”Back again so soon? Fufu..” a seductive voice of a woman tinkled into Arterion’s ears prompting him to wake up with a jolt.

He was back again in this mirror-like world.

Nothing has changed since then; the clouds were still so white that they looked almost illusory and the sky was still as blue as the sea. The ground, still as clear as a mirror; still is bewildering as ever with how clear the reflections are upon it. Arterion turned to look downwards just to see him wearing the same white robe once again.

“I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.. but alas, Fate has its own way.. Hehe.”

Arterion found himself standing in front of the macabre tree this time. It still looked as ominous and sinister as he remembered, with the unmatched beauty sitting on the left-side branch of its two lone branches.

Arterion’s head started to ache at the sound of that haunting voice once more. He clutched his head with one hand as he tried to stare the woman straight into the eyes. His eye filled with hatred, with the story of Gerald still clearly circulating in his mind.

The woman seemed to find Arterion’s stare hilarious as she covered her rose colored lips with her left hand while chuckling. She didn’t take Arterion serious at all; instead it was like she was looking at a cute puppy baring its fangs.

“What’s with the face..? Did I do something wrong?” the woman asked as if to mock Arterion’s current predicament.

“Th-those men at the camp.. What the fuck did you make me do?!” Arterion scowled. He had a feeling that this woman already knew what he was going to ask. Ever since the last time he was here, although he couldn’t remember what they talked about, how could he ever forget that woman’s gaze? A gaze that seemed to pierce through his every defense like it was all-seeing, like it was above everything. A gaze that appeared to mock every fiber of his being. How could he ever forget?!

He had always been thinking about this woman, but he consistently buried her at the back of his mind. These hell infused eyes, he didn’t want to remember any of it.

“Oh my.. What I made you do..? That is quite the accusation.. That makes me sad..” the woman said in an overly exaggerated tone. It was obvious that it was just mockery.

“Stop fucking around! I know that yo-“

“How laughable.” The woman suddenly cut-in, she pointed out her index finger upwards and swayed it from left to right while saying, “You may not remember this but the last time you were here I told you to ask only the right questions… Tsk tsk.. Well, I guess your mind is still too weak to carry the burden of my voice..”

What followed next was an event that didn’t occur the last time Arterion was here. The woman got down from the tree and walked towards Arterion!

The simple action of landing in the mirror-like ground caused the whole world to ripple, as if a meteor crashed down. Arterion could not bear the pressure as he spat a mouthful of blood. He fell to his knees as the pressure pinned him down to the ground completely. He couldn’t even lift his head! All he saw was the beautiful bare feet of a woman slowly approaching him.

“You see.. this is where we meet.. I’m giving you all the chances to ask your questions with my sole condition that they must be appropriate.. but like a broken piece of machinery, you keep delving into matters that you are too weak to even concern yourself with..”

Arterion cannot see the woman face-to-face, but he knew that she was looking down at him both literally and figuratively. He couldn’t do anything but clench his teeth and bow down in the presence of this woman. It was like a mountain was pushing down at his back, and what’s more is that everything he was feeling was so real! If he met this woman in real life, he would probably die without even knowing about it.

“These past days.. I have seen the life you’ve been living.. You know, you should ask yourself if this is the life you really want.. A farmer? ..A community man..? A villager.. fufu..”

Arterion struggled to open his mouth but no words came out. He was shivering as a result of mustering his strength to defy the pressure weighing him down, but to no avail.

”See..? You cannot even speak in my presence.. the answer to your questions have already been rotting inside your heart for a long time, you hypocrite.. you do not even need me to answer them..”

“Let me remind you once more lest you forget.. Everything has a price.. when we first met I’ll tell you what you desired most at that fateful night..”

The woman kneeled down in front of Arterion and moved her face towards Arterion’s ear. She was so close that Arterion could feel the beating of her heart, as if it resonated to those of his own. He could feel her breath drawing closer and closer, only to stop once her mouth was as close to his left ear as possible.

She whispered, “You desired.. Strength.. Not just a simple desire at that; you longed for it, you hungered for it! You would have even eaten it even if you saw it fall to the ground. Even if it was infested with maggots you’ll still partake of it. It was really amusing.”

Arterion shook at the woman’s words. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong; he wanted to rebuke her words. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t want to do anything with strength, he only wanted change!

