper surface, Viktor's body would collide with the structure if things went the way intended. That's why, as ten meters separated Viktor from the upper window of the tall skyscraper, he let go of the rod and immediately grabbed onto the wire with his two hands as his body stood hanging in that thread--- requiring an insane amount of physical upper strength from the biceps and mainly the core abdominals in order to move forward just by juggling in-between the steps.
Successfully though, Viktor as soon as he caught contact with the upper window, grasped the border of the skyscraper, and by elevating his body with the support of his right hand only, he rolled onto the surface of the skyscraper's tallest level. Grasping for some sort of oxygen, Viktor desperately inhaled and exhaled in and out, in order to recover from physical fatigue though minimal.
"This is it..." He started to elevate his body, pausing his black bag on the right side of the concrete "Can't waste time." His body rose to full height as he abandoned his bag and went the northwest direction where a small shelter with a connecting door to the lower levels was.
As he entered the skyscraper from the tallest level possible, Viktor noticed that his clothes had changed. No longer with the black jacket with frontal golden lines that went from his beck area to his long sleeves that matched the wrists as well as the slim fit black pants accompanied with stoic noir boots, his entire clothes changed drastically as he was now wearing a simple slim-fit white blouse with a blue tie. In addition to that, the end of his blouse was strapped perfectly under his slim-fit black corporate pants; beneath them black shiny debonair corporate shoes.
However, the main difference would be that his blonde hair was automatically sliced back and he was wearing transparent glasses in spite of his clear vision without them. He paid no attention to this matter and proceeded to walk down below as his goal was somewhat clear. After encountering a few co-workers and idly chatting with them, Viktor came to realize that he was unnecessarily getting entangled in their relationships without necessarily needing to do so.
"What is this? I'm not here to idly chat, I am here to..." Viktor looked at the current hallway that had multiple side doors but more importantly, one only door at the end of the long hallway.
Accompanied by passing co-workers and the bright sunlight from the three outside suns, Viktor traveled through that well-kept clean hallway. Viktor started to ignore any words coming in his direction as he started to notice that the door he was chasing after was growing further and further away the more he attempted to distract himself from it.
"......" Noticing that the door had completely disappeared from the hallway, Viktor began to allocate himself to the left where he took the stairs to the floor below as he faced another hallway with endless side doors and mainly speaking, a glowing door at the end of the hallway.
Running for it, Viktor decided to no longer hold back and ran in the direction of the door reaching it without any hesitation. The moment he took a soft lingering transient grasp on its hold, Viktor's body was warped inside the room.
"......." He analyzed the entirety of the room and its contents.
A simple office place with a desk of a height of almost a meter that stood at the north edge of its surface was the first thing that captured Viktor's attention. Alongside it, there were loads of papers and even the name of the worker that was responsible for the ownership of this room in particular. Behind the desk, there were silver curtains that didn't allow the sun's light to completely penetrate the entirety of the room. Softly, Viktor walked up to the rotation black chair behind the desk and grasped its texture.
The room's entirety was covered in light blue all of its surface, but the desk itself was mainly black. Viktor touched the papers and saw their contents, only then did he take hold of the metallic placket that contained the worker's name on the left side of the desk. He sighed at the sight of it.
"This can't be right... I know for a fact that I never existed in any lifetime prior in this dimension in specific which can only mean..." Viktor spun the chair and looked to the outside; supporting his right fist to his face's right side---his right elbow locked onto the right wing of the chair "It's her imagination. If this is all part of what encompasses her imagination of the source, then my predetermined existence here is something that has grown on her----my existence has become such a staggering factor that I am bound to exist regardless of this form of mine... I must say though..." His vision narrowed "For something out of her sheer imagination alone, to create something of this level... This place is..." Viktor got up and attempted to leave the office.
Through footstep after footstep, the ground started to collapse as Viktor found himself falling down a seemingly endlessly dark hole as the space around him began to shatter into nothingness.
"?!" He looked above and saw that the office was no longer in sight so instead he looked below the midst of the inexplicably looming darkness and saw a brimming light nearing an unknown proximity.
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He had a vision.
A tiny little girl in her six years alongside a caring mother, stood beside a Christmas tree on a rustic table for two. Hellish snow fell down at tremendous velocity due to the unstoppable winter storm; this scenery could very well be seen on the outside from the living room's windows, which was supported by a bright warm salamander lit up in a welcoming fire. Though the table for two had a large width of two meters and the sides a small fifty centimeters each, there was evidently more space for other people.
Viktor sat on that comfortable black couch that had a horizontal side of two meters and a subsequent side to the left side that would continue to the east side encompassing two meters too. TV shows were playing on a plasma TV of a width of almost a meter and a half with a low height of fifty centimeters; located in a piece of rustic wooden furniture supporting it with a horizontal width of three meters and a very low twenty centimeters in height. It was in addition, surrounded by two tall bookshelves on each side with a staggering five-meter height endorsed with a contrasting one-meter in horizontal width.
In the very middle of the room, close to where Viktor is, an artificial salamander filled with sticks and large wood pieces complimented the abrasive fire. Viktor could observe the sight of the rest of the room which contained a pair of blue curtains in front of the main table; multiple open doors which would lead to the central hallway; a shiny golden floor made out of rare minerals; and even colorful family painting sculptured permanently on the golden walls.
However, in his old clothes which were his black jacket, black pants, and black boots, Viktor laid back on the couch as he recognized a familiar face immediately. Ultimately placing his right fist on the right side of his face by supporting the right elbow on the right wing of the couch, he allowed the distant scenario to play.
"Mama! Mama!" On the right side of the table, though Viktor could only see her back, a child-like feminine voice spoke earnestly to the figure on her right side as she tightly clung to her mother's black robe's left sleeve, causing her to look in her direction---tilting her head to the left side "What is it, Naomiria?" Her mother smiled faintly at her, going as far as patting her head.
A bracket cracked in the explosive salamander. Viktor could clearly see the bright fire within the alluring firehouse yet he kept his sight locked.
"What are you doing, mama?! Are you drawing?!" Naomiria enthusiastically asked as she supported her own body onto the border of the table on top of the golden chair that naturally towered her height "I am. This is the future, Naomiria." She explained by pointing at her rough draft that was essentially speaking, nothing more than a city project drawing at that time "Woah! I can't believe it, mama! It's so big and wide! But Mama, if we already have other cities then why are you drawing one?" Naomi questioned her mother as she was now on the surface of the wooden table that had a golden blanket covering its entirety "Haha, now, now---Naomiria, let's get into the chair first." Her mother got up slightly and grabbed Naomi by her waist---ultimately softly placing her on the chair once again.
