Chapter Three: Death Lotus

It was only 1 AM before Seven was woken up by a gentle shake on the shoulder. As Seven opened her eyes, her slightly blurred vision could see Raijin. The one who woke her up. Seven sat up as the blanket rolled off her upper body, revealing the cold room her bedroom was. Seven shivered, only to realize her windows were fully opened. But now with clear vision, she looked at Raijin again.

"What did you wake me up for…?" Seven mumbled.

"Training." Raijin replied.

Seven would gently rub her eye before looking at him with an exhausted expression. It was obvious she didn't want to train. But her expression was also visible to Raijin. He frowned, only to grab Seven and forcefully pull her out of bed.

"WOAH-!"

"You can complain to Dr. Yen. I'm only doing my job. So don't complain to me because you can't wake up early like me."

"But I've only got a few hours of sleep!"

"You've had 8 hours of sleep. You were the first one to fall asleep."

"Oh c'mon… at least give me some time to get ready."

"I will. Just meet me outside."

Raijin soon walked out of Seven's bedroom, leaving her alone. Yet, Seven would walk the other direction to get herself ready. She slightly rushed, thinking that Raijin would get angry if she took too long. But soon, Seven rushed out of her bedroom all dressed up in her casual clothing as she exited out of Dr. Yen's place, seeing Raijin leaning against the wall. He had his eyes closed like he had fallen asleep because Seven took too long. But Raijin was really awake and only needed to rest his eyes. Seven slowly approached him, only for Raijin to open his eyes. Seven stepped back a bit, yet Raijin didn't show any awkwardness to the situation that was happening. So he walked away, as Seven followed.

Soon, they were in the forest as Raijin stopped and turned around. Facing Seven.

"Your first training starts now," he announced.

"My first training? What should I do?" Seven asked.

Raijin stared for a moment as silence soon entered the conversation. But it soon broke as he began to speak.

"You have to try and catch up with me. Once you can catch up with me, I'll have no hesitation to attack you. So your objective is to try and use offense and defense."

"That should be easy, right?"

Raijin scoffed. Which only made Seven a little worried about her first training. But her expression was filled with calmness, meanwhile on the inside she wasn't ready for what Raijin had prepared for her.

He soon turned back around, looking away from Seven as he soon began running at lightning speed. Yet, without giving any signs that he was starting, Seven ran off. Attempting to follow and catch up to Raijin. But every step she took, she was slowly going faster. Seven was only going at a hypersonic speed, but it wasn't close to Raijin's lightning speed. Yet, Seven continued running as she didn't take a break.

As Seven continued running, yet her speed began to rapidly increase as she went from massively hypersonic to lightning speed. She was able to easily catch up with Raijin as Seven soon grabbed his shoulder. Yet, both of them tripped as they went rolling down the hill.

"UWAH-!" She screamed.

The both soon landed on the ground as Raijin and Seven separated. Seven stood up as she soon realized Raijin was gone. But she didn't look because she knew that this was her next objective. Raijin will soon attack her, and she has to use any defense and offense to be able to keep going. 

But soon, Raijin would appear just right on her right. Preparing to throw a punch at her. Seven was able to immediately sense Raijin as she moved her upper body towards the left to dodge the punch. As Raijin fired the punch, Seven grabbed Raijin's wrist and tripped him before knocking him to a tree nearby. But Raijin was able to land before he hit the tree. Raijin stood up as he smirked a bit and soon got into a fighting stance.

"I see how this goes." he grinned.

"Is that so?" She said in a cynical tone.

"Hmph, give me all you got." He answered.

Seven would get into her fighting stance, yet she hesitated a little. Seven knew that if she went a little too hard, she could definitely harm Raijin by accident. But she played it cool and attempted not to injure him.

After a few moments, Seven had disappeared. Creating an illusion to distract Raijin for the next few moments. In Raijin's vision, Seven had appeared in all directions that he could see. After all, he knew all about magic and spells. He knew Seven had used an illusion, he had the right magic to counter the illusion. So, Raijin had closed his eyes as a pale green mist would start to cover the ground. But soon, the pale green mist had lifted itself up. Only to cause the illusion to disappear… but as the mist had cleared, Seven was nowhere to be seen. He'd been tricked.

Raijin looked towards his left, only to see a silhouette of Seven running around the bushes. Seven had purposely kept her footsteps loud, but as the footsteps had gotten louder, it only confused Raijin on Seven's location. But knowing Seven was at least near, he didn't put his guard down.

