Red.
Not that of blood, but of something darker.
Everything felt vague and almost misty. There was a faint presence of tranquility in the atmosphere. Wherever his feet took him, there was always the remaining shade of carmine.
That was the color that dominated the world Lloyd Ashford fell in. the world born out of the dark void. It was by no means a representation of the depths of hell.
It was a lonely town like any other, similar to that in reality, in a dreamlike state. The sky, high and above, was coated in a scarlet shade as if the apocalypse had dawned. Even the sun, which shone ever so brightly more than it should, was burning with its flames spiraling. But there was no heat. Not the sun. Not the shade. Nothing was able to conduct heat in this cold. Only the heavy touch of being deep within an ocean. The world advanced slowly like it would be under the sea, with the direction of the water hindering one's movements.
Was this a nightmare or a dream?
A burning question that lingered in Lloyd's mind but never took form. His mind was not his own at the moment, only his thoughts that bore no control over his body.
Before him was an endless street, girdled by buildings on all sides, but there was nothing. It was empty, devoid of any life. He stood alone in that shallow street, speechless, trying to comprehend the situation. Touching anything felt quivering, the exact quiver water down the stream would make, as nothing was stable in this world.
Dream after dream, Lloyd was tired of it all, yet his body wouldn't stop. He trudged forward through the streets to seemingly no end. With every movement, his legs felt heavier than ever before. He wasn't walking on solid ground as he had thought, he was trapped within a sea of red beneath the ground that greatly hindered his movement. There was no escape.
That being said, he still had command over his voice. But calling out for help led to no avail. Only greetings by the cold breeze of the dead silence awaited him after every cry.
Minutes felt like hours as the so-called time progressed in this fantasy. A sense of odd familiarity sauntered through his mind at some point. These weren't the streets of Neverland, but they were still something he knew very well at one time. For how could he forget? No matter how far a cub would stray far off, it could never forget its own home.
This was London, his home city. Albeit it was a distorted reality of London, it still maintained most of its original shape to be recognized.
It had been quite the time since Lloyd departed London for Neverland. The last time he had been there… was the day of his enlistment, the day the tales became real before his eyes, the day everything changed…
The day he met Shogo Kuroiwa.
Remembering that, his thoughts traveled to his school, the school he had been a student in before the academy, and just like that, his body moved on its own once more. This time, it headed in the supposed direction of the school. Despite not being in control, his body still listened to his thoughts and followed after them.
Every step in the liquid ground triggered the eeriness in the atmosphere. The whole city was quiet and empty, only the resonance of his steps echoed like droplets out of a faulty sink. His body would often shiver upon hearing those echoes, but it still moved on, following the only sane thought in his mind.
Was this his fate? To be trapped in an endless loop? To be thrown out from one dream to another? He could not gather his thoughts anymore, only watch and read like everyone to what awaited.
And then there it was… his old school, standing bright in the center of his vision. It was nothing grand like the Academy or some schools in London, just an average peaceful school that stifled no drama whatsoever. Seeing it reminded Lloyd of how much he missed the serenity it held that could not be found elsewhere. Yet now, beyond that serenity loomed faint darkness that changed the entire perspective of the school to one's eyes. He stood, not in front of the place that housed all of his old friends, not in front of the place he once called a school, but in front of the den of the devil, a place that sheathed all his memories of long ago.
It was not welcoming by all means, but, the situation being what it was, his body welcomed it greatly, like a child who had been reunited with their father, or a broken piece that had finally found what it lost.
※※※
Aside from the red shade still lingering, the interiors of the school were much the same as the day Lloyd left it — it stemmed from the deepest of his memories in the image he projected after all.
There was nobody in the school either. It was all empty to the point that it was unsettling. A school like this was rarely empty, unless, of course, it was the center of nightfall, to which it wasn't. The dreamy red sun was still high up in the sky, so in some shape or form, this was the supposed morning of the day.
