A Short-lived Moment of Beauty

A Queen who has ruled, or has ruled for an extraordinary amount of time is more than likely to learn the meaning of patience.

If she doesn't, then she is ignorant and stubborn. That is how the throne to rule is truly lost. It also includes her people as well. If one truly wants to protect her land and rule unorderly beings, one must be a tyrant in order for her to defend it.

An excerpt by Her Highness, Queen Mo-g--, the Q---- of the Fa---es

...

It has been a few days since I've started training the human girl named Anna. Watching her fail time and time again, I felt neither satisfaction nor pleasure from the endeavor.

A fae normally feels satisfaction from such an 'exciting' scene, but I didn't feel anything whatsoever. The many thousand years have taken its toll, and my feelings are toned down.

Washed out.

Muted.

I turned to look at another girl. A girl named Abi. That girl is also an interesting one.

An exceptionally interesting one.

However...the time of reckoning draws ever closer. I admit I am curious to see the choices that girl would make during that time.

For now, I shall simply prepare and observe.

Like I've always done.

Instead, now, I shall show her what magic truly is.

...

The Fifth Day...

It had been four days since the moment Anna started her 'training.'

She still won't change her mind that its something else, even if this 'training' bordered on the lines of torture.

The sky remained a sheet of grey, never changing, and never moving. It was only now that it started raining. Abi was away playing again with Amor, why her mentor was nowhere to be found.

Anna sighed, once again sitting cross-legged under the tree, meditating. It was one of the tasks her 'mentor' gave her. Trying to empty her mind, she began the process of falling into a state of 'nothingness.'

Unfortunately, she began remembering what Islafae said to her the day she achieved [𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦].

...

"Meditation is the exercise to achieve a greater grasp of achieving a more efficient 'circulation' of mana throughout the body. It also helps a person rest their minds mentally. People who have achieved the highest grade, skill, or experience of meditation can meditate without being still nor closing their eyes, doing their daily activities without rest."

On a particular hill under the shade of a tree, the gray-haired woman towered over a sitting girl.

Said girl blinked at her.

That sounded really awesome, but it also sounded too complicated to reach. At least she enjoyed meditating, otherwise she would abandon it entirely.

For some reason, she felt a little pride as she had experience in meditation. Her skills improved due to being alone for the majority of her life.

"I have also achieved the same state," her mentor continued.

"However, that is too early for you. In the meantime, keep practicing meditation, and circulate the flow in your body as I have taught you."

"Yes 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺."

As the gray-haired woman began walking down the hill to somewhere, Anna felt her own mouth opening before she could stop it.

"If I continued meditating will I finally see the ocean?"

The girl immediately put her hand over her mouth.

It was too late.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 Islafae, slowly, very 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 slowly, turned her head.

The poor girl felt she had touched a land mine.

"...how did you know-no...the 'blue screen' told you, didn't it?"

"...um."

That was all Anna could say.

'Abi help me! Where are you??!!'

No matter where she looked, when she needed her most, the wheat-haired girl somehow just disappears like a ghost.

Lately, she seemed to be doing that.

As Anna pondered, she felt a stare so cold it could freeze fire staring into her skull. She felt as though tiny bugs were crawling up her body, making her feel the urge to itch those spots.

But she didn't. Instead, she just waited, waited, and waited. Waited for something else other than that scary stare to happen.

Then, the stare turned towards some distant horizon.

"You don't need to know that for now," the gray-haired woman simply said. Turning around, she started walking away.

"You will one day know what it really is, for you have already been fated to be tied with it. You have also been embraced by it before to, for you are here."

As Islafae walked further and further away., Anna felt a sense of sadness. She didn't know why she felt it.

Perhaps she knew in her heart that it was a missed opportunity of a lifetime. Something that is worth seeing.

Something that is beautiful.

Then, suddenly she heard-

"Fine then, if that's what you want me to show her-"

Anna felt someone tapping her forehead once. A cold feeling that came from the finger that poked her forehead.

