Scarlett said goodbye to her father, and we headed toward the base. After the dark palace dungeon, the fresh air almost burned my lungs. I couldn't even remember the last time I felt the sun's warmth on my skin.
Gregorion and Scarlett led me through a quiet street and stopped in front of a completely ordinary house.
"Is this the base?" I asked, surprised. I was expecting some kind of fortress.
Gregorion just nodded and opened the door. We entered a spacious living room. Two girls were sitting at the table, as if they already knew I was coming.
One of them suddenly stood up. Her face turned pale, and sweat appeared on her forehead. When I looked at her, for a moment, it was like I saw Lisa. The same white hair, the same light eyes; even her height was similar.
"This is our new member. Narihu." Gregorion said.
The red-haired girl looked me up and down with distrust.
"The red-haired girl is Selena," Scarlett took over. "She's quite extroverted, I'm sure you'll get along. Next to her is Senna. She's a bit shy, but very kind-hearted."
"Hi." Selena acted as if she hadn't even heard me. Senna, however, just stood there motionless.
Gregorion tapped my back. "Come on, introduce yourself properly. You're a team now."
I looked at him and took a deep breath. "I'll be quick. I'm Narihu Mizuhara. A Wielder."
I hadn't even finished when Senna suddenly slammed her hand on the table.
"That's enough!" Her voice was shaking with anger. She looked at Gregorion with a gaze that could kill. "You promised you wouldn't bring men here!"
Gregorion clearly expected this.
"It wasn't my decision. But calm down. Narihu is completely under Scarlett's control."
Selena and Senna both looked at me at the same time. "What do you mean by that?" they asked together.
"I used the Bond," Scarlett said calmly. "You can relax, Narihu obeys my every command."
Senna's face went white. She looked for words but couldn't find any. "This still wasn't the deal." She turned around and stormed out of the living room.
"What was that…?" I asked quietly. It took me completely by surprise.
"I knew this would happen." Gregorion said, scratching his head.
"Let's give her some time. We have to understand her." Scarlett said, her voice full of worry.
"Alright, I have to go. Scarlett, show Narihu his room," Gregorion said, turning toward the door.
"Whaaat? Where are you going?" Selena asked.
"I have a few things to discuss with the other commanders." Gregorion answered.
"So, do we have a day off tomorrow?" Selena's eyes began to shine.
"No, don't even think about it." Gregorion replied, taking all of Selena's joy away. "Don't go anywhere. Bye!" As soon as he said it, the door slammed shut behind him.
Scarlett finally led me to my room. It was completely average—not too big, not too small. As I looked around, my eyes caught some boxes by the wall.
Scarlett noticed.
"I brought those for you. Clothes and everything else you might need."
"Thank you, Scarlett," I replied quietly. I didn't expect such kindness.
"The sun is slowly going down. I'll leave you to unpack, feel free to use the bath too. See you tomorrow." She smiled and left me alone.
I unpacked the boxes, everything I needed was really there. Then I went to take a bath. The bathroom was more spacious and modern than I expected. By the time I was finished, the sun had completely disappeared from the sky.
I lay down in bed. I was so tired that I fell asleep in an instant.
"Where am I? Why is it so dark?"
Everything around me turned into darkness.
"Narihu!" a familiar voice called my name, and then someone touched me. In the next moment, everything became bright.
As I turned around, I saw Lisa standing in front of me. We were in a room, but it wasn't mine.
"Narihu, are you listening? Are we going to scare Arthur?" she asked, not for the first time.
"What?" I asked. I tried to figure out if this was a memory… or just a dream.
"Arthur is about to come back, and we agreed that we're going to scare him."
I didn't know what to say. My thoughts were too messy.
"Don't change your mind at the last minute." She pressed a zombie mask into my hands. "Come on, put it on."
I had no choice, so I put it on. We stood next to the door so he wouldn't see us when he opened it. Lisa stood close behind me.
We didn't have to wait long. I felt him approaching the door, then slowly turning the handle. When the door opened completely…
Suddenly, everything went dark.
No matter where I looked, only darkness surrounded me. It was so deep that I couldn't even see myself—it was as if I didn't even exist.
From the distance, I heard Lisa's voice calling me.
"Narihu! Help me!"
I started running toward the voice as fast as I could. I saw Lisa: she was held by chains made of blood, looking exactly like the ones I make.
"I'm almost there… hold on, please…"
As I got closer to her, I tripped on something and fell. I tried to get up, but I couldn't, as if something was holding my leg tightly.
I looked down.
A hand reached out from the darkness and was gripping me firmly.
I managed to free myself with my other leg and stood up. As soon as I started running again, hundreds of hands broke out from the darkness and started pulling me back.
No matter how I fought, I couldn't escape their grip. When I tried to tear them off me, I fell again.
I was helpless. I could only watch Lisa.
Then I saw… myself. There was a sword in my hand, and I raised it toward Lisa.
"Please… no… don't kill her!" I screamed with all my strength.
In the next moment, Lisa's head fell to the ground.
A sound broke out of me that I didn't even know I could make.
"NOOO!!!"
I woke up suddenly, almost jumping out of bed. I was gasping for air, and my chest hurt. It took long seconds before I slowly calmed down and convinced myself it was just a dream.
But as I looked at the dark room, voices began to surround me.
"Murderer."
"Die."
"Why didn't you show mercy?"
I ran to the corner of the room, huddled up, trying to block them out. But they didn't go away. They became louder, sharper, more painful.
"She loved you, and you killed her."
"You should have been the one to die."
I couldn't take it anymore. Gathering all my strength, I stood up and ran to the lamp. As soon as I turned the light on, all the voices stopped. The room looked exactly as it did when I went to sleep.
My hands and legs were shaking. I leaned on the table next to the bed, and slowly, strength returned to my body. My breathing finally became steady again.
I raised my head and looked into the mirror.
But I didn't see myself.
The face was a stranger's. My eyes glowed red. And the smile… it wasn't mine. I didn't see myself in the mirror…. I saw a monster.
I ran out of the room, all the way to the living room. To my surprise, I found Senna there, sitting in one of the chairs.
I didn't dare to speak, so I went straight to the front door. I grabbed the handle and pushed it down, but it didn't move.
"The door is locked at this time," Senna said.
"Why?" I asked. My voice was full of panic.
"We cannot leave the base after midnight without Gregorion's permission," Senna answered, clearly avoiding my eyes.
"I see." A soft, painful sigh escaped me, and then I sat down in the chair farthest from Senna.
Senna clearly didn't want to be in the same room with me.
"I'm going inside. Good night." She stood up quickly and started to leave.
"Please, don't…" The words barely came out of my throat. "Stay here."
Senna was surprised. She looked at me and saw how broken I was.
"Fine. I'll stay."
She took a book from the shelf and sat back down. I put my head down on the table.
We didn't say a single word to each other. Still, I needed her presence.
Finally, both my body and my soul could find some peace.