▶┆Chapter eighty-three [83]

♡

❝The best way to not get your heart broken is to pretend you don't have one.❞

__________________________________

LUCY WASN'T expecting this. She hadn't predicted the surprise appearance of Lila and Kaden. Were they still fairies? Despite her best efforts, the idea made her blood boil. The mere thought of Fairy Tail sickened her. And they deserved all that hate. With everything Fairy Tail had done to her, she was absolutely certain they deserved this loathing. 

Her eyes lowered, and a kind of lingering resentment permeated throughout the air. She closed her eyes, clenching them shut as if she could escape reality. But even behind the walls she had attempted to construct, Laxus's image haunted her. Her defenses seemed useless when put in front of Laxus. His actions never left her mind. 

Why was it that she knew deep down she couldn't be happy? She felt like she had always known things would have turned out like this. How could she be happy? Life was so fickle; always unsure if it could allow her to be happy. Obviously, it had decided she had been too content. Ripping everything from her affection-starved and desperate hands had been child's play, not to mention laughable. She'd reacted so expectantly; crying, acting like a betrayed little child. 

Her eyes slowly peeled open, a dead-eyed bitter glare haunting her features. 

'I know my spirits are against revenge...but can I really let it go? Can I really forget what they did to me again?'  Lucy's fingers curled into a tight fist. She clenched them, imagining the looks on her old friends' faces as she smashes their faces in. 

Sucking in deep breaths, she shook her head. 'You have to let it go...you have to...holding onto this hate will only hurt me in the end.'

"I know what you're upset about." 

The voice spoke with a velvety quality, and Lucy glanced up sharply. Her body tensed when she saw the figure of Kaden. He was right in front of her, startling her. He had seemed to appear in a flash. His blue eyes appeared to glow, their intensity shocking her.

"You want them to pay right? You want them to feel how they made you feel."

She didn't speak, but the temptation was overwhelming. She did want that...but was it worth it? Revenge never ended well...death and destruction always followed. But...was it what she wanted? For if she wasn't welcome in a light guild, she could most definitely make a switch to the darker end of the spectrum.  

"Hmmp." He smiled coyly, and Lucy couldn't even recognize the male in front of her anymore. He was acting totally different. He grasped her chin in his fingers and leaned in. She narrowed her eyes but didn't move. He stared before moving to whisper in her ear. 

"You know this is what you want...I could give that to you. We could get revenge on Fairy Tail together! Go dark together," He purred, his pure white hair brushing against her cheek.

Her eyes clouded over for a second. It was all that was needed though. She was losing a battle with her own morals. She could make them pay...she could hold true to her threat. She'd be the one to slaughter them. 

And just like that, she lost—lost the conflict against herself. Her morals had been pulverized into dysfunctional fragments. How could she resist? It was what she craved deep down right? She ached to make them pay...

"Come on Luce...Don't make me keep asking. Just imagine it-"

"I'll do it." 

Her bangs still covered her eyes, and when she lifted her head a certain chilling rush ran through Kaden's and Lila's veins. Similar to Kaden, her eyes were practically radiating. A once loving shade of amber brown had darkened to a deep russet color. They were sharp and bright, just like Kaden's cold aqua colored orbs. Both sets of eyes were alight with an unruly type of excitement—one was anticipating her enemies finally realizing how broken they had made her. The other was just excited for someone new to be sucked into the insanity. 

And it was true, wasn't it? She was going crazy. Slowly falling into a dark world, where everything was different. Even her moral compass had switched off. What was she to do? She was in too deep now. She could feel the hands of madness pulling her in—she could feel herself losing control...

No, that was wrong. She was in control. Right? Soon she'd have control over everyone. She could forcefully make Fairy Tail realize their mistakes. They would beg for mercy—the mercy they hadn't shown her. And she'd just laugh; laugh until her sides ached. The image was flawless. And when she was finished with toying around, she'd dispose of them. Maybe if she was feeling merciful she'd merely beat them unconscious. But at this point...she couldn't predict anything about herself. She was changing too fast, but was that necessarily a bad thing? 

"I knew you'd see it my way," Kaden whispered, standing fully. He grabbed her bruised hand and pulled her to her feet. Lila stood back on the sidelines watching the monster she had created. She had made him like that...how could she have done that? 

Shaking off the thought, she focused on the current scene unfolding. 

"Let's go, Lucy...I know exactly where you can go to become stronger..."

As Kaden led Lucy out of the alley, she could only feel fierce determination—determination to bring hell upon her old friends. She'd show them who was really weak. They'd know how strong she really was. She'd be their downfall. 

But one last lingering thought seemed to stab at her. 

'I'm so sorry Sting...I am so sorry...'

As the wind blew fiercely, Sting suddenly froze on his walk home. A dreadful feeling had consumed him. His light blonde hair was stirred by the wind as he glimpsed behind him. He couldn't help but feel uneasy. Like some horrible misfortune had fallen upon him—or someone he cared about.