Cloud - Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Eden was the most beautiful person Cloud had ever seen.
He said so himself when we were at the lake and now I could see it with my own eyes. Eden was really beautiful. How could I have not realized it sooner? It needed to be him of course.
I thought that this whole thing was behind me now but I was wrong and stupid too at the same time. Dead or not, Eden seemed to haunt me in the most confusing ways. Why did it even matter to me though? Why did he affect me so much?
As I walked back at the house with Cloud following quietly behind me, I could see Eden appearing  and disappearing again and again. He seemed to be playing with me and that angered me. Cloud, on the other hand, had been completely silent since his ex-lover's name left his lips. I did not want to admit it but it bothered me a lot somehow.
The house finally came into sight and I sighed in relief before getting inside. I walked to the stairs but I remained at the bottom.
"Frederick, Rain," I shouted in hope of getting an answer from those two. They must surely be in their bedroom but I did not want to go up to go get them. At first, I got no reply but when I shouted theirs names again, they finally arrived.
"Why are you shouting?" Rain asked me in confusion as he got down the stairs with Frederick beside him.
"Is there something wrong?" Fred asked me then, seeing the expression on my face and I sighed once again. Just then Nicolas arrived with a frown on his face.
"What's going on here?" was his question and I took a deep breath before answering to all of them.
"I think that I know now what new powers I have received from the replica," I told them and that got their attention. "I'm seeing things that I'm not supposed to see, dead people, like Gina and...Eden."
At the last word, I glanced at Cloud who immediately avoided my gaze. He did not look like he wanted to talk on the matter. I guessed that things would be, once again, tense between me and him.
"You can see dead people," Frederick repeated in disbelief. "Are you sure of that or are you just imaginating things?"
"I saw Gina. She talked to me and called me a killer," I exclaimed but he refused to listen.
"Luffy, maybe you feel guilty. That's why you saw her," he tried to find another reason.
"But what about Eden then? How can you explain that I saw him?" I asked him and he glanced at Cloud before looking at me. I huffed in disbelief.
"This has nothing to do with Cloud," I made it clear to him and I groaned. "I know what I'm saying. I'm seeing things. I have flashes of images going through my mind and I can feel people around. They're here."
"Stop being paranoid," Rain told me, tilting his head to the side. "But maybe you're right."
"What? You really think that he can see the dead?" Frederick asked him, incredulous, and he nodded.
"I mean, from what Estella and Storm told us, the replica could see things that no one else could and maybe that was his power," he elaborated.
"You can't know that for sure," Frederick protested.
"Why don't you want to believe it?" Nicolas asked him before I could.
"Seeing the dead is not something to take lightly. So many people lost their mind with that ability," Frederick replied.
"Oh, it's bad then," Nicolas concluded and I saw Rain take his phone out.
"There's only one way to find out," he said and he typed something on his phone before bringing it to his ear. He looked at Cloud, "You saw him or not?"
"Of course not," Cloud replied quietly and Rain gave him one look that said that they needed to have a private chat later. It was obvious to me that they were talking about Eden.
"Sweet love," Rain commented and soon he spoke in the phone. "Estella, pleasure to hear your voice. We need your assistance."
He put the phone on speaker.
"Need my assistance? What is it again?" Estella's voice could finally be heard.
"The replica, the one in Egypt."
"Dizz, you mean."
"Yeah, him. Did you find something special about him?"
"Aren't they all supposed to be special?" she asked and then she said, "But yeah, I noticed something when we talked to him. He had this weird aura. Like he kept on looking around him like if he was being observed."
"By someone dead maybe," Rain suggested.
"Someone dead? What's happening over there?" She wondered and I was the one to reply.
"I think that I can see the dead."
"The dead," she exclaimed in disbelief. "Well, that's unexpected. He was supposed to be a fortune teller, I did not know that fortune tellers could see the dead. Storm, come over here!"
A few seconds later, Storm's voice was heard.
"What is it?" he asked in a bored voice.
"Luffy's new powers have appeared and apparently, he can see the dead," Estella replied.
"Oh, interesting," Storm said and then he hummed. "There is a particular old lady that I talked to when we were searching for Dizz, she said that he could see a variety of things, his talent was unmeasurable. Well, for many he was just a charlatan but I guess now that he did really see things that no one else could. He showed all the signs of perfect paranoid. And true enough, his little hiding place is glowing with spirits of the dead."
"So I am right," I whispered and I added in a more higher tone. "But how does this work?"
"It depends on the being holding the power," Storm replied. "Soul eaters, for example, can only see the souls of the living. Me, I can see the dead but only the ones who are still roaming with unfinished business on earth, it's the same for shadows. The only ones who can see through the world of death are the reapers."
"I don't understand," I admitted.
"Doesn't matter. You just have to make sure that you don't let it get to your head. How much have you seen yet?"
"Hmm, just people who appear and then disappear from my sight," was my reply.
"So it's not stable yet," he concluded. "Your powers are probably still adjusting. I don't know how it will work for you but if you don't learn to control your new powers, you will start to see ghosts everywhere and that won't be fun. Just ignore them or else you will go crazy."
