The next morning, Mia awoke with a heavy heart, the remnants of the nightmare lingering. Heya had already gone out to tend to his duties in the village, leaving a note expressing his love and assuring her of his presence.
The dream weighed on Mia's mind throughout the day, overshadowing the usual activities. She couldn't shake off the feeling of foreboding, as if the dream held a deeper meaning. Despite Heya's comforting words, a sense of unease settled within her.
She tried to go on with her day normally, until a knock on the door interrupted her.
"Royal Sorcerer, there's a leak!" the panicked, uninvited guest reported.
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Mia quickly went towards the place the man was leading her.
"A leak?" she questioned as they both hurriedly walked. Mia noticed they were heading towards the underground city door leading to the upper ground.
Villagers were walking hastily in the opposite direction, informing others that there was a leak at the main door.
This was an unprecedented event. Even during the heaviest rain, Mia had ensured that everything was in working order for the safety of the Blood Drops Clan.
The door was closed tightly and strategically placed in the middle of the forest, where the soil absorbed the rain. Having water leak into their place was close to impossible.
Mia's steps halted as her eyes caught Heya's figure attempting to patch a leaky part of the door.
"Heya!" Mia called out to the busy man as she ran toward him.
Heya turned, and his face immediately shifted to panic upon seeing his girlfriend there. "What are you doing here? Go to a safe place."
Mia disregarded her boyfriend's words and looked up at the source of the water leak in their underground city. "Strange. No amount of rain should be able to make water leak in here."
A familiar face in Mia's eyes, a concerned citizen, suddenly asked, "Royal Sorcerer, what should we do? Just patching it up doesn't seem to help; look, the water keeps coming out."
The citizen who had been assisting Heya turned to join the conversation, saying, "True. We can't evacuate the residents inside the Blood Drops Clan. If we want to evacuate, we have to go to the upper ground, but this door is so small. Isn't it only one person who can exit through this door? Can't you perform some magical spell to save us?"
In truth, Mia was also panicking at the sight of what was happening. She was only pretending to stay calm because she knew people would become even more distressed if they saw her panicking.
Mia recalled her dream from the previous night.
In her dream, a massive flood occurred in their underground city. Mia heard cries for help and extremely loud cries of fear ringing in her ears. She also heard those cries slowly fading away as not many survived.
The city submerged. Everything she had fought for sank.
Water was everywhere, and Mia felt cold. Her body trembled, both from the cold and fear.
She hugged her stomach, closing her eyes in fear. A sense of peace only came when she felt a finger touch her forehead.
Mia slowly opened her eyes to see Heya, who had his eyes closed, reciting the life replacement spell through his tears.
The memory of her dream triggered Mia into blind panic. She frantically looked upward, toward the door to the upper ground. "Have you tried opening the door?"
"Are you crazy?" Heya responded, staring at his girlfriend in disbelief. "Just with it closed, we're facing a leak like this. What if there's a flood above? Do you want us all to die?"
What Heya said made sense, but Mia believed the only way to survive was to get out of their underground city.
Mia, fueled by her nightmare, felt a surge of desperation. Ignoring Heya's plea, she rushed towards the door, determined to open it and lead her people to safety.
As she approached the massive door, the water leakage intensified, creating a chaotic scene. Citizens were trying to patch up the leaks, but their efforts seemed futile against the relentless flow. Mia, driven by an inexplicable fear, reached for the door's handles and hesitated for a moment, her hand trembling.
"Stop!" Heya shouted, abandoning his attempt to patch the leak. He rushed towards Mia, grabbing her arm, trying to pull her away from the door. "We can't risk opening it. We have to find another way to stop the leaks."
Mia's eyes were filled with panic, her mind clouded by the vivid memories of her dream. "Heya, I saw this. I saw all of it. We have to open the door or we'll drown down here."
Heya, torn between his duty to protect the clan and his concern for Mia, pleaded, "Mia, trust me. Opening that door could be more dangerous. We need to find another solution."
But Mia couldn't shake off the feeling that her nightmare was becoming a reality. In a moment of desperation, she wrenched her arm free from Heya's grasp and turned the massive handles. The door creaked open, revealing the outside world.
However, instead of finding a path to safety, Mia was met with a shocking sight. Standing just beyond the threshold were her older twin brother and father, both wearing grim expressions. A powerful net materialized, blocking the doorway, preventing anyone from escaping.
"Dad!" Mia called out desperately, "Brother! Help me!" Mia yelled, not quite grasping the whole situation yet. Panic and urgency filled her voice as she sought assistance from her family.
Heya's heart ached as he watched his girlfriend scream and cry, pleading for help from her parents without receiving any response.
From where he stood, Heya could see the two rulers of Antara looking down on them, treating them as if they were dogs begging to be saved.
His heart couldn't bear that gaze directed at his loved one, so Heya grabbed Mia's wrist, who had been banging on the barrier that kept them confined in the underground city. "Stop."
Mia's cries became even more hysterical, "Dad!! Help!!!"
"STOP!" Heya shouted.
This time, Mia listened to her boyfriend and looked at Heya weakly, "Heya, what... what's happening? Why aren't my dad and twin brother responding at all? Why aren't they helping us?"