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He was too late.
The Pianist had turned everyone into mere music notes on a bloody score. A gory symphony played as his countless hands pounded the monochromatic keys. Each note robbing someone of their life with screams soon fading into a horrid piano piece.
Even as the distortion itself began to fade, a man was slumped in the dark rivers below. He was tired, so tired… Yet, his eyes were forced open by fear. By anger. Yi Sang wanted desperately to call out a name-
Faust.
Faust…
No matter what, his lungs would not cooperate. Even if he could yell out, she couldn’t hear him. Not anymore, at least. Faust herself was turned into nothing but music along with the other victims of the Pianist. Yi Sang thought he had made it in time, but alas- his angel was snatched right before his eyes by the devil himself.
Even with the mask on his face, Yi Sang wasn’t saved from the sight. No- it’d be forever burned into his memory along with those that slowly burned.
Had I been too harsh on you to deserve this? Had you made a mistake following me into this hell?
Had I been foolish enough to believe this City would allow us to live peacefully?
Even as the music died down, it was all Yi Sang could hear ringing in his ears. There was no scream, no shout… All that announced Faust’s departure from the world was the sight of her becoming another addition to the musical score.
White fog wisped around the area, cocooning it gently. Arms of white cupping the area, making it seem like spirits of the dead had come out to see what laid after their departure.
“...Yi Sang…”
Was he imagining things? That voice- that same one that always refused to call him by his actual name.
“...You never called me anything but mister before…”
“Yi Sang…”
It called out again, as if a broken record. His mentality had already dropped that he was perhaps imagining things, so why not attempt to talk to the dead?
“I’m sorry… Faust, this… It should have been me…”
“...Yi… Yi Sang…”
Instead of becoming more and more distant, the voice grew louder… and louder… Along with it, her figure clearly was emerging with the fog. A white figure, almost like an angel… An angel taken back to heaven too soon…
.
.
.
.
.
“...Yi Sang, wake up.”
Faust had gently shook the slumbering man, noticing the sharp movements in his sleep indicating that whatever it was that he was dreaming about certainly wasn’t anything pleasant. Her name escaped his lips along with meaningless apologies that came out broken. She nearly jumped out of her bed when the man suddenly sat up straight and seemed like he was just recovering from drowning.
The room… Wasn’t this Faust’s room? It smelled slightly like antiseptic and the lights were dimmed low. The curtains were drawn back, but the distant light of the city made it clear it was night out in the world.
Screams of a crying out piano were nowhere to be heard, only the man’s harsh breathing as he tried to calm down. It was all a nightmare, wasn’t it? He couldn’t remember the gruesome sight in all of its entirety and thoughts on his hatred towards the Pianist began to vanish away.
And Faust-
“...You’re alright…” A shaking hand took hold of Faust’s own with dark eyes looking down at the bandages covering her arm. “...”
He had to take another moment to recall what happened- he had not quite answered the question as to why he was inside of Faust’s room just yet. Nor could he understand why it smelled heavily of disinfectant. Yi Sang was deep in thought until slowly the memories came flooding back in.
Faust had gotten injured and he was the one to take care of her-
Judging by his own pain and the presence of bandages on his own chest under his button up… was he to blame for it?
“...Faust…”
“It’s not your fault.” Faust shook her head, taking hold of Yi Sang’s hand with both of her’s. They were warm… Undeniably this was the present he was currently in. “You’ve already shown your apologies- it was by your hands that I received the attention I needed.”
A blessing.
A curse.
“...We had gotten separated…” Yi Sang recalled, giving a slow nod of his head. “Instead of waiting for the others to help, I simply went ahead and left you alone in that room. If I had just… stayed put…”
Her hands gave his rather cold ones a small squeeze. “...I’m thankful you didn’t.” Faust closed her eyes, allowing her shoulders to lower. “At that time I was angry you did… but, if you didn’t-”
The sinners were expendables- something easily replaced in the company. That doesn’t mean they didn’t cherish their lives… To live and breathe as yourself was a blessing, Yi Sang knew that, but-
That nightmare-
Just like the horrid events from before, they all became nothing but distant memories. What exactly was the difference in them, though? In both instances did Yi Sang arrive late and Faust’s blood was spilled. It was only in reality did she survive the attack as he was able to intervene.
