You left me

The familiar smell of medicinal flowers entered Nea's nostrils. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on her bed. She sniffed. The smell was not like Liana's herbal tea. Oh yeah, she remembered. Their laundries were hung near the medicinal garden and the smell ended up stuck to all of them.

Nea stretched and jumped down her bed. She heard the sound coming from outside. The familiar clinking and footsteps stirred a strong feeling of nostalgia. Nea quickly opened the door and saw her mother. She was making their breakfast. Her long dark hair was braided and she was wearing her comfortable long pants and shirts. Her mother didn't own any skirts because she disliked wearing them. Cumbersome and unsightly, she had declared.

Her mother glanced at Nea a smile on her lips. "Well look who's already up. I thought I had more time to prepare breakfast."

"Mom!" Nea hugged her mother and surprisingly found out that she only reached her waist. She frowned, feeling that she should be taller than this.

Her mother patted Nea's head. "Alright, what made you so clingy in the morning? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Did not! I'm already big, how can I be afraid of nightmares."

"Yes yes, you're very big." Her mother turned off the firestone and put their meal on the plates. She gave one to Nea.

Nea took her seat on the table and began shoveling in her breakfast. Most of their meal consisted of vegetables and fruits. Today was not different.

Her mother took the seat across Nea. "Remember not to return home so late. I already remind you before. You may be able to stay up all night but Liana can't be like you."

"I know, but we're talking about important stuff last night."

"Uh-huh, anyway, I already told Brianna to make sure that you two will return on time."

"Mom!" Nea protested. "Why her?"

"Why not?"

"You know I don't like her. Her stuck-up attitude is so annoying."

"You'll be like that when you're older."

"Nu-uh. I'm never going to grow up to be a grouchy grandma."

After Nea finished her meal, she quickly washed her face and changed her clothes. Just as she was about to go outside, she stopped and said, "Mom! I'm going to see Liana."

"Make sure to return before the sun sets!" Her mother said from her study.

"No promise!" Nea left her home and ran toward the Sanctum. She gave quick greetings as she passed her neighbors.

"Be careful not to fall!" an old lady said and shook her head. "Children and their endless energy."

Despite having short feet, Nea quickly reached the Sanctum. The guards let her enter without a question. At this time, Liana should still be asleep. She had never been an early riser. Unfortunately, she was friends with Nea who didn't hesitate to wake her up rudely.

"Wake up!" Nea said as she slammed Liana's bedroom door open.

Liana, who was already used this, merely covered her whole body under the blanket.

Nea pulled the blanket off Liana. "Come on, the sun has risen and the day has begun. Wake up!"

"No, let me sleep," Liana groaned, stuffing her face in the pillow.

Nea took away the pillow too. "Come on, you can't skip your daily exercise!"

Liana had asked Nea to accompany her to run every morning. She wanted to try to improve her fitness because she was tired of being left out while other children were playing.

Liana grumbled as Nea pulled her up. Nea waited as Liana washed her face using warm water from the special water pitcher. It was a spiritual tool made of warm jade specifically made for Liana. She was especially vulnerable against the cold. One time, Nea convinced Liana to swim in the river and Liana ended up getting a fever. Nea got an earful for that.

Their exercise was simple. They only ran around a small area in the Sanctum's garden. Usually, Liana could only run two laps but today she tried to run three laps. In the end, Liana laid panting on the ground while Nea hadn't even broken a sweat. Nea gave Liana her warm bottle of water. Liana gratefully accepted it and gulped it down.

"I'm still… pant... not good," Liana said.

"You're improving! Mother said that you have to be patient and take one step at a time."

Liana wiped her sweaty face using her handkerchief. "I know, but it's still frustrating."

"Come on, stop being so down. Let's go read some books." Nea pulled Liana up and herded her toward the library.

They spent the remaining day there. Nea didn't like to read but she could appreciate the pretty illustrations included in many of these books. When the sun almost set, Brianna came to them.

Brianna said, "Time's up. You should return."

"The sun hasn't set yet!" Nea protested

Brianna replied, "It's going to."

Nea glared at Brianna but she only look at her impassively.

"Stop pouting. We will meet again tomorrow." Liana said as she tidied up the books.

