Chapter 30: Alone Again

After receiving intensive medical care, Kyouya remained in a coma for several days. During this time the voices kept haunting him, almost driving him to the point of insanity. He finally woke up from his slumber on the fourth day. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a medical cabin.

"History repeats itself. Look around, you're alone again. None of them even bothered to come visit after you risked your life to protect them," the voice whispered in his head.

In reality, Furina would visit him everyday and stay by his side all night. However, duty called and she would inevitably have to return to the court. Clorinde, Kazuha and all of his other friends also visited him from time to time. Childe wished to see him as well but he wasn't allowed to move freely as per his contract. His protests fell on deaf ears.

The Officers from the Maison Gardiennage and even Melusines from the Marechaussee Phantom would show up to check on him every now and then. He was loved by all. But of course, he didn't know any of this, because at this very moment, his mind was clouded with unholy thoughts.

"Shut the fuck up!" he yelled.

Kyouya noticed a box in front of him. It contained his casual clothes. He could only assume that someone left it for him in the event that he finally woke up.

He slowly got dressed while the voices kept whispering in his mind. In his cabin, Kyouya sat at the edge of his bed, his body tense with anxiety. The room felt suffocating as the weight of the demonic voices in his head pressed down upon him.

"You can deny it all you want, boy. But you know I'm right."

"Leave me alone!" he shouted in agony.

Panic attacks came like crashing waves, leaving him gasping for air.

His heart pounded in his chest, as the voices taunted him, questioning his worth.

"You're just a pawn. Soon, they will come to dispose of you. " the voice hissed.

"No! Y-you're wrong…"

Every creak of the floorboards made him flinch, every shadow in the room seemed to morph into something menacing. He felt like he was losing control, the demon fighting to take over his body with every passing moment.

And then, just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the door creaked open. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Furina stepping into the room. Her presence should have been a source of comfort, but in his heightened state of paranoia, he couldn't trust her.

"K-Kyouya, You're finally awake!" she said, approaching him excitedly.

Kyouya's mind raced, torn between the love he felt for her and the demonic whispers that clouded his judgment. He could see the concern in Furina's eyes as she approached him, her lips forming words of care and affection.

But the voices told him it was all a facade…

"She's only here to assess the damage. Don't get it twisted, boy."

He tried to speak, to tell her to leave, to protect her from the monster he felt himself becoming. But his words caught in his throat, his voice trapped beneath the weight of his fear.

"Furina…," he finally managed to choke out, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"Kyouya, what's wrong?"

"I… may not be myself anymore…"

Her soft hand reached out, gently touching his cheek, and he flinched, expecting the touch to be cold and uncaring. But it was warm, filled with the same tenderness she had always shown him.

"Childe told me everything. I know what you're going through right now. We'll definitely cure you."

Tears welled in his eyes as he tried to comprehend her words, to believe that she could still save him despite the darkness that consumed him.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER! SHE'S JUST TRYING TO MANIPULATE YOU AGAIN! IT'S ALL SHE HAS EVER DONE!"

The voices screamed in protest, trying to drown out her words, but her presence was a beacon of light in his world of shadows.

"I won't let them take you from me," she whispered, her voice like a soothing melody.

"R-really?"

"Yes.Together, we'll find a way to purge this demonic presence within you."

For a brief moment, the demon seemed to falter, as if her love had weakened its grip on his mind. In that moment, Kyouya hoped that maybe, just maybe, he could find his way back to the light with her by his side.

Seeing that she was winning him over, the demon began playing a hallucination before him. Kyouya's heart sank into the depths of despair.

He watched helplessly as the scene unfolded in his mind.

Just like the day they met, he found himself in the courtroom, standing trial before Furina once again. She sentenced him to death with a bored expression.

"Off with your head!" Furina laughed maniacally, sitting upon her throne.

Kyouya's eyes widened in horror. Every memory of their love, their moments of tenderness and laughter, felt like they were slipping away, clouded by the illusion before him. He had fought endlessly for Fontaine, stood by Furina's side through thick and thin, and yet, in this vision, he saw himself stripped of all his contributions.

"No... no, this can't be real," Kyouya stammered, his voice trembling with anguish.

He pushed Furina away. His eyes, once filled with love, now bore the marks of torment and paranoia.

"Go away!"

Furina tried to reach out to him, to let him know that it was just an illusion, but the words caught in her throat as he shouted back in agony. Her heart ached witnessing the pain in his eyes.

"Why? Why would you do this?" he cried.

Furina started panicking, unsure of how to comfort him. The illusion had taken hold of his mind.

"After all I've done for Fontaine… for you… is this how you repay me?" he shouted, clenching his fists.

"I don't know what you're talking about but I would never do that to you, Kyouya!"

Her voice was barely audible amid the chaos of his thoughts.The illusion had painted his reality in shades of darkness and doubt.

