Dominion of The Beast Masters

Lisa froze, the air in the hallway felt heavier. The rain outside tapped stronger against the windows. She hadn't expected this.

Since the event of the calamity birds, she had tried to avoid anything connected to Eratz, burying the pain deep inside herself.

Her pulse quickened, and she swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry.

Rowan's eyes never left hers as he continued.

"I need your help, Lisa, I don't know if Eratz was innocent or guilty, but I can't shake the feeling that Kenny's been hiding something. I want to believe in what the students have been saying these days and prove Eratz was framed."

Lisa's heart skipped a beat. She had tried to bury those memories, tried to move on, but now Rowan was pulling her back into the very thing she had run from.

"Why me?" she whispered, her voice shaky. She couldn't look him in the eye. "Why not someone else? I'm… not the right person for this."

Rowan lowered to her height level, his voice filled with frustration and resolve.

"Because you knew him," he said firmly. "You were close to Eratz. You saw everything happen. And Kenny... I know something's off with him. I've been watching him long enough to know this is a real possibility, but I can't take him down alone."

Lisa swallowed hard, her mind racing. She wanted to find a way out, to refuse, to make up an excuse.

But Rowan's intensity was unnerving, and she could feel the weight of his conviction pressing down on her.

"I… I don't know," she stammered, her hands trembling. "What if we're wrong? What if Eratz really was guilty?"

Rowan shook his head, his eyes narrowing with determination.

"You saw him like everyone else. Eratz is still the same, it's not a coincidence he's suddenly that strong. Kenny was the one who accused him, this is not a hazard. I'm sure he tricked him, and he deserves to be exposed."

Lisa's chest tightened. She felt the walls closing in around her, the guilt she had been suppressing rising to the surface.

She had been there, had seen it all unfold, and she knew more than anyone the whole story.

Now Rowan was asking her to step back into the mess she had tried so hard to escape.

"I can't," she whispered, shaking her head. "I… I don't think I can do this."

Rowan's expression softened slightly, but his resolve remained unshaken.

"Lisa, this isn't just about you or me. It's about making things right. Eratz was our friend, and we abandoned him. Maybe he was guilty, maybe he wasn't. But we let him sink while we looked the other way. We can't keep living with that."

His words hit her hard. She wanted to deny it, to push the blame away, but the truth was staring her in the face.

They had all failed Eratz, and she had played a part in that.

The guilt weighed down on her like a heavy stone, crushing her beneath its weight.

Lisa closed her eyes, tears threatening to spill over.

She couldn't tell Rowan the full truth, not without losing everything, but the thought of letting him fight alone, of letting Eratz remain unvindicated, tore at her.

After a long silence, she gave a small, hesitant nod.

She didn't say anything, but the gesture was enough. Rowan saw the movement and exhaled in relief.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "We'll figure this out together. We'll expose Kenny for what he's done."

Lisa remained silent, her mind a storm of fear, guilt, and regret. She hadn't told Rowan everything, hadn't admitted her role in Eratz's downfall, but she had agreed to help.

And now, there was no turning back.

The rain poured down relentlessly, drumming against the pavement and pooling in the narrow streets of the city.

Each drop fell with its own weight, soaking through the clothes of anyone caught in it.

Lisa walked without an umbrella, her feet splashing through the puddles, her hair plastered to her head, and her jacket clinging to her skin.

The city around her usually felt empty, the rain muting its vibrant beauty.

The lamplights flickered softly through the downpour, casting a soft hue on the wet cobblestones, reflecting the shimmering puddles at her feet.

She barely noticed the people rushing past her, huddling under umbrellas or darting into shops to escape the downpour.

She was lost in her own thoughts, her heart heavy with the weight of the tragedy falling on her.

Her parents. They had given everything for her.

She could see her father's hands, rough and calloused from long hours of work.

He had always told her that she was their future, that everything they did was for her.

