Lost In Paradise (finale)

"No one is revealing my secret under my nose," Teresa declared, holding Angel's head with tears in her eyes. "In the clan where I am from, they call this the *Zettai Sayonara* (Absolute Goodbye). It's when someone sacrifices themselves, and now they're gone. You know what I would call that person? *Baka*! If you don't know, it means stupid. It could never be me. Her death wasn't even necessary; she had the chance to keep her mouth shut, but she preferred to tell you something and prove just how stupid she could be."

Screams echoed in my head—the pain, the sorrow, the anguish, the agony—all because of me. The guilt, the pressure, the audacity, the rage... the pain. This is what I feared, and it happened.

I started bleeding from my nose. Angel was a good friend, and the bleeding continued while I was lost in deep thought.

"The key to winning is not fear but strength," those words echoed in my ears. "No, there is hope." I looked up at Teresa, who was smiling. "This is not a time to be scared, Anon. Teresa, you have met your doom, and I promise you this: you will not survive. It would be stupid of me to let you cling to life," I grieved as Teresa just stood there, smiling.

With mighty auras flowing through my veins, the force in the room was powerful enough to tear it down and bring back the blank abyss. My muscles grew stronger, and the wind that produced heat filled the room. My rage increased, and it was unbearable.

"Hmmm, you're getting serious now. Show me what you've got!" she shouted. "Hahaha, let me feel the rage, to its full potential. Now the battle is getting started."

The blood in me pumped faster, bursting forth, with my body wavering and quivering all over.

"Yes, yes, yes, yesss, this is ittttt!!!! This is pure power, this is the power to rule. I want it, I want it, I want ITTT!!!" she smirked as she shrieked out.

"Now it's time for me to show Master what... *coughs*," Teresa's eyes widened as she coughed again, this time coughing up blood. She looked around but couldn't place her eye on my location. A deep pain surged through her chest as she looked down to find my hand piercing through her chest.

"Ahhh!!!!" she screamed.

She looked up to see a face devoid of expression, staring directly into her eyes.

"How... how... could... H... quick. Ah... ahh," she gasped, her voice faltering. I had a lifeless and emotionless form. I couldn't comprehend it. The only thing that remained in me was my decision to destroy Teresa, who was now slipping from my grasp. Then something strange happened: her entire appearance began to change.

Her clothes started to morph, starting from her feet upward. Everything changed—her clothes, her face, her body—revealing a smallish-looking girl.

At the sight of her, I snapped out of that lifeless state. She slipped from my hand and fell, landing on nothing, as if we were in a blank abyss with no top or bottom, just floating. She looked like a girl a little older than Laura. She refused to cry but continued coughing up blood.

A less frightening voice emerged. "Master will be... disappointed. I... may not have had the strength to defeat you, but... *coughs blood* Onii-chan does." A single tear dropped before she faded away completely.

She glanced at her changing appearance. "You... are lucky. Many haven't seen my true... form. You... Ri... only have true *coughs* potential, but I... and Onii-chan... will return. Until... later, Anon. I promise... you will DIE." She completely vanished.

I couldn't believe I had just killed a child. I was in so much shock that blood started gushing down my nose again. "[The key to winning is not fear but strength]," I remembered Angel's words echoing in my head again.

"No, I have won. I have the victory. No time to pity, but how do I get out of... Aahhh!" A sharp pain struck my chest as I fell flat, tearing through the blank abyss, which shattered like glass. I plummeted into what the blank space transitioned into—a great darkness.

The pain in my chest was excruciating. I clutched my chest and kept falling until I lost awareness and consciousness. It felt like the end.

"Anon," I heard a faint voice calling, "Anon," the voice was still unclear, "Anon, please wake up *sobs*." I could feel things again and began to move.

I opened my eyes; the sun shone directly into them. I couldn't see well, but I knew there was a face over mine. I squinted to block out the sun's rays.

"Thank God you're alright, Anon." I knew that voice. I jumped up in a panic—it was Angel's. I thought I was dead, and her presence only confirmed it.

I blinked and could see clearly now. It was indeed Angel.

"Angel, life is worthless if I can't be with you," I said softly.

"I thought I lost you, Anon," she replied, weeping.

"I will always follow you, dead or alive. I don't know how I could go on without you in my life. We will build a life to—" (*shhh* she shushed me, pushing me gently).

"What are you... talking about?" she sobbed even more.

"So this is paradise? Wait, no, I don't want to die yet."

"Who said you're dead *laughs*."

"Oh... then you're the one who's dead. How am I seeing you? I think I died back there and..." (*shhh* she shushed me again).

She wiped away her tears.

"Anon, we're not dead."

"What do you mean?"

Before answering, she gave me a warm, embracing hug, which I returned.

"I realized why she didn't kill us while we were trapped in her dream world."

"You're confusing me. What do you mean?"

"Just like in a dream... Wait, tell me, have you ever had a nightmare where you die?"

"Yes, I have," I replied.

"Okay, and what happens when you die?"

"I don't know... I wake up?"

"Exactly!"

"Wait, are you saying she couldn't kill us no matter what she did? I'm confused. Then why did she bring us there?"

"Why are you always so slow, Anon? Let me explain. Hmmmm, see, just like in a dream, if you die, you wake up. It's the same in some cases where it's too intense for the body, which can cause things like heart attacks or worse. That's why she tried all those torture methods. She was trying to push us into a state of death. Since I figured that out, she locked me out... I'll admit, that's some good magic."

"Jeez, that girl is crazy. That ability should be forbidden."

"What do you mean by girl?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. After I somehow killed her—don't ask me how, I don't know—one minute I was grieving your death, the next, my hand was in her chest."

"You killed her?"

"Yes, and after I killed her, her true form appeared. It wasn't the old lady or the snake or Teresa. It was a young-looking girl."

"Yeah, and she talked about someone named Onii-chan and how he would avenge her death."

"Jeez, that means there was no need for me to wake you up."

"Wake me up? What do you mean?"

"When I saw you bleeding out here," I checked my nose and saw I was indeed bleeding, "I was so scared. So I started kicking you hard on the chest because if there's enough pain in the physical world, it can wake you up, or so I thought."

"Oh, thanks, but I'd rather be in a dream and alive than get a heart attack to wake up."

"Haha, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. We're both safe now, and that's what matters... But where are we?"

Angel responded, "Well, considering that Laura cast a spell and Teresa didn't kill us while we were trapped in her dream world—meaning she didn't know where we were—I'd say Laura cast an emergency spell to get us out of there. I would say we're LOST."

"LOSTTT?!!!!"

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