Chapter 30: Wishes and Dreams

Darkness surrounds me, and there's nothing for me to hold onto. I'm floating in a never-ending space, with no one to help me from getting out of it. Everything around me was silence, even I was silence.

Then, I saw a glowing light in front of me, making the dark space around me to run away and never come back. Its brightness was feared by the evil, and its warmth protected me from the cold. It's like an embrace, a warm embrace from someone.

The light formed into a figure. It was a figure of a woman, with silver hair that reaches to the soles of her feet. Her pale skin glowed its own light in the middle of the darkness, and her golden eyes sparkled like gems in a treasures chest.

Her beauty was visible, even from a faraway distance. I couldn't be able to see her whole body because of the long clothes she was wearing, but I caught a glimpse of her long wing ears, claiming that she was an encantor.

A golden pin carved into two angel wings can be seen at the back of her head, giving more attraction to her appearance.

Now that I started encountering threats from any direction, I started to lose trust in people that I didn't even meet before, but this time, when it comes to her, I felt comfortable. It's like she was telling me not to worry about it.

After that, she disappeared into thin air, living me alone in the darkness once more.

"Meria…"

***

"Meria!" A yell from a familiar voice brought me back to my consciousness, resulting for me to open my eyes and gain back my vision. My surroundings are still unclear, but after a good amount of blinking, it became vivid.

"Meria!" I turned my head around on top of me and saw Cainne kneeling down, holding both of my shoulders. His eyes were filled with nothing but worry. "Are you okay?"

"C-Cainne…?" I stuttered, feeling my voice cracked. Desperate to see where I am right now, I tried my best to pull myself up from lying on the ground. My friend decided to help me in getting up, pushing my back with his gentle touch.

"Thank goodness. You're fine." He said as he released a sigh of relief.

I turned my head around the surroundings, narrowing my eyes as I tried to remember where we are right now. A giant puddle of liquid is beside me, and the ceiling still dropping saps to the ground.

"W-Wha…" I couldn't find my voice as I keep turning my head around. It seems like we're still inside the cave that I found earlier, and where I encountered that man.

"Let's get out of here first," Cainne suggested, in which I nodded to agree. Then, he started pulling me up from sitting, while I let myself be light as possible for him to carry me.

My whole body was still in pain after what happened to me. I remembered him trying to kill me with his sword. If I didn't block it, then I'll be dead right at this moment.

He insisted on carrying me in a piggyback ride, even I resisted doing it. I had once loved this ride when I was a kid with my father, but it's awkward when it comes to other people now. But because I have an aching body, I don't have a choice.

After a while of running, we finally made it back to the grassy field that we were once at. The moon is now visible in the sky, along with the twinkling stars. He gently dropped me on the grass as I still felt the pain in my whole body.

"I knew that something happened." He said, his face was more serious than before. I saw his hand clutched into a fist. "I sensed a dark presence from where I stood, and I found the cave."

"Tell me…" He turned to look at me, trying to convince me to tell it through his stare. "…what happened there?"

After hearing that, I lowered my head, remembering what happened inside the cave. The sharp blade pointing at me, the devilish grin that kept me from reading what's going on in his mind…

'It's simple. I want you dead.'

"T-There was a… a daminon…" I stuttered as the memory flashes before me. My whole body was shaking out of fear from that daminon. "…he tried to kill me…"

"I-Is it because…" I added, raising my hand to hold both sides of my head, grabbing every strand of my hair. I feel scared. Not just at that time, until now, I don't know if I'm still safe or not. "I'm a cursed being… i-is that why…"

"Meria, Meria." He kept calling my name, louder every time I tried to disregard it. I don't even care. All I can think about right now is my life in the future.

I don't want to die yet. I still have a dream to reach on. I didn't even choose to become a cursed being. Who will save me? Who will keep me alive from this chaotic world that wants me dead?

"M-My life is in danger…" I whispered as a tear fell down from my eye, started flowing down to my cheeks.

"Meria!"

I snapped back to reality as I heard my name being called with the highest voice as possible. I turned around to see Cainne with a displeased face. His eyebrows furrowed and his cheeks were supposed to get red, but his pale skin kept him from doing it. He grabbed for both of my shoulders, much to my surprise, and pulled me towards him, gentle and forceful.

