Nightmares and Truth

"I stayed in hiding for the next hundred years before relocating to Albion, where I helped the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne to rule over the Domain. They were a bunch of nice fellows that reminded me of Camelot's Round Table Knights, but that's when I saw Merlin again."

"That White Mage never fails to get me angry..." growled Mavislin as the kids looked confused.

Mordred couldn't deny it, but she had to agree with Mavislin... That Merlin was indeed an annoying sight to see. But the Knight was surprised at how Mavislin had immersed herself into human history... She must've been bored.

"Do you still cry when you sleep, thinking about your friend? Or do you have nightmares when you dream about the past?" asked a little girl with white hair and purple eyes.

She looked like an average child except for a bushy white tail poking out of her dress.

The Valkyrie was caught off guard by the kid's random question, prompting her to crouch down and ask what was wrong.

"I lost my elder brother back in my old place... He was trying to protect me, but I couldn't understand. So in the end, he died in front of me... Because I refused to eat the mushrooms... Ever since then, I have nightmares whenever I try to remember my brother..."

"I wished I could see or remember him again without crying so I can remember what he'd looked like... " whimpered the child as Mavislin bit her lip.

The Valkyrie said nothing as she gently hugged the child and carried her. Mordred could see the pain in Mavislin's eyes as she tried her best not to weep. How old was that child? She couldn't have been any older than five years old... The Knight stared at the child before the Slayer spoke again.

"That child is Amalee, a kid that was the product of the Infinite Experiments held in Albion. She is only four years old," stated Bryan, refusing to appear in a physical form.

Mordred said nothing as the entire scene was frozen, allowing the Knight some time to look at the children.

"You claimed to have known about the Valkyrie's liberation of the Infinite Experiments, and yet you do not know how bad it was... Would you like me to tell you?" questioned the Slayer as his tone got furious.

Mordred nodded as she slumped her shoulders. The Knight of Rebellion had only skimmed through the news of a giant lab being uncovered by the Valkyrie but had no idea how devastating the acts were going through that area.

"It wasn't just a research lab... It was a torture zone where children were seen without souls, and adults could do as they pleased. The doctors let their imaginations wild as they did numerous experiments on the poor kids there. All for the sake of a lunatic trying to bring back the dead."

"Unfortunately, most of them were too far gone when we hit the scene. Nearly three-quarters of the facility were dead children, some in a state of delirium, some dead, and most were bones. The event started with kidnapping girls from the brothels."

"And the researchers turned them into breeders to find the perfect antidote for deadly nightshade, poison from a berry. But the doctors saw it as a chance to test the human and Mage capabilities and performed severely unethical experiments on the kids."

Mordred looked horrified as Bryan spoke of the tortures and conditions the children had to endure before the Arks had liberated the camp. The Knight clenched her fists as the scene started again, and she was left wondering if she had honestly mistaken the Valkyrie.

But another wave of anger overcame the Knight as Mavislin answered the child.

"That was long ago, so I'm okay with it already. I've had enough time to overcome the incident and move on from it. Although, I never had nightmares about it," replied Mavislin.

But I'm not, thought the Knight of Rebellion as she allowed her Aura to appear. Mordred didn't realize that she was so furious that she was crying. The Knight wiped her tears away, and her power exploded. The dream was starting to fail as Mordred regained her will to fight.

She'd had enough of the scene before her and wanted to get back into the real world. The Knight treaded forward and tried to strike at the Valkyrie but was halted as the children vanished along with her target.

This sudden change left Mordred dumbfounded as the scene turned into a barren wasteland. The grasslands were replaced with an endless sea of golden brown dirt. The skies were grey while the trees were all gone.

Mordred heard footsteps heading her way, instantly summoning her armor and blade.

"Who goes there?!" shouted the Knight, frantically trying to find the unknown person.