'I can't breathe'
'I can't breathe'
'I need air'
His chest burned.
His lungs screamed for air.
Every movement felt heavier—like chains dragging him deeper.
A figure was drowning in deep water.
Elior.
All he could do was gasp desperately for air at that point.
Hope flickered like a bulb about to go out.
His eyes gradually lost their light, flickering weakly.
Elior tried to scream, but it was to no avail.
'Ha'
'I expected it. Of course, no one could come to my rescue.'
'How could they?'
Elior gritted his teeth
'I was never part of their world'
'An impostor who stole the life of a broken character'
'Perhaps, death is really the best'
'Maybe I can meet m-m-m-om and d-a-a-a-d'
'Maybe Jeanne…'
Liam sank deeper into the water.
Then-
'Live'
Elior eyes shot wide open as his body frantically struggled on its own like on instinct as his brain could not keep up
His body struggled desperately to survive as it tried to push itself forward
'Stop'
'Stop'
'Stop'
'Stop'
Elior screamed yet his body did not listen
'Why won't things go my way?'
'I just want to die in peace'
At the flicker of doubt lingering in Elior's mind, black silhouettes surrounded him as they stared eerily
'Ha, what a sick joke'
The black silhouette held him all around before dragging Elior deeper into the waters.
Having hollow and indistinct faces, the silhouettes stared into Elior's soul
"Elior, how did it feel killing me, huh" one of the silhouette's spoke
"Pro… Professor Moren?"
Elior spoke, his voice cracking
"Yes, it is your dear Professor"
Moren said, clapping his hands together.
"I know it felt good. You didn't even hesitate, Elior. Not once."
Moren said in a sarcastic tone
"..."
Elior just kept quiet as Moren continued pestering him
"You are twisted to the very end, the very core."
Moren continued.
"Tell me what you were expecting to be: A righteous hero of Valor"
"Don't make me laugh!" Moren shouted at the top of his lungs
Elior just remained silent, his eyes were bloodshot red as oxygen escaped at an alarming rate
Just when Elior thought it couldn't get any worse, three more silhouettes grabbed him by the neck and began choking him.
'What the hell?'
"Kael honey, won't you join us in our hell?" one of the voices spoke
"Huh?"
Elior's eyes shot wide open as the three silhouettes' faces slowly rippled as the light reflected on them briefly
"Can't be?"
In front of Elior stood his father, mother and younger sister.
The same people Elior had risked his life for since he reincarnated.
The very people who reminded him not to abandon this world, a mimicry of his home, filled with childish fantasies
"Yeah, a child"
A child who let his fantasies kill his family.
"Join us brother"
"Join us son"
Jeanne and Janice clutched Elior desperately before Jeanne spoke in a gentle voice.
"Join us"
"You need to because you practically killed us"
Hearing those words in such a sweet, gentle voice finally broke Elior.
'Stop'
"You weren't there when we needed you the most"
'Stop'
"Brother, why did you abandon me?"
'Stop'
"Brother, why did you run away?"
Silence engulfed Elior
The will he once had to survive was shattered instantly.
*Gasp*
Elior woke up, his bed was drenched in sweat.
Checking the time, Elior realized it was four-thirty in the morning.
'Another nightmare'
The word 'nightmare' which Elior usually took lightly now took more of a toll on him that he had realized.
Elior who once saw the thin line between the black and white once saw the grey area now saw nothing but a thick black line
"What am I?"
A question which plagued the mind of Elior resurfaced once more
"Am I Elior Vayne or Kael Liam?"
"I don't know anymore"
Elior said as he rubbed his hair with his hands gently.
Elior walked to the basin and looked at himself in the mirror
Looking at himself in the mirror, his face looked pale due to the stress he had been feeling as of recent but it did not matter to him at all
'Training with Lyra'
Elior washed his face and went ahead towards the training grounds.
Arriving at the training grounds, Elior saw Lyra wearing combat wear. She turned to look as she noticed Elior in the distance
"You are late"
"You are rather too early"
"Just come and put on some gear"
Elior sighed as he continued walking sluggishly towards Lyra, ticking her off by the second
'I will get that brat!'
As Elior opened the drawer, he saw a vest with a pair of trousers, shirts and boots.
As he wore the clothes, something caught his interest
'Why are there red, shining orbs on them?'
"You must wonder why they are red shining orbs on the chest area of our clothes?" Lyra interjected
"...."
"We'll be having a sparring match"
"Do anything necessary to win"
"How does one win?" Elior asked
"By destroying the orb on my chest area"
Elior studied her for a moment as she began stretching
Blink
As Elior blinked and reopened his eyes, Lyra suddenly appeared before him, about to slash his orb.
'Fuck'