Seven's plan was slowly going downhill. Seven had thought she could confuse Raijin in order to get his guard down, but she was wrong. Try Harder, she thought.

Seven would run around Raijin at a far distance, so she wouldn't get caught. But once Raijin was confused about her own location, she took that chance instead of waiting for the right moment. Seven appeared behind him, throwing a punch to the shoulder. But she paused after Raijin disappeared.

"Huh? Where did he go?"

"Behind you."

Seven turned around, only for Raijin to comedically flick her head as she had fallen to the ground from exhaustion. Seven had already used a lot of energy and even tried hard to attack Raijin. But she failed.

I should've tried harder… She thought.

Raijin grabbed her hand and pulled her up, yet it took a few seconds because Seven was tired from all the energy she used for her first attempt. But Raijin didn't seem surprised or proud. All he had was that straight expression he always had on every time. It slowly bothered Seven, but she tried hard to push it away. Thinking Raijin probably had a hard past. But it continued to bother her like an alarm clock.

"How did you know-?" She asked.

"I learn all magic and abilities. Your illusion is a simple one, so I used a mist to overpower and clear your illusion." He answered.

"Hmph, lucky you…" Seven mumbled.

"I told you to give me all you got. You can't call me lucky if you didn't go harder." He continued.

Seven would shrug. She had a reason to hold back. She didn't want to harm anyone anyways.

As hours passed, Raijin has been training ever since the early morning to the afternoon. They both had returned back to Dr. Yen's place, but apparently Owen and Yuka were gone.

"Where did Owen and Yuka go?" Seven asked.

Dr. Yen would elegantly sip her green tea she had in her left hand. Dr. Yen surely took her time before answering Seven's question. But soon, Dr. Yen had set her cup of green tea down as she stared at Seven.

"Owen and Yuka went to the park… and I see Raijin followed my orders on training you."

"You told Raijin to train me-?"

"Yes."

"Why is that?"

"I knew you went to the mirror realm to fight the shadow."

"..."

Silence entered the room. Seven was sure that she wasn't followed. She was the only one awake. Yet all she could feel was confusion and a slight feeling of fear. Hidden inside of Seven. Dr. Yen's words shot Seven like a pistol. Something Seven would never expect.

But without even knowing, Dr. Yen smiled like the shadow that had smiled at Seven in the Mirror Realm. Only for her to be showing her true form. Dr. Yen's gentle appearance became demonic. She was the shadow, all along. Seven backed up in fear. She had never realized she slaughtered Dr. Yen in the Mirror Realm. And soon, Dr. Yen will have her revenge. Seven tried hard to activate her abilities, but they no longer worked. She ran out of the kitchen, throwing the shelves and books, anything down onto the floor to give herself some time to run. Seven couldn't use her abilities no matter how hard she tried. She must've wasted them all at the training… unless…

"Come back, Seven! We're all waiting for you-!" The shadow screamed in a demonic manner.

"No!" Seven shouted.

She continued to run. She didn't stop, but as she exited out of the house and continued running, she only found herself back into Dr. Yen's place. The entire place looked confusing. Almost like the mirror realm, but every hallway Seven tried to run into, only led her back to the entrance.

What's happening-?! Why can't I escape!

. . .

Seven's room was filled with vines and flowers. But the ground was covered in green mist. Seven was found, laying on her bed. Trembling. It turns out, Seven is stuck in her own dreams. But because the shadow has been slain, who?

A young short and slimmed woman would slowly approach Seven. All her body was covered in the beautiful pink and yellow flowers and the healthy brown twigs that have been turned into a short dress. Her legs were slightly surrounded by the same vines that were all over Seven's room. Her long pale green hair and golden eyes were very visible. Yet, the golden flower crown had only shown her innocence to this world. But something was off. As the young woman had an elegant and beautiful nature-like existence, there was something behind. Something darker.

The young woman was now standing next to Seven. But the young women softly smiled, in a way most men would adore. Her innocent smile can charm the entire world. But it was all erased when the young woman showed her split personality.

The young woman's pale green hair had become black, as her eyes including her sclera had become pitch black. Her smile slightly widened as drops of blood came out. Her innocent look no longer looked innocent. But a horror in a nightmare.

"She hasn't awakened. The plan is working. The death lotus will wait for her." Amaris said. The split personality of the young woman, Azura.