"It's fine now. Don't worry." He said with a slight smile on his face. It's sincere, but somehow, there's sadness behind. My tears stopped flowing all of a sudden.

"B-But…" I was about to prove to him that there is nothing fine and there's something to worry about, but somehow, I lost my voice. I'm still traumatized by my experience earlier.

"Listen, you're not alone." He said, grabbing me tighter than before, forcing me to listen to him. I didn't have a choice but to look at his eyes.

"I'm here to help you. And not just me, Dalary and Kandani are here to stay with you." He added, now with a smile that was better to see than earlier."You don't have to be alone."

"C-Cainne…" I spoke his name and started to calm myself down.

That's right. I'm not alone right now. I still have my friends beside me. No matter who was threatening me. No matter if it's the Deravon army or the daminons, I will stay alive with my friends.

***

Tomorrow came to the whole town of Zentra, and the sunlight started to wake up in the East, greeting everyone in the world good morning. The birds started flying past by the sky, and various animals started working on their feed for a new day to start their routines.

As for me, I'm also starting my morning habit, and that was to train for my magic.

"Now, this is the second and last day of training… so far," Cainne said, standing in front of me with crossed arms in his chest, a very serious expression in his face.

"Are you gonna teach me to use magic now?" I said with a slight enthusiasm in my voice.

Although I hate having this uncontrollable magic, I still have that feeling of excitement in my veins. Ever since I was a kid, I'm dreaming of becoming an encantor and have magic, so of course, I'm slightly happy.

"U-Umm… I forgot… most of what I learned about it…" He answered as he started rubbing the back of his head while averting his eyes away from me. I raised an eyebrow to him. When he noticed this, he stood straight and rested his hands on his waist, giving me a smile of determination. "…but I'll try my best."

"The first step is to meditate, I think." He said, still unsure, but I decided to listen. He instructed me to sat down on the grass, in which I followed as he also sat down. "When you say meditation, it's always about connecting with your inner self. An encantor's meditation is very much the same, but there's a catch."

"Catch?" I asked.

"We're not just trying to connect with our inner selves." He uttered, pointing his index finger with pride. "We connect with our wishes too."

"Wishes…?"

The Deravon library doesn't have this kind of knowledge since this is strictly for the encantors to know, so I'm very curious to know the culture of this race and me, not having any idea about their magic system, made me more excited to know.

"Magic, as far as I know, are fond of wishes that couldn't be known by anyone, not even those who own it." He started explaining what he meant. "Encantors failed to know their own wishes, so they rely on the magic to find it."

"Even though they are considered to be the creature of majesty, they still have flaws inside, just like anybody else." He said. Then, I lowered my head to look at my hands, in which I clutched to turn into a fist. They've been disgusted at us, humans, for a very long time. I thought that was the truth, but then, they also have their flaws.

"So… let's start with that!" Cainne yelled with energy, so I jumped at my seat, surprised to his sudden action.

"First, close your eyes, control your breathing, and never listen to your whole surroundings." He instructed. "It's easier said than done."

Without any choice, I decided to follow it, willing to control my magic. I closed my eyes, making my surroundings in complete black. I tried to calm my breath down, following a rhythm in between exhaling and inhaling. I resisted the noise of the birds and animals around me, even the wind that kept hitting me from the South.

Then, my whole surroundings changed into something else, like I was entering a dream with my consciousness fully awake, awake enough for me to understand what was happening around me.

I see various images and scenes flashing before me. Tall marbles walls painted gold were covered by red banners with gold trims and paintings of peaceful landscapes. And a sound of broken glass can be heard nearby. The moonlight hit me, knowing that it was already night time.

"Please!" A female voice yelled with desperation, pleading for something. "Not my daughter!"

I couldn't be able to see the face of the woman who just shouted since I can't move to my current position. All I know is that she was begging for mercy to someone.

Then, suddenly, the walls are fading away as well as the moon beside me, like I was falling from the edge of a cliff. After a while, I can see the window fully, but I couldn't be able to catch a glimpse of the lady.

"Noo!"