(CHAPTER 26) RE-LIVING NIGHTMARES

(this event took place at the same time Neon was training)

As she lay on her bed fast asleep, falling deeper and deeper into exploring the realms of her dreams, Karla remained unaware of the ominous shadow that crept into her subconscious. As her pupils began darting from left to right under her delicate eyelids, her mind conjured up a familiar nightmare. Suddenly, she found herself in the bedroom of her house ; the year 5049 (present year =5052) This was the year in which that fateful cursed event took place that changed her life forever.

A gust of wind rampaged itself around the house which gently pushed at her bedroom door creating a slight gap, exposing the hallway. She tilted her head to the side, peering out at the hallway seeing her parents smiling as they had an intimate conversation with each other. She smiled at the beautiful presence which emanated from her parents creating a warmth atmosphere that never sought an ending.

But just as the pinical of happiness was felt, the warm feeling was suddenly extinguished as quickly as it started, replacing it with a twisted and unsettling feeling of dread.

She swiftly darted of her bed standing on her two feet which wobbled uncontrollably. A bone chilling wind swept through the rooms extinguishing all light, leaving her in darkness. An ominous feeling of dread washed over Karla as her heart began pounding at her chest. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom, a monstrous shadowy figure began materialising ; A demon with fiery red eyes and jagged razor sharp claws could be seen in the depths of the hallway. It's twisted horns glinted with malevolence. Karla's parents began looking frantically around till they layed eyes on their daughter. They sighed with relief seeing Karla unharmed but little did they know about the shadowy figure that towered behind them. A sinister grin appeared on its face as it raised its razor sharp claws in the air, exposing it to the moonlight. Terror gripped her heart as she knew the inevitable event that was going to take place. She tried with all her might to chase away the demon which threatened her peaceful sanctuary. Her efforts were found useless ; it was as if there were invisible chains tying her down forcing her to watch the gruesome massacre. She dropped to her knees hearing the tearing of flesh and the frantic screams of her parents...

Just as the climax of her pain plunged her into darkness. Karla jolted upright in her bed, her heart pounding in her chest, drenched in a cold sweat. The remnants of her Vivid nightmare clung to her mind, leaving her trembling with fear. The room was shrouded in darkness, and her rapid breathes filled the silence as she tried to calm herself.

A sudden but gentle voice was heard from within the room. "Was it that nightmare again?" Said Hana who was now sitting upright in her bed wearing a worried look on her face. Hana was karla's room mate and her best friend. "Y...yeah." Karla stuttered struggling to regain her composure. "I..I'm sorry for waking you again.." She cried bowing down apologetically. "Think nothing of it, please don't apologise. I just hope that you are okay." Said Hana smiling but still hinting a worried look on her. "Its okay. I'll be fine." uttered Karla forcing a smile as she lay back onto her bed. "If you say so...but please don't hesitate to seek aid from me if you need any help." responded Hana gently inviting a sense of companionship and support. "I will...thank you Hana." She responded feeling a hint of warmth seeping into her quivering heart. The two of them lay on their beds trying to catch a little more sleep until morning arrived. Hana very quickly fell into a deep slumber as the sound of snoring filled the room. Karla on the other hand tried, but to no avail. the task was just too impossible as her thoughts still spiralled in her mind. the all too familiar feeling of her parents being snatched away before her eyes tug on her dejected heart strings. But another thought also crept into her mind. It was Neon. Although he was really kind and delicate towards her, she still couldn't bring herself to fully trust him. The mere thought of a Demon being on humanities side truly baffled her. "How can I put my trust in...a demon...is he really on humanities side." She thought to herself as she drifted closer and closer to a deep slumber.

Very quickly, a new day had arrived. As the sun shone brightly at the world, Karla made her way to her class which was class 3A. With class rooms, there was a ranking system. There were 10 rooms in this military school and the more closer the number was to 1, the stronger the students were. It was also ranked as C being the worst rank and A being the best rank and in Karla's case, she was in the highest rank for class 3. "Good morning Mr Park" She said greeting the teacher as she entered the classroom. "Hold it!" He said firmly as he raised his hand signalling Karla to stop. "I forgot to mention this yesterday after class. You are actually in class 2C now. You see, your scores on your combat tests have been skyrocketing so I think you are more than capable to be in class 2C." Mr Park said with a smile. Karla nodded excitedly as she made her way to room 2C. "Looks like I'm getting a lot stronger haha." She said with a determined grin on her face. Upon entering she saw there was about 4 students in the room, they sat there with their chins on the parm of their hands waiting for the rest of the students to arrive. She locked eyes with a familiar face. "Hey karla!" Spoke Neon waving with his hand while the other was pointing to a free seat next to him. She looked towards him startled. How could she refuse. She hesitantly made her way towards him, all the while thinking about the dream she had. Seeing Neon made her a little happy as she had someone who she knew in her class. However, knowing what he was triggered her nightmare to play all over again. An agitated look appeared on her face as she sat next to him which Neon saw instantly however, he paid no mind to it as he didn't want to invade her privacy. Karla's mind was in a fearsome battle with itself, trying to make a decision on if FH and Neon were good demons or if they just had an evil motive of their own. "Hey I heard that your combat scores have gotten a lot better, and now you've been promoted to class 2. that's amazing!" Neon said with a smile. "Y...yeah." Karla uttered failing to make eye contact. Hearing her response, Neon couldn't take it anymore, he had to know why Karla was acting so gloomy. "Hey what's wrong, and don't say your fine because your definitely not." Neon said changing his facial expression as well as his tone to a serious one. From hearing the way Neon said those, words, she knew that he really wanted to help her. She turned to look at Neon who wore a serious but worried expression on his face, on which Karla hesitantly but eventually decided to tell him about the nightmare that's been plaguing here every night since her parents died.

