I woke up due to the movement of the figure in my arms. Pecking the top of her head, I placed my head on her shoulders.
"Did I wake you up, Love?" Her tender voice rang out, her ears twitching.
Over the six years after I made that fateful decision, Vera gradually stopped her self-proclaimed maid act and just settled on being honest with herself. I don't regret it a single bit.
"If I said yes, would you make it up for me?" I nibbled the tip of her ear. She hummed with a shake of her head. "No. Come on. Let's get up."
Slipping out of my embrace, she sat up, turned to me and pulled. I let myself get pulled by her and at the apex, shifted my momentum forward to take her down back to the bed. Seizing the initiative, I immediately sprung up and dashed to the yard.
"Cheater!" Realizing my intentions, she ran after me with a spring on her steps. On our way there, I bundled my long hair into a bun. Now that we were on the yard, we started doing our morning exercise together mixed with light chatter.
Doing our morning exercise together was a practice that I pretty much made her join me in so we wouldn't live such sedentary lifestyles. God knows if she had it her way, she'd stay cooped up reading and never coming outside.
"What're you doing after breakfast Ver?"
"Mmm… I'll finish up the book I was reading last night. You?"
"I'll go around the perimeter of the barrier as usual, then I'll join you."
"Pick out a book from the library before you join me, so we can read it together."
"Is that all we're gonna do today?"
"Yep. Just that. Nothing else." She batted her eyes cutely.
"We already agreed on this last year, Vera. It's been spring for weeks already." I didn't break my stare. "It's time for us to travel the world."
She let out a little sigh. I walked close to her and hugged her from behind, her hands clasped over mine. Her sweat and warmth contrasted with the cool air.
"We can scale mountains, have fun at the beaches. Just imagine it, Ver. We'll be sitting side by side on a mountain peak, greeting the rising sun. We can play on beaches; see the sights. We can even go down further south and leave the north in its entirety. We can wade through a golden sea. We can go swim in an actual sea. Surfing, diving; we can go wherever and do whatever. Scenes that we've only read about right in front of our own eyes."
A small smile graced her features. "Yeah, you're right. I've been dawdling too much." She gently nodded as she squeezed my hands. "I'd like that, Love. I'll start preparing for the trip. We can leave by tomorrow. I guess I've just been putting the trip off, huh."
I leaned my mouth closer to her ear, "Thanks for this, Love." I kissed her cheek.
We finished up our morning exercise and went back inside. I went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Though Vera was initially doing everything in the house, I started insisting on helping out. As I started helping out Vera with housekeeping, we naturally settled into taking turns in doing the chores. As much as I loved eating her cooking, I loved watching her eat my cooking just as much.
While serving breakfast on the dining table, a floral scent filled my senses making me smile unconsciously.
"You're just in time. Let me dry your hair for you before we start eating." I shouted out as I went to the living room, picked up the hair dryer and a comb, and turned to look at the stairs.
She walked down the stairs, her radiant white hair still wet from the shower, and took my breath away. Her flushed skin, her deep red eyes, her dainty lips. No matter how many times I've seen her, I can never get tired of the sight of her. Though I've never gone outside the barrier of my home; I could undoubtedly say without a shadow of a doubt that she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Even if my feelings for her didn't exist, I firmly believe that I'd still think that way.
I patted the sofa in front of me. When she sat down in front of me, I started drying and combing her hair.
"You really don't have to keep doing this Dina." She spoke as she looked upwards. Carefully making sure that the dryer doesn't get too close to her hair, I sneaked a kiss on her forehead.
I replied with a firm "No." while continuing my ministrations.
After drying her hair, we had a light breakfast and proceeded with our plans for the day.
I left the house and walked straight through the woods for five kilometers. There, I saw the barrier that isolated us from the outside world. The barrier was visible from the inside as a thin translucent dome, while appearing completely invisible from the outside. I checked if the barrier was stable and started running around the perimeter as part of my daily routine.
The barrier was a masterful piece of work. It hides everything inside it from the perception of those outside. Beings with any sort of intellect upon passing the barrier would be placed under the illusion where their sense of direction would be jumbled. They would also appear to continue forward in their minds, when in reality they were leaving our part of the forest. They would then find themselves a good distance away from the barrier. When they do so, the illusion subtly fuddles their memories where all they remember is reaching the place they were headed to and finding nothing.
