[86.3] An Out of Body Experience

"Eek!!" A tall handsome man suddenly jumped out of the King's body, leaving it behind as a corpse. He dashed to the tunnel, "CAN'T STOP ME!"

Felix shouted at me, "FAIRY!"

I jumped out of the tunnel and grabbed him. Under my blazing hot skin, he let out a scream. I watched as he panicked in my grip, but when he looked at me, his eyes flashed with familiarity, "I-It's you!"

A sense of relief washed over me, "You recognize me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Oh thank-"

"-You're the one who snuck into my bed and made Vira think I cheated!"

"..."

My hope was crushed and demolished by disappointment.

He started lecturing me, "You're the reason why I'm even in this mess! I can't play around anymore because I'm in constant fear that Vira will capture me!"

Felix ignored him and shouted, "Why are you trying to run away!?"

He turned his panicked gaze back to Felix and cried, "First you get the strongest demon I've ever known to protect you, and now you have a fairy backing you up!?"

My face tensed, "...Not a fairy."

He ignored me, "Just what kind of human are you!?"

Felix snarled, "Stop chattering and tell me already!"

"I'm not saying anything!!! You don't scare me!"

Felix gave me a look and I increased the heat in my palms.

"OW OW OW OW! OKAY OKAY! I WILL TALK! STOP BURNING ME ALREADY!!!"

I decreased the temperature as Felix motioned to him, "Go on. Tell me why you are running."

"Duh! Our army is almost completely wiped out! If it wasn't for Aldrich, Cyrus, and the Swordmaster, we would have been all killed already! But there's no way we will be successful when Vira is our opponent… She doesn't even need an army! Especially now with Moni gone, we are pigs waiting to be slaughtered!" He shivered, "And I'm not getting caught by Vira! I have no idea what she'll do to me!!! I'm sure whatever she will do is worse than death!!!"

Felix's eyes flashed at the sound of his name, "Where is Moni now!? Alora said he's gone, but I don't believe her."

Elam quickly spilled other's secrets, "As you shouldn't. She's the daughter of Vira and is as nasty as they come! I also knew I couldn't trust her the moment I saw her. She always made me shake just like Vira does!!! Evil little-"

I increased the temperature in my palms.

"OW OW OW OW! OKAY OKAY! I'M SORRY!" As I decreased the temperature he whimpered, "Moni was absorbed into the sealing stone inside of Reika. If you want him, you'll have to find her body and get him out somehow… Although I wouldn't recommend it."

"Why?"

"He's been living on borrowed time. Time doesn't pass normally in that stone, but as soon as he leaves it he's dead."

I felt a crushing blow against my chest. As I tightened my grip, I suddenly realized it was empty.

Elam had suddenly disappeared but his voice remained, "This city is gone, so you better run away while you can!" 

Felix clenched his fists, "Where is Reika!?!"

As I looked around for him in confusion he shouted, "If you want Reika's body, it's in the Queen's suite!"

Did that little brat just sell out my body?!

How does he know Felix won't go and rip my body to shreds!?

I always knew I couldn't trust him.

A sigh escaped my lips as I looked at my empty hands, "How did he-"

Felix curled his lip, "-Demons are masters of illusions. They can even fool the Great Fairy."

"..."

Felix didn't wait for my response and reentered the tunnels. I followed after him in a panic, "Wait, how come they can say Reika but they can't call me $#!&@?"

I suddenly gasped and covered my mouth, "I-I said it. But… But how-"

"Reika is Reika. YOU aren't Reika. YOU are the Great Fairy and YOU don't exist as Reika anymore. YOU no longer have a name or a place in this world."

He emphasized each word, trying to make it hurt me as much as possible.

…And it would have been a lie to say it hadn't.

My eyes were on the floor as I followed him, "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to do anything." After walking a bit, he stopped and pressed his ear to the wall. "YOU are."

"Huh?"

He ignored me and listened for a bit before pulling his ear away, "Luckily for us, there's another battle going on. Only Della is here to protect Reika's body."

He opened his jacket to reveal the inner pocket, "Root."

A Root poked its leaves out and shook to acknowledge him.

"Draw Della away."

The Root made a salute and used a small crack in the wall to slide through.

I smiled nostalgically, "Ah… Root… I've missed the little guy. Even though they were annoying and pulled my hair-"

"Well, they ARE the children from the orphanage."

"..."

My expression stiffened.

Just before I could ask, he slapped a hand over my mouth.

Inside the room, I could hear my mother.

"Aw! How cute! You'd look great in my garden. Come here little fella!"

I heard my Mother chase the root down the hall and out of the room. When the door shut, he opened the wall.

My face stiffened more, "...Is there no one trustworthy to watch my body?"

Felix walked inside, "It's not YOUR body."

I followed him in and froze when I saw my sleeping form. Soft brown hair with each wave that shimmered blonde in the light. Pale skin and hands were placed delicately over the chest as it heaved up and down slowly.

It seemed like I was in a deep sleep.

I suddenly had a bad feeling, "I'm… I'm going to get stuck in a loop again…" 

He gave me a weird look, "Huh? A loop?"

I nodded, "Last time I saw myself, I got stuck in a loop and could only free myself when I no longer could see myself."

"For the last time, this isn't you."

I shook my head and waited for the loop to restart, but it never did. I furrowed my brow, "Last time it happened so fast… Maybe it's because my eyes are closed?"

"Stop dawdling and come here! We don't have all day!"

I hesitantly approached my body and sucked in a gasp. In the center of my forehead was a black stone bulging like hideous acne.

I grabbed my shoulders and started shaking myself, "Oi. Wake up."

Felix let out an irritated groan, "There's no soul inside, so there's no point in shaking her."

My hands paused, "...No soul?"

He pointed in frustration, "Just touch the stone and bring back Moni. Stop wasting time."

I gave him a cautious look, "Touch it?"

He nodded, "Hurry."

I hesitantly walked over and touched the black stone. In an instant, I felt my body twist and pull, being stretched in a way I never imagined. As I screamed, all I could see was the hateful look in Felix's eyes.

"Bring him back or don't come out."