"I'm so sorry, I knew that something traumatic had happened to you, but I never thought it could be this heart wrenching. I know I could never understand because I never got a chance to bond with my parents. But I know the feeling of someone being taken away from you." Said Neon with a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Now you know why I despise demons more than the average person would. Its also the reason why I find it hard to trust you. I know I am generalising and I'm sure it hurts you, but its just not that simple. After all, you demons are humanities greatest foe.

"I know that Karla. An average person trusting me would take a long time, but for you, I know it would take even longer because you've been through a lot. But I promise, I will put my all into showing you and everyone else that I am an ally of humanity. You CAN trust me." Neon said firmly. "Karla tightened her hand making a fist and looked at Neon with intense eyes." Its not just you! It's also that demon inside of you. I mean HOW can you trust him so easily. How the hell do you know if he's even on your side, let alone on humanities. He even killed his own kind" Karla exclaimed looking at him with piercing eyes. "I killed those demons because betrayal is unforgivable, anyone who crosses me deserves a painful death!" shouted FH grunting as Neon put his hands close to his ears attempting to adjust to the loud voice that was ringing in his mind. "Yeah your right, I barely know anything about him and yes, I don't fully know if he's on our side or not. But the way I see it. We both want the same thing, to eradicate all demons and he is the only one who can make me stronger so that I can do that....but for that to work I don't have a choice.... I have to trust him..." Neon said in a serious tone. Karla looked at him with confusion wondering why the demon inside him would want to kill his own kind. But hearing what Neon had to say and how serious he was about the situation made her feel a little more at ease. Just as she was about to speak, a loud voice was heard throughout the room. "RIGHT! now that all the students are here, let's commence with our first lesson of the day" The teacher before them stood with a strong upright posture and wore a black suit which looked like it would explode at any moment because of his outstanding body.

the first lesson went on as normal. the students went out onto the training grounds and commenced with their daily combat scores as well as fight one another to test out each others limits.

(Combat scores were daily tests such as strength, speed and agility tests in which the students would carry out so that they as well as the teachers could keep track of how they were developing. One of the strength tests included the students attacking a machine. This could be done by punching, kicking or even use their powers. This machine determined and calculate how much force the student had behind their attacks.)

Once the first lesson was complete, it was the students half an hour break. This time was mainly used for students to have a snack or to scout for and buy equipment. Neon did neither as he didn't need food, nor did he have enough money to buy decent equipment. Instead, he mentioned to Karla that he was headed to room 10 so that he could train in the forest. Karla on the other hand was quite hungry so she made her way to the lunch hall, however the main entry way to the hall was full of students. "Damn, I can't even get through." She said grunting as she tried barging her way past the students but to no avail. "I'll just have to go the long way I guess." She said with a sigh as she turned to her right, venturing into an area which was secluded. She would usually travel in this route with her close friend Hana to get some food. There was barely any people around which made them be able to soak up the desolate feel of their surroundings. Her heart filled with determination as she imagined the food she could eat. She ventured deeper into the secluded realm, however, this time...it didn't feel peaceful at all....Instead it felt like the more she travelled, the more her anxiety would shoot out of control. The air grew heavy, the silence unsettling as she pressed on. Her footsteps echoed through the desolate landscape, an eerie soundtrack to her courageous pursuit. As she rounded a corner, she stumbled upon a chilling sight, a figure cloaked in darkness hunched over a gruesome scene. The lifeless body of her beloved best friend....Hana.....Horror gripped Karla's soul as she let out a chilling scream which felt like it could be heard from anywhere. "What the....did someone just scream...." A student said as he looked to the direction of the scream. "I heard it too. Could it be another demon attack!!" One of the other students said as she cried out in fear.

"Hana...." She uttered with trembling lips. All Karla felt at this moment was fear cloacked with the feeling of sadness choking at her existence. Yet another person she loved was taken from her so easily. It was like living her nightmare all over again. Tears welled in her eyes blurring her vision, yet she couldn't look away from the horrifying scene unfolding before her. With her body shaking, she looked at the grotesque demon who was now lifting the veil of darkness exposing his true appearance. Its eyes glowing with an unholy fire, slowly turned to face Karla. As soon as she saw the face of the demon, a huge wave of emotions came crashing and raging in her mind, soul and body...

pure anger washed over every cell in her body extinguishing all the fear. The gruesome being which stood right before her....was someone she knew well.....She stood her ground, looking at him with defiance burning in her eyes. "HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THIS....EVEN AFTER ALL THOSE THINGS YOU SAID....ILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE....YOUR GONNA PAY NEON!!!" Screamed Karla as her voice quivered, yet her resolve remained unyielding....