**Maddie**
It was the same dreary landscape, and the same blood-red, and gray, circling mass of clouds…it popped and swirled alternately whenever I was here.
"…"
I don't know. For several times now, after Kuro returned, I repeatedly came back to this dream. This same suffocating, and overwhelming, feeling of sadness. A dream filled with despair, and dread…
"Kuro…"
Just like from before, there in front of me was Kuro. Wearing an all-white clothing, and surrounded by what looked to me as children—I always thought that maybe, those were his students—he just stood there, happily mingling with them. And they were walking away from me, slowly but steady. Yet, I could do nothing else…
"Kuro!" and then, I called out to him. I already knew what would happen next; nevertheless, I couldn't control myself. It's as if my lips would open on its own, and my body was being led by someone else.
"…"
And there, again, were his eyes. Those awful, dead, eyes. No spark, no happiness, nothing. He would stay like that and stare at me for a few painful moments, as if trying to recall my name in his thoughts…me, the girl who loved him with all her heart…
But the most hurtful if all…
"Who are you?" He would ask every time I called out to him in this dream.
"I'm Maddie…the girl who loves you!" was my answer, desperate to convince him that it's true.
"Maddie? I don't know…" he would say, complete with a weak smile, "And please don't play a prank on me; no girl ever loved me for what I am."
"But that's—" I would be tempted to refute his claims. However, after being in this nightmare for so many times, I knew this was just a fake. I knew that no matter how many times I'd tell this 'Kuro' how much I love and yearn for him, his answer wouldn't change.
And I knew, that after I woke up from this, he would still be by my side…smiling, and caring for me.
"Are you even sure of that?"
"!!!"
A disembodied, silvery-cold voice rang out from where I am. I could tell the speaker was a woman, and it's as if she was taunting me. Then, after that, the mass of swirling grey and blood-red clouds suddenly turned into something else. My vision became murky, but the chaos eventually settled, and I noticed that everything—including my skin—was dyed in dark crimson.
W-What's happening?
"Ah, let's get you to a safer place."
"!!!"
Another change of surroundings. The crimson atmosphere quickly disappeared, as if it dissipated at that voice's command, followed by a comfortable whiteness. And then, silence. All that I could hear was the increasing crescendo of my heartbeat, as I slowly realized that this 'dream' was different from what I knew from before.
"Don't you know? Every person who exists in the mortal plane serves only themselves, their selfish desires," the voice claimed. "Though they may tell you the otherwise, every one moves according to their own desires!"
"What are you saying?" I answered the disembodied speaker, "Of course I knew that! It's just a matter of who else benefits from a person's actions, that sets apart a selfish individual from the truly altruistic."
"Hoh…so you still remember how the world works, very good," the voice replied, in her slightly mocking tone. "Yet, you choose to become the follower instead of the one being followed!"
"If you are talking about Kuro, then I'm fine being his support! That man is the person I chose to love, and I'll stand with him until the end."
"You're so naïve, little Maddie…I didn't remember raising you that way!"
At that point, I fell silent. That was the first time I heard someone called me 'Little Maddie' after a long time. Even my father didn't call me that; the only person who knew that nickname of mine was…
"That's right, little Maddie…" a flash of light suddenly shone, and illuminated the dark crimson surrounding I was in. And then, after that brief flash, there she was—as beautiful as ever—standing before me…
"M-Mama?!"
"Hello, little Maddie," she smiled at me. "So, we meet again, after a long while."
"B-But you're dead…"
"Indeed, I am…though the spirit never truly dies," Mama told me. "Didn't the old Saint teach you that before?"
"No…who are you?" though my heart was excited at the fact that I could talk to my mother once again, I couldn't keep myself from getting suspicious.
"You're a Saint now, little Maddie, a demi-god of the world. You have your power to read everyone's minds, including spirits like me," she continued. "Use that to see whether or not I'm fake!"
Still having my doubts, I took a peek at the apparition's memories. And there, I saw, everything that I needed to prove that this person was—indeed—the spirit of my mother. The happy and sad scenes from my childhood, those of my siblings, the loving memories she shared with our father, our family, including those that I wasn't aware of…
This is really Mama!
"M-Mama!" at that moment, it's as if every limitation was removed from me, and I ran towards my mother's spirit, holding her in a tight embrace.
"There, there…" she returned the gesture. "I'm so happy to see you again, especially after when you became the Saint. After all, no one in our house could reach such pedestal…it's only you."
"But Ma, what is that dream all about? It's so scary and sad!"
"Well, it's not from me, at least. But that's showing you that you shouldn't be too trusting, little Maddie. You're the Saint now, and you should strive for greater things!"
"Ma, Kuro is a great guy, he's—"
"I don't trust him," my mother put it bluntly, "That man from another world may have the best of your interest in mind, but he's being manipulated."
"Manipulated? By whom?"
"Can you still remember the name of our old god?"
"The Lord Gaius?"
"He goes by the name Jules now," Mother explained.
"But I did look in Kuro's memories, and I never saw someone named Jules in those."
"That's your proof that he's being manipulated. Gaius can hide himself very well, his god-powers never truly left him. Only it was weakened; sealed, if you may."
"And what does he want with Kuro?" a feeling of dread appeared in my heart.
"That man…" my mother asked, "He's also got the god-powers, right?"
"Y-Yes…" I was reluctant to answer that question, for I realized something worst, "Ma, you're not saying…"
Mama nodded, "Gaius is aiming to become a god once again, and he's using that man to gather all the saints and get their god-powers to return."
I couldn't say anything.
"And Kuro, the man you love, though he may profess his love to you…part of his heart is with his students. Do you really think you can trust a man whose loyalty is divided between you and other people? If you stay with him, he would lead you to your ruin."
At that point, Mama drove her point home. Indeed, Kuro's heart still goes out to those people he calls his 'students'…it's something I couldn't deny.
But he also did whatever he can to return to me…though others want him to stay in Cherwind…
"…"
Argh! I don't know! I'm still confused…
"How…How do you know all of this?"
"Have you forgotten that I'm friends with the old Human Saint, bless her name? Ever since I became involved with that woman, I ended up connected to everything supernatural, even though I hated it."
"…"
"Ah, but in retrospect, I'm happy that I became involved. See, I get to see you again, and I also have the chance to warn you about the paths you're taking."
"You're a spirit! You should've no care for the mortal world anymore!"
"And you're my daughter, right? I may have no attachments left in this world, but I still care for my family…even in the afterlife," Mama then said, "Well, I won't force this issue on you, my little Maddie. Indeed, I'm a spirit, and I can't do anything much anymore."
Then she gave me a head pat.
"I'm sorry, Ma…"
"It's fine," she smiled. "But you'll eventually have to decide later on. My little Maddie, don't be so blinded by love—you're the Saint, the demi-god of Chersea, and the world will be nothing if not for you!"
"I-I understand…"
"Take care for now…"
After that, everything faded into white. The moment I opened my eyes, I was back in my room at the Holy Palatial Gardens, with a paintbrush in hand.