"That's not reassuring," I said.
"True, but you'll get use to it," he said. "Now I, we need to go. Nova is doing her witchy spell to find the next replica. See ya."
And he hung up the phone.
"Well," Rain said and Frederick groaned.
"No, we need to get rid of those powers," my cousin decided.
"Can we even do that?" I asked him.
"I don't know but I am not okay with it," he said and Rain placed his hand on his shoulder.
"You should get some rest," Rain told him.
"I don't need to rest. I'm perfectly fine. The problem is-hey, Rain!" Rain grabbed Frederick and threw him on his shoulder. I was slightly surprised by that. "Put me down immediately! I need to talk to Luffy! Rain!"
And they disappeared up the stairs. Only the shouting of Frederick could still be heard. Alright, what was going on here?
"You okay?" Nicolas asked me and I blinked. That was the question that I was waiting for people to ask me.
"I'm fine," I replied and I surprised myself. "I think that I just need to rest too."
He nodded and giving him one last smile, I went back to my bedroom, well, Cloud's bedroom. Halfway through though, I stopped when something passed through my mind. Slowly, I brought my hands to my glasses and removed them. My view was clear as ever. I let them fall to the ground before raising my feet to crush them without any doubt.
I did not need them anymore after all.
I arrived in Cloud's bedroom and directly went on the bed. I laid down on my back and closed my eyes. It was so quiet. Suddenly, I felt another presence and my eyes snapped open. I expected to see Cloud but it was someone else.
"You," I told Eden who was standing a few meters away from the bed. "Why are you here?" He did not reply. I got off the bed and walked to him. "Why are you here, Eden?" He simply shook his head. Annoyed, I tried to grab him by his shoulders but before I could, he disappeared. Groaning, I searched for him but he was nowhere in sight. "Where are you now?"
The door of the bedroom opened just then and Cloud walked in. I looked at him as he closed the door behind him and leaned against it, while folding his arms over his chest.
"I think that we need to talk," he finally said and I let out a laugh.
"You finally found the words to say," I told him. "I thought that you lost your tongue."
"I am shocked actually," he admitted.
"About what? About my new powers? Or the fact that I saw your dead ex-boyfriend?" I asked him.
"Both I guess," he replied and then he added with a cold voice. "But Eden was the most shocking one."
"I bet," I said and he examined my face.
"You don't seem so pleased about it."
"Sorry if I'm not happy to see him," I replied right away and my voice became higher than I intended. "Though, I'm sure that you, you would have liked to see him again."
"Why do you seem angry suddenly?" he asked me.
"I'm not angry. I'm just..." I did not find the word to say. "Forget it. You can't understand, you won't understand."
"Understand what? The fact that you're jealous?" he suggested and I huffed in disbelief.
"I'm not jealous of him," I said each word slowly for it to get in his head. "I have no reason to be jealous. Oh my god! Why does everyone think that?"
"Because you act like it," he replied and he raised his voice. "What is the problem with Eden? Why does he bother you so much?"
"I don't know," I shouted at him. "I just don't like him. I don't want to see him. I hate it. I freaking hate it!" I turned around and clenched my fists.
"Be honest with me, will you?"
"Why don't you be honest?" I returned the question to him and he grabbed me by my shoulders to turn me around so that I now faced him.
"What do you feel?" he asked me before adding slowly. "What do you feel for me?"
I stared at him without answering. I tried to pull away from him but he pulled me closer to him. I glared at him. He was not going to let me go so I decided to use my powers against him. He was pushed away immediately and he hit against the wall behind him.
"Fuck," he exclaimed and he gave me a hard look. Before I could even react, he was back in front of me and it was his turn to push me. I felt on the ground and soon he was on top of me. He grabbed my hands and immobilised them. "Now talk."
"What do you want me to say?" I asked him angrily. "What do you want me to admit?"
"Your feelings for me," he whispered and my breathing started to accelerate.
"Is it love that you are referring to?" I asked him and he did not reply. "This is the impression that I give off? That I love you?"
"Is it real or not?" he dared to ask me and I looked up at the ceiling.
"That's not the question," was my reply and he sighed. "Do you still feel something for Eden?"
"He's dead."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"You did not answer mine either. I don't see why I should answer yours."
"Please let me go," I told him and he released my hands. He let his body fall to the ground beside me and we remained like this without saying one single word.
The funny thing about all of this was the fact that Eden bothered me more than anything else. I did not care about the whole dead people thing. It was him the problem, only him.
"Why did you not bring him back to life?" I asked Cloud at last and he glanced at me. "You have that power. You could have brought him back to life."
"It's not so simple," he said.
"It is. You love him," I told him.
"Thanks for using the present tense," he told me sarcastically and he hummed. "It's not about if I love him or not. It's about forgiveness. I-I don't think that he can forgive me for what I did to him. I can't even forgive myself."
I guessed that he really did love him and that just made my heart ach. I sat up and of course, Eden was back in sight. Where would he not leave me alone? I pushed myself off the ground and walked to him. Just when I was going to shout at him to go away. He leaned his hand forward and touched me. His hand was cold.
