Chapter Text
When Luka heard his voice, everything made sense again.
The sound of the shot lingered in his ears. His opponent's body fell limp to the ground. Blood splattered on his shoes. He let the microphone slip from his hands, ignoring the cheers of the audience and his own urge to vomit. He had won, but not in the way he wanted.
He was disappointed with himself, with the way he had lost his cool on stage. Just a few minutes ago, his stoic expression had warped into one of sadness and despair. He came to think that he would break down in tears for the first time in his life, but he forced himself to keep his composure. Otherwise, the stage would have become his burial place. And Till wouldn't even have noticed. He turned his gaze to a girl who was shedding tears incessantly while she desperately called out the name of the contestant who had been eliminated. Ivan put a hand to his chest. Would Till have reacted in the same way? Would he care in the least if he had ended up with a hole in his head?
His eyes darkened.
No.
Because Till only cared about Mizi.
And nobody else.
He looked down and slowly withdrew from the stage, staining the floor with crimson footprints. He felt a pang in his heart as he passed Mizi. The girl was devastated, with her gaze totally lost, out of this world. But it wasn't grief that invaded Ivan. It was frustration. Why did Sua have to die instead of her? Why did everyone see something in Mizi that he was unable to see? Sua was much more talented, much kinder, much more beautiful...
He clenched his fists and decided not to look at Till, because he knew full well that…
"Hey."
An angelic voice took him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw a blond, amber-eyed young man. He felt chills. He thought it was a pity that such beautiful eyes were empty, dull. Just like the eyes of a dead man.
Ivan cocked his head and ignored his call, taking a seat. At that moment he realized that the seat next to him was empty. He looked up once more and was startled to find the stranger's face mere inches from his own.
"What…?" Ivan managed to articulate.
The stranger moved even closer. He could feel the blond's breath tickling his ear.
"Now is my turn." he whispered. "So look at me the same way I've looked at you."
Ivan shuddered.
He swallowed and massaged his temples as he watched this strange individual walk onto the stage, toward his death. That would possibly be the first and only time he would interact with him. That thought was a relief.
The sound of a guitar echoed through the room. It sounded like the tune of a sad ballad, just like his. He watched as the blonde gave him a smile before beginning to sing. He felt a series of spasms run up his spine when he heard his voice.
It was electrifying.
Then it was the turn of his opponent to start singing and he immediately knew that she had nothing to do. The song suddenly turned into a duet. That boy began to sing the lyrics of his rival, while he stealthily approached and took her by the waist, forcing her to dance.
Ivan's pupils dilated. A cold sweat ran through each and every one of the corners of his body. He found himself in need of taking a big breath of air, because for a moment he had forgotten how to breathe.
He had never seen anything like it. That boy was playing with his opponent. He seemed like he knew everything about her. Her desires, her weaknesses, her breaking points... he perfectly imitated her deceased companion, that girl with whom he had just fought a duel and whose body would have already turned into debris. His stomach churned. It was a perfect copy. He was teasing her. Ivan thought it a despicable and disgusting method, but for some reason he couldn't look away from those dull amber eyes.
Ivan also couldn't help but jump to his feet when the girl finally pounced on top of him. The blonde's face never failed to maintain his expressionlessness, even when he was being beaten. The music stopped abruptly. The only thing that could be heard were the deafening screams of the girl who was incessantly hitting the face of her rival.
But the screaming soon ceased.
The girl collapsed on top of the blonde. Her brains had spilled out across the stage floor, bathing her rival's body in blood and slimy chunks of flesh. Ivan watched in amazement as the stranger effortlessly pushed the girl's body away, as if he weren't pushing away a corpse whose head had just exploded. He unconsciously put a hand on his necklace. His head could also explode at any moment.
He closed his eyes tightly and when he opened them again, he watched horrified as the blonde held the girl's hand and placed his lips on her, dyeing them crimson. At that moment, his eyes met. Those dull amber eyes were penetrating his vivid black irises. He looked away out of inertia and then realized what he was doing.
It was the first time he had gone so long without checking on Till. The first time he had noticed anyone other than his old friend.
That made him sick.
He hugged his stomach and brought a hand to his mouth. He felt the bile trying to trickle down his throat. It wasn't proper of him. He was used to seeing the world with disinterest, as if he weren't part of it, as if he wasn't even a living being, as if his body was just an empty shell. Unable to feel. Unable to cry. Unable to…
"Are you OK?"
He raised his head only to find an angelic face covered in blood and brains. He focused his gaze on his smiling garnet-tinged lips. His heart raced again.
This time, he couldn't help but vomit.