31 Chapter 31: Monocle-wearing Fox

When he awoke the next morning, Lumière felt as if his body had been immensely stressed out. His bones creaked, and his muscles threatened to tear themselves apart with every movement. Still, he got up out of bed and made his way to the bathroom at the end of the hall. He turned on the faucet and splashed his dirtied face with cold water before drawing a bath with the same cold water. When the cast-iron tub at the edge of the room had been filled, Lumière slipped his clothes from the day before off of his body, leaving them to fall to the floor in heaps. In recent days, he hadn't paid attention to his own failing eating habits, and so his form looked a bit haggard and thin. Lumière had never worked in an industry of intensely hard labour, and so his body never had the chance to build much muscle, his eating habits exacerbating the issue entirely.

Lumière turned his attention towards the bath, raising his ungloved right hand and pressing his pointer finger and thumb together. As he snapped his fingers, a large, writhing silvery flame appeared in the palm of his hand. He then placed his hand against the cast-iron tub, and with a bit of expenditure of his stamina, the tub was immediately enveloped in a film of flames. They twirled and danced about at the edge of the tub, and almost immediately, the water started to let off thick droves of steam. A smile curved up Lumière's face, and as he slipped into the water, he allowed the silver flames to dissipate. Immediately, it felt as if the fatigue that gnawed at his form wisped away, and he was thrust into a state of complete relaxation.

When he had finished, Lumière dried himself off and made his way back to his room. When he opened the drawer by his bedside to retrieve his clothes, he noticed a bright silver gleam atop the folded linens. When he picked it up, his heart sank instantly. It was a flower wrought from iron, a pin to be placed within a woman's hair. He bit at his lip to try and ignore the churning pain in his heart, and he gently wove the iron pin into the strands of hair atop his head. He then tied back the remainder of his hair with a strand of twine.

As soon as the heartache abated, Lumière donned his everyday attire- a black longcoat, a button-up white shirt, and a flat cap. He slipped the remainder of his hair under his hat, and checked to see that he was carrying his most essential items with him. Poe's Gnosis was nestled into a pocket sewn on the inside of his jacket, along with the music box meant to sate the monster in his shadow. He had slipped the aventurine pendant into his front pocket, and his straight sabre had been sheathed at his waist. His newly acquired pistol- Cerces, had been holstered at his side, concealed by his longcoat. Since it was illegally obtained, it was something that Lumière definitely did not want the Peacekeepers to notice.

After getting adequate rest, Lumière had decided to depart for the home of operations of the Blackfeather group in order to seek guidance from the Fox of the Steel Wastes, Adonis Trinder. Behind the pretty, soft mask he was beholden to, he was rumoured to have been a trained killer, adept with both firearms and blades. Lumière was more interested in seeking guidance with a firearm. Since he had been able to avoid the military draft that swept through the lower borough because he had been affiliated with the church, Lumière had never had the opportunity to learn how to fire a weapon. If he were to face more dangerous enemies in the future, he knew it was crucial that he learnt such a thing.

As he walked along Cobbler's Street, the beauty of the hillside giving way to the horrific sights of the shattered lower borough, he ruminated the powers he had obtained thus far, as if compiling a compendium of his options in the event of danger. Over the course of a few weeks, he had gained extraordinary power by getting tangled up in extreme events. He had lost the person closest to him, and it had stoked a goal in his heart to change the tragedy around him.

By stumbling upon the 'One of Spades' after fighting with the crazed heretic in the monastery, he had gained access to 'Illusory Murmurs', 'Spark', 'Blood Tracing', and the ability to temporary enhance his strength by blaspheming an orthodox deity. From being summoned to the labyrinth, and being invited by the Lord Sinner to become one of his 'Primordial Sins', he had gained the ability to access a greater, more powerful form- 'Despair'. Besides that, with the permission of Aris Sevant, who he had met within the labyrinth, he also had the ability to access her form- 'Gluttony', of which entitled the power to consume everything around him to a certain degree, although he was hesitant to use such an ability. 

'This power… I don't think the fate of 'destroying the world' is necessarily about failing to use it. I've used the power of 'Despair' once already, although I can't particularly remember it. Then, is it about falling into 'Despair'? While I have lost myself for a time, I've managed to recover in every instance. If I can't manage to recover myself, and I truly fall into despair, I may just bend to fate and destroy the world without knowing it for a moment.' Lumière's horror began to rise in his heart, but he immediately cut it away. This meant that he would have to manage his feelings well, and not let them overtake him. 

