Inside the Shadow

Chapter Twenty: Revitalization and Serensification - POV Erin

"Promise me, you will stay safe?" I gazed up, now eye-to-eye with my mother. "As much as I can be." My mom wore a worried grin as she reached out to hold my chin in her palm, resting in her hand as I had so many times before. I closed my eyes, embracing her motherly love before the sound of distress cut through, almost loud enough to burst my eardrums. "RUN!" My eyes shot open, no longer in a state of bliss, for my mother was now several feet away, where Key was coming after her as he had before. However, this time I jumped up from the couch and ran to her salvation, my leg no longer injured. Having no other way of protecting her, I used my body as a shield, a barricade between the axe blade and my mother's skull. As I fell to the ground, the sound of high-pitched wailing drew out so long it no longer sounded human; The noise one makes when one witnesses a tragedy.

"Holy Hell." I shouted, jumping up out of a dead sleep as I was lying in a large luxurious bed in the room I picked out the night before. I couldn't sleep for quite a long period, I kept myself up all night with the what-ifs of the circumstances involving my mother before we left to live with my father. I guess my dream showed a part of my subconscious, seeing as it played out one of the scenarios I would have come up with to blame myself for my mother's death once again. I rubbed my face, hoping some guilt would release, but every time I shut my eyes for too long, I just would see her lifeless body draped across the living room floor. That's why I had to leave, not just to escape from Key, but also to find the easiest way to live on without my mother, and that might be in one that she never existed. No unwarranted reminders, no one asking me about what happened, or how I was feeling. Right now, the only thing I was feeling was guilt. I rose out of bed using my scooter to go use the restroom that was attached to my bedroom, just as Mairis' was. Once I finished, I decided to shower. Maybe that would help me feel more clean on the inside too. I picked out a comfortable outfit for after because I knew today was just going to be a far more relaxed one. The kind of day I hadn't had in at least a week. After showering and dressing myself in a deep blue lightweight top and green shorts that went below my knee, there was a station next to the sink that held all sorts of hair care products that were provided to elites by the locals. I grabbed one that smelled like honey and coconut with an aroma of something sweet I had never experienced before. Running it through my curls, I realized how long they were becoming but I enjoyed it. Once my hair had dried fully, I had my usual frow, but this oil made it so silky and bouncy, lightweight and it smelled amazing. I didn't care if it was meant for women or not, I liked it. I set it aside from the rest of the oils next to the turbine-powered hair dryer I chose not to use.

I finished preparing for a lazy day, the eve of my birthday, I left my room and headed to the kitchen we had the chef-cooked dinner in last night. Approaching the kitchen, the smell of breakfast was already enveloping my senses, and my mouth began to water. Waiting next to the display of food was my father Joshuah, dressed in one of his business suits that was clearly crafted with extreme care and precision as if it were also tailored to fit him perfectly. "Good afternoon son. You both observably needed some rest after yesterday, seeing you're the first to wake and it's already past lunch. I had the chef make up something special for you as it holds qualities of revitalization and serensification. My father chose to sit and eat alongside me, attempting to appear as if this was all so normal. "I'm sorry Erin, I never meant to break us all up the way that I did. That's all in the past now, no wondering about the what-ifs of the past as if we held the ability to alter it. That being said, I believe that it would be a good time for new beginnings." He spoke, pausing the meal and allowing me to prepare for what he had in mind for me. I was brought to their world for a reason. "Alright, what is it?" I sat up in my chair now making full contact with him. "The life source of our world is fading, that's why we connected it to Earth by soul alliances between beings from both realms. Lial and Mairi are an example of what that would look like. Even though they have been designated as essentially soulmates, it was for that purpose specifically." He spoke as if he were aware of my feelings towards Mairi and didn't want me to worry if she had been promised to another. "So, if that was the purpose for Mairi being brought to this world, then what was mine? Just because I'm your son?" Eager to know, even though I decided to come through that portal on my own. With my mother gone, I felt there had been no other option. "Well, of course, I wanted you here as my son. There was so much that I chose to miss out on, but now I'm hoping you will let me begin fathering you now. But no, that was not the main reason for us inviting you to come to Ember Hollow. As I've said, our realm's life force is dying, I am working with the Agers to return it to its full potential once more. They believe you to be the one they have been waiting for. He continued to finish off his plate before leaving the table, allowing for his maid to clean up after him, causing me to follow suit. I stood beside him as he prepared to head back downstairs to his office. "What does that mean? What am I expected to do to help?" Questioning him before he went back to work, for I deserved answers from him.