I run out of the room with that thought in the back of my mind. Even the hallways are covered in the same exact stuff from my bedroom.
It is a gross feeling as I run through it as well... A strange sticky feeling that doesn't go away with each step.
"Liam where are youuu?!" A voice echoes with a singing like tone.
The voice isn't familiar in the slightest but something is drawing me towards it.
I begin to make my way down the hall until I reach the stairs at the end. Without any hesitation I go down the steps and I can see someone standing across the room.
A woman with short wavy black hair is standing there with her arms crossed, red eyes staring right towards me, and she is also wearing some sort of long black dress.
She is definitely a hybrid zierel like the one I saw fighting Airi... But why am I seeing here inside of this nightmare?
"Isn't it so pretty in here?" She asks with a smile.
I don't really acknowledge what she asks as I look for anything I can use as a weapon. The room appears to be completely empty as if there was never anything in here to begin with.
"Calm down a bit. We've been talking for quite some time, isn't it always better to see the person you talk to?" She questions while pulling out a chair.
"I don't really understand what any of this is," I reply with confusion in my voice.
"I've decided to invade one of your nightmares for once since it meant you would be able to see me," She says with a casual tone.
Before I can move I feel my arms get restrained as I'm forced to sit down.
"Why do I need to be held down like this if we are just talking?" I ask while trying to keep calm.
"You tend to panic in these nightmares because you can't do anything, so I'm helping you out a little bit," She answers while twirling around a small dagger.
She stands up from the chair after that and begins to walk over to me, keeping the dagger in her hand.
Slice.
Within a few seconds I feel pain shooting into my arm as she slices it open with the dagger; blood spills onto the floor as she begins to lick the blade.
"Your arm getting torn open isn't the end of the world," She says with a smile.
I want to scream out but it feels as if my voice is being completely silenced by something... The pain is excruciating with each second that I sit there.
"What is the point of this?!?!" I finally manage to shout.
"Just helping you relive the nightmare that you are so desperate to get over on your own," She responds while walking away.
Everything suddenly changes around me as I find myself back against the wall again. The zierel is back in front of me like the last time.
Crash!!
The door breaks open as my dad comes through.
"What the hell is going on!?!" He shouts with concern in his voice.
I can't find the words anymore...
He tosses a lantern towards me and I hear him say the same thing as last time. Everything begins to unfold like I was actually in the moment all over again.
But it isn't the same when I reach the top of the stairs... The woman is standing there once again.
"Your mom and sister await, no reason to stop now," She says while moving out of the way.
I stumble past her and fall against the wall like the last time; my strength is gone from all the blood loss.
The door opens and I can see the two of them looking at me with fear in their eyes. Within moments they are both dead on the ground while I'm powerless to do anything again.
I smash the lantern against the zierel which forces it to retreat before anything else can happen.
But this time I can feel someone grab my shoulder and lift me up from the ground.
"Do you really want to keep living through this every single night?" The woman asks with a serious tone.
Living through this is the only way I'll be able to push myself to get over it... To accept that it all happened as I got to live through it. It is also the last memory I have of them all so I don't know if I can just get rid of it.
The nightmares have been getting worse with each night that I have them though....
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to get rid of them, she might be onto something with it all. My mental health might not be able to handle it if I keep going through the same thing over and over again.
Especially with the sudden changes that seem to happen with each one. Some nights they talk to me and some nights they contribute to the brutality of it all.
"I don't know..." I respond softly while holding back tears.
"This is no time to be a baby Liam. You've killed a zierel and you fought kids at some academy you don't care about, let's move past the tears," She says while healing my arm.
I look down to see the black veins forming within my arm once again and she is still just standing before me.
"I did do all that," I reply while looking down at my hands.
"Exactly. Let's continue to shed zierel blood together, accept what we can do as a team," She pleas.
Before I can give her an answer... Everything disappears around me as I find myself being hugged. This warm sensation is one I haven't felt in quite some time, not since Tess gave me a hug.
I rub my eyes for a moment before realizing that Airi is now in here with me.
"I'm glad you are okay," She says with relief as she holds onto me.
I didn't understand at first but then I realize that the room is a mess.