Chapter 7 : Convergence – Part 1

Crack.

The mirror was destroyed.

Thousands of lines appeared on the glass surface, shattering it at the same time, spreading like aimless roots. For a moment, I didn't know if it was my mind playing tricks on me or if this was really happening, the cracks twisting as if trying to escape.

"Argg..."

A sharp pain shot through my head, the flood of memories not yet over. The pain was so acute that I thought my skull would split open. I fell to my knees, my hands clutching the floor weakly, while a brutal dizziness turned the room into a blurry whirlwind.

Then I felt it.

Something warm dripping from my nose, sliding lazily down my lips, staining my chin.

I clumsily brought a hand to my face. When I withdrew it, I discovered my fingers covered in a crimson so bright it almost seemed to burn.

Blood dripped, splattering the floor, covering the carpet.

My entire body shook—an electric spasm threatened to steal my breath—and then I simply... couldn't take it anymore.

I collapsed onto my side, my vision failed me, shadows danced and my world went dark.

(...)

—My young master...! My young master!

A voice. Female. Desperate. Echoing somewhere far away, on the edge of my thoughts.

"Who...?" I murmured inwardly.

I couldn't open my eyes. My mind was too saturated, floating in a thick sea where faces, laughter, screams all tangled together into a meaningless symphony.

—Please, wake up...!

Warm hands held me, trembling, gently cradling my head. Something damp brushed my forehead — a handkerchief? Or perhaps the bare fingers of whoever was holding me?

—No... someone... hurry...

She spoke with a choked voice.

I tried to move my lips, to say something. But my tongue was heavy, numb, trapped inside a mouth I wasn't even sure was mine.

My breathing slowed along with my consciousness, sinking into a dark sea.

(...)

A faint murmur kept calling me.

—...my young master...

"That voice again... I swear I've heard it before... but where...?"

Then a familiar, warm touch. Someone brushed the hair stuck to my forehead aside, exposing a cold trail on my skin.

—Breathe... please... she pleaded.

But my body wouldn't obey. My chest barely rose and fell, the air felt insufficient, like each attempt got stuck halfway. All of me was being consumed by an eternal, dense sleep, on the verge of being swallowed by the void.

Then, something warm and moist pressed against my lips.

For an instant, my mind couldn't comprehend. It only registered the unexpected softness, the urgency of the moisture seeping in.

A foreign breath burst into my mouth, pushing a vital force where mine had already begun to fade.

A shiver ran through me. My body reacted with a faint spasm, an involuntary gasp. My lungs filled, and slowly I managed to cling back to the surface.

—...what...?

My breathing remained erratic, but it was gradually regaining its natural rhythm.

I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain coursed through me, forcing a soft groan from my lips.

—Ah...

—My young master...

Her voice trembled, cracked by anguish. With an effort, I lifted my gaze to the one who had been calling me all this time.

She was younger than I'd imagined... perhaps fifteen or sixteen. Her blue hair contrasted beautifully with her slender face, and her eyes —large, clear— still glistened, reddened from crying.

A whisper escaped me before I could even think it.

—Alice...

The words spilled from my mouth involuntarily. I still didn't understand this situation.

Almost instantly, I saw how the girl's eyes widened, filled with a light that mixed relief and surprise.

—My young master! —she exclaimed—. Thank the heavens! I thought... I thought you would never wake up...

Her voice quivered, barely holding together.

I, on the other hand, could only stare at her with a thick, almost sticky confusion. "What is happening?" Her name had slipped out so naturally, it left me unsettled.

— I... —my throat scraped—. Where am I?

Alice looked at me with a contained startle, as if she feared that question might upset me. Her lips trembled for a moment before she finally answered.

—In the main branch, my young master. In your family's territory... in Riesenhart.