Which Do You Fear More?

A chilling voice sounded from above. The question came out in an almost bored-sounding tone of voice. Yet at the same time, it held a hint of…amusement?

The previous haunting silence that surrounded the white space as the girl rotted away with no one to see was interrupted. The voice that broke through it was impossibly cold-sounding, almost indifferent; it was elegant, smooth, deep, and velvety, it had all the qualities that, on paper, should sound like a voice that was pleasant to the ear, yet it sent shivers down the girl's spine. It felt unfeeling and inhuman…

The girl paused in her now lazy attempts at crawling away as she saw a pair of pale, smooth feet infront of her peeking from under a white fabric. 

The sinister presence that was climbing up her paused at the new person's presence. The pain it brought intensified feeling as though a cold shard of ice was being pierced through her, stopping its movement and staying in one spot, the icy feeling felt intensified, her body feeling painfully numbing, a heated chill.

The girl winced at the feeling painfully, her eyes still on the delicate, soft-looking feet infront of her that could only be described as beautiful, and she wasn't a feet person, far from it.

For some reason, however, despite the undeniable beauty of the feet infront of her, she felt scared to look up…she felt a gaze on the back of her head, and it sent goosebumps comparable to the ones the reaching hand brought all over her body. If that was what she felt just by the gaze resting on her, she didn't want to know what would happen if she met those eyes with her own.

Abruptly, she felt a cold, soft hand touch her own, and her eyes drifted to it. Slim, pale hands that could be described as nothing else besides beautiful rested on top of hers lightly. However, the girl could feel no warmth in them…they felt cold, as if devoid of human blood, though she strangely felt a faint sense of comfort as they touched her, but also the urge to pull away.

Her eyes trailed up the arm the hand was attached to and drifted up, seeing the pale shoulder where a thin white dress strap sat, deep collarbones, a slim neck, and finally, the face of the owner of the beautiful body. 

As she gazed at the face, her breath hitched in her throat, and she felt herself stop breathing, her heartbeat getting louder in her ears.

Small, perfectly shaped tangerine red-tinted lips, a perfectly shaped nose with freckles lightly dusting across its bridge and the cheeks, and the eyes. Deep crimson, like fresh-spilled blood, they held a darkness that went beyond their color. A sinister void lay beneath them, pulling her in. She felt as though she were being swallowed whole, yet she couldn't look away as if they were dragging her into the dark void that lay beneath them.

The girl's eyes were deep, blood red, and held an even stronger sinister presence than the shadow that was currently still resting over her. She had long, dark hair that looked unbelievably silky and touched the ground as she held her knees close to her chest, resting her other arm on her knees and resting her face in her hand, looking down at the girl with a kind of indifference. The indifference that rested in her eyes as she looked down at the girl caused the girl to shiver instinctively as she held the beautiful girl's gaze.

Similar to when she felt the instinct to run from the dark shadow that had been chasing her, having the girls' gaze rest on her also brought up an instinct of fear. However, the type of fear was different…it was the type that you couldn't pull away from. An overwhelming fear that made you freeze in your tracks, unable to pull away, letting yourself be devoured without being able to run. She felt unable to move. The girl infront of her was hauntingly beautiful, and her presence felt ethereal. Like a fallen angel.

Beautiful, yes…that was the only way to describe the girl that sat infront of her, unfazed despite her gasping for breath. However, it wasn't the type of beauty that felt as though it could be touched and appreciated up close. It was the ethereal type…not the heavenly type of ethereal, though…it felt more sinister, the type that no one could admire up close and love. The type that could only be looked at with awe at a distance. The girl had an eerie type of beauty, an inhuman type.

"Aren't you going to keep going?" the girl asked with a tilt of her head, her voice beautifully cold, as if carved from ice. She stared down at the figure beneath her, hand resting atop hers, still not comforting, not forceful, just there. Her gaze was empty, stripped of warmth or expectation, just observing coldly.

