Work Text:
Soleum swallowed.
His question had been perfect.
Neither too vague, leaving room for error, like an exact definition of what "home" was, nor so repetitive that the entity could pull some bullshit like "you already are home."
So he waited.
His breathing was still normal, his head clear.
This had to work.
He wouldn't get another chance to have a definite answer like this.
Just give him a confirmation. A "yes"!
The entity's eyes narrowed, looking clearly annoyed that he'd backed it into a corner so openly.
His mirrored face wore a clear scowl.
But that was fine.
Soleum didn't care about that. He already knew not to use elevators for a while.
Then, finally, it uncrossed its arms.
He waited, his breathing growing a tad more agitated.
Please, please, please—
Its lips curled unpleasantly, something almost... bitter about it.
Not like when it had begged to be let out. Something else.
Soleum tried not to blink.
The reflection spoke. Spat, more like.
"Will you?"
……
…..
....
...What?
He blinked, thrown off.
Huh?
What did that mean? Was that a yes or not?
His eyes widened.
Had it still managed to bypass his wording and find a loophole—? If so, crap, he couldn't ask again—
No. Wait.
His heartbeat slowly accelerated. His face grew pale.
The words reverberated in his head.
Its bitter tone.
...That hadn't been a loophole.
It couldn't be.
His hands shook, his entire body trembling. His vision grew blurry around the edges.
Bitterness didn't necessarily mean mockery.
There had been something like that before, hadn't there?
Someone trying to get a simple "yes" or "no," only for—
He swallowed, his stomach filling with nausea.
The entity had answered him.
Properly.
His knees weakened, and he fell.
277,000 points.
His eyes watered.
Dozens upon dozens of darkness.
His throat grew hoarse.
Months of labor and near-deaths.
He couldn't feel his hands.
The assistant manager's lost hand and his supervisor's contamination.
His head fell.
And then—
He screamed.
All of it.
It had been—
It had all been pointless.