"Ever since I've set foot in Fontaine, I've been risking my neck out there for you! I almost died countless times… you sent me out to an unwinnable war!"

"K-Kyouya I didn't…"

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it! You don't know what I went through over there. Every fucking day I was staring down the barrel of a gun."

"Listen to me, Kyouya!"

"NO! We stood no chance in that war. We were heavily outnumbered yet you guys dispatched us. I lost Adrian in that war. He was my brother in arms!"

Furina wanted to tell him that she wasn't the one that sent him out to that gruesome war. It was Neuvillette. But Kyouya wasn't giving her a chance to speak.

"I had to fight Harbingers for you! Fucking Harbingers! Those monsters… they were going to use me as a test subject for their inhumane experiments!"

"Kyouya, I…"

"And this is how you treat me after all that? I should've known…"

Furina broke down into tears, her heart breaking as she saw the man she loved tormented by his own mind. She wished to hold him close, to comfort him, but he was refusing to let her get near.

From the moment Kyouya donned the mantle of the Maison Gardiennage, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his duties. His accomplishments were nothing short of extraordinary. Winning the war, taking down Harbingers and even saving Furina's life. Yet, at this very moment, he couldn't help but feel like a mere pawn, as if none of it mattered in the end.

The demon laughed upon witnessing the scene unfold. It was time to put in the finishing touch. The hallucinations only got worse. Kyouya's world had become a twisted nightmare. The image of Furina, once his source of love and comfort, now stood before him with a sword raised, seemingly ready to deliver a lethal blow. His heart pounded in his chest, as his breaths came in ragged gasps.

"You're of no use to me anymore," Furina laughed, as she swung her sword.

As Kyouya's battle instincts kicked in, a surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins.

"Y-you…"

His body moved on instinct. Without wasting a second, he lunged forward, fist raised, intending to defend himself against what he thought was Furina.

Just then, the hallucinations faded away, leaving him disoriented and flailing in the air, his fist meeting only empty space. The darkness that had consumed his perception now revealed the real Furina standing before him, her face filled with fear.

Her trembling hands reacted, slapping him in a desperate attempt to bring him back to reality. The sound of the slap echoed through the room and she immediately regretted her action. Kyouya brought his hand to his cheek, feeling the sting of the slap. Pain and confusion swirled in his eyes as the demonic voices seized the opportunity to twist the situation.

"I warned you, boy. This is only the beginning," the voices whispered.

This slap was symbolic in its own way. Kyouya thought back to the day he first met Furina. She had slapped him in the courtroom, just like this. To him, it felt like he was back at square one. It was as if their relationship had not progressed at all even after all these years.

Furina's heart pounded, regret weighing on her as she realized that her actions had only worsened his paranoia.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." she said with a shaky voice.

"I should've never saved you."

His cold words struck her like daggers. She felt horrible because even though Kyouya wasn't being himself, there was still some truth to his words.

"I…"

Furina was unable to form any words upon realizing that she couldn't claim the moral high ground over this demon. She had been tasking Kyouya with some ridiculously difficult missions. Even though he was the one that insisted on taking these missions in the first place, none of that mattered now.

Kyouya's eyes were filled with torment and fear as he shouted at her to leave. But Furina couldn't bear to abandon him, not when he needed her the most.

"Furina… what am I to you? Am I just another pawn for you to throw away?"

"What are you saying? You're so much more than that!"

"It sure doesn't feel like that. I mean what are we even doing? You're an Archon and I'm… just some outlander."

"But..."

She was silenced with a swift gesture of his hand.

"This was never my home to begin with. I don't have a family, I never did… heck I don't even know where I'm from… please… just leave me alone.."

Ignoring his plea, Furina took a step forward, reaching out for him.

"P-please.. just listen to me.."

In his frightened state, he stepped back as small sparks danced fiercely around his body.

"No. I've had enough…"

And then, with a thunderous burst of speed, he dashed away. Furina's heart skipped a beat as she watched him shatter the window, leaping out to land on the road below. Panic surged through her, but she couldn't let him go, not like this. She ran to the broken window, her eyes locking with his. He looked back at her one last time.

"Kyouya, please!" she shouted, her voice breaking with emotion.

But he didn't reply. Instead, he turned away, his resolve hardened by the demonic voices. Before she could react, he sprinted off into the distance at the speed of sound, disappearing from her sight. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood there.

"Kyouya…"

With a heavy heart, she whispered his name one more time, hoping that somehow, her voice would reach him in the depths of his torment. Clorinde and the others rushed into the cabin upon hearing the commotion.

"Lady Furina, are you okay? Wait… where's the Captain!?" she shouted.

Furina sat upon the bed and began crying softly, her tears falling in silence, while Kazuha and Heizou watched in quiet sympathy. Navia gazed out the broken window with a worried expression.