In the next moment her vision abruptly became black.

...

The girl found herself floating in an ocean.

A familiar ocean.

A dark ocean that held no light above, nor held no reef below.

There is no way to determine whether she is facing towards the sky or ground, nor is there a way to know if she's floating sideways.

In the empty dark blue-nearly black ocean, a girl simply floated.

There she floated, her arms and legs dangling, her hair swaying side by side. Her whole body was neither cold nor hot, but instead 'cooled.' She felt the ripples-small waves of water-pushed and pulled against her body.

The girl cannot comprehend nor think to move or do anything. All she can do is looked.

And looking is what she did, for what she looked at could only be looked at.

Somewhere in the dark, empty ocean, a small blue light glowed.

The girl's eyes strained to look at it, but the light had already disappeared. A fleeting moment of beauty. Just like the lifespan of a human compared to the ocean in its entirety.

Was it a figment of imagination, or a hallucination?

She didn't know, and she did not bother to know.

Then, she heard a whisper next to her ear-

[𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩? 𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩? 𝙃𝙢𝙢...𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣.]

Before the girl could even formulate a reply, a small blue light appeared once more. It was dim, fleeting-almost as though it'll wink out at any moment.

[𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩?]

The girl could barely acknowledge the voice with a nod before the whisperer spoke again.

[𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮, 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩-𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝘼 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣.]

So this time, the girl did not blink or looked away.

She stared at it. She looked at it.

She did not look away. Even if she felt tired, even if she felt lazy...she knew she could not look away from it.

It was the only star in the night sky, the only thing that has changed.

The girl could not bare to look away, not anymore.

The small blue dot, as though listening to her pleads, stayed. Instead, it glowed brighter and brighter.

Even as the light began to blind the girl, she did not blink, neither did she look away.

Instead, she kept looking at it.

Before her eyes, the blue dot that was once so dim, so minuscule, grew as bright and large as the sun. Just like the sun, when it reached its highest peak, when it reached the end of its lifespan-no, that was not an apt description.

Just as the bud of a flower grew to its highest peak, when the sun's warm rays first touched its buds, it 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥.

Many, many blue dots of light suddenly flooded the entire ocean. Thousands upon thousands-perhaps even millions-surged everywhere, like a big bang that exploded outwards, creating many new things.

The girl looked all around her, her languid eyes widening. the tiny blue lights formed into groups and formed various shapes.

Some were small fish, some were large. Some were slow, some were fast.

As she looked at this all in awe and wonder, she then heard it. Not the voice of the whisperer, but faint 'sounds.'

The faint sounds of living creatures in harmony.

Together, they created a song that is known to her. A song that the blue glowing whales in the far distance click, whistle, hum, and call.

Then, to her utter distraught, they soon faded away.

Just a bit after, before the girl became even more saddened, the ocean glowed once more as manta rays were suddenly formed not too far from her. They languidly flapped their wing-like pectoral fins through the ocean, without fear nor worry.

Just like the whales, they soon dissipated.

Suddenly, schools of fish, formed from multiple dots of the small blue light, swam through and around her. Swimming around, they looked as though they were swimming in sync, forming strange patterns and whatnot, dancing from the song of wonder.

Just like the whales and manta rays before them, they soon faded into particles of blue light before disappearing.

Then, like a cycle, from the numerous blue dots all around her-from above, below, to her left and to her right-formed into various creatures of the sea.

All around the girl, they sang and shined so beautifully. She watched it all in wonder, her eyes never once blinked at this miracle, this beauty.

Now, no longer was there an empty ocean.

Now, there was-

[𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻,] came the whisper.

[𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙛𝙤𝙧...-𝘩𝘮𝘱𝘩. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝘼𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝘼𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧...]

As the voice faded away, the lights began dying away, and soon enough the ocean became as dark and empty as it once was.

The girl looked everywhere, and all she can see was darkness-nay, there was something! Beneath her, she saw a strange, rectangular, gray platform of sorts.

