Chapter 38 Neil Gets Emotional, Neil Is Speechless
“I won’t dissect you,” Aether said.
To you think just saying; it makes it the?” Neil’s gaze doopped to the salety harness strapped across Aether’s seat. “Then prove it. Go ahead, unbuckle your
Arthes hesitated, struggling to follow his logic
But Wilthen tightened his grip on her hand and repeated her words back to her. “Don’t he scated. I’ll bolid on to you.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Aether quietly said.
Nell let out a low chuckle. “Oh so, yendo know it’s dangus. Then we say something so meaningless!
“you don’t even believe I can hold on to you, yet you expect me to believe you can hold to me? You’re just like my parents hypocrites”
“Would it make you feel better it 1 umbrackled it?” Arther asked.
“You look scared, anxious, and vulnerable,” she softly said. “Just
un just want to make you
you feel a little better,”
“You’re semensly saying you’d unbuckle your harness just to comfort me?
“You said you’d hold on to me, didn’t you?” Arther gave him awan, gentle smile, “I believe you,”
|Neil Hubbard’s favorability. Current favorabiltiy–05 |
Without hesitation, she lowered her bead and reached for the buckle. But just as she was about to undo it, Neil’s grip on her hand loosened
His voice dropped to a chilling whisper as he tried to scare her. “My hands are stained with blood. I’ve led so many people, I can’t stop myself anymore. Are you sure a murderer like me would hold on to you.. and not push you off instead?”
“I don’t know.” Arther admitted, her gaze steady and unwavering. “But I believe you won’t. You’re not some iredeemable monster. You must have had your reasons for becoming the way you are… night?
[Neil Hubbard’s favorability 3. Cument favorability: -911
Aether’s words stirred something deep within Neil
She said she crusted him. She said he must have had his reasons
But the moment his parents discovered he carried the so–called murder gene, they had wanted to abandon him. Over and over, they had debated whether they
Yet before the dissection, he had tried to suppress his urges. He had turned his violent impulses inward—self–hann, not murder,
His parents still didn’t trust him, and they’d still seen him as a curse.
matter how many times he told them, and no matter how many promises he made–that he could control himself, that he wouldn’t kill, that he didn’t want to be abandoned–none of it ever inattered.
They still dissected him without hesitation, eager to study his so–called murder gene, without the slightest trace of guilt or remorse
Even wild beasts don’t kill their own young, so how could they have done that to him?
To the end, be took his revenge on them. And from that moment on, he stopped suppressing his moulderous urges just to put their minds at ease.
He did whatever he wanted. After all, there was no point in restraining himself for people who had never deserved it.
But now, with Aether standing before him, Neil realized something–a complete stranger was willing to trust him, to believe he had his reasons. Yet, his parents wwww the ones that had never trusted lilm.
Even as they lay dying, they had called him a curse, saying they never should have brought him into this world.
was almost laughable.
Still, as Nell’s gaze settled in Aether’s, suspicion lingered,
“I don’t have some tragic excuse,” heilatly said.
Then, without bestation, he let go of her hand to one it. I’m curious to see what you’ll look like after the fall. If you’ll still have a research value lett
Hell’s words offered no sense of security, lit Aether had no choice. Falling into his hands meant being trapped in a life–or–death game. The only way ta understand what he truly needed was to die over and over again
The only way to change the tragedy was to step into his heart.
Aether kept telling herself this and forced herself to stay strong.
Then, finally, she unbuckled the harness
Herans went completely dark
Neit caught her hand almost instinctively, but Aether didn’t build him back Her body ormainelased at least, on the santace.
Inality, her left hand gripped the side rail so tightly that her fingers trembled. Her beathing had used even, and her nerves were
were stretched th
“You se obviously scared. Why pretend you’re not? Neil observed
- d. Thave to
“You’re scared. I’m scared. But if we’re both afraid, who’s going to give you a sense of security?” Aether seriously answered. “That’s why I can’t be afraid. be strong, so I can protect you
Neil Hubbard’s favorability +2. Current favorability: -901
The drop tower sately landed, and the ride came to a stop.
Chce they stepped off and reached solid ground, the noise of the amusement park surrounded them once more.
Neil looked away, clearly impatient. “If you brought me here to win my favor and beg for your life, let me save you the trouble–it’s not happening
“No matter how well you treat me e, it won’t change a thing. I already told you, anyone who stands in the way of me and Gloria has to die. You’re no exception”
“I’m trying to win your favor,” Aether calmly replied. “I’m trying to show you the second step–giving her security and trust.
“on the drop tower, I unbuckled my hamess because I trusted you wouldn’t let me fall. That was my trust in you. And when you were afraid, I held your hand. That was me giving you security.
“That feeling of being trusted and of being given a sense of safety, doesn’t it feel good? You felt something just now, didn’t you? Then that means you’re on the right track
“Once agid starts trusting you and feeling safe around you, congratulations, you’ve successfully broken through her second psychological barrierTM
Sell fell silent.
[Neil Hubbard’s favorability -5. Current favorability: -951
Jso, everything you just did was just a demonstration?” Neil let out a short, bitter laugh. “You really are willing to riskit all
“Then again, I suppose it makes sense, if your little demonstration didn’t move me, I would have killed you. At the end of the day, your recklessness isn’t because
you care about me.
“It’s because you already know you won’t live long. That’s why you don’t give a damn. Not because you want to give me security and trus.”
[Nell Hubbard’s favorability–1 Current favorability: – 06.1
Suddenly, Arther stepped forward and tightly bugged Neil.
[Neil Hubbard’s favorability +1. Current favorability: -95.)
The sudden warmth caught Nell off guard and cut off whatever else he had been about to say.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Will this make you feel a little better?” Aether murmured. “You looked like you were hurting. Would a hug help, even just a little?”
“This is another demonstration, isn’t it?!
Aether pulled back slightly and met his gaze. “You’ve never been loved, so you don’t know how to love others. I just wanted to low you a little more, so master you could be a little happier
“Do you think you get to decide that?” Neil’s voice snapped, his eyes burning red. “Do you think you know me? That you understand me?”
Artier stayed silent.
She could see it – Nell’s struggle and the way her words had struck too deep. He didn’t want to face it or admit it, so she didn’t press.
She simply stood there, quietly keeping him company.
Meanwhile, Neil’s mind kept replaying her words, the bitterness inside him growing stronger and stronger until he could no longer hold it in.
“You’re right, they never loved me. Otherwise, why would a stranger be willing to trust me… when my parents never could?” His voice wavered, just slightly.” There were times I wanted to kill a cat, and every single time, I smashed my hand with a rock just to stop myself.
“I would rather hurt myself than harm anything else, but all they ever talked about was how dangerus I was. How they should cut the open. How I great contribution to the study of the murder gene. But 1–ican feel pain too, you know.”
I could make a
