"Who are they? Tell me."
"Who are we? Tell us."
"Who are you? Tell me."
"Who am I? Tell us."
…
The first sunbeams and the soft chirping of the birds woke Lorelei. It wasn't the first time she had spent the night on the ground, and she knew it certainly wouldn't be the last. The blood all around her had already dried, taking on a brownish tone among the tall green herbs. She lay there, still, unmoving. Lorelei looked at her arm. She still couldn't believe that it was back again. She moved it left and right, even turning it around in circles. There was no denying it; her arm really had regenerated. She raised her arm toward the sun, seemingly trying to grasp those warm sunbeams heating the ground beneath her. Her left arm, on the other hand, was still holding onto the knife without Lorelei even realising it, and when she noticed, she didn't bother questioning it. She wouldn't deny it—she knew she had killed both Maria and Silvia. With that same knife she was holding, she had murdered mother and daughter, yet there she was, lying down, bathing in the warm sun. She could recall every single moment of that night, from the feeling of piercing through flesh to being stabbed herself, but none of it felt real. It was as if she were watching it happen from a distance. None of it made sense to her, yet everything seemed to be aligning perfectly.
"I did it…"
She heard a sound, a soft, gentle ring. It had exactly the same tune as the ticking that had been bothering her ever since she fell from the cliff, yet this time she found it rather appeasing. A yellow glow of particles filled the sky, weaving and spiralling in a circle above her. She got up to see what it was, only to realise that the particles were all heading toward the same place—the pillar in the distance. She tried jumping to reach one of them, but they were too high in the air for her small body. All she could do was stare at the gigantic pillar from afar. She noticed more particles coming from the house. In a hurry, Lorelei ran to see what was going on. On her way there, the particles passed through her body multiple times, phasing past her. She felt ticklish every time they went through her but still decided to continue following the source. Even though there were no lights on, everything seemed lit up and sparkling. The house was ruined, nothing like what it had been at first. Even though the place was brimming with light, it didn't take away the uneasy feeling surrounding it. The table was turned upside down, chairs flipped, dried blood everywhere, whether it be on the walls or the floor. Lorelei walked toward the door handle. The more she walked, the more she felt the yellow particles flowing through her. She reached out her hand toward the handle and opened it. The particles came bursting out, filling the whole house, brightening it like never before. And right there, in front of her, was her very own crime. She had trespassed where she didn't belong, and for that, they had to pay the price with their own lives.
"I did this…"
The particles' origin was their bodies, emitting them. More than half of Silvia's body had already vanished into particles, while Maria's was only a third gone. She couldn't understand why her heart was tightening; it wasn't like yesterday at all. The guilt… she felt it. She walked toward them and slowly lowered herself beside them. She tried touching Silvia, but as soon as her hand scraped her leg, the body glowed brightly, illuminating the room. It turned into some sort of crystal that broke into even more particles. Lorelei tried grabbing those particles, but the more she tried, the further they flew away. She kneeled back in front of Maria's body. Will she disappear too? she thought, raising her hand over her face. She breathed in and out, trying to reassure herself, and finally decided to touch Maria's body. Once again, it took on a crystal-like appearance and shattered into thousands of particles. The burst was so strong that it blew Lorelei's hair back, along with her half-ripped dress. And just like that, they were gone, leaving behind nothingness. Lorelei couldn't understand what was going on. She had too many questions and far too few answers.
"ArE you There?"
Nobody answered her. The particles had all left, leaving Lorelei all alone in the storage room.
"Can You anSwer me, plEase."