Our approximately 80 km2 area of the snowy forest was in the most northwestern part of the dense taiga of Lumisade — which in turn, was also the most northwestern part of the Northern World. The Northern World was the only part of the world where mana permeated the atmosphere.
As far as I remember, the barrier came with the house. My earliest memories were of being alone in the house at the age of eight with no one around me; and all I knew was how to take care of myself, my name, and loneliness.
Getting back to where I started my run, I started walking back home. I took a quick shower and went to the library.
The library was unquestionably the biggest part of the house making up the whole basement of the house. It was filled with thousands of books about various topics, both fiction and non-fiction. I went to the magic section and looked for a book about understanding mana. Seeing one thick book titled "Mana and Energy", I picked it out for us to read together.
Although we didn't go out into the world to learn mana, we managed to teach ourselves how to use mana. It took us around a year before we even managed to actually be able to sense our mana and be able to use it. It took months and months of meditations and utterings of "Is this mana?" when it was just the flow of our blood.
However long it took us to sense mana, our progress when we managed to use mana was immense considering the vast amounts of books inside the library just dedicated to mana and using it. Which is a shame why there weren't any books about sensing your own mana in the first place. How do they expect people to learn how to use mana without a book detailing how to get started for god's sake.
Going back up the second floor to our bedroom, I went in and saw Vera. She was sitting on the beanbag by the window seemingly at rest as the book that she was reading lay on her lap. The sunlight lighting up her face made her look ethereal, as though she'd disappear the moment I'd disturb her peace.
Walking softly, I placed her book on the coffee table and put the book I picked up on top of it. I slowly laid down beside her on the beanbag and turned to her to embrace her. Sensing a movement beside her, she hugged me back.
Patting her head softly, I found myself slowly falling asleep as well.
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A slight brush across my lips woke me up. I fluttered my eyes open and saw her face across me in a cute pout.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
Feeling playful, I tried to wax poetic.
"You looked too beautiful asleep, washed by daylight when I came in. The sun's soft tendrils caressing your visage made you look ephemeral."
"Mine evanescent beauty is but a droplet washed away by the allure of the sight that greeted me when I first came to."
"Oh what, pray tell, could make thee comparable to a droplet, when thy beauty is as deep as the ocean. Thy likeness, kindness, and loveliness surely amounts to more than a droplet?"
"The droplets of drool that escaped thy lips." She laughed.
Flustered, I wiped my mouth and felt nothing there. Realizing I've been had, I reached out to both sides of her waist and started tickling her.
She started laughing while sounding out what one might hear as "Stop", but I couldn't hear it clearly. So I continued.
"What did you say? You have to be clearer."
Gasping for breath, she finally managed to utter the words for release. Confident in my victory, I let her go and tried to stand up. Keyword: tried. Seeing her chance for revenge; she wrapped my waist, pulled me down on the beanbag again and started tickling my sides.
A few more minutes of back and forth went on until we unilaterally decided that the fight was over. We would've devolved to our base instincts had we continued, if were it not for our plan to read the book I picked out.
It's a golden rule of ours that we make sure to abide by the plans that we made for the day lest we end up accomplishing nothing.
"What book did you bring?"
"'Mana and Energy' — Based on the title, I think it should go in depth on the relationship between mana and energy."
"Nice going, Captain Obvious!" She quickly cheered. "Let's get started before the tea and pastries go cold."
Finally noticing them on the table, I took the book and passed the day by reading it together with Vera.
After getting around halfway into the tome, we got to a good stopping point in order to make dinner together.
No matter how insular I was from the outside world and their common sensibilities, I still knew it was a bit odd on why and how our pantry was never lacking though I never questioned it. It was always fully stocked no matter how much we took.
We ate dinner and proceeded to sit on the sofa making small talk about the book she finished reading earlier. All the while a slight tension filled the air. I asked questions, occasionally brushing our shoulders together. She answered, occasionally brushing our hands together.
"We'll start leaving as soon as we wake up tomorrow Ver, okay?" My pinkie traced a line on her thigh.
In response, she snuggled her head to the crook of my neck as her fingers tapped across my thigh.
It was clear neither one of us was paying attention to the conversation at all. My left hand around her waist. Her right hand clasped my right. My left fingers deftly pressed her sides, making her lean right towards me to avoid the ticklish feeling. I stole a quick peck to her cheek.