But what was his true reality? It felt as if he had awakened from what could’ve been his true self. Was that Faust’s true self? The life of a fixer who had everything robbed between his status as a color and his family…
Was this just another dream and did he die to the Pianist himself-
No.
No. No.
Don’t allow such thoughts to intrude. You’ll go mad and have to be discarded.
Yet-
“...Faust.” Yi Sang spoke her name once again- this time a bit more quieter. “...Do you love me?”
“...What sort of horrible nightmare did you have to question that?” Faust tilted her head in confusion.
The man closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. His heart was still unsteady and discussing this would only hasten its pounding for sure. “...I had dreamt that I was not me and that you were not you… It felt so real- That we were in those places than the ones we exist in now. In it… you had died.”
“And that has made you doubt my affection for you?”
“No. Not at all.” Yi Sang responded. “What I worry about is… If I ever become someone that I am not- will you still hold my hand like so? Will I still be able to feel the warmth from your hands or see the sky that is your eyes?”
Faust gave him a long look before a slight sigh escaped her lips. “I cannot promise such a thing, especially when I myself am liable to become a new person entirely upon the field due to our place of work.”
She was not wrong- The mirror in which Faust stood sometimes displayed a W Corp worker able to tear the fabric of space itself and in other cases she was a musician from the darker side of the City who produced music by pounding a skull. Maybe she’ll be a fixer one day and a sweeper the next… The same was said for Yi Sang himself.
“I can, however, promise you that regardless of how you see me… at my core- As Faust, the Sinner, there is space within my heart that is dedicated to you.” She took Yi Sang’s hand and placed it on her cheek. “This is the world we live in. All else is nothing but fragments of a mirror we’re forced to look into from time to time. We may not like what we see in those glass shards, but in the end it’s nothing more than that.”
“Despite everything that goes on in this world, I primarily exist as myself. You primarily exist as yourself. That is what our reality is. No matter what fragment you see upon the battlefield, it’s nothing more than a mere possibility. A possibility that has failed to exist as our primary. Let us not focus on what could have been for us and what has been.”
“But, Faust-”
“Even if you woke up one day as someone who is not you, I’m quite certain that there will be a possibility that I will still be there by your side, Yi Sang.” Faust reassured the man, lowering his own arm onto her chest. “I can assure you at least… that no matter what mask I must don, there’s not a moment that does not pass where I question where you are.”
Yi Sang had to take a moment to take it all in. It was comforting to know that no matter what their love and companionship can endure no matter what universe they hail from. I
“I just wonder- is it you that I mourn the loss of or another possibility of you…”
“It’s still me in the end, is it not?”
“Not the you that I have here, though… Faust- what if I even became a monster… The reason why another you perished…”
Faust closed her eyes for a moment, shaking her head. “...Then, I believe there is not another person in the world who I’d want to see me off than you even if you’re not yourself…”
“Faust-”
“At least in my final moments, I can happily know that it was your face I got to see one last time.”
It hurt. It hurt to hear- It was painful yet comforting at the same time. As if Yi Sang himself had stood in a comforting, but burning flame.
He cared for her- He could not fathom bringing any harm to Faust. That did not mean that the other Yi Sang would think the same, no? Would he be able to be in control?
The thought of ending her life brought nothing but horror and fear to Yi Sang… Even if Faust herself told him it’d be alright. He knew their lives were as expendable and that there were perhaps as many versions of himself and his companions as there were stars hanging up in the sky unseeable by their naked eyes.
“As I said before; let us not focus on “what if” and let us focus on the now. We’re safe right now. Let us enjoy these moments of rest…” Faust held his hand up to her lips, giving it a small kiss. “I can move aside- it’ll be much more comfortable for you than sleeping on that stool.”
“I can sleep in my own room-”
Faust shook her head. “You’re also injured, do not forget… Besides, you won’t get any sleep tonight if you insist on sleeping alone.”
She was right. That nightmare… If it were to return again, he’d be returning back to her room once more to ensure that Faust was in fact still alive and it was nothing more than a horrible reverie.
And thus… He crawled right into her bed after ensuring he had already removed his own shoes. Yi Sang knew he had to be gentle- it wasn’t only his wounds he was afraid of reopening but the fear of bringing more pain to Faust that made him ensure his movements were as light as possible.
He was tired… So tired…
The last thing he recalled before finally slipping back into slumber once more was the warmth of his beloved next to him…