The Side Where No Stars Shine

The Past is The Past

Lior's POV

Lucy's team had been assigned to watch over me.

I could only respect the decision due to their wariness of me.

I climb into bed, thinking over everything.

I was trying so hard to remember even the slightest detail to a cure for Lucy's state.

It was pointless.

I couldn't access the rest of my memories yet.

The day had been tiring enough, and as the night grew long, I'd managed to drift off to sleep.

Suddenly, I was encased in a dream...

"Lior, honey, what would you think about me opening a guild?" Lilith asked.

"Just do whatever makes you happy! I'll be sure to support you!"

This, I remember.

I wasn't dreaming.

I was remembering.

"D-don't you think what you're doing is wrong. I... I'm all for being a part of Black Rose, but... but this isn't okay, Aunt Lilith."

That's right...

The woman who I thought of as family wasn't who I thought she was.

She opened Black Rose, only to begin her rush for power.

"A-Aunt Lilith, where are we going?"

"Oh, don't you worry, Lior. Everything will be okay... You'll feel much better when this is over."

I remember this, too.

We were heading to some strange laboratory.

Aunt Lilith sat me down in a dim room and handed me a small bottle of an unknown substance.

"Why am I taking this again?"

"It will fix everything, dear. Trust me."

I chugged the liquid down in one go, a weird feeling settling over my stomach.

My head began pounding as my vision blurred.

"You will obey me..." She declared, smirking as my body went limp.

Then, I blacked out.

I woke up in bed, sweating.

I tried to control my breathing as to not wake anyone up.

That's how I fell under Lilith's control...

She'd drugged me.

I didn't feel like I could get back to sleep, sitting up in bed.

I stared out into the darkness of the room.

It reminded me of back when I was on my own...

Back when Lilith had been a nice person...

She had been so caring.

Despite all that she'd done, a part of me still loved her.

When I had nowhere to go, when I was starving, about to drop dead... she was there.

She took me into her home, giving me warmth, food, and most importantly, a family.

Where was she now?

I couldn't help but hope she was being offered the same warmth, the same love...

Deep down, I knew she was a good person.

I formed an illusion in the darkness... one of the happiness I'd felt then.

It was the first day of autumn.

I was six years old.

Lilith had made an apple pie... my first ever.

It smelled of cinnamon as she set it on the table.

Together, we grabbed forks and dug in.

It was one of the best things I'd ever tasted.

"Lior... is that you?" I hear a voice call from the darkness.

My illusions had illuminated the room quite a bit.

"Y-Yeah, sorry to wake you..."

"No, it's okay..."

A scarlet-haired girl walks over, sitting on my bed.

"What is that?"

"O-oh... it's my magic. I can create illusions."

"What is this an illusion of?"

I look down at my lap.

"It's more of a memory..."

"Well, what's the memory?"

"I-It's of my childhood... after Lilith took me in."

"I think I remember Lucy telling me a bit about that..."

There's a pause in our conversation.

"You both look so happy..." She mentions.

"We were..." I reply awkwardly, before going silent again.

With a wave of my hand, the illusion disappears.

A click sounds, a light coming on.

Lucy's teammate had turned on the lamp.

"Are you okay? I know everyone's on edge at the moment, but if you need someone to talk to, I can be a pair of open ears."

"I-I'm fine... really."

The past is the past...

I can't trouble her with my problems.