I...

I...

Dear god, Stolas...

I trusted him.  I looked up to him.  I found him insufferable, but in the most respectable ways.  I can't even begin to process just the fact that he lied.  And from there, how am I supposed to process that not only did he murder two innocent people, but also that he set it up to pin the blame elsewhere?  Maybe he didn't... no, he would've known that a wrong answer would have gotten us all killed.  

Maybe I really never learned anything about Stolas after all.

It hurts.

A lot.

I don't even notice I'm crying until from next to me, Will offers me his beanie.  At first, I don't know what the hell he's trying to say, but then I realize how much my nose is running and accept the makeshift tissue.  I don't even look him in the eyes, even when I peel my gaze from the screen displaying the execution- how can I?  Everyone is a liar.  Rori lied, Ryn lied, Stolas lied.  People just keep lying.

"If we're to look on the bright side of things, we're all still alive," Evangeline offers. "Sophie saved us all with that fantastic catch."

I know she's trying to help, an it's appreciated, but it doesn't help the mood.  Everyone is dead silent.

"Well?  Anyone else want to come clean about something?" Dana asks bitterly.  She then takes a deep breath and adds, "Sorry.  Just... knowing that we could've just died because we placed too much trust in the killer himself... sucks a lot."

"How about you all leave the courtroom and take some time to process?" Mononity suggests, still, in fact, upside-down.

"Just get over it!  Stolas was willing to kill you all for reasons he didn't even bother sharing!  Don't waste your time on him!" Monokumace exclaims.

"You know what?  F*ck this!" Will slams his fist on his podium, causing everyone to snap back to reality.

"Why the hell should we be caught up on a dead guy's crimes when we've got other problems?" he continues, pointing accusingly across the room. "Are we seriously gonna be so fixated on emotional sh*t that we just let this psycho roam free?"

Iris, on the receiving end of Will's pointing, doesn't even bat an eye.  Instead, he raises his hands in surrender and says, "Alright.  What do you have in mind?"

Will hesitates. "You're... giving up?  No attempts to run or anything?"

The flautist smiles. "What do you take me to be?  A villain?  A maniac?  No, I'm just a person who does what's necessary to keep things the way they should be.  Balanced.  If you think that the best way to uphold order and peace is by doing something to me, I'm all ears."

The more he talks, the more I'm horrified by this situation.  

"Can I ask you something?" Evangeline inquires.

Iris nods. "That's fine with me."

"Do you really think what you've done is rational?" 

He doesn't even hesitate before answering, "Of course.  Everything I do is for preventing distrust and chaos.  I just do more about those issues than most, because nobody is ever brave enough to do what needs to be done."

"You're delusional," Will seethes. "None of what you did is 'justified' or 'rational'.  And if you really think they are, then you need to be held somewhere for everyone else's safety."

"Oh, do I?  Alright, then, what would you like to do with me?" Iris leans forward on his podium.

Monokumace giggles. "I have extra rope from tying up Mononity.  How 'bout that to keep your little songbird in a cage?"

They proceed to pull a long coil of rope out of nowhere and toss it to Will.  The videographer stands there for a minute, processing until Iris steps out from behind his podium and walks over to him.

"Where do you want to go?" Iris asks him.

Will blinks before saying, "Your cottage, I guess.  Seems easy enough to be able to keep track of you, then."

"I'll make sure he's not trying to pull anything," Dana announces, approaching the two and planting herself right at Iris's side.

I let out a deep sigh before turning and leaving.  I just need fresh air.  That's all.

I find myself at the beach near the beach house.  I don't know when I got here or how long it took, but I suddenly feel the sand beneath my hands and the breeze on my face.  My vision clears, and I can see again.  Just the glittering crystal blue surface of the ocean waves, and the gentle foam washing ashore.  

"You seem quite... lost.  Am I correct in that statement?"

Who the hell...?

Oh.

Wait.

I don't even look up, just let out a barely audible mumble. "What do you want?"

A pause.  I hear movement as someone sits down next to me.

"I thought you hate the water," I remind him, still looking out at the ocean.

"I do.  It does burn and sizzle my impure figure," Flauros agrees. "However, I would rather keep my distance from the current affairs on the other side of this island and... I'm not sure how humans phrase this... offer you my presence as a guide.  You seem to be balancing between the gateways of the Overworld and Hell itself, as if trying to seek out the Stolas you remember from before the trial and-"

"Because I don't get it!" I snap, whipping my head over to glare at him. "I never understood him!  But I knew that he had a sense of honor, so why would he kill them and be willing to let us all die like that?  Without any reason besides 'you'll understand someday'?  He killed innocent people, Flauros- all three of them did!  But Stolas, he..."

I trail off as a sob escapes my throat.  Flauros just sits there for a moment.

"You aren't the only person here that seems to be baffled by this conundrum," he begins. "...everyone is... showing a display of salt-crusted tears and mournful cries.  Not simply because of those that have been lost, but more also because nobody understands.  No mortal here can comprehend betrayal on such a life-or-death scale.  They all cry because they are confused.  And they are hurt.  And they are angry.  And they are lost."