Before she can think of it-

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥-

Anna blinked and rubbed her forehead. While she tried to rub away the stinging after effects of pain, she heard a snort.

Looking up, the girl watched the cold, gray-haired woman retreating farther away from her. As she sat there, blankly watching the retreating figure, she suddenly remembered.

Although they were admittedly brief flashes and moments, and the voice she heard faded away into the depths of her memories, she still remembered some bits-!

"What...where was I-"

"There were so many things, so many blue-!"

"What were those-"

As she desperately tried to get all her words and questions out in one order, she heard a faint voice in her ears.

"That is the beauty of the magic we hold inside ourselves. The purity once held inside all our minds. One day, you too will be able to create something like this, even if it's utterly useless..."

Everything but the first sentence flew over Anna's head.

Before she could even ask to elaborate, the woman had already been long gone. Only the faint howls of wind accompanied the lone girl sitting on the lonely hill with the lonely tree.

Why do these people keep making it vague?

Why can't a girl just get a straight answer?

If Anna can't get an answer from her, then...

After that, for many more minutes, no matter how much she egged the blue screen thing, it never answered her.

No matter how many times she 'vaguely' asked 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 after that, she never responded to anything Anna asked about it.

Even then, even after all that, the girl kept the moment in her heart.

The short-lived moment of the beauty of magic.

...

From somewhere, a blue butterfly watched the black-haired girl, along with a gray-haired woman.

...

===========================

Race: Human (???) => Human (???) 0%

===========================

...

Now that Anna thought about it, it was very difficult to not 'think' of anything. Like just now when she was remembering the flashback to her lesson. One could say it was a good thing she had her 'mentor' by her side to 'assist' her in meditating.

Currently, Anna didn't need to have Islafae assist her in meditation. It was also a skill, as she had checked her status earlier.

=============================

Skill Unlocked: Meditation F

Magic: E => E+

Race: Human (???) 0% => Human (???) 8%

=============================

When she first saw the screen, she felt a sense of elation. A screen that tells you that your hard work paid off was exhilarating.

And it all disappeared when her eye's read the percentage next to her race and question marks.

'What is that? Aren't I a human?'

At that time, she asked the computer-like blue screen again and again, but it never explained anything to her. Anna could only give up...is what she thought.

She asked her mentor, but she also remained silent. What was that about?

Anyways, as worried as she may be, Anna decided to focus on her meditation. What else could she do? Panic over the fact that the status screen is telling her that she isn't entirely human?

'At that time 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 said it was mentally calming and resting, but it was actually mentally taxing...' Anna couldn't help but grumble to herself.

Ah, that's right.

Tiredness.

Too bad it was a mental problem. If it was a physical problem, then she should've also felt the feeling of hunger, but Anna only felt tired mentally.

A couple days ago, she asked Abi at that time why she wasn't hungry.

...

"You said you asked for food right? Why would you if you can never be hungry in a dream?"

"Because the variety of food here mostly tastes great, even if I'm never hungry."

"..."

'...that was a good answer.'

...

Anna had also asked the blue screen thing, and its answer was similar to Abi's answer. They were in a dream, so starving in it is illogical. It was common sense it said.

To her, it wasn't

As she was meditating, she heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. By now, she can tell whose footsteps they were. With her meditation halted, she turned to address who it was.

A cold, beautiful woman with grey-white hair and eyes.

Her 'mentor,' 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 Islafae. The great witch who...well, she's a person who's really strong.

At least she thinks so.

"Greetings, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺-"

"Guide the mana through the pattern and cycle in which I showed you," the gray-haired woman interrupted.

"It's a method of mana circulation, more efficient than the normalized ones, and now I am teaching it to you."

"Yes-yes 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺," Anna immediately replied respectfully.

By now one would feel annoyed at being taught like a child, but Anna didn't mind that. She herself was a child who doesn't even have a single clue on what mana really is.

