She was back on a plane, the last flight she would take as the average girl she was at the time. Her eyes met the gaze of a young man who was walking towards the cockpit. They were empty and devoid of life. With multiple black and purple pockets of puss all over his body just waiting to explode, he, hunched over, slowly stepped closer to the cockpit. No one knew that a special shard was lodged into the host's body long before this flight just waiting to unleash the pent-up emotions of its host. Before the young man could reach the cockpit, he fell over. The pockets of puss went up into flames and killed all of the passengers, but knocking Elena out leaving her behind as the sole survivor.

"Back then...," she thought.

"If had reached out then, maybe even a simple 'Are you okay', maybe I could have saved everyone on that plane."

After being awoken within the Barrier that locked her away from the real world, she found herself lying in a dark but gooey substance. It was a world of emptiness. A sea of black goo with enough viscosity to stand on, one weak light source above them, the dead and the one living child, which gave off violet rays, and the remains of the plane. Therein lied the remains of many, those that weren't fortunate enough to be blessed with the ability that allows them to resist the flames. A skinny, gray, humanoid giant reached for her father devouring him whole, unlike the others. The Demon had one eye, two arms, a spine, and a ribcage, the corpses would fall out of where its ribcage ends, half-decayed and slowly sinking into the gooey abyss. Back then Elena just swam through the gooey substance away from the monster as her life depended on it. It paid no mind to a child getting away as there was plenty it could feast on. Unbeknownst to most Dream Catchers, barriers do have a limit. This one was incredibly small as the Demon that had conjured had just come into existence from a mind that is incredibly unimaginative. It wasn't long until she found herself submerged within water rather low below the surface. Already exhausted, she would drown if it weren't for the help of a Dream Catcher arriving just in time.

After everything faded to black, she found herself sitting behind a massive piece of cheddar, lying on shredded cheese, within a massive well-lit cave made out of cheese. Right next to her were ten shotguns she could use in case minions were to approach her and try to hurt her. Behind her is a door made out of dark chocolate. She climbed over the cheddar and watched a massive worm with charcoal skin and red pockets of strawberry marmalade puss devour Marcela. Her mentor Marcela, her friend, was decapitated with a single bite. She fell a couple of dozen meters and was quickly gnawed apart by the Demon. Though only three months had been spent together, they were some of the most memorable months of her life. This wouldn't have happened if Elena hadn't filled her with hope. Usually, Marcela would be quite alert sniping and strategizing her way through to the Demon and launching her strongest attack. She had the potential to reach the Top 10, but that day she allowed her emotions to take over. Instead of strategizing, she went all in firing anything she got at her disposal wasting her magic. As Elena had promised her they would fight together from now on as fully-fledged Dream Catchers, she was brimming with joy. Marcela's joy led to doom, the end of her career, and the start of Elena's infamy as the cursed child.

"I should have known how much emotions can sway others. I saw what happened to the dying man on my last flight but still... I still allowed my emotions to take a hold of me and tear her down. Others become victims so that I survive. I should have been the victim and faced the consequences of promising false hope, but instead, I ran!", she lamented. Elena could only blame herself as a form of survivor's guilt even though no one was at fault.

"I still run away from my problems by indulging in fantasies like these, goofing around on important missions!"

Marcela wasn't like any other Dream Catcher. Just like her senior, she was blossoming into a symbol of strength, kindness, and beauty. With a bob cut, and usually wearing lots of jewelry that she's modified as far as to store magic, and the wine beret she'd always wear, where her Soul Solid would be located, she was known throughout the nation as the weak but excellent learner. The news of her passing had shocked her so much that few went out of their way to harass Elena into crossing over borders and avoid scrutiny. Canada, a land sparse of Dream Catchers, the testing grounds for special abilities some inhibit, openly welcomed her knowing that she was capable of greatness.

