Chapter 120: As If Nothing Had Happened

"Noctis?"

A familiar voice reached me from nearby.

"Noctis?"

Rose?

I turned my head.

Rose was looking at me. Her brows were drawn together, and her hand felt cold against my cheek. I could feel her fingers touching my skin and see the people passing behind her.

"Are you okay?"

"Rose?"

My gaze left her face and wandered over our surroundings.

The stone-paved street. People trying to make their way through the crowd. Vendors calling out and conversations drifting from a nearby shop...

Broken glass lay at my feet.

The potion had spilled into the dirt.

"Huh?"

I quickly turned my head.

"The old man!"

Two people were walking behind me. One pulled their shoulder back slightly while passing me. I looked between them, farther down the street, then toward the base of the wall.

The old man wasn’t there.

There was no sign of his white beard or the worn fabric covering his head.

I raised my hand.

My right hand.

My fingers were right there in front of my eyes.

For several seconds, I stared at them. Then I slowly clenched my fist and opened it again. I pressed my thumb against the tips of my other fingers.

I could feel every one of them.

I wrapped my left hand around my right wrist.

There was no cut.

Not even a scar.

But I...

I remembered the moment I had swung the sword. The pain spreading up my arm, my hand left in the old man’s grip...

I tightened my hold on my wrist.

As my heart began to race, I touched my face. Where Oswald’s blood had splashed, I could feel only the lingering coolness of Rose’s hand.

"Noctis?"

I turned back to her.

"Why aren’t you saying anything? Did something happen?" Her gaze shifted to my hands. "You’re worrying me."

I opened my mouth.

I searched for an explanation, but everything that came to mind sounded impossible. A cave, a severed hand, an old man flying through the sky...

I needed to understand it myself first.

"Uh, no." I cleared my throat, trying to make my voice sound normal. "I just tripped. I guess I’m a little upset about dropping the potion."

I lowered my gaze to the broken glass.

"I guess I’ll have to buy another one..."

Rose studied my face for a while, then took her hand away from my cheek.

"I can buy you another one if you want. You don’t have to worry about it."

I shook my head.

"No, don’t worry. I still have enough money. Buying another one won’t be much of a problem."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Rose bent down for one last look at the ground, then took my hand.

"Come on, then. Let’s go back."

She laced her fingers through those of my right hand.

My gaze lingered on our hands.

Rose was now holding the fingers that hadn’t been there just moments ago.

I had no idea what expression was on my face. I probably looked pretty stupid. When Rose started walking, I followed her, barely noticing where we were going.

Nothing made sense.

It was as though I had never left her.

I was right back at the moment I had dropped the potion.

Yet I remembered the cave. The pressure of the chains around my wrists, Henry Walker’s face carved into the wall, my own screams...

I even remembered the wind tugging at my back when I spread my wings.

Then there was Oswald kneeling before me. The things he had said. That unbearable sound filling my head.

He had wanted to serve me, and I had agreed.

Then...

He had driven his hand into his own chest.

My steps faltered for a moment.

Did he really kill himself?

The smile on his face appeared in my mind.

"Thank you."

I tightened my fingers around Rose’s hand. When I noticed her looking at me, I kept walking.

Wait. Did any of that really happen?

My hand was still there.

There was no blood on my face.

And Rose thought I was simply upset about a broken potion. She knew nothing about what I thought I had experienced in that cave.

What if I really had imagined all of it?

I couldn’t finish the thought.

I didn’t even know if I had been hallucinating.

"Rose."

I tried to keep my voice as casual as possible.

"Yeah?"

"When I dropped the potion..." I swallowed before continuing. "Did someone bump into me?"

Rose turned her head.

"Or did you see an old man? A white beard, a hood... His eyes were completely white, too."

Rose stopped.

After looking at my face, she raised her free hand and touched my forehead.

I frowned.

"What are you doing?"

She kept the back of her hand against my forehead a little longer.

"You don’t seem sick."

"I’m fine!"