So, Anna listened to the woman. Closing her eyes, she began doing what her 'mentor' asked. Feeling the mana within her, she started cycling it into a strange pattern. If she were to describe it, it would be...

'...'

She couldn't.

Moving on, when 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 Islafae first taught her this after she achieved '𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦,' Anna was rightly confused.

Nevertheless, she without hesitation did what she was asked of, and when she started circulating the mana, an excruciating amount of pain washed over her entire body.

A lot.

It felt as if her insides was pulsing and churning, creating more heat. Anna had never felt such pain before. Never since she had that terrible stomach ache one night.

Ah, what a nostalgic moment. It was such a shame she had to endure such a moment once again. Before Anna could instinctively tense and stop, something whacked Anna on her head.

Rightly deciding it was more painful to be whacked than to circulate her mana, after an innumerable amount of time, with Abi noticing and being worried for her the whole time, did the pain finally abate.

What was left was a stinging pain on her head. She had a headache for a short moment afterwards.

In spite of that, after two days, each day with around eight hours of rest (that was meditating, not sleeping. Anna couldn't even fall into a deep slumber with Islafae intently watching over her) did the pain finally stop altogether.

'Hurray! Hip hip hurray!!!'

For once, the girl felt as if she accomplished something spectacular. For most of her life, she didn't feel special. Now, she was better than she was before!

As of now, it was second nature for her to circulate mana without the need for Islafae's guidance and assistance.

Before Anna could get deeper into her meditation, Islafae interrupted her once again.

"I'll be leaving for around two full days. Until then, keep practicing the methods I have taught you."

"Yes ma'am-I mean-yes 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺."

The gray-haired woman simply walked away. Seeing she was moving away, Anna hesitated, and spoke up, almost wavering.

There was a question she wanted to ask. It was the moment before she taught magic. The moment when Islafae talked about her fate and destiny.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺, m-may...may I have permission to ask a question?"

The woman halted, but she didn't turn around. The girl cowered instinctively, gripping her fists tightly.

Tense seconds passed, and before she could pass out, Anna heard a whisper.

"Granted."

All the tension flew out of her chest, and Anna had never felt so much relief. Unfortunately, it was only short as she noticed Islafae almost turned her head.

"If you need he-help...why don't you ask that god-I mean the lord of this realm?"

As soon as Anna asked, she immediately and internally cringed.

'Oh no...that might get me a whack to the head...'

Or worse.

To her horror, Islafae slowly turned to look at Anna, and before she could make an excuse, she was noticed something.

Her eyes, they were...empty.

They had no emotion, no hope, no feelings. It was just empty. Emptier then what her eyes normally show.

At that moment, the gray sky, already dim, began to strangely darken. The winds around them began to blow even harsher, and the sounds of rustling plants and the leaves of trees filled the air.

Then the girl blinked as in the next moment, she saw someone standing tall over her.

The darkening sky made the figure standing over her more menacing. The figure's gray hair was in the background, making her grayish-white eyes stand out. In the dim realm, the figure's eyes glowed, emitting such a cold that made Anna shiver.

She then knew she had made a mistake. Each second, the air felt more and more suffocating, and Anna squirmed in discomfort, struggling to breathe.

"Ah...ah...ah-!

When she thought she might finally get whacked or punished, she barely a whisper over the harsh winds.

"I already did. A long time ago."

With that, just as abrupt and unexpected as it came, the sky returned to its usual dull gray, the wind and gust settling down, and the rustling of plants and leaves stopped turned silent.

The gray-haired woman then turned around as if nothing had happened.

"As I've said, I have a task of some modicum of importance, so the both of you must stay here and wait until I return in around two days time."

Anna blankly stared at her, and she remembered who she was.

"Yes! Yes, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺!" Anna stuttered immediately.

As if she was never there, the gray-haired woman mysteriously vanished, leaving Anna blankly staring at that spot. After a moment, when she thought the witch had left, Anna heaved a sigh of relief.