Now seeing in what clothes Naomi was in as well as her mother's, Viktor could fully have a coherent comprehension of their current visuals. Naomi was wearing a light long purple dress with darker purple stripes on the borders of her sleeves. Her small height allowed for the dress to go to her ankle's size but it didn't take away the highlight from her light brown small shoes. Hair-wise, she had medium shoulder length long purple hair, with no twin tails. She wasn't slim by any means, as she had a balanced physique for a five-year-old.
Her mother, on the other hand, was wearing a full-body black robe that went along well with her rejuvenating physique despite nearing her forties. Her hands weren't as skinny as in her past appearances and instead upheld a fair constitution. Likewise, her long thin black hair molded better with her happy-smiling face as she adored her own daughter.
"Naomiria, there is something you need to know. This might be hard for you to currently understand but even so, listen." Naomi's mother with a calm expression alongside a serene clarity feeling to her voice began to speak as Naomi, silently though eager, paid close attention to her mother's movements "Our year is currently 2030 and our technology is drastically evolving. Just about thirty years ago, when this century began, we didn't have access to the myriads of things we have today at our clear disposal. The Internet wasn't as colossal as it is today; cell phones were barely scratching the surface of its now modern primary functions, and more importantly, without the necessary developments that it had, circulating the endlessly convenient technological options to our problem's disposals, wasn't even possible." She explained and began to move to her rough draft containing the plant of what seemed to be a futuristic city.
Viktor got up and stopped lazing around as he grew curious about the plant itself. As such, he began to walk around the table while grasping the ideas behind it.
"Ooooh!!" Amazed, Naomi gazed at the city plant's draft in the gigantic white paper that almost occupied all of the table "I still have it to give it a name, but in our near future, this will be our city, Naomiria. This will strictly belong to our royal bloodline and slowly but surely, it will grow as well as encompassing peace and prosperity." Her mother showed a serious side by saying those last words; Viktor witnessed her lack of kindness while saying so "But Mama... Don't we already have enough? You're the queen of Dortmund, why do we need to build another city...?" Naomi asked, clueless.
Behind Naomi and her mother, Viktor stood while grasping the entirety of the city's structure with his own two eyes.
"Naomiria... This---is not ours." Her mother looked at Naomi with dreadfulness in her eyes; solitude lurking in her tone "It hasn't been... for a long time..." She hugged the little Naomi "Mama?" Naomi could feel a stronger embrace to her entire body; stronger than any time prior.
A faraway mirage occupied the terrain within the TV plasma; replacing the prior show it was playing. It glowed in Viktor's direction---causing him to notice.
He thought about staying there for a little longer, but he opted to walk away in the direction of the plasma; ultimately reaching out his hand to it which allowed him to be transported back into Arkacapella; mainly into that specific section of the city that it had been showing. Thus, this scene remained frozen in the distant past of a long-forgotten harmony.
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"I could face the source right here and now..." Viktor stood in front of it; blessed by powerful daylight from above "But to what end? I don't understand her yet..." He decided to take a step back and exited the scene that had no current value from his understanding.
Now possessing complete knowledge of the city's plant, Viktor ventured to the northeast side of the city. By using an eye that was not his, he fulfilled the retina scans by upholding the eye to any scanner in the city. He had to be somewhat secretive about this as he couldn't do it unnaturally or in a suspicious manner in case any guard would be on the watch for him.
This area would be located beneath most metallic platforms where solar light was obscure and known to little. It wasn't necessarily a poverty zone, but it had a reminiscent feeling of an area that was previously abandoned beneath something that has towered it in development.
After taking a detour from a city train to a subway station which made Viktor change lines at least five times in a row; he caught an old rustic cranky mechanical bus that would pass through its respective station once a day and no more than that. However----Viktor had to wait three hours impatiently for this bus to arrive in a place where the population was still active yet in a more rural environment; completely contrasting the environment from the above platforms that one could observe as they would stack upon each other like metal layers; ultimately reigning over dozens of kilometers above.
"So much for perfection." Viktor blurted that out as he took a seat in the last row of the bus; the engine starting to crank up yet moving forward in its long destination ahead.
This bus which had a width of ten meters, contained mainly seats for two that mirrored each other from the entrance of the bus all the way to the end of the bus; except for the last row that managed to encapsulate a row of five seats---Viktor on the furthest to the right with his right fist on his face as a measure of support from his right elbow on the border of the window's below structure. Not clean and far from well-kept, the seats were barely upholding the necessary requirements for someone to comfortably seat in them as they lacked structure and were mostly extremely cranky which reflected a lack of preservation.
Though he knew where he was going, Viktor didn't mind paying attention to the outside scenario as it contradicted the idea that Arkapella offered in theory. Unlike the tall buildings or the unfathomably overreaching skyscrapers, houses with about three to four meters in height and a small width of two meters stood amidst the shimmering horizon. Electricity poles were there; functionally for the purpose of facilitating electricity to this wasteland of a city. In addition, the ground was occupied with an omnipresent lack of construction; no such common elements like cement or concrete were around, and instead only peebles and uncharacterized dirty yellow sand stood.
The light was so weak that the outside light poles were always on. It was as if a night underneath a powerful moonlight that served as the primary illumination was at play here.
As for the current scenery, where Viktor stands almost alone in this bus populated by a constant mechanical crank of noises coming from its back engine, he noticed a sudden presence in the front seats---the third row, in the left seat from the entrance. There was a driver, but surprisingly, he accepted real money instead of anything like a retina scan.
"......" Viktor attempted to brush off how he didn't notice the other existence in the third row, but seeing how it was most likely intentional, he sighed and got up as he walked to the left row of seats; ultimately taking a seat in the right side of the row--mirroring the old female figure "Hello." Viktor started the conversation with her after taking a seat on the edge of it "Hello, young man." She gave a faint smile to Viktor.
Dressed in a long light golden dress that went to her knees, an old lady in what seemed to be her seventies, replied to Viktor. Her skin was so frail and pale from her old age that it embodied her skinny composition fairly accurately. Bordering silver, her hair went to her shoulder length which was somewhat unkempt. To cover the top of her head, she was additionally wearing a white straw hat with a red ribbon attached to the bottom of its upper surface. Lastly, she held a pair of glasses in her eyes which were glimmering in gold; very much like her shoes that showed the surface of her feet.
