Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph3 Ch26: Deepening Friendship

The knight took a second to watch as all the guests fell to their doom. Was this what their hunger had done to them? If that was the case, it was probably the right choice to get rid of the hunger the knight once possessed. If this was the consequence, then it didn't want to think about what kind of monster it would've turned into. All the more reason to get rid of the infection.

The knight stood up, and started walking to the next room. It looked back at Mono and Six, and soon they were following along. As they walked through the quiet hallways, the knight noticed something strange. Six was... shivering. As they walked further, Six started walking slower. When Mono went to grab her hand, she was hesitant to grab it. When she finally did, she closed her eyes, and the knight saw her whispering something under her breath. The knight was curious to find out what she was saying, but it wasn't necessary. Stopping the infection was priority right now.

"Scared?" Six asked in a happy voice.

The knight looked back at Six, but... she was still whispering under her breath. The knight realized it wasn't Six who said that. Right next to Six, was a floating shadow version of herself. The knight quickly looked away from the shadow, but kept listening to her out of curiosity.

"We both know what happened here last time," the shadow said. "You're afraid it's going to happen again right? You're afraid you're going to eat him again. But this time, there's no way for the knight to save him. Once you eat Mono, it's going to kill you without hesitation or mercy. After all, you are just a scared little traitor. Why would it forgive you after you betray its trust again?"

The knight listened as the shadow teased Six about all the bad things she had done. It wanted to act, but at the same time it didn't want to let the shadow know it could see her. But once the shadow mentioned the knight, it decided to act. The knight walked to the other side of Six, and held out its hand. Six noticed the knight, and took its hand with her free hand. Mono noticed what was going on, and looked back at both Six and the knight.

"Don't worry Six," he said. "Whenever you're scared, we're both here for you. And we'll both help you."

"Until you betray them both~," Six's shadow said.

The knight turned its head, ever so slightly, so that it was positioned just enough to look at the shadow, and not completely give away the fact it could hear her. The shadow noticed the knight's reaction, and for a second she looked confused. Then, she dissapeared from the scene. The knight turned its head back around, and started to question a few things itself.

How could the knight see that shadow? Why couldn't it see her before? How long had that shadow been taunting Six? Maybe the knight could see the shadow because it became hollow again. That would explain why it couldn't see her before. Back then, it felt emotions. Now, it was empty, and could only remember how emotions felt. That made some sense, but answering its own questions was not enough to fully conclude something. Either way, the knight could see the shadow now, and it still needed to stop the infection.

It walked with Mono and a terrified Six through the hall, and into a room with a single sausage on the floor. Once they entered that room, Six started trembling more than ever. The knight and Mono held onto her, and helped her through the room, and into the next. At this point, the knight was close enough to hear what Six was whispering.

"Don't eat them, don't eat them, don't eat them, don't eat-". she kept whispering those same words.

The knight and Mono lead Six out of the room, and once they entered the next one, Six slowly opened her eyes. She stopped trembling, and once they had completely left that room, she took a large breath of relief. Now that she was okay, the knight let go of Six's hand, and let her walk on her own. Once they all entered another room though, Six stopped, and showed fear again.

"Are you okay Six?" Mono asked. "It's just a room with an elevator, what's to be scared of?"

"I-I've, never gotten this far before," Six replied. "I got as far as the last room, and then..."

"And then what?"

"I don't know, I just... something stopped me from going through that door," Six explained. "I went back to the kitchen and found a place to hide there. Until now, every night I've been afraid of what's beyond that door. I don't know if I have the strength to go through there."

The knight listened to what Six said. It remembered what Mono would do in a situation like this. It walked up to her again, and held her hand. Six looked at the knight, and it looked back to say, "it will be okay". The knight then drew its nail, and held it high, mimicking Mono's optimistic attitude. Mono raised his ladle in response, and slowly, Six raised her shovel. She looked at the knight again, and let a small smile spread across her face.

The knight let go of her hand, and looked at the lever to summon the elevator. Six walked towards the lever, and the knight walked behind her with Mono, letting her know that they both had her back. Six took a deep breath, and jumped up to the lever, pulling it down. They all backed away, and stood in front of the elevator as the doors opened.

An orange light filled the room, and all of a sudden, Six froze. The knight looked into the elevator, and saw a lady with black hair, a white mask, and orange eyes staring at them.

"Hello children," The Lady said.

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This chapter is short, but I wanted to leave the big battle for the next chapter.

You may be wondering, "What big fight?" Well...

You'll have to wait and see.

Heheheheheh~

See you all in the next chapter~! >:)