3. Liars and a liar mirror
«The kingdoms of the outside world, outside Deorum, are twelve and twelve are the natural powers. The realm of fire, air, water, earth, wood, darkness, light, metal, psyche, energy, rock and ice. Until about twenty years ago, the kingdom of ice was included in that of water, but it fell apart after a rebellion. Each kingdom is headed by a king or queen who has passed on to their children for generations the gene of the twelve royal families, that is a gene implanted by the gods themselves in the most powerful families thousands of years ago. You're there?»
Name nodded, it was hard to remember, but there was something in the story that Fera was telling her that was familiar.
They walked behind the boy, as silent as Miki behind her.
«It's as if... I've already heard these things, but I don't remember them anyway...»
Fera made an indecipherable expression for a moment, then smiled.
«Great!»
«I don't think that one doesn't remember anything» the boy stared at her, Name didn't feel at ease.
«And those three leaves of fate, are they fake?» You seem to be holding them in your hair like pins. Tch.» then he turned and kept moving forward.
Name hadn't even remembered it, she still had three red leaves in her hair, the same and simple leaves.
How did they stay in my hair all day?
«Ah! In fact, I forgot about it!» Fera looked at the leaves in Name's hand, they felt light, but strangely they didn't seem real to her, but not even plastic, they didn't have a precise consistency.
«These are called Fate Leaves. As you can see, they are all above us-» she pointed to the red trees above their heads.
«-The leaves of fate have their own will, they grow only here in circle 0. The leaves of fate cannot be deciphered, they fall very rarely. And then...»
Fera seemed to have to remember something.
«It has never been heard of three leaves. Two yes, a century ago, but three? I don't believe it.» the boy snorted again.
So is this something rare?
«What can they mean? Could they know something about me?» Name asked hopefully.
«Well, the leaves are made of pure magic, they will follow you wherever you go, you can make them invisible... They say nothing, however, the only thing that is certain is that in your future you will have three paths to go. Normally each of us has a destiny already written... Who is chosen by the leaves-»
«They are the only ones who can change their destiny. That's just a fake legend.» the boy added.
«Stop interrupting me!» but he ignored Fera.
«In truth it is said that they can change it, but the leaves of fate have a will of their own: they look at what's the most interesting destiny and start playing with it, building other roads.»
«And how do I know when I'll have to choose one of the three roads?»
Fera looked at them both, confused.
They're ignoring me right?
Name was curious, but also confused. She wanted to know more about the leaves, but talking to that boy was still unnatural to her.
«You don't know. Green said it, they're indecipherable, you can't read them. This is the reason why whoever obtains a leaf of destiny gets only one: that leaf symbolizes a destiny distorted from the original one, perharps in tragedy or in success. Two leaves or three ... the thing has not yet been studied.» strangely, the boy seemed very calm talking to her.
But didn't he hate me?
«Oh ...» Name said nothing more.
How could she be the architect of her destiny, her future, if she didn't even know her past or her present?
«Nobody seems to know me ...» she murmured, looking at the ground, she couldn't have done it alone to remember who she was.
«You are unlikely to find anyone you know, people are sorted through the initial screening to enter Deorum.» Fera reassured her with a pat on the shoulder.
Deorum. Deorum.
«What exactly is Deorum?» she felt a slight shock from everyone, even Miki behind her. Fera sighed.
«Well-»
The boy interrupted her.
«I'll explain, you're too slow, even those who are reading are getting bored.»
«What?!» Fera, stylized, complained.
Name instead took the opportunity to take a step back and talk to Miki.
Oddly she didn't seem as shaken as she was before.
«Everything good?» she asked, not quite sure what to do or say.
«Yes, don't worry, it's not that I wasn't ready for things like that, but ...» Miki gave a long, heartbroken sigh, then silently returned to look at the earth.
In fact, Name had just realized she was barefoot: her feet were hurting.
«Thanks, I would have gone crazy alone.» Miki tried to crack a smile, her eyes swollen with tears.
«You... you should think about the good memories you had with him... at how happy you were togheter...» Name tried to help her in her own way.
«You're... right.» Miki stopped.
«Thanks... You're a really good friend.» she said between tears, then kept gping forward.
Name nodded, not knowing what to do, she tried to smile too, as best as she could.
Friend.
Both Fera and Miki are friends.
«I'll live for my brother too.» her friend said.
Name felt warm in her chest again. She was happy. She had friends, she was not completely alone: Fera had saved and helped her right away, Miki had saved her after.
Name really wanted to do something in return.
«Here we go» the boy said.
A couple of steps and they were again in front of that giant barrier.
The number, which was covered by trees from afar, had just changed from 149 to 150.
«So does it mark the number of those approaching the barrier?» Fera murmured.
Name noticed many other people, grouped, the same as before: some stared at her.
A blond boy with black eyes approached them, he seemed to have come out of nowhere.
«Here are the last ones.» he murmured with a smirk on his face.
For some reason he stared at Name for a moment, in a threatening way, she didn't know what he wanted to communicate with that gesture, but that guy seemed to reduce her to an insignificant insect.
Name tried to get smaller behind Fera.
It seemed that the already dark night had grown even darker.
«Sorry, the evening tea took too long.» the boy murmured, then tried to move away, but was held back by the blond.
«Hey-»
«Four people. As I thought, the barrier counts one person less.»
He launched slightly to the right, moving Fera as well, only to find himself straight in front of Name.
«The barrier doesn't count you, to be exact.»
Name wanted to be even smaller
She felt a pressure on her similar to that of the pink woman.
«It's strange... very strange ... it should be impossible.»
Just as he said this, the number behind him changed: now it was 151.
«I-» her mouth was, she didn't know how to answer. She was scared.
