"You can wish for anything....for an instance- You can wish for your parents' life or turn back time and wish that you never got these powers, or return back to a human. Anything you want, I can fulfill it. So that's why I'm asking you, are you sure?" Lady Ivsana said.
"My...parents." Vierne said.
"Yes, you can have a normal family life with them. Isn't that all that you ever wanted?" Lady Ivsana said.
"But, my friends...What about them?" Vierne said and looked behind her.
"Where is Melissa?" Vierne said.
"She disappeared since her Demigod is dead." Lady Ivsana said.
"This can't be happening....Everything is falling apart. I suddenly came back to the first step where I was all alone again. Everyone is dying and I can't do anything." Vierne said.
"Why are you so afraid of death? It's the most beautiful gift of God. Just look around you, it's autumn. Autumn is so beautiful, yet everything is dying." Lady Ivsana said.
"....I can't decide." Vierne said.
"Let me help you decide" Lady Ivsana said and soon Vierne found herself standing in a huge hall of some ancient castle covered with plants she had never seen before.
"Where am I?" Vierne said.
"Ivolis, the city of stars. You are currently inside the castle of the twelve elite knights." Lady Ivsana said as she stood behind Vierne.
Soon, a girl with black hair came running out of the castle into the hall. There was a huge mob following her.
They were throwing pebbles and stones at her.
"THAT'S INHUMAN! STOP!" Vierne shouted as she stood in front of the people but they just passed through her.
"You can just watch. You can't make any changes and nobody can see or hear you since we are in the past." Lady Ivsana said.
"Why are you showing this to me?" Vierne said.
"Why? Don't you wanna know who those people, whom you call your 'friends' were, before they met you?" Lady Ivsana said.
"But I don't know that girl." Vierne said.
"Really? You don't know 'lust'?" Lady Ivsana said.
"Lust? Melissa?" Vierne said as she looked at the girl with black hair.
Her clothes were tattered, her feet were bleeding and her hands, legs and face were covered with injuries.
But she was running with all her might, as if her life depended on it.
"Why are they after her? Who are they?" Vierne said.
"They are the other stars who hate her." Lady Ivsana said.
"Hate her? But why?" Vierne said.
"Because she is Lust. She is a 'sin' star. All sin stars are boycotted by other stars and are considered a sign of bad luck." Lady Ivsana said.
"BUT THAT'S NOT HER FAULT! THAT'S STUPID!" Vierne said.
Lady Ivsana smiled and walked towards a door in the hall. Vierne followed her.
The door opened to stairs, which went to a basement.
They walked inside and saw....
"Tell me, how did your parents make that serum? What were the ingredients?" Zia said as she leaned towards Akagi who was sitting on a chair in the dark, tied up in chains.
He smiled and said "I'm sure they didn't use your cum in that."
She frowned and slit his palm with a cutter.
He shouted in pain.
"AGH!!"
"AKAGI!" Vierne shouted as she looked at him.
"So you can tell it's him? Well, it's not been so long." Lady Ivsana said.
"We have to help him!" Vierne said as she turned towards Ivsana.
"I told you. We are only spectators. We can't make any changes in the past or it will imbalance the current world." Ivsana said and walked towards Akagi.
"Let's go, you have to meet other people too." She said and walked towards the dark.
"Wait," Vierne said as she looked at Akagi then followed Ivsana.
They soon found themselves inside a cave and finally saw the opening.
They heard a sweet music from the other side.
Vierne walked out of the cave and saw a blonde boy with wings, surrounded by different musical instruments.
"Ah....I missed this music. Unfortunately, Oniru can't play this anymore due to the seal. But wait... he did break the seal." Lady Ivsana said.
"Lict" Vierne said as she walked towards Oniru.
"You can tell who it is?" Ivsana said.
Vierne ignored her and walked towards Lict.
He seemed happy as all the animals surrounded him and the birds chirped.
"This Lict....seems so happy. I've never seen him this happy with me before." Vierne said.
"ONIRU!!" Akihiko shouted as he walked towards Lict.
Vierne turned and looked at a man with long black hair. He was dressed in a kimono like Lict.