CoL, a facility Elena was held at for a few months, at least until she broke out with four friends, was one she couldn't find ever again. Using the ability of a child they've drugged to the point that it was dependant on them, the facility would move to another nation every hour getting back to its starting place. There she met Valeria, a girl slightly older than her acting as the strong unbreakable older sister of the group, Fay, her younger sister who's even a year younger than Elena, Astrid, a fierce warrior just as old as her, and Mei, the motherly and oldest one. It was a tragic day, the day of ANDE. Strange beings had entered their plane and posed a massive threat to mankind. Several portals sprung into being that day and allowed massive beasts some humanoid, some like microorganisms turned into an upscaled version. First responders were Elena's gang of five, two Dream Catchers, and three Magicians, far too weak to ever face the might of the monsters they had encountered. The ones familiar with magic called them Rank 4 Demons, those that had never heard of magic were convinced that faulty maintenance of gas and water pipes. Ten people that aren't public politicians, the top Dream Catchers, and Elena and Prometheia.

Turning around, Elena witnessed the strong, unbreakable, and persistent leader of the group, Valeria, just break down. Holding her younger sister, completely motionless with all her veins glowing in lime green, within her arms, she shed tears of sadness.

"She knew the costs of using a divine key. While Valeria believed she was a coward who couldn't achieve anything except for making people believe that she was strong, I was the perfect image of what she believed she had portrayed. Using the Key of Strength, Fay risked it all. Her heart had stopped, her brain ceased to function, her organs had been petrified, and her eyes had gone blank. The shy, reserved girl who acted cowardly proved that she was one of, if not the bravest. I wish I could be like her someday," Elena thought.

They were surrounded by ashes, choking on the smoke surrounding them, covered in blood, and about to pass on. A muscular giant missing most of its skull, everything up from its lower jaw, lacking genitals while holding a halberd, covered in black, hardened, but also flexible coating, made its way toward them. Though it obviously was mimicking a male, it was just a monster about to crush the both of them under its foot. Elena closed her eyes to avoid watching them be crushed beneath its heel.

Upon opening her eyes, she was met with a fractured statue, a friend of hers. Astrid, using the Key of Strength to slay almost all but one of the mysterious unclassified beasts. Her body had been petrified and shattered after she fell to her knees after the final blow she had dealt. Scattered into dozens of fragments, a puddle of blood, and a cancerous pile of flesh, she gave her life to slay ten out of twelve beasts. As always, spiteful, mocking, and full of ambition, she gave it her all to slay as many as she could.

"That should have been me. She could have survived the whole ordeal with a few limbs she couldn't use anymore but instead, she had to protect my useless ass and pass like everyone else I associate with!"

Tears block her view by blurring her vision. Blinking, she is led to the last victim, Mei. Mei was special. Instead of being killed like everyone else, she had to witness it all blaming herself for the disaster that befell Abottsford. Considering herself as the trigger, she turned into a Demon to be slain by Flora and Drayke. As the fifth-ranked and sixth-ranked Dream Catchers, and the closest ones within their league available, they took down the Demon and the last unidentified beast. From there on, everything went up in flames and there wasn't much she could remember.

"You're hopeless, you know that2", someone said in a snappy attitude. Flora, the one who proposed to take her in until she, Elena, could be relocated somewhere with people more capable of taking care of her.

"Because of you, Marcela was killed. Your lack of competence will get all of your friends killed." Back then, Elena wouldn't talk back to, or ever be capable of talking back to Flora and Drayke. With Flora not being able to recover Marcelas' corpse, treasuring her like a precious little sister, and not being allowed to take a day off from her duties as a Dream Catcher in the past two years, she let loose on Elena.

"What2 Cat got your tongue2", Flora asked her in a mocking tone.

"I'm talking to you! Sitting by idly and not acting at all... Is that all you can do2!"

Drayke just allowed it to happen but wasn't proud of what she said.

"I'm sorry...", said Elena internalizing it all. Flora snapped and threw a glass at her. Though it wasn't aimed at her, it still shattered not far from her.

Everything after that was a blur with static noise. Flora kept berating her as everything went dark. The embers kept burning but grew weaker.

