Red lily (4)

Minutes later, the two were face-to-face again inside the house. This time, however, it was the woman who wore an expression of surprise, quickly bringing her hand to her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "So, you're telling me that, in the past few days, you've been having strange dreams, and one of them was about your own death?"**

"Yes," Noah replied, covering part of his face with his hand, showing great discomfort as he spoke. "And after everything you've told me, it seems to fit perfectly... Because it always starts with a man whose face is completely scribbled, who approaches pretending to be a servant, offering me a plate of food. When I realize it, I'm standing in front of a massive army, and in the blink of an eye, I collapse onto the ground, surrounded by hundreds of corpses."

"Hmm," the woman nodded several times, pondering. "It's likely that this is related to my interference, which may have triggered these visions of the future in you. You've probably had other visions that you didn't even notice." She tapped her finger on her right arm, reflecting. "It's good to know this, but for now, there's not much we can do. Perhaps if you have more visions, you can connect them with what I've told you."

Pointing at Noah, she asked, "You remember everything I told you, right?"

Noah responded, a bit hesitant, "Well, maybe not all the details, but yeah, I remember."

Upon hearing this, the woman extended her hand, and a beam of golden energy appeared, swirling around her arm before stopping just above the palm of her hand. "These are memories of key events that are going to happen. It's up to you to decide what to do with them—whether to let them unfold as they are or try to prevent them. The choice will be yours."

She gave a slight smile and continued, "This is what I really wanted to give you. What I told you before was just to fill in the gaps in your memory; otherwise, you'd only have disjointed images that wouldn't make any sense to you."

Noah looked at the woman skeptically. "You do realize I'm only fifteen, right?"

The woman chuckled softly and, smiling, placed her hand on Noah's head. "Don't worry. If you, with that measly amount of internal energy and almost no proper training, made it this far... this time, you won't just walk; you'll run."

"Huh? What does that even mean?" Noah barely had time to finish his question before his vision began to blur. The woman's hand, still energized with the golden beam, made him close his eyes and fall unconscious. She then stood up, grabbed a cushion, and positioned it beside Noah, making him comfortable.

"Some memories can be painful, and you won't even understand why you feel the discomfort," she murmured, "but it's good to know them. That way, you can prevent them from becoming reality."

While Noah was unconscious, a flood of abstract images invaded his mind. They were disjointed and disturbing visions that made no sense to him, causing him to toss his head from side to side in evident discomfort. After a few moments of agitation, a strange calm settled in, and an intense white light filled his vision, forcing him to squint. When he finally managed to open his eyes again, he was standing in front of an imposing man, nearly two meters tall, with a lifeless, empty gaze. Behind the man stood a massive wooden door. "The Seven Flowers Academy is closed until further notice," the man announced in a cold voice.

Before Noah could react, he felt something tightening around his neck, and, in an instant, he found himself on the ground, lying on his back, his entire body aching. Around him, small black lightning bolts zigzagged through the air, while, a few meters away, a boy struggled to stand, equally wounded and exhausted.

"I'm sorry... The Celestial Demon never turns anyone down, even if they don't like the person at first sight. So, I didn't expect to see that look on his face just because he didn't like someone's scent," the boy murmured, clearly shaken.

Noah felt a cold gust of wind surround him, and suddenly, the dark ceiling of the castle disappeared, revealing a vast blue sky above him. Perplexed, he realized he was at least two thousand meters above the ground, and emerging from within a cloud, he saw a girl riding a gigantic white bird, flying toward him at an astonishing speed.

In the blink of an eye, Noah was kneeling on the ground, staring at a distant village covered by a dense green smoke that hung over the place like a curse. He began coughing violently, and before he knew it, he was being carried by a boy who threw him to the ground, while three girls and another boy ran desperately toward him. Around them, hundreds of malevolent eyes emerged from the darkness of the forest.

"They've found out where we are!" shouted one of the girls, seconds before the right side of her body was brutally ripped off by a huge golden axe.

A terrifying buzzing sound echoed, followed by a red light that momentarily blinded Noah. When the light faded, he found himself holding a spear in his right hand and a short sword in his left. A sinister laugh echoed around him, and by pure reflex, he dodged a dagger that sliced his cheek.

A door burst open with a loud bang, and a man wearing an eyepatch emerged from the house, holding two heads in his right hand, while his left hand was enveloped in a gray energy. "So, it was you they were talking about," the man said, his expression impassive.

Noah's eyes trembled with terror, and he felt something hit his head—a small apple. Around him, a group of people smiled, seemingly unaware of the horror he had just witnessed.

"Hey, Noah, what are you doing over there? You should be enjoying the party—it's happening because of you, after all!" exclaimed a girl, accompanied by two other boys, all with radiant smiles.

A drop of cold water hit Noah's face, and trembling, he realized he was atop a mountain of corpses, as a heavy rain poured down on him.

And then, a series of scenes flashed before his eyes: him walking alone through a village where everyone closed their doors upon seeing him; then fighting several men dressed in fine clothes in another village; and then, a grand celebration in a castle, possibly the emperor's. But the final scene was the most unsettling.

Noah felt a hand gently touch his face, sliding slowly, wiping away his tears. A woman with red hair and emerald eyes smiled at him, even with a large hole in her chest. "Good thing you're always late."

Noah saw the woman's hand lose its strength, and in that moment, he awoke, desperate, with tears in his eyes. His body was overwhelmed with excruciating discomfort, and his breathing was heavy. He slammed his hands on the ground in frustration, trying in vain to remember the name of that woman, which was on the tip of his tongue but simply wouldn't come to him.

Leaning against the door, the woman watched Noah with a worried expression. She clenched her fist, sighed deeply, and ran her hand through her hair, trying to calm her tumultuous thoughts. "So, it was worse than I imagined," she murmured.