here we art

The door opened again, loud footsteps echoing in the room. 

He knew these footsteps oh-so well. Sweat started to form on his forehead, his breathing quickening and paining him as his trachea reactively tightened- oxygen was becoming scarce. 

His father was here.

It certainly wasn't to comfort him- but a tiny spark in Vil's head seemed to almost make him believe that his father, the one you knew him perfectly well, the one who built him, helped him construct his career, 

would help him.

Metallic chair legs scraping the floor interrupted his thoughts, a grunt leaving his father's throat as this latter sat down. 

Silence.

An eerie silence ; except for the sound of Vil's heartbeat, shaking and panicking in terror. 

His father sighed, one hand scratching his beard, the other buried into his pocket. He let out a sudden bloodcurdling laugh, making the fallen Queen flinch- a single tear rolling down his cheek. 

It was useless to expect anything from his father ;

he was definitely here to end him for good. 

"Vil, Vil, Vil-" he sighed  "- what did I always tell you ?- You still remember don't you ? Or are you even stupider than I thought ?" 

His father didn't move an inch, but had he stood to kick Vil, it would've felt the same- this same feeling of being teared apart from inside. 

He was being rejected by his last parent, his own blood. 

"I had pinned my hopes on you, son. I made sure that you would succeed, I gave you the best I could ever give to you, and look at you now- 

You're just a vulgar failure."

Vil's mind couldn't process anything- he was utterly reduced to a being that shouldn't even exist- while his father started to hum a joyful tune, as if he had just been saying simple and innocent "good morning". 

"Well, what is done is done now. I'm glad I got remarried, at least I still have one son."

An expression of incomprehension started to form itself on Vil's face, what did he mean by-

"Of course I'm not talking about you.” he laughs a little in contempt. “I'm talking about my one and only son, Neige."

This fatal blow had ended Vil's impassiveness, and a painful strangled cry resonated. 

He was now burning, freezing, torn apart, grieving. 

Grieving for the father he had just lost, and for Vil Schoenheit- the man he thought he was. He had been wrong all along : he didn't own anything in the first place- not even the right to be respected, recognized,

nor loved.

On hearing his lamentations- the man who had been once his only comfort after the loss of his mother- laughed.

"What did you expect ? For me to come and hug you ? To tell you that everything will be fine ? No- you don't deserve any of this. I can't even bear looking you in the eyes. I can't believe I created this failure of a monster-"

He stood up and looked down on- what he considered, his former son's quivering body. His eyes only showed hatred and disgust, hiding poisoned daggers behind his pupils. 

"-don't try to look for me. I'll officially disinherit you back home tonight. 

Failures don't belong to this family."

Vil felt a harsh stinging on his cheek, something wet and viscous running on his skin - his father had just spat on him, as an ultimate exhibition of his profound revulsion. 

His eyesight now blurry, and his heart, vanishing. 

"Neige will always be the man you'll never be ; successful, loved by everyone, kind-hearted and respected. I should've known when I lost your mother...it all went downhill since the day you were born. You're a curse. You killed her, just like you killed this poor boy's mom- Oh please-"

Vil's deafening scream interrupted the man's words. This was just too much, too much to endure. All of his life had ended within half a day- from the second most famous person on Magicam, to useless trash that even his own father would spit on. 

He never imagined that it would ever end that way, that he could humiliate himself in such a way that he himself would have would have scoffed at a few days ago. 

"-stop whining like a goddamn child ! I said what I had to say, now do whatever you want as long as I never hear about you ever again !"

He stomped towards the door, violently opening it- cracking noises could be heard from the walls. 

"And if I ever see you try to harm Neige-...

-I will personally end you."

And the door slammed. 

The silence ruled the room  once again-

-except for Vil's painful cries, getting louder as the sun was setting. 

Then the night came upon Twisted Wonderland, 

Betrayed, and now alone...even if deep inside he knew that some of those who loathed him had valuable reasons ; they didn't know the truth. 

They didn't know how much he had suffered to become who he was . How painful it was to work endlessly and perfectly without getting the reward his heart begged for.

Recognition. 

Recognition as his own person, not as Neige's rival, nor as the second after Neige ; but as Vil Schoenheit, a successful model and actor, the one whose constant dedication was seen as an example to everyone. 

But..did they ever give him a chance ?...Why would they, when Neige's shadow has been suffocating him since his youngest age ?

Neige, the perfect angel naturally succeeding in everything he does, the hero of Twisted Wonderland- against Vil, the one who would never surpass the blinding light of the fresh snow, no matter how much effort he’d put in over the years ; the eternal villain whose fate was to live in the shadows for the rest of his existence. 

This feeling of constantly drowning and being pushed back, whenever he would be about to breathe and feel the rays of the sun on his skin. 

For years, he had been able to keep his head above water, but he knew that one single mistake would make him fall back into the deepest parts of the ocean. 

And so it happened. Today, on stage, when he could've instead felt the warmth of victory for the first time in his life, he was instead cast away into the abyss, far away from everything he fought for, everyone's eyes judging him as if he were the greatest disappointment, the worst failure that ever lived.

If only… if only they could see that the one that they'd always seen as an angel was in reality, the worst demon ever created. 

A perfect demon indeed- flawless from the outside, and rotten deep inside. Constantly pushing Vil to the edge and using against him an act that he had never forgiven himself for. 

The death of Neige's mother, Vil's stepmother. An accident that only these two had witnessed.

But it didn't matter anymore. 

