Maybe he was sent here as punishment, I don’t know for sure, he didn’t want to speak about it, but the fact is that he was unhappy here, I am sure of that! He needed to complete a task, he just tried to perform some actions in our world. And all he wanted was to get out of here as quickly as possible! He has long been fed up with our world and stupid people. Only I gave him joy and helped to free himself. By helping him, I pulled him out of prison in the form of your brother's body! And your brother only interfered with him and spoiled his body, so that people would not take him seriously, so that everyone would consider him a scarred freak. It was difficult for him to complete tasks. He could not complete the tasks, could not leave!”
“But now he has gone into his world,” Karina said somehow confusedly.
“He didn’t complete the task! Are you a fool? What will they do to him now?! Will they move him into another body – and all over again? Or maybe it is already impossible to fix it? Maybe his task was to make Lis the king in order to finally end the war! You haven't even thought about that? Yes, Karina?”
“Arel…”
“What – Arel?! You thought I was stupid?! Why do you all think I'm stupid? Because I have a beautiful appearance and I don’t talk smart about serious things? You thought I didn't know anything about Nik? I knew everything about him, even when you didn’t see him at all! You thought he didn't share anything with me? Do you know how many times I saw him almost howl from helplessness? How tired he was, because in this body he was deprived of many of his powers. He didn't complain to anyone. Only to me! And you are such an idiot that you thought I was just fucking with him and that was all, the rest was fucking incomprehensible to me. I understand a lot, and I was, as it were, in your brother's body, too, by the way, he was not completely blind then. Apparently, the eyes were rebuilt gradually. And I was in the Unclean Limit and in the World, which Nik-Demon created there for himself as an outlet. Where he was not as pathetic as he was here. And Lis was there too. And I saw him, and felt his strength and power. He was lovely. And then he had to come back here again and communicate with such idiots as you! And pretend that he was a man, although he didn’t give a shit about all this. I could beat him and praise him, he didn't give a damn about either. Only later did he feel a little the joy of this life, of this world with me. He said that only I was holding him and that soon he would do everything and could return. We agreed that I would go with him. And he could leave your brother's body. Only he is blind and dumb. But he himself is to blame for this, there was no need to resist! This is inherit in your family, apparently – not understanding, to go to the trouble. Maybe now he would have been free and would not have been so disfigured.”
“I didn't think…”
“Of course you didn't! Have you ever thought of talking to me? Of course not! I'm a “stupid handsome prince”. Has it ever occurred to you that you don’t know even a hundredth of relationships and ties? You just stupidly took everything and deleted it! And it would be better to ask him to leave his brother's body and ask how you can help? And ask him to return his vision and voice! I'm sure the Demon could do it if he wanted to. But you stupidly drove him out and left your brother crippled. Well done!”
Karina began to cry.
“Go and do everything back! Otherwise I will kill you!”
“I can’t!” Sobbed Karina.
“Why?!”
“The old woman is dead!” And Karina fell to her knees and, covering her face with her hands, began to cry.
“How is it – dead?” Arel barely uttered.
“I don’t know! When she performed the ceremony, she said some words. Spell. And then she fell… Maybe her heart could not stand it…”
“Lis, I'm sorry, I'll kill her now,” Arel said, and his face became terrible.
But at this moment Nikto, all this time indifferently, like a doll sitting in the corner, suddenly jerked as if he had been shocked, and everyone turned to him in surprise.
He looked at them and then said:
“It's all right, Arel.”
And the prince rushed to him, embracing him. Karina shied away from him.
“Your happiness that he returned, otherwise I would have killed you!” He threw to her.
“Karina wanted to banish you,” he said to Nikto.
“I know. But they didn't succeed. And never do that again, Karina.”
Karina, sniffing, nodded:
“I’m sorry.”
“Lis,” Arel turned to Lis, still standing as a silent statue. “Take this bitch to the room and lock her there. We'll decide what to do with her later. And now I don't want to see her!”
Lis obediently pulled Karina by the forearm.
Until the morning she cried in the room. Until Arel came for her.
“We talked all night, he is very kind. Go, you can talk to your brother, the Demon left him. He can do this for a while, but he must always return. I begged him to leave for just an hour. I can't take it anymore. He said that when I calmed down and began to trust and not be afraid, he would leave for a longer period. He says that he himself is sick of everything here and that he is still holding on because of me.”
“Later I want to talk to the Demon too,” said Karina, sadly with tears. “Ask him to leave my brother when he leaves. When he finishes all his business here,” Karina tried to wipe away her tears; she looked tortured. “All your tasks. And return his voice and vision.”
“Come on, talk to your idiot. I hate him!”
“But for what?!”
“For making Nik weak.”
“Do you think it's really her brother?” Lis asked, he spoke slowly, but did not lisp at all.
“So what?” Arel didn’t understand.
“Maybe he's just making fun of her. Breaks comedy?”
Arel laughed:
“Maybe so. You're already talking, Lis, great!”
“Yes. But it really hurts.”
“And in my opinion, you got out, as always!”
Karina cautiously and embarrassedly entered the prince's room. Nikto, to her surprise, was not sitting on the bed as usual, but just on the floor next to her, with his back against the wall. He lifted his head in response to her steps. And for a second it seemed to her that she was there again, in the prison tower. And Nikto sat the same on the floor in front of her, just not on the dirty straw, and his hand was not twisted, chained to the wall. But he was still shrinking, sick, lonely.
“Gods,” she whispered, taking out the prepared notebook and pencil. “How can I withstand this… Hello.”
He only smiled slightly in return. Very tortured, very crooked. The Demon did it better.
Karina sat down next to him:
“Why are you sitting on the floor?” She tried to make her voice cheerful. “Maybe we can sit on the bed?”
But he literally recoiled from