She looked at me and pouted cutely. Emboldened by her reactions, I kissed her lips this time and pulled away smiling. Knowing my intentions, she traced the contour of my face with her finger, starting from my forehead to my cheek to my lips to my chin — she pulled my chin down and kissed me as our back and forth slowly continued and developed throughout the night topping it all off with sweet slumber in each other's arms.
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As ▯▯ ▯▯ looms
▯▯ scion sprouts
Darkness. Everything in my vision was dim with nary a scant of light in sight. Even my own body was invisible to me. I tried to touch my face to check, to try and see or even just feel. Yet no sensation came to me. I tried to move my tongue, yet nothing filled my senses. I tried to feel my mana. I couldn't feel anything. As confusion filled my mind, the jumbled voice — interlaced with static — echoed throughout.
Hid by ▯▯ ▯▯
▯▯ shall be their ▯▯
A hidden memory resurfaced.
This… this is that dream from six years ago.
And the echo continued, as the realization set in. A muted hum joined the echoes. Its cadence started off slow and low, gradually increasing.
▯▯ exhibits its might
▯▯ against the ▯▯
Shouts started filling my ear, starting up a cacophony of sounds, making it harder and harder to make out the voice. A multitude of trumpets joined in. Reverberations of string instruments of some kind filled the void. A soothing voice joined the disharmony. Knowing what was coming, I calmed myself down.
When ▯▯ ▯▯ and ▯▯
The ▯▯ given ▯▯
The sounds of shouts were replaced by bone-chilling screams. Loud bangs rang out. Laughter could be heard. Moans could be heard. Snores could be heard. The sounds of chewing could be heard. The clink of coins could be heard. The unmistakable sound of a blade entering flesh accompanied by the clunk of a crown falling to the ground. Everything was going on a crescendo.
As ▯▯ bears ▯▯ ▯▯
Then it stopped. Everything stopped at the same time. It was as if the previous dissonance was merely an illusion. As if everything in existence held their breaths, in anticipation for what is to come. And together, I muttered:
"Only then can salvation be claimed."
Only then can salvation be claimed
"Where were you?"
The once muddled voice was now clear as day.
Unmistakable. Unignorable. Unforgettable. Just as it was six years ago.
Yet this time, there was one more voice that sounded throughout the void. The difference was that it didn't sound like it was coming from every direction. It didn't echo. It didn't reverb all around. The voice was clearly directed at me. Her steady succinct tone tried to conceal the emotions the speaker held, yet I could feel the voice oozing with rage, hate, and regret.
"Who… who are you?" Yet no answer came. I was back on my lonesome. Only a still silence and darkness remained.
Recalling what was to come, I tensed my legs. I waited for the hands to pull me down. And waited. And waited. And nothing happened. As I relaxed my legs, I soon felt the feeling of free falling within the darkness.
"Fuck. It got me."
I woke up in the middle of the night. Weary and confused about the dream, I reached out to my side to engulf Vera in a hug for comfort — and hugged air.
She must've gone to the bathroom.
I shakily stood up to get a drink to quench my dried throat. As I reached out to grab the pitcher. I missed by a few centimeters.
That's weird. I'm probably still groggy.
I drank water and started thinking while waiting for Vera to come back.
Having that dream again probably meant something. It was too weird of a dream to have. The fact that I remember the dream after waking up is also new. There's also the matter of that voice. Who was she? Why was she looking for me? The lines that that voice said were intriguing too. Why were some words unintelligible? It seemed like a prophecy. I ruffled my hair in confusion.
I'll think about it tomorrow.
Thinking Vera was taking too long, I made my way to the bathroom. As I grasped the door handle, it felt higher than normal. The ceiling, as I walked through the hallway, felt farther too. Opening the bathroom, I saw no one there. I turned on the lights and stood still. Staring back at me in the mirror was a youthful boy with short silver hair, his silver eyes widened in shock. I looked like I was back in my teens.
I rushed to Vera's old room. Hopefully, it's just a spell that made me look like my younger self that Vera cooked up as a prank. The dream still bugged me though. Me, waking up and looking like my 16-year old self right after having a similar dream that I had when I turned 16 was too coincidental to ignore.
I gently opened the door and took a quick look inside. There, on her bed, was Vera quietly sleeping. Her enchanting grace and alluring face, replaced by youth and innocence. She, too, was 16 again. I stared at her for a while, lost in thought. I closed the door and went back to my room to go back to sleep. I had a lot of things to figure out and it was better to think through things with a clearer head. As I laid down on my side, clutching a pillow, I realized how lonely it felt to sleep alone.