Elysian Requiem

04

I was met with nothing but the void — an endless tunnel with no points of an exit. I looked down at my body and gazed up at the air, seeing what seemed like a bright spotlight, cast upon me. It felt familiar for some reason. As if I was in a play - awaiting the moment to start playing that same lullaby that hummed in my mind. The sound of the strings, gently brushing with the delicate strings of the bow tingled within my ears and fingertips as my body replayed the sensation of holding the instrument. I remembered this exact moment. It was vague in some parts, but I understood the gist of it. This was part of a melody I played during my younger days. A melody that I dedicated to the past.

The lullaby played for a while until a sharp, unpleasant high-pitched chord disrupted the trajectory of the melody. My ears rang for a bit until a voice emerged from the void, "I loved hearing you play the violin." Out of habit, my body immediately was in flight or fight mode, fists ready to fight and as well as the stance to run in a fit of means to escape. "Fear me not, Scarlett," the voice added.

I tried to sense their aura and where they could potentially be, but it seemed that something was blocking the flow of my ability. "There is no use for you trying to activate your abilities on your own mirage," they continued. I felt vulnerable on the inside as if I was an *unmasked, and in my own mirage. If it was my own mirage, shouldn't I have the freedom to do what my heart desired? As I thought to myself, my eyes caught a silhouette from the dark void, slowly emerging from it. A second spotlight revealed a figure—no, an exact copy of me. Except that the girl in front of me had flaming ember hair. It was more than feeling gobsmacked. I felt uneasy about seeing my own double and my stomach felt like it did a flip. But nonetheless, I retracted from my fighting stance, still guarded but I stood there.
"Who are you?" I finally said. They had a brief stern look in their eyes but a sense of urgency quickly replaced it.

"I am you, Scarlett," they said in a certain tone. Of course, they were me, but not me per se. I couldn't tell if they were being sarcastic or serious. "I am getting the impression that you do not remember me at all, yes?"

"Have we... met before?" I asked and they nodded. "Ah it's been that long since then," They said.
"You were still a young dame when we first met," they continued, followed by a slight chuckle.
"I remember you had that auburn streak of hair, sticking out of your hazel brown hair," they said, looking at me intently, "Have we grown out of it?"
I shook my head in response, "My mom has been applying a brown dye to it."

"Ariel? How is she doing with her celestial powers?" They asked, intrigued.

"She's..." I paused for a second and looked at her, "Not that well, I presume?"
"Considering her age, she is bound to return to Celestia any time soon," they added.
"What do you mean? I thought she was thrown out by the elders?" I said.

"That's what they told you?"

I looked at them, more confused. But they had blank expressions on their face," You poor thing."
A low, howling sound was heard from the void. We both looked in the direction of the sound, "Unfortunately, my time is up." 

"Scarlett, when the time is right, I hope you can call out my name. For I am your power - a stronghold for humanity. You mustn't let the erosion consume you," they said, emitting a pale blue flame from their hand and flicking their finger towards my forehead. 

Everything went dark once again. 

-- 

I jolted up as if I had fallen from a very high place. My heart was beating rapidly and I was catching my breath. I gently rubbed my face, slowly letting my eyes adjust to the dimly-lit room. I recognized the light aura from the room - this was the recovery room my parents have set especially for me. I looked around and it seemed that someone was resting by the end of the bed. By the looks of it, it looked like Ambrose. I propped my legs up to my chest and observed him for a while. He was sleeping soundly with how his upper body slowly went up and relaxed. I tried to feel his aura, making a connection through telepathy but he seemed unresponsive. I sat there for a while, still staring at him. I noticed him move as he slowly and very groggily sat up from his uncomfortable position.

"Scarlett?" he said, gently rubbing his eyes. I did a little wave toward him and it took a while before I was immediately attacked by an embrace. "You're awake," he said, in a surprised whisper-like tone. I let out a small laugh, "Well I guess someone missed me." 

"How are you feeling? Are you in any sort of pain?" he asked, gently inspecting my arms and looking at my face. "No, but I could really feel a glass of water right now," I said. 

"Okay, I'll get you that glass of water in a second," he said, getting up and started walking towards the door.  I sat there in silence, bringing my legs closer to my chest once more. Many thoughts came to me as the silence reminded me of the mirage. It felt nothing but more of a fever dream. I tried to fetch those memories back but something within me was blocking me from doing so. My catalyst also seemed affected by the blockage, I could not sense any auras nor manifest my own, which was already weird in itself. 

I felt vulnerable for once. 

Which made me reminiscent of the times I was labeled as the 'special case.' I was not the typical kid growing up who experienced having a normal life, who was allowed to play with the neighborhood kids and befriend anyone, anytime. It wasn't because my parents were conservatives, but because their clans were on the hunt --not only for me but for them too. I understood at a young age I was far from different. 

If not, it was what put pressure on all of us to live by rules that restricted us.