Purge of the Witch (2)

My last vision was filtered through a wall of blurry orange under the hot, wavering heat of the everlasting sun that fueled the fire stronger by the second. Drops of sweat drenched my most filthy dress littered with dirt and stains from being dragged on the ground as the air was soon washed with hot magma.

'Why did it turn out this way?' A single bead of sweat landed on my foot as I couldn't see through the smoke.

I prepared to die as I felt cold hands quickly untying the ropes with a sharp sword. He quickly replaced my body on the stake with a straw mannequin and tied the ropes again. Was this Luke? I couldn't believe this was his plan.

He carried me on his back as he teleported to the same house we were provided to live in the fifth district. This was incredibly risky as no one in the fifth district could ever discover the existence of mana. I turned my face onto the ground to embrace the cold mud ground.

The cold, refreshing air of the night came in through the opened windows as it drew me away from the heat of the fire where I was viewed as a spectacle. When I was about to get up to move closer to the window, Luke gently pushed me back with both of his hands.

"You have to stay still for this to work," He chided me.

The faint, warm glow of mana came from his hands as I felt my wounds melting under the light. My mind became fuzzier as the familiar light became stronger and stronger. I almost forgot I was stabbed multiple times in the stomach before tying the ropes made of thick hay. Everything numbed down as I felt pleasant under the kind healing spell.

My dream started off as the henchman in charge of me was stressed from the excessive demands from the village chief. He looked down at the perfect outlet to get rid of some of his stress. I felt a mad gaze on my stomach as he grabbed a dull knife from the table to stab. I didn't know how I could see this when I knew I wasn't conscious in my own body.

It was like I was a bystander, watching the scene in front of me, but helpless in doing anything that could affect it. He attempted to cleanly put all his strength into one attack, but frowned when there was less blood than he thought there would be from the dull blade. It took him several attempts for my stomach to produce a pool of blood that he wanted to see as he finally smiled.

I turned away from watching my body becoming more broken, but thankful I wasn't conscious to experience the pain. When I tried to get a closer look at my injuries, the scene faded away as something was trying to pull me back into its original place.

It was a strange feeling to find yourself gushing blood like Camila flowers blooming on the wound. It never closed as the flowers spread faster and faster with every breath. Its dried petals asked for more as it linked with the other fields on my arms and legs. Luke began to pant as his concentration wavered for a split of a second from the loss of too much mana at once. His hair, drenched with feverish sweat looked terribly beautiful under the moonlight.

A healing spell drained so much mana that normal people in the first district couldn't use it. It was impractical to the point where it easily drained half of my mana when I possessed the most mana in the first district. The only person who came close to the amount of mana I had was Luke, who was conducting an intense healing spell on my stomach.

I stared at my hair, starting to lose its colour as the light overwhelmed the darkness that used to swallow the house. The same silver hair that shined in front of me was eating my vivid red hair like a delicious meal. My eyes reflected horror at the sight of my companion disappearing into thin air like it had never existed.

By the time the light was starting to dim down, there was no trace of my dazzling cherry hair. My vision darkened into the deepest pit of the well as I fainted from my new appearance. I had never imagined that Luke's mana would ever overpower mine when I was close to death. The frightening control and precision he possessed was astonishingly powerful combined together, even with his disadvantage.

The next time I woke up, I found myself in this pretty room inside one of his many mansions. I could tell it was not the miserable times of the middle ages with all the futuristic robots outside maintaining the garden. Everything in the first district was advanced to the point that if things did not have to be done by humans, they were automated.

I could spot the large gates with the Roselia family crest embellished into the design with my great eyesight developed with the use of mana. It was a familiar sight by now with the number of times I have been stuck in his mansions that all resembled each other. Although each mansion was decorated differently, the layouts were mostly the same.

Wasn't I supposed to be in the fifth district? Why was I here?