"It's just an illusion" Ivsana said.
"What?" Vierne said and soon found herself standing in a small room.
A young girl was lying beside her and Lict looked at her.
"Lict, I want you to rape this girl." Akihiko said.
"What?!!" Vierne said as she looked at Ivsana.
"It's an order." Akihiko said.
"WHAT KIND OF ORDER IS THAT?" Vierne said.
"Vierne, let's go." Lady Ivsana said as the floor started crumbling down.
"WAIT!" Vierne said.
"I'm sorry." Lict said as he looked at the girl as she shouted for help.
"NO- LICT!!" Vierne said as she ran towards Lict but the floor crumbled and she fell into it.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!" She shouted as she disappeared in the dark.
......
"Ugh! It hurts." Vierne said as she got up and looked around.
She had fallen on bushes of roses. It was a huge rose garden with a silver fountain at the center.
"No way, this is.... mother's rose garden. Which means...." Vierne said and ran towards the other side.
She reached a small lake, behind the garden where a woman with long white hair stood in front of a silver bench.
She was singing the lullaby.
"Zaglyani ty v serdechko mnea
I skazhi ukhodi zime" She sang.
(Tn// You look into my heart
And say "go away" to winter.)
'Ahh...Mother's lullaby..... It sounds just as good as it did back then' Vierne thought.
"Veter voyet a ty grey menya
Nebo stonet a u nas vesna" Vierne sang. Her voice was deeper than her mother's voice.
(Tn// The wind howls, but you keep me warm; The sky moans, and now we have spring.
As Vierne sang the verse, her mother stopped singing and turned towards her.
Then, they both sang the chorus together-
"Poprosi u oblakov
Podarit nam byelekh snov
Noch plyvet i my za ney
V mir tain stvenneykh ogney"
(Tn// Ask the clouds to give us white dreams.
The night swims, and we follow it, into a world of mysterious lights.)
Vierne's mother, Laura Obolensky stopped and smiled at Vierne.
"You sing pretty well, my dear." She said.
Vierne looked behind her and then, back at Laura."Are you talking to me?" She said.
"There is no one here except you." Laura said.
Vierne looked around and saw that Lady Ivsana was gone. Then, she looked at Laura and said,
"You can...see me?" Vierne said.
"Ha ha.... I'm sorry. Was I supposed to pretend that you aren't here?" Laura said.
"....You can really see me?" Vierne said.
Laura laughed and said "Anyways, how do you know that lullaby?"
"It's.....something my mother used to sing for me." Vierne said.
"I'd like to meet your mother." Laura said.
"You cannot. She's no more." Vierne said.
"Oh...I'm so sorry. I didn't know. But, what are you doing here?" Laura said.
"....I want to ask you something....ma'am." Vierne said.
"Yes?" Laura said with a friendly smile.
"If you were to choose between your family and your friends....Who would you choose?" Vierne asked.
"Family is like music, some high notes, some low notes but always a beautiful song. It's God's gift to you." Laura said.
"Then-"
"And your friends are the family you choose."
"So, who should I choose?" Vierne said.
"That's your decision to make. I can't tell that to you. Just remember that, no matter what you choose, there will always be those people who'll see you as who you are, who'll believe in you so much that you'll start believing in yourself, and those who'll love you- The imperfect you, the broken you, the confused you, the wrong you and the real you."
"Mom...." Vierne said as she looked into Laura's eyes.
She turned Vierne's shoulders towards the lake and stood behind her.
"Be slow to fall into friendship, but once you befriend someone, you must remain strong, firm and loyal to them, Vierne." Laura said.
"Mom? You knew....it?" Vierne said as she turned back.
There was no one there anymore.
"Mom?" Vierne said as she looked around. Then she smiled and said to herself...
"Thank you so much, mom. I think, I know what I need to do now."
"There you are! I thought I lost you in the time maze." Lady Ivsana said as she walked towards Vierne.
"How did you get here? Are you okay?" Ivsana said.
"....Yes, I've never better" Vierne said with a smile, "I've decided what I want to wish for."
"I'm glad that you've finally made a decision." Lady Ivsana said "So, what is it?"
-To be continued