She could remember the quiet moments when her mother would sit by the window after a long day, staring out into the distance, her face lined with exhaustion, but always smiling when Lisa came home.

They had poured all their hopes into her, worked tirelessly to give her a chance. They never complained, they never faltered. And what had she done? She had failed them, time and time again.

She couldn't be a top student at the academy, she couldn't get any opportunity, she was bad at everything, even cheating.

The thought of their disappointment was like a knife twisting in her chest. She had tried so hard, but it was never enough.

The rain mingled with the tears on her face, making it impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. She could barely see through the blur of emotion, her chest tight, her breath uneven as she pushed forward through the storm. The city's beauty, its soft glow through the rain, went unnoticed.

She stopped suddenly, her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding.

Slowly, she lifted her head, the raindrops slipping down her face as her gaze met his. Eratz stood a few feet away, under an umbrella. For a moment, they both stood there, staring at each other in silence, the rain cascading down around them, the world narrowing to just the two of them.

Later, in a hotel, Lisa was sitting on the edge of the bed, the soft towel brushing over her skin as she dried herself off. Her hair was still damp, droplets of water trickling down her flushed face. She was in a simple, unfamiliar room now, and her thoughts were hazy as she tried to understand how everything had led to this moment. How did it come to this? She wondered.

How had she ended up here, with the most unexpected person?

In the other room, Eratz sat in a chair, his focus on his phone. The silence between them was tense, but neither seemed ready to break it.

At the door, a staff member had a teasing smile on his face.

"So, planning to stay the whole night, huh?" he asked, a playful lilt to his voice.

Eratz shot him a deadly gaze, and the staff member immediately backed off, realizing his mistake.

"Sorry about that," the staff member muttered, bowing slightly before stepping back.

Eratz sighed, shaking his head before pulling out his wallet and placing the payment on the table.

"Here. For the whole night. Just in case," he said, his voice low and flat.

The staff member nodded quickly, muttering another apology before slipping out of the room. The door clicked shut, leaving Eratz alone once more. He returned to his phone, raising an eyebrow, then decided to leave.

Just as he stood up to go, he felt a small tug on the back of his shirt. He sighed and turned, already knowing who it was.

Lisa stood there, her eyes wide and filled with something fragile, her hand clutching the fabric of his shirt like a lifeline. She was trembling slightly, her body barely covered by her underwear. Her skin was still damp, and her face was a mixture of desperation and sadness.

"Wait…" she whispered softly, her voice almost lost in the quiet room. "Please, don't leave. Just… stay for a moment. I don't… I just want to talk."

Eratz's eyes flickered with an unreadable emotion before he let out another sigh, his voice tired.

Lisa's grip on his shirt tightened, her lips trembling as she tried to find the words. Her heart ached with everything she had been holding back, and now, standing there, so vulnerable, it all came rushing to the surface.

"I'm lost…" she began, her voice shaking. "I've been lost for so long. And then… you came back into my life, just when I thought I was in hell."

She bit her lip, the tears welling up in her eyes as she struggled to continue. Meanwhile, Eratz focused on his phone again, as if she didn't exist.

"Every time I see you, you ignore me, but… you keep giving me hope. And I don't know why." Her voice cracked, her sobs finally breaking free. "I can't bear it anymore. I can't… I don't know how to keep going."

Her tears fell freely now as she leaned against him, her forehead resting gently on his back as she cried, but then, with a sudden movement, Eratz stepped away, causing Lisa to stumble slightly as she lost her balance.

She looked up at him in surprise, her tear-filled eyes searching his face for an explanation.

Eratz's expression remained calm, but his voice was firm.

"Get dressed, If you want to talk to me, put some clothes on first."

Lisa stood there, frozen for a moment, her mind struggling to process his words. Slowly, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her lips trembling. She didn't say anything, but after a brief moment, she looked away, nodding silently.

Without another word, she turned back toward the bed and reached for the clothes that lay folded on the edge. The sound of the rain outside filled the silence, the distance between them growing with every drop.

