"What was that?"
I rubbed my eyes, trying to understand what I saw. I think I was exhausted, because for less than a second, the world flickered like a malfunctioning TV.
"Are you okay?"
Novi gave me a worried look from her seat across the table, stopping with her food still clinging to a raised fork.
"Y-yes, just imagining things."
I chuckled and went back to eating, but failed to convince her. She frowned and muttered something I didn't understand before speaking in an irritated tone.
"You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Pretending everything's okay when it's not."
I looked away in embarrassment, scratching my neck as I thought about how to respond.
"I'm… I'm just thinking about the strange dream I had."
Her expression softened and she rested her hand on mine. I shuddered at the sudden touch, but soon intertwined her fingers with mine, enjoying her comforting warmth.
"Tell me about that dream."
"I-I don't know where to begin. It was horrible, you had died and I was left alone, I started to destroy myself and then something appeared to me, telling me it knew a way to bring you back. I crossed the Kingdom of Night, killed so many people, only to end up… Only to… I can't remember how things ended."
I looked at the ground, running my hands through my hair. Each image that appeared in my mind made me wonder if it was all real. I felt Novi's hand leave mine and when I lifted my head, she was already beside me, holding my face, making my eyes focus on hers.
It wasn't long before our lips met in a kiss. I didn't know why, but I missed this session, the taste, the softness, the warmth, and the fact that she was here.
My heart raced, an emotion I hadn't felt in a long time burning in my chest. I stood up, breaking the kiss for a second before holding her by the waist and pulling her close, our chests touching before we returned to what we were doing.
We deepened the kiss, our tongues dancing, but just as I was about to close my eyes, I recoiled as the world blinked again.
"It happened again!"
I looked around, hoping that whatever it was would happen again, but I only saw our cabin, and a disappointed Novi.
She closed the distance and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. My eyes widened and I jumped slightly, but returned the gesture seconds later, taking a deep breath and resting my head on her shoulder.
"You're worrying me."
"I know, I'm sorry about that. I think I'm going crazy. First the dreams, and now I think I'm hallucinating. I can't tell if something is real or not."
"Well, I'm here, with you. We're here in our house, is that real enough for you?"
"I-I think so."
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, we were together, everything was fine, it was just a dream, but deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
-XXXXXX-
Lunch continued without incident and after a quick nap, we left our cabin, catching sight of the familiar landscape of the ruined city overtaken by vegetation and eternal night.
The moon shone high in the sky like a beacon, its light illuminating everything in its path. As for us, we circled our cabin, checking our garden in the back.
The fence needed some repairs, otherwise the animals would cause us trouble again. At least the scarecrow in the shape of a SHADE was doing its job, keeping the birds away.
We walked between the rows of vegetables, watering them. I felt my heart calming and the weight in my stomach disappearing; perhaps I just needed some fresh air.
The sound of the earth beneath my boots, the dripping water, and Novi humming a strange song beside me made my worries gradually disappear.
It was strange; I felt like something was missing, a certain longing for something.
I checked my pockets, my clothes, and looked around, but I didn't notice anything different. I was doing what I did every day, so why did I feel like I hadn't done this in years?
The bad feeling lasted for the rest of my work. Something was wrong, something was missing, but I couldn't say what.
-XXXXXX-
With everything done for the day, we went to our usual pastime: shooting bottles.
BANG!
CRASH!
"Think you can do better?"
Novi offered me an arrogant smile, striking a pose with one hand on her hip while raising her smoking revolver with the other.
"You bet!"
I drew my revolver, twirling it in my hand as I walked slowly and exaggeratedly, whistling a song from old Western movies.
I glanced at Novi, who crossed her arms and shook her head, feigning annoyance, but I saw the corners of her lips curling up, trying to hide her laughter.
I returned the gesture in kind and prepared to shoot the furthest bottle, with a broken one beside it, courtesy of Novi.
I aimed at the it, cocked the hammer, and prepared to fire. However, I couldn't; the world flickered, my vision doubled, and my hand began to tremble.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
I had never felt so much fear upon hearing a cough; I immediately remembered that cursed dream, yet it wasn't Novi, but me.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
It felt like my heart would leap from my chest, my lungs and throat burned. I dropped my gun and covered my mouth, bending over while hugging my stomach.
"ALAN!"
Novi rushed to my side, I felt her hands on my back and shoulder, but I couldn't respond.
The pain was immense, I couldn't see properly and couldn't stop coughing. My head began to spin and the corners of my vision darkened; blood on my hand was the last thing I saw before everything went dark.
-XXXXXX-
When I regained consciousness, the pain was gone, but something was caressing my hair.
My eyes felt like they weighed a ton; I struggled to open them, and when I finally did, I immediately regretted it, because the moonlight almost blinded me.
"Oh, you're awake. How do you feel?"
My gaze went to the owner of the familiar voice. Novi was stroking my head, which rested on her lap, but she remained focused on something distant with an impassive face.