"Apologies for the inconvenience but since there are no indications of it, could you tell me if this bus stops at the Ostenfriedhof graveyard?" Viktor asked, seemingly clueless "Oh, you needn't worry, young man. Although I'm not going directly there, this bus' only stop is the Ostenfriedhof graveyard." She answered Viktor, to which he let out a relieved sigh "Oh thank God. I'm from the city above and I always wanted to see the hidden city below. I'm somewhat of an adventurer myself, you see." Viktor put on a smug look "If it's not much to ask, ma'am, could I be requisitioned in what your endeavor is? Maybe it will pique my interest, after all." Viktor asked, not necessarily expecting a positive answer.
The lady looked at Viktor with eyes of judgment. Viktor, likewise---ceased his jester-type of posture and positioned his posture well midst his seat; confronting his target with respect and dignity.
"...My, my." She adjusted her glasses with her right hand's index finger "It's fine, I don't mind answering that. Because I could also use a second opinion on the matter." She sat on the seat to her right; alluding that Viktor could take a seat next to her on her left side, which he did "I am on my way to visit my youngest granddaughter---she's so sweet and such a beautiful little girl, mind you." She eagerly told Viktor that and he laughed lowly "I can believe that, trust me." He didn't bother to deny it and the lady laughed a bit too "Oh, you." She mildly slapped Viktor's rigid right shoulder with her left hand "It's been a long time since I've seen her but I've had an idea. My long-gone mother would often tie my hair sideways in twin tails. At first, let me tell you, I hated it. It just never fit my entirety as a person and even to this day, I still struggle with accepting it. However, when I looked upon my grandaughter I just knew I had to try! So, tell me..." From the light white grocery bag that she was holding on her feet, she took out a pair of hair connectors that would string a portion of the selected hair completely.
Viktor recognized the connectors immediately but didn't express surprise. Instead, he lightly gave off a silent smile as he gave his opinion.
"I would have to see her with my own two eyes first, but if she's what you say she is, ma'am, then I say it's a yes!" Viktor laughed and approved "Oh, I'm so glad you agree. My daughter likes her so much that it warms my heart every time I see them together. Despite their lineage, they can still behave like a normal family and act alike... You know, it's something me and my mother lacked---that's why I want to make them as close as possible. Say, young man, can I speak of honesty when it comes to my daughter?" Viktor saw no reason to decline "I don't mind, by all means." Viktor paid close attention to what she was about to say "I love her with all my heart, but I fear that I've influenced her in ways about the world and where her lineage now stands a bit too harshly. It's something I can't undo, but if I could, I would show her that the blood in her veins is simply blood and that it doesn't come with extraordinary benefits." She lamented "......." Viktor began to grasp the situation.
He could wait, but Viktor decided to ask one question, as the bus continued on the windy road amidst watery mud.
"Forgive my intrusion on the matter since it doesn't concern me, but could you tell me more about the ways of the world that you regret teaching her?" Viktor asked and added something else "It's alright if you don't want to answer. I am a curious person only, I seek no harm with this information." He looked forward where the sunlight is minimally present and an endless wasteland kept stretching with old rustic houses occasionally in the sideways "Dear me... For me to rely on a stranger like you to receive some soul-comforting insight... I'm sorry, this is a first time for me... Can I confess something abrupt? I promise to get back to the matter quickly." She asked, with something stuck to her verbal tongue.
Without any need to refuse, Viktor took a second and then positively nodded.
"You remind me of my late father. His eyes were peculiar yet they have an underlying bottomless to them. Every time I sought advice, he would hear me out and every time, I would come out with clarity in my mind. I must be getting old for me to say these things, I am sorry." She apologized albeit Viktor didn't see the need to do so "No such thing, ma'am. I---am not the wisest person there is, but, my soul is quite old. Even so, please rely on me if you need any soul-sounding advice." Viktor offered consolation "Thank you, I will. As I was saying, I won't stray away from the matter..." She readied to answer Viktor's question "Coming from a royal lineage inherited by her mother and father---as well as encompassing a millennia of genetics that served royal blood, she had to learn at a very young age what it meant to be born as royalty. I needed her to understand that being born the way she was that she was not normal---that as long as she holds royal blood, she has a duty to the royal bloodline. As such, I told her a myriad of things that resulted in a newfound obsession with a fallen idol that would remain on the throne. This era, young man, doesn't belong to the royal anymore. I was too naive to see it, but as times evolved, the crown has decayed. Yet thanks to my stubbornness, I made my own daughter a slave to the idea that the throne serves..." She grieved.
Viktor lay back his head and tilted his neck backward while highlighting his Adam's apple to the straws of visible light emitted from the glass windows to the right.
In addition, he allowed her to continue too.
"Our current century holds no merit to the throne. Likewise, the throne holds no merit to the people of the century. It's an old outdated idea with fragmented values... And I can no longer change her mind; to go against all that I've said... I just don't think I have it in me anymore..." Her frail right hand began to tremble, to which Viktor held softly, causing her to look at Viktor in awe "Ma'am. I don't think that giving up is the right course of action. She is your daughter and if she saw reason in your words, then I don't think it's hopeless at all to try once again. Would you like your granddaughter to fall victim to the same ideology; the very set of ideas that you dignified as outdated? Is that what you really want?" Viktor looked into her eyes fully serious as her trembling slowed down "I appreciate the moral support, young man, but... Perhaps this is something that you can only understand as you grow older---there are things that you feel inevitably powerless toward." She confessed her weakness.
Letting go of the grip, Viktor thought for a bit before delivering his sentence.
"Trying is something that is partial to age; even if the will behind the person staggers. No matter how difficult something looks, trying is always an option. ...It's better to try without dying knowing that you didn't try..." Viktor murmured the last sentence to himself silently "...Mhmm..." She pondered something as she took particular interest in Viktor's last sentence "Gracious me, I can't believe myself, but... I really don't want my granddaughter to suffer the same fate..." She took a deep breath "I will give it a try." She said and made Viktor smile a bit and closed his eyes transiently "I'm glad that I could---" Viktor noticed the current scenario.
With no one on his side, Viktor was left alone in that row of two seats.
