Vylt: The New Dawn

Chapter 2: Ask the Elf

Immersed in darkness, I could neither see, feel, or hear anything. I lost track of time. The silence was maddening. My only form of comfort was that this same numbness prevented me from feeling the agonising pain that came to me before I lost consciousness.

Hm? What's that?

As I felt myself going crazy with the silence, an ice blue flame appeared from the nothingness. Its slow bobbing soon turned into some sort of hypnotising dance, making my concerns vanish in an instant. At some point, the light seemed to get closer to me, and then, just as suddenly as it arrived, it faded.

Wait! Don't go!

My senses gradually came back to me after that. First came touch, which I noticed when I felt something brush the tips of my toes. The pain was back with it too, although it was much more tolerable. Then, I heard a muffled female voice I didn't recognize. I opened my eyes to seek its source, only to get blinded by the lights on the ceiling. Someone gasped and slapped something next to me. After getting used to the brightness, I looked to my left and saw a girl around my age staring at me, mouth agape.

She was a redhead with sapphire eyes and countless freckles that covered what would otherwise be porcelain skin. Her long hair was tied into a low ponytail that draped over the white lab coat she wore on top a dark green chequered shirt. She was slender, perhaps bordering what would be considered healthy, but it looked like it was simply her complexion.

We kept staring at each other for quite some time, and not once did she remove her hands from the sides of her head, as if to mute every sound around her. Quickly snapping herself out of her trance, the girl jumped up from the chair she was sitting on and ran away yelling, "Dad! Come quickly!"

My eyes followed her as she left, half expecting her to fall as her hands were still glued to her ears. My memory slowly came back to me after she was gone. The infection, my parents, and the conversation with Dr. Blake.

I thought the pain was supposed to disappear by the time I woke up...

What about the mutation?

What do I look like now?

How long has it been?

Looking over my body, nothing seemed to be any different. The round shape of my ears, my light brown shoulder length bob, and the same pale skin I had from staying indoors most of the time. They all indicated my appearance hadn't changed at all. I didn't feel like a ghost either, although I didn't know how that was supposed to feel to begin with.

Luck had smiled upon me. My excitement grew as I realised I managed to remain human. One that could probably use magic at that!

My silent celebration was interrupted when I heard hurried steps down the hallway. Dr. Blake appeared at the door frame panting heavily with the same stupefied expression the girl, who now stood next to him, had before she left.

"Do you believe me now?" The girl asked him, pointing at me with an open hand. She was now wearing an oversized navy blue beanie.

She left calling for her dad, didn't she?

Is she really Dr. Blake's daughter?

If that was the case, she probably took after her mother. The only thing these two had in common was their height. Dr. Blake looked too old to have a daughter that young, though. Perhaps he had one of those weird marriages with large age gaps. It wasn't my place to judge.

The doctor approached, grabbed one chair and sat down next to me. "How do you feel, Nora?" he asked in a worried tone.

I sat up straighter and smiled at him to lessen his concerns. "It still hurts some, but it's not that bad. Is it all over, doctor?"