Prelude

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Hatred…?

A word that contains six letters of the English alphabet. Just six letters but such a word is so tempestuous. So foul. This thing can destroy one's sanity.

Loneliness…?

No one would want to get caught by this. Bring in the pain and the hurt, but never this.

Suicide…?

Ah. It sounds so evil yet so tempting. To think that one word could free you from everythingーfrom pain, hatred and loneliness. To think that one word could be everything. A saviour. A friend.

And like they say, drowning is a peaceful death. It's one of the good ways to die. Some say it's akin to falling in a deep slumber; the feeling of wanting not to wake up any longer. The soft waves of the calming water gently flood the lungs as the flow of the air ceases. 

The feeling of a tranquil suicide.

But that is not the case right now.

The young woman, no older than twenty-two, couldn't move a muscle. She couldn't feel her limbs. But she knew that she was still conscious in there; sinking as some foreign force kept on dragging her deep into the unknown.

What happened?

She bit back a scream when she felt something prick her thighs. It coiled possessively around her waist, up to her arms and to her throat that then strangled her. Forcing her eyes open, she directed her gaze down to try to comprehend where she was.

Vines...rose vines with thorns. It wrapped itself on her body, refusing to let go.

Flinching, she tried to move her hand to where she tucked a swiss knife earlier. But before she could reach her trusted weapon, the thorns threateningly tightened their hold on her. She swore she could feel the thorns squeezing her blood out.

There was...no escape to this.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall..."

Her struggles stopped, instead, her wavering vision darted back and forth to find the source of the voice that echoed inside the emptiness of the chasm. It was masculine and deep, yet so rich and soothing as if lulling her to sleep.

"...Thee who was chosen through thy soul..."

Her unfocused eyes widened as she finally took a glimpse of what was beneath her feet. Amidst her wavering vision, an endless river of blue roses stretches across from beyond what her eyes could fathom. She saw that with each drop of her blood, a spider lily was blooming in the middle of the blue flowers that were both haunting and beautiful at the same time.

"Ah, mine beautiful, endearing lady..."

She flinched once again when she saw a burst of brightness in the distance. When she looked up, she saw a single streak of light falling down in the midnight blue skies filled with stars. 

While she wasn't particularly a believer of astronomy or something similar, she felt something ominous was about to happen as the meteor continued its descent.

A prophetic intuition, perhaps?

"...it's time to fulfill thy destiny."

Slowly, she managed to free her arm from the thorns, the blood trickling down sickeningly to the bed of blue roses, dirtying and painting them with scarlet. And then, in the near distance, she saw a forming visage of a…was that a mirror? floating above the blue flowers as clouds started to drift aimlessly and hauntingly around the starry skies.

The young woman tried to squint her eyes, focusing her gaze on the mysterious item that appeared out of nowhere. Her heart started to beat erratically in her chest, threatening to jump out of her throat at any given moment. While her vision was yet to gain its focus, she could see in the distance that the mirror was glowing of bright blue mixing with several different colours of black, silver, yellow and red. 

She sucked in a horrified gasp when the mirror burst into flames, followed by a hand creeping out of the glass in her direction, its palm reaching for her to take…

"Take mine hand..."

Without more time to hesitate, she reached out her hand to them, straining her body and she almost suffocated herself when the pain became too much. She fought back a scream of pain when the thorns squeezed more blood from her throat, her waist, and her legs and arms. She could feel her insides burning and suffocating her as the two began to reach out to her.

She needs to take it. She needs to get away. She needed...

"Take mine hand and I shalt guide thee…"

And within a few more seconds, their warm fingers wrapped on her bloody ones. Contrasting to what she was expecting, their hands were warm to the touch and she couldn't help but to shiver as the hairs on the back of her neck stood.

She was waiting for great pain. Or for the thorns to cling tighter and suffocate her more. Or for the scarlet flames to finally burn her alive.

But it didn't come. All she could feel now is the comforting warmth of their hand as thorns clinging on her body burned into nothing but ash. The hand began to slowly pull her towards them.

She then heard someone calling out to her—different from the masculine and soothing voice from earlier.

"ーCome on, Lily, let's go!"

Then another. "...Very well, shall I see you next time?"

Someone snapped. "Enough wasting time. Let's go."

Multiple, unfamiliar voices speak and shout at the same time that almost grind her head, making her feel more dizzy than intended.

"Where do you want to go next?"

"...So, when will we visit the capitol together?"

"Good evening, Lily. I believed I heard your footsteps coming in…"

"Mornin', my liege!"

"Well, I say our journey begins anew—"

"Come, let us find a shelter from the stormー"

"Perhaps my journey with you will be an opportunity to discover something new..."

"P-Please, don't leave me behind…Lily..."

"...Under no circumstances shall you ever let go of my hand."

She can't remember what happened afterwards. All she could feel was another foreign sensation that she was floating in some place. Something akin to sinking in a deep ocean. But contrary to the same feeling of drowning from earlier, this time, she could finally breathe. 

And someone was holding her hand securely and tightly.

For once, she felt genuinely protected. 

"...Don't let go."

That voice rang with sincere reassurance and she never felt safer in her entire existence.

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