However, I noticed something glistening running down her face—tears. She was crying, something I rarely saw her do. My stomach sank at the sight of her like that; worry and fear overwhelmed me.
"Novi, is something wrong?"
She let out a weak laugh, and her facade crumbled, revealing a face full of sadness.
"I should be asking that! What were you thinking making a pact with that thing?!"
A shiver ran through my body; I began to tremble like a leaf in the wind, fearing the worst.
"The dream, it was…"
"Real? Yes, it was real, my death and everything you did afterward was real."
It didn't take me long to make the connection.
"So I am..."
"Dead? No, not yet, but that will happen if you stay here."
Hearing the word "here," I became more aware of my surroundings; we were in the Field of Lunar Tears, the sea of white flowers she loved so much, and in front of me, a cross.
A sob escaped my lips, and with it, the tears.
"I don't care! I did all this to see you again, so be it! I'll stay here with you!"
She laughed, sniffing before continuing.
"You idiot, do you think I don't know?! Do you know how much I missed you too?! But your time hasn't come yet, you still have a chance to stay alive!"
"Why should I?! We're together now! Please don't tell me to leave, not after everything we've been through!"
"Alan, this is wrong, you can't give up like this! You need to move on, you need to live and let me go!"
"I-I… B-but…"
The words refused to come out. I never imagined this would happen, that she wanted me to leave. Wasn't that what we both wanted?! Then why?! Why did she make it seem so wrong?!
"I DON'T WANT THIS! I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU! I WANT TO GO BACK TO OUR OLD LIFE! YOU AND ME IN OUR LITTLE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! I WANT TO WAKE UP AND SEE YOU BY MY SIDE! HEAR YOUR VOICE! FEEL YOUR TOUCH! I LOVE YOU NOVI! I PROMISE! I LOVE YOU AND I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!"
My tears became a waterfall and I raised a hand towards her, but she didn't take it, causing despair to course through my body.
"I love you too, Alan, but we can't go on like this. You need to let me go, your memory of me can't keep holding you back. Can you promise that? Can you promise you'll move on? That you'll live no matter what? Can you do that for me?"
I hesitated, preferring to look in any direction other than her bright eyes full of emotion.
I wanted to say no, I wanted to stand my ground and stay here, but deep down, I couldn't, not for her, not for the person who took me in and showed me how to live in the distant future.
My old life is gone and she gave me a new one, so… I guess… I guess I should finally return the favor by doing something for her.
"Yes, I promise."
The loving smile she gave me, how I had missed that sight, her golden eyes and white hair gleaming in the moonlight made her look like an angel.
"Thank you. Now live, Alan, live until we meet again."
Then she approached, and our lips finally met after what seemed like an eternity.
-XXXXXX-
The white monster fell from the sky, its shattered form piercing the cloud of smoke caused by the explosion.
Like a meteor, it struck the blazing forest below, painting the earth in dark liquid. The heat was infernal, the smoke created a dark and suffocating sea, the crackling of the flames accompanied the snapping of falling trees and the cries of frightened animals.
Its legs and wings were gone, its bones were broken in several places, tearing its burned skin, blood flowed in rivers, pieces of flesh were missing, but it was still alive.
A clarity took over his mind; something within had been freed, and with that, dark marks appeared on his skin, and the little power that remained emerged.
The earth beneath his body molded itself, creating a deep hole, far from the fire and curious eyes. There, a white cocoon formed around him where his form floated as the ground closed, allowing him to rest.
-XXXXXX-
On the surface, a well-dressed man awoke, opening his eyes and looking around in confusion. This soon turned to relief and arrogant joy; after all, something pathetic created by mortal hands could never kill him.
This didn't change the fact that his plan had failed. His usual grimace returned as he watched the portal in the sky closing, and his mind worked to process the situation, trying to find ways to save what remained.
However, he couldn't think of anything; this was his last chance to return, and both worlds still existed.
A bad feeling arose in his chest, something he thought only humans were capable of feeling, a weakness his species had exploited for countless millennia.
He had failed in every possible way.
Suddenly, he became as rigid as a statue and trembled like a sail in the wind. Sweat poured down his face and his teeth chattered as an overwhelming pressure emanated from the portal.
He dared not look up, for something incomprehensible to human minds stared directly at him, a being of impossible size and power that had created everything except the humanity he so desperately wanted to destroy.
His creator, the God of the other world who brought ruin to this one, was furious at his failure.
"My creator, I…"
He never had a chance to finish; a pillar of pure light descended from the sky, and he was the target. Pain, something he had never felt in his long existence, overwhelmed his being. He had no physical form, no flesh or nerves; he was something beyond that, and yet, he burned.
His hair turned to dust, his eyes melted, his skin peeled from his bones, and when it was all over, there was only a charred body on the ground.
The attack caused no changes to the environment, no sign that it had ever been there, so the portal closed, the voices and bells ceased as if they had never existed, but the fire and the dead proved otherwise.
He called the human he tormented so much a fool, but in the end, there were two fools on this journey, in the end, nothing was gained and both lost what little they had.
END OF CHAPTER