From a Talentless nobody to An SSS Class Dragon

Chapter 229: The Truth Hurts

Silence fills the room after Lust leaves and neither of us decide to move... Even after an hour passes by.The room just feels a lot different now, but I blame that on the way she came in here talking about it all.

It feels empty somehow.

Drip.

Another tear falls onto the wooden floor as I wipe my face before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Ghost...?" Lilly calls out my name.

"What?" I respond while waiting for her to answer.

"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Lilly questions.

Honestly I don’t really know if Lust is right about us being able to make a difference now or not. Everything was being shaped more by Rokuro than it was by us.

"I don’t know," I answer while looking towards her.

That is really the only answer I can give right now since I don’t know a damn thing about what happened or what’s going to happen. We’re in a terrible position right now and I don’t know who to ask about it.

The truth really does hurt.

I slowly stand back up before walking back towards the window.

Everything outside remains quiet as I continue to stare out the window for a few moments. Nothing is really going on out there so I don’t know why I keep looking.

Everything feels like it has come to a complete stop... As if the world is no longer moving.

I’m starting to think I’m a lot more human than I thought. Even after he fixed me up in that junkyard... I’ve come to understand that I’m not just some cyborg anymore.

"Ghost?" Lilly calls out.

Lilly’s voice reaches me once again.

"What if they’re right?" She asks.

I don’t answer.

"What if... he really isn’t coming back this time?" She continues on.

My hands tighten into fists.

"No, he’ll come back. He promised," I respond.

My answer comes out almost instantly.

Lilly lowers her head.

"People break promises..." Lilly says with sadness in her voice.

"He doesn’t," I reply with certainty.

Silence follows after that.

Rokuro has always come back, even after climbing the towers and fighting such powerful enemies; He has never been the type to leave us hanging.

I’m positive that we’ll see him again soon.

...

A quiet knock reaches the door once again.

Neither of us give much of a response to it but another knock follows shortly after.

"Ghost?" A familiar voice calls out my name.

This time I can just barely tell that it is Velia.

"I know you don’t want to talk, but we should probably discuss what happens next," Velia suggests from behind the door.

"No," I answer without hesitation.

The answer leaves my mouth before I even think about it.

There’s no reason for us to figure out what happens next when Rokuro isn’t back yet. We need him here so we can make our plan of attack together.

"Just give us a little bit of time Velia," Lilly speaks up.

There is only silence for a moment.

"I understand, but eventually we’ll have to," Velia says quietly.

Her footsteps slowly disappear down the hallway.

Lilly lets out another quiet sob.

I absolutely hate this... This feeling is probably one of the worst things to experience. I haven’t dealt with such a thing since Kairox.

I’d rather not go through all of that again, but it doesn’t seem like I’ll get a say in this.

The other problem is... No one knows what to do without Rokuro here. He’s been the main person doing everything and leading the way for us.

Did we ever really suggest what direction to take? I don’t remember us doing it at all.

Maybe if we would’ve suggested the path to take this time, he’d still be here... Wait, that’s like admitting he’s dead. He isn’t.

I slowly make my way back towards the door.

Velia isn’t wrong about it; We need to figure out what the next move is regardless of him being here or not. Even if he isn’t dead we can’t sit around doing nothing.

I make it to the door but the strength I had disappears almost immediately.

What am I even talking about at this point? Why am I agreeing with what Velia is suggesting we do.

That isn’t what he’d want us to do, is it?

All these questions will never be answered so we need to figure it out together.

The church grows darker as the sun slowly begins to go down.

Nobody else comes to knock at the door or try to speak to us. It is just silence for the remainder of the day, other than Lilly crying.

I don’t really blame any of them for acting the way they are or for thinking about it like this. They are hurting just as bad as we are.... Just in their own way.

Ba-dum.Ba-dum.

My heart suddenly beats a little faster.

Without thinking, I open up the door and make my way back towards the main entrance of the church.

I can feel Lilly’s eyes watching me from afar as I reach the front door.

"Ghost?" Velia asks with a bit of curiosity in her voice.

Why am I out here? I don’t even really have a reason for what I’m doing yet.

My hand reaches towards the old wooden door.

Maybe I do know why I came all the way out to the front entrance. He could be on the other side of the door right now... It is like there is some sort of feeling telling me to check.

I slowly pull it open.

Creeeeak...

Only the wind greets me as the empty road stretches into the distance.

Nobody is standing outside the doors or along the streets, it is just empty. The sun is finally gone for the day.

I close the door and look back towards everyone.

"I should’ve known..." I whisper.

That tiny sliver of hope I thought I had is gone.

"We all have to accept it Ghost," Velia speaks up.