"......" He exhaled some air out of frustration as he looked at outside houses midst the faraway mountains.
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Unzipping his jacket, Viktor took a small peek at the eyeball tied to his skin necklace right underneath the black shirt that he is wearing. Unresponsive like always, Viktor did not try to talk with it. Instead, Viktor looked at the driver's mirror located on the right upper side of the bus and what he saw, staggered his being momentarily.
"What?! Are you fucking----" He immediately got up from his seat, and went up to the driver's seat---the bus still driving onward "Goddamn it!" He saw no one controlling the bus, the familiar male bus driver that he had previously given his buy to buy a ticket, was no longer present.
Additionally, Viktor started to no longer see a landslide without end, because the north side ahead had a very clear destination as it was threatening to fall down with no subsequent road to back up the terrain to create a path. In other words, a complete dead end to which Viktor knew not if it would lead somewhere.
Opting not to bet on an optimistic chance, Viktor took control of the bus driver's seat and attempted to put a stop to the bus.
"Really?! Oh come on!" He complained as he saw no positive results from pressing any of the pedals; even the one that would give the bus more nitro "I'll just jump out of the damn doors..." His plan was now to exit the bus by opening the entrance doors which would give him the necessary path to escape the potential catastrophe.
With lightning speed, Viktor pressed the switches that would open at least one of the doors and looked at them; only to see a negative result occur. As of now, the distance between the landslide and the bus running at an excruciatingly fast pace was about five hundred meters. Knowing exactly that this distance would soon be overtaken by the driving force, Viktor exited the seat and went straight to the extinguisher that was encapsulated on the right side of the middle section of the bus.
Instantly grasping the top of the extinguisher with his two hands, his idea was to use the bottom body of the extinguisher to damage the glass window from the door more than an average throw that used the bottom body supported with another hand. By utilizing both of his hands on the top of the extinguisher; though it required tremendous physical strength in order to perform a fast swing, Viktor was able to successfully perform a sequence of five hits onto the glassy window that was starting to crack.
Feeling pressured, he looked to his left side as he saw the ravine's end being approached by the zombie bus.
"GODDAMN IT! NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO REST, COME ON! HIT IT UNTIL IT BREAKS!" He pumped himself and elevated the extinguisher that had eight kilograms with his two hands by tightly gripping its top.
Executing each swing on the very same cracked spot three times with no rest in-between the repetitions, Viktor had managed to crack the entire window and as he did, he committed a mild mistake by not dropping the extinguisher immediately and jumping out. Instead, wanting to check the situation, he looked to the west side as he tried to see if the bus had already surpassed the road that would lead to the dead end.
Unfortunately for Viktor, he could only see faraway mountains and nothing else; including the road that the bus was under.
Without wasting time to process what this meant, Viktor instinctively dropped the extinguisher, ran to the cracked window, and performed a jump to the pits below the ravine.
"AHHHHHH!!" Viktor screamed out of his lungs as he looked for something to grasp.
Despite performing a jump, he essentially wasn't able to land on the pits of the ravine which would allow him to climb back up. Instead, as he was falling down, he tried to see anything that would connect to the pits.
A falling tree arm that would extend from the pits of the ravine was immediately caught to Viktor's sight and he didn't hesitate to dive down to it below as it was ten meters away.
"GAH!" Although he managed to grab the arm's entirety, the muscle spasm of the impact that landed on his left shoulder was enough for him to let out a cry of pain.
Frail and unreliable, the tree's arm started to show signs of discomposure and so, Viktor used both of his hands to go forward; his entire body below being supported by the upper movements of his two hands that would guide him to the rocks that are present in the ravine's pits. Naturally, the tree's arm collapsed as soon as Viktor got a hold of the two rocks that were in the pits.
In addition to collapsing, it caused an abrupt earthquake from below, which alarmed Viktor to climb---the distance from where he currently stands and the end of the road being around a hundred meters.
He performed a deep breath and with consecutive in and out breaths to help his movements be less sluggish, Viktor was able to get into the road's surface as the ravine below started to undergo a massive destruction.
"Ahhh... Ahhhhhhh......!!" On his knees, Viktor inhaled as much air as he could but nevertheless got up as he didn't think it would be wise to stand on the very edge of a ravine that was undergoing natural havoc.
His posture was crooked and his left shoulder somewhat hurting; furthermore, his hands utterly blistered from the brusk movements he had to perform with them on the tree's arm and the ravine's rocks---Viktor felt like he had achieved something that he was not meant to achieve.
He started to move forward, finally entering a low dirty green grass field with a muddy sandy path that would have a small width yet a long extensive way ahead with faraway rustic deconstructed ruined houses in sight.
"Something I've come to notice is that there are always, for some damn reason, these random death challenges that pop up that get in the way... Under what force do these events operate? As far as I'm concerned, all that the nightmare should include is mortal danger to the one who is having the nightmare and I'm not that person..." Viktor reflected on the anomaly that has been showing its presence.
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As he continued to walk forward in that grassy field, the absence of the three suns made it clear that the omnipresent daylight had been substituted by torrential unstoppable rain. Furthermore, the more he walked, the more the scenery would change.
Finding himself no longer in a field with low grass without a soul in sight, Viktor had become one with a crowd of people wearing all black, under their respective dark umbrellas to shield from the merciless rain. There was not a single person present who was not wearing black; the male individuals varied from all ages as well as the female individuals. Amidst them, Viktor was holding onto his black umbrella with black gloves in his two hands.
Viktor was dressed in a black suit with a black tie; everything was black, even the blouse underneath.
"MOTHER, NO!!" A loud cry erupted from the front scenery; Viktor couldn't capture this sight quite well as it was blocked with people.
Thinking he would have to pass through the crowd of black suits, Viktor placed his left hand on a person's shoulder in the north direction, but he couldn't physically make touch with that person. Despite the rain clearly affecting his hair as he turned off his umbrella---strapping it on the muddy field filled with watery grass.
Walking forward in the direction of the cry, Viktor decided to uncover who it was that had unleashed such an agonizing scream.
Midst that, Viktor was able to absorb some information regarding the event as he passed through a multitude of bodies.
