Another Dream

Riona went to sleep with mixed feelings, mostly because her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. That night, she dreamed of an incident from six months ago, when she and Soren were trapped in the Champion Mountains.

It was her first close encounter with him.

She had gotten separated from her main group, while Soren had specifically come to hunt her down.

Both lost in the vast snowy mountains, she had held a knife to his throat, intending to kill him. But he, cunning and sly, convinced her that she couldn't escape alone and suggested they look for a way out together.

She believed his lies, only to find that he easily discovered a way out and then captured her.

Soren tied up her hands and feet, carrying her and throwing her into a dark, deserted cave.

Riona had heard many terrifying rumors about Soren. They said he didn't like to kill his victims outright, preferring to torture them slowly, like peeling off their skin bit by bit, or severing limbs and then stitching them back...

In the dimly lit cave, facing such a twisted, cruel, and deceitful man, Riona was terrified and couldn't stop yelling, "Let me go..."

Soren, dressed in white, squatted in front of her and repeated a phrase she had said before, "See, this is the difference between you and me. We people of the Northern State never push someone to their ultimate end..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, how kind..." He laughed, his long finger lifting her chin in a sinister, mocking gesture. "So, regret not stabbing me now?"

Riona turned her face away, gritting her teeth, and cursed him, "You despicable and shameless pig."

Soren looked regretfully at his hand which she had pushed away, and suddenly began unbuttoning her collar.

Riona felt a chill down her spine and struggled desperately, shouting, "What are you trying to do?"

Soren leaned close to her face, his tone mocking to the extreme, "Dragging a beautiful prisoner into a cave, what do you think I'm going to do? Since I've been called shameless, might as well be a bit more shameless..."

Riona exclaimed, "Soren Lyx!"

Soren responded, "Yes, I'm here."

"..."

Realizing her struggles were futile as her collar was completely torn open, Riona's eyes narrowed, her face a mix of disheveled shock, "You might as well kill me! Or I swear I'll get back at you!"

But Soren seemed indifferent, spraying his hot breath all over her neck. "How can I possibly force myself to end the life of such a beauty?"

As his fingers traced her collarbone and hot tears rolled down, he laughed. Then he wiped her tears while making his cold remarks, "What's the matter, Vice-captain Elex? You really are crying, aren't you? Your words would be a joke if it got out. Tsk, Vice-captain Elex of the Northern State, crying in front of me."

Riona wanted to say something, but swallowed her words.

"Don't cry, I'll be gentle."

Unable to move, Riona closed her eyes in despair, thinking it was just a flesh wound, like being bitten by a dog.

And she did get bitten. Her collarbone was enveloped by his warm, wet lips, followed by a lick of his tongue and then a sharp pain. A drop of blood seeped into her undershirt.

But that was it. After biting her, Soren let her go, wiping the blood from his lips with a gentle smile, "Just a small punishment for a prisoner. Not too much, right?"

Riona didn't respond. Soren began to untie her, saying, "Today, it's just a small lesson. Remember, mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself. Got it?"

While he spoke, Riona flipped over, grabbing the machete with incredible speed and pointing the blade at Soren.

Soren, unarmed, didn't show fear. "Tsk, ungrateful little thing, so heartless..."

Riona, not bothering to fix her collar, just gripped the handle tightly, sweat dripping from her forehead. "Today you spared me, so I'll spare you too. But next time, I will kill you."

Soren brushed some dry grass off himself, still smiling. "Well then, I'm looking forward to the day."

"..."

"There's no such thing as purely right or wrong in this world."

"At least on this land, at this moment, I am doing the right thing, and you are doing it wrong. Next time, I will kill you."

Unexpectedly, their next meeting didn't go as she planned. Now, she was unable to kill him, and as if it weren't bad enough, he even ended up saving her. Her then harsh words became a joke.

Riona, half-asleep, was startled awake by a slight noise in the early morning.

Half-asleep, Riona was jolted awake early in the morning by a slight noise.

The sound of rain boots in mud.

A lot of people had arrived outside the old house...

Riona, with her years of training, was quick to wake and alert. She immediately opened her eyes to the sound and instinctively grabbed the knife beside her.

Sensing Riona's movement, Soren woke up, looked down at her, and gestured for silence.

Riona whispered, "Someone's coming. They seem to have entered from the back door of the house. We can't see them from this balcony..."

Soren, unconcerned, closed his eyes again and even stroked her hair, "Relax, close your eyes, sleep."

Riona was puzzled.

She figured that the group was about a dozen strong. In these apocalyptic times, one must always be on guard, as sometimes people can be more dangerous and fearsome than zombies.

Riona hid her knife-holding hand behind her back, her eyes fixed intently on the spiral staircase's entrance. Soon enough, a thin man with a sharp face peeked out, then disappeared in a flash, yelling down to the others, "There are people upstairs..."

Downstairs in the lobby, a burly man with a thick beard, frowned and kicked the scout. He demanded, "What people? Speak clearly!"

"Just a man and a woman, both sleeping on the couch..."

The bearded man slung a machete over his shoulder and asked roughly, "Just two of them?"

The thin man, wary, nodded. "Yes, just two..."

Someone from the group speculated, "Just two of them, and they dare to sleep in a house in this dangerous area? They might be from one of the bases..."

Another countered, "Impossible, bases move in teams, not just two people!"

"Then they must have guns. We need to be careful..."

The bearded leader pointed at a few, instructing, "You guys lead, you follow. Let's go up and check it out!"