A Nightmare on Daylight

Zach woke up in a gloomy environment, his whole body aching. He was surprised by the dressings that covered some parts of his body. He tried standing up but he fell back to the bed.

"Rest first, Zach. You're in a bad state," Oliviane warned, observing him from a small distance. Her hands were crossed.

"How could I? Eri is in grave danger ," Zach frowned at her. He kept trying to escape his bed. Being not able to get up, tortured him.

"Don't blame me if you lose the future fight ," she rolled her eyes and left the room.

Zach sighed. She was right. He needed to get enough strength to protect Eri. But it gave him agony.

************************************************

Inside the Eclipsei Mansion, Eri already calmed down, she continued to question Kiel.

"That explains why I feel something different about Zach. But why don't I have those past memories?" She asked, still confused about the happenings.

"That's the curse, you wouldn't know what the memories are. Zach and Philipe will compete to see who gets you back first. But luckily, Philipe always wakes up on another day after you meet up with Zack."

Kiel was surprised when the lady beside her didn't ask another question. He turned his head, found Eri in slumber.

"They're lucky at each other, eh? Eri is sweet, thoughtful, and beautiful. Zach is the dream guy of every woman. Well of course, I'm more ideal hehe. But seriously, I wish the curse shall be broken at this time," he smiled at himself, pressing a button to decrease the volume of the TV.

Three hours later, the doorbell rang as expected. Kiel's personal butler, Nathan, opened the door. Four figures appeared and walked in the room. Kiel immediately took action to greet the four. He found his big brother's upper body covered in dressings.

"You've encountered him already, eh? Gladly, he's not at full power. You're lucky bro. I told you to just spy on Philipe, I didn't want my brother to get hurt," he stated.

Instead of answering his brother, Zach asked where Eri was. Kiel frowned, pointing at the sofa. "She took a nap, waiting for you. "

"Oliviane, Reijah, Quinton, I leave you the task of locating Philipe. Get into it now," Zach's manly cold voice manifested in the atmosphere. He sent shudders to everyone as they left the room.

With the disturbances in the room, Eri woke up, rubbing her eyes. When she stared at the person standing from a near distance, their eyes locked. She instantly flushed and looked away.

"I have some things to do, too. I need to go. Bye!" Kiel had a big smile on his face after releasing a delightful tone on the two. He knew the two needed some private time for each other.

"Oh! How I wish I had a girl ," he said to himself and took a leave.

Silence filled the atmosphere. No one knows which one of Eri and Zach will talk to each other.

Eri did the task to turn off the TV that Kiel had forgotten to do. She wanted to speak and ask about his condition but she was too shy. Zach sat on the sofa, beside her.

"So you overheard us? Did you? I assume that you now know the situation ," Zach asked. She nodded as a response.

Zach leaned his head on the sofa, closing his eyes. Eri observed him. She knew he wanted to take a rest. She knew Zach was wounded.

She gathered up her courage to speak. "Zach, you're injured. You should rest in your room ." He didn't respond to her. She pouted, staring at the guy sleeping beside her. After thinking for a while, she decided to leave the room and let him sleep in peace. She was about to stand up when Zach's words struck him. "Eri, don't go. Please! Let's face this together. Don't go!"

She was stunned. It was the first time she saw him crying like a child. She didn't dare to reply because she knew Zach was dreaming. She wasn't the Eri he knew for a long time. She didn't have the memories of the past. What could she do? She couldn't even touch him. Later, she left the room.

Zach woke up, quivering. His body was still aching. He touched his face, discovering it was wet. He still remembered the dream. He calmed himself down, breathing in and out. He glanced at his side to see Eri but no one appeared in his sight. His heartbeats became faster. He immediately stood up, looking for the lady he didn't want to lose.

************************************************

"How many timepoints do you think that we have already been through?" Eri asked Oliviane. Oliviane came downstairs after finding nothing about Philipe along with the boys.

"Based on the year both of you originally died and the curse, it's already four timepoints," Oliviane replied. She took a bite on the leftover slice of pizza. Reijah and Quinton were sipping orange juice on a nearby counter table.

"On all of those four timepoints, still no solution to the curse, eh?" Eri sighed. She wanted to stop this endless curse. She wanted to live a normal life. "Why don't we go abroad to escape Philipe?"

"Going abroad is more dangerous, the places are not on our territory. We can't risk that. And besides, we don't know what Philipe's ace is. Hiding among the people is the best option."

Zach entered the kitchen. His eyes scanned everyone in the room. He found Eri looking at him with a smile. "You alright? Come and join us ,"

He was relieved about the scene. That dream took his calmness from him. But what did he dreamt about?

"Who told you guys to take a break, eh?" Zach asked indifferently. Oliviane and the boys were stunned by the smile Zach was wearing.

"Look who's smiling all of a sudden ," Kiel teased. He was grinning back along with Reijah and Quinton.