𝘛𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘤𝘬!

Anna keeled over to the side, holding the right side of her head in pain. Rolling left and right in pain, she heard a whisper once again.

"That's your punishment. Do not make the same mistake."

As she was rolling on the ground, Abi arrived.

"Anna, you have no idea what just happened! I was looking at a plant, and then the sky turned darker all of a sudden-why are you rolling around?"

...

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱. 𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱. 𝘛𝘢𝘱. 𝘛𝘢𝘱.

It was raining on the sixth day.

Two girls were sitting under a tree, watching the rain drop steadily. The gray cloud must've deemed today a day of tears, as it was raining quite loudly. The forest emitted an earthly smell, caused by the rain soaking onto the dry dirt.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 Islafae was still gone, and they haven't heard from her since she left. Amor in the meantime is also still missing, and Anna didn't find him anywhere yesterday. She wasn't too worried about him, as she knows by now he isn't some ordinary magical butterfly.

She wasn't that daft to figure out some things after a few days of meditation.

While Anna was trying to meditate, sensing mana, she felt someone scooch right next to her.

"Hey, Anna? Can I tell you something?" the blonde girl said.

"Hmm?"

"Although it feels like we just met almost a week ago, I feel like we knew each other for a lifetime."

For some strange reason, Anna felt her chest tightened up. It was similar to a feeling of being tensed up. The feeling of waiting for your test grade to appear on your paper. The feeling of looking at a door in the dark that was shut, but was slightly opened.

The feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

"...I kinda feel the same way," Anna finally said.

When she turned to look at Abi, she saw Abi's face was blank, the same face Abi had when Anna woke and saw her. This time, she was looking at the gray sky. Putting her knees to her chest, and wrapping her arms around her legs, the blonde girl started speaking once more.

"All my life, I was trapped in a place where I can never dream of leaving. Every night, I looked at the stars, and I wonder...what's out there? Actually, there were no stars. It was always a gray cloudy sky, very similar to this one actually."

Abi then coughed.

"𝘒𝘶𝘩𝘶𝘮, sorry I digress. Anyways, I always wondered what was out in the world. A world with tasty food? A world where there's no starvation? I always wondered...could I ever see such a world?"

Anna kept silent. Although she wasn't the most social of people, at least she knew when to keep quiet. While that may be so, that poses the question...

'Abi is being uncharacteristically...'

Uncharacteristically what? Nostalgic? Sad? Depressed? Seemingly talking as if she was an old person, older than what she actually looks like?

Anna doesn't know. All she knows is to keep quiet and listen. Never once had the thought occurred to her that Anna really knew who or what Abi was.

To Anna, she was her first real friend her age. That was all she needed to know.

While Anna thought so, Abi continued.

"Coming here is a godsend because there are so many things I've never experienced, not the mention the forest is so beautiful!"

A sparkle appeared in Abi's eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

"I think we both know that this is just a 'dream,' and that someday, we'll have to wake up," Abi said in a sad tone.

"Even though we've been here for a week, I had almost forgotten about that."

Anna suddenly had a strange thought.

'If the week ends, and she wakes up...will it be a week later in reality? Or just a day's time?'

Abi said it was a day's time, but Anna couldn't be too sure. What she definitely knows, however, is to try and cheer her up.

She tried to muster up the ability to try to comfort someone.

"Hey, Abi. Next time we meet up, bring your stuffed animals, okay?"

Abi's eyes seemed to brighten at that.

"I'll bring my two stuffed animals, and we'll name them together. Oh, and we'll eat all the tasty food that'll ever exist. Oh, and we'll travel around the world together-"

"Yes Abi, we'll do everything together. Okay?" Anna said.

Although she tried to stop her, that didn't deter Abi from feeling even more excited.

"Mhm! Yes! We'll do everything together, and before long, we'll go over the rainbow together! That's a promise."

Saying that, the wheat-colored hair girl, with enthusiasm, pointed to the sky.

