Resignation...? (Midas)

In my room there were no demonic symbols or candles arranged in a perfect pentagram. It was just a normal room. No posters, no decorations, just a bed, desk, and window that I could never seem to open.

I suppose I never actually believed in what the cult had taught me, and I especially began to question it after coming to the outside world. It was quite vindicating, knowing that “reaching salvation through the Devil” was just a fallacy.

Well, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe after I died, it would be treated as if the ritual from all those years ago was completed, and I’d finally receive the salvation I’d been waiting for this entire time. That was another miracle I could hope for.

Anyway, the four of us had gathered in my room in order to talk things out and perhaps even brainstorm—all to no avail, of course. I felt it was only right to let them believe that there was some magical solution to everything, though, so I didn’t bother reminding them of how useless this was.

“How are you going to die, anyway?”

That was the most relevant question yet, and it came from Adella. The others looked at me for an answer.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “All I know is that I’m going to bleed to death. And if I remember correctly, I was outside. It was daytime. There were a lot of trees and grass around.”

“...So wouldn’t that mean we just have to keep you from going outside? If we lock you in here, you’ll be fine, right?”

I stroked my chin. “Maybe, but I’d rather not stay cooped up in here for days on end.”

“We could just make sure that you don’t leave the house,” Soren chimed in. “Although, fate might have a strange way of working around that.”

I looked over at him. He understood it quite well.

“Do you really believe in all of this? Like, the fact that I can see my own death and everything?” I asked.

“...Well, it isn’t unbelievable. Your past actions would actually make a lot more sense if you really had the ability to see the future. I’m not one to buy into the idea of superpowers, but I’ve seen a lot of evidence for you having it. I wouldn’t be that surprised if it were true.”

That made sense. The Devil and I did work together to meticulously frame him a little while ago, after all. I figured that Adella didn’t tell them about the cult and Romka and all the other stuff. It probably would’ve been less believable if she did, so it was a smart decision on her part. All they knew was that I had clairvoyance and could see myself dying soon. I just wish she hadn’t told them anything at all, though.

I glanced over at Kat.

“What are your thoughts on all this, Kat? You really love Soren, don’t you?”

She smiled. “Yep!”

Her quick response surprised all of us, including Soren, whose eyes widened.

“...Are you joking?” Adella asked.

She smiled. “Yep!”

We all tumbled to the ground in relief. Not really, but that’s how it felt.

“You don’t really seem fazed by my whole dying situation. Have you been secretly wanting me to die?” I asked her.

She smiled. “Yep!”

“...Did you suddenly develop a sense of humor?”

She smiled. “Ye—”

“Kat, you should try being serious. I mean, he really might die soon,” Adella interrupted.

Kat’s smile faded.

“...He doesn’t seem serious about it either, though,” she said.

“She’s right,” Soren commented, looking at me. “But then again, you’re not one to sit and cry about things.”

I chuckled. “It’s easier to accept than you think it’d be.”

“I remember you said that Soren’s and my roles in this story are ‘fundamentally intertwined,’” Kat said. “I think I can believe that you have the ability to see the future.”

Soren bashfully averted his gaze. “He really said that…?”

“I wasn’t wrong, was I?” I jokingly asked. “You guys still talk, and who knows how far your relationship might go in the future.”

“Please…” Adella intervened, “stop talking before things get awkward.”

I laughed. “I’m just saying, the sexual tension is—”

Adella sharply elbowed me, just like that one time at the picnic.

“Ow!”

With how hard she hit me, I wouldn’t have been surprised if that was how I went out.

She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I think the plan is to just have you locked up in the house. We won’t let you leave, no matter what.”

I pouted. “That’s gonna be so boring, though…”

“Too bad. You’ll be staying here for the next week. You won’t even go to school.”

With a sigh, I acquiesced. There was no helping it. Once Adella had made up her mind, you couldn’t argue with her.

I suppose it meant I’d be spending a lot more time with my beloved friends, so that was something. They just didn’t understand, however. Once a vision was shown to me, it would happen, regardless of what precautions we took. I could’ve been chained to my bed for a week straight in a room with no entrances or exits, and fate would still find a way to make this event come to fruition.

I wasn’t sure how it’d work this time around. The most likely outcome would be the Devil taking control of my body just as he always did, leaving me with no choice but to bear witness to my own death from a distance. It wasn’t much different from seeing a vision of it.

Perhaps it’d be someone hunting me with a knife or gun, or perhaps it would be from a slip of the foot at the wrong moment. It didn’t matter. Whatever it was, it would find me. I’d already made peace with it.

That’s enough rambling, though. The future was clear. I’m sure you understand that now.

...Hope, huh?

I wonder why it always lingers, even after you let it go.