Chapter 156 - Is It Over? - Part 4

It was dark. I couldn't see anything. But I could hear whispers.

The whispers came one after another, each time getting louder and clearer to my ears. Then came a gust of wind, cold to my skin. I shivered and held my body closer, but the cold never went away.

I looked around my surroundings, seeing nothing but darkness. I was in a room so wide and so big that I could never see the end of it. There was no one around, but it didn't sound like I was alone.

"You killed me."

A whisper came from behind me, and it was followed by a cold breeze that blew through my hair. I quickly turned around, seeing no one behind me. Another whisper came, but still, there was no one there.

Where is this? Why can't I see anything?

I started to walk around, trying to find a way out. No matter how long or how far I walked, I stayed in the same place, almost as if I was walking in place. The whispers came and went, following me everywhere I went.

"Stop!" I shouted, covering my ears with my fingers. As if mocking me, I heard laughter, then cries. Then the whispers that only came once every few seconds started coming continuously, ringing so loudly in my head without a halt.

"You killed me."

"You killed me."

"You killed me."

"Stop!! Stop!!" I shouted again, but it was of no use. They ignored my pleas, happy to see me drown in the misery they gave me. Their whispers soon turned into screams, and all I could do was listen. 

I closed my eyes and covered my ears even more tightly, hoping that I could chase the sound away from me if I did so. It was a foolish hope, really, but what else could I do if not hope for it to stop?

Why do they keep saying I killed them? I never killed anyone! Why would I kill? I've never even thought of killing anyone! That's horrible!

"You killed me."

I opened my eyes.

All of a sudden, I found myself surrounded by five children, each holding an expression as vile as the others. Their eyes burned with resentment—resentment that was meant for me. It was the same expression that I was so used to seeing, yet I hated it with a passion.

"W-who?" I fell backward, surprised to see them surrounding me.

The whispers stopped as soon as their eyes met mine, but the silence was much louder than the whispers they gave me. Five pairs of eyes stared at me, staring so intensely that they seemed to burn right through me.

I could see nothing good about those eyes that looked down upon me, seeing and feeling their resentment so clearly before my eyes. It felt as if I was the most repulsive thing in this whole world.

"You killed me," said one of the girls, while the others remained silent. 

"I didn't!!" I quickly denied her faulty accusation, staring right back at the girl's eyes. "I've never killed anyone!!" 

"You did," a new voice came, coming from someone that was not the children around me. The voice was distant, but grew closer as the voice walked towards me. I could hear her footsteps, then watched as the children made way for the new person to reveal herself.

Another young girl appeared, her hair short and curly, her dress bloodied. She had no shoes on her feet, but she had a knife in her chest.

I knew her.

She walked closer to me, then knelt down, taking my hand to her chest—to the knife in her chest. "You killed me."

The moment I touched the knife in her chest, more blood spilled out from her chest, adorning me in red. Then, as if on cue, a bright golden flame appeared, burning the rest of the children.

"You killed us."

I watched the scene in horror.

Blood continued to spill, flowing from her chest to my hand that was forced to hold the knife, then to the ground. The other five children danced under the fire, their eyes wide, still directed at me. I wanted to run.

"N-no!! I—I didn't kill you!!" I cried as I tried to free my hand, but her hold was too strong for me to release it myself. "I… I never meant to…" 

I brought my face closer to my chest, no longer wanting to see whatever gruesome things were happening in front of me. It was too horrible, way too horrible for anyone to see—or remember—or experience.

"Look at us," Doris said to me, her grip getting stronger as if to crush my wrist. "Look at what you did to us. You have to remember."

With my fear getting the best of me, I tried everything I could to break free from her, eventually succeeding, but only after accidentally pulling the knife out of her chest with me.

Blood immediately splattered everywhere, forming a pool of blood beneath her. I quickly threw the knife away from me, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I watched Doris fall to the ground.

"N-no... no..." I shook my head and crawled backward to get away from her, trying to run, but finding the other five children behind me. They were still surrounded by the golden flames, their now red eyes still staring wide at me. It was clear what they wanted to do. Get back to me.

