How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Presently, one big man and one little man (boy) were having an intense staring competition with each other, seeming to be competing over a person's attention.
Kaden chewed on his food silently, not adding further to the strange chaos. He pushed down his typical languid and teasing air, choosing to ignore the scenery around him.
What he didn't see, he didn't know.
Noah, across from him, also remained silent and ate his food calmly.
On the two sides of Kaden, Arlo and Niklas glared at each other, as if facing a new enemy. The little boy, after being thoroughly examined and returned to Kaden's care, wanted to monopolize all of the man's attention.
Similarly, Niklas, who took pride and joy in teasing Kaden, ended up frustrated as Arlo clung to the older man, interrupting their conversation.
Honestly though, Niklas found it amusing to tease the clingy child.
"You're rather childish, don't you realize?" scolded Niklas solemnly.
The child retorted with a pout. "I am a child!"
"While I don't prevent you from talking to your dearest big brother, sir Kaden Chauvet over here, that doesn't mean you should interfere in an adult's conversation."
"But he's not even smiling at you! He doesn't like you!"
"Now, now. That's what you fundamentally don't understand, kiddo. This lovely big brother is actually incredible shy. Whenever he scowls or ignores me, he's actually hiding his embarrassment."
Kaden shot him a glare of warning to stop speaking nonsense. "Niklas."
"See!" Niklas exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "This is his expression of utter love and adoration."
"Do I need to buy you a dictionary, Niklas? Or a brain, perhaps?"
"There he goes, all his words brimming with love."
Kaden arched an eyebrow with a scoff, before scooting his seat further away under Niklas' confusion. "Are you a pervert? I have no intention of meeting your masochistic tendencies."
Niklas blinked slowly before his eyes snapped wide.
Kaden's lips curled sarcastically as he bit into his food, uninterested to continue speaking. Niklas gaped blankly before hurriedly retorting, "Absolutely not!" Then, after a pause, "I would consider changing my inclinations for you."
"....." The food slipped from Kaden's spoon, dropping back into his plate as he grimaced in disgust. "Do you really have to say that while I'm eating?"
"Hey, you started it! I simply responded."
"If you have nothing good to say, then it's better not to speak."
Arlo snorted, relishing at Niklas' scolding before Kaden turned his gaze onto the trouble-seeking little boy. Since he'd decided to look after the child, he had to take responsibility.
"Eat first, Arlo. If you're hungry later, I won't be able to get you food until after classes end."
The boy snapped his back straight and nodded obediently, playing the role of a perfect student. He solemnly ate his food without making another sound.
Every chew was measured and careful, a picture perfect example of a good child.
Kaden hadn't meant that the child shouldn't speak at all during the meal, but decided to let the boy do whatever he wanted to do. If there was no harm in it, then he wouldn't stop the boy from seriously eating.
The gleam in the child's boy told of excitement and happiness, regardless. Although Kaden couldn't understand the extent of it, he knew the child felt happy.
That was enough.
Enough for him to ease the guilt of the blood of his filth-ridden hands.
Maybe Yoser had seen the fault of his ways, waking up from his guilty delusion, and planned to run away before Kaden arrived. Maybe he would've changed.
But maybe he wouldn't have.
And to rely on a possibility of 'maybe' was something Kaden never intended to do. If Yoser had fallen to the point of offering his child to the rich, then he could do it again, and again, until Arlo became nothing but a broken body.
He glanced up from his meal, only to see the dragon's piercing gaze rest on the little boy, inquisitive and wondering.
Kaden's body tensed up instinctively.
He couldn't have Noah knowing. It would ruin his future plans and derail his intentions. Of course, history was changing with his altering actions, but ultimately, Noah would end up in that cold basement, with or without Kaden's interference.
The difference was, Kaden could still lend a helping hand and change the tragedy that befell on that man, as long as Noah never learned about it.
Because if that dragon figured out the future's fate, he would hastily throw everything into ruins and set to remake the entire story. But that would be risky and unpredictable.
Kaden wouldn't risk it.
He could only fix the future he knew. An uncertain future scared him.
His eating pace hastened, before he left Arlo with Holly, who said she was simply walking around for the day, taking photos as a project for one of her classes.
The little boy had been reluctant, but Holly's cheerful gait persuaded him to follow her like a baby chick, showing him how to take photos using her large, clunky camera.
