The fruity scent crushed my throat with a freezing sensation as the cloudy substance zipped around my circulatory system; it invaded every inch of my blood vessels, keeping up with the flow of Curses as it began to...
...Wow...
My brain was lting.
Not painfully.
But gracefully.
Softly.
Like the warm embrace of a loved one.
All my limbs started feeling funny, flailing emptily as I lost complete control.
"Hehehe..." Drool slipped from my mouth, splattering across my white, frilly shirt and staining my chin.
I feel so soft...
I can almost tell the voices apart...
Plopping down on the bathroom floor, my head naturally tilted upwards as I continuously sucked in the cloudy substance. Screw the instruction to not take more than three puffs an hour, I'm already on my tenth.
Is this what it feels like to be pain-free...?
...
Oh...
...
So it is...?
...
Being pain-free feels even better...?
...
A..
...
I want to feel that one day...
Lackadaisically releasing any semblance of control and 'humanity' in , I gently shut my eyes to the euphoria engorging .
.....
I was knocked asleep.
---
Is this what heaven feels like?
I can relate to the drug addicts on Earth, thanks to this, I, myself, am already tempted to consu so more.
.
A creature that has already started breaking past the shell of mortality.
Not to ntion normal humans.
It's too good.
I lifted the half-finished vial and stared at the remaining substance.
Should I?
Do I?
...
Right.
It's not even a question.
-----
So ti later.
Dazed, I walked out of the bathroom empty-handed.
Hilda hopped over to , sniffing like a rabid combination of a cat, rabbit, and dog.
"Little dummy, you sll funny." She curiously said as she sniffed every corner of my body. Her gem-cut ruby red eyes glittered with intrigue.
Taking a deep breath, I sloppily:
"It'sss... Cough! It's nothing." Weaving in a cough, I struggled out the words through my numbed vocal cords.
The aftereffects were quite powerful, even when I attempted to salvage it with the Curses by mashing my throat, it only aggravated the problem.
Note to self, don't overdose when conversation is required of .
"Are you sure you're okay, little dummy? That cough didn't sound good..." Worry inevitably made its way onto Hilda's face upon hearing that cough.
It wasn't anything new by now, but she couldn't help but worry.
She didn't want to see in that state, after all.
In that goopy, sticky, blood-caked ss.
That vile concoction.
I, too, wouldn't want to see another in that form.
"I'm alright, it's the usual. Don't make a big deal out of it." Waving off Hilda's concerns, I decisively took the route back to my bedroom.
Because that 'I'm alright' is a lie.
I am not alright.
I am not okay.
I am tired.
I am sick.
I am dizzy.
And my innards feel like they're about to pop all over again.
However.
It does feel better than usual.
The substances helped.
Stumbling across the solemn hallways, we ignored the whispers of the servants. Unbeknownst to them, my hearing and Hilda's were strong enough to hear them from this distance.
Well.
Whatever.
Not like I care.
Their comnts have gotten worse, though, even calling a-
"Doesn't the Lady Alora of Light look like a real ghost now...?"
"She didn't look like that this morning."
My unwell state is pretty obvious now.
-----
I am a child.
Five years and six months, to be specific.
My body is underdeveloped, and my organs are much weaker than the average person's. Combine the effect of Curses with these factors, and you'd realise a pretty obvious fact.
This body of mine cannot handle the side effects of any drug.
It already breaks out with hives, vomits blood regularly, gets fatigued, and feels like its bones will fall apart from the lightest touch. Using Curses at tis to reinforce this body helps, montarily, before it repeats the cycle of crushing it even further.
I am weak.
I am pathetic.
A joke.
Thus.
That morning....
"Ugh..."
My eyes struggled to stay open; the blaring light of the aurora stung my irises.
I imdiately felt it, from the tips of my toes, across the soles of my feet, up my ankles, calves and thighs; my hips, butt, waist, abdon and back; my shoulders, arms and hands.
My fingertips, especially.
I felt this morbid combination of floating, stinging pain all across my skin, and, at tis, even deeper into my flesh and bone.
However, worst of all was my head. My vision spun, my head ran with countless ssy voices, and nausea overwheld .
It almost feels like that one ti.
The electric shocks.
That punishnt.
I've been slamd face-first with the aftereffects of the drugs.
Yet.
Even at this mont.
My brain is:
83,101,494Iwantsomore83,110,994
83,111,122Ishouldtakesomore83,111,983
It's seeking out that fleeting euphoria from yesterday.
