[Hall of Truth cb] The so-called savior

所谓救世主

https://6643999392.lofter.com/post/761025bf_2bed7f17c

//G Center Honest Hall Group cb

Timeline: After Klein fell asleep

  -

  At first, Klein didn't think he would do this, but he tried.

  "Mr. Xingxing," Audrey put down the white porcelain teacup gracefully and raised her eyes that could see through people's hearts. Her blue eyes were like a lake in spring, or like a silver mirror that reflected one's inner heart. No one could hide from this lady. "Please start. Do you feel relaxed here?"

  Leonard has always believed that he is the protagonist of the times. Until he met Klein Moretti, a history student who looked a little malnourished when he first met him. His black hair was on both sides of his pale cheeks, and his lips were always tightly pursed, and he was also bloodless. He was very ordinary, but his faint bookish air was so novel. How could such an ordinary person attract the old man's attention? As a Beyonder, most of them despise ordinary people because they have special Beyonder abilities, but Leonard Mitchell is different. He grew up in the welfare home of the Church of the Night. He has a certain easy-going and alertness. He has never let down his guard because he is an Beyonder or Klein is an ordinary person. On the contrary, he thinks Klein is very interesting.

  Klein is like a difficult puzzle that discourages all those who attempt to crack it, while Leonard is one of the few who becomes more courageous as the battle goes on.

  It was so strange. Leonard had never realized that a person could be so complicated, bringing all the contradictions together to make people love and hate him. Klein Moretti made Leonard realize that gentle people are actually mean, kind people are actually pessimistic, enthusiastic people are actually indifferent, and steady people are actually very shaky. It is actually blasphemous to say this. Leonard often wondered if the gods liked to put all the incompatible characteristics into a person's body to make him suffer and feel ashamed of himself.

  "Is Mr. 'Star' annoying?"

  Audrey suddenly spoke up.

  Leonard thought seriously for a moment, and his originally tense mood disappeared as he was comforted by the audience's sequence ability.

  "...I don't hate it." Leonard said softly, "I think I even like it." Leonard now felt that his whole body, including his soul, was in a safe haven. The emotions that made Leonard want to cry entangled him, tore at his nerves, destroyed his defenses, and urged him to reveal his heart that he had never shown before.

  "Klein sometimes makes me feel annoyed. You can understand it as disgust, Miss Justice. I may have hated him, but now I have discovered a sad fact. The point about him that I hate is exactly what I admire. I think no one feels superior in front of him. Even if that person is the most noble person in the world, he will belittle himself in front of Klein, and be as afraid as a mouse that hasn't seen the sun for a long time. Klein is like this..." Leonard kept talking. Even though the content behind was unclear, Audrey still politely waited for Leonard to finish what he wanted to say. This is the basic quality of the audience.

  Leonard realized something and remained silent for a rare moment.

  "I understand how you feel," Audrey said. "Everyone is like this. When people discover their own shortcomings, they look at themselves with a magnifying glass.

  "But what if we change the angle? Isn't it wonderful to look at it the other way around? Harsh people are actually very gentle, pessimistic people are actually very kind, indifferent people are actually very enthusiastic, and wavering people are actually very stable. God hides these contradictory things in one person, like a treasure, and then lets this self-pitying person discover them belatedly, suddenly become enlightened, and smile at the past behind him."

  Leonard was speechless. He was stunned for a moment, then gave Audrey a smile that could be described as pleasant.

  "Thank you, Miss Justice. I never thought of this."

  Just like Leonard said, he paid attention to Klein and was wary of Klein, but he didn't know why. Perhaps another way to put it was that Klein Moretti was not really in Leonard's eyes.

  Klein was ordinary. His marksmanship was terrible. His physical fitness was poor. He even vomited and became dizzy when he saw the corpse for the first time. Leonard didn't understand what was so special about Klein. Why could he survive the manipulation of Antigonus's notebook? Why did the old man say that he had a kind of aura? Why could he escape the control of the Tuxedo Clown? Since then, he knew that Klein Moretti had a secret. He was the same as him. He was the same kind of person as him.

  He will not forget, even in death.

  Leonard would remember how he saw Crane break free from the control of the Tuxedo Clown, how he calmly subdued him, how he held the revolver, loaded it, and pulled the trigger, killing the Tuxedo Clown.

  Klein was the same as usual, but something had quietly changed. Due to the tension and excitement of the spy, Leonard felt his heartbeat gradually speed up, and he knew something was different. For the first time, Leonard noticed Klein's eyes. Klein Moretti was very ordinary, except for his scholarly temperament. Leonard noticed his eyes, which were bright like amber candy, the best amber candy Leonard had ever seen in church when he was a child.

  Since then, Leonard often saw his own reflection in Klein's eyes. Perhaps, it was at that time that Klein Moretti entered Leonard's eyes.

  He knew that Klein had a secret, and Klein knew that he had a secret, and this was a secret they shared.

  Mr. Star looks very happy. Audrey was keenly aware of Leonard's mood changes. I know this feeling very well. It's like my parents and I have a secret that even my brothers don't know. Thinking of this, Audrey couldn't help but smile knowingly.

