Lilia's Tale: Freyja's Endeavor

Chapter 53: Nightmare

I opened my eyes, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. However, as I sat up from my laying position, I grew increasingly confused. What I was staring at was not the unending nightmare to break my mind. Quite the opposite.

A prairie with a smooth blanket of healthy green grass. Large trees in the distance in every direction that mark a large and beautiful zone. A clear blue sky with occasional pure-white cloud. A slight wind that waves the flora and feels very gentle and calming to the skin. A vision of heaven, not one of hell.

"Wasn't I supposed to be viewing disgusting things...?" I whispered to myself as I got up.

"Lilia," I suddenly heard from behind me in a voice I found familiar.

Upon turning around, a blurry silhouette was in front of me. The face, however, was very clear, as I recognised who it was.

"...Yuki?"

"Lilia," she merely repeated, now sounding more sad.

I stayed on my guard, expecting something to go wrong. I managed to get a better look at her while waiting for something to happen. These rags we were always wearing at the farm, when I first arrived in this world. This unkempt skin and frail limbs of her from the malnutrition. It hurt me deep inside that she amd I had to live like that, but I knew there was nothing I could do anymore.

"Lilia," a voice said from behind again. This time, it was Father.

I turned around to face him. He looked suspiciously angry, which wasn't like him.

"Lilia," I heard again from my side.

"Lilia," from the other.

Voices started multiplying as I frantically looked at each and every one of them. Miyu, Souji, Greg, Riogh, Tanaka-sensei, Mark, Sayuri, Jor, Alice and Inari. Even Olivia, the innkeeper from Terra, was present. They were all continuously calling my name as it resonated in my mind, driving me to insanity.

Then, it stopped. I looked up as tears were slowly dripping away while Yuki advanced. She looked normal, if sad.

"Why didn't you save me?" she asked.

A leaf flew in front of my face as she completely changed. Her face was butchered. Large chunks of meat were removed, her skull visible. One of her was eyes punctured, the blood trail falling into her mouth. Her silhouette grew even harder to define, but unauestionably inhumane.

I recoiled as soon as my brain registered the sight and question. This must be my trial. Coming to terms with the people I could not save would certainly help me grow my mental endurance.

"When will you kill us all?" Father said from behind.

I took a second to replay the sentence in my head before turning around in a hurry. His face of anger turned into disgust, disdain and fear. He was not injured like Yuki was, yet his expression felt so much worse.

"You'll kill everyone with your power," he added.

"No, I..."

"She's nothing more than a demon!" Riogh shouted.

"She's a threat to all of us," Greg added.

"We need her killed before she kills everyone," Souji followed.

Even knowing that this was all a trick, simply a spell to break me, it all felt so...real. These words they were shouting, this pain I was feeling. Is this a dream, or a vision of the future?

I...couldn't hear anything anymore. Not their words, breaths or hearts. Even the wind went silent. I carefully looked up, already overwhelmed by the little I had encountered. The world seemed to have come to a standstill, as Heaven's Gate appeared in the sky.