The world lay open before me.
My eyes widened, taking in the vast expanse around me, as endless as the sea. My body was glowing, radiating an unfamiliar light beneath the sheen of sweat that covered my skin. I sat on the grass, struggling to make sense of what had just happened, beside the very person who had brought me to this point.
Precious.
She stared at me, mesmerised, as though she were witnessing something extraordinary.
And she was.
Because I was a spectacle.
I could feel something rushing through me, an unfamiliar sensation spreading throughout my body. Was I a Relier, drawing strength from the emotions of others? Or was I a Mourner, someone whose suffering could be turned into power? Perhaps I was neither. Perhaps I was something else entirely.
Why was my body glowing in a world already overflowing with abilities?
Why had I just walked through my own subconscious?
What had happened to me?
I didn't know.
"I don't know, Precious!"
Michael's voice cut through the air, carrying a sharpness that betrayed his frustration. He turned towards her, his expression twisting with disgust as the memories of their past resurfaced. And suddenly, he remembered exactly why she had once forgotten him.
Two years ago, she had been everything.
She was perfect. Precious in every sense of the word. Even her name seemed to embody everything I had admired about her.
Until I realised I had no place in her world.
I wasn't her first choice. I wasn't even her second. I was last on her list, an afterthought she could return to whenever she pleased.
And yet, she could still smile at me. She could still laugh, still speak to me as though I mattered. Those little moments were enough to fill me with fleeting happiness, enough to make me believe that perhaps there was something between us after all.
But there wasn't.
I was her toy.
The fool she kept around, the boy she could string along with a smile and a few carefully chosen words. I had mistaken her attention for affection, and by the time I understood the difference, I had already given her far too much of myself.
And now, after everything, here I was.
Saving her.
Michael pushed himself to his feet and began walking away. He wanted nothing more to do with her. He had endured enough pain already, and the last thing he needed was another reminder of the person he had once been.
But her voice followed him.
"I remember how you used to act around me. So childish, like a baby. You were a joke."
Michael stopped.
Her voice carried a peculiar amusement, almost playful, as though she were enjoying the opportunity to revisit something she knew had once hurt him.
"And now you're saving me, just like you always promised, my little hero."
He slowly turned his head.
Precious looked at him, a smile resting on her face. Her eyes gleamed with that familiar, manipulative purple light, and something within Michael responded. His own energy surged, the glow surrounding his body intensifying as his emotions threatened to spill over.
"You really think one trick will work forever?" he asked, his voice low. "You think I'll always be fond of you?"
His expression hardened.
"Precious, you still think you're precious to me?"
The words hung between them.
Then Michael struck the ground.
His fist slammed into the earth, sending cracks racing across the surface. He hit it again, and again, each blow tearing through the ground beneath him. Soil scattered, grass was ripped from its roots, and the earth fractured under the force of his anger.
He couldn't contain it anymore.
I'm tired.
I'm so tired.
I'm angry.
I saved you. I found you. Even after everything, even after all the suffering I've endured, I still stopped to help another human being.
And what do I get?
Mockery. Manipulation. Another reminder of how foolish I was to believe that people could care about me.
All of you humans are nothing but lingering shadows, appearing in my life only to torment me. Every time I try to move forward, someone finds another way to drag me back into the past.
Maybe my own end is the only thing that could finally bring this nightmare to a close.
But no.
I can't.
I live for Elizabeth. I live for my father. There are still people I cannot abandon, no matter how much I despise this world or how badly I want to escape it.
As inhuman as I may have become, perhaps all I really need is something simple.
A hug.
An arm to rest my head on.
Someone who will let me be weak for a moment without making me feel foolish for it.
Is that really too much to ask?
A rustle came from the shadows.
Something was approaching.
A beast emerged, its presence barely registering against the turmoil already raging inside Michael. It moved towards him, perhaps sensing an opportunity in his apparent exhaustion.
Michael didn't even flinch.
He turned and delivered a single blow.
The impact shattered the beast's skull, its body collapsing before it could get any closer. Michael barely spared it a glance.
He was too tired to care.
Too tired to fight.
Too tired to keep entertaining the world that seemed determined to make him suffer.
"Just leave me alone."
He looked ahead, his expression empty once more.
"I'll be back. I just need to walk."