I was no longer in the room. There were no walls, no ceiling, no heavy air that seemed to crush my lungs every time I tried to breathe.
Now I stood in front of Leaf, in the middle of the forest, while the wind blew strongly, moving the treetops as if the entire place were alive, as if it were watching me, as if it knew exactly what was happening inside my head.
Leaf floated in front of me thanks to her tiny white wings, so delicate that it seemed impossible they could hold her in the air.
Yet she did it with absurd naturalness, as if the laws of this world were not the same as the ones I knew.
Her hair moved gently with the wind, and the flower crown she wore on her head remained intact, perfect, as if nothing could touch it.
She was smiling.
And that smile… that damn smile…
Meanwhile, I felt as if everything inside me was breaking. It wasn't entirely physical pain. It was something deeper, heavier.
It was something that dragged through my thoughts and crushed them mercilessly. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to do something, anything, to stop that feeling.
But I couldn't.
It was as if everything I had seen, everything I had lived… had never happened.
—Hey. Hey, hey… are you listening to me?
Leaf's voice cut through the noise of the wind. Her expression now held a slight anger, a small gesture in her eyes that told me she was losing patience.
—Of course… I was listening.
I replied immediately, almost by reflex. The lie came out on its own, automatic. Because the truth was completely different.
I hadn't paid attention. I had no idea what she had said. I didn't even know how the hell I had arrived in that place.
—Okay… well, as I was saying —she continued, as if nothing— I'm really glad you defeated Cinderella. Honestly, I doubted a lot that you would defeat her… since the first time I saw you, you were way too weak.
She let out a small laugh, light, almost mocking, while bringing her hands behind her back. Then, without any warning, she slowly approached me, floating gently, until she rested on my right shoulder. Her face ended up dangerously close to my ear.
I could feel her breathing.
—You know… I also wanted to tell you that… I like you a lot. I love you so much that I can't be away from you…
Her words were soft, almost sweet, but instead of calming me… something inside me tensed.
Leaf tried to hug me. Her tiny hands wrapped around part of my helmet, barely managing to close. It was a weak, fragile gesture… but still real.
I slowly raised my arm, intending to caress her.
But the moment I was about to touch her, a brutal pain exploded in my head.
It wasn't simple pain. It was as if something inside me was tearing apart.
I fell to my knees without being able to do anything. My breathing became heavy, irregular, as if I were drowning in something invisible.
Black smoke began to surround me, coming from nowhere, covering the ground, enveloping my legs, rising little by little.
Leaf was no longer there. She had disappeared.
I tried to lift my gaze, barely a few centimeters, struggling against that weight crushing me.
And then I saw her.
Jeanne stood in front of me.
I didn't know how she had gotten there. There was no sound, no transition. She simply… appeared.
She wore a white wedding dress. Her expression was calm, soft, almost warm. She extended her hand toward me, inviting me to take it.
And for a moment… for a damn moment… I wanted to believe everything was okay.
I raised my hand.
I tried to reach her.
But the instant our hands were about to touch, her body ignited.
Fire appeared without warning, enveloping her completely. Thick, red, intense flames. There was no time to react, no scream, no escape.
Her eyes melted.
Her skin consumed.
Her bones cracked under the heat.
And in a matter of seconds… nothing remained.
Just ashes.
—Jeanne… Jeanne… what the hell…?
The words wouldn't come out. My voice broke before forming. My mind couldn't process what I had just seen.
I remained paralyzed.
I tried to stand, but my body didn't respond. I fell backward, without strength, as if it no longer belonged to me.
I began to crawl backward, desperate, trying to get away from that place, from that scene, from everything.
But then… I felt it.
Something warm.
My body froze.
A tremor ran through every part of me. I didn't want to look. I didn't want to know. But my body… no longer obeyed me.
My head turned slowly.
And I saw it.
It was Goose.
Her body lay lifeless, opened from the stomach, the blood still fresh, as if she had died just seconds ago. Her empty eyes stared at nothing.
And on top of her…
There was another body.
Hanging from a branch.
It was… lifeless Elma.
Tears began to flow uncontrollably. My chest tightened, as if something were crushing it from inside.
Memories began to flood my mind, one after another, without order, without rest.
And then I screamed.
—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
A scream that was not only of pain.
It was of rage.
Of desperation.
Of something much deeper.
And then… I remembered.
Everything.
Every death.
Every time I had fallen.
Every time I had killed.
That dark place.
That endless cycle.
Cinderella.
Again and again.
Again and again.
Again and again.
—Why…?
My voice was barely a whisper now.
—Why me…?
The words came out broken, incomplete, but loaded with something I could no longer contain.
—Why do I have to be the one…? Why not someone else…? Why me… the one who has seen everyone die… the one who has killed everyone…?
The tears did not stop.
—Why…?
And then, something inside me changed.
—It's Leaf's fault…
I slowly raised my gaze.
—Yes… it's her fault… all of this… is her fault…
The pain transformed.
—It's Mary Sue's fault…
My voice no longer trembled.
—Everything is her fault.
—So you've recovered your memories.
The voice came from behind.
I didn't need to turn to know who it was.
—This isn't right, Grimm… hehehe… now I'll have to start over, like last time.
I could hear her steps.
Slow.
Calm.
As if none of this mattered to her.
—That was very fun, Mary Sue… but it's time for this story to end… don't you think?
Another voice.
A different one.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
My body tensed.
—Since, as you know… I am Grimm's lover.
No.
It couldn't be.
I turned slowly.
—Why… are you here…? How…? How is this possible…?
My breathing became erratic.
—Wait… you… you were dead…
My voice broke.
—Alice… how are you…?
The laughter came out on its own.
Broken.
Desperate.
—HAHAHAHAHA… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
And there she was.
In front of me.
Alice.
Intact.
Real.
Or at least… it seemed so.
—Grimm… it's nice to see you again.
Her voice was soft. Too soft.
—The truth is… I missed you so much.
She approached slowly, step by step, while the world around me began to darken. The forest disappeared, the ground vanished, everything turned black.
In the distance, I could hear Leaf laughing.
Screaming.
As if she enjoyed every second.
My mind was breaking.
I no longer knew what was real.
What was a lie.
What had happened.
What was happening.
Everything mixed.
Everything destroyed.
My eyes burned.
And then I noticed.
I was crying.
But they weren't tears.
It was blood.
—I don't… want anymore…
My voice barely existed.
—I don't want… to continue…
The weight was too much.
The pain was too much.
The memories were too much.
—I just… want to rest…
Alice extended her hand.
The world turned completely black.
—I want to sleep… and never… open my eyes again… Never again…
My eyelids began to close.
Leaf's smile was the last thing I heard in that darkness and silence arrived and at the same time the cold of the world....
End.