  Since then, Klein successfully joined the Nighthawks. Ignoring the time Klein spent in the team, Leonard would often run into him, and this was often one-sided attention from him.

  Klein always spends time with his family. He has a caring sister and a humorous brother. They are a good family. Leonard knows Klein's disguises, which are like bubbles in front of his family, allowing Leonard to touch the real truth.

  At that time, it was a sunny day in Tingen.

  He thought they had plenty of time.

  "Ms. Justice, I said I grew up in an orphanage founded by the church, right?"

  Audrey nodded.

  "Klein and his family gave me a feeling that I haven't seen them for a long time. This happened when I was very young and still in school. My classmates and I were waiting for our guardians at the school gate. I watched them being picked up by their families one by one. As time went by, only me and another person were left. I don't remember what he looked like. From the time school was over to now, I haven't had any major feelings. People in the church think that I am heartless, even hard-hearted, and I think so too. However, when I was picked up by my guardian, that person's family finally came. That person started crying, and his family also hurriedly comforted and promised that they would not let him wait so long alone next time. I stood there and watched them for a long time until the guardian began to urge me, and then I left school." Leonard said casually, as if he was not the protagonist of the story, still looking at Audrey with a smile.

  Audrey trembled for a moment, but finally said nothing. After all, Leonard was the only one who could judge his own story.

  "Don't look so bad... I'm very happy, no matter in the past or now." Leonard smiled frivolously, "I have everything I need in the church, and I live a comfortable life, but... at that moment, I clearly realized that I was missing something. I mean, I just suddenly realized that my soul seemed to be incomplete.

  "On the way back to the orphanage, the guardian said a lot to me and seemed to be very worried about me. He asked me if I was sad or jealous when I saw other people's parents coming to pick them up. This wasn't the first time I saw it, and I wasn't sad or jealous—never." Leonard's tone was quite nostalgic, "I just thought, I have to protect them.

  "I want to protect them, my friends, my teachers, my guardians and the many people I have met by chance. I want to protect the people I love.

  "My guardian didn't say anything. He said I was very similar to my parents. I thought I would forget this feeling until I saw Klein and his family. The fire in my heart seemed to burn even brighter. I want to protect Klein. I want to protect every happy family like this. I want to protect Tingen City. I want to protect those who love me and those I love. Miss Justice, do you understand the feeling of wanting to protect?"

  Audrey's heart throbbed, and she felt... an indescribable feeling, which was lingering in her heart like a sleeping dragon. The reason why Audrey embarked on the journey to the extraordinary world was to protect her parents and brothers.

  "I know. I understand. I really do."

  Audrey spoke incoherently.

  Just like a child who has just learned to speak.

  Old Neil died, Cornley died, and the gods secretly manipulated fate to develop in the direction they wanted.

  During the Evil God Advent incident of Megaos, Leonard lost his captain Dunn and teammate Klein successively, and he was alone again.

  Leonard couldn't understand why someone who was alive yesterday died today. Fate made him hate and feel helpless. For the first time, Leonard realized how insignificant he was. He was just an ant that even gods didn't bother to crush. He tossed back and forth between Dunn and Klein's bodies, covering their chests in a panic, hoping to stop the blood flowing from the wounds, as if what was lost was not their vitality, but Leonard's vitality and life. However, this was no longer a problem with the wound. Klein and Dunn had lost their hearts. They had truly left Leonard.

  Leonard realized that he needed to get stronger and he needed to be promoted.

  "Since then, I finally realized that I was too weak. I need to become stronger, very, very strong, so strong that no one can defeat me, so that I can protect the one I love." Leonard raised his head and stared at Audrey with an indescribable determination. "Ms. Justice, what do you think a higher sequence means?"

  Audrey couldn't bear such a straightforward look. She looked away, trying not to look directly into Leonard's eyes. She thought seriously for a moment.

  Before she understood the truth about the Extraordinary Path, she believed that the High Sequence was a powerful force. After knowing the truth and cruelty of the Extraordinary World, she became less fanatical about the gods and more awed by the advancement of the Extraordinary Path.

  Audrey should have asked Leonard back, she should have guided Leonard to think in a positive direction, but Leonard's eyes never hide anything. Mr. "Star" seemed to be expecting my answer. Audrey quietly observed for a moment and came to the conclusion that she would follow his wishes.

  "Powerful power?" Audrey spoke carefully. Seeing that Leonard was still listening silently, she replied, "I think it is protection and honor. If I can be promoted to a high-sequence, I can gain powerful power. I can protect, just like what you said, Mr. Star, those I love and those who love me. I can also gain respect and admiration from others. In short, a high-sequence should be a good thing or a good thing for me."

  Leonard chuckled a few times, and Audrey tilted her head in confusion. Facing Audrey's puzzled look, he waved his hand and said to Audrey, "I don't mean to offend you. Please forgive my rudeness. I just found that we are quite similar." His tone was undisguised and relaxed. "I once answered him the same way. Why did I want to be promoted? Because I want to become stronger, I want to catch up with him, I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, and the church has always taught me this way, letting me regard myself as a guardian, which is an honor. However, when he heard my answer, he did not laugh at me as usual, but listened quietly. He said to me, 'It's not honor and power, but pain, curse and mission.'"

