I woke up in the middle of the night stretching my body. I haven't slept well for a long time.
My body felt relaxed. Too relaxed.
But I couldn't remember how I got home that afternoon. All I could remember was walking home after my lectures.
After that — nothing.
My head hurt badly. I tried to recall how I got back home, but all I could see was red and black light.
Then everything went blank.
I reached for my phone on the drawer beside my bed. It was off.
I don't remember turning it off.
I plugged it in. When it came on, I saw a text from Jane asking if I was okay. She said she didn't see me around after lecture. There was also a missed call from Dave.
I opened Jane's message.
I had to return home earlier. I was too tired. I'm okay, I replied.
The lie came easily.
I tapped on Dave's missed call and stared at the chat box.
You called.
Delete.
Why did you call?
Delete.
After a few seconds I typed:
Hey, I saw your missed call. Why did you call?
His reply came almost immediately.
Nothing much. Just checking up on you. I didn't hear from you.
I stared at that message longer than I should have.
Jane's message popped in again.
Goodnight.
Yh, goodnight, I replied.
I went back to Dave's chat.
Yh. I'm okay. I've just been sleeping throughout today… although I find it strange.
It's not strange. Maybe you were too exhausted, he replied.
I guess.
But something about that didn't sit right.
I walked downstairs. Mom was in the kitchen making dinner while Helen assisted her. Dad was in the living room reading the newspaper.
Everything looked normal.
I grabbed a bottle of cold water from the freezer and drank from it before sitting beside Dad.
He smiled. "You're awake."
"I guess," I replied, rubbing the back of my hair.
"Dad… do you know how I got home today?"
He frowned slightly.
"You didn't go to school today, honey."
I blinked.
"I didn't?"
"No," he said calmly, folding his newspaper. "You were in your room all day. Is something wrong?"
My chest tightened.
I clearly remember going to school.
Jane.
Dave.
The hallway.
"I'm okay," I said quickly. "Maybe I was just too tired."
But my voice didn't sound steady.
After dinner, I rushed back to my room and opened Jane's chat again.
She said she didn't see me.
I checked Dave's.
He said he didn't hear from me.
I stared at the screen.
If I didn't go to school…
Then why do I remember it?
I remember waking up.
Getting dressed.
Leaving the house.
So where was I?
I texted Dave again.
Did you see me in school today?
No, he replied.
My heart started beating faster.
How am I the only one who remembers going?
I sat on my bed staring at nothing.
Something was wrong.
And I didn't know if the problem was the day—
Or me.
******
"Why did you interfere with her fate?" Gina asked, walking toward Dylan. He stood in front of the silver throne, unmoving.
"At this moment we need her to regain her memories, not you locking them," she continued.
"That was the safest option," Dylan replied, his expression unreadable.
He had intended to erase only Clovers memory but due to an unsettling condition, he was only permitted to erase some of them hence prompting him into erasing the memory of those who saw her that day.
"We don't know what the demons are planning," he added. "The last thing we should do is endanger her."
"And is not as if she is from our world".
We shouldn't expect much from her.
The concern should be how to close the cracked barrier into the modern world.
"We are already in danger," Gina said sharply. "The clan is vulnerable. We need to convert her as soon as possible."
Dylan's jaw tightened slightly.
"It is not her duty."
"And if the demons reach her first Gina asked?"
Dylan didn't say a word.
Silence filled the hall.
Deep Inside the Abyss
"The humans are too weak. Most of them are already giving up," Zadek reported to General Kimdo.
General Kimdo walked slowly around the cell, his boots echoing against the stone floor.
"Have you injected them with the black poison?"
Painful screams filled the underground chamber. The air smelled of routen blood and rusted iron.
"Shut up!" a demon roared inside the torture room as he struck a chained human with an iron rod.
The crack echoed.
"Ahhh—!"
"Who told you to dodge?" the demon snarled, kicking the human hard in the face. The chains around his wrists rattled violently as he fell, his body scraping across the floor.
General Kimdo stepped inside.
The human barely looked human anymore. His skin was torn. His lips were split. One eye swollen shut.
"How is this one doing?" General Kimdo asked calmly.
"He's stubborn," the demon in charge replied. "But he's stronger than the others."
Kimdo crouched slightly, observing him.
The human tried to lift his head.
Their eyes met.
There was still defiance there.
Kimdo's lips curved faintly.
"That's good."
He pulled out the black substance — thick and dark, almost alive — and flicked it lightly before pressing the needle into the man's arm.
The scream that followed was not normal.
His body arched unnaturally. Veins darkened beneath his skin like spreading ink. His fingers clawed at the air as if trying to grab something that wasn't there.
The chains tightened as he convulsed.
"Interesting," Kimdo muttered.
The human's screams slowly turned into broken breaths.
Then laughter.
Low.
Unstable.
The demons in the room went silent for a second.
Kimdo stood up slowly.
"He's improving," he said, dusting his hands as if he had done nothing significant. "Lock him in the cooler. Let the poison settle."
The demons dragged the trembling body away, his laughter echoing faintly down the corridor.
"If you complete this task without mistakes, the Mistress will reward you greatly," General Kimdo added before walking out.
Behind him, the screams continued.
But something about them had changed.
*****
The Village of Urk
Isabel sat on the wooden bench in front of her small hut. A narrow river flowed quietly behind it, the water clear and calm.
She stared at nothing in particular.
The wind moved gently through her hair, but she did not react.
Zach approached carrying a bundle of firewood. When she noticed him, she stood immediately and helped him set it down.
She smiled at him.
The kind of smile that made him forget everything else.
They had lived in the village of Urk for five years.
Five years.
And Isabel looked exactly the same as the day Zach brought her from the woods.
The villagers had noticed.
They always notice.
Rose noticed the most.
Before Isabel appeared, everyone believed Rose and Zach would marry one day. It was almost certain.
Until Zach went into the forest for firewood,
And came back with a girl no one had ever seen before.
A girl with no family.
No past.
No explanation.
And eyes that did not look afraid.
The rumors started slowly.
She bewitched him.
She cannot bear a child because she is not meant to.
She does not age because she is not human.
Isabel never defended herself.
She never argued.
She just smiled.
That morning, as she prepared to serve breakfast, a knock sounded at the door.
It was sharp. Impatient.
Isabel stepped outside.
The moment she did, Rose grabbed her hair tightly.