Right now, I am walking through the dark mist again. This part is what I must cross in order to get out of this sealed area, get our of this barrier, and et Eris again.
Step by step, I force my legs forward, each movent a brutal struggle against the invisible weight dragging down. It feels like wading through a swamp made of tar, every step a battle, every breath a choking gasp through poisoned air. Corruption clings to my skin like a second, rotting flesh. The atmosphere is thick, heavy, suffocating, as if the mist itself wants to crush my bones to dust.
And then, inevitably, the illusions begin.
Terrible images surge into my mind, dark and vivid, clawing at the edge of my sanity—
———————-
In an instant, I stand in the center square of Luminaris Academy.
But it is not the Luminaris I rember.
It is a slaughterhouse.
Corpses litter the ground in grotesque heaps, their broken bodies twisted into unnatural shapes. Blood floods the streets, flowing in endless rivers down the cracked stone. Severed limbs bob in the currents, faces frozen in terror and agony. The air is thick with the tallic stench of death.
Above , the sky burns a furious crimson.
Flocks of black crows circle low, their ragged wings beating against the heavy air. They scream and cackle, ripping chunks of flesh from the fallen, their claws raking through empty eye sockets.
The world itself is howling, playing a symphony of the damned.
My ears ring with the endless wailing of souls torn apart.
And yet, I force my legs to move, one step at a ti, slogging through bloodied ground, every step squelching through blood and gore.
And then—
I see them.
Eris.
Morvena.
Alter.
Their bodies lie broken at my feet, eyes wide open, glassy, lifeless. Eris's sword is shattered beside her. Morvena's hands are still reaching out, the sealing sword all piercing her heart and their color has turned black. anwhile, Alter lies nearby, her dress soaked with blood, her body is in pieces…
And there, scattered around them, the others too.
Karlogen.
Gordon.
Lily.
Everyone I ever knew.
Everyone who once smiled at and stood by my side.
Now, they are all dead.
Their eyes, hollow and accusing, stare straight into my soul, as if asking—
Why are you still alive?
Why you, and not us?
My hands tremble.
My knees almost buckle.
A voice inside whispers to just fall.
To kneel here.
To give up.
But I grit my teeth until my jaw aches.
Because I know….
This is not real.
This is just a cheap illusion to break my mind.
Yes, I'm smarter now! I can tell that easily now!
After all, if I am still breathing, there is no way the people stronger, braver, and brighter than would fall so easily.
Eris and Gordon are both A-rank adventurers. Karlogen is a goddamn Guild Master of Mistvale Adventurer's Guild. And Alter—
Alter battled demons and gods for hundreds of years. There's no way she would die this easily. No way!!!
And with that conviction—
The illusion cracks.
The blood drains away.
The corpses vanish like ash on the wind.
The crows scatter into nothingness.
The screaming fades into silence.
I am left standing alone in the dark mist, panting, my hands shaking, my heart pounding wildly in my ears.
But I am grinning now, exhausted and proud.
Because this ti, I broke the nightmare myself.
Without Alter's help.
I stayed sane on my own.
I'm almost there.
I'm almost ho.
—————————————-
And just like that, a few more illusions play out inside my mind, each one topping the last in terms of gore, cruelty, and pure, soul-crushing horror.
However, I am stronger now, both ntally and emotionally. There is no way I would let them break so easily anymore.
Thus, I keep walking. Dragging my boots through the thick, black tar that squelches with every heavy step, I push forward through the suffocating dark mist, refusing to falter.
But then—
Suddenly—
I see it.
The mist parts, and my eyes widen, my breath catching in my throat.
Standing there before is…
myself.
Felicia.
But twisted, warped!
The figure wears a black, tattered dress that clings to her like rotting skin. Her hair is wild, frayed, sticking out in chaotic strands. Her lips are stained red—not with lipstick, but with blood—and thick crimson tears stream endlessly from her eyes, cutting jagged lines down her pale face.
And behind her, marching in an endless tide, are hundreds more…
Copies of .
They are all bearing the sa bleeding eyes, the sa broken smiles, the sa maddening aura that turns the air cold and brittle around them.
My tail puffs up in instinctive terror. My ears flatten back.
"W-who are you?!" I blurt out, recoiling.
The corrupted Felicia smiles wide, baring bloodied teeth in a way that makes my heart hamr against my ribs.
"What? You cannot recognize ?" she croons sweetly, mockingly, tilting her head at a disturbing angle. "I am you. No… to be precise… I am your future."
"M-my future…?" I stamr, a pit opening up inside my stomach.
"Yes. Your future," she answers in a voice that is far too calm, far too certain.
"Haha, you're lying!" I shout, trying to drown out her voice with my own. "I know your tricks! You are just trying to corrupt my mind! You are just another illusion!"
But the girl only shakes her head slowly, her bloody tears dripping onto the blackened ground.
"Believe it or not, this is your fate," she says, voice colder now, cutting into like a serrated blade. "You cannot escape fate. You cannot escape the darkness."
She steps closer. The earth groans under her bare feet.
"After all… you are useless. You think you are Alter? You think you can stand shoulder to shoulder with her? No. You are just Felicia. The weak, stupid Felicia who could not even lift a dumbbell. The Felicia who will never be strong enough. The Felicia who will drag everyone down. Because of you… they will die. Because of you… the world will die."
Her words drip like poison, sinking into my skin, into my bones.
"So why?" she continues, her voice now almost tender. "Why struggle? Why suffer? Why endure the pain and the loneliness and the inevitable betrayal?"
"Give up."
"Join us."
"Let take care of your weakness. Let give you unlimited power. Power that can protect them. Power that can save them. Power that will make sure you never lose anyone again."
She extends her hand toward .
Waiting.
Patient.
Smiling.
And horrifyingly—
I feel it.
My legs are moving.
My body is stepping toward her.
Toward that hand.
Toward that darkness.
Like it is the most natural thing in the world.
…
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