My answer came out louder than I had intended.

Rose’s gaze moved from my forehead to my eyes.

She looked as though she was about to ask another question. Before she could, I exhaled and turned my head away.

"Ah, never mind. Let’s just get the potion and go back."

Rose waited a few seconds.

Then she started walking again without letting go of my hand.

When we entered the potion shop for the second time, I took the bottle with my right hand. Feeling the cool glass against my palm, I carefully closed my fingers around it.

I paid.

After safely stowing the new potion, I stepped outside with Rose.

Every so often, I checked my surroundings as we walked.

But I didn’t see the old man again.

---

The time on my phone screen read 22:47.

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. When the doors opened, Rose and I stepped out and walked toward our apartments.

The hallway was quiet.

After the crowds in Ashenfall, our footsteps sounded louder than they should have. When I saw my own door, I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders.

I was finally home.

Rose stopped in front of her door and stretched her arms overhead.

"Want to sleep with me tonight?"

"No, I’ll pass."

My answer came so quickly that Rose laughed.

"Your loss."

She turned her key and opened the door.

As she stepped inside, I called out to her.

"Rose."

She turned her head toward me.

"Yes, honey?"

For a few seconds, I thought about what to say.

"Thank you."

Rose’s smile changed slightly.

"You helped me a lot today," I continued. "Actually, you’re always like this with me. Even though we haven’t known each other that long..."

My gaze drifted to my right hand.

She had treated my hand when we first met, too. The stupid thing I had done that day was very different from what had happened today, but Rose was by my side again.

I suddenly realized she was standing in front of me.

She pinched my nose between two fingers.

"Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?"

"My nose—"

When she let go, I pulled my head back slightly.

Rose was smiling.

"Of course I’ll help you, honey."

Her casual tone made me expect another joke.

"After all, I love you."

Heat spread across my face.

For a moment, I could only stare into her eyes. Then, unsure what to do, I turned the key over in my hand.

"You never get tired of teasing me, do you?"

Rose pouted slightly.

"But I’m telling the truth."

I felt my cheeks grow even warmer.

"Good night."

I turned around and opened my door. Once I was inside, I might have closed it a little too quickly.

Leaning back against the door, I exhaled.

I looked at the key in my hand.

That girl managed to leave me at a loss for words every single time.

I stood there for a few seconds. Then I put the potion somewhere safe in the kitchen and rubbed my face with both hands.

My movements slowed when my fingers touched my cheeks.

Both hands were still there.

I rotated my right wrist again.

No pain.

"A hot shower should help..."

Maybe I would feel a little more like myself.

I drew back the clothes I had formed with Umbrella. Once the black material had left my body and gathered around my left wrist, I headed into the bathroom.

I turned on the shower.

While I waited for the water to warm up, I stepped in front of the mirror and turned on the faucet. I cupped water in my hands and splashed it onto my face.

Then once more.

When I raised my head, droplets ran down my chin.

I looked at my reflection.

Then my eyes caught on a dark shape on my chest.

There was a black mark over my heart.

I lowered my head to look directly at my skin.

An eye...

Chains wound around the eye and crossed over it, each thin link clearly visible. But the dark shape at its center looked more like a black moon than an ordinary pupil.

I placed a finger on it.

It didn’t feel raised. The mark was imprinted on my skin.

Like a tattoo.

"What is this?"

I moved a little closer to the mirror.

There had been nothing like this before I left home.

I studied the fine lines where the chains intertwined. Leaning forward, I tried to get a better look at the darkness in the center.

I moved closer still.

"This is our contract, Sir Henry."

My entire body flinched.

As I abruptly turned my head, my foot slipped on the wet floor.

"Ah!"

I reached out to steady myself but couldn’t grab anything. A moment later, I had landed on my backside and was sitting on the floor.

The shower was still running.

I raised my head and looked toward the voice.

Oswald stood in front of me.

His hands were clasped behind his back, and those pure white eyes were looking straight at me.