Eternal Malediction (RE)

Chapter 24: Chapter 6.4: The Three Paths a Man can Take

Kieran’s perspective, in this new world

The bell rang; a sharp, jarring voice sounded that pulled Kieran out of the fog in his brain. The classroom buzzed with the sudden eruption of voices; it was break time, a tide of chatter and movement. He didn’t immediately stand up; as he looked outside, it was pouring, but Kieran was still lost somewhere between Mr Alden’s lesson and the unsettling weight of Roy’s silence.

He was sure he noticed it.

Roy’s popularity phase was over in just a day.

But then Roy shifted. His chair scraped the floor softly as he leaned back, eyes half-lidded, as if contemplating whether to say something or not.

”It’s funny,” Roy said, voice low, low enough just for both of them to hear. ”How everything’s about the Nova. A brilliant flash. A sign of light and hope, of something bigger than what we are.”

Kieran glanced at him, unsure if he was tweaking out or not. ”Nova? What’s that?”

Roy didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he just kept on talking, his voice carrying the sense of detachment that made him seem so far removed from everything around him.

”Yeah, The Nova. People think it’s just an explosion of a star, a flash that burns bright and then fades. But that’s not it. It’s more than that. The Nova is the point where everything comes together, like a burst of light for those who never had a place to stand. It’s for the discarded, the ones who’ve been forgotten, crushed and thrown away due to the weight of the world. It’s for people like you and me.” His eyes flickered to Kieran, and there was a moment of eye contact between them. ”The Nova... is the spark that gives people like us a reason to fight.”

Kieran gave it a second, and he came to the conclusion that this boy is stupid, moronic and maybe even a tad bit special.

Roy’s voice dropped to an almost imperceptible level, but the words still reached into Kieran’s ears. ”Maybe that’s the ambition. To form something for them. A place for the broken, the ones who are lost from light, and the ones who have nothing left. A place where we can burn bright for others for just a moment.”

The room quietened down; not that someone instructed them to, but it naturally fell. Kieran didn’t know what to say, since he had no clue as to what to say and what the hell Roy was talking about; however, Roy’s words seemed to cling to him.

He wanted to ask more and explain more about what the hell he was talking about, but something in his throat held his words from coming out.

Roy carried on, ” There are three ways a man can live in this harsh and cruel world and that is,”

Kieran’s focus was all on what Roy was blabbering on about, understanding some and the rest going over his head.

Roy spoke slower, ”First, there’s the way of the Blind Man. The one who chooses to live with their head buried in the sand. They ignore everything. They pretend it’s not happening. They pretend the world is not broken but others are, and it’s easier that way. It’s safer, but in the end, it’s hollow.”

He let the words sit for a moment to sink in before carrying on.

”Second,” Roy continued. ”There’s the way of the Prisoner. The one who recognises the chains but doesn’t know how to break them. They fight, sure. But they fight because they have to. They fight because they’re trapped, and in the end, they don’t really care about the fight. They just want out, to simply survive.”

”And then,” Roy’s voice softened, the words drawn out like a secret. ”There’s the way of the man who chooses to fight, regardless. The one who understands the chains, sees the cracked world, and decides to keep going on further. Not because he has to. Not because it’s easy. But because... he believes in something. Even when everything’s telling him to give up. He fights for more than himself. He fights because he believes, somewhere deep down, that the world can be a better place, now or in the future. Then we can be better.”

There was a pause. Kieran’s mind raced, understanding the underlined statement Roy was trying to get across, but the quotes he was saying just didn’t make sense to him.

Roy’s gaze drifted, and then he stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Walked over to the teacher and told him something; the teacher acknowledged it by nodding his head, and Roy came back. ”Most people don’t make it past the first two. But the third... the third is the hardest, because it’s not about self-survival. It’s about choosing to fight for something when it’s easier to let go.”

”I really wonder, Kieran, which of the three you are.”

He turned his back, faced the door and walked out of the classroom, leaving Kieran staring after him.

For a moment, Kieran didn’t move. His pencil lay forgotten on the floor. His mind churned from whatever Roy was trying to get across to him. The three ways a man can live? The first two are the easy ways... but the third?

Was that what Roy had meant? Was he trying to tell me something that I don’t yet understand?

And where is he going? It’s the end of break time now, and he just left the classroom. What a weird guy.

Kieran didn’t have the answers yet. But he was beginning to wonder if he was just waffling this whole time, but without Kieran noticing, the bruises he had this morning just vanished as if they were never there.