I woke up when it was still dark. I listened attentively, having a strange sensation, like when you wake up in the middle of the night, feeling scared and threatened, and your heart pounds in your chest painfully without an apparent reason, and you gaze at the shadows in the room and they feel almost alive...
"What was that? Did I have a nightmare? I don't remember my dreams since I got into this world. Probably is nothing... but I still feel like something is off."
The blizzard stopped, even the wind ceased. It was an eerie silence, where the only sounds I could hear were Pyrope's gentle snoring and my own heavy breathing. The minutes were passing without anything happening, although that sensation of dread still clutched its claws on my sleep. I finally switched my position and I screamed shortly at the sight of Bezmal's head near the dragon's elbow. I quickly covered my mouth, bashing myself in my head for that recklessness.
"That head is so creepy, though!"
Despite the darkness, the white of the snow made things clearer and I could see the priestess' frozen features. Thin shards of ice, like little sharp teeth, adorned her hair and a sheen of ice covered her face. It was as if she was just asleep... with a faint smile on her lips. I had a mixture of feelings when I looked at that head: relief, anger, fear, even sadness.
"What the heck is wrong with me? Why sadness? Because I took a life... but it was self-defence. Damn it! Pyrope was right. I'm overthinking even when it's not the case. When others want to kill or hurt me, it's only natural to defend myself by all means necessary. But that doesn't change that you... Wait, was she smiling from the moment of her death? I don't recall that. I hope no one heard my scream. I'm such a scaredy cat! But if Pyrope didn't wake up, maybe it wasn't that bad..."
While arguing with myself, something caught my attention: the sound of pouring rain outside the den.
"It's raining," I said, hoping to get a reaction from the dragon, but he stopped snoring for a few seconds, then started again, ignoring me.
I sat in silence, listening to the rain, but the more I listened, the more I started to discern something like music. There were voices singing. I held my breath, trying to catch some words, but the more I focused, the more I felt my mind being clouded with an ethereal mist that was constricting my senses into something similar to a hazy dream where my body felt light as a feather and swept away.
"Cold... it's cold... I should return... Am I walking? Pyrope, save me, please!"
A part of my mind, that still had some will left, was struggling to stop my body from moving towards the forest, while barely registering my surroundings, because my eyes seemed to be covered in a spidery teary veil that didn't want to fade away. That music never ceased for a moment, keeping me entranced. My legs were moving on their own though, without stumbling into anything.
"It's a path through the forest that wasn't here before. Even the snow disappeared. What's going on? Snap out of it! Wake up, Miha!"
The worse part was that I already knew that I was awake and I just couldn't control my body. Gradually, the spidery haze from my eyes was regressing, and I become aware of my surroundings. My mind was pushing away that weird music in the background, just like when I was too focused on reading and I could block effortlessly all the surrounding noises. Unfortunately, the more I walked, the music became louder and louder, deafening and reverberating throughout my whole body, as if I was in a huge music hall and I sat extremely close to the boxes. I focused my attention on my feet. There was something moving beneath my soles: a shadow with a familiar shape. More than the shape, I could feel who it was.
"Bezmal?" I whispered unsure, and my voice sounded extremely loud, disturbing the still shadow that had water-like ripples on its surface.
The moment I uttered her name all the voices faded, and I was enveloped by a strong, dense presence that was pouring over me, until the pressure accumulated and felt like I dove into the deep sea. Deeper and deeper, until all the sounds were blocked and my ears were hearing a screechy constant ringing.
"... we must find... then our plan will... the failure... the king can be... if they find..."
There was a voice that came blurred and from very far away, as if someone was in a barrel and the barrel submerged under the water, but I could still distinguish Bezmal's voice. Then, there was complete silence, but the shadows at my feet were rising like smoke around me. Throughout the smoky shadows, I could distinguish a figure in front of me... and it looked like me.
The me-figure sat still, with the dark hood covering her head.
"Why isn't she affected by the poison yet?" I heard a voice in my head. "This is not a normal person. I must catch her alive for interrogation."
My legs wanted to move towards that familiar figure, but at the next step I felt an icy wet cold touching my toes and I couldn't move anymore.
"How can she have my poison?! This bitch set me a trap! She MUST die! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Beneath my eyelids a blaze of fire erupted and burned down the figure, then the light faded. I had the feeling of doom for a moment, and a suffocating hate, then I could feel myself again, the shadows vanishing and letting me see that I was standing with a foot in the cold water of the lake, with a precarious balance, as beneath my sole there was no bottom, just straight abyss with dark waters. I pulled back my leg quickly, taking a deep breath, stumbling on my back. It felt like I was inhaling fire after I was almost drowned.
"What the heck was that? Those weren't my thoughts! That wasn't me!"
I closed my eyes. My mind went blank and for a few moments I just focused on my breathing. The sounds around me became clearer. It was a strangely alluring choir, but not that overwhelming on my senses, maybe because it was coupled with sounds of pouring water. I opened my eyes and despite laying in the snow, the cold lost its meaning when I saw the creatures flying in a giant column of swirling clouds with waterfalls above me.
"This is a symphony from hell!"