Chapter 123: Dreams of The Past [Start of Volume 2]
That day, the sun was dimmer than usual.
The earth beneath my feet: colder.
The air pouring into my lungs: bitter.
The gusts cutting between buildings: frigid.
It was an ordinary day with ever-so-subtle shifts in the fabric of reality.
I awoke, as usual, and mechanically followed through with my morning routine: a shower, moisturiser, and a neat, dark-blue suit to complement my simple, rugged haircut. Cooking up an omelette, I plastered it between two slices of brown bread and downed a cup of sparkling, flavoured water.
A normal morning.
A normal day.
And a normal routine.
Standing before a mirror, I stared at the dead eyes in my reflection; they bore the weight of a thousand lives.
Then, I exited the one-bedroom studio apartment.
The petrifying, drowning noises of modern society crushed my senses. It overwhelmed me in a flurry of grating noises. Lifting my head, I covered my forehead and glared with empty, hollow eyes at the dimmed sun.
...I remember that moment well, I had been thinking:
[Today is the day.]
But didn't think much of it.
By that point, it was already determined.
Making my way out of the apartment block with heavy feet, I breathed in the vague hissing of the white haze.
Of the boundless fog.
It oozed from the newly dimmed sun, pouring into my pores with each passing moment.
Right.
That day, I had also been thinking:
[I'm sorry.]
...No, or was it?
Wasn't I thinking:
[I messed up.]
...No, it wasn't that either.
Or was it:
[Forgive me.]
...No, not that either.
Was it:
[I didn't realise.]
...No?
Or:
[I overlooked it.]
...Nor that.
Sighing, I stopped in the middle of the street.
The daycare was right beside me, filled with the annoying shrieking of children.
Right ahead was the stall where I usually purchased a lemon to wake myself up in the morning.
Standing there, in the middle of the foggy street, I twisted my head to the right, to the stream of liquid buzzing behind the golden-haired, white-eyed little girl; me.
Seated within the fracture, I stared at myself with sorrow.
With regret.
What did I regret?
...
.....
...
I need to leave.
---
Opening my eyes to the ceiling of this makeshift house, I groaned and shuffled myself upwards. Golden hair scattered behind me, tickling the cheek of the beauty lying beside me.
Reaching out, I peeled my hair off her face, then shuffled off.
I put it behind me.
The memories.
The regret.
The failure.
"...I can't"
Gritting my teeth, I smacked my face with open palms, shook my head, and trailed along to my desk—to the book sitting open and fluttering with madness.
Sitting down, I picked up the feather-tipped pen, tapped my cheek with it for a moment, and then I began jotting it down.
Where was I at again?
Humming for a moment, my eyes dimmed as I remembered where I was.
Right.
It was the day we escaped.
Clicking my tongue; we didn't know yet, how could we?
As I pressed my feather-tipped pen into the accursed pages, I heard the sound of rustling echo from behind me. Then came the steps.
Pushing her arms over my shoulders as usual, her pink-marked black hair draped over me. Pressing her body over me, she placed her mouth by my ear:
"Still can't stop remembering...?"
Her voice came out hazy and hoarse.
I shook my head lightly, "No."
"What part are you at now...?"
Chuckling helplessly, I pointed at the latest word, "The first day."
Her hoarse voice mellowed out, "Oh... When..."
The hold on my pen tightened drastically, and, opening my mouth with darkened eyes, I spat with veracious anger:
"Yes."
-----
Lifting her right hand, Blessings and Curses coalesced into a sleek, silver sword adorned with intricate, runic carvings of red. It was her Manifestation, a sword born of divine-esque Blessings.
Moving her left hand over to the right, she gripped the lower half of the hilt with her left hand and the upper half with her right; a stable form that was ready to pounce at any moment alongside her agile footwork.
Irregularly sipping short, sharp breaths, Hilda pushed her brain to its limit.
A method created not to deprive the brain of oxygen, but to force it to work overtime while maintaining full functionality.
"Lardis~"
'It's back'
Shifting uncomfortably, Hilda took another step into the dark corridor. The lanterns there hadn't been lit, unlike the ones in the main corridor that Vanessa had taken care of moments ago.
"Kratis~"
'It's cycling the words.'
She didn't know what language that was, but-
"Martis~"
-whatever it was, it was being repeated.