Amaris smiled, knowing that she will win this time. She would win for the death of Moriti. The shadow that was slaughtered by Seven. The truth is, Amaris and Azura were sent by someone else. They were sent to target Seven and kill her. But not knowing or having any information on Seven, they were slowly targeting her. Amaris and Azura belonged in a different universe, a universe full of nature and a world with no pollution. Yet, Azura was the Goddess of the Eternal Nature in that universe. But because of her split personality, Amaris was created by the corruption as she was stated to be the Goddess of the Eternal Night. But knowing Azura and Amaris had no choice, they were both sent to eliminate Seven.

Amaris would slowly lift her arms up as a dark sphere would appear in front of her. Yet Amaris would twitch her fingers as the dark sphere would create a crystal lotus. But it wasn't just a crystal Lotus. It was the Death Lotus.

The Death Lotus, or the Heart of the Death God, is created as its appearance takes the shape of a large black colored lotus. But, when the Death Lotus has been planted into the target, the Death Lotus will do the rest of its job by slowly killing the target. The Death Lotus is the fate of others, and one of the most dangerous weapons. Amaris, has been noted to be the only user of the Death Lotus.

Amaris would slowly lift the Death Lotus up, only to be interrupted by a pounding at the door. She was running out of time. So Amaris had quickly summoned the Death Lotus away as she slightly twirled, escaping the trouble she could've been into if she stayed any longer.

Meanwhile, the door was soon cut in half as Raijin, Owen, Yuka, and Dr. Yen ran into Seven's bedroom. All four of them had quickly observed the room before they went looking for Seven.

"Did you find her?" Owen asked.

"She's over here!" Dr. Yen shouted.

Owen and Raijin ran towards the sound of Dr. Yen's voice as they saw Seven. Laying on the bed. Seven was stuck in a sleeping spell. But it wasn't just a normal sleeping spell. The sleeping spell Amaris had used was a dream where all of Seven's expectations happened. Seven never expected anything to happen. Which is why soon, if Seven stayed any longer, she won't be able to wake up ever again.

Dr. Yen would place her hand on Seven's forehead as Seven's temperature was rapidly increasing. But due to Dr. Yen knowing the Dream Spell Amaris had used, Dr. Yen took out a small wet towel before wrapping it into a long rectangular shape and placing it onto Seven's forehead to keep her cool.

Raijin and Owen looked at all the vines that were in her room as they would fire multiple blasts to get rid of the vines. But the vines would only regenerate themselves. Making it impossible to destroy and getting rid of them completely.

"What the-"

"I know whose vines they are…" Dr. Yen mumbled.

"Who?" Yuka asked.

It went silent. It was clear that Dr. Yen was slightly angered at the fact someone had attempted to harm a close one to her. Dr. Yen didn't want to go through with this horrible thing again. Especially someone she had always promised herself to protect. But with a big sigh to cover her fear from trauma, she turned to the three with a calmed expression. An expression that was hiding the anger she was burning on the inside.

"Azura. The God of the Eternal Nature." She replied.

. . .

When Li Yen was young like Yuka. Li Yen had long black hair, pale skin like a ghost, and her heterochromia eyes of the colors white and black. Li Yen was a lonely child who would get made fun of because of her ghostly appearance and her abilities. Li Yen didn't have any friends. Not until she met a boy who was around her age. His name was Haoyu. When Li Yen and Haoyu first met, Haoyu was very talkative as Li Yen didn't talk very much.

"Why are you so quiet?" Haoyu asked.

Li Yen slightly blushed, but not in a flustered way. She was just too shy to talk about her silent personality. But Li Yen was scared, thinking that if she told him what others thought about her, he would turn his back on her. So Li Yen stayed quiet.

"Hey, come on! You don't need to be scared about it? How bad could it be?" He begged.

Li Yen looked at Haoyu. His expression was full of curiosity, but his gentle and warm smile only made Li Yen feel bad. But, she didn't know what tone she would speak in. Although, she wanted to answer quickly. So she took a deep breath.

"Because of my… ghostly appearance…" she said with a soft spoken voice.

Haoyu's eyes widened a little. It was the first time he heard her speak. Haoyu didn't react in what Li Yen expected as Haoyu only smiled and giggled. Which made Li Yen surprised. For most of her young childhood, insults and assaults were thrown at Li Yen because of how different she was to everyone else in her village. But as Haoyu, being the first one to accept Li Yen, it could've possibly changed Li Yen's life. Forever.

"Do you want to play with me?"

"... Why do you want to play with me?"

"Because, I don't like people who are alone. I think people don't deserve to be alone."

