'I am weak.'
Splash
'And I know it.'
The water trailed downwards, tracing its line on his face as Elias stared at his reflection.
Drunk?
Elias never was. His head was light, and the intoxication was there, but it was not to the point that he could not control himself. Most of the drink had fallen on his clothes, making him reek. The stained shirt, evidence of the fact, was thrown aside, floating in the small bathtub.
Splash
He once more washed his face as the haze covering his eyes disappeared. The hazel orbs glowed as Elias touched his face.
'Act.'
He massaged his face, feeling the tensions in his muscles, before his face returned to a blank expression.
What had happened in the hall was still ringing inside his head, its aftereffect still affecting his body.
Elias was genuinely scared during that moment when he was provoking Evelyn. He could feel his nerves pulling tight, but he made sure not to let himself act weak.
The only thing he had right now was information. And if he didn't act as required of him to, he would be genuinely not seeing the next sunrise.
Yet...
'I hate it.'
Splash
Elias felt the pain in his jaw. His teeth were grinding to the point that he could feel stinging all over his neck. However, he didn't slacken the joint; instead, he gritted more.
'I fucking hate it.'
Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash!
"Ha!"
Elias hated the feeling of being weak. He hated that people could make fun of him. He hated that he had to act like he didn't care.
'I do. I do care.'
But... Elias had to do all of this.
There was no shortcut to becoming powerful in this world. He didn't even know how to change his potential, and all.
However, it didn't mean that he was going to stay like this.
'No, I am not.'
Elias had other ways; however, the path was locked. It required a key—someone powerful. And Elias has found them.
The key for the dangling lock.
Evelyn.
She was going to help him.
Massaging his face one last time. Elias took the towel as he exited the bathroom while wiping his face.
'Just continue to act.'
Clank
Closing the door behind him, he removed the towel from his face.
'She will be here in so—'
"..."
'FUCK!'
A pit of blazing fire was what Elias saw. The fire seemed to want to envelop him.
"Hey."
Elias muttered, trying to back up a little, while his lips stretched into a smile.
But—
A hand clamped over his mouth before slamming him against the bathroom door.
Thud
'Agh!'
A white pain bloomed as Elias felt his head ringing. However, the pain was light, not much, so his eyes, which had lost their focus, gained it once more.
As the blurring eyes regained focus, Elias saw the responsible person.
Evelyn—she was standing before him. Her red, fiery eyes burned as her long, dark red hair swayed. Her face was blank, devoid of any emotion, as she continued to stare at him like a hawk boring its gaze into him.
"How do you know?"
Evelyn asked the same question once more.
'Your hand is on my face. How the fuck do you suppose I will answer?'
Elias furrowed his brow in annoyance, pulling on her hand.
"mmh mmh!"
Seeing him muttering, Evelyn removed her hands from his face.
"Ah, finally," Elias massaged his face before shifting it to his head, where he could feel the throbbing pain. "Is this the way to enter someone's room?"
SHIING!
A blade tore through the air in a heartbeat, moving just a breath away from his neck. Its edges slid through the wooden bathroom like cutting tofu as it planted itself like an executioner's blade, which it quite literally was.
"How. Do. You. Know?"
Evelyn asked word by word, her face just before Elias. He could feel her warm breath and could see the churning fire in her eyes.
"Do you think I would answer?"
Elias asked, not backing down.
"Yes, you would," Evelyn replied as she pressed the blade against his neck. This time, however, not only did it sting, but it also drew blood. The crimson liquid leaked from Elias's neck, sliding against his skin like a warm reminder of the situation in which he was. "Or I will kill you."
"Do it."
He answered, his hazel eyes staring directly into the flaming pit.
"Do it. Kill me, Nadia, or should I call you Evelyn Morail?"
The blade pressed more as Evelyn's hands tightened around the pommel, her fingers whitening as she gritted her teeth while staring at the young man before her.
"Do it. What are you waiting for?"
The man spoke once more. His hazel eyes glowed as he stared at her with a blank face.
Evelyn couldn't feel anything from the man before him. She couldn't feel fear, nor anxiety, nor any whiplash of emotions that normal people went through when they had a blade hanging around their neck.
The man was devoid of those emotions. He looked like a blank sheet that could cover her burning fires in a minute.
"You should get to it already," he muttered, sighing, glancing at his watch. "We have already wasted so many minutes staring at each other."
"..."
Evelyn didn't answer. She couldn't. Should she just beat him, or better yet, torture him?
Yeah, torture sounded good. With a good amount of pain, he would vomit everything.
But—
Before she could brood more on the idea, as if reading his thoughts, the man smiled, his lips stretched in an almost maniacal way.
"Oh, before you think of torturing me." He said as he opened his mouth and pointed towards his molar. It has a unique color, as if the tooth itself had been replaced. Just as fast as he had opened his mouth, he closed it too. "I have cyanide in my mouth."
'Of course I fucking don't. I have just painted it that way.'
Elias's idea was just to create an illusion, enough for Evelyn to believe it. The act, the dim surroundings, and the emotions she would be feeling were the things Elias had taken into consideration and had concluded that the plan had some percentage of success.
He knew she was strong. But maybe if he tried, maybe he could go through.
"So, the moment you try to do something. I will kill myself," as Elias finished speaking. He felt the fear drowning his senses.
The anxiety and the worries made his body somewhat stiff.
The act was still unbreakable. He still looked the same to Evelyn. But inside, he was panicking.
Elias knew how much her brother mattered to her. Evelyn could go to great lengths for him.
So even after planning for all and everything from the very beginning, Elias just couldn't stop himself. He was still human, still the same man, Karl. Just in a new body with a new facade.
So the apparent fear of going wrong, which was always there swinging to and fro, made him fear. The blade near his neck was not really helping the situation either.
And—
The next moment.
SWOOSH!
Elias saw a stretched palm moving towards him in a blur.
'FUCK!'