  Audrey's mind went blank, she felt the current spread to her nerves, and then a thunderclap sounded in her brain.

  She knew the person Leonard was talking about, but the one she knew was Mr. "The World", who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, German Sparrow. Although she knew that Mr. "The World" had been pretending, she would still be shocked by Klein Moretti. The Klein she knew was the one she pieced together from everyone's eyes and mouths, and she could only vaguely feel the gentle outline of that person.

  Leonard successfully entered the "Red Gloves". In order to avenge Inszang Will, he never slacked off in his training. The huge pressure made him a little dazed. When he saw Dunn with deep eyes and Klein with bookish air again, he finally smiled again. It was a smile from the heart.

  On the wall were hung many clues that Leonard had discovered: Klein Moretti, Sherlock Moriarty, German Sparrow, and Dwayne Dantes. Leonard held a red marker and finally drew an equal sign between them.

  "Miss Justice, you don't want to know that feeling. It's like tasting the worst thing in the world. When I knew he was still alive, I was both relieved and angry." Leonard clenched his fists unconsciously. He seemed to try to smile, but unfortunately failed. That expression, which was only slightly better than crying, made Audrey feel sour inside. "I really hate him. I witnessed his and the captain's deaths. I thought about revenge for them day and night, but his life seemed to mock me and all the efforts I made before. I wondered if he was a traitor and whether he had anything to do with the captain's death. My mind was a mess and I couldn't think.

  "I... I'm sorry. When I found out that he had never betrayed the church, I was so overjoyed that I couldn't describe it properly. It was the feeling of regaining something I had lost... I could finally walk with him again. Unfortunately, he rejected my request and left again. As usual, he still didn't take me with him. He once again forgot about me.

  "All I can do is remain silent and watch him helplessly struggling in the tide of fate. My promotion speed is already amazing to others, but compared to that guy, it is still not enough. I am still too weak for him and the big man who controls his fate."

  Audrey listened quietly.

  Leonard let out a painful, suppressed roar from his throat, as if trying to comfort himself. His voice was a little hoarse, and his green eyes swept across Audrey's eyes. Outside the window, a white dove flew across the glass window. At the same time, his tone was a little confused, and he asked Audrey: "What do you think... is death?"

  die.

  die.

  ...

  No one close to Audrey had passed away, so she didn't feel that much about death.

  The only exception was an old maid who had served Audrey since she was a child. She taught Audrey a lot, and her last lesson was death.

  The old maid's husband and children died early, but she was able to stay because she took good care of Audrey. She always gave Audrey her dirty and wrinkled trinkets and talked about things Audrey had never seen before. Audrey liked her very much and even regarded her as a real family member. This kind of life should continue until one day, the old maid can no longer work. She is always out of breath, looks cold and weak in her hands and feet, and finally can only lie in bed.

  "Why did you have this cold for so long?"

  Little Audrey asked innocently.

  Facing Audrey's question, the old maid looked at her with a smile. Every wrinkle on her face was a sign of time. She said, "It will be fine soon. It will be fine soon."

  Audrey would visit her every time. One day, her parents told her that she no longer needed to visit the old maid. At that time, her parents were very distressed. How could they not be cruel enough to tell little Audrey that the person she loved was dead?

  "Really? Don't you want me to see her off?" Audrey asked dissatisfiedly.

  At that moment, Audrey understood the meaning of death.

  "I think...death is a very lonely thing." Audrey's eyes were hot, and she continued, "Death is something that only one person can do, and no one else can interfere."

  She thought of Mr. World, and Audrey sighed slightly. The extraordinary world was not as beautiful as ordinary people imagined. The more they knew, the more they realized their own insignificance and powerlessness. Mr. World had gone further, carried more, and was more lonely than them.

  Leonard remained silent for a long time.

  He slowly covered his face with his hands without making any sound. He looked like a drowning man giving up his last piece of driftwood. His voice was so soft that it seemed like he was disturbing someone's sleep. "Why?..."

  He felt so uncomfortable—not sadness, nor anger, but a feeling of powerlessness that he couldn't explain. He wanted to curl himself up and protect himself with this primitive, most secure posture. He could no longer think more rationally, nor could he feel anything emotionally. He felt numb. He hated weakness, he hated death, he hated sadness, he hated many things, just like he had many opportunities to get close to Klein, but he wasted them all. If possible, he should probably give Klein a hug. He would say, he would say...

  "I can be your family, or friend, or whatever relationship you think is appropriate, Klein... You are not alone, if you are willing to tell me, if I can do it, if we are still friends - so... you -"

  ——Can you please don't despair?

  But it was too late. Klein Moretti fell asleep along with the Fool, and he could no longer hear anything.

  "I think..." Leonard's voice was a little hoarse, "I think I miss him a little."

  Audrey took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. She turned her gaze to the white dove outside the window and stopped looking at her suffering friend. The surroundings were quiet and peaceful. Her voice was ethereal, like a whisper or a sigh. She murmured to herself, "We are all waiting for him."

  I can't sleep tonight.

  Good night, Klein.

  end.