PHOENIX. [sequel to 067]

07. "answers."

dottore has his arm wrapped tightly around you, holding you close to his chest, as the two of you leave the room of the harbingers. ultimately, the tsaritsa's word was final and everyone just sort of had to accept that. she wouldn't back down from her decision no matter how many words of protest she got from childe or captiano. though, captiano was absolutely more respectful about it.

everyone did seem to respect the tsaritsa, however, to their own degree. dottore would address her with respectful terms, apparently pierro married her, captiano was kind with his wording, childe admitted to only acting so rash out of fear for the tsaritsa's safety, regrator was quiet and only spoke when spoken too, and the other girls were the same. they're all like an, incredibly, dysfunctional family. which, gave you an odd sense of deja vu, for some reason.

the arguing and the bickering between the men, along with how the tsaritsa just let it happen up to a certain point, it ... all seemed so familiar. so eerily familiar. maybe, not with them specifically, but you're completely sure you've been in a situation with that same exact dynamic.

you limp along the long halls alongside dottore as his breathing seemed more normal, more relaxed. perhaps it's the fact he's around his "lover", as childe referred to you, that makes him more relaxed. or maybe it's just because of the fact that he's no longer in that room with everyone.

despite him being relaxed, you are not. your brain can't seem to stick to one version of anything, as it's trying to piece little details together. little details like how dottore referred to you as if you had been broken up, yet still continues to pamper you with small little affectionate gestures, or how the tsaritsa didn't seem to recognize his affection for you ... or the secrets that dottore seems to be holding from her. or why you were there in the first place, why she touched your neck the way she did with pitiful eyes. or when dottore would've had the time to test out the life elixir, unless he tried it on someone before you died, since you can't imagine that he left you dying for long.

had he tried it someone else? and if it continued the juices of the gnosis', aka the archons godhood, wouldn't that mean you've ascended past being a mortal and were now a god? and why were you so thirsty for blood? why did pierro seem to breeze over that fact? and why did no-one else seem to question your appearance in the meeting?

so many questions, yet no answers. the only answer you could make out is that everything seems to center around dottore. or this dottore "person". you don't know him. he's a complete stranger to you and yet he acts like this with you. surely, you knew him before your death, that's how you've been rationalizing everything and all of his little touches.

... but why did you die? you remember the how. how it felt, how cold the blade was, how your heart felt like it had exploded in your body once it drained. you remember the how, yet not the not why. surely, something drove you to death? or were you killed?

dottore lead you into a room, which resembles an office, however, there's a couch off to the side. the couch seems out of place, as it's clean and tidy, while everything else in the room is messy. books were thrown on the floor, some with the pages torn out, pages laid everywhere on the floor and there were even small ink stains on his desk.