The girl held her gaze, feeling incapable of breaking eye contact. There was something about her—something achingly familiar. Even through the fear clawing at her throat, she recognized it. That feeling she'd had when she first appeared in the endless white space.

But this time, the fear drowned out the strange, distant comfort.

Still, apart from that suffocating sense of freedom, there was something else—something unmistakable.

And then it hit her.

The story.

The one she had just been reading…

Suddenly, she remembered a certain description from the book.

"Blood-red eyes—cold, indifferent, watching the world with an unfeeling gaze. Long, silky black hair, impossibly soft, framed her face like a dark halo, making those monstrous eyes stand out all the more. Luminia's beauty wasn't just unsettling—it was otherworldly, the kind that sent a shiver down the spine. The type of beauty that didn't feel human."

The girl's heart slammed against her, a cold sweat coming to her as she continued staring unblinking into the girl's monstrous gaze, a realization forming in her.

"Luminia…"

The girl let out a stuttered, shaky breath. The feeling of Luminia's cold hand on top of hers suddenly felt as though she were being invaded. Despite how exhausted her body felt, she pulled her hand away from Luminia's as if she had been burned and broke the gaze they held, staring at the ground, breathing heavily.

Lumina turned her cold red eyes to her hand that rested on top of the soft grass, no longer with another resting below it, before turning back to the girl on the ground.

"You're scared of me…"

The girl said, however, it wasn't a question; it was an observation. 

"You know my name…You know who I am, but I don't remember meeting you…"

The girl heard Luminia's voice over her head, still not moving. The sinister presence that had been resting on top of her before began moving up her body once again, causing the girl to gasp in pain.

Luminia stared down at her coldly.

"I wonder…which do you fear more, me or that?"

Lumina's voice held a hint of bitterness in it as she uttered the words, but her expression remained unchanged as she watched the girl struggling, lying on the ground, her body being corrupted slowly and painfully. 

The girl felt the icy cold burning pressure reach her face, climbing up it slowly. Her head fell to the ground as she lost the strength to keep it up. She saw Luminia sitting above her, watching. Her expression was empty as she watched her groan in pain, yet the girl couldn't help but feel there was something else lying under the indifference her eyes held.

"You'll disappear if this keeps up…you're all but consumed already."

Lumina said coldly.

The girl's expression started to grow hazy as the hand crept over her more and more, her eyes still on Luminia. There weren't any thoughts going through the girl's head. Not thoughts of fear or dread or what would happen to her. All she felt was a chilling voice sounding from above. The question came out in an almost bored-sounding tone of voice. Yet at the same time, it held a hint of…amusement?

The previous haunting silence that surrounded the white space as the girl rotted away with no one to see was interrupted. The voice that broke through it was impossibly cold-sounding, almost indifferent; it was elegant, smooth, deep, and velvety, it had all the qualities that, on paper, should sound like a voice that was pleasant to the ear, yet it sent shivers down the girl's spine. It felt unfeeling and inhuman…

The girl paused in her now lazy attempts at crawling away as she saw a pair of pale, smooth feet infront of her peeking from under a white fabric. 

The sinister presence that was climbing up her paused at the new person's presence. The pain it brought intensified feeling as though a cold shard of ice was being pierced through her, stopping its movement and staying in one spot, the icy feeling felt intensified, her body feeling painfully numbing, a heated chill.

The girl winced at the feeling painfully, her eyes still on the delicate, soft-looking feet infront of her that could only be described as beautiful, and she wasn't a feet person, far from it.

For some reason, however, despite the undeniable beauty of the feet infront of her, she felt scared to look up…she felt a gaze on the back of her head, and it sent goosebumps comparable to the ones the reaching hand brought all over her body. If that was what she felt just by the gaze resting on her, she didn't want to know what would happen if she met those eyes with her own.

Abruptly, she felt a cold, soft hand touch her own, and her eyes drifted to it. Slim, pale hands that could be described as nothing else besides beautiful rested on top of hers lightly. However, the girl could feel no warmth in them…they felt cold, as if devoid of human blood, though she strangely felt a faint sense of comfort as they touched her, but also the urge to pull away.

