Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 93 That's Me

"Rhys, breathe! Please, breathe! Follow my rhythm."

"N…no. I told you not to show him! I'll turn the TV off!"

"No! If this has to happen, then it needs to happen here with us. And if you're not going to help, just get out!"

"What am I even supposed to do!?"

Lina had already seen how cameras affected Rhys the very first day they met back in Old York High, and she could not help but think of how vulnerable he seemed back then whenever she remembered it. But that was nothing compared to what she was seeing now.

Back when Rhys was serving in the Underworld Corps, Lina annoyed Katarina with her questions to the point that she almost showed Rhys's clinical file. But of course, Katarina did not really do that and opted to just share what she could with Lina.

Lina already knew all of Rhys's flaws, what he had gone through, all of the mental ticks and illnesses he had. She even fought Katarina once, blaming her for not helping more when she could have.

Lina already knew all of Rhys's flaws… but she had no idea what they looked like at all.

She would cover her ears and close her eyes if she could, but she had to see this — she had to accept the man she had fallen in love with for all he is and was.

"Rhys… breathe with me."

Rhys was on the corner of his bed; his back on the wall and his body curled. He seemed to be desperately hiding himself, but failing all the same as his hand repeatedly hit his head over and over again. He wasn't crying, not at all, he was just letting out a continuous wailing groan that had not even paused once from the time it started.

"It's okay, Rhys. It's okay…" Katarina's words were soft, incredibly so. She did not really try to grab or stop Rhys from hitting herself, she just kept her distance and calmly talked to her, "...We're here, okay? Everything is fine, we're here."

"Should… should we give him something? Anything? L...Lemons, or something?"

"No," Katarina shook her head, "Any physical interaction makes it worse for him."

And even through Rhys's violent and gasping breaths filling the entire room, Lina could still hear the gentleness in Katarina's voice; enough to calm even herself down. And so, she did the only thing she could really do…

…sit beside Katarina and just wait.

"Look, Lina's here…" Katarina held Lina's hand; her grip, strong but trembling, "...We're here now, and we will be here after."

Lina glanced at Katarina's trembling hand for a few seconds, before gently also holding it and looking at Rhys, watching him as he continued to scream and hurt himself. His eyes were completely open, but they were not really looking at anything at all — they were just constantly moving as if reflecting something that was not really there.

A second.

A minute.

And soon, Rhys started to calm down as his eyes were now suddenly looking at Katarina and Lina. Completely confused as if he had just woken up; his breaths, completely hoarse.

"A—" Lina was going to say something, but Katarina gripped her hand tight and prevented her from saying anything.

"It's… it's my fault, everything's my fault." And before Lina could even wonder why Katarina stopped her, Rhys started whispering to himself as the tears that seemed to want to fall from his eyes finally trailed down his cheeks, "Dead, everyone… everyone is dead because of me. I killed them, I killed them all. It was me, it's my fault."

Lina almost forgot to breathe as her head started trembling; trying her best not to let out a whimper there and then as she heard Rhys's words. She turned to look at Katarina, hoping to at least get something, but she was the same as her — both of them trying their best not to cry.

"Mom… mom is dead. I saw… I saw it. I saw her stomach open. Her blood, her blood got on my face," Rhys then crawled from the bed and started walking in circles around the room; his hand, seemingly not knowing what to do as it just waved and shook around everywhere, "I think… I think I drank some of it. My sister she… I just watched her… it's my fault. It's all my fault.

It's—"

Rhys then suddenly stopped walking as his eyes landed on the TV. Lina was about to rush and turn it off, but Katarina held her back. Lina glanced at Katarina, but seeing the expression on her face, she seemed to be even more confused as to what was happening.

Rhys blinked a couple of times as he walked in front of the TV and pointed at it, "...That's me."

"It is, Rhys. It is," Katarina did not let go of Lina's hand; practically dragging her as she very slowly approached Rhys.

"Where's… Mom and Chloe?" Rhys squinted his eyes as he stared at the TV.

"They are not there, it's just you…" Katarina then slowly sat on the sofa with Lina. Lina was as confused from the start as to what was happening, so she just went with the flow; not letting Rhys off of her sight for even a single millisecond.

"Just… me? Why?"

"I… I don't know," Katarina smiled as she scooched away from Lina and started patting the space between them on the sofa, "Why… why don't you sit with us and we'll watch?"

Rhys looked back and forth between the TV and the sofa, before just nodding and sitting between the two; his eyes, completely focused on the TV. And this time, Katarina was holding his hand, while Lina very carefully rested her head on his shoulder and embraced him.

Lina tried her best not to cry, but now that she was feeling Rhys's warmth again, she could not help but just bury her face on his shoulder and let the tears flow. Katarina gripped Rhys's hand as strong as she could; her breaths, stuttering as they could only escape from her mouth.

As for Rhys, he just continued to stare at the TV with a curious expression on his face; seemingly unfazed by everything. He watched the video until the end, and then watched it again repeatedly several times… and the two just watched and waited with him.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Ma'am…" And finally, after what seemed like hours and hours, a calm breath escaped Rhys's lips as he rested his cheek on Lina's head, "And I'm sorry you had to see it again, Katarina."

"I will see it as many times as you want," Katarina sniffled before adjusting her glasses; subtly wiping away the tears that did not manage to fall from her eyes, "But as your doctor, hopefully, this is the last time we see an episode like that."

"Sir…" Lina did not really say anything much and just tightened her embrace on Rhys, subtly pushing Katarina's hand away that was holding Rhys's only hand, but failing all the same as her grip was too tight.

"This video… who uploaded it? Is it uploaded somewhere else? Shudder?" Rhys asked, knowing it could only be one of the explorers he was with. It caught everything --- the camera, most likely a 360 degree camera, seemed to have been left in the bus as it had footage of the robbers, the harpies, and then what he did in the Underworld.

"As far as we know, the streamer doesn't have a Shudder account. Just WeTube," Katarina finally let go of Rhys's hand and stood up, "I've already asked some people to try and take the video d—"

"No. Let it stay," Rhys closed his eyes and sighed, "It's time…

...They watch something else about me."