A sound emerged. Finally, something different resonated in this world other than the madness that was dropping with every step. It was oddly humane, considering everything that was to be seen here. It was the humming of a voice; a tune that was unfamiliar to Lloyd. It was soothing to the ears. Not short after, the humming turned into words being sung, but the humming still persisted, as if to serve as a background tune to the singing.
The chanting went on. The young womanly voice had turned into that of a beautiful voice worth a theater of audience. It was all as if it was straight out of the fairy tales.
When he finally reached the source, Lloyd was faced with a classroom door. Beyond it was the chant continuing on in his ears. Just what was mesmerizing about it all? He could not understand. He was only to watch everything unfold before his eyes without doing anything.
And so the hand, that was no longer his to command, grabbed the knob and pushed the door open to the inside. Upon entering, a greater light of flame greeted him, almost blinding him completely. It took seconds for him to adapt and for the light to slowly fade away.
The image started to form before his eyes naturally. It was, yet again, an empty classroom, lone seats, and desks were evenly placed at every block of the room to seemingly no end. However, there was a figure standing by the window facing the door from the other side. The light was still shining brightly as ever, so only a figment of a silhouette was visible. It wasn't exactly a slender figure, but it wasn't stout either, it was the perfect womanly figure, almost bearing an hourglass shape.
So there was no doubt in determining it was a woman standing at the forefront. The light faded and the figure's details began to emerge. A woman of long black hair, with almost a shade of purple, rested on the ledge. Her smile was uncanny, yet seductive, at the same time. Her bright colorless eyes stared deep into Lloyd's own eyes, like a praying mantis watching its prey.
But then it hit him… That face. That body. All of it. He knew all of it, he knew who this was.
It was none other than Juno.
Yes, it was Juno, the girl wonder of the academy. No matter how many times Lloyd tried to deny that fact, it was still Juno in the flesh standing before him. The only change was her red eyes that were long gone, lost in the sea of rose that they were deep in.
Even if it was a familiar face in this uncanny world, it didn't change the oddity of the situation, the oddity of Juno herself. It was her body, her face, but there was no way in a million years it was actually her. While Juno was known to bear a womanly physique, she was never the type to actually use it as an advantage for her own selfish gains. And the one that stood in the classroom right now, she was practically one flowing with temptation. She was not one to give that smile, yet here she was, smiling alluringly. Her eyes were always slothful, yet now they were beaming
Of all things… Why Juno? Lloyd did not know.
"My, my," What posed itself as Juno started speaking, her voice as mesmerizing as ever. "How long I have waited for you to come, Loy Loy. You know it's not nice to keep a girl waiting, right?"
A million years would pass and Lloyd wouldn't ever believe those words to be coming out of Juno's mouth. He was still fazed by it all, not even able to formulate a proper response to her. Even if he did, the words wouldn't come out. He had been unable to speak the moment he stepped into the school as if he had been stuck in a sort of trance.
She walked in an elegant manner, with one foot directly in front of the other at each step. Now, she stood face-to-face with Lloyd. It was then that he realized the small gap in height between him and her. She was slightly taller than him by a few centimeters. It was a barely noticeable difference in reality, but now, it made all the difference. In this dreamy world, that gap was greater than ever, and he could feel nothing but the ever-pressing authority coming from her.
"Don't tell me you're scared of me?! It's me, Juno!" She had a cunning smile on her face, her voice was filled with desire. "You've always had your eyes on me, didn't you?"
Who was to say he didn't? Everyone in the Academy had their eyes on Juno, so why would Lloyd be an exception? It was only natural.
— No! None of this is real. Wake up!
Time and time again, he would try to scream out his thoughts, but there was no use. His mind was in a world, and in his body was in another world of itself. He was forever caught in the trap.
"Oh come on, Loy! Stop being so feeble. We're just two people madly fascinated by one another. There is no wrong in that."
She reached out her arms and wrapped them around Lloyd's torso, taking him into her embrace with utmost passion.