He looks down at his feet as he finishes speaking.  His voice has become quieter, more thoughtful.  As if there's more to his words than just "observations of humankind".

"The point is," he continues, "You are not alone in this.  Do not let yourself be."

I stare at him in silent shock for a moment.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," I point out as I wipe at my eyes.

"Caim sent me."

"Well, that explains it." I pause as I get to my feet. "Thank you, though.  I appreciate it."

"As you should, for kindness is not something I know well." Aaaaand there it is.  Back to the demon thing.

"Okay.  Um, thanks anyways," I repeat awkwardly before turning and leaving.

I'm just passing under the alcove when I run straight into Caim, who immediately gives me a big hug.  

"Caim, is everything-?" I cut myself off when I see him crying.  

"I h-had to come find you, even if I..." his words become indecipherable for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I ask, still holding him in the embrace.  He doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

"I-I told Flauros to t-tell you that you're not alone, okay?  But I-I wanted to tell you myself too... and..." He sniffles for a moment. "...I want to m-make sure you're okay."

Dear god, he's gonna make me cry again.  Unsure what else to do, I ruffle his hair gently.

"Thanks," I say. "But are you okay?"

Caim buries his face further in my shoulder, his voice muffled as he speaks. "Now I am.  I needed a hug."

After a minute, he pulls away and gives me a confused look. "You do realize you still have Will's beanie, right?"

I look down at the snot-and-tears-stained beanie I'm still holding.  Right.  

"Is, uh, he gonna want this back?" I ask.

Caim giggles a little as he rubs at his eyes. "I'd ask him if I were you."

We stand there for a moment longer before I say, "This... is a lot."

He smiles. "I'll always have your back, Sophie!  It's an engineer's promise!"

He pumps his fist in the air proudly as he says that.  The whole thing makes me laugh.  Genuinely.  God, Caim, sometimes you're just the only reason I keep pushing on.  I quickly run all the way back to the first island and make my way to the cottages.  I'm just in time to see Will walking out of Iris's cottage, and when he sees me coming, his eyes widen in realization.

"Oh, uh, you can keep it," he insists. "I've got more."

Right.  It is covered in snot and stuff.

"Okay," I agree.

I look towards the cottage door behind him. "Was it really that easy?"

Will shrugs. "He was weirdly casual about it all.  Didn't fight or anything.  I dunno what the hell's wrong with him, but I think it's best if we keep him tied up in there for now.  Dana and I are working on a schedule where we can bring him food and untie him at night."

"That's good." I look back towards him and ask, "Can I go in?"

He hesitates before slowly answering, "...Sure."

I step past him, take a deep breath, and open the door.  Inside, Iris sits tied to a chair facing the door.  Seeing him restrained like this feels so different compared to when I saw him performing on the stage of the music venue.  His expression is unreadable, and his gaze is distant until his lavender eyes finally focus onto me.  

"Hi, Sophie," he says with a smile.

It takes everything in me to hold eye contact. "Hi, Iris."

"Are you doing alright?"

"...I guess," I mumble.  I'm really not, and Iris seems to notice that.

"You look hurt," he comments. "I'm sorry that you feel that way about what I did."

It's uncanny how he looks and sounds almost the exact same as he did before I exposed him, but he seems like an entirely different person at the same time.  It's almost like that one musical with the guy with two personalities, in a sense.

"I don't get it.  Any of it," I confess. 

"I told you, it's all in the name of balance.  You understand how important balance is, right?"

There's that word again.  Balance.  The way he says it, the way he seems to get excited every time the word escapes his mouth... it's unnerving.  Really unnerving.  

He scans my face and chuckles softly. "There it is.  The look.  You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Honestly?  Yes."

"You wouldn't be the first.  But I guess that's just what happens when someone thinks differently than the status quo.  Everyone knows the importance of balance, but I'm the only one who seems to be willing to do what it takes to uphold it."

What I want to tell him is that he's absolutely out of his mind.  But a part of me doesn't want to risk angering him, because god knows what that would be like.  Would that disturb his "balance" and set him off enough to put a target on my back?  I sure as hell don't wanna find out.

"Here's what I don't understand," I tell him instead. "Nobody ever suspected you with the chess boards.  Why would you intentionally spell out your name like that?"

Iris's smile widens. "I never intended to get away with it.  It wasn't necessary, and I think my point got across even more once you could actually put a face on the culprit.  And besides, I could make it as obvious as I wanted and confess and all that stuff because there's nothing preventing me from doing any of it in the first place."

It takes me a minute to understand his words. "...you can't be punished for your actions because none of what you did is technically against the rules."

"That's right."

I don't know what to think at this point.  He terrifies me.  I slowly begin to back away.

Iris's expression darkens as he notices and asks, "Am I really that horrible in your eyes?"

I can't find a good response, so I just turn on my heel and leave.  The more I hear, the more unbearable it gets.  

But before I manage to shut the door behind me after I step out, I swear I hear him laugh.

***

(2025 words)

Iris my delusional beloved <3