Suddenly, another scene became apparent for them to see.
"Listen, Licht." Father, also known as Silas Ackerman, said.
His assistant came into the room with a pitcher of water and seven glasses.
"Imagine that these seven glasses are your friends. Can you tell me what's inside them?"
"There's nothing." Young Licht replied.
"Not quite. There's air."
"Air?"
"Yes. We can't see it, but it's there, right? Your friends are all carrying something inside them that we can't see... It's fear, Licht. And loneliness."
"My friends are scared and lonely?"
Young Licht's eyes were downcast, his expression sad.
"Yes, but we can change that." Silas said as he lifted up the pitcher full of water and started filling the glasses with equal amounts of liquid. "This pitcher is you, Licht. You're full of wonderful memories. You see, your wonderful memories are like this water, displacing those invisible, painful memories. Do you understand, my son?"
The boy doesn't answer immediately, instead settling his gaze on the pitcher, now almost empty. Silas walked over to his son, lowering himself so that they were at eye level.
"Don't be afraid. I won't let your water run dry. We can make plenty of memories to replace those you give away. I'm sure your friends would be happy to help. You know this experiment can't be completed without you. Licht, I'm counting on you, alright?"
Young Licht blinked twice, lips quivering to say something.
"My friends won't suffer anymore, will they? They'll all be happy. Right, Father?"
"Of course."
"Then I'll do it!"
The young boy's eyes lit up, full of hope.
Silas patted his son's head, a triumphant smile on his face.
"That's my son. I'm so proud of you."
Out of nowhere, a familiar bell rang. The clock struck ten at night, and Silas stood up.
"Time for bed, Licht. Rest up well for tomorrow."
'Oh, so the bells that ring every night at ten o'clock are connected to the orphanage bedtime.' Leila thought.
She looked over at Licht intently watching the scene as it changed into another revelation.
The children were all strapped to their beds, a number of medical instruments clinging onto their bodies.
'Is this one of those human experiments? This looks like the first of them.'
This is the truth that Leila's been so nervous about finding out.
Several adults in white lab coats were meticulously working away.
Leila watched the apparition of her younger self closely. One of the doctors attached a device to her head.
"Code blue! Code blue!"
Leila quickly turned around when she heard a man's voice yelling.
Young Licht started convulsing, alerting the team.
The doctors tried their best to stabilise the boy, preparing the apparatuses.
"Out of the way! I'll handle this." Father said as he desperately tended to Licht. "You there! Keep the other children in check! Licht, please! You've got to pull through!"
YOU ARE READING
Nocturne of Nightmares (Fanfic)
Fanfiction**** IF YOU HAVE YET TO PLAY THE GAME AND ARE PLANNING TO OR YOU HAVE YET TO FINISH PLAYING, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK AS IT HAS MAJOR SPOILERS **** Leila is a young woman whose childhood was always a blur. No matter how hard she tried, she could never...
