“I warned you not to follow.”
Penelope’s hand gripped Konehl-Ghervil’s shoulder tightly, lifting her into the air with an almost savage strength, regardless of her struggles.
“Who exactly are you?!”
Watching her companion being devoured before her very eyes, Konehl-Ghervil could no longer suppress her fury, her voice a sharp accusation.
“The eldest daughter of the Cambaton family, the town’s doctor, or perhaps everyone here. In short… certainly no friend.”
“What is your purpose…?”
Hm?
The woman in robes paused for a moment, then extended her other hand, seizing the girl’s neck with a sudden, fierce grip.
“Do not attempt to resist. Believe me, it will be utterly futile.”
A fierce sensation of suffocation abruptly severed Konehl-Ghervil’s mental suggestion.
What a pity.
Just a little more time, and she would have succeeded.
The last shred of hope vanished.
“There are no longer any means to counteract this. Close your eyes, calm your mind. I will use every ounce of my strength to bring you out.”
Govet-Ghervil’s sigh echoed in Konehl-Ghervil’s mind.
“What about Esli?!”
“Pray that the entity behind this cannot withstand the curse of misfortune…”
What a jest!
If mythical creatures could truly be slain by curses, they would not remain so utterly helpless.
Konehl-Ghervil forced her eyes wide open, her oxygen-deprived brain scrambling to find a solution, unwilling to relive the nightmare of Mistfall City, powerless in the face of a companion’s demise.
“Sleep… Just sleep, and you will return to reality. When you awaken, we shall leave Florence City together…”
An overwhelming drowsiness made her eyelids heavy, her body relaxing, all weariness dissipating. The combined scent of cream and roses flooded her nostrils.
Gradually, a meticulously arranged room seemed to materialize before her eyes; she lay upon a warm, soft bed.
“Cough… cough…”
The suffocating sensation returned with a vengeance. She reached for her neck, her fingers encountering a cold, rough, lifeless hand.
Every image, every sensation, shattered and faded away.
She was plunged back into that state of utter exhaustion, filled with resentment and despair.
She saw the woman who was strangling her, her face now covered in scales, her eyes transformed into vertical slits.
“Ignoring good advice is hardly a commendable habit, little mouse hiding in reality.” The ‘Lizardman’ sneered, her cracked lips twisting into a mocking smile.
Before the other could react, her fingers slowly loosened, and the girl plummeted into a dark, bottomless chasm.
****
In the real world, Govet-Ghervil was violently expelled from the dream, tumbling and crashing to the ground, blood streaming from her scarlet eyes.
Enduring the searing pain, she incredulously returned to the side of the pale girl on the bed, closing her eyes to attempt re-entering the dream once more.
A moment later, she opened her eyes. One stark truth presented itself: she could not re-enter the dream.
Not only that, but her strength was utterly depleted, and the backlash from being forcibly ejected from the dream had left her significantly injured.
“Thump, thump, thump.”
After a perfunctory knock, Dr. Callan entered, laden with a large haul of freshly purchased food and daily necessities.
“The arrangements are nearly complete. At best, the seal should hold for two days, enough time for the Knight Order to arrive. After their assessment, assuming no unforeseen complications, two days should pose no major issue.”
“Commander Cedric-Lamar of the Third Knight Order sent word back, confident he can prevent any casualties when dealing with an unformed and sealed mythical creature.”
Having spoken for a considerable time without a response, Dr. Callan, mistakenly believing both the girl and the small animal on the bed were still engrossed in the dream, set down her belongings and moved to check on them.
The white furball stood motionless on the girl’s body, its back to her.
This was hardly the posture of someone deep in a dream.
“Govet-Ghervil?”
No response.
“Senior?”
Driven by instinct and habit, she looked at Konehl-Ghervil’s face, discovering that the beautiful features were utterly devoid of color.
Making a swift decision, she immediately scooped up Govet-Ghervil, bringing their eyes level.
Then she saw the blood flowing from Govet-Ghervil’s eyes, staining her fur, some of it smearing onto her own hands.
“What happened…?” Her voice trembled.
Given the bizarre and unsettling situation, a terrible suspicion began to form in her mind.
The embraced Govet-Ghervil remained unresponsive.
“Tell me what happened… Konehl-Ghervil…”
Govet-Ghervil’s scarlet gaze snapped towards her, blazing with a fierce, untamed anger.
“Do you wish for her to live?”
These words struck Dr. Callan like a hammer blow, confirming some of her worst fears, or at least that things were perilously close to them.
“I…” Her mind still reeled from the immense shock; she found herself unable to answer.
“Only you can save her,” Govet-Ghervil stated coldly.
“Tell the Knight Order that the problem has been resolved, and send them back. When that damned lizard awakens, perhaps my poor sister might survive.”
“Awaken the mythical creature? But everyone in the entire city will…”
“No! We cannot do that!”
“Tell me, what exactly happened???” Dr. Callan shrieked, shaking the furball in her hands, on the verge of madness.
The glimmer of hope she had just seized had suddenly vanished, even though all they had to do was wait for the Knight Order to arrive…
“Sigh…”
With a drawn-out sigh, Govet-Ghervil looked at Dr. Callan, using her dwindling strength to calm her.
“Put me down first.”
Dejectedly, Dr. Callan lowered the furball, then settled herself beside the girl, her gaze fixed, still seemingly lost in a daze.
“Her not dying immediately proves she still holds some value. I am uncertain of the lizard’s true purpose, or how long that value will last…”
Govet-Ghervil stroked the girl’s forehead with her tail, taking over ten minutes to recount the harrowing events that had transpired within the dream.
“If you possessed the power to extract her from the dream, why did you not use it from the very beginning?” Dr. Callan questioned in a hushed voice.
“And then what? Could you protect her? Do not forget the nature of the enemy!” Govet-Ghervil retorted, her long whiskers twitching indignantly.
“But I could get her out of this place, far from the heart of danger!”
Having unleashed her emotions, Dr. Callan fell into a heavy silence.
She was one of the few in this world who truly understood Konehl-Ghervil, knowing that while “escaping danger” was easy to utter, it was profoundly difficult to achieve.
How could a girl so inherently kind that she would pay a coachman a full day’s wage, and who chose to stand at the forefront of peril for a white rat, possibly abandon so many people?
If she were forced to leave, the girl would spend the remainder of her life living beneath the oppressive shadow of guilt and unease.
Such an outcome was something no one wished to see, nor did anyone wish for the girl to simply perish.
“Is this truly the only way…?”
Distraught, Dr. Callan slipped the girl’s hand from beneath the covers, attempting to warm it.
Konehl-Ghervil’s body was already showing signs of hypothermia.
An indescribable emotion welled up in her heart, a hundred times more agonizing than the heaviest stone pressing down.
“For the mythical creature to awaken and the dream to dissipate is currently the sole viable method. Before that, should the heart of reality suffer a devastating blow, it will undoubtedly drag those trapped within the dream down with it as a sacrifice,” Govet-Ghervil replied, her eyes narrowed.
“But the ritual for the mythical creature’s awakening…”
“One more person or one less makes no difference. During the ritual, that accursed lizard will be too preoccupied to concern itself with anything else, making it much easier to enter the dream. I will attempt to enter the dream again.”
“I will not allow the Knight Order to turn back.”
Dr. Callan’s unexpected declaration shocked Govet-Ghervil, but she gave her no opportunity to voice her indignation.
“I will do my utmost to persuade them and delay their assault.”
“Even if the consequence is her death?”
“Yes.” Dr. Callan gazed at the sleeping girl’s serene face.
“By then, her grave will hold another corpse, that of Lottus-Callan.”