5 The Awakening and the Bad Ending Part 5

They return to the party just in time for the event to be triggered.

Liliana is in the middle of complaining about not being allowed to attend the Academy when a loud clatter draws the attention of everyone in the room.

There, at the center of the commotion, is Amelia.

The loud noise comes from a thick expensive glass shattering to a million pieces on the marble floor. Livia can feel her face darkening. That glass was no cheap thing. Her mother had brought the best the house of Valentia had to offer, and that little girl just destroyed one of their most expensive pieces.

Who even gave her that? That was only for the most important guest.

"Is she alright?" Liliana whispers beside her, looking concerned.

Indeed, Amelia was looking rather pale and blue in the face. Almost as if she was suffocating...

'It's been triggered. Finally.'

What?

What has been triggered? Again, why would she think that?

"Amelia!" The Crown Prince shouts and rushes to the girl's side. Golden magic instantly flickers to life in his hand.

'Unless he knows the spell to stop the airway from swelling up, it's useless. Raw power won't be enough.'

The pain in her head returns with no warning, and much worse than the last time. With everyone's attention on Amelia and the Crown Prince, no one but her sister notices her stumbling and clutching her head with a grimace of pain.

The extravagant room around Livia flickers away, and suddenly she is sitting alone on a bed and has an odd device clutched in her hand as cheerful music plays before she can analyze anything the scene changes again. Now she is in a cabin, and out the large window is a beautiful forest as far as the eye could see. Below her is a boiling cauldron with many odd ingredients strewn about.

It's peaceful, quiet. She is isn't given much time to enjoy it as she is once again in the room, this time close enough to a flat black thing to see that it is bright and has moving pictures on it.

Wait.

'Isn't that Crown Prince Rodale?'

At the bottom, the odd text...she can read it.

A M E L I A: Y-Your inviting me to the party? Are you sure?

'What on earth???'

No.

What is Earth?

Didn't she mean Etheria?

"Sister? Sister, are you alright?" Liliana sounds frantic.

'Hmm, should I go for Prince Rodale, again? I think there were new events added to him last month. Aah, when will the new DLC be finished? I want to meet the new targets!'

Back in the odd room, the girl's glasses fall down her nose as she talks to herself. Outside her home, a storm rage. She clicks through the texts without bothering to read them, her expression a little bored. The lights flicker overhead, and she looks up with a frown.

Then there is a deafening BOOM and a flash of bright blinding light before complete darkness.

'Hmm, interesting. When I add this in, it almost works like a poison. More experiments need to be done. I should gather more ingredients.'

The cauldron is no longer boiling and has been pushed to the side. A large book now lay were the cauldron once was on a beautifully crafted wooden table. The language in the book is weird. Even as a hand that seems to be Livia's own begin to jot down more words, the meaning to them can't be reached. She knows it. She does. Why can't she remember?

"Livia! Livia, what is wrong??" Liliana's voice shrill voice brings her back.

The pain in her head is unbearable now and she has fallen to her knees while her sister panics over her. Livia wants to wave her off, to stop her from bringing attention to them, but she can only clutch at her head and squeeze her eyes shut.

'It was only a little. The effects should be wearing off now. '

Another scene.

It was her, right before the party. She standing over the expensive wine glass as the servants work around her. She reaches out, almost in a trance. Her finger trails over one of the cups, and for a moment she hears a ringing in her ears and sees a small glow of purple light. Her mother finds her then, snatching her hand up as she berates her for coming down to the kitchen before dragging her off.

'These are it.'

Her hand picks up a single flower. It was white in the center and a deep blue near the ends. She was in the beautiful woods again.

Those flowers. It was the same one that could be found in the garden.

"Livia!"

The headache is gone. Her hands fall to her side. With a sort of distant numbness, she looks up.

And meets blazing, icy blue eyes that glare at her from across the room.