Brianna took Nea out of the Sanctum. They didn't talk to each other. Nea wasn't sure how to act around Brianna. She was always so serious and never smiled. Her presence always gave uncomfortable pressure on her. Many kids looked up to her because of her strength and skill. She was the youngest Sentinel and Scout.

"I heard you're going to go on another expedition?" Nea asked.

"Yes," Brianna said.

"My mother said that she's also going to go with you."

"Correct."

Nea pursed her lips and didn't bother to say anything else. This one-word answer. Couldn't she try to speak normally?

Briann stopped at the edge of the Sanctum's ground. Nea continued on her way, eager to escape from Brianna's presence.

"Hey," Brianna surprisingly said.

"What?" Nea looked back.

"Remember to say goodbye to your mother," Briann said with a blank look. "And spend time with her."

Nea frowned. "Huh?"

"This is your last chance."

Nea said, "… Okay?" Nea hastened her steps. Brianna was being weirder than usual. However, Nea stopped not long after and looked back.

Nobody was there.

Nea ran home. The town was strangely empty. The old lady that often sat on her porch with her cats was missing. The children who played until past sundown were not there. There were no signs of life. Nea's breath quickened. She slammed the door of her home open. It was dark inside.

"Mother?" Nea called.

Nobody answered.

Nea checked all the rooms and the garden but she couldn't find her mother. Her mother's room was tidy but it felt bare as if the owner was gone. Nea ran back to the Sanctum. She didn't know why but she felt that Liana might know where her mother was.

The sun had set and the sky was dark. There was no moon nor stars to light her way. Nea ignored the creeping dread. There were no patrolling guards. When Nea reached Liana's room, she thought that she wouldn't find Liana.

But Liana was there. She was standing in front of the window with her back facing Nea.

"Liana!" Nea called. "Something weird is going on. I can't find my mother, and… the people are also missing too!"

"Is that so?" Liana said and turned towards her. She grew older until she was a teen. She no longer wore her usual bright red dress and instead wore the Matriarch's dress. Her kind eyes were now cold and distant. "But your mother has been dead for years."

"Who are you?" Nea asked. "You're not Liana!"

Liana shook her head. "Nea, how long do you plan to be like this? You know that this was bound to happen."

"You're not my friend!" Nea shouted.

"Stop being so childish." Brianna's voice came from behind.

Nea looked back and said, "Shut up! Where's my mother?!"

Brianna said, "Don't you know it yourself? Your mother is dead because of you!"

"She has been searching for that spiritual herb to save your life and in the end, she's the one who died, and yet you still live."

"No! It's because you can't protect her!"

Brianna sneered. "Don't be ridiculous, you know that she broke the rules and left the team to search for the Heart of Frost. If she had stayed, she wouldn't have died. And whose fault is that?"

"It's not…" Nea fell to her knees.

"And now you did the same mistake." Brianna approached Nea. Her figure slowly changed to Nea herself. "You left your only friend to suffer alone."

Nea gasped.

"You left me," Liana said.

Nea turned to Liana. She looked at her friend's expressionless face, not knowing what to say. Nea stayed still in the darkness. Her thoughts swirling madly in her brain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"… I'm sorry." Nea looked up. She was no longer her child self and had changed back to her teen self. "I was wrong. Everything was so… When I heard that my mother… I had to know what happened to her and I was also mad at your choice. After you became the matriarch, I felt that I had lost my only friend… and my only tie to the clan was gone… so I left."

Nea hugged Liana. Her friend's body was cold and rigid. It was as if she was holding a doll. "I should've stayed and supported you. But… I was too much of a coward. I can't bear to watch you slowly lose yourself to the will of the Matriarch. I'm sorry."

Liana broke and dispersed into tiny flames.

The darkness receded.

A door of light appeared in front of Nea and she marched into it. When she passed through, she found herself back in the arena.

Han Bingde who was watching breathed a small sigh of relief. It seemed that Nea shouldn't have a great heart demon or at least her temperament was strong enough.

Nea looked up. On top of the spiritual tool, there was a sphere of light. On its surface flashes of images flickered past. It showed the participants' struggle against the illusion. An elder approached her to bring her off the arena and to join other cultivators who had passed the test. She didn't see any of her friends there.