Knock. Knock.
With two knocks, a certain redhead peeked her head in, "Good morning, little dummy...?" Noticing that I was awake, she smiled adorably:
"You're up early, little dummy!"
Cheerfully picking up her broom, Hilda began whistling as she started cleaning the room. Her job mostly consisted of picking up the debris and fixing the shredded bed sheets.
To be honest, I don't ever rember making this ss.
But, every ti I wake up, it's there, as much of a ss as it is the day before.
In the end, I lay there in this crushing state, twitching and faintly grunting at a tone low enough to stay out of Hilda's ears.
I'm not trying to hide it, but if Hilda realises before she finishes cleaning, the room won't be cleaned until tomorrow. And if the room isn't cleaned until tomorrow, I'll have to lie in this ssy room for the entire day instead of a clean one.
Right, now that I think about it, I received an invitation from Es...
"..."
She's going to stick by all day.
...Hehe.
I may or may not be looking forward to it.
"...Cough."
With these out-of-hand thoughts running like a freight train through my mind, my innards churned with the numbing, stinging, and now oddly burning sensation.
I might vomit soon.
-----
"Hm~ Hmmm~ Hmmm~"
Humming the tune to Remmy's mascot song, Hilda's feet moved around in an odd, twisted, yet orderly manner. It was her swordsmanship footwork.
Papa gave her this task to pull off; According to him, if she could maintain this footwork even in her day-to-day life, then...
'Mommy might have to put ointnt on Papa instead of after sparring~'
Swimming in her delusions, Hilda overlooked the twitching little girl.
Singing, humming, dancing-
Twirling her pretty little maid's outfit, she replicated the form of a sword with her broom. The next best ti to train is always now, after all.
"Train~ Train~ Train so more~"
Her voice was surprisingly pleasant to listen to when she was in a pleasant mood, perhaps an attribute granted by her Blessing. Or, most likely, the fact that her Mommy is an amazing singer.
Genetics can be miraculous at tis.
And, with that in mind, Hilda was certainly genetically connected to her sotis seemingly clueless Mommy, considering that, right behind her, beyond the veil of joy created by the adorable bundle of flesh aptly nad 'Hilda'...
"Gluk-!"
A throaty, disgusting nasal voice cracked Hilda's joy.
"Huh?"
Pausing her singing, Hilda turned back; she looked at the noise.
Thus.
She saw.
Twitching.
Spasms.
Groans.
And the oozing black, putrid blood spilling from the gloves, overflowing and staining the covers.
"...Little dummy?"
Her voice ca out stiff, unnatural.
Hilda flinched, her teeth chattered as she gulped-
Slap!
-and smacked herself in the face, waking herself up from the stupor.
Rushing to Alora's bedside table, she opened the top drawer and slamd the button placed within. A wave of Blessings rushed out, sweeping like a wave throughout the room and into the walls.
Sparing no ti, she carefully reached for the little dummy's hands.
Slowly peeling the gloves off-
Squelch.
-she listened to the putrid blood guggle and burst, whilst the moans coming from Alora's mouth amplified.
It was hurting her.
She didn't know how badly, the little dummy never let her know how much.
But she was hurting.
Biting her lips, "L, little dummy... It's, it's going to be fine, okay? Just, just wait a bit." Feeling a bit squeamish, Hilda pushed through as she swiftly removed the rest of the glove.
If it was going to hurt either way, better to keep the pain swift.
Still...
"AhhhHHH-!"
...that scream of pain sent shudders down her spine.
Hilda tenderly held the hands covered to the brim with oozing blood, and, as she held on, she stared at Alora's mask. She had no idea what her face looked like under there, the mory of their first eting having already begun to fade.
But she didn't expect it to be pleasant.
"Hang in there, little dummy. They'll be here soon, okay? Just wait." She resisted the urge to tighten her grip on the little dummy's hand.
Blood was still oozing from nails, rushing out in grim bursts.
Pushing down the rising nausea from the sight, Hilda took a deep breath, "Think good thoughts, little dummy. It won't be long."
Alas.
"Cough! Cough!"
A putrid sll wafted from the little dummy's face, the familiar blood oozed from beneath her mask, trickling down her face and onto the bed.
Crackling groans poured out from her throat.
It was a picture of utter demise; filth.
Perfectly fitting for the creature.
Perfectly fitting for the little dummy.
And perfectly fitting for Alora, the girl who gave up.
The one who dedicated her existence to another.
Yet, uselessly, she encumbered that very sa existence.
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