Chapter 15 Mind Games and Barriers

"I… saw.. Klaus Reyes."

Olivia's voice wavered as though the words were being torn from her throat . She could not believe that she had almost spilled the truth out. Her wide, vacant eyes looked lifeless.

Micheal stepped closer, his face only inches from hers. Olivia´s instincts screamed at her to take a step back, but she remained frozen and calm. She knew any sudden movement would only heighten Micheal´s suspicion.

"Did you see anything else?"

The pressure intensified. She felt like she couldn't breathe. The only thought consuming her mind was to tell the truth, with the desperate belief that it would set her free. 

'No. No, I can't.' She fought against the compulsion to give in, but she could feel the control of her mind slipping through her fingers.

"Olivia?" Micheal whispered, his eyes briefly shutting, as if he was searching for something unseen.

A whimper nearly escaped her lips, but she bit it back. She could feel it now… something foreign prying into her mind, clawing through her memories like fingers rifling through the pages of a book.

A sudden jolt of energy surged through her. It wasn't hers. It felt ancient, powerful, shielding her like an unseen barrier.

"…No."

The moment she uttered the word, her head pounded with unbearable pain, as though her mind was on the verge of shattering.

Micheal stared at her in stunned silence. He couldn't enter her mind. It was as if something… something far stronger than he had ever encountered was keeping him out. Ancient. Unbreakable.

He clenched his fists. How? No ordinary girl should have been able to resist an Arcane Dominion attack. His nostrils flared in frustration.

"Are you sure?" he said, his voice sounding more like a growl.

The assault on her mind returned, harder this time, her defenses cracking under the strain. Olivia trembled.' I can't hold on... I can't…'

A smirk curled at Micheal's lips. He could see it. Her barriers were weakening. He was close-so close-to unearthing the truth. His eyes gleamed with sadistic delight at the thought of pleasing his master.

" Answer me."

At the brink of breaking , she felt a strange warm energy surging through her like golden fire spreading through her veins.

Little White channeled his energy into her, he needed to save her from this disaster.

Her body stiffened. Her wall was rebuilding itself, forcing the prying energy out.

" I didn't see anything else."

Micheal's smug expression twisted into a grimace at the backlash he got from almost breaking through. He could not believe it. He tried to enter her mind again, but now, her mental defenses were even stronger than before… fortified. 

Impossible. 

His eyes burned with curiosity. Who she really was? Only a handful of people in existence could resist his attack. No. This power wasn't hers. It belonged to something else, something ancient and dangerous. He needs to watch over her.

He inhaled sharply, a smile tugging on his lips. His blue eyes shined brightly.

" You will all forget about my visit." 

His voice dripped with power. The command was absolute. The girls nodded in unison, Olivia playing along, mirrored their response.

Micheal cast her one last glance before striding out of the room.

The girls blinked, suddenly aware of their surroundings.

"Why are we all standing here?... Are we forgetting about something?" Emma asked, glancing around in confusion.

" I don't know, but i thought i was in bed" Claire scratched the back of her head.

Meanwhile Lily frowned at her hand, which she had just used to wipe her nose. It was stained by a liquid.

Blood.

" Guys, I think.. I'm having a nosebleed" she stated, tilting her head slightly up.

"Maybe that is the reason we were standing" Claire facepalmed. "I can't believe we forgot about it" she rushed to grab the first aid kit.

Lily sat on Emma's bed while the other two attended to her bleeding nose.

Olivia stood dazed staring at them. Her brows knitted together, she was shocked that their memories of Micheal had been completely erased. But why could she remember….and that energy, where had it come from?

She instinctively reached into her pocket to check on Little White.

Thud.

Her heart hammered against her chest. He wasn't moving, `Is he sleeping`she wondered. She poked him with her finger, but he remained unresponsive. 

Fear gripped her heart. 

She bolted to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Her roommates didn't question her sudden departure, as their focus was on how to stop Lily`s nose bleeding.

" How did you get the nosebleed?Did you bump your nose against something?" Claire asked.

" I don't know…I can't remember." Lily frowned, it was so weird that she couldn't remember how she got the nosebleed.

" That's really strange," Emma muttered.

......

Olivia carefully pulled out little White from her pocket, cradling him in her palm. 

She patted him, but he was completely unresponsive.

"Little white, wake up" her voice cracked up.

" What happened to you? talk to me, please." Tears trickled down her face, the pain in her chest sharp, suffocating, as if thousands of tiny needles were piercing her heart. She couldn't lose him. She just couldn't .

A drop of tear fell on Little White, his eyes fluttering half open.

" I…need…cores," his voice echoed in her head. Before she could say anything, his tiny body shuddered once before his eyes slowly closed.

" Cores?" she muttered. 

She knew what that meant.

The only way to get cores was to go into the wasteland and hunt monsters. She wasn't strong enough to hunt monsters, but Little White didn't have time to wait. 

She couldn't let him die.

Her furrowed brows deepened, determination hardening in her eyes.

 She had already made up her mind. She would find a way to hunt monsters.

She cupped Little White's small, unmoving form in her hands

" I will save you, Little White. Hold on, please." 

Her voice was heavy with emotion. Her fingers gently caressed his head.

"Don't you dare leave me." 

Tears swelled in her eyes.