Øverturning the lies (a twenty one pilots fanfiction)

~43~

Tyler swallows, but he follows the bishop.

"Don't worry," Nico says in a voice that's clearly supposed to be reassuring, though Tyler isn't sure if it is or not. "Your time has not come yet."

Not yet, Tyler thinks. Not yet.

That gives him something to hold onto. For better or for worse, he will remain here a while longer.

He will stay alive, for now.

He repeats that to himself. For now.

He doesn't know how long that will be.

His fate is fully determined by the red-cloaked figure striding in front of him.

He needs me, Tyler thinks.

He touches the mark on his neck again.

Yes. He does seem to be important to Nico, to all of the bishops. He doesn't know why...but he remembers not to question anything the nine do.

He remembers, and that makes him quicken his pace.

Old habits.

They've kept him relatively safe this long. There's no reason to fall out of them now.

Except...Nico comes to a stop quite abrubtly, glancing at Tyler.

"Do you know what this place is?" the bishop asks, gesturing at the gray walls of the tower structure.

Tyler shakes his head. He's seen it from the outside, of course, but he'd never known anyone to actually go inside. This was the bishops' realm, totally and fully.

No wonder he feels so strange here-the chances were, the other eight were inside at this very moment...probably performing one of their rituals.

The thought makes him shudder. There are some secrets in Dema he doesn't want to know about.

He can barely sleep at night with what he does know.

Anxiously he glances at Nico, scared the bishop noticed.

Nico leans closer to him. "I know you can talk, child."

His tone isn't harsh; rather, its almost gentle.

But Tyler is sure he knows what the bishop will ask him next and he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to say anything. He can keep the things his mind is screaming at him, always screaming, tucked away, out of sight, without fear that they'll spill out of his mouth.

"I'll ask you again," the bishop says, without even a trace of impatience. "Do you know what this place is?"

Tyler swallows. "N-no."

His voice is low and hoarse, barely above a whisper.

But his answer seems to satisfy Nico, because the bishop places his hand on his shoulder...almost reassuringly. Almost.

"I didn't expect you to," Nico says.

He pauses. "This place is called the Tower of Silence."

Just hearing the name gives Tyler an eerie feeling.

"Its where..." the bishop trails off, seemingly lost in his thoughts for a couple of moments. "Its where the most important rituals are performed."

His grip on Tyler's shoulder tightens, so much so that its more than a little painful.

"Perhaps in time, you will see more of the interior," the bishop says. "But for now, there is something I must show you."

They walk together down the hallway, past closed rooms where neon lights can be seen glowing underneath the door cracks, where strange muttering sounds can be heard.