Lisa sat on the edge of the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest, while Eratz reclined in the chair, focused on his phone. The sound of his fingers tapping against the screen was the only thing breaking the silence. She wiped the lingering moisture from her hair, her eyes still red from earlier.

She began slowly, her voice soft and hesitant.

"You know... we've known each other since we were kids," she started, glancing at Eratz, though he didn't look up from his phone. "I still remember the first time we met. You were the one who pulled me out of that river when I slipped and nearly drowned. I was terrified, but you didn't hesitate. I don't think you've ever hesitated when it comes to helping me."

Her eyes drifted to the floor, her mind wandering through memories she had buried.

"Do you remember that time in the forest when we got lost? It was dark, and I was freaking out, thinking we'd never find our way back. I was crying so hard, I couldn't even see straight, but you... you stayed calm. You kept telling jokes so I would forget to be scared, and you figured out the way home."

She let out a soft, bitter laugh.

"You were always like that. Always there to save me. Always strong. You made me feel like everything would be okay... even when it wasn't."

Eratz didn't respond, his attention still absorbed by his phone, though there was a faint smile playing on his lips.

Lisa bit her lip, pressing on despite his indifference.

"You were the one person I could count on, you know? Whenever I messed up, whenever things got hard, you were always there. And I... I didn't even realize how much I depended on you. Until it was too late."

Her voice cracked slightly as she continued, her fingers curling into the fabric of the blanket beneath her.

"My parents... they sacrificed everything for me. They scraped together every penny they had, worked late nights, and took out loans just to get me into Genova. They told me that I was their hope, their future. I was supposed to make everything right for them."

Tears welled in her eyes again, but she wiped them away quickly, trying to maintain her composure.

"They believed in me so much. They didn't care how hard they had to work, how tired they were. They just wanted me to have a better life than they did. And I... I was determined not to let them down. I wanted to be the top student.

I wanted to be the best, to become a top beast master, make money, and finally give them the life they deserved."

She swallowed hard, her chest tightening.

"But... I wasn't good enough. No matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. I wasn't like you, Eratz. You were naturally so good, but me? I had to claw for every scrap of recognition."

Her voice grew shakier as she berated herself.

"I thought... if I could just get a little better, if I could just do something to catch up, maybe I wouldn't fail them. So... I stole the Karinite 4. I thought it would help me get the results I needed. I thought...

I could finally make them proud."

Her breathing hitched as the weight of her confession settled over her, the shame clinging to her like a shroud.

"But I messed up. I you caught me, and you... you were the one who saved me. Again. You made me realize what a huge mistake I was making, but it didn't matter, because Kenny reported you. And I..."

She paused, her throat tightening, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks.

"I should have spoken up. I should have told the truth, but I didn't. I was too scared of being expelled, too scared of what my parents would think. I couldn't face them after everything they sacrificed for me."

The room fell silent, save for the sound of Lisa's quiet sobs. Eratz's tapping on his phone slowed down, his expression shifting subtly.

"I was desperate, Eratz," Lisa whispered. "After you got suspended, I didn't know what to do. I was completely lost. I had no one to turn to, no one to help me. And then... Kenny asked me out."

Her lip trembled as she forced herself to continue.

"I hated him for what he did to you. I despised him more than anyone, but he was my last chance. If I couldn't be successful on my own, I thought... maybe I could save my family by being with someone who was."

Her voice dripped with disgust as she spoke about Kenny.

"But he's... he's nothing. A disgusting liar, a coward. I thought I could stomach it, but every time I looked at him, all I could see was how he betrayed you. I hated him for it... I still do, I..."

Eratz suddenly spoke up, cutting her off mid-rant.

"Stop."

His voice was quiet but firm, and Lisa blinked, startled. She hadn't expected him to say anything.

Eratz's eyes finally left his phone, locking onto hers for the first time since they'd sat down.

"Time's up. You don't need to keep going."