"And so she led you down that hallway so goody-two-shoes Zach could get a taste of reality," said the Hanged Man as he recited what Zachary was remembering.
They remained in this void between reality and his memories, looking at everything unfolding from afar, like spectators who could do nothing but watch.
"No…, t-that not…" Zachary held his hands against his head.
"Oh come on, you didn't actually think your mother was still there?" The Hanged Man laughed, "I'd say your father did a rather fine job of turning her into his little puppet, broken beyond repair."
"..."
"And then…?" The Hanged Man tilted his head with a smile still on his face, "…What happened…? Come on, you can do it."
"No, no, it wasn't real," he backed away, "That was a dream. Just a hallucination."
"Or perhaps a memory locked deep, deep, deep in your mind? You wouldn't know with someone who can easily shun everyone out for believing they were not worthy of his time. So why not repress a memory?"
"…"
※※※※
And then…
Zachary found himself standing in front of the door to his father's office.
But… he couldn't step in.
There was something pushing him back, several, in fact: the pressure and weight that kept his legs from moving off the ground, the shivers throughout his body, the ache in his heart, the shortness of his breath, the stutters holding back his tongue, and the throb in his eyes.
He wondered, when did he ever feel terrified? And terrified of what? A door?
It was tall, taller than ever before, almost to a terrifying degree. The wood seemed like it was decaying bit by bit as the paint it was coated with came off. The light under the door was flickering.
It was just a door. Nothing more. Nothing less.
He took a deep breath before he reached for the knob and turned it, unlocking the door.
*creaaaaaaaaaak*
Still holding onto the knob, he moved forward and pushed the door with all his might. The door creaked louder than before, piercing through his ears and sending shivers down his spine.
His body dangled across the room from the rope wrapped around his neck like a puppet from a string. His petrified face emerged underneath the beam of the flickering lightbulb. His eyes were inflamed with blood, yet devoid of life all the same.
The man that was his father had taken his own life.
※※※※
"A fitting end to the man fueled with envy at his own son."
The Hanged Man raised his arms in the air, as the curtains rolled down and the scene of reality was lifted back up again.
Both of them were back in the hospital room — as a matter of fact, they never left. The watchmen were still in the room, guarding the door, and keeping anyone outside from entering. The man that attempted to choke him was still in the same position, holding onto Zachary's neck and slowly tightened his grip.
However, being choked to death was the least of Zachary's concerns after he recalled his dreadful childhood memories back.
"What a sad man he was," the Hanged Man gave off a concerned and surprised expression, "To think he'd take his own life just to traumatize his own son."
"That's a lie…"
「No… I've always known.」
"Yes, yes. Absolutely Correct!" The Hanged Man hailed him with applause and spiraled across the ceiling as if he was dancing, "You're getting close! So so so so close! You always knew," he deepened the tone of his voice, "You've always known how to read between the lines…"
"..."
"Hey, kid," the man, who was completely oblivious to the fact there was a floating tree creature invisible to his eyes, shook Zachary from his neck, "If you don't answer, I'll really do it. You really wanna lose your life over some petty squabble?"
But Zachary did not care.
He gazed into the abyss, wishing for it to look back at him and take him away from this world once and for all.
If that was the truth of his father, then that same truth was correct about everyone else. Everyone tried to use him for their own inconvenience. These men, his father, his mother, his family… and even Lauren, they all wore masks of virtue with the claim to help when all they really sought was to harm him at his most vulnerable.
"No, that can't be true…," He was still in denial.
"Oh, don't reject it," the Hanged Man crawled right next to his ear, "Embrace it!"
"But why…?"
"Don't you get it?" The Hanged Man fluttered his arms at opposite sides, "All this pain. All this suffering. They all came from people who thrived on the torment of others. It was never your fault. They looked down on you, they stepped on you, just because they knew they couldn't be like you."
Zachary felt deep pain and sorrow in his heart, and it was all visible on his face.
"Yes, yes," the Hanged Man was delighted to fuel that pain within Zachary, "You know what these people are? Tyrants! As simple as that. And tyrants deserve to be stomped!"
"..."
"It's not your fault," the Hanged Man twirled his hand, causing the vines to slither around Zachary's shoulder, before he placed his hand on his back to calm him, "You were just born in a world where they hated the special."
「But if the whole world is like that, then what's the…」
All of a sudden, the world turned blurry in Zachary's eyes as he felt his consciousness slip away. His mind had finally grasped the fact that he was being choked to death. He grit his teeth in frustration, and grabbed onto the man's arm, trying to push him away, but the man wouldn't budge. The man was too stiff, too strong for his waning strength.
"Oh no, don't die on me yet, lad," the Hanged Man grimaced and angled his head to the other side, before snapping his fingers and bringing about parchment paper from dust, "Sign the contract with me, and your wish, any wish, is my command."
"Gh…," Zachary struggled for breath.
If he signed the contract, then he would be able to attain the authority of the Hanged Man's incredible powers, but only as commands. The power wouldn't be truly his in the end. Even after showing him all those memories and trying to build up his resolve, there were so many things that the Hanged Man had left out, so many things that were still vague to him. Time was running but Zachary could do nothing but ponder the many questions on his mind.
"So what do you say?" The Hanged Man inched closer to him as he held the contract in one hand, and a quill in the other.
"I…"