"It's unfortunate; they are just that relentless... Bunch of savages, thank God I'm not of royal blood---recently there have been rumors of royal families being eradicated out of existence by some mysterious organization..." Viktor stopped prematurely as he realized something; his eyes authentically open now as he suddenly dawned it "Do they know no remorse? To kill someone like the previous Queen..." Viktor reluctantly began to walk again "I don't think that's even the worst part of it... Just what is the length of their plan? Is Queen Ina Marie safe?!" Viktor had now reached his desired location.
Unshielded from the pouring dreadful rain emitted from the thundering clouds above, three people, in particular, were on their knees in front of a black coffin with Christ's cross embodied in the very middle of it. There was a noticeable difference between them and the others, as the rest of the people that were invited to the funeral amidst the gloomy depressive atmosphere that endorsed the entirety of the oddly populated graveyard, didn't want to get in the way of their sorrowful mourning.
"Grandmother! Grandmother! You can't just leave us!!" Viktor recognized the familiar face, wearing a full-body black dress, now a year older than the last time he saw her, Naomi hugged the coffin as she caught the violent rain droplets "Mother! MOTHER! NO, WHY?!" Naomi's mother, Ina, grieved as her streaming tears were surprisingly noticeable amidst the bullet raindrops---as well as hugging the central part of the coffin.
Oskar, her husband, and Naomi's father, silently hugged the two of them as he had nothing to say.
Viktor, on the other hand, placed his eyes on Ina and Naomi in particular. Their behavior which contained a splash of sadness with an untold regret for their late family member managed to capture a decent image for Viktor's understanding of the two individuals.
"Not enough..." Viktor thought to himself as he stood on the left side of the coffin, gazing upon the crying figures.
Rapidly, the scenery changed without warning.
No longer in a funeral circulated by black suits in the middle of torrential rain, Viktor found himself inside the seventh floor of the mansion that he had already been in. The atmosphere was filled with heavy rain once again, but repetitive strikes of thunder were an additional element to the ambiance outside. Flashes of light constantly shortly illuminated the hallway to which Viktor began to walk in.
Each step toward the one and only room felt like taking an assaulting bolt of thunder as the lightning outside impacted everything around it at lethal proximity by the seconds.
However, before he could do anything else, in that flightless hallway, Viktor captured the sound of impatient footsteps and so, he turned his back around and saw Naomi with a golden plate that had a plate with various dishes alongside a cup of water in it. Uncaring for the state of the plate itself, Naomi was in a complete rush, as she passed through Viktor's body, which had no physical impact on her.
Struggling to do everything at once, Naomi put down the plate in front of the two tall doors that connected to her mother's office, and only then did she open the right door----taking hold of the plate again once that was done.
Thunder struck mercilessly outside, thus Viktor moved forward, following Naomi to the dark office where her mother would be in.
"Mother!" Naomi shouted, now in her blue pajamas, being seven years old "Please eat something, it's been almost two days since you've eaten!" Naomi placed the golden plate in the middle of the desk where a multitude of papers were lined up.
Unreactive, Naomi's mother, Ina, didn't react to this neither did she look at Naomi, who was wearing an extremely worried expression on her face. All that Ina was doing at the moment was signing up a multitude of papers which Viktor didn't fail to get his visual grasp on as he started to circulate the desk around Ina and Naomi. He additionally noticed Ina's tired expression as the bags around her eyes were abundantly heavy and noticeable. Furthermore, her well-kept physique was showing signs of lack of body nutrients; her fingers showing a staggering difference in body fat as they are tremendously skinnier now, as well as her face.
Upon being ignored by her mother who did nothing but paperwork; as she felt helpless, Naomi began to cry in front of Ina.
"Mamaaaaaa!!" Naomi supported her tears with her closed palms as she kept brushing them off with her eyes semi-open "Why won't you eat anything?! I even had Sebastian teach me how to make this! Please, just say something! You've been isolating yourself from me and father ever since grandmother passed away!" Viktor noticed an abrupt shift as Ina paused her pen---her eyes widening in response to Naomi's last words "And I don't know how to take this, mother! I keep crying a lot every time I think about grandmother! I need you, mother! Please!" Naomi begged as she went around to the left side of Ina's chair, grasping tightly her black dress.
Viktor saw just how much Naomi was crying on her mother's dress, but more importantly, the kind of expression Ina was wearing while looking at her own daughter.
"...You need me...?" She asked Naomi, her eyes lacking any color; her voice utterly hollow--deprived of emotion "Yes, mother! I miss grandmother so much, but I'm worried about you too! Please!" Naomi looked at her with teary eyes, snot running through her nose as well as her body trembling "You miss her? You think that you miss her?" Viktor saw the dangerous movement from her mother which surprised him as she committed to it.
Abruptly, by taking a strong hold of the water glass cup, Ina smashed it onto Naomi's hippocampus without any mercy. The glass split itself into shards as the water from the cup was poured onto Naomi's head.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY SUCH THINGS, INSOLENT CHILD!" Ina shouted in Naomi's direction, Naomi herself collapsed from the damage onto the floor as her cry of terror intensified "DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT MY FEELINGS AS IF YOU UNDERSTAND!! SHE WAS EVERYTHING TO ME, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER, STOP TALKING LIKE YOU DO!" She slapped Naomi's hippocampus with her right hand in a feat of rage "DO YOU REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH OF A BURDEN YOU ARE TO ME?! YOU DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ROYALTY, SO YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN, STUPID CHILD!" Ina vented as she kept on lashing her hands at Naomi's face.
Unable to form a sentence, Naomi tried to shield herself from the damage by putting up her arms, but her mother didn't allow such as she was relentless with her physical punishment. Not only that, but the top of Naomi's head was bleeding excruciatingly, as well as the lips that were starting to show damaged bruises from the beating.
Viktor then saw Oskar enter the room through the open door with a look of disbelief and emergence.
"Ina?! What are you doing?!" He quickly rushed into the scene, putting a stop to Ina's physical endeavor by locking both of her arms from behind "LET GO OF ME, SHE HAS TO LEARN! THEN SHE WON'T TALK ABOUT SUFFERING AS IF SHE KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE!!" Naomi's loud cries of horror could be heard as her frail body formed a shelled posture; her two legs crawled up to her head while the two arms shielded the head "You're not in your right mind! You need to rest, right now!" Oskar, alongside the guards that emerged from the hallway, started to take control of the situation by taking Ina away from the room "RELEASE ME! RELEASE ME NOW! I NEED TO TEACH SOME MANNERS TO THAT CHILD!!" In spite of her lunatic attitude, Ina insisted on shouting in Naomi's direction---her voice starting to fade out from screaming so much.