They started to inch closer, raising their hands at me as if trying to choke me. I was terrified, but my legs were too weak to run. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest, and it felt like it was going to burst anytime soon.

I wiped the tears that were blurring my vision, trying to find a way to escape. But instead of feeling tears on the back of my hand, I felt something thicker than tears—blood. It was blood, but not mine. It was theirs.

"S-stop! Get away from me!" I shouted, waving my trembling hands in front of me to prevent them from getting closer. My breath started to grow shorter and faster, and I could feel myself getting lightheaded. "Please… leave me alone."

As I continued to back away from the children, someone from behind me suddenly grabbed my neck, choking me.

Doris, walked forward to show herself in my lines of vision. She appeared with her fingers around my neck, eyes filled with hatred. She stopped me from running away, ultimately allowing the other children to move closer.

"You killed us," she said, her finger getting tighter around my neck. I tried to pry her hands away from me, gasping for air as I did so. Instead of letting go, she ignored my pleas, letting the other children reach out to me as well.

I started to feel the heat from the fire surrounding me, burning me under their intense resentment and grudge. More and more fingers grabbed my neck, hot against my skin. The stares they gave me burned more than the fire itself, and I could feel it in my bones.

No longer able to put up a fight, I fell to my back, feeling the air leaving me. I grew weak and numb, my vision slowly turning darker and darker. My hands that were trying to pry them away from me fell limp, and my eyes grew heavier as more time went by. There was nothing else that I could do besides let the golden flames devour me whole.

"Now it's our turn."

…

"Violet! Violet!"

A distant voice called for me, shaking my body. The voice started to grow louder and louder as my consciousness came back to me, pulling me away from the world of my dreams.

"Wake up!!"

I opened my eyes with a gasp, feeling my heart beating faster than normal. My fingers immediately went to my neck, finding no other fingers there besides mine. I perilously gasped for air, recalling the sensation of them choking me so clearly and vividly.

It was a dream, but the fear was real.

"Are you okay?" I found Luke, staring at me with his eyebrows drawn together, his eyes dilated with worry. "Breath," he said, holding my shoulders with his two strong hands.

I followed him, watching how he breathed in and out to help me find my pace. His dark red eyes stared into mine, but I couldn't sense the same feeling of dread I had in my dream. Instead, his stares gave me a sense of security and peace, chasing away any kind of fear I had left in me.

"Are you okay?" he asked again, seeing me finally regaining my composure. Despite the cold weather, his forehead was adorned with beads of sweat, his hands were slightly trembling.

I slowly nodded to his question, letting out a big sigh after successfully escaping my dream. It felt so real. Too real.

Luke, too, let out a sigh of relief and pulled me into his embrace, wrapping me in his warmth.

"Shit," he cursed. "You scared me. You were gasping for air in your sleep, and you wouldn't wake up no matter how many times I called for you. Don't scare me like that," he stopped, giving me a tighter embrace, "I thought I'd lose you."

I also thought I'd lose myself in that dream.

It didn't feel like a dream. It felt more like they came to haunt me after what I did to them. What happened after the fire? Did I faint? Did I… really kill them?

"What… what happened to them?" I asked, hesitating as I was scared to find the answer. What if I really killed them?

Luke pulled away from me, staring as if he didn't know who I was referring to.

"The children," I added. "I… I didn't mean to do that to them," I let my gaze fall, feeling my tears starting to blur my vision as I recalled the blazing fire around their bodies. "I only meant to erase the sigil, but the fire suddenly came up and… and burned them."

The memory from yesterday right replayed in my mind like a cursed theater, and I could still remember how the golden flames blazed so fiercely and wildly as they devoured the children. Though they didn't show any reaction, I could still see the real them in their eyes.

Their pain, their sufferings, their fear.

"Did I… did I really kill—"

"What are you talking about?" He cut me off, frowning as he listened. "The children are fine.. You saved them."