Staying silent or revealing the truth ? He had lost anyway. He had lost since the beginning, since his mother had fallen ill and died, leaving him all alone with his father, who’d suddenly brought another woman in their life, accompanied by his eternal rival, Neige. 

And what followed definitely cost Vil's right of happiness and freedom. 

It was just an accident...but buying Neige's silence cost him a lot…

What was happening now- was this his punishment for what happened ?...Did he really deserve it ? 

...

"Vil-san, are you feeling alright ?" 

...his voice...it's shattering and reducing to dust the remaining of my heart….stop it….just stop it….

"What a monster ! Hitting the students like that during daily training ! Tch, I can't believe I admired him once ! Neige is such a sweetheart, not an ounce of wickedness in this boy !"

"Schoenheit is such a loser ! No wonder Neige has always been first !" 

…..stop it….

"Calm down everyone ! I'm sure that it's not what we believe ! Let's try to talk to the student we see on the video to get some answers !-"

…..stop talking,,Neige Leblanche….you're the one who posted this video….and Rook gave it to you...stop pretending….you planned this all along, right ?....

"-everyone calm down, I'll talk privately to Vil-san, try and find the boy from the video. We can do this together !"

I said….stop it…..you hypocrite...stop hiding what you did to me…

"Wooaa Neige-san is so kind-hearted !!"

"Yeah ! I'd never give another chance to a bastard like Schoenheit !"

...leave me alone...I can't do this anymore….

"Come Vil-san ! Let's talk in a quieter place..."

Neige took Vil's arm and his body seemed to move on its own, like the puppet he has always been to the other.

They entered the official building rented especially for VDC, but Vil couldn't even tell the hallways and rooms apart, his eyesight blurry and his head constantly ringing. 

He suddenly heard the sound of a doorknob clicking, and of a door opening then closing behind them. 

That's when Neige abruptly threw him on the floor, the ringing in his head becoming a deafening whistling. The pain ? He couldn't feel it anymore- he was now nothingness, a mere physical envelope that had to endure whatever life was throwing at him. 

He had suffered for so long that now, he just felt... empty. It was no use to try to scream and protest ; it was no use when one didn't believe that they deserved better. 

"Ha... all these years you thought that you could beat me, Villain ?" 

Neige's shoe harshly crushed his jaw- the pressure in his head was now unbearable,  his mind filling with a thick fog, cutting him off from everything else….his heart was slowly disconnecting ; incidentally, all will to fight back was escaping him. 

"You're a murderer, and weak, just like your mommy. No wonder your dad looked for someone better...and what did you do to her ?....

You killed her you bastard-"

Vil received a kick in his lower abdomen, and he felt a scream forcing its way through his throat :  a pain-filled cry that resonated, breaking the sepulchral silence of the room. 

This kick….just like all the other ones he received during his childhood, from Neige...that he then transmitted to Epel. 

Epel…he reminded him so much of Neige- a version of Neige that was still unsure of himself….and deep inside, he was a beautiful being ; unlike this fake angel.

That was... why he couldn't contain his anger when Epel was there, it felt like tasting the sweet and sour taste of his vengeance upon Neige- a vengeance that would never see the day.

"Your unique magic is to curse all those around you, because you yourself are one. I wish you could just throw a sleeping spell on yourself, just like you did to my mom.

Neither alive nor dead…..hahaha- actually…just like right now ~ ahahaha..." 

"....I-."

Neige removed his foot from Vil's face, a surprised expression appearing on his visage that could seem candid if it wasn't for his malevolent smirk. 

"What's wrong ? You wanna say something, Villain ?...admit that you're a murderer, perhaps ?"

Vil gulped, the words could hardly leave his burning throat ; but if there was a moment in which he had to use his remaining strength to blurt out itching words clawing at him, this was it.

".....an..accident…...is..was…..an..accident...I didn't-"

"Of course it was an accident- I know this already. I was there, remember ? But you also seem to forget-" 

Neige crouched down and violently turned Vil's face towards him, tightly gripping his hair as the former laughs, "- that no one will ever believe you- you are the Villain that everyone despises. Unlike me, you aren't that good of an actor !" 

Vil painfully hissed, his scalp scorching and his neck painfully twisting towards Neige, eyes full of disbelief and despair.

He definitely couldn't escape this. He was trapped, and it was only the beginning of this nightmare. No one, to help him or to save him.

"You lost Villain, trying to reach my level has always been a waste of your time. You'll now die in the mind of everyone, no one will ever remember you, and I, will be the most loved person in this world. Your father will be proud of me and only me, and he’ll call me his only son, because you are, after all, just an unworthy being ; unworthy to even consume the oxygen of this world. Be grateful for what you have now- it'll always be much more than what you deserve."

Neige dropped Vil's hair, letting the blond’s head crash onto the cold floor painfully, then headed towards the door- but before he stepped outside, he paused, and turned towards Vil slightly- or at least, he did from Vil's perspective, judging by how Neige's feet were now pointing in his direction- and let out a deep and...happy sigh. 

"Well ! Time to find the others now ! Wish me luck, Vil-san !" 

He left and closed the door, leaving Vil, all alone, lying on the floor. 

...finally, it was over. He could finally suffer on his own, savouring the silence unpolluted by the voice of that white demon. 

..Did anyone know that he was here ?

..Who would care anyway ? He surely was shown everywhere as the worst monster of Twisted Wonderland.

Neige made him feel even more worthless than the word itself. Rook and Epel….would they try to find him ? No, of course not..but if they did- would it be to help ? Or... to push him even farther into this endless darkness ? 

He then realized the inevitable : 

no one would ever miss him. 

Neige was right all along. 

The Queen had been defeated.