Anna could only wordlessly open her mouth as a rainbow was shining. The rainclouds cleared up, showing the bright blue sky.

Then, a thought appeared from the back of her mind.

Perhaps it could be true. Maybe their wishes can come true.

"Abi, you're so willful..." Anna shook her head, smiling.

Abi beamed in response.

Anna then turned away and went back to meditating as the windy gust blew by, ruffling both of their hairs. As she attempted to block the wind, a small whisper, a whisper so quiet, entered her ear.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have made a promise like that..."

A leaf slowly floated down, swaying left and right from the tree they were under as the world around them became darker and duller due to the clouds beginning to cover up the sun once again.

A short-lived moment of beauty.

...

The Seventh Day. The supposedly last day of the week in which they came to this world. It could be possible that they'll stay in this dream a little longer-if not their whole lives.

The blue sky that opened from the clouds only lasted for at least an hour, until it returned to the gray sheet of sky it was previously.

Even now the sky remains a gray sheet, hiding the sun and the blue sky.

It's a bit nerve-racking, to be honest, but there wasn't much that she cared for back in reality nowadays.

Anna thought she should ask the blue word screen thing about it. As a master procrastinator, she entirely forgot about it and began her daily meditation cycle.

By now, mana sensing, meditation, and mana circulation thing has been getting easier each time, although the process seems a bit negligible. In the long term, it'll pay off as its difficulty lowering by increments each time.

While Anna began meditating once more, guiding the mana through her body in the specified way Islafae taught her, she noticed the steps of crunching leaves.

Opening her eyes, she noticed a blonde girl walking into the forest. Anna felt a feeling stirring inside her.

From the moment she woke up, Abi looked incredibly listless, and Anna just assumed that it was because she was worried about the same thing she herself was. After that talk yesterday, she felt as if she shouldn't encroach on her privacy.

However, like any other normal child, she was curious.

Nodding her head, Anna decided to follow her. After all, other than the butterflies, Islafae, and Abi, there's nothing else in the forest that can threaten her as the blue screen said.

...

The forest, normally glowing purple an blue even during the afternoon, seemed to darken every step Anna walked.

Was it a forewarning of something that is about to happen? The future that was once so bright, darkening?

Huffing, Anna pushed the shrubs and branches aside as she walked forward. Dry leaves and dead branches crunched each time she stepped on them. Although it was easier now due to her mana circulating, which she thought was still strange, Anna still hated hiking.

Soon, within a minute, she happened to walk upon a small clearing.

Looking around, there was nothing standing out except for the lone girl, who was standing in the shadow of something at the center.

All of a sudden, something tingled, and a feeling began stirring in her chest. It was just like last time, and Anna became increasingly uncomfortable.

"Abi, there you are! Why did you leave all of a sudden?" she called out.

Anna was standing a bit farther away from the girl. Something told her there was something incredibly wrong.

"Anna...why did you follow me?" came an uncanny tone.

Although Abi did respond, she didn't turn around at all to face nor answer her.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm worried for you," Anna said, feeling concerned.

"C'mon, let's go back. I don't want to get hit by Islafae again..."

Her guts and instincts immediately began ringing alarm sounds inside her body.

"Ah. I see. I guess it can't be helped. There are shortcomings in making friends, and having those who care for you after all..." Abi said, a tinge of emotion gracing her voice.

It was...remorseful?

"...Abi?"

The alarm bells grew even louder, and now Anna can seemingly hear it in her ears. Something was going to happen, and she didn't like it one bit.

'I need to go-!'

"Anna...can you forgive me for breaking my promise?"

Abi slowly turned around, and Anna saw-

"Huh?"

Her body suddenly jolted. Anna suddenly felt something in her chest. It wasn't the same feeling that stirred in her chest.

Perplexed, she looked down.

Black tendril-like spears emerged from the ground and pierced through her chest. Anna felt something in her throat when she saw something red dripping from the black tendrils.