I open my eyes to find myself standing atop a mound of lifeless bodies. Among them lies my mother's corpse. The place dark and cold with no sign of life. Desperate, I sift through the grotesque heap, pulling her limp form close to me. Her decaying flesh presses against me as tears spill down my cheeks, the memories of her alive hauntingly vivid.
In the distance, a shadow appears I catch sight of a woman with wild, unkempt hair. She smiles at me—a chilling, twisted grin. Slowly she reveal her form, pale and half-clad, she calls my name, her voice low and sinister, freezing me in place. I felt the temperature drop, I cling to my mother's lifeless body, I close my eyes resisting the urge to respond to the woman's beckoning.
Slowly, she reaches behind her back and draws out a weapon, advancing toward me with bloodlust intent. I shut my eyes tightly, bracing myself, but when I open my eyes again, my mother corpse disappeared from my arms. I search the ground, only to find emptiness where she once lay. The mound of bodies vanishes, leaving me alone in the courtyard of my house under a starlit sky.
A faint melody drifts through the air—my mother's favorite tune. Its familiar hum fills me with both longing and dread, a reminder of her lingering presence.
Driven by desperation, I rush to our cottage and swing open the door, only to find a nightmarish scene. Standing in the shadows is not my mother, but an impostor with a chilling gaze.
Across the dining table, another version of myself—sits in eerie silence. "Why are you still standing? Come, have a seat," the other me says, his tone soft yet commanding.
My heart pounds, an ache spreading through my chest. The other me stares at me with a dark, unsettling smile, shadows twisting on the walls in the flickering candlelight, mocking my hesitation.
The woman gestures again, her voice coaxing yet sharp. "Sit, Join us."
Compelled by some unseen force, I find myself moving forward, lowering into the seat opposite my doppelgänger. Silence cloaks us, heavy and suffocating, until he leans forward, his eyes gleaming with a twisted curiosity.
"Why do you cling to the past?" he asks, his voice layered with a dozen whispers. "She's gone. Yet you haunt these memories, searching for something that was never truly part of you. She was never your mother. We never had one."
I open my mouth to argue, to defend my need to hold on to these fragments of her, but no words come. The other me—the woman with the eerie smile—circles behind me, her cold hands resting on my shoulders, their grip gentle yet binding.
"I know you can feel us especially when the nights come to visit." she murmurs into my ear, her breath icy against my skin. "The answer you seek, your true nature."
My resolve falters, the weight of their words pressing heavily on my heart. I glance down, noticing something in my hand—a worn ribbon, my mother's favorite, now frayed and faded.
"See" the woman whispers, her tone almost tender. "All that remains are these remnants. They are humans and we are not."
For a moment, I hesitate, torn between the comfort of memory and the bleak promise of moving forward. Suddenly, the world shifts, pulling me back to the day she died.
"Ninee…" her voice echoed across the lavender field. I sat waiting for her to come to me as I rest under a willow tree but the sky darkened and mist rising around the field, obscuring my view. I lost sight of her, her voice growing faint.
Panic seized me. "Mom, where are you?" I rose from my rest. I desperately run to her as her silhouette begin to fade.
"Nine!" she called, her voice urgent then the ground trembled beneath me, like a great tree crashing to the earth. A deep growl echoed through the air, drawing closer.
"What's happening Mom! Mom!" I shouted, my heart pounding as I ran toward the sound, panicked consume me, the world around me begin to spin. "Where are you!" I yelled out to her.
Then she let out piercing , heart-wrenching scream. Flashes of light seared through the thick mist and in the distance, I saw a fierce aura blazing. I sprinted toward it, only to stumbled upon the most horrific sight of my life.
A creature stood there, its white scales glimmering under the fading sun, its wings casting a chilling mist. It was enormous, bigger than a tree, its gigantic body covering the field. My mother hung limp between its massive jaws, her eyes lifeless and unseeing. The scenery stop there.
"She is dead." My doppelgänger spoke, his voice as cold as the scene around us, which froze in place, trapping the horror in a suspended moment. "You could have called us to kill the mist dragon," he continued, his gaze piercing glowing blue.
"But instead, you ran." He sneered. "Coward. It's all your fault she's gone. You're weak. You're pathetic."
Beside me, the eerie woman laughed, her voice sharp with malice. "Yes, you killed her" she taunted. "Call us and we will help you. After all, we are one."
My other self held my gaze for a moment longer before his form crumbled into dust, scattering on the wind. "I'll be waiting." He said to me.
"Ah, but look," the woman whispered, her tone darkly amused. "The healer gives her mana to fill your empty vessel. What a fool." Then the scenery faded to bleakness, a warm light cast upon me. I heard voices, my friends..
"Is he going to be okay?" a voice murmured softly. I felt someone's hand holding mine.
"Vesper…" Ivy's voice called to me, gentle but insistent. "Hey, you there, call Bailee—he's awake," she said urgently. "And tell them to reinforce the magic restraints." An unfamiliar voice muttered.
"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice groggy as I slowly pushed myself up from the bed, trying to make sense of my surroundings. "Don't move." Ivy said to me.
"Vesper Nine, you are to be held in the Dragon Horn Dungeon," a dragon knight announced as he approached us.
"Huh?" I stared at him, dumbfounded. The girl beside me stood, "Why?!" Ivy asked them.
"An attempted murder," he replied, his tone as cold as his armor. "Your shifting weapon nearly struck the general and the commander during your fight with Young Lord Abel. Until we complete the investigation, you will be detained for questioning."
I let out a long sigh, glancing over at Ivy, who looked alarmed, and at Henry, who was fast asleep in the corner—he must have waited by my side. Turning back to the knights, I squared my shoulders. "Then take me," I said, surrendering. I caught Ivy's eye, silently hoping she would understand.
She dashed toward Henry, trying to shake him awake. I chuckled slightly, despite everything. "Good luck getting him up. Wait for me, all right?" I said, giving Ivy a reassuring look before following the knights out.