In the rapidly flowing darkness, I was floating freely. I had a shape, but no clear form—adrift in a vast darkness, with a faint red tint bleeding across the edges of the sky. 'The pain, it's gone.' That single thought echoed through my mind, and something about my surroundings made me understand. 'Ah, I'm dead.' Suddenly, I felt a sadness in my very soul. I didn't want to die; I wanted to grow. To become someone better than who I left the planet as.
'But, where am I? Is this hell?' I felt... alone; no one was there, and I couldn't make a sound or move a muscle. 'Guess no one will miss me anyway.'
This was truly how I felt, but it saddened me.
It seemed like hours, days, weeks, and maybe even months; just floating. The passage of time felt so slow to me. I hated it. I felt like I would be like this forever, and that was where the true pain came from.
While floating, a sudden light shone right where my heart should be. It was a soft ball of light—warm. I hadn't felt anything the entire time I was here, but this sensation felt amazing. As I embraced the feeling, a sudden, angelic voice called out to me.
"Wake up. Come to me."
The angelic voice I'd heard before dying... it was calling out to me—wanting me. I could feel a longing in the very depths of my own soul. I needed to get out; I wanted to go to the voice.
This feeling enveloped me completely. The light shrouded my body before it began to flow outwards. 'Don't leave me alone...' I said from my heart. The light began to break through the red sky above. "You will never be alone again." This was the last thing I heard before the red sky that held me trapped, cracked, and shattered. A sudden cold sensation hit me as stars struck my eyes from above. Beautiful.
____+____
Having brought the cocoon back, instead of bringing her to the medical facility, they brought her to the arena range. It was there for quite some time. The area looked like a flat mountain surface with many tall rocks and hills surrounding the epicenter. Reika followed behind Cassian, walking in with an obviously annoyed gaze towards the cocoon. "Why would she help this human, especially like this? It's obvious this girl will only be a burden to our Mistress."
Reika's cold but evidently upset voice rang out to Cassian as he was finished checking on the cocoon's state before standing back up. He had a questioning look on his face before turning his head to Reika. "I have no clue as well. All we can do is trust her judgment and hope that this one can become of use to her."
Cassian said this in a straightforward manner to get the point across: 'We shouldn't be too hasty to judge.' He rested his left wrist on the pommel of his sword and gave a subtle nod to Reika.
Footsteps echoed from the highest rock, and at its peak was a woman with a butler and a maid beside her. She sat down on a throne that rested at the tip of the mountain. Her long white hair and rose pink eyes peered down at the 2 figures and the cocoon. While glancing, a soft glow radiated from her chest before the same glow spread from the cocoon in the same place. "Prepare yourselves." That was all she said before a soft smile spread across her face.
Cassian and Reika turned around, stepping back a bit. Cassian slightly unsheathed his broadsword with his left hand, and Reika pulled out a thin wand. With a crack and shatter, the top of the cocoon broke away; a faint pink-haired figure emerged from its depths and stood up.
____+____
As my body stood up, I could feel a breeze across my skin. I was completely naked; that much was obvious. But despite that, my eyes could only rest on the sky above me. It was night with the stars shining across it ever so beautifully. Many purple and black clusters swirl slightly in the mix of the stars and the moons' glow at the center of it all. It was magnificent to the point that it took my breath away.
I then dropped my head, turning it to my right, only to see two distinct figures standing in preparation for something. One was a pretty tall guy with short brown hair and a slightly rugged look. He had a mustache and a goatee, but he still appeared somewhat young. Next to him was a black-haired girl with a cold look in her eyes, as if she was staring at something disgusting. 'But isn't she looking at me?'
The girl was lean with a beautiful figure, and she was holding a stick. I stared at them while trying to assess the situation. I was naked, in front of two random people for no apparent reason. On top of that, I was on a stone ground with red shards spread everywhere.
"H-Hey, where am-" [THUMP]. A feeling in my throat began to burn. It hurt so much. I fell to my knees with a cough forcing its way out of my mouth. I held my stomach as the same burning feeling began to spread throughout my stomach. 'What is happening?!'
"Hunger." A cold voice rang out as the black-haired girl spoke out. I looked up with a trembling gaze, and my jaw clenched. This was hunger? But no hunger had ever felt like this before. I held my chest, wheezing with my mouth, feeling dry.
I wanted something..craving it. It wasn't just any old food, yet I couldn't put my finger on it. I was hungry yet thirsty, and my eyes continued to flash a deep red as they burned. A faint smell whipped across my nose. My eyes widened at the smell. It was delectable. I looked up, my vision far better than it ever was, and in the distance I noticed three people.
I looked past them all with my eyes landing on the maid. Why did she smell so good? My mouth watered, and my body staggered upward. Something inside me screamed at me to feast. That one thought drove me to my feet, and in one swift motion, I dashed forward.
I had moved past the two who stood in front of me. Although far and high, in my mind, I knew I would reach her. Nothing was gonna stop me. That simple thought. That instinct. It took me over entirely.