He entered his concept of magic class silently, without a person by his side. The class had been monotonous, though there were certain interesting aspects.
With his books gathered in his arms, he took his usual seat in the mid-row, close to the edges. There he found he attracted the least attention, able to listen closely without standing out.
A tall, white-haired man strode to the row in front of him, taking a seat. The dragon's broad back was turned towards Kaden.
He closed his eyes.
Although his relationship had grown closer to Noah, this class was the exception. The Professor was Raymond, the same man that tested which Watcher had blessed them.
Niklas didn't take this class, and Kaden and Noah had naturally sat in different positions on the first day. Since Kaden took no initiative to change seats, instead pretending as if the dragon wasn't there, Noah had behaved in the same manner.
In this one particular class, they were strangers.
It was strange, but it was also natural. A great factor that drew the pair into social situations was their roommate title, and also Niklas' insistence.
Professor Raymond clapped twice to signify the beginning of the class.
"Today, we'll be diving into darker themes. If at any moment you decide it is too much for you to bear, please step outside. We can have a private conversation at a later date."
Hushed whispers ran through the students as a somber cloud filled the room.
Kaden straightened his back, staring ahead solemnly.
"In the beginning of the semester, you have been briefly told of the consequences of using your abilities, your blessings that were granted to you. A consequence that forms based on what power you use."
He held a gloved hand to his chest, dressed in a prim suit as he tapped a cane on the ground to silence all whispers.
"I can read stories—the stories of your spirits, and of you. The more I do it, the more my own story disappears." He smiled. "The less others remember about me."
He spoke as if it were a casual passing. "My story becomes forgotten."
Goosebumps ran up Kaden's arm at the chilling smile, the gentleman's calm that rested over the man's expression.
"Now, the consequences affect different species differently. Humans are the weakest to the Reversal—and may eventually reach a point where they cease to exist."
"That—how can you say that—!" A student slammed their desk.
Raymond shook his head. "Sit down. This is a private lesson. Do not share it outside. The more one knows, the more danger they might be in."
"Then why would you tell us—"
"There have been cases of experimentations running rampant. There is a likely chance that you will need to use your ability. Would you rather go mad as an ignorant fool, or lose your mind knowing why you did?"
Raymond paused, and added, "The one who will face the consequences may be the one who spreads the knowledge."
In other words, the students didn't have to worry because Raymond would bear the results of his teachings. If they chose to spread it, there was no guaranteeing their safety.
However, the abrupt news dampened the atmosphere, instilling deep terror into their hearts. What would be the consequences of their own ability?
They didn't dare guess.
"I am sharing it with you students, because I want you to keep a careful eye out."
Kaden tapped his desk, lips curling into a curious smile that made those surrounding shiver in fear. His eyes curved as he asked, "You're telling us because there's been an incident, hasn't there?'
Noah snapped his head around, dark eyes wide.
The room went silent in an instant, his words blanketing them in frost.
However, he was certain of that fact. For the duration of the class, Raymond had mostly taught about how to use one's ability, examples of different sorts, the history of magic and the Academy.
And today, out of the blue, he'd brought in dark news to them all. If it was something that could be shared easily, he would've warned them on the first day.
Out of the blue.
Like an inconsistent chunk shoved into a flowing story.
Raymond stared at Kaden deeply before chuckling. He walked around the podium in the front, leaning against it. "There has indeed been an incident."
Kaden knew something about this man who died in his previous life. His death had been buried, but Kaden knew that the professor had gotten tangled up in schemes that he could not bear.
A kind man who couldn't stand injustice or filth, willing to sacrifice himself for his curious beliefs. He wouldn't say something carelessly.
The entire classroom filled with simmering chaos, panicked glances at their friends beside, and a burning curiosity to know what happened. But the Professor didn't elaborate, letting the news settle over them.
"My intention today is simply to warn you to be careful. And I am certain there are those who will not take my words with caution, so let me tell you a few stories."
Raymond pulled out a thick pile of paper from the podium, flipping through it as he organized it into a tidy stack. Tugging a pair of reading glasses from his breast pocket, he begun to read.
"Two years ago, a student in their third year with the ability akin to a saint, blessed by the Watcher of Healing, set to cure the world in private. Her actions were gone undiscovered until it was far too late."