Now that she was out of the room and Naomi remained alone in the room for the time being, Viktor crooked his posture down and took a look at Naomi's face from her left side.
With blood on her face streaming from the top of her head, blood vessels destroyed in the corner of her lips as well as visible damage to her face---Naomi kept repeating the same sentence while shielding her head with her two fragile shaking hands.
"I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again." As the sentence kept on being repeated, Viktor deemed her behavior as key and so, he started to erupt his posture back on.
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By taking the exit door and going into the hallway, Viktor was caught by surprise yet again.
"........?!" Out of nowhere, the hallway started to deconstruct itself and Viktor began to fall under a deep dark hole just like the first time he was chasing that particular door in the skyscraper.
Though Viktor expected to be like last time, where there was a shining light below that indicated his upcoming destination, after a short while, Viktor could regain physical control of his own body as he was apparently under some sort of structure midst the absolute darkness.
"What now?" Viktor began to talk to himself out loud "I know the source, but this is still not enough. I need to know how she took it, all by herself. Otherwise, I can't get her out of it." This time, he spoke in the direction of the eyeball within his skin necklace.
No response from the eyeball came forward. However, Viktor decided to not stand around so he figured that the only thing he could do for now is to wander around in the darkness. He attempted to go north side in search of something; just a single clue that could indicate where he should go next.
Little by little, still with nothing in sight, Viktor started to catch the sound of water as he noticed that his black boots were hitting a watery surface. After he looked down to see what the water looked like---dark and seemingly fainting a hint of obsidian blue---he looked forward and saw something that he could qualify as a searching point.
"What's that..." Skeptical, Viktor calmly continued north side as the luminosity started to increase but nevertheless still remained relatively dark by comparison.
Stumbling upon a hard structure with his right black boot, Viktor took notice of an existing five-degree ladder with unknown width that started to extend up to above. Slightly more illuminated by some sort of light, Viktor found himself in a square-shaped area of over a meter in height and twenty meters in width. The water still remained low, refusing to go any higher; sloppy.
Seeing nothing to gain from standing still, Viktor kept on walking to the center.
Without warning, as he reached the center, an explosive impulse caused an elevating oval structure that was only a bit larger than a meter, to erupt Viktor into a higher surface like an elevator. In reality, what Viktor had arrived in was a surface that had a sloppy watery surface; this time deeper in the height of its water, but nothing too alarming as it simply went to the lower part of his boots where his ankles reside.
For the first time though, Viktor caught sight of something that instantly sparked his interest.
Four water mirrors from all four directions of the square within the area emitted certain specific imagery to them; all different.
"Four of them? I might as well go one by one then." Viktor picked the logical decision.
Therefore, he approached the one to the north side; ultimately gazing at the blurry scenery that lies beyond the water mirror reflecting the content within.
At the same time, however, Viktor turned his head and looked at the other three mirrors.
His expression became distorted.
"Neverfuckingmind, goddamn it." Upon seeing that the other mirrors had vanished, Viktor returned to the center, and only then, did the other three mirrors return "The option of going back to and exploring the other mirrors should technically be possible, no? But... That's wishful thinking..." Viktor started to walk in circles as he began to think out loud freely "Putting aside that option if I have to choose between one of the water mirrors that would lead me to a better end game, then it would be the mirror that reflects a part of Naomi's past that relates to the current matter at the given present... Which means that it has to be about objective interest and not what I would like to know more..." Viktor became puzzled as his expression grew denser by the minute "That's rough, man. I really wanted to explore the north water mirror, but if it's about the objective choice----the one mirror out of all the four that would lead me to understand her better based on the scenery demonstrated---then there is no choice to this matter." Viktor put a final pause to his out loud speech and moved to the south water mirror.
Entering the mirror, his entire body became encapsulated in water.
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Waking up in a seashell's surface, Viktor's eyes opened wide at the very bottom of the sea; just about a hundred meters away from the radiant surface where the luminosity compels the ephemeral light blue. The sea creatures around him that varied from variants of fishes, sharks, octopuses, giant squids, and small sperm whales, alerted Viktor greatly to the point of making him depart to the surface above without wasting any time.
Departing from the dark shaded blue at the ocean's bottom, Viktor was able to grasp a baby blue and his eyes became blinded by powerful daylight that a singular white giant that had at least fifty times the size of the average sun emitted. It stood majestically at the very height of the blue cerulean sky without clouds in sight.
Emerging from the water below, Viktor gasped for some air amidst the extremely dense and hot atmosphere's temperature.
"Ahhh! Ahhh..." He gasped again and again as the swimming course he had to go through was far more stressful than he immediately imagined "Oh... Wait, this is kinda nice..." He noticed.
Flapping around with his arms and legs, Viktor enjoyed the thorough experience of being able to nakedly swim on the ocean's surface as the contrast between the high tropical temperature and the chilling water's temperature created an addictive sensation.
As he swam and swam, taking turns with his head to the left and right, Viktor looked to his left side where there is a sandy beach covered in yellow stark sand that is not far away from what seemed to be a jungle accompanied by tall palm trees and conjunctions of what seemed to be lianas. Furthermore, it had a variety of dark green bushes that contradicted the lush water canal that was draining water as its primary resource from the ocean where Viktor currently bathes.
But, a certain element caught him off guard, or so he thought, but once he saw it and noticed that the figure was running into the inside of the jungle--- disappearing from Viktor's sight---he knew that it was about time to cease with his transient joyful swim.
"....." Viktor stopped randomly floating with his naked body and saw right into the beach, slowly growing his posture back up; now completely at the mercy of the white giant.
In less than ten minutes, Viktor took in his possession a tight liana thread and adjoined long grass leaves around it which ultimately formed a firm grass skirt that would reach his tights at maximum yet it was sufficient to cover up his lower parts in order to avoid unnecessary shock. Now that was out of the way, Viktor began to walk into the jungle.
Mildly hot nevertheless, by cutting the lianas that would infinitely intertwine with his upper vision with his right hand in the form of a chop whilst attempting not to pay attention to the natural diversity amongst the tropical animals that populated the current ambiance, Viktor was strictly following a pre-determined path that had been walked over so many times to the point of being utterly impossible not to notice.