Lloyd could not control his body, yet he could feel her womanly body enveloping every corner of his body: her breasts pushing against the upper part of his chest almost up to his neck, and her legs going back and forth slowly between his legs. Her misty eyes looked vacantly down at him, not with warmth, but with desire of most amatory nature. Both their faces were close enough they could feel each other's deep breath. Any moment now and he could feel himself drowning completely within her.
"I want you…" She whispered enticingly into his ears.
Pressing her lips against Lloyd's, Juno pushed him to the ground, and together they fell on top of each other. He could not believe what was happening to him.
"You're mine now, Lloyd. Forever mine—"
Those were her final words before proceeding further with no intention of stopping. She touched his lips once more and then reached for his neck.
It was all sensual… but Lloyd hated every second of it. To him, it was all disgusting. His mind often wavered to such thoughts as any man would, but he would never do such a thing. He never thought of Juno in this position.
— Stop…
He cried from within, but to what effort… the effort of the damned.
— You're not her…
But she wouldn't stop, her carnal desires only grew deeper with each touch. Her face was filled with delight; twisted delight that she had finally gotten hold of the man she longed for the most. Their hearts were connected. Their destinies were aligned. It was all too great.
The words from before echoed in Lloyd's mind as she tried to sway him into embracing it all with him.
— But I don't want you… so stop…
He knew, for a fact, that his thoughts were reaching her, for now, they were one and the same. Linked together by this twisted dream.
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
It was then… that a faint light shined down like a saving grace.
(Realtu Umbra)
Those two words struck through Lloyd's mind and heart like a shard. It was a call of awakening: the moment he longed for the most.
There was a feeling of hope dawning back at him again like a rope had dropped down to save him from the deepest pit.
He opened his eyes.
"I said no!!"
Finally, his voice reached out to the dream, to the beyond, to reality. And when it did, his body shifted control, all his senses returned back to their rightful owner.
Not taking any chances, he swiftly moved his right hand, despite becoming numb from all the motionless he endured. He attempted to use all his remaining might to push her away completely. But when he moved his hands over to her, something else transpired.
Before he realized it, there was blood all over his face. There was blood dripping from Juno's mouth as she coughed up more. Her eyes, her face, were full of shock, and sorrow.
Something had struck right through her chest.
That something was held directly in Lloyd's hands. It was a dagger, a golden dagger beaming with light. A weapon of murder that ended Juno, but it was a weapon of saving grace to Lloyd, for it opened to him a path to escape.
"W-Why…?" Juno said, her voice shaking as if tears were about to drop.
Looking at the dagger plunged deep into her chest, Lloyd could not move for a few seconds. He was still trying to contemplate what he had done. That Juno was going to die at his hands. All he wanted was to escape, to run away, but not to murder someone in order to do that, especially someone like Juno.
It was a dream after all, and he believed that. But still, if dreams were to be taken lightly because they were no reality, then there was no point to it all.
At that moment, however, his mind went blank as his body moved on its own due to instinct. The dagger disappeared as if it were never there, but the damage it had done was still visible and it was not stopping. Pushing Juno off him out of fear, he pulled himself away and trudged forward to the door, almost tripping constantly as he did, before slamming into the wall out in the hallway.
He looked back. Juno was sitting on the floor right where he left her, even in the same position, with the same look of despair. She lifted her head up and looked at Lloyd, who was panting from all the effort he had exerted, from afar.
And then she uttered once again, "Why?"
This time it was clearer and hit Lloyd even more as if he had made a grave mistake. But this was not Juno, not the one he knew. No amount of guilt-tripping coming from her was going to faze him anymore.
"Why?" She said again, "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"
Her cries wouldn't stop, like a broken machine on repeat. The more times she said it, the more it got distorted. The voice no longer belonged to her. It became rather deep and ten times more terrifying like a great demon hid within that body of hers.
— This is a nightmare, no doubt.
Lloyd could not bear the noise coming from the thing that was covered in Juno's shell. He covered his ears, attempting to deafen it all away. But there was no success.
His only solution was to run away, and so he did. He did not know where to go and what to do. He just ran, without any purpose, all to escape this wretched moment, this nightmare of seemingly no end.