Azrael, once part of Daisy's group of friends that would fight together as Dream Catchers, is now an empty husk of a human being that had to be put down. After protecting Elena in battle, a battle against a Fusion, he fell to his knees. Braindead, he was just a husk. The core escaped. Four others were around at the time. Daisy, the leader of the group, Rouge and Lerone, the oldest of the five, and Genjo, the youngest and the newest member of their family. All of them were devastated by his passing, especially Daisy and Genjo, those that hold grudges to this day. Those grudges don't stem from the passing of Azrael, they stem from something that they considered much worse.

"I'm sorry," Elena whimpered. She broke the silence. Something boiled over in Daisy, the one who was standing right next to Elena. With a punch to the face, Elena fell over with a tooth flying out of her mouth. As soon as Elena touched the ground, Daisy made her leave with just one remark: "If only I hadn't taken you in!"

Genjo stormed towards her kicking Elena down while he cussed her out.

"I thought you were on my side! Why would you allow that to happen, huh2!"

A kick to the jaw,

"Why would you hurt us like that2!"

a kick to the stomach,

"What's wrong with you, you dumb bitch!"

a kick to the face,

"You just leech off others like the fucking whore you are!"

a kick breaking one of her knees,

"I knew you were fucking cursed! I should have known after you killed and disappointed eight people! Even Number 2 fucking hates you!"

and a kick to her chest...

Lerone and Rouge stood by as she was being abused. Everything went dark here. She fell into the abyss.

She fell into the abyss, the bottomless pit of doubts, regrets, and self-hate. In here the noise of the outside world and the noise of her memories were all drowned out. Elena lied there within a sea of darkness submerged deep within her thoughts. Several shadows of doubt came into being to harass Elena. Blonde and wavy hair, brown eyes, asymmetrical dress... a perfect copy if it weren't for the pitch-black skin and yellow teeth. Five copies for five sections of her past. Elena's still struggling to get up trying to move forward and find a way out.

"Why even bother2 All I do is stumble around and fall over not getting anywhere."

"Aimlessly wandering around..."

"They're happier without me. All I do is bring misfortune."

"Bringer of misfortune..."

"I'm just pathetic!"

"Clown..."

"I should just kill myself!"

"Doesn't deserve to live..."

"They don't even need me."

"Everyone hates you..."

"Everyone hates me..."

The copies all lost their solid form and turned into shadows, gigantic hands that would try to crush her under their strength. Within that moment, the hands were formed into greaves covering her without crushing her.

"Humanity is built upon failure," said a choir of angered and weeping voices.

"We're all failures!", it echoed.

"Your friend has fallen. You're all on your own."

A faint golden light was far out of her reach. Bound by the chains of her own doubts and regrets, she couldn't reach the beacon. Watching it go out plunged her into even deeper despair.

A blue light emerged, another spark of hope. It also went out.

A red light. It went out.

A white ray illuminated the area around her. One of the chains snapped forming the shadow of Prometheia while the others loosened.

"You're far stronger than that! I can't believe my partner in crime would let herself be defeated like that! Come on! People are depending on you!" Back then Elena couldn't understand what Prometheia had meant. And she still can't figure out what this means. She only could piece together what her friend intended to say.

"I'll move on and help the six I dragged into this mess!", Elena yelled out.

"Just like Prometheia, I'm guilty of dragging people into what I should be responsible for. I have to move forward and make sure no one else has to work as hard as I have to!"

Embers illuminated her mind and gave her passage to a way out. With a straight line to freedom leading out of the darkness, Elena still felt insecure and unsure as to why she should move forward, but meeting Prometheia again was the only way to escape her insecurities for now. Though there was a lot she still had to deal with, now wasn't the time, especially not on her own.

Where the embers had gathered, far from her starting point within the abyss, at least trying to create a fire, lied a rift leading directly towards Sentience and Phantom. While he was losing it, Elena jumped into the rift with her fist aiming towards Sentience.