Trust No One

A bright light burned through my eyelids, dragging me awake. I was sure I’d shut the blinds last night, so why was the room so bright?

There was only one answer.

What does he want now?

“Rise and shine!”

I pushed myself up and glared at him. Even without a face, I could tell he was in a good mood. Bothering me was his favorite hobby.

“Yeah, yeah. What do you want now?”

“What’s with the attitude? You should be happy since we haven’t spoken in a while.”

“In a while? You spoke to me after my fight with Akiko.”

“I did?”

“You’re messing with me, right?”

“I am not.”

“Whatever, I’m too tired to deal with this right now. So, what do you want?”

“I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask away.”

His tone shifted, suddenly heavy and urgent. “Have you met anyone suspicious lately?”

My stomach knotted. “N-no. Not that I can think of.”

“Are you sure?”

“I—hold on, let me think.”

The first person who came to mind was Akiko, but there was nothing suspicious about her. Then, Haruki and Tsubaki, but nothing came to mind. My mind rushed as I tried to think of anyone who seemed a bit suspicious.

“Think faster!” he snapped. This was the first time he raised his voice at me, so it caught me off guard. The sharpness of his voice froze me. Then, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his head. “D-dammit, something is preventing me from talking to you. It must be him.”

“Who’s ‘him’?” I asked.

“I can’t say his name. Just mentioning it would sever our link.”

“Whoever this person is, is he that powerful?”

“Yes. His name itself is a weapon. If he’s trying to stop me, speaking it will make his job easier. He’s already doing a damn good job. So hurry, have you seen anyone suspicious?”

I kept on trying to think about everyone I’ve met up to this point.

Gareth? I mean, sort of, but it’s only because he attacked my family when I was a kid. And he seems close with Aiko, so there’s no way he would be suspicious.

“I—I don’t know,” I said, panic rising.

He staggered up, grabbed my shoulders, and squeezed hard. “Then listen carefully: you need to be alert. There’s someone out there. Dangerous. You can’t trust anyone, not your friends, not your teachers, not even your family. Even if you figure out who this person is, you still can’t trust anyone. He’s working with people, and those people could be anyone.”

Teachers… could it be a suspicious teacher?

Suddenly, he came to mind.

“I think I know who it is!”

“Who is it?”

“It’s the head of the academy. It’s—

“Wait, don’t say his name

“Vaeltharion!”

The world shattered. Darkness swallowed me whole. A weight pressed against my back, a presence, vast and vile. The air reeked of iron and smoke. I turned just in time to see a black figure rising out of the void.

Behind me

I swung at it, but a clawed hand shot out, clamping around my throat. My breath caught. I clawed at its grip, nails scraping against nothing. The more I fought, the tighter it squeezed. My vision blurred, edges bleeding red. My chest screamed for air. As I was fighting to keep my consciousness, my eyes shut.

And then, suddenly, I was standing in front of my house.

It was burning.

“Mom! Dad!” My voice cracked. Heat slammed into me as the roof groaned under the fire’s weight. I crashed through the door.

They were there. On the floor. Both of them impaled, blood spreading as flames consumed the room around them.

“No—no, this isn’t real!” My knees buckled. I buried my face in my hands. When I looked again, the fire was gone. So were they. The white void stretched around me.

W-what was that?

“Diety! Where are you! What was that! Answer me!”

He appeared behind me, his whisper brushing my ear like a knife: “Be wary.”

Everything went black again. My parents’ lifeless faces seared into my mind.

I shot upright in bed with a scream, chest heaving, lungs tearing for air. My room. My sheets. The blinds still closed.

Was that a dream? A warning? A vision of what’s coming if I fail?

I staggered out of bed, knees buckling under me. My legs felt weak, like the nightmare had stolen all their strength. For a second, I just knelt there, chest heaving, before forcing myself up. I washed my face, hoping the cold water would clear my head, and stepped out of my room. There I saw Haruki.

“Hey buddy, rise and shine,” he greeted, cheerful as ever.

“…Hey.”

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Completely fine.”

