An emotional night

I found myself standing in the midst of an empty space, surrounded by an endless expanse of white void. The surface beneath my feet seemed non-existent, yet I could distinctly feel that I was standing on something substantial. As I attempted to stomp my foot, a distinct tapping sound echoed through the emptiness.

Where the hell am I?

"Carillus" My name was suddenly softly whispered in the most angelic voice, like a gentle breeze caressing my ears, not to mention the voice was so oddly familiar.

I turn myself towards the sound, and there... stood the figure of my mother, her entire body was glowing, as if she's an angel herself. Also her face remained blank, devoid of any trace of emotion.

"Mother..." was all that escaped my lips. Despite the countless questions swirling in my mind, I found it difficult to decide which one to ask first.

Where am I?

What brought me here?

Why are you here?

Before I could finally ask her one of the questions in my mind, she suddenly asked, slightly catching me off guard, "Why?"

"Why?" I repeated after her, confusion swelling up inside of me. It's as if she expects me to have all the answers when she's the one I want to question.

"Why did you abandoned your home? Your life? Even me?" Her questions caught me by surprise once again, and they stung like needles driven through my chest.

Me? Abandoned her?

N-No! that's not true, I would never do such a thing.

At this point, mother was already tearing up, her face is slowly twisting into rage in each passing second.

"Why?!" she screamed, her shrill voice piercing both of my ears. Despite the strange sensation, I didn't feel any pain.

"I d-didn't.." I stammered, taking a few steps back from her.

"Do you know how hard it has been for me to continue life without you now?!" Her hands were practically pulling her hair, her face contorted into an ugly mix of anguish and rage.

I tried to open my mouth and speak, but no words seemed to leave my mouth.

"First your father, and then-" she pulled her hands from her hair and pointed a finger at me, "You!"

I took a step back and accidentally stumbled on my own feet, my butt landing on the invisible ground below. She then stepped ever closer, her glare boring deep into my soul.

I attempted to crawl away from her, but my body felt frozen in place, not a single muscle responding to my commands.

Shit! What the fuck is going on?!

"I hate you... I wish I hadn't met your father," she spat, her glare never leaving mine "And I wish you had never been born in the first place," she finally and lastly added, her words heavy with resentment and malice.

My heart sank at this... while my eyes widened on it's own.

What did she just say?

"M-Mother?" I finally blurted out, a part of me desperately hoping that I had just misheard her.

Then, in an instant, she charged towards me, both her palms growing open as they moved to wrap around my neck, all the while screaming in the process.

I closed both of my eyes, slowly accepting what was about to happen to me.

Suddenly, the screaming stopped, and I felt her presence vanish in front of me. As if on cue, when I opened my eyes, she was gone, replaced by a figure standing at a distance in front of me.

Who the hell-

"Wait, that is.." I muttered as I finally recognized the ragged appearance of a miner I have seen before, his back is also facing towards me.

But where had I seen this miner before? He seemed so familiar, yet when I tried to search my mind for any memory related to this mysterious figure, I came up with nothing.

In an ungraceful manner, the figure suddenly turned; his face was pale as a ghost, his eyes empty, and blisters dotted around his face. But what truly captured my gaze was the large gash stretching across his neck, while stains of dried blood around the cut were clearly visible even from this distance.

"Sh-Shit..." At this point, fear had frozen me in place, and my trembling limbs were the only parts of my body in motion.

Now a fucking zombie?... Is this some kind of a never-ending nightmare?

Without warning, the 'zombie' suddenly bolted towards me, his body swaying uncontrollably, emitting a deep gurgling voice at the same time.

No longer able to contain my fear, I began to scream, my voice echoing all around me.

As the 'zombie' closed in, only a few meters away, its aggressive stance poised to strike and claw at any moment, I suddenly found myself jolting awake, screaming, and staring at the familiar ceiling of our shed.

My sudden, piercing scream roused the sleeping group of miners around me. Their groggy faces displayed a mix of confusion, annoyance, and even fear.

At this point, I finally stopped myself, gazing at the miners before me, and then lowered my head. A sense of embarrassment and guilt then washed over me.

These miners badly needed their rest, but I took it away from them...

Silence enveloped the room, broken only by the hushed mutterings of a couple of miners nearby. The sound of my rapid heartbeats was the only other thing I could hear.

Then, I felt the presence of two miners make their way in front of me, despite recognizing them for their familiar scent, I didn't dare lift my head up, my sights only covering the rough and dirty ground beneath me.

In a sudden motion, I felt the familiar hand of Little Fish rest on my right shoulder, his hand full of warmth and affection.

I wiped the cold sweat from my face and shakily looked up, meeting the smiling face of Little Fish. Behind him stood Arde, his face etched with concern. Around me, a few miners had gathered, wearing expressions mirroring Arde.

"Carillus, it's okay.." Little Fish's words were spoken in the most basic Artanian. I find myself slightly proud for understanding him, and also thankful for my own decision to start learning the Artanian language in the first place.

As I gazed into his kind eyes, I couldn't help but feel on the verge of tears as memories of my experiences since arriving in these lands flooded my mind. The beatings by the first men I encountered, the theft of my pendant by that wretched commander, the brutal treatment in the dungeon, the abuses I endured in the quarry, the gnawing hunger, and the painful deaths I had witnessed all came rushing back.

Not to mention my dream; every word my mother said about me... she was right. It's my fault; I left her, I abandoned her. There were even times when she didn't cross my mind. The state she's in, in my dream, is probably the state she's in back home... Yet despite all this, I really miss her. I miss her scent, her cooking, her voice, everything about her.

I want to be in home right now, I would kill anything just to return home and be with my mother... this is just so incredibly cruel, snatching me away like this. It's enough to drive someone mad... I'm even surprised I've kept everything to myself up until now.

Maybe, just maybe... it's finally okay to let everything out. To release all these emotions I've been bottling up. I know it's only going to ease a bit of the weight I've been carrying. It's a small help, but a help nonetheless.

As if reading my thoughts, Little Fish nodded his head, his eyes full of care and kindness.

Wasting no time, I finally let the tears form. First, it was just small droplets, until it eventually turned into a small river, my hands now clutching the fabric of Little Fish's clothes.

Then in a sudden manner, Little Fish closed in and wrapped his arms around me, his warmth spreading across my entire body, this prompted me to cry even more, draining myself from tears.

The emotional silence lasted for at least half an hour before I finally detached myself from him, I was then surprised to find out that I had soaked the front of Little Fish's clothes with my tears.

Seemingly sensing the expression on my face, Little Fish chuckled and began patting me on the shoulder, saying something which I barely interpreted as going outside for a while.

As Little Fish led me towards the exit, embarrassment gripped me once again and I avoided the gazes of every miners inside the shed, including Arde.

Finally arriving outside, Little Fish began to lead me somewhere under the cover of the night. Despite this, I didn't try to question him; I simply followed out of curiosity, as if he could even understand me if I tried to ask him something.

I finally understood his intention when we stopped in front of a familiar building; the pub, and to my surprise, it's still open.

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CHAPTER DONE!!