Zach gave them a cold stare, making them laugh more. He grabbed an apple from the refrigerator and sat on a countertop beside Eri.

"Zach, I appreciate you making those moves to Eri but that's impolite ," Quinton grinned.

Zach ignored him. He bit his apple, staring at Eri who was red as his apple. "About your discussion with Oliviane, we can't escape the fate of the curse. The three of us are connected."

************************************************

A woman was chanting on a wolf in front of her. She moved her hands from above her head to the wounds of the black wolf. In an instant, the wolf was healed. "Your wounds are all fixed up, my king. I'm leaving."

After the woman left, the wolf changed himself to a human form. There were no traces of the injuries he suffered from the battle. He wore the clothes that the woman prepared for him. The wind from the open window blew his messy black hair as he grinned. The reunion will be coming.

"I will be getting back what's mine. Daeseerie Sapphire, the lost princess of the werewolves, I will take you back and we shall reign the world," Philipe said to himself.

Someone knocked on the door. "Your meal is ready, my king." Philipe opened the door. His hunger should fade. The woman was holding no food in her hands. "Let me lead you to your food, for I have prepared different dishes for you to choose among. It is an honor to serve you, my king."

Philipe and the woman left the little cottage in the forest. They went straight up to a cave. Men and women were found, chained to the rocky walls. They were all humans. They were the food the woman was talking about. But who is that woman?

"Let me leave you now, my king. Enjoy your tasty meal," the woman left. In an instant, the cave was filled with a loud growl followed by screams of innocent people.

************************************************

Eri felt horrified with nothing in her sight. Everybody in the kitchen was shocked upon Eric's actions. She was panting heavily. Tears flooded from her eyes. Oliviane hugged her.

"What's the matter? Eri? It's alright now. It's alright," she comforted, gently tapping Eri's back.

Eri couldn't speak. She tried but she couldn't. "Is it a memory? Eri talk to me," Oliviane asked. Everyone's faces were serious. They were worried about the lady, still deeply stunned about whatever is bugging her.

After a while, Eri is at ease. She told them what happened to her. Everyone tranquilized upon hearing her. The event proved that there was really a connection for a three but left them thinking. Zach didn't feel it, why?

"Another piece of the big puzzle turned out to be a small puzzle , eh?" Kiel sighed. All of them were tired of this endless puzzle. They could only make hypotheses with this current information.

Eri already left the kitchen with Oliviane, accompanying her to her room for a rest. The boys were left discussing the unexpected events that day. They were making assumptions with not enough bases to be called true. The kitchen had a cold ambience for serious faces and sharp stares filled the room. Silence conquered the atmosphere and reigned for an hour. No one dared to break the quietude of the environment.

"I didn't expect that when I came back in here, all of the boys were muted ," Oliviane said. In an instant, she was covered with cold stares."Right! Right! Shhhhh!"

"This curse comes with a lot of puzzles just like what Kiel said. I think we should come up with a plan outside the box. Instead of solving it all, why not erase the puzzle from even existing, eh?" Quinton opinionated. Zach frowned, knowing what's on his associate's mind. "Instead of an upcoming reunion, why don't you face him together? I already experienced countless events, they lead up to one point. Fear is the source of power of the monsters ."

"He's right Zach. If you come to think of it, you are afraid of reuniting with Philipe and Eri. I think it's time for you to face him ," Reijah stated.

Zach grimaced upon hearing this. But Quinton had a point, he wouldn't ignore that. It's still an important piece of theory in breaking the curse. "Let's bring the fight on, eh?"

Everyone was shocked on hearing these words from Zach. Those words were not the words they expected from him. He would object to their decision or assumption even if the majority is with it.

After a long discussion, Zach thought to check on Eri. The door was opened slightly. He found her staring at nothingness. He took a deep breath, entering the room. "You alright?" He said, followed by a smile on his face. Eri was surprised to see him. She smiled back at him as a response. "Can I talk to you about something? Eri?"

She nodded. "Of course you can. Why not? What is it?"

"They are planning for us to bring the reunion to Philipe and fight together till the end. Quinton said that fear is what monsters grab into for power. He said if we do it, we might be able to win and break the curse. I haven't given an answer. I'm worried for you. Will we do it?"

"You don't need to be worried for me. At least, we tried to break the curse. We can't find out if it's the solution, if we don't try it out."

"You don't get it Eri. I know what you have on mind. But I can't. If you don't have those memories of the past, I have it. It shatters my heart to see you even hurt. I just can't risk you again," Zach said, obviously with grief and worry on his voice. "What if next time, I won't be able to find you? What if he gets you back? I can't risk you Eri. I just can't. But the boys do have a point as well as you. It's your decision."

Eri stood up. She embraced Zach, letting the warmth of each other be shared. "I'm afraid, too. But that won't stop us from getting rid of this curse, right? I want memories back. I want to share your pain. Remember that I'm always here for you even in the next life."