Eyes Without A Face

Chapter 17 - Chained

- Alwin -

Köln, Germany, 27th of February 2019

The pen falls from my hand once again as I'm struggling to finish writing a sentence. My fingers clench and it seems that only this small action causes all my muscles to ache.

I look up to the codex page projected on the wall, trying to distinguish the letters and form words within my mind. It's a storm in there, I can barely acknowledge my surroundings even though it's silence. It's just me in the office and no one else. My other supposed colleagues don't even know where the headquarters are located. After Frantz's passing, things have become unbearably quiet.

I let the pen down and cough. Then, as my eyes fill with tears, I still manage to see its trajectory. The floor. A blue stain remains there as well. The ink has colored the rug just as blood is now clinging onto my shaky palms.

After I've made the worst possible deal with the devil, things have taken a completely different turnaround than I expected. Harold sold me to the grandmaster. He said he had intel I killed Frantz with a Berliner's dagger to frame her, just as much as I killed Kurt while holding her hostage. If the second one is true, the first is nothing but a gruesome lie which makes me believe that Harold himself is behind Frantz's death.

I don't even care about what they had to say. Neither that I've been tortured as punishment since the grandmaster assumed that I was desperate to become his new consoler so I killed Kurt. None of these matter. The only thing I care about which helped me get through all these events and keep my sanity as well is the Berliner in cause.

Elin Solak. The only person who managed to wreak chaos to such a degree that I've lost control over my own senses. The reason why I had to suffer even more as my master thinks she emotionally manipulated me into bringing her the codex. Not that it's not true, but my only salvation was that the USB drive was still locked here, in my office. Neither her, nor Harold managed to get it. However, I'm planning to change this as well.

There's no point in waiting. Sometimes the most common sense thing one can do is to acknowledge their own death and keep going. Honor is much more important than morals for me. I'd rather die as a traitor in the eyes of both sides, than to leave this world without having fulfilled my promises. And I told Elin that she's going to have that manuscript. Maybe I wasn't entirely fair to her all this time, but I know that I can try to fix my mistakes with this.

I smiled when I heard her voicemail. She was angry. For some reason I liked that. Her threatening voice. The threat itself.

I laugh.

Elin will think that I'll bring her the codex tonight only because I'm afraid. It's such a tormenting thought to die with, but after all I've done, I believe I deserve such an unfortunate fate. It is what it is.

Someone knocks on the door. I have to close the file fast and remove the USB drive from my laptop before saying, "yes."

"The master," an assistant I haven't seen before speaks after opening the door just a little, "wants to see you."

"Tell his highness I'm coming," I smile politely, placing the USB drive back in the safe.

"Our illustrious master said it's urgent," the man looks down, almost ashamed. "I've been sent to escort you to his chamber."

"Very well," I sigh, grabbing my coat. "Let's go."

After I've been punished, the master thought it's fit for me to lose all my rights. The director title has been revoked. I'm not even allowed to perform surgeries anymore. My entire work has been resumed to the codex research.