Squinting her eyes, Hilda stepped even deeper into the corridor; she had two options: sit around and wait for backup, or deal with it as was already expected of her as one of the guardians of the inside.
Both options could kill her, but the option she chose was what she believed to be the only correct choice.
'I'll get rid of it.'
It was the choice to protect the ones she loved.
She's strong.
She's sure of it.
And she knows it.
So, there was no way she was going to turn around and run like a coward.
Her blistering ruby-red eyes shimmered with Blessings and Curses as she began to reinforce her body. Then, those very same eyes, the lovely eyes that spent half their lifetime staring at the one she loved the most...
They flickered.
Sun-kissed gold.
Vibrant emerald.
Two colours, swirling, twirling, and fluttering with her abhorrent Curses before-
Sting.
Sting.
-they both solidified.
Emerald in the left eye, gold in the right eye.
Her Curses had taken hold.
-----
"In you slow fuckers." Cursing through the venom of her teeth, Vanessa counted them one by one, once the last person entered-
Thud.
-she slammed it shut to the rattling noises of the Captain's Cabin.
Running her gaze through the current calm members, and Lily, who was holding onto furniture for dear life to fight The Canary's swaying, whilst being confused out of her mind after waking up mere moments ago:
'Yulei, Esme, Lily, Hilda, and me. All five are accounted for.'
Clicking her teeth, Vanessa marched by them and tapped the main table, "Alright, listen up, you shits. Not you, Yulei, Esme. I'm talking about you, Lily, Hilda."
Lily nodded solemnly with a nervous face, while Hilda, with a mixture of green and golden eyes, chuckled wryly.
"Hilda, I need you to enter the belly of The Canary with Esme and comb through it for any abnormal entities or intruders. In case of anything attempting to break through the hull, blow a horn, then I'll warn Hildekar to come and fix it up."
"Lily, you stay here with Yulei and me. We can't have you taking risks, not when you barely know what is going on and are following us blindly. I know you're confused-" Mid explanation, Vanessa clicked her teeth again, "Fuck, this is so annoying. Just sit around and wait until Esme can explain shit to you. Till then, shut your mouth and follow orders."
Lily flinched under Vanessa's aggressiveness. Frantically nodding, she swept up one hand off the table, motioned zipping her mouth shut and slammed her hand right back on the table.
Confusion and shock weren't enough to interrupt her Lady's friend's plans. She could ask for information and where they were and what was going on later.
"Remember, Esme, Hilda, Hildekar also isn't entirely sure what some of the aspects the blueprints required him to add to The Canary do. So stick close, and watch your backs. Don't die, you fucks."
"No problem." Esme hopped to Hilda's side and tapped her back.
The girl in question quivered with a vaguely flushed face, then awkwardly nodded, "Mhm. We won't."
Wasting no time, Vanessa tossed a horn stored in one of the compartments over to Esme and waved them off.
Within just a minute of their arrival at the Captain's Cabin, Hilda and Esme were off.
Vanessa impatiently tapped her heel on the ground in an attempt to shake off the inevitable nerves; her eyes then turned towards the back of the Captain's Cabin, towards the planks covering the windows.
Hildekar hadn't removed them, and, according to him, they were an essential part of The Canary.
It made you wonder, though.
Why add the windows if you were going to cover them up in the first place?
But that was a question for another time; Vanessa didn't care much for the answer anyway.
Her focus was simple:
Protect Yulei and the dumbass Lily.
And...
'Alora, you better not die. Not now.'
Grinding her teeth, the tapping of her feet increased in pace drastically.
Yulei remained quiet, dazedly staring at the crown, and Lily was shooting glances between the two girls; she wanted answers, but she'd have to wait a while longer before Esme could drip-feed her the truth she oh-so wanted at the moment.
-----
Twirling the Quill in the darkness, I stopped to think for a moment whilst my body swayed alongside The Canary.
What can I do to allow us to see?
We're helpless in this darkness, but seeing through this darkness is perhaps even more dangerous than wading through the hidden horrors of the Sunless Skies.
Countering the darkness obstruction was allowed by my Book of Heresy, meaning it isn't difficult to accomplish; but the danger of doing so stops me from doing it again.
So...
Instead of countering the darkness...
[Alora - Darkness - Minor Resistance - 5 Seconds]
Curses flooded into my Book of Heresy, then back into my eyes.
Enduring the gush of Curses rattling my fragile eyeballs, I witnessed it once more, the sight through the darkness.