Once again, nobody answered. She wasn't even sure whether the figure was really her ally or just using her, but it didn't matter. They both needed each other for a purpose that aligned. The only difference was that in this contract, the figure held the upper hand. It knew everything about Lorelei, yet refused to answer any question clearly. Lorelei had known from the start that she couldn't depend on it for anything. She needed to take matters into her own hands if she wanted those questions answered. She got off the ground and walked toward what used to be the dinner table. If she stayed here any longer, she knew she would be putting herself at risk—especially with the knights that came around here. They personally knew Silvia; she had seen that herself. She went upstairs and searched for whatever could be of use: a bag big enough to fit some clothes, money, and food. She went back to the bathroom, hoping she might see the figure appear, but once again, no luck. The only reflection she saw in the mirror was her pitiful self. What stood out even more was her eye, the number one inscribed in it. Out of rage, she punched the mirror, which shattered into pieces, each reflecting her own image. She didn't understand why any of this had happened, where it had gone wrong, where it was that she had failed. Nothing made sense to her. Nothing. Lorelei fell to the ground, right onto the shards. She picked one up and held it toward her eye, her hands trembling.
"I wouldn't advise you to do that."
"Then what should I do, tell me!"
…
Nobody answered.
Lorelei decided to get up, tears rushing to her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. She needed to leave today. She went to what used to be her room and searched under the pillow for her glove. Lorelei wore it on her right hand. She ripped a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the hand that had been wounded by the mirror's fragments. With another piece she ripped, she wrapped the cloth around the knife. She stood there, another piece of cloth in hand, and realised that if she were to meet people, her eye would definitely stand out, so she decided to cover it. Lorelei went to the wardrobe and took from it a pair of pants and the cloak Silvia had given her. She placed the knife along her right arm and went downstairs to the door. She took one last look behind her at the house—a house that had accepted a devil and, for that, had paid the severe price.
"I neeD to Go…"
Lorelei had already gone through her options. She knew that if she went to the capital, it wouldn't be safe for her at all, but she also knew that it was there she would find people capable of answering her questions. Going back to the village was out of the picture, since she didn't even know how far she was from it. The only option left was to walk along the path and hope to find a place to rest before nightfall. She wanted those knights dead. She wanted to find out the truth about the man—the truth about herself and the reason he had taken her in. Lorelei knew that to find answers to her questions, she needed to become stronger, strong enough to force out the truth.
"Quite a spirit you've got there."
"YoU. WhY Aren't you ansWering me?"
Lorelei was getting annoyed at the figure's free spirit. She knew it was provoking her on purpose, so she decided to ignore it. She placed her hood on and set forth on the path, step after steady step. She kept telling herself she would get there, and nothing would stop her. She started counting seconds, and before she knew it, hours had already passed, and she hadn't seen a single soul. The sun was getting lower and lower, and so was her energy. The never-ending fields of dandelions had turned into bushes and trees. She couldn't see past the first few bushes, since everything beyond them became too dark. She knew for sure it wasn't a place she wanted to be. She felt uneasy even though the path in front of her was clear. There was something off about this forest, so she started running, hoping she would soon find her way out. It wasn't long before she started hearing footsteps from within the forest. Someone—or rather, something—was getting closer. She stopped and crouched down, reaching for the knife's handle. The steps grew louder than before; she knew it was right there. It poked its head out of the bushes and stared right at Lorelei. She lost hold of the knife, paralysed by fear. The beast's head was at least three times the size of Lorelei's entire body. She felt as though its mere gaze was piercing holes through her. Its eyes were a brightening yellow, its pupils as thin as they could possibly be. It finally revealed its entire body from the bushes and slowly walked toward Lorelei. She forced her body to move, but it wouldn't obey; she was overcome by the deepest fear. The beast parted its mouth, stretching the saliva dripping from within its jaw. She saw its breath steaming out while it slowly walked toward her. It was as if the beast knew she couldn't do anything to it and took its time savouring her fear. Lorelei heard a click from behind her, and a blue light pierced a clean hole through the beast's body, shifting the way of the wind around her. What seemed to be a black carriage without any horse to pull it flashed past her, and a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her inside. She was now facing two men sitting in front of her.
"Name's Brant."
Lorelei collapse due to exhaustion.