Her eyes trailed up the arm the hand was attached to and drifted up, seeing the pale shoulder where a thin white dress strap sat, deep collarbones, a slim neck, and finally, the face of the owner of the beautiful body. 

As she gazed at the face, her breath hitched in her throat, and she felt herself stop breathing, her heartbeat getting louder in her ears.

Small, perfectly shaped tangerine red-tinted lips, a perfectly shaped nose with freckles lightly dusting across its bridge and the cheeks, and the eyes. Deep crimson, like fresh-spilled blood, they held a darkness that went beyond their color. A sinister void lay beneath them, pulling her in. She felt as though she were being swallowed whole, yet she couldn't look away as if they were dragging her into the dark void that lay beneath them.

The girl's eyes were deep, blood red, and held an even stronger sinister presence than the shadow that was currently still resting over her. She had long, dark hair that looked unbelievably silky and touched the ground as she held her knees close to her chest, resting her other arm on her knees and resting her face in her hand, looking down at the girl with a kind of indifference. The indifference that rested in her eyes as she looked down at the girl caused the girl to shiver instinctively as she held the beautiful girl's gaze.

Similar to when she felt the instinct to run from the dark shadow that had been chasing her, having the girls' gaze rest on her also brought up an instinct of fear. However, the type of fear was different…it was the type that you couldn't pull away from. An overwhelming fear that made you freeze in your tracks, unable to pull away, letting yourself be devoured without being able to run. She felt unable to move. The girl infront of her was hauntingly beautiful, and her presence felt ethereal. Like a fallen angel.

Beautiful, yes…that was the only way to describe the girl that sat infront of her, unfazed despite her gasping for breath. However, it wasn't the type of beauty that felt as though it could be touched and appreciated up close. It was the ethereal type…not the heavenly type of ethereal, though…it felt more sinister, the type that no one could admire up close and love. The type that could only be looked at with awe at a distance. The girl had an eerie type of beauty, an inhuman type.

"Aren't you going to keep going?" the girl asked with a tilt of her head, her voice beautifully cold, as if carved from ice. She stared down at the figure beneath her, hand resting atop hers, still not comforting, not forceful, just there. Her gaze was empty, stripped of warmth or expectation, just observing coldly.

The girl held her gaze, feeling incapable of breaking eye contact. There was something about her—something achingly familiar. Even through the fear clawing at her throat, she recognized it. That feeling she'd had when she first appeared in the endless white space.

But this time, the fear drowned out the strange, distant comfort.

Still, apart from that suffocating sense of freedom, there was something else—something unmistakable.

And then it hit her.

The story.

The one she had just been reading…

Suddenly, she remembered a certain description from the book.

"Blood-red eyes—cold, indifferent, watching the world with an unfeeling gaze. Long, silky black hair, impossibly soft, framed her face like a dark halo, making those monstrous eyes stand out all the more. Luminia's beauty wasn't just unsettling—it was otherworldly, the kind that sent a shiver down the spine. The type of beauty that didn't feel human."

The girl's heart slammed against her, a cold sweat coming to her as she continued staring unblinking into the girl's monstrous gaze, a realization forming in her.

"Luminia…"

The girl let out a stuttered, shaky breath. The feeling of Luminia's cold hand on top of hers suddenly felt as though she were being invaded. Despite how exhausted her body felt, she pulled her hand away from Luminia's as if she had been burned and broke the gaze they held, staring at the ground, breathing heavily.

Lumina turned her cold red eyes to her hand, resting atop the soft grass, no longer touching another. Then, slowly, she looked back at the girl on the ground.

"You…" she began, pausing mid-thought, as if something had just clicked.

Her voice was quiet. Certain.

"You're scared of me."

It wasn't a question. It was a truth, spoken like a law of nature—simple, inevitable. As if fear were simply something her evil existence commanded.