“You really are a hypocrite.. how interesting..” the woman chuckled.

“Let’s end this useless conversation.. we won’t get anything out of it.. Arterion Licht Christie let me warn you now, consider your choices carefully.. or else you will find nothing at the end of this road but endless tragedy..”

Arterion felt the intense pain in his head; he knew that he was already on the verge of leaving this mysterious place again as his vision was blacking out and his body felt very heavy. He noticed the pressure gradually lessening as he raised his head just to see the woman’s departing back with her plump behind swaying while she was walking.

She suddenly stopped and turned to look at Arterion with what seemed to be the most beautiful smile yet at the same time the most horrifying one he had ever witnessed as she said,

“Oh and one more thing.. After I’ve killed those men, I wasn’t the one in control anymore.. Fufu.. AHAHAHAHA!”

Arterion’s body convulsed as he heard those words, but before he could take all of it in, he felt his eyes growing dark once again. He was already in that place with nothing but darkness. He experienced the same sensation as last time, with his body feeling like it was at the deepest part of the ocean. It was cold and the sensation of pure isolation assaulted his being; it wasn’t a good place to be in.

Arterion woke up only to find himself in his bed. He heard the chirping of birds and it felt warm, with some sunlight seeping through the window of the shack. ‘It’s probably late in the morning, did I sleep that much?’ Arterion thought.

He caressed his head as there was still some lingering pain as he got up, he thought about the fragments of memories he had of his time in that mirror-like world.

‘Is this the life I really want..?’ Arterion remembered the woman telling him this. In actuality, he himself did not know the answer. He was comfortable living together with Mila and the villagers, and he was already content the way things are. But.. the woman’s words seemed to make him think about it again.

As he was deep in thought, Arterion failed to notice a young lady sleeping soundly on a chair beside his bed. The action of Arterion waking up jolted her to lucidity as well.

“Arterion! You’ve woken up!” Mila screamed with joy as she rushed forward to hug Arterion tightly.

Though they have only known each other for a short amount of time, they have gotten considerably close. Mila especially liked Arterion’s company; she had always been alone as her father comes home only to leave for periods of time longer than the last. Arterion also helped her a lot around the house and they occasionally joke and laugh around each other. Of course what she didn’t know was that there was already something else budding in her maiden heart.

Arterion blushed as he felt the warmth of Mila’s embrace, “Oh.. yes I am awake..”

“No! It’s not just that.. you’ve been asleep for two weeks!” Mila hugged him tightly, and Arterion felt a warm liquid flowing through his shoulders.

Two weeks! Arterion was shocked. What happened this time? The last time it happened as far as he knew he had only been unconscious for a day. Was it because the woman got off the tree and approached him? Thinking about it, he remembered a lot more about their meeting today than he did last time as well.

Returning Mila’s embrace, Arterion asked, “For two weeks, have you been watching me all this time?”

“Yes.. father has already left for another trip about two days ago. I was very worried about you passing out like that.” Mila said with a muffled voice.

Arterion was touched with Mila’s actions, and the same time he was happy as well. His eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he caressed the back of Mila’s head. ‘The woman asked me if this is the life I really wanted; it is. From now on, I’ll protect every bit of it with every fiber of my being; I won’t let anyone take this away from me like last time.’

Arterion decided this in his mind. As his one hand was gently comforting Mila, his other free hand was tightly clenched into a fist. He’ll prove to that woman that he wasn’t wrong about choosing this sort of life.

‘..After I’ve killed those men, I wasn’t the one in control..’ a voice echoed in his mind.

Arterion lost his composure slightly as he heard those words again. ‘It doesn’t matter; it’s all in the past. I’ll never believe that woman.’ Arterion steeled himself. That woman mocked the core of his being, how could he ever believe her words? She probably just said that to plant chaos in Arterion’s mind. And just from her tone and actions, that was probably the case.

Arterion was determined to never borrow that woman’s power. Even if he was on the brink of death, he swore that he wouldn’t. From now on, he would only rely on himself otherwise what happened in Lorence’s camp won’t be the last.

While comforting someone who’s already been planted in his heart, Arterion peeked through the window while having these thoughts in his mind. He never made the wrong choice and he’ll prove that. It was currently spring, yet his nerves and determination was as cold as a winter night.