Suddenly, my body crashed into something. It was invisible, a barrier? I turned with a feeling of anger. Someone was trying to stop my consumption. Block my way to my food...they had to die. In the distance behind me stood the black-haired woman with a black symbol at the edge of her wand. She stared at me, her right leg behind her left. Her right hand was pointing at me, wand raised. Her left hand was resting at her side. She had made this somehow, and to get past...I felt I needed to kill her.
As I ran at her, she didn't seem to hold an ounce of fear in her eyes. Just the cold look of disgust and annoyance. A maniacal laugh came from my mouth, uncontrolled and wild. I slung my right arm around the girl's face. My sharp nails reached for her very face. That beauty, that perfect mask...I wanted to erase it.
[KLAANNGG]
A sword intercepted my hand, the flat side of the blade pushing me back. My head trailed to the person holding it. The brown-haired, rugged-looking man from before. He had stopped my attack with one hand and a simple gesture with his broadsword. He swiped his blade downward, standing in front of the woman. He had a dangerous look in his eyes, and in that moment, I felt something past my hunger.
Fear.
True Fear.
He had this aura radiating from his very being, and my body shook at the pressure. I was trembling, but my mind, I couldn't think properly. I needed food. I wanted them to die. ['MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE. MOVE!!!!']
My mind could only think of that before my body leaped off the ground, jumping directly at the man. My arm swiped downward, and a crater was left from my initial jumping point. I wanted to crush him, and with one movement, my right arm tried to split him with no mercy.
The man, however, turned the left side of his body with a pivot, clutching the hilt of his sword and stabbing me with one swift motion with his right arm. Using the force of the stab, he pivoted his right foot and slammed me into the ground with the blade pushing through my shoulder and the ground. I couldn't move. A wailing sound echoed from my voice as if I were crying.
"Control yourself." It was all he said to me in a cold tone. He looked down at me with a terrifying gaze. He stood there with his hand on his blade and his foot on my chest. I began heaving, feeling the pressure from the gaze, and my mind began to clear from the fog that once shrouded it.
I felt that had I not listened, he would have killed me without a second thought. I stopped moving around and simply looked up with that same burning feeling in both the pit of my stomach and the back of my throat.
____+____
"I knew this was a bad idea," Reika said with a sigh as she put the wand downwards, having watched Cassian subdue Elise. She felt disappointed about the whole thing and simply thought killing the girl would do them all a favor. "We should have just let her die." She said, annoyed.
"Enough, Reika." A cold tone radiated outward as footsteps echoed from the direction of the mountain. It was the sound of 3 different people walking towards the group.
"But, Mistress Nocturna. She-" A sudden cold gaze was cast on Reika. Had she continued this plea, it would have become quite the problem, and she felt that quickly. Going quiet. The white-haired woman then got on her knees near Elise's head. She propped the top of her head on her knees and gazed down at the girl.
She simply watched—then smiled at Elise with a slight head tilt, the two looking at each other. The girl then began to stroke Elise's head softly, brushing faint pink strands from her face.
Both Reika and Cassian looked at their Mistress with a surprised look, but quickly fixed their gazes. Cassian pulled his sword from Elise's shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain before sheathing it and stepping away. The butler and maid stood on each side of her with their heads looking down and eyes closed.
____+____
After regaining my senses, I felt this sharp pain in my shoulder, and it hurt a lot. However, after feeling a faint hand on my head, the pain washed away. My eyes made contact with the eyes of a beauty unmatched by anything I have seen before. We stared at each other for a bit before the itch in my throat made itself apparent again, causing me to wail.
"Ah, the pain. It won't stop..." My voice sounded raspy and pained. The girl rubbed her fingers through my hair, then said, "Shhh...everything will be alright." She snapped her fingers. The young brunette in the maid outfit next to her walked over and got to her knees.
The maid rolled up her left sleeve and pulled her wrist forward. She then waited with her head tilted and eyes closed once again. I looked at the maid, then the woman. She soon gave me a nod of her head to go ahead, and with that, I grabbed the maid's wrist and began drinking.
The girl winced with a slight moan that burst from her mouth. I, however, ignored it as, for some reason, this blood I was drinking just tasted delicious. I couldn't let go and kept consuming more and more as a couple of minutes passed. Soon, a hand was placed on the girl's wrist and another on my forehead.
"That's enough. Let her go, come on." The woman said with her warm tone. I nodded, letting the maid go despite not wanting to, and she quickly fell backwards with constant hitched breaths escaping her mouth. She had gone pale and passed out due to the blood she had lost. The quiet butler who looked to be quite old came around to lift her off the ground.
He gave a bow before leaving to take the maid to rest. As the two walked away, I muttered with a clearer voice. "Who are you?" The woman giggled at this question before once again moving her hand through my hair and answering. A smile crept across her face. "I am Aurelia Nocturna. Your wife."
"Huh. HUH?!"
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Author's Note: Hey! Author here. Thank you for reading this chapter. If you have any tips or ideas for me, just let me know in the comments! I hope you enjoy more of the story in the future!