Lilia's Tale

Chapter 14: Heaven's Rift

This state of mind was brought even into my dreams, as I saw everyone quietly leave my side, one by one, staring at me in fear and disappointment. The nightmare only got worse as time went on, as I went from being left, to falling deep into despair and killing people one by one. Whether it was through pure physical attacks, or using my water magic. As the anger grew larger, so did the number of my victims, until I was no more than a beast in human form, and I arrived in front of the inn where Olivia was.

The despair in my heart woke me up at once, as I sat up and screamed "Olivia-san!" from the top of my lungs. It took me a bit of time to calm down and realize I had woken up from the nightmare, not counting the pounding headache I was now afflicted with. As I was trying to help my mental state, I heard the door open furiously, and Olivia's voice called out for my name. I looked over and saw her.

"What happened!?" she asked, almost scared.

"J-Just a nightmare..." I replied.

"You don't seem okay, do you need to take the day off?"

"I just need some time for the headache to pass. I think I'll be okay."

"You don't need to push yourself, you know."

"I'll be fine, just...give me some time."

"I hope you'll be okay," she said while leaving after a short silence.

I stayed in the room for some time, hoping my headache would settle down, but to my dismay is stayed strong the whole time. Eventually I got out of bed and went downstairs to notify Olivia that I wouldn't be able to work for the day. She seemed understanding, and told me to rest. I went back to my room and stayed in bed, falling back asleep.

To my delightful surprise, I didn't have any follow-up nightmares. Instead, I was woken up by Olivia gently shaking my shoulder as she was calling my name. I sorely opened my eyes and looked over to see she had some kind of bowl in her hands. I sat up, and she put it on my legs.

"I asked Masaru to make you soup so you could recover faster."

"Ah... Thank you for your concern."

She smiled and winked at me, then left the room. I grabbed the container, which to my surprise was only slightly warm, despite the visible steam coming out of its contents. I tried eating it, and despite the taste giving out its extreme heat, my mouth wasn't bothered by it at all.

After eating the soup, I put the now empty container on the bedside table and stretched. I knew I wasn't going to be able to stay in bed all day, and I also knew I shouldn't. Judging from the noise I was able to hear from downstairs, it was currently lunch. I got out of bed and put on a dress.

I moved in front of the door and grabbed the knob. When my hand wrapped itself around it, my mind suddenly reminded me of the nightmare I did earlier in the day, suddenly scaring me. I could feel my eyes tear up, but did my best to control myself. It took some time, but I gathered my resolve and opened the door. Once the door was open, I left onto the hallway, closed behind me, took a deep breath, and headed downstairs.

My mind was internally screaming for reasons I could not comprehend, only growing louder as I went further. When I saw the first table and the first group of people, my heart sunk. I felt as if I was about to fall, but I held myself to the handlebars of the stairs. I now knew what I was afraid of. I was afraid of hurting them.

I recomposed myself, and continued downstairs. Someone noticed me and shouted:

"Lilia's here, everyone!"

The joyful sight of everyone suddenly locked themselves on me. Not only was this making me uncontrollably horrified, but I could now no longer control my own body either. I stood in the stairway, legs shaking, unable to move. Olivia eventually arrived in front of the stairway, seemingly worried.