In a snowy night, there was a boy sitting in the alley. Beside him was a cat with unusual eyes, different color of irises as its left eye was blue and its right eye was grey. Its fluffy fur matches the shadow and just keep its gaze on the boy that seemed wallowing in sadness and loneliness beside it.
As the snowflakes covering the surroundings and even the head of the boy to its esteem season, the coldness of the night doesn't seemed matter: not a single shine in his eyes can be found, it was instead filled with darkness and lost within it.
While the shadow from just around that seemed giving a gap from place to place, a door suddenly opened, and a lady came out from it. Loud music can be heard behind her as smoke came out.
The lady wore a red dress with stockings covering her long legs and red high heels on her feet. She had a good figure that can make any men turn their heads, long blond hair that reaches her waist, and face that was being covered with make-up.
"(*Cough! Cough...!)"
As the lady wave her hand to chase away the smoke, the boy looked at him. The lady looked at her, too. Her smug smile was like a morning star, masking her kind self. As she extended her hand, it was like a ray of light to the boy.
"Meow..."
The cat vanished in the shadows as... Flames suddenly emerged out from nowhere. Snowflakes became flakes of fire, and the lady was being ingulfed by the same flames as its face and body becoming disfigure.
"Live on, my dearest son..."
.
.
.
"!!!"
Haise woke-up inside of the tent and quickly wandered his gaze around with sweat flowing down on his forehead. His surroundings were definitely peaceful than the sight he saw in his nightmare.
While panting from his lifelike dream, Haise turned his gaze on the slumbering cat near at him, then to the picture frame on the small table beside the lamp. His right hand reached the picture frame, he looked at the image cast on it where a brown-haired teenage boy being happily embraced by the same lady in his nightmare with a smile on her face.
Feeling the emotions with sentiments, his eyes focused on the lady in the picture. Then suddenly for a flash of moment, his surroundings became dark as the picture frame was being engulfed by flames in his hand.
"Live on, my dearest son..."
Haise apprehensively tossed the picture frame on the futon as he made a few paces backwards while looking at it with... fear?
"It seems the current and past you are suffering from a certain trauma, young Noctifer."
Hearing 'that' familiar strangely melodious voice, quickly made him wandered his gaze around, from left and right.
"I'm here, down here!"
"On you right hand, you silly flower!"
When Haise looked at his right hand, he startled like he was shocked by electro-spell. He just saw a black will-o'-the-wisp connected to the ring that was given to him by the wanderer shadow and reluctantly wear it. The will-o'-the-wisp has six glowing grey wings and a pair of blueish-white eyes, traits that reminds him of someone he knew.
"Hahaha... I understand what you are feeling. Though your face may be covered by your hair, I can still see if what kind of facial expression you are having."
"Fret not, young Noctifer. It's just me, Virgentae." The black will-o'-the-wisp said as it humbled.
"Virgentae...?"
"I know, I know... I understand your confusion. You see, as I have said to you, we will be able to communicate again through that ring. And this it!"
"Although... I can only manifest this form for limited time."
Haise was just speechless; he didn't even know what to say. Ignoring Virgentae in her will-o'-the-wisp form, Haise went to the slumbering cat and put it inside of the bari-bag he conjured on the spot then went outside after he put it on his back.
...
"This house sure holds a lot of sentiments."
Burnt woods and broken bricks from fallen walls, that was all Virgentae sees from the ruined house, as they went outside of the tent, hidden behind the surviving walls with great and obviously mended foundations.
Haise spoke no words about it and just keep his gaze on his path. It didn't take them long to feel the blow of the wind atop of what remained on the ruined house as he step in the air as bari-surfaces were automatically created through his will beneath the step of his feet as he assumed the stairs that once there are still there-- all firm in his memories.
Silence befell at that moment, as the emotion he left behind became clearer and stronger again, to the point sleep in his home no longer promises refreshment but nightmares.
The black will-o'-the-wisp, on the other hand, was just there, floating beside him as they indulged themselves in the leeway of the wind in that silence.
Watching the rise of the dawn, shards of silence thawed when Haise suddenly spoke: "I will... aunt...mother."
The black will-o'-the-wisp, Virgentae, quickly looked at him as she heard those words. He was clearly reminiscing something. Perhaps, something to do with his nightmare or past.
"You...will?" Virgentae asked perplexedly.
"Yes... I will. Freedom is the greatest abstract everyone can ever have. However, its prize is... you know? Steep... Specially for those powerless and those who tried to achieve it."
"And now, with my judgement, not a single one of those fuckers will be able to experience it, freely. I'll make sure they won't have guts to even step outside of their room for their entire lives."
"This nightmares of mine will soon become theirs. And fate is the only escape route for them."
"They will all feel the fangs of the past...!"
While saying those words, words filled with rage he left behind when he transmigrated to another world, his eyes at that moment emitted red aura behind his long bangs and eyeglasses.
Virgentae can feel his strong emotions that was at the verge of erosion through the ring. All she can comment in her mind: '...I pity those youngsters who will face the wrath of the judgement of the young Noctifer. Well, they all deserve it for killing the person who gave him hope and dreams.'
"What's your plan now?" Virgentae suddenly asked.
"I'll let them be for now." Haise replied as he pushed the bridge of his eyeglasses. His tone was cold and says a lot behind his last sentence.