**Chapter 37 - A Monster Born**

"Hi, wake up."

"Are you okay?"

"....."

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"..."

"Where… am I?"

"....."

"Phew, I thought we couldn't save you."

"....."

"Who are yo........?"

"....."

"Hey, hey! Look at me—don't lose your consciousness again!"

"That's not fair! We already healed your wounds!"

"....."

"Hey, we're going to the aquatic museum this weekend…"

"Wanna join us?"

Oh wait… I'm dreaming.

Oh yeah… this happened when I was still in my world.

I'll never be able to go with them again. This dream… I see it every day.

Now I'm going to head out to the teacher's room to meet Miss Rose, and then—

"....."

"Ha ha " "Ha ha…" 

Where am I?

I looked around me.

I'm inside a tent… I think.

What happened? I thought I died…

Is this… heaven?

"Oh, you're finally awake."

A voice startled me.

I turned toward the sound. There, standing just beside the tent's entrance, was a woman.

She had long, deep crimson hair tied into a braid that fell over her shoulder. Her eyes were sharp. She wore leather armor, scratched from battle, and a thick red cloak.

"Who... are you?" I asked, my voice dry.

She walked closer to me with a soft smile and knelt beside me.

"The name's Scarlet. I'm an adventurer. I found you lying half-dead near the forest, covered in blood."

"You… saved me?"

"Healed you too," she said, tapping the side of her staff. "It wasn't easy. You were bleeding out, and the magic beast that did this to you was still around."

"That… monster. Did the others make it?"

Scarlet looked at me for a moment, confusion in her eyes.

"Others? I didn't find anyone else near you. Just you..."

"That means they escaped, right," I muttered.

"You're lucky I found you when I did. If it had been a few more minutes... you'd be gone."

"Maybe I was supposed to be," I let out a weak laugh.

She clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed. "Don't give me this crap. Change your attitude. You're alive—that's all that matters. And if you say that one more time, I'll deal with you personally, okay?"

Her words hit harder than I expected.

I stared at her as she walked back to the tent entrance.

"Get some rest. When you're ready, we'll talk more."

Scarlet.

That was her name.

The woman who saved me.

And the woman I fell for.

".................."

It feels like a decade ago that we met… doesn't it?

The moment you said those words to me two years ago,I felt like I got a new hope to continue living on.

And that's why… I cannot take you to my world with me.

You've seen it with your own eyes—two years ago—what happens to people when the world itself rejects them.You might become a monster.And I… I can't take that chance.

But know this, Scarlet…I loved you with my entirety.

Tears formed at the edges of Scarlet's eyes.

"I understand."

"Now let's start the preparations. Tomorrow, I and that girl—Viola—will go back to our world."

"And now… for the last time, Scarlet… can you nullify the mana from my body?"

"Yes, I can… no—I will."

"O cursed shadow that slumbers beneath the veil,Bind thought and flesh, let will be pale.Through silence and still, I seal thy flame—Mind and body, I strip thy name.Soul Lock."

For the last time, that same dark aura surrounded me from all sides—and in the next moment… it was gone.

The spell is losing its effectiveness.

My body is already adapting and nullifying this spell all by itself.

All the research…All of this…

And now finally—tomorrow—this will end.

".............."

the silence stretched endlessly.

i sat there.

no sound. no warmth.

just the cold floor beneath me… and the emptiness.

it felt like… everything was gone. thoughts, feelings, even time itself.

i stared at the dim wall in front of me, not really seeing it.

how long had it been?

minutes?hours?days?

i don't know.

i was alone.

completely alone.

throb

a soft pain… somewhere deep in my skull. it was barely noticeable at first. but now, somehow, it's growing.

throb… throb…

it's growing slowly.

i closed my eyes, pressing the back of my head to the wall behind me.

but it isn't stopping. it's growing even more.

it kept building.

like pressure inside a pressure cooker.

like something trapped inside wants to come out.

"ahh…"

a soft whimper escaped my lips as the pain sharpened, digging deeper.

what… is this feeling?

flashes.

quick. blinding.

a classroom.someone waving at me.the sound of laughter echoing down a hallway.

my heart skipped.

that place… i've seen this place before. but where?

another flash—

a voice. warm. familiar.

"viola! stop spacing out!"

who…

who said that?

the pain spiked again,

"ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

another flash.

names.

barren. eddy. theo. simon.

my eyes widened.

i know them.

i've seen them.

no…

i lived with them.

the memories kept coming. faster now.

i am not kathleen. i am viola.

"the pain… it's still rising."

"ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

i heard miss rose's scolding voice.i saw myself having lunch under the tree behind the school with my friends.my mom's embrace—soft, safe, warm.

mom.

my mom…

my throat tightened.

tears began to fall without warning.

i had forgotten.

how could i forget all of it?

and then—

like a whisper from far away—

"i am you."

the dreams.

the fog.the figures.the girl with no face.

her voice. always familiar.

"i am you.""i am you.""i am you.""i am you.""i am you."

the same line started to repeat inside my head. and this painnnnnn—

it's still growing.

"i am you.""i am you.""i am you.""i am you."

i was scared of her.

i wanted to run away.

but—

"i am you.""i am you.""i am you.""i am you."

now—

i understand. yes.

she wasn't someone else.

she wasn't a stranger.

she was me.

she is the part of me that i locked away inside my heart.

the pain… it's fading out as i remember more and more.

i finally realize the real me.

i am viola.

and i…

i finally remember all of it.

how this whole world is against my happiness.

i didn't want to come to this world.

i didn't want this pain.this suffering.

all of it… is this world's fault.

so why don't i just make this world go away?

a creepy smile appeared on my face.

wait… what am i thinking?

"i want revenge on this world."

no no no no—

not only this world.

i want my revenge on all of the people of this accursed world who made me suffer.

i will teach them.

yeah… and that will be the only justice.

"..."