"Huff... puff..."
That fool. If I even get the slightest hint that he was part of the corruption, I will cut him down- so far down that he won't be able to claw his way back up again.
Lucien darted across the streets of Luvino, heading straight to Halden's residence to confront him head-on. As he reached his destination, he slowed down and shouted the man's name so loud it felt as though all of Luvino could hear him.
"HALDEEEEN! COME OUT AND TALK TO ME!" he bellowed, his blood boiling with anger.
The nearby crows flew away in fear and the neighbourhood went silent. What followed was the slow creak of the door when Captain Halden stepped out
With a disappointed look on his face he spoke, "Lucien, the people are trying to go about their day in peace."
He pointed to two children sitting idly by their home window staring at their altercation
"You're going to scare the children. I taught you better than this."
"Tch, I couldn't care less about children at this given moment." Lucien said with fury in his eyes
"Tell me, are you the one halting our investigations… well Halden?"
"How could I be the one to do such, if I'm the one who assigned you to do it-"
"A spark to smother," Lucien interjected
"You sit back, while we go on a wild goose chase."
Halden raised and eyebrow and took a step forward
"Now doesn't that seem pointless?"
"At this point, I seem to not know what anyone is thinking." Lucien breathed heavily, his grip tightening on his cane. "So just tell me straight. What exactly are you planning, Halden!"
"And why should I tell you? Ha!"
Halden raised both his arms as if surrendering, a mocking glint in his eyes. "Hmm, maybe I will, but in return you'll entertain me in conversation, no?"
Halden stepped forward, the gap between them shrinking. "You've been hiding yourself behind a false sense of pride." He took another step, and another. "But you really haven't changed, have you?"
He stopped when they were inches apart, meeting Lucien face-to-face.
"So, what will it be?" Halden asked, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "Will you stay stagnant, like the sewer rat filth you hate so much?"
He paused, letting the words seep into Lucien's very soul.
"Or will you move forward, by any means necessary, like a king, with a hollow crown and a soul made of iron…?"
"And by the King, are you referring to yourself?" Lucien snickered, though his voice lacked its usual bite. "That's rather arrogant, no?"
"It's the truth," Halden replied flatly.
"The truth? And all those people tormented by the Wraith... what are they?"
"They are necessary sacrifices to keep this Capital running."
"Do you even hear yourself? For someone who claims to be a King, you sound a lot more like a Devil."
"That's quite the comparison, but ask yourself this." Halden pointed a finger toward the ground between them. "Did the Devil ask to be the King of Hell?"
Lucien stayed quiet, the fury in his chest suddenly being put out by a cold, hollow weight. He allowed Halden to continue.
"The answer is no. For when he saw the absolute truth of his beauty, he was exiled from the heavens and forced to be a King of Nothingness."
Halden scoffed, the sound echoing off the silent houses nearby. "And yes, he wanted to overthrow God. But that's what the truth does. It reveals the parts of us we lock away, the parts that will, in the end, help us set our gaze forward. To move forward by any means necessary."
He locked eyes with Lucien
"No matter the cost."
Lucien chuckled nervously, his right hand covering the upper half of his face, "You're insane…"
"Am I?" Halden stepped closer, not with anger, but with a terrifying, paternal pity. "You've always had a magnificent mind, Lucien. That's why I chose you. You can see a needle in a haystack from a mile away."
He reached out, his hand hovering near Lucien's shoulder but not touching it.
"But you only see the needles I want you to find. You've spent years pridefully solving the murders of merchants and the thefts of nobles, real crimes, solved with brilliant logic. I never had to plant a single clue for you. You were too good for that."
Halden's voice dropped to a whisper that felt like a serrated blade.
"I just made sure your 'genius' was always pointed away from me. I kept you fed with enough 'justice' to keep your conscience quiet."
Lucien's hand trembled against his forehead. The logic held. He had been so focused on the puzzles provided to him that he never questioned the Architect providing them.
Lucien took a breath, still trembling as he asked a single question. "Who… are you?"
"I'm your Captain—"
"NO," Lucien interjected. "You may share the same face, but you aren't Victor."
Captain Halden raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise.
Lucien pointed directly at him. "Since the moment I entered your presence, you've reeked of something alchemical."
Halden cracked a small, jagged smirk. "Oh, really now…"
He raised his hand to his face and started pulling softly. "That nose of yours is going to give me problems."
He began pulling harder and harder. Chunks of his flesh fell to the floor, wet and heavy. Lucien's instincts screamed at him to run, but he knew that if he were followed, it would spell doom for his peers.
"Tch." Lucien gripped his cane as tight as he could. I need to find an opportunity to escape.
In an instant, he darted toward Halden and went for a killing blow to his neck.
SPLAT.
"Shit."
Lucien's eyes were raised in horror at the sight. Halden's head was completely lobbed off.
"I'm sorry," he said flatly. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you a proper burial."
I'm sure I killed him, but still it seems rather easy, and why are my instincts still flaring up like this…? In any case I need to regroup, and get the subordinates to clean this mess up.
Lucien took off with urgency, ready to put this case to a close.
*********************
Halden's body lay there in the cold, a sight to behold. His blood leaked out in a steady, unnatural stream that never stopped, creating a deep pool in which the body rested.
It started to rain. As the drops pelted the lifeless body, a faint breath was taken in. Words were spoken into the mud, words that would not reach the ears of anyone residing in Luvino.
"The river never stops burning…"