Freedom

And darkness that was boundless, endless, seamless, covered my eyes, ears and skin. Numbing the sensations that once belonged to me.

Questions asked without answers. I kept myself busy indulging in thoughts that made me wonder how my life out of this oblivion will be.

And now that it was time to finally get out of the prison, I was rather sad to let go of this emptiness. For salvation that I deemed to be the worst became the thing that connected me to myself.

But what fate has planned is something that one cannot deny… neither they can fight against it… but it's also a relief that you can never be sure that the fate is truly yours.

The first sensation that I got was the warmth of my own body.

My beating heart, I heard it after so long. No music can be compared to the rhythmic contractions that my heart gives right now. A melody on which I will dance till I die. Truly something you can dance upon forever.

And then slowly I felt the pain that my body had long forgotten.

Every fiber of my being felt like breaking, and I, like a madman, wanted to laugh loudly in ecstasy. I was being reborn. To feel pain means to be alive… and what life is without pain?

And the cold sensation on my skin. Ah! How beautiful is to be alive? To be able to feel… and how thankful I am to be able to breathe? How can anyone be sad in this world when he can breathe?

Do they not know the pain of not being able to breathe? Perhaps they don't… is that why they are often ungrateful… perhaps that's why indeed.

"Is he alive?"

I heard a voice. I do not know whether it was a man or a woman. Or is it a child or an adult? It's been too long… but being able to hear the voice… it brings tears to my eyes.

And those tear-filled eyes open up to see what stands in front of them.

A red-haired girl, who seemed to be of 18 years and a blue-haired guy of similar age standing across the bed on which I was laying.

Colors filled my eyes, as the darkness took a step back. And I realized what the Goddess of Beauty said: 'All you need is eyes and the right perception. And everything will look beautiful to you.'

"Pretty!" I exclaimed in a low voice as I looked at the duo. My heart beat a little faster as my fascination with the world grew.

And perhaps because they heard me, they turned to look at me.

Carrying a white pad, the blue-haired boy stepped towards the chair beside my bed. And then, taking out a small colorless stone, he placed it in my hands.

Looking at me with a dead serious look on his face as he asked,

"Excuse me, Mr. Vincent. But I will be straightforward. Are you the one who killed the Vilhelm brothers?"

It was abrupt. It was confusing. I looked at that person for a few seconds before I asked,

"Wha-"

"Only answer in Yes or No," he replied.

There was a threat in his words. His eyes seemed to be getting annoyed by the second, and while I certainly did not like the way he behaved…

'Let's not destroy this happiness for a fool's pettiness.' I decided to be kind on my first day of freedom.

"No sir. I am not."

His eyes shuffled between the colorless ball and me for a few times before he asked,

"Are you in any way involved in the case of the Vilhelm Brothers or know anything about it?"

"No sir. I am not."

"Do you have any idea of this case or any of the murders within the academy?"

"No sir. I do not."

His eyes looked at me for a brief moment before turning to look at the crystal in my hands. Then he stood up and turned to the red-haired lady.

"Seems like we hit another dead end. Not like I expected anything from trash like him."

'Trash'… were they talking about me?

"It's okay Richard. We needed to follow the protocol, anyway. Let's check the other rooms," the orange-haired lady seemed to be bored with this.

Both of them ignored me as they kept talking among themselves as they moved out of the room, leaving me by myself all alone.

I looked at the colorless ball in my hands, wondering what it was. A hunch would say that it is a lie detector of sorts… though I wonder how it functions.

But for now I had better things to do…

"What was the mission that I had to fulfill? Hmmm… yeah… to find the person who found the Medallion's piece and see if he is worthy of it or not."