Chapter 329 - Despair and the absence of hope (1/2)

*UNEDITED*

Setsura nodded in understanding, ”I do believe there is a cafeteria here. Will you be okay alone here?” she asked.

Chauncey nodded. He didn't want to go inside right now. His emotions still felt conflicted, while he was calmer now.

”Stay right here, you know how to use the phone I gave you right?”

”Yes.”

”Then, call if something happens,” Setsura seemed very uneasy but he shook it of. The girl quickly disappeared down the path.

He understood her unease, he is still unfamiliar with this time and their customs. Since he arrived here Chauncey has been careful with his words and actions. To the best of his ability he remained silent, and gave the occasional nod.

........

”Despair. The absence of hope. It can be a very useful teaching tool.”

Chauncey reached out, and tried to grab hold of the man before him before he disappeared, but the darkness embraced him. It threw him under a never-ending black whirlpool. He landed on a tiled floor with a loud thud, and in the dark he could see a tiny strip of light. The door across from her wasn't quite shut, and he could hear voices on the other side. As he moved closer, the voices became distorted, the cacophony growing louder and louder.

She heard that persons voice rise out of the din, yelling his name just as he had when he was in pursuit of that man. Chauncey reached for the handle of the door but it vanished into smoke before his very eyes. He looked around for another exit, but he couldn't find anything at all.

This is only a nightmare, yes one of many nightmares he has had the last few days. It didn't take long before the scene changed before him. He was no longer in a dark and cramped place. Soon he was a in a forest, it was winter indicating how cold it was.

On the other side of the forest, Chauncey saw a guy. A guy kneeled on the ground, and his back faced him. So Chauncey didn't see the man at first. A soft scrapping noise caught his attention metal, and that's when he saw sight of the glint of a silver knife in the guy's hand. It was lined with blood. He raised it above his head and back down. The man repeated this motion several times.

”Hey…” Chauncey approached the guy slowly. What is this man doing?

The man did not respond, instead he continued this strange action for awhile longer. Chauncey felt the unease in his heart grow, and eventually walked over the man. He couldn't his shock when he saw the man resembled him except the eye colour. No, what was shocking was the body on the ground.

It belonged to him.

”Stop! What are you doing?!” Chauncey grabbed the double's arm. But that double vanished the moment his hands made contact.

When the darkness vanished, Chauncey saw himself again.

This time around though his body looked terrible. His limbs were trapped under his stomach and the left side of his cheek pressed into the dirt. The person who did this was his double, a man who looked exactly like UK.

Birds swooped down and began picked him off, they pecked at his skin with vicious claws and beaks. They clawed at his legs, his neck, and his face. His body was already in a bad enough state but the birds continued to attack him.

The room went pitch black once again and several masks covered the place, with expressions filled with mockery.

A single white mask went up to him, with a huge twisted grin.

”You're so transparent. That persons real nature, that persons real nature…”

All the masks slowly drew closer and closer to him.

”It's your fault that…”