A student raised their hands, frowning. "Isn't it good to cure people?"
Raymond adjusted his glasses and nodded. "Indeed, it is. But let me continue before I answer any further questions. She healed the poor and the weak, creating miracles from minor to major injuries and illnesses."
"Had she been more public, she would've been deemed a hero. Might I add, any of you could be deemed as such, depending how you use your abilities."
He stepped forward, removing a pile of dark paper from his stack. "Please hand these out, faced down. For those who feel queasy at unpleasant sights, such as gore or mutilation, please do not turn it over."
Watching the papers being passed around, Raymond continued the story.
"Her friends first noticed abnormalities within her. A limp that came out of nowhere, dark bruises that peeked under her long sleeves. However, as she claimed to be in good health, they chose not to press the details."
"Until one night, she stopped showing up to her classes. For a week, she was deemed missing."
"The woman lived in the dormitories, but often went into states of seclusion that were later determined to be periods when she left to cure others. It wasn't until an unpleasant odor crept from her room that the door was forcefully broken."
"Please flip the paper over if you please."
Collective gasps escaped the students as they flinched from the startling photo, the depiction of grays and whites that formed a ghastly image.
Professor Raymond stared deeply at every student, his gaze settling on Kaden.
The latter's eyes remained chilling, sardonic, and filled with dark laughter. Daring Raymond to continue, to tell them the terrible secrets that had been hidden away, the risks that they were taking by being blessed.
In the photo was a woman at her deathbed, dressed in pure white to match her once ethereal beauty and essence. A worshiped saint, the saviour of the poor.
Covered in patches of inky skin, and blistering wounds of red and purple. Bubbles surfaced over her discoloured skin, peeks of raw flesh underneath.
There was a withered air to her body, likely from having been dead for some time. Her open eyes stared at the ceiling blankly, flies sitting over the dull gloss of her eyeballs.
Kaden licked his chapped lips as he studied the photo. He raised his hand, answering when Raymond nodded in listening.
"Her Reversal was the infliction of the injuries and illnesses she healed. The healthier those around her grew, the sicker she became."
"You are correct."
The students could no longer dismiss the panic that rushed through their blood in blaring alarm bells, making their mind spin with the knowledge. There was no such thing as curiosity—no, they wished to deny ever learning this fact.
Knowing that the mutilated corpse, with bugs crawling over their open eyes, could very well be their best friend, their parent...
...or themselves.
"I-imposable!" a male student shouted in protest, swiping the photo away in a hurry, scared of being tainted by merely resting his eyes upon it.
Raymond continued softly, in a low drawl that nobody dared ignore. "Her death was particularly gruesome due to the nature of her abilities. Every Blessed is different, and some die in mysterious ways while some die as if they'd entered a deep sleep."
Noah, who'd been silent the entire time, lifted his stare.
"You are implying that death is a guarantee."
His words felt like a final damnation in the entire room. It hung with a quiet vibration, digging its way into the listener's mind.
Death.
Had it simply been another student's death, perhaps the reaction would be an equal terror that lapsed for a moment, before returning into a normal state.
It was only when it applied to themselves that they knew true terror.
However, the professor shook his head solemnly. "Everybody will die eventually. That is the consequence of living. The only way for you to fully understand the dire states is for me to show an extreme example."
He ignored a frail woman's stricken yelp as she peeked at the picture out of curiosity, and bent in half, bile slipping past her pink lips.
Most of the students who chose not to turn the paper left it as such.
"I'm quite alive, as you can see. And you all will continue to live reasonably length lives, as long as you choose to not overuse your abilities. There are many more that remember me than those who've forgotten."
He walked back behind the podium, flipping through his stack of paper, determining which disaster to tell them during the current lesson.
"As long as you use your ability in the academy, or within our reign, the consequences will be minimal. We have our methods to protect the students, and allow you to have a grasp of your Blessings."
"You may be thinking that it's simple. You'll simply not use it in the public."
Raymond paused, eyelids fluttering shut momentarily. "The difference is, during a dangerous situation, or in a state where you could use your ability to do miraculous things, you may be tempted. You may do it without thinking."
"Power is a drug. It's addicting, and we seek more of it until our thirst desires more than we can handle—that it what you must be cautious of."
"If you use it once, then you can use it twice."
"Until you use it into oblivion."