Haoyu reached his hand out for Li Yen's hand. But all Li Yen could think about was how he was the only one who accepted her even if she was different. It took her a second to think whether it was a good idea to follow him. But, Li Yen gently held his hand. Only to be pulled forward as Li Yen and Haoyu spent the rest of the day playing in the fields. For once in her life, she felt happiness. But as playing in the fields turned to days, it went to years.

Li Yen and Haoyu were now 18 years old. But as usual, Li Yen headed to the fields to meet Haoyu there. But something was different. She didn't feel the aura of Haoyu as the fields felt empty. Li Yen looked everywhere in the fields, but she didn't find Haoyu anywhere. Haoyu had told Li Yen where he'd live. So her next location was to Haoyu's place.

So Li Yen ran off, she didn't stop even though her feet and legs began to hurt. But as she made it to Haoyu's home, she busted the door open. Li Yen ran upstairs, up to Haoyu's bedroom. As she entered his bedroom, she found Haoyu. Laying on the bed as vines were around his bedroom. But as Li Yen approached Haoyu in silence, she realized that Haoyu wasn't breathing.

"Haoyu-!" She screamed.

Li Yen ran for help. But by the time Haoyu was rushed to the medics, it was too late. Haoyu had passed away. Li Yen waited in Haoyu's home. Waiting for his return, but as she explored his home… she saw the Death Lotus that was laid next to Haoyu's body when she saw him. Li Yen approached it, but she didn't realize how much danger she could be. Knowing how dark the aura was, she slowly picked the Death Lotus up with her bare hands.

The Death Lotus was filled with corrupted energy. Li Yen soon dropped it after having the feeling of danger increase. But just right when she picked it up, she realized the cause of Haoyu's death. The killing flower had taken Haoyu's life.

Li Yen had attended Haoyu's funeral. But that day forward, she came to Haoyu's funeral every single day. She'd bring flowers and even small gifts to his gravestone. Li Yen spent hours trying to try and get over Haoyu, but she couldn't because Haoyu was her first friend ever. But, Li Yen never got to confess her love to Haoyu. Which only took Li Yen in grief. Li Yen was able to communicate, but she wanted to stay quiet. She thought she was the cause for Haoyu's death. But Li Yen would never be able to know the truth.

But after Haoyu's funeral, Li Yen had become more cold-hearted and quiet. Maybe for the rest of Li Yen's life, she would be able to see Haoyu again. Someday.

. . .

Seven sat down in defeat, she couldn't run away. She couldn't use any of her strength or abilities. But Moriti was getting closer and closer. Seven didn't have any time to take a break or be in despair. But it was too late. Moriti was in front of Seven, in the form of Dr. Yen. She slightly lifted Seven's chin up to see the defeat in Seven's face. Moriti chuckled, but she let go as she walked away from Seven. In her dreams, she couldn't be harmed. Which only led Seven to be suspicious of where she was.

"What the… why didn't she attack me when she had the chance to-?" Seven thought.

Seven stood up. She wasn't sure on how she should react to this, but the first thing she had on her mind was to check everything. And so she ran. Running around the house. Looking for everything that could be a sign that this world wasn't real.

But she was soon interrupted by Yuka, who was standing in front of Seven. Yuka had a miserable face. But Seven couldn't turn her back away from Yuka.

"Seven…" Yuka sniffled.

Seven stared at Yuka as she frowned in guilt.

She's just a little child… Seven thought.

"Please come play with me. I'm lonely."

"I see… It's alright Yuka. I'll play with you so you won't be lonely anymore."

Dr. Yen's place soon returned to normal instead of millions of reflections and tricks luring Seven to places she didn't want to be. But Yuka gently grabbed Seven's arm with her soft hands as she began to lead Seven to Yuka's bedroom.

As they entered Yuka's bedroom, it was a lot more different than it was before. Instead of shelves of books and collections of jewelry, Yuka's room was bright pink as the floors were wood. There were no shelves of books, or collections of jewelry. There was a dollhouse leaning against the wall. But Yuka's room looked like it had slightly become bigger. Although, Seven shrugged it off. Thinking the room changed and she never noticed.

Meanwhile, on the outside of Dr. Yen's place. It was no longer Dr. Yen's place. There were vines, many different kinds of flowers, and a green mist covering the grounds that once used to be dead grass because there were dead corpses buried under that ground. 

It was Azura's home now. Azura was able to control anything she wanted. But because Seven was lured to follow the dream, Azura would be able to fulfill her mission.

To be continued.