I wasn’t. After what I saw, I couldn’t risk lowering my guard around him. Haruki hadn’t done anything suspicious, but that was the point; people like him were always the hardest to see coming. Too friendly, too easy to trust. In my past life, those were the ones who needed something from me, who wanted to use me.

“You sure? Thought I heard some screaming from your room earlier.”

Is he onto me, or is he just worried about me? There’s no reason for him to be worried about me; he must be after something

“I just stubbed my toe on the bed frame.”

“Damn, I hate when that happens.”

“Yeah, but other than that, I’m alright.

“Alrighty then, whatever you say. I’ll be heading out now, see ya.”

“Yeah… cya.”

His back disappeared down the hall. Guilt twisted in me; I wanted to trust him. He’d been nothing but kind. But the deity’s warning echoed louder than my conscience. I couldn’t afford to be careless.

On the way to class, the paranoia followed me like a shadow. Every passerby got a second glance, my eyes tracing their hands, their expressions, ready for the sudden moment when one of them might strike. Some would call me paranoid. But if a deity told you not to trust anyone, would you risk it?

The first two classes passed without incident. Faces blurred, voices droned, and nothing suspicious happened. That almost made it worse, the waiting. By the time I headed to my next class, the one with Akiko, the unease coiled tight in my chest. Normally, I’d be excited to see her. Now it just made me nervous.

A sudden tap on my shoulder froze me.

Was this it? Was something about to happen? I have to attack.

I focused energy into my fist and immediately turned around. As soon as I did, I was met with Akiko.

“Uh… hey.” Akiko stood there, eyes wide.

I froze, I don’t know why, but I didn’t move, nor could I say anything.

“Uhm,” she continued, “Were you about to attack me?”

“Uh… no,” I lied, still holding the fist.

“Then what’s that?” she pointed.

“…Okay. Yeah. I was.” I admitted.

“Can I ask why?”

“I’m just… a little on edge.”

Instead of anger, she tilted her head. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

Her response hit me harder than a punch. She wasn’t defensive, wasn’t afraid. She was… worried.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself right now?” I asked.

“Maybe. But it looks like you’re the one going through something. I don’t think you’d attack me out of nowhere.”

“How would you know that?”

“Just a hunch.” She smiled faintly. “So? You want to tell me what’s wrong? You’re shaking.”

“It’s nothing.”

She frowned. “I won’t accept that.”

“What?”

“Remember yesterday? You promised you’d tell me if something was going on.”

Right. I had. But could I trust her? Maybe her kindness was a mask. But something about her seems so pure and genuine. I think I can trust her.

“It’s just that…” The words got stuck as an image of my parents appeared in my head.

Wait, what if the only reason why she wants me to talk to her about my problems is because she knows what’s going on? Her being nice, was it all an act? Can I really trust her with this information?

“It’s nothing. Just… nervous about the duel.”

Her face fell. “Oh. Is that all?”

“Y-yeah.” My voice cracked on the lie.

She smiled anyway, but there was sadness in it. “Well… then I know you’ll do fine.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, disgust souring in my throat. She had reached out to help me, and I’d just pushed her away. Maybe that was for the best. Better safe than sorry, I guess.. “Let’s get to class.”

Class went on as usual, with nothing suspicious happening. Still, the atmosphere between me and Akiko felt awkward. I kept my distance from her, unsure if I could trust her or not. She tried to talk to me several times, but I only gave one-word responses before walking off to focus on my own training. Every time I did that, though, it felt wrong. I felt like an asshole ignoring a kind person who’s only trying to help. Maybe I felt like that because it was the exact situation I was in. But I needed to stop thinking of Akiko as this nice person. After all, she could be the enemy.

Since she had her own training to do with her blessing, I told her I didn’t want to get in the way. It wasn’t a good excuse, but it was the only one I could come up with. This pattern continued into our next class, until eventually she stopped trying to approach me. Even though that was what I thought I wanted, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed, like part of me wanted her to keep trying.

What’s wrong with me?

When class ended, I headed toward the arena for my duel. My nerves hadn’t settled, only sharpened. Halfway there, Akiko cut me off.

“W-what’s been going on with you?”