I was surrounded by darkness. It was a familiar scenario that kept repeating every night.
I wandered alone into the distance until I was forced to confront large, glowing, light purple eyes; they followed every movement I made and kept stalking me.
Those eyes belonged to a noble clan capable of knowing the future, eyes famous for having started the most wars and having won almost all of them.
I began to hear strange whispers in both of my ears; different voices were telling me different things all at the same time. Eventually, they pulled me in front of a mirror, where I saw myself for the first time in a while.
Those hands slowly caressed my entire body as they forced me to watch the miserable state I was in.
My face looked like a mess: messy, dirty hair, an unkempt beard, large bags under my eyes, and an overly skinny body.
Before I could even try to attempt to answer those voices, I was pulled into the mirror, into a large and illuminated corridor, leading to the outside.
No matter where I went, those eyes kept following me; they wouldn't stop pursuing me, and eventually they came to harm my family.
I relived that day over and over.
I could still hear it echo in my mind: the screams of agony of my wife, the twisted laughter of that bastard, and the many hands that were used to pin me down; all the while, I was forced to watch.
My blood boils in rage; I can still remember the metallic taste of blood overwhelming my mouth as I desperately fought that arrogant piece of shit, and after that incident, he disappeared.
He had left the Fracture to live on the surface; he lived like a king outside, his name gaining more and more fame by the day, while I was stuck in hell dealing with the aftermath.
He even gained the support and protection of the strongest warrior that has ever lived.
The cheers of the people calling him a hero.
Everything kept repeating itself until I felt like I was going crazy.
When I woke up, I was covered in cold sweat. My first instinct was to clutch my heart, to try and stop it from beating out of my chest. I was so agitated my nails were slowly digging into my flesh.
But those days were coming to an end.
One look at the calendar gave me the peace I needed; the day of my revenge was getting closer.
I quickly got up, showered, and changed clothes before going downstairs.
In the living room I found the kid asleep on the couch; the TV in front of him was still on. She probably fell asleep watching something she shouldn't have. Thankfully she didn't wet herself.
As soon as I stepped into the room, she began to wake, lazily stretching her arms without getting off the couch. She remained still, waiting for breakfast to be served.
"You woke up later than usual; was there something interesting to watch?" I asked as I headed to the kitchen.
Oh, it seems we're about to run out of eggs; after she learned how to cook simple things, she's starting to overindulge a bit too much. At the very least she knows not to leave evidence of her crimes.
No dish or pan was left on the sink; everything was clean, a perfect crime.
I chuckled to myself as I cracked the last few eggs in a bowl.
But those memories quickly filled my mouth with a sour taste, because that wasn't my child.
Everything was going to end in one way or another; we had tracked the bastard, he was setting up something big, he had been visiting the fracture to meet up with all sorts of people, and we knew where he was going next and when.
I already quit my job and packed the essentials in my car. Today could've been my last day in this peaceful home, so I decided to savor every last moment.
"What are you cooking?" The kid asked as she entered the room.
She was still a bit hazy, dragging her body to the nearest chair.
After I finished frying a couple of eggs, I turned around to scold her for her constant midnight snacks when I saw something foreign, a faint color in this colorless world emitted from her eyes.
A faint hue of purple that quickly faded away.
It felt like a stab in my heart; no matter how many times I saw it, it always hurt the same, to the point I almost dropped the plate I was holding. Every memory I had with her felt like a twist in the wound.
I took a deep breath.
I felt as if I were walking on a thin line about to snap; I slid the plate across the table and quickly turned around. I didn't want to see the child see my face contorted with anger.
Once again I found myself clutching my heart, taking slow breaths. My hands were visibly shaking, and the strength in the lower half of my body had vanished in an instant.
Horrifying intrusive thoughts resurfaced; the thought of gouging her eyes out using my bare hands flashed right before my eyes. The scene felt so vivid it scared me.
Her screams, the warm blood spilling over my head, and the viscid sensation of holding a pair of eyeballs in my hands.
It all had a creepily warm feeling in my chest; imagining those scenarios was putting my mind at ease.
I endured, as I always did; I closed my eyes and pretended that what I saw wasn't real so that I could keep on living even if for just another day.
"I heard the Jusam are also going to the second layer this summer." She commented.
"Right…" I replied.
"Do we really have to go there? I don't want to be behind everyone when I come back." She pestered me, a conversation we repeated more than a dozen times at this point.
"I have to go; I already explained to you… it's for work… there's not much I can do about it. If you want to stay, you can live with your grandmother; I'm sure she would be more than willing to take you." I replied.
Why am I even considering bringing her with me?
"But I don't like staying with them!" She quickly complained.
"Then you have no other chance but to follow me to the seventh layer." I said as I pretended to look for something in the drawers of the kitchen.
"That's so unfair." She complained, but her words fell on deaf ears.
While she was finishing her fried egg, I treated myself to a dessert before ultimately turning around.
My heart was still beating incredibly fast, but by then I had calmed down enough to keep the conversation going while looking directly at her.
All it took was a stern look to make her stop complaining. Once she was done eating, I took her plate as she prepared her stuff to head to school.
Once I carried her to school, I spent the rest of the day ensuring that everything was ready, the suitcases were full, and nothing important was being left behind.