"Morgan" stood up. Luzbel was still shaken by the harsh and cold words he had thrown at her, but he did not stop. He had no intention of doing so.
- The only thing you've done is cry and complain about every mistake you've made. All I ever hear is blah, blah, blah. That's all it is. Nothing more.
"Morgan" placed his arms behind his back and looked at Luzbel. It wasn't exactly pity. It was disappointment. It was irritation. As if standing in front of her and seeing her like this was something bothersome.
- H-huh? What... what are you talking about? No, Morgan...
(Luzbel said, her voice trembling.)
- What, are you stupid? Or are you deaf now too? I said that everything that's happened so far is your fault. And instead of doing something about it, all you do is complain, cry, and play the victim in a way that's just sadly pathetic.
The way "Morgan" said it was brutal. Shameless. Merciless. Empty of compassion. As if he were simply stating a fact out loud rather than attacking a person.
Luzbel stood up furiously. Something inside her refused to stay seated after hearing that.
- Hey! Who do you think you are to talk to me like that? Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, I ruined everything. I know perfectly well that it was my fault. But that doesn't give you any right to say all those things to me. None!
"Morgan" didn't even blink. He confronted her once again. Cold. Completely cold.
- Yes, it does. Because you've ruined more than you've helped, and the person most affected by your mistakes has been me. But what's this? First you wanted people to blame you, to tell you to your face that everything was your fault, and now that you're hearing it, it's too much? Is the truth too much for you?
Luzbel opened her mouth. She had something. She had an answer. She had something to say. But "Morgan" cut her off immediately, as if he already knew exactly what was coming.
- What? Don't tell me you were about to say that I've made mistakes too. Isn't that right?
Luzbel froze.
Because that was exactly what she had been about to say. And he knew it. He had seen it coming before she even opened her mouth, and now he had ripped the words away from her, leaving her with nothing. No defense. No response.
- Yes. I made mistakes. But unlike you, I did something about them. I faced them. I dealt with them the best I could. And you? You think you have the right to criticize me when you haven't even tried to do a single thing to fix yours? Nothing, Luzbel? You really are a pa-the-tic per-son.
Every syllable of that final phrase fell separately. Slowly. Deliberately.
"Morgan's" words crushed Luzbel from the inside out. Her expression disappeared. So did any answer she might have had. She lowered her gaze to the floor as if the weight of it all had become too much to keep her standing, and she simply gave up there, standing in silence.
Morgan manifested beside Xol like a ghost, tense, and shouted at him with barely restrained anger.
- Stop it already!
But Xol barely turned his head, just enough for his voice to carry back.
- Shut up. Stay out of this.
Xol took a few slow, deliberate steps forward, getting as close to Luzbel as he could. Then he crouched down until he was exactly at her eye level. No distance between them. No way for her to ignore him.
Morgan clenched his jaw and shouted again.
- That's enough!
But Xol completely ignored him. He raised one hand without even looking at him, as if brushing away noise, and continued.
- Then tell me, Miss Luzbel. What are you going to do?
The question landed differently from everything that had come before. It wasn't an attack. It wasn't a judgment. It was a genuine question, and perhaps that was what made Luzbel lift her head slightly. Her eyes drifted toward "Morgan's" almost involuntarily.
- Will you stay here? Will you keep playing the victim? Will you keep being pathetic? Will you keep making stupid mistakes only to cry about them afterward? Or are you going to get your damn ass off the ground and do something to fix them?
Silence.
"Morgan" stood up once more. He extended his hand toward Luzbel, but without softening anything. Without losing that cold look in his eyes. The hand was there, outstretched, and yet there was no warmth in the gesture. Only the question. Only the wait.
- Tell me what you're going to do, Miss Luzbel. What exactly do you plan to do?
Luzbel looked up at him. Dead eyes. A silent mind. Something inside her slowly turning, searching for an answer that still had no shape, yet she could feel it there somewhere, waiting for her to decide whether she would use it or not.
End of Chapter.
Next Chapter: Thank You for That.