My sister shuddered, her muscles tensed and her lips quivered as her facial expression slightly spasmed.
She looked down with squinted eyes, while taking in deep breaths, as to calm her mind and body, then looked back up at me and spoke in a somber tone, "Really, don't do that. I know you know that I'm a big fan of the fallen, but don't do that, I won't fall for your antics, but I can't say the same about mom. It'll hurt her even if she believes it for a second, so please don't. She's had enough pain in her life, don't add to it."
but you see sister, that's the problem, I am fallen and it will hurt her, but I have to tell her, and yes, I actually have to tell her. I can indeed get rewards if I don't tell her, but those rewards come from something terrible, someone else's ignorance and their eventual suffering.
I've already caused enough damage to their family. Trying to keep a secret won't help them, so I have to tell them. I'm only conflicted about the way to go about it. My sister wouldn't fully believe my words, but she's here now, so I should try to convince her first.
The only way I can think of to convince her is by showing her my authority, but it's dangerous. Far too dangerous. It almost trapped me forever in my mind and forced my own mental character to take over my body.
But it actually shouldn't be as dangerous as it was last time. That's because last time, I was in my authority's world and it's power shouldn't be as strong outside that world. But how should I guarantee that? How should I use my authority outside that grass plain? I still haven't figured that out yet.
But it should be about monocles, actions and symbolism. It shouldn't be difficult, in fact, I should have done it before I accessed that world.
An authority is a power and a power needs a target. The reason my authority didn't activate normally back then is because there was no target.
It can't be helped, my authority is one of fear and beliefs, so it requires a target who fears and believes. I could potentially use it on myself, but in that case my sister may not see it. So I have to use it on her.
I looked at her, focusing on her face. Observing all the worry that face was hiding.
She actually is starting to somewhat believe my story, that's good, that means only a slight activation of my authority will convince her, by doing so I can minimize the risk to her.
As my monocle was vertically aligned with her figure, I raised my left hand to my monocle, placing my middle finger at the top of my monocle and my thumb on the bottom, I then adjusted my eyewear and declared,
"The Vainglorious"
The dining room shook, my sister jumped back. The decaying chandlier above our heads crashed down where she was, cracking the old wooden floor.
I looked to my side and saw the wall-mounted candles starting to virbrate. The vibration intensified to a rate that I found outwardly concerning. They then flew off the handles and sped across the floor.
The line of wood that the candles crossed immediately darkened and then started to smoke.
And in the next second, the house was on fire.
I moved my right foot in a panic. It fell through the cracked floorboards as I felt my left calf get cut on what I assume to be a piece of jagged wood.
My sister looked at me, terrified.
With one in the floor I looked back and bitterly smiled before averting my eyes.
Five seconds later I decided to glance back at her, she was staring at me and crying. I tried my best to put on a poker face, even though I felt like shit inside.
At that moment, the look in her eyes shifted from shock to something ressembling grief and it was at this moment I knew I succeeded.
With a bleeding leg and smoke-filled lungs, I raised my left hand once again and grasped my monocle in my usual way, closing my left eye and re-adjusting my monocle.
The scene changed
Which was surprising, I just expected the chaos to die down but instead it was like it never happened, everything was just the way it was before the activation of my authority, it was all back to normal. The only key differences were the look on my sister's face, my bleeding leg, and the memories we now shared.
Speaking about my sister, it pains me to look at her, that face is one of denial. It gave a suffocating feeling, I couldn't bear to look at her but I did so anyways. I needed to look at her in all the despair and grief she was feeling knowing I caused it. I am the one responsible for her pain and I needed to understand that.
I would have liked to consul her now but I can't do that. It would have the opposite effect on her for I am not her brother. Right now, I am the origin of her sorrow. Consuling her would put her under the assumption that I'm just some monster trying to take her brother's place.
Although she's a fanatic for the fallen, the fallen are only great to her when it happens to someone else, it's alright in her mind as long as it dosen't happen to her.
So I just stood there, silently taking it all in. After an unknown period of time, John's sister finally spoke in a quivering voice, "M-Mr. Fallen, my brother isn't dead-dead is he?"
I responded in a nearly emotionless voice, "I don't know."
I continued, "None of us do. Maybe the dead go to a higher realm, maybe they reincarnate, or maybe, they just, die."
John's sister's eyes widened and her lips curled into something almost reminscent of a smile as she spoke, "That means there's a chance right! A chance I'll see him again!"
I pondered that sentiment, "A chance…, yes I suppose there may be, but I dissuade you, don't spend your life on this goal."
Her face darkened as I continued, "It's still only a chance, don't be obssessed with this. It's said that humans crave certainty and I can say there's good reason for that."
She looked lost, her eyes shifting down, around, left and right.
I needed to distract her, "Ms. Valentine, what's your name?"
"Lumie, Lumie Valentine, Mr. Fallen." She replied swiftly, almost with a hint of pride.
I struggled to say what came next, "Lumie, y-you should get your mother here, if we tell her sooner, the quicker the heartbreak will be."
My voice displayed some of my truest emotions, "I know it's hard, it's okay, you're not telling her, I am. Just get her to the kitchen, please."
I looked deeply in her watering eyes and upon seeing her still not displaying any will to move I was about to try to encourage her some more, when I heard a familiar voice and stature coming from the hallway.