A Demon's Journey: Love Beyond Time

Chapitre 6: Lost in memories

The quiet serenity that had settled over their journey was shattered one fateful night. It began with a subtle change in her—the first sign that something was terribly wrong.

They had been traveling for weeks without incident, Sesshomaru leading the way as always, his silent companions—A-Un, Jaken, and Rin—now by their side. She had wondered, in the beginning, why Sesshomaru had chosen to keep them at a distance. Perhaps he had sensed the intensity of her mission, or perhaps he hadn't wanted to distract her. But now that Naraku was gone, and the world was in a fragile peace, they had returned. Rin, with her bright, innocent eyes, had taken a liking to her almost immediately, and Jaken, though grumbling and complaining, had begrudgingly accepted her presence.

But something had been gnawing at her, a creeping sense of dread that she couldn't shake.

It happened one evening as the group made camp beside a river. Rin had fallen asleep beside A-Un, and Jaken was grumbling as usual while tending to the fire. Sesshomaru stood watch, ever vigilant. She sat nearby, trying to focus on the present, but her mind felt heavy, sluggish. Her flames, which had always burned so brightly within her, now flickered weakly, as if struggling to stay alight.

Something's wrong. She could feel it, deep in her bones. But before she could voice her concerns, a sharp pain shot through her head, and her vision blurred. The world around her began to spin, colors fading and sounds distorting.

"Nezuko?" Rin's voice was the last thing she heard before everything went dark.

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't beside the river anymore. She was somewhere else—somewhere familiar. The smell of antiseptic and the steady beep of machines filled the air. Her body felt different, lighter, smaller. She looked down at her hands and gasped. They were human.

No... this can't be...

She was back in her old life. The life she had left behind when she died.

Sesshomaru had been the first to notice something amiss. When she collapsed, her body had gone completely still, her demonic aura flickering as if it were being pulled away. He had moved to her side in an instant, his golden eyes narrowing as he sensed the strange shift in her energy.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru ordered, his voice calm but firm. "Watch Rin."

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken squeaked, clearly nervous as he scrambled to obey.

Sesshomaru knelt beside her, his hand hovering over her body. He could feel it—the pull of something beyond this world, something deep within her consciousness. She wasn't merely unconscious. She was trapped. But trapped in what?

His expression darkened as he placed a hand on her forehead. This power... it's not demonic. It's something else entirely.

Inside her mind, she found herself standing in her old bedroom, staring at a younger version of herself—before the accident, before the sickness, before her death. The memories came flooding back in painful waves, each one sharper than the last. I died. I died in this world. Why am I back here?

It was as though her mind had been pulled into the deepest recesses of her past, into the memories she had long since buried. She saw her family, her friends, her life before she had become Nezuko. Everything felt so real, so tangible, but she knew it wasn't. This was a prison, a trap formed by her own memories. And no matter how much she screamed or ran, she couldn't escape it.

Sesshomaru, meanwhile, had made a decision. He had seen this before—a technique ancient demons used to trap their enemies in their own minds, forcing them to relive their most painful memories. But there was no demon nearby, no outside force manipulating her. This was something deeper, something tied to her very existence in this world.