'If I become inclined to madness, I will also lose my way forward… then, I can't look at myself as 'morally good' anymore. Even if it's for a good purpose in the end, I'll have to do horrible things. My flames harm others, so I'll have to cast them with my left hand if they're not for utilitarian purposes. I just have to be sure that I'll go through with it, is all. I'm already a murderer anyway. What is the harm in a thousand more bodies if I can cleanse the cruelty of society for the sake of those around me?'

Lumière cringed slightly at the thought, but he paid it no mind and kept walking.

'If I can be evil for the sake of those around me, isn't that fine? Can I really go through with that? I can't even play a 'crazy' role for the sake of hiding my true identity. Isn't this too difficult? Why did I have to be cursed with a human conscience?' 

His expression was calm, but also a little blank, and his eyes were vacant as his thoughts raced. He found himself staring at a wall in the middle of the street, where a glass window had been collecting dust, and so his warped reflection found its way into his view. He placed a hand against the skin by his eyes, trying to pull away the fatigue that had gathered underneath.

'Am I really not letting the world change me? Do I really have a choice in the matter?' Lumière let out a 'tsk' before turning back toward his walk. 'Fuck, haven't I already decided to become different for the sake of moving forward? Why am I still lamenting who I once was? Why am I so hung up on this?'

Soon, he came to a familiar dilapidated building made of stone bricks that was lit up by exterior lamplight. The boarded up windows seemed to be falling apart, and the front entrance was guarded by the two familiar blue-eyed twins. As usual, a figure with cloud-white hair and bright-yellow eyes hidden behind a silver monocle sat above him on the rooftop. He had pale white skin, and thick black tattooed markings underneath his eyes. It was the Fox of the Steel Wastes.

"Good morning, Mr. Trinder." Lumière said, his lips curling up into a genial smile.

"Mr. Croft, it's early. Are you here to see the boss? He's not in right now. He'll be back later, if you want to wait inside." Adonis responded, his expression still and unmoving. He always looked blank, like a pretty doll.

"No, I'm not here for Mr. Adler." Lumière shook his head in response, extending his hand as if beckoning towards the fox. "In fact, I'm here to see you."

"Me? Why would you come here to see me?" 

Adonis looked truly confused for once. He couldn't fathom the idea that someone would approach him with purpose, at least not with one that wasn't inherently lustful, for which he knew Lumière Croft wasn't interested in in the slightest. 

"You're adept in shooting, aren't you? I'd like you to teach me. I'll make it worth your while."

"You don't need to do such a thing. You're boss's friend. I can teach you without recouping a cost. It's just basic manners to do so." Adonis shook his head.

"Still, it would be strange to offer you nothing in exchange, wouldn't it?"

Lumière reached into his coat pocket, procuring a small object wrapped in a thin white cloth. He gradually unraveled the twine that kept it together, and sitting in the palm of his hand was a buttery and flaky pastry that looked as if it had been glazed with melted sugar, and topped with a single glistening cherry in the center. After talking a bit with Eamon Stroud, who seemed less than keen to have a general conversation with Lumière, began to rant on and on passionately about the Steel Fox. In doing so, Lumière had learned that Adonis Trinder, above all things, admired sweets the most. So, at the cost of the majority of the wealth he had left, he had bought a warm pastry from the marketplace in Etten-Leur to exchange for lessons in shooting.

As he spotted the pastry in Lumière's hand, Adonis's blank expression gradually grew warmer, revealing a smile uncharacteristic of him. He let out an audible gulp, and slowly blinked as if to ascertain whether he was seeing an illusion or not.

"Well, if you're keen on an exchange, I can't just deny your kindness, Mr. Croft." Adonis nodded his head in certainty, adjusting the monocle on his eye before hopping down to the ground below. He glanced momentarily over to the blue-eyed twins who watched over the building, but they paid him no mind, and so he looked back towards Lumière. 

"Have you ever been to the Steel Wastes, Mr. Croft?" Adonis spoke politely.

Lumière shook his head in response.

"I've always been told it's far too dangerous to go there without any reason." 

"Then, let's go there. In recent days, with the sending of Peacekeeper reinforcements from Lindgram, there's been far less scavenger activity. Less and less have people begun to journey there for the collection of scrap. It's a very good place to train in secrecy, with an abundance of items that can be used as makeshift targets."

Lumière nodded his head.

"Alright then. Lead the way."