Suddenly, it started to spin around me. I felt like the air was being cut off from me, I wanted to vomit. Soon, I felt on the ground and my vision became dark.
***
When I opened my eyes back, I was laying on herbs in front of a lake. I recognized it as the lake that Cloud took me to the last time. I stood up and a cold breeze caressed my skin and then, I felt a presence beside me.
"Eden," I murmured and he smiled at me.
"Hi, Luffy," he told me and his voice made me shiver. It was so soft but at the same time, so terrifying.
"What am I doing here?" I asked him and he chuckled.
"This is my memory," he replied. "I wanted you to see what happened between me and him."
He turned his gaze away from me and smiled again. Confused, I looked in the same direction as him and froze. There was Cloud and Eden sitting on the ground, laughing. I watched them intensely and I felt a pain in my heart. Suddenly, Cloud pushed Eden on his back and started to kiss him.
This was just like with Azra. Though, it was more painful as this time, it was not me whom Cloud was kissing, it was someone else. And like if things were not already bad, Cloud pulled away from the kiss and whispered the words that I did not want to hear.
You are the only one who can make me feel like this.
Then, they disappeared from my sight to be replaced by another moment between Eden and him, a very naked moment. They were both laying on the ground. Eden's head was resting on Cloud's chest. Thankfully, their private parts could not be seen.
"No, you can't be right," Eden said with a thoughtful expression.
"You don't think that I can do it?" Cloud asked him in the most serious voice ever. It was weird for me to see him like this. He seemed so different from how he was now. Eden looked up at him and said:
"You will never hurt me, Cloud. I'm sure of it. I believe in you and I love you."
And they started kissing again. I clenched my fists and walked to them, ready to stop what was going on but as soon as I got closer, they disappeared into smoke. Though, it wasn't for long. Another scene started to replay in front of me and then another. There seemed to be more touching and kissing as more sweet moments between Eden and Cloud flew in front of my eyes.
I tried to escape. I tried to run but each time, I returned back at the same place. But then, suddenly, everything around changed. It became more dark and the air started to become more tense and bad. Screams started to be heard.
Curious, I went in the direction of the screams. I ran through the forest until I came upon two running silhouettes. I followed them. My heart was beating fast. It did not take long for the silhouettes to stop suddenly and I could reach them at last. Despite the dark color of the night, I saw it, the blood.
"C-Cloud," Eden said. He was on the ground. His forehead was bloody and he didn't seem to be able to move anymore. He tried to crawl away but he didn't have enough strength in him to go too far. I came closer to them.
The face of Cloud was emotionless. Blood was present on him but he didn't seem to be hurt in any way. Maybe that was it, the blood of his victims.
"You don't have to do this," Eden told him. I realised then that he was crying. He was scared. Cloud knelt on top of him and touched his cheek. Eden trembled.
"This is how things should have been from the very start," Cloud told him. "You are supposed to end this way."
Cloud's hand went around his neck and he added some pressure. Eden placed his hand on his, smiling sadly as the tears continued to fall.
"I know you," he whispered. "You're not like this."
"Shut up."
"I saw the good in you. The light is here in your heart."
"I said shut up!" Cloud shouted at him and he snickered. The dark aura around him seemed to have gone bigger. "You're pathetic. You really thought that I would love you. You were just a puppet for me, a mere distraction that I have enough of playing with."
"You're scared," Eden said then. "You're scared of what you may have with him, you're scared of what you feel. I'll never be wrong to you."
"Don't you get it? I can't feel anything good," Cloud shouted. "I will never give you what you want. Damn it, I just killed your entire family, your whole village."
"I know," Eden said, the tears falling down. "And I forgive you. I love you, Cloud."
Cloud snapped at that moment and he ripped Eden's heart out. I screamed and fell to my knees. Eden stopped moving and Cloud's hands started to tremble. He crushed the heart in his hand and brought his victim into his arms. He let out a scream then, now realising what he had done. I saw something at that moment. A dark shadow with red eyes. The creature's eyes pierced right through me and I was suddenly paralysed with fear.
"This is him," I heard Eden, the one that brought me here, said behind me. "The true self of Cloud. This is how a shadow looks like."
"Why are you showing me this?" I asked him and he came to kneel in front of me. He grabbed my face and brought his lips closer to my ear.
"Because you need to know. You'll never love him like I did. No matter what you do, there'll always be me hiding in the dark corner of Cloud's heart."
I pushed him away and let out a loud scream. Somehow, that made me wake up back into the real world. I was on the ground in Cloud's arms.
"Luffy," he exclaimed at my face and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw my eyes open. "Damn! Finally! What happened to you? You fell unconscious suddenly."
I did not reply to his words and pushed him away. He was surprised. I stood up and glanced around quickly. There was no Eden here.
"Luffy," he said in confusion but I shook my head.
"I think that from now on I will sleep in another bedroom," I stated and then I walked away. What hurt me the most about all of this was that, unlike the other times, Cloud did not try to stop me.
He just let me go.