«Oh look, it seems that not even the strong powers want to let people know about your existence.» the blond said, looking at the white number.
«Pfft.» he lightly stroked her hair, he was touching the leaves of fate.
«Kill her.»
Who was he talking to?
It all happened in an instant. Fera whirled around and stretched out her arm as if to pull her away, looking surprised behind Name, who turned: Miki was running towards her, with an icy look and knife in hand.
Name opened her eyes wide, she didn't even have time to scream that a sword stuck on Miki's chest.
Name turned, knowing who that sword belonged to, the boy had an expression of disgust.
«I hate liars too.» he drew his sword and turned, the blond boy let him pass with a pleased smile.
Miki spat blood on Name, then bent to the ground.
Seized by an incredible sadness, Name leaned beside her, even as Fera tried to dissuade her from kneeling.
«Miki ...» Name pressed on the wound, instinctively, with a broken voice.
The dying girl looked at her: she was not as sweet as she appeared, she looked like another person.
Name had to do something to save her, he had to help her.
«Why?» she coughed up more blood, she was crying.
«We are friends ... your brother ...» Name whispered faintly, why was no one helping her? She was about to die!
Yet Miki bursted out laughing, with her teeth full of blood and her eyes staring at her so close, but so far away.
«What a fucking naive. I didn't even know the guy.»
She laughed again, spitting blood, until her body didn't move anymore.
The barrier marked 150.
Why?
It was the only thing she could think of as she was being dragged away from Fera.
«I told you. Name, this world is like this…» Fera seemed to want to continue, but stopped, just squeezed her hand tightly.
«I told her to get close to you to get information and then kill you. Well, I should have known she would have failed.» having said that the blond boy went forward.
Ah...
That's why no one was upset. Because no one helped her.
Deorum. Deorum. Deorum.
This world.
Name didn't want to live in such a world, she didn't care what it was like before: was all this okay before? Not now.
«I want to leave.» she said to Fera, also silent, finding the courage to speak.
The boy beside her now chuckled.
«Nobody leaves Deorum, once you enter you can only go on.» then he walked away.
Ah...
You can only go on.
«Come on!» the blond screamed, but Name only heard a buzz.
150 people in unison crossed the barrier, including Name, leaving everything and everyone behind.
«Test 0, passed. Test 0 passed.» a robotic voice kept repeating the same phrase.
Name finally looked up, as she suspected, there was the screen showing the pink woman in the sky.
«Congratulations! You have entered! May the gods lead you to the light! It's time for the contract!» the pink woman giggled and in a second the ground disappeared under everyone's feet.
Name fell into a dark space, losing Fera's hand and the moonlight.
-
She had the same dream.
She ran and ran in a body that didn't feel hers.
Was it the Name of the past?
Then she came out of breath again from the water bowl.
Still no reflection.
«Do you want to know who you are?» the woman was in front of her, she appeared again at the sound of small bells.
This isn't a memory.
She wanted to speak, but she couldn't.
«Dream. Memory. Vision. It has many names, none are exact.» she answered bluntly.
Shee felt what she thought.
How do I find my memories?
The silence continued, she couldn't move her head, she couldn't look at her.
«Meet me. If you succeed, I could unlock you.»
Unlock me?
«I don't even understand what you are. Or because you lost your memory, but ... I might have the key to unlock you.»
Name remained silent in her thoughts.
Where are you?
«Everywhere and nowhere.»
What answer was that? What did that mean?
Do you exist in reality?
«What is the reality?» nothing, she didn't give a precise answer, yet this was her only trail for her past.
«You can only go on, so go on. You will find me after Auset.»
Auset?
Once again, she fell into darkness.
This times less frightened, satisfied to have found a clue: Auset.
-
She woke up.
One of the leaves in her hair fluttered in the air, as if it was frightened.
Ah ... they have their own will.
Unlike the first dream, this one... she remembered it more vividly.
«Sorry.» she said to the leaf, which then levitated back into her hair.
She got up.
She was in a dark room, with nothing: no doors or anything.
Alone, on one wall there was a mirror, as tall as she.
«The mirror lies: to cross it you will have to tell the truth, what is inside, is the truth.» the voice was unknown, of a male, not robotic, but slow and deep.
«Do you know who you are?»
That said, no one spoke anymore.
Name felt lost, clearly, then forced herself a thought.
Go on.
She had to go on, for now the key was the mirror.
The mirror lied, yet it only reflected the image of Name.
She got a better look at herself, her knees were scratched and her feet swollen and red.
The white dress was covered in blood, as was part of her hair.
Name touched the mirror.
Do you know who you are?
No. I really don't know.
How could she cross the mirror if she didn't know who she was?
The image of Miki dying at her laughing at her was still etched in her head.
Trembling, she ordered herself to calm down.
If the mirror is lying, then isn't that my reflection inside? Am I not the person I reflect?
Well that was obvious. There was another person in the present Name, her past, herself: but she didn't remember it!
The truth is that right now, she hadn't reflected, like in her dream.
I'm nothing, not without my memories.
She leaned her head in the mirror, looking for an answer to pass, to move forward.
She could only tremble, she wanted to cry, but the tears still didn't come out.
Then something grabbed her by the wrist, she jumped back, before seeing what it was.
The mirror had engulfed her wrist.
But more than that, the mirror now had no reflection.
She took a step forward and her entire forearm disappeared: on the other side of the mirror she felt nothing.
Then, like a flash, an image appeared for less than a second: a girl like her, dressed like her, but with a black and not white bow at the waist.
A brown-haired girl, but she didn't have time to see the face.
It disappeared and the reflection went blank.
What it was? Was it me?
Name could not give herself an answer.
She crossed the mirror and again, fell into darkness.