An eye. An eye loomed over Lorelei's head, the same eye the woman had. It was staring her down, spinning uncontrollably. All around her, a sea of rotting bodies — deteriorating organs splashed in each other's mouths. Lorelei was unable to take her gaze off the huge eye covering the whole sky, if there was even something called a sky in this place. She slowly started sinking in the mass, engulfed by the hands pulling her down.
"Stop," she pleaded.
"Stop. Please."
They groped around every inch of her body, tearing her down to the bone. They started with her legs, then made their way to the top of her body. They tore down every layer of skin she had, revealing the muscles and fat underneath. Lorelei screamed in agony; every inch, every layer they removed felt like being cut open by a scorching blade.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" she screamed again and again in anguish.
They pulled out her veins, one by one. She screamed, but they didn't stop. Each of them wore an exaggerated smile stretching across their faces. Their bodies were dyed by Lorelei's gushing blood. Their ears were blessed by the melody of her screams. Their eyes filled with the thrill of discovering her body. And their hands were favored with the pleasure of revealing her insides. They ripped open the middle of her body, revealing the contents inside. Then, they toyed around with her lungs and trachea before ripping them out. Soon enough, they made their way below her abdomen and tore out her liver, stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, and spleen. They played around, stretching her intestine outwards and wrapping it around themselves like scarves. They wanted to empty her out, empty out anything that could be left in her. Lorelei wanted to scream, scream away her pain, but they had already taken away her lungs.
Am I alive? she wondered.
The pain of having the contents of her lower abdomen ripped out brought her back to herself. She cried and cried, but nothing could stop their joy, nothing could stop their excitement. The only thing Lorelei could do was stare up into the spinning red eyes hovering above her. But even after that, they were still not content. They scooped out both of her eyes from their sockets and pierced her eardrums with their fingers. The pain is gone now.
Is it over? she wondered.
Lorelei couldn't feel what was left of her body; nothing in it was left to be felt. Only an empty shell remained. The eye above spun even faster; their joy became even more profound, and Lorelei's soul was left hollow.
…
…
…
The eye stared her down. It spun and spun, but so did her vision. The world around her spun; particles floated up in the air into the eye. She felt happy — no, she felt thrilled. Excitement filled her body. They brought in something, rather, someone.
Who are you?
Lorelei felt something enter her body. Memories of the merchant flowed into her.
"I am Leonel."
Who are you?
Lorelei felt something enter her body. Memories of her mother flowed into her.
"I am Philia."
Who are you?
Lorelei felt something enter her body. Memories of Silvia flowed into her.
"I am Silvia."
Who are you?
Lorelei felt something enter her body. Memories of Maria flowed into her.
"I am—"
"You are Lorelei! That's who you are! Lorelei!"
It was the figure's voice. Lorelei felt it. Even if she didn't hear it, she knew it was her. The eye was split in half; a wave of blood and organs drowned her as well as the dead bodies around her. It was then, amidst the clarity of the blood, white particles filled the sea, and a hand grabbed what remained of her.
* * *
She was back to herself, her body intact, but her mind shattered. Lorelei faintly opened her eyes. She was back where she had first met the figure — the never-ending field of grass and the burning sun shining on her body. The rays couldn't reach her face because her hair was covering it. Then, she heard something roll over to her and abruptly come to a stop.
"I'm sorry," she softly muttered.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
She saw the figure's white robe through her bangs. The figure towered over Lorelei, but she still didn't raise her head. She kept apologizing — to whom? She didn't know, but what Lorelei knew was that she owed an apology. The figure reached out and slapped Lorelei.
"How long are you going to sit here and apologize for?!"
Lorelei's body was thrown into the grass by the force of the slap. She sluggishly got back on her knees and held her cheek.
"Look at me!"
She raised her head and cleared her bangs. Finally, her face was met with the sun's grace and warmth.
"You think apologizing will do a thing?! You think saying sorry will bring them back?! I'm sorry to tell you, but it won't! So get up and stop apologizing! Get stronger if you don't want to rely on your power! Get strong enough so you don't need to fear anything! In a world where you can die before even blinking, your power is useless! The past shouldn't be forgotten, but you shouldn't depend on it either!"
The figure looked exhausted after her speech. Her legs were trembling — not because she was scared, but because of something else. Despite that, she kept going.
"If you really are sorry for them, if you really are sorry for taking away their existence, then be the only one to remember them! Treasure those memories, and they won't be forgotten! Spread the word of their existence, create a new life from nothing! That's how you show regret; that's how you display strength and resolve! So strengthen yourself and keep going forward!"
The figure fell back onto her wheelchair, and Lorelei caught a tiny glimpse of her arm. Beneath her sleeve lay nothing but flowers. She looked at the figure; it was herself. It was Lorelei giving a lesson to Lorelei. If anything, the figure was amazing, nothing like herself. For a second, Lorelei even doubted that the figure was really her and not just someone taking on her appearance. Despite looking so frail and tired, she had a resolve and a mind of steel. Lorelei stood up and looked at the figure, who kept going with her speech, this time in a softer tone.
"If you have nobody to rely on, then trust Samuel and Brant. They are worthy of your trust; no matter what, they won't fail you. I promise."
Lorelei finally spoke up.
"Why not you?" she asked.
The figure looked down at her white robe and pulled her sleeve forward, seeing a petal reveal itself.
"Because… Because I'm not worthy of your trust."
"I see," Lorelei said simply.
The figure grabbed onto Lorelei's arm and pulled it toward her.
"Don't forget them. Don't forget the people who died. Cherish their memories, make them live again. Even if it's just within you. And live — not for them, but for yourself… Please, Lorelei." The figure looked like she was recalling some kind of memories. "I will do my best to guide you."
The figure turned to Lorelei's palm and drew a symbol with her finger.
"Please… Lorelei. Don't lose yourself to them."
White particles flowed in the air and engulfed Lorelei. A force pulled her down, but the figure didn't want to let go. Lorelei saw tears fill her eyes, and her mouth move to say something, but the particles stopped her from hearing it. Slowly, her hand slipped away from the figure's grip, and the light emptied her mind.
* * *
She felt beneath her palm a familiar softness. A soft tingle grazed her ear; it was the wind — the warm wind heated under the sun. She slowly opened her eyes. Lorelei was met with a familiar sight: the hanging chandelier above her bed, the double door in front, and the seasonal paintings hung on the wall.
"You're awake," Brant yelled excitedly.
It was a familiar voice, one that reassured her.
"Shut up, can't you see that she just woke up?"
Lorelei clearly recognized that voice; it was Samuel. Both of them were sitting on opposite sides of her bed. Samuel was cleaning his firearm like usual, and Brant was excitedly handing Lorelei a bowl of thinly cut fruits. It was then that Lorelei regained the memory of what had happened. She lifted up the blanket and touched her body; it was complete and perfectly smooth. She let out a sigh of relief and covered herself.