Coming to an end, Viktor arrived at a water bay in an area where there was a long tall waterfall of ten meters up ahead beyond the small bay. Naturally, it was firstly surrounded by a low quantity of sand, but as far as Viktor was concerned, this would, in theory, be qualified as a dead end.
Yet the sight of the figure as she peeked her head in the streaming fountain's right side was enough to tell Viktor that it wasn't in fact a dead end. The figure retreated her head back into the fountain as Viktor could see an allusive walkway occurring behind the fountain.
"...So that's how it's going to be..." Viktor placed his right foot on the chilling water and performed a dive immediately.
Taking no time at all, Viktor arrived at the fountain's location in the middle of the water bay; looked above where he could the very tip of the descending water canal and ultimately saw a small ladder built by a rocky structure that was co-aligned with the rocky walls on the east and west of the fountain. Therefore, he decided to swim in that direction and climbed the stairs; emerging into a twenty-meter length dark tunnel with a very clear destination up ahead as it was imploding with sunlight.
Given the absence of the sun's light, the tunnel, though decently tall and large enough for Viktor to pass through its rocky unstable surface, was calmingly chilling in its temperature.
Viktor would then see a fading hand as it started to connect to the other side. Though he wanted to see what lay ahead, Viktor didn't rush, and as he exited the tunnel---once again sprayed with infecting daylight---he stopped to take a moment to observe the scenery of the core of that island as he was sure that he had thoroughly reached his final destination within.
Mainly covered by a volcanic crater on its rooftop with an oval hole at its top which highlighted any solar light onto what lay below, the entire area had over two-hundred and fifty meters in width, and the distance between the lower surface and the crater that served as a way to create a perfectly alluring calm sensation to the atmosphere around it was no more than five hundred meters in height.
Gazing from afar at a distant shore where there is a small circular pool of water linked to a water canal that trespasses the entirety of the current area; this canal being linked to the ocean outside---Viktor saw his target seating on the mini-beach covered in low wet sand with her legs attached to her arms as she carefully watched the flow of water.
As far as he could see, he could jump from path to path despite the clear height difference just so he could go forward, but he decided to undertake the long way around. He started to experience the feeling of small lush grass as the absence of a rocky ground became crystal-clear. Delving into a more complex sandy texture, he often would find his feet swimming in it, so he carefully elevated them every time. Ergo; he turned to his right side after leaving the tunnel's exit and started to make his way forward.
The main line of action was to keep on going to the right and walk around in a circle as it would keep on descending; amassing three layers of circles to go around. Of course, by the end of it, Viktor would emerge into a new land of sand amidst numerous palm trees as well as prestigious fruit trees that contained coconuts, mango, and many more. As he walked up to her, still a few meters away, he noticed that there was a wooden house to the right side with a squared-shape size; amassing a total of two meters in height and ten in width.
Nurturing waves crashed down at the bay; a peaceful harmony that solidified the meaning of eternal calm.
Gently, to her right side, Viktor took a seat with his left leg fully extended forward, but his right leg was elevated; his right arm all the way to the east and mirroring it in the opposite direction was his left arm as both of his palms adjoined to the wet sand.
"This is a nice island." Viktor simply said to the young Naomi who was in her eight years of age "It's also really peaceful too. If you look closely, you can see koi fishes erupting from the water's surface!" Naomi pointed at the barely moving water surface right in front of them.
Unlike Viktor, Naomi was wearing a white t-shirt with short sleeves and light blue bottoms that went to her tights at maximum. No shoes; her feet were able to embrace the serenity of the water as they tickled her feet.
Exploding out of nowhere, two red tiny fishes flew into the air for a short second as they vibrated simultaneously.
"Waaahh!! See, see?!" Naomi kept pointing at them over and over; the koi fishes returning to the pits below "That's impressive stuff, Naomi. I didn't know you knew any of this." Viktor noted her crescent knowledge and she didn't hesitate to demonstrate why "Of course I know! I watch them every day without fail." She kept looking forward without meeting Viktor's eyesight "Why are you here, Naomi?" Viktor asks "Why? What do you mean?" She couldn't comprehend but looked at Viktor this time "I'm saying, what are you hiding from? This place is nothing but a shell." Viktor struck to the core.
In front of Viktor's eyes, her figure was no longer there and as such, without needing to process why, Viktor got up from the sand.
It was also fairly obvious that, although she could be somewhere amidst the island, the place she would most likely be in would be the place that asserted a feeling of belonging. As such, Viktor walked up to the wooden house's frontal entrance door, pulled it, and entered the residence.
Encompassing a wooden ground and a linear forward hall of two meters, there were two doors; one to the right and one to the left at the very middle. The right one was mildly open while the left one was thoroughly closed.
He thought for a while, but ultimately went for the door on the left side; having to open it by pushing the door hold forward.
The other door on the right side completely disappeared simultaneously leaving only one door remaining.
A lonely two-meter-tall room of five meters in width with no windows served as her sanctuary as Naomi sat on the one and only wooden desk that stood at the very center. This particular desk was shielded with plenty of closed books and Viktor mainly saw Naomi study with a religious attention. The sheer focus on her part managed to earn respect from Viktor deep down.
Viktor took a seat with his back next to the wall, behind her wooden chair.
"Why do you study so much? I could never understand it, really. It's not going to make you like your mother, Naomi." He sighed "It's not that." She corrected him as she kept on solving mathematical university-level equations in regard to topology "Mother's dream will never be fulfilled unless I am there for her. And for her to realize her dream; for us to stand at the top again, we need something that can be only ours." Naomi's voice, now from the version of herself that has thirteen years of age, in her school uniform studying, spoke "To reach that cataclysm, you will not only build a city in her honor but you will neglect your true feelings for your mother?" Viktor stuck with question after question "My feelings don't matter---What matters is to fulfill her dream. For that matter I must secure my future; through studies, I will be able to go far. I am a future monarch; it's only obvious and natural. It's nothing more than a stepping stone." She coldly spoke.
In absolute boredom, Viktor sighed and got up. He circled the door as he watched what she was doing; the subjects she was learning and the questions she was answering about them.
