Chapter 37: Past Secrets

A little girl stood atop of the mangled body of the woman. Her eyes dead like that of a dead fish as she looked down on the woman, who was trying to help Rueben heal just to give him more burden to suffer. The little girl looked at the man lying down as he subconsciously licked the blood that was dripping.

The little girl hugged her doll closer, her eyes following the blood dripping from the hand.

She then opened her mouth to speak, "What are you doing?"

The woman flinched, then she looked back and saw the image of someone she knew very well.

"Hershey."

The little girl only looked at her with numbness and emotionless eyes.

"What are you doing?"

The woman looked at her, then her head suddenly got torn off, it launched into the air before landing to the little girl's hands.

The woman looked at the little girl, her mouth overflowing with blood, her whole face haggard from the previous fight. It was a fight that really put her to test, even though she trained and have her own Domain.

"Why are you here? Is this form of yours of your past or of your present?"

The little girl looked at her, she rolled her eyes and said, "Of present. I felt my past self get killed by someone. To think that someone would be just a simple human, something that is unremarkably less useful than a rock."

Her eyes then glowed with anger as she looked at the head, her face still emotionless yet her voice was more higher pitched and felt like boiling lava.

She looked down at the woman and glared, "And yet such an unremarkable human was able to bring you down to this state? You are a disappointment, Annatella. How do you think you are able to help mother with just this display of disappointment?"

Annatella looked at her, then she smiled, "Your words do not affect me anymore, Hershey. You do not need to push and pressure me to become even stronger."

Hershey glowered and grabbed her hair, "Pressure you? A useless sibling like you? Do not think of my advice as a joke, Annatella. Know your place."

She then threw her head away and looked up as she felt the burdensome spirits that were looking at her, pleading her with their gaze. She looked at each one, feeling a faint sense of familiarity that she hated, she then looked at the last one that felt stronger than the other souls.

Yet she remained unfazed and turned around, "Brother, are you betting on this human to take revenge for you?"

She hid her sneer and left behind these words, "Do better."

Her whole body then started burning with black flames as a doll manifested beside her, she took the doll into her arms and looked at it with contempt before clicking her tongue and disappeared into the flames, turning into ashes. "Conflicting, but I cannot forget about the past. It will make me go mad if I do. How inconvenient."

Annatella felt the connection she had with the past Hershey become nonexistent as soon as the little girl had her hands on the doll. A mannequin came out of the body and took the head on its arms as Annatella looked at where Hershey disappeared.

Her eyes filled with sadness as she sighed, "You have changed, Hershey. Yet you are still afraid of forgetting who you are."

Annatella then looked at Rueben with determination in her eyes, she remembered her mother and her other family members that she dearly loved. "Forgive me for this, but this is the best option to do."

One last drip of her blood, Rueben convulsed and he disappeared.

As she started turning into ash, she looked out to the voidness of her domain. "Give us salvation."

***

Rueben opened his eyes and found himself on a raft drifting alone in the sea.

He looked around with little to no expression to his face and looked at the foggy surface of the sea as he floated amidst the waves.

He touched the sea and felt its cold and transparent salt water, before taking a drink of it from his palm. Rueben then felt his raft crash into something and looked behind him.

It was an island.

He looked at its beach and the sand, the trees, the hills, rocks, and looked at the little girl sitting on a chair while looking at the sea.

Her hair flying as wind breezed past her skin.

Rueben looked at her, then stood up and got off the raft. He then walked towards the girl and stood beside her and looked at the sea.

The little girl then turned her head to look at him before looking back towards the sea.

She then opened her mouth, "Its such a bad weather today."

Rueben only looked at the sky and saw that it was as cloudy as ever.

"It is."

"And this bad weather comes everyday. I have

not seen the sun in my whole life."

"Mn."

"What does the sun look like?"

Rueben squinted at her question and tried digging through his memories. He found nothing and shrugged his shoulder, "I do not know."

The little girl looked at him, then giggled.

"Now i know why Sara likes to be with you."

Rueben looked at her and then sat down beside her on the sandy beach.

The little girl looked at him. "Are you not going to ask me?"

Rueben softly shook his head. "I don't have any questions that needs answering. And my goal here is to save Sara and leave this place."

The little girl smiled and nodded her head, "I see."

She then looked at the cloudy skies above her as her hair was blown by the wind gently.

"Mother is hollow, she cannot create any children of her own. That was why we were pushed here into this labyrinth, punished and disciplined to be her children. There are 6 of us, Jun, Hershey, Frotus, Sara, Me, and Jamaica."

"You already know what happened. Jun, Jamaica and big brother Frotus loathed mother and seeks release from everything while Hershey and I have tried to make them understand what Mother was doing for them. Sara.. She was always Mother's favorite child because of her selflessness and eager to help personality."

She continued to talk as the two of them looked towards the sea.

Rueben didn't know how long it has been since the two of them were talking to each other. Such a moment healed Rueben's heart a little, but only a little. Its effect were nonexistent compared to the ocean that is Rueben.

"It is nice talking to you, mr. Hunter. Sometimes, talking can heal wounds, albeit small. Its better to have someone to talk to and not spend eternity all by yourself."

The little girl chuckled.

She then looked at Rueben and said, "You have one chance. Save us all."

Rueben opened his eyes and found himself inside a room with candles everywhere. A doll was sitting within the center of the candles and was looking at him.

"Your back."

Rueben looked at the doll and grabbed it by his hand.

"Which one are you?"