PS: 3 power stones to go for a bonus chapter. From now onwards, there will be a bonus chapter rewarded for every 3 golden tickets!
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Caedes POV
I sat there, staring at the girl gripping my shoulder, her fingers digging in with a strange urgency. She dragged me into the hovercar, practically shoving me into the front seat. I didn't resist, but something in the back of my mind told me I should've.
The thought hit me like a punch: Did I just get kidnapped?
She hadn't said a word since she grabbed me. Maybe she thought I had money, some hidden fortune she could cash in on. Joke's on her. If she was looking for a rich target, she picked the wrong one. I almost laughed, imagining her face when she found out how broke I really was.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice steady despite the chaos in my head. The hovercar zipped through the streets, smooth and fast, but the girl just kept driving. No answer.
She gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white, eyes glued to the road like she was racing against time. The car's interior was sleek and futuristic—soft leather seats, glowing blue panels, and all that fancy tech humming around us. I couldn't help but marvel at how fast and silent the thing moved.
Outside, the city blurred past in streaks of neon and steel, towering skyscrapers flashing by. It was almost mesmerizing, but my confusion kept nagging at me. Why the hell had she taken me? What did she want? I tried again, more demanding this time.
"Hey, I asked you something. Where are we going?"
She finally glanced at me, her gaze cold and emotionless. "You'll find out soon enough." That was it. Nothing else. No explanation. Just more silence.
I sighed, leaning back in my seat, trying to piece together what was happening. Minutes stretched into what felt like hours as we left the city behind, heading toward a more secluded area. Trees and winding roads replaced the neon jungle. My mind raced.
"My father has a tracker on me," I said, testing her reaction.
Nothing. Not even a flinch, though I noticed a slight tremble in her hand at the mention of "father." It was subtle, but I caught it.
The hovercar sped up, and I tightened my grip on the seatbelt. "Shit," I muttered, feeling the tension rise in my chest.
Something inside me snapped. My vision blurred, and suddenly, my mind was not my own. A twisted laugh escaped my lips, one that wasn't mine and I heard a voice ring in my head?.
'Kekeke... My little Keiren, time to wake up.'
When I snapped back to myself, my eyes widened. 'Where was I?'
Panic flooded my chest, but it did not matter. For I saw her sitting just beside me.
"Aanya!" I screamed, lunging towards the girl beside me. The seatbelt tugged at me, but I didn't care. I had to get to her.
The car screeched to a stop, narrowly avoiding a crash. "What the fuck is going on?" the girl spat, glaring at me. But I didn't care. I was hugging her, holding her tight like my life depended on it.
"Big sis! You're alive... What's happening?" My mind was spinning. Jester, that twisted man.. I remember him resurrecting me into this newborn body, but then everything had blacked out.
She played along, her voice soft. "It's all fine. Look, we're home."
Home. That word hit me like a punch in the gut. I froze, my grip on her loosening. "What... what do you mean, home?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"Our parents are dead!" I screamed, my voice breaking. My hands shook, and my eyes stung with unshed tears. I couldn't understand why she was lying to me, why she was acting like everything was fine. How could she be so cruel?
A man's voice cut through the tension. "Caera, what's going on?"
I turned, heart racing. There, standing just a few meters away, was a man—tall, sharp-featured, with black hair and a familiar presence. My breath caught in my throat. It was him. My father.
How... How was he here? He was missing, presumably dead. This wasn't possible.
"You're alive?" he stammered, tears filling his eyes as he looked at me. His reaction tore at my insides.
I didn't know what to do. Jester had resurrected me, hadn't he? This was the future...But if that was true, how were they here? My sister, my father... How were they in the future?
I played along, pretending like nothing was wrong. I followed them into the house, the warmth of their presence confusing me more than I could bear. I couldn't figure it out. My mind kept spinning, trying to reconcile the memories with the reality in front of me.
Days turned into weeks. They took me to mage medics, telling me I had dementia, that my memories were scrambled. But I knew better. It wasn't dementia. It was Jester. He had done something to me, twisted my mind, and left me stranded in a world I couldn't understand.
I tried to reach out to him, and tried everything I could to contact him. But nothing worked. The bloodlust I had once felt faded. It was like it had never been there at all.
A year passed. And slowly, I began to accept it. Maybe this was real. Maybe this wasn't some twisted trick Jester had played on me. Maybe, just maybe, I was home.
But even now, part of me still wonders... Could this all be a dream?
Even a dream can't last this long... or can it?
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