"You're not mad about your mother hitting you when you were younger?" Viktor's question caused Naomi's eyes to momentarily widened in shock "I..." She struggled to make an answer and Viktor kept walking in circles around her desk "I was out of place, I spoke too much. I was a naive child back then; I lacked the emotional maturity to realize that much. I deserved it." Naomi spoke with honesty even though her words were meekly spoken "What a load of bullshit." Viktor laughed causing Naomi to grow angry "...What..." She murmured while putting a stop to her studies; elevating her look to see Viktor's mocking eyes "She unfairly gave you a beating, that's all there is to it. You're just trying to sugarcoat the truth in order to protect your image of her. For someone who studies so much, knows more than she should, you haven't studied the one thing you should have all along..." Viktor alluded to one thing "And what's that...?" Curious, she couldn't help herself, though her furious expression did not cease.
Stopping his circulation, Viktor faced Naomi in front of her desk as his clothes were now in the set of a black jacket with golden lines, and black pants alongside black boots.
"Study yourself, Naomi. Maybe your feelings are best when they are not neglected by yourself. Your mother---she has become something like a scourge to you. Isn't that right, Naomi? This island is a shell." Viktor spoke but spoke with even more clarity in his upcoming sentence "Your shell." He finished his sentence.
Ever allusive in its predictability, the scenery changed.
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Put back in a familiar setting, Viktor found himself on the very beginning of the first carriage of a bullet train that contained over fifty carriages altogether. Furthermore, he knew that he was in fact in Arkapella just by being on board of a bullet train that was heavily populated with corporate suits in the shape of humans.
Not only that, but the staggering ever-radiant sunlight powered by the three morning stars in the shimmering horizon gave him that bright morning feeling. Moving in the north direction which contradicted his current direction, Viktor found himself standing out as his outfit which consists of the usual black jacket with noticeable stark golden lines, and slim-fit black pants covered beneath with resistant black boots, was far different than the formal attires from all the corporate workers that were on their way to their jobs in Arkapella.
Moving forward while uncaringly passing through hordes of people on the train, Viktor traveled from carriage to carriage while on the look for Naomi alone.
Little by little, as the time went by, and as the train stations began to increase, more people would start exiting the train which was helpful for Viktor as he struggled to move forward despite his clear goal amidst the multitude of passages.
However, this significant drop was like no other when Viktor reached the thirty-seventh carriage.
With no other person in sight, Viktor began to enter the carriage that contained about a hundred meters in length and a valid three meters in height. The dual seats, as well as the quadruple and even the eight-row type of seats that stretched horizontally adjoined to the glassy walls.
"........" Viktor, after walking for a few seconds, saw two reminiscent hair connectors on the west and east top side of her head.
Facing forward and looking outside to the myriad of highly advanced technological buildings and skyscrapers that easily towered what her vision could reach; Naomi's figure started to become visible to Viktor, but only her top head.
Step by step, Viktor advanced to the quadruple seat and decided to seat on the mirroring seat in front of her; her seat is the one most to the right. They were both initially looking outside while seating on almost invisible-looking seats that collided well with the fact that the carriages were all under an extremely resistant glassy structure that allowed views from all angles; including below and above.
But, Viktor broke the ice.
"Let me understand something first, Naomi." He placed his eyes on her; likewise, she did the same "Although you showed commitment to our agreement that getting you out of the nightmare; which this is---you have nevertheless started to demonstrate an attitude that is very reminiscent of when you abandoned me. In other words, am I to understand that you no longer wish to return to reality, where your physical, real body and mind, reside in?" Viktor sincerely asked, his eyes obsolete of exhaustion "Take it as you see fit." Naomi closed her eyes while giving that overly simplified answer.
For a minute there, Viktor looked at her in disbelief, before asserting the surefire confidence to start speaking again.
"Impressive, Naomi." He started clapping "Hats off to you. Here I am, saving you over and over, and you bail on me. Again." He spoke extremely satirically with hints of disappointment all over his voice; his claps being far too slow and sarcastic "Are you done?" Without any sort of emotion in her voice, she asked Viktor "Oh yeah, I'm done with you alright. You don't just lie to me twice and get rewarded for it. Go on, do it." Viktor began to throw a tantrum; his expression demonstrating bitterness "....." Naomi was mildly stunned despite her lack of transparency in her expression "No, come on, don't change your mind. You know the sentence. Don't act like it's your first time in this rodeo. Send me back to "Fuck off Viktor" avenue. I know you can do it." Viktor sparred no time and insisted.
Naomi took a deep breath and then spoke to the sour Viktor.
"Alright. Viktor, thank you for everything you've done for me. I really appreciate it, even if... you don't think I do..." Naomi began to show lament but even so, she remained decisive "This is for the best, after all..." She had this particular thought as she readied the verbal cannon; the aim being: Viktor.
However, Viktor would speak something first to her, in a more direct and stoic voice tone.
"It's just such a shame. All of this for a mother who has a daughter that doesn't even truly love her..." He giggled as his eyes began to mock Naomi from a close distance ".......What...?" Naomi's expression, no longer fully emotionless as well as her voice which was now visibly minimally emotional, had a sudden shift "Hm? Hey, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to spell out the sentence for you? Don't tell me you suddenly forgot?" Viktor started to laugh manically though lowly "No... Not that... The lie you've just spoken..." Her vision narrowed in spite "That was no lie. Stop wasting my time, Naomi---I value it. I want to hurry up and know where I'm going next. Don't tangle me with your lack of critical decision-making." Viktor complained "What?! You just said that I don't truly love my mother! Explain yourself, right now!" She shouted as her posture leaned forward a little bit.
Viktor's grin rose to full height as he placed his right fist on the right side of his face; supporting it via his right elbow that was placed on the border of the window.
"Oh sure, I don't mind." Viktor didn't deny it as he shrugged "Great, so----" He interrupted Naomi, however "Under one condition only, however." Viktor raised his left hand's index finger "If I am right, you will comply with our prior agreement, Naomi. How about it?" Viktor proposed and Naomi thought about it "......Whatever, Viktor. You're not going to win my will over, it's decided." She showed spite and stubbornness "So it's a no? Come on, make up your mind, Naomiria." He specifically said her full name; with a bored expression on his face as he yawned out loud "It's a yes! Gosh, what do you think I was implying!? Spill it, Viktor! The moment you do and I prove you wrong, I will get you out of here like you want!" Naomi shouted as she fully declared her intentions.
Seeing now that Naomi was fully captured in that manufactured curiosity, Viktor erased his jester-like posture and his clownish smile and replaced it with a formidable physical posture and an utterly serious facial expression.
"Alright. Listen well, because I hate repeating myself."