As the rumbling stopped, Sunny's eyes fluttered open. Suddenly the vast expanse of red grass was nowhere to be seen. Neither were Nephis or Cassie; rather, familiar people and familiar buildings were there. Sitting up off the tree he was lying on, he pulled a strand of hair down—only to be met with red.
"Had it all been... a dream?"
Suddenly the sound of yawning came from next to him. A girl with green ribbons adorning her curly black hair looked up at him, a small tired smile on her face.
"What had been a dream? Did you have a nightmare?"
A wave of emotions tumbled over him. He instantly lunged down, hugging the girl. He heard small giggles coming from her as she patted his pack, her voice coming out just like it had before.
"Welcome home... Auro."
---
Nephis came out of her quarters and walked into the dining room. She saw her father sitting at the end of the table. In front of him was a plate of food and the other end was the same.
"F—Father?"
Finally meeting her eyes, the man's stoic expression never left his face, though it did grow much softer when he saw her.
"Did you perhaps have a nightmare? I've been told they're developing a medication for those, due to the many who thought they had falsely become sleepers because of them."
Her head started to hurt, dizziness overtaking her very body.
"N—No, I saw it... they—"
She tumbled over, but before she could fall onto the floor she was caught by none other than Broken Sword himself. Suddenly a sight she had never seen before came across his face: a smile.
"Come, let's eat. We have a long day ahead of us."
---
Cassie could feel tears rolling down her face as she looked up at the constellations in the sky on top of that mountain. Perhaps it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen—no, it definitely was. Behind her, her parents were watching, her mother's head resting on her father's shoulder.
"Can you see that, Cassia? That's Orion! I remember when I was younger your grandmother took me to this very spot!"
Looking back, she saw her mother's beaming face. Her father looked down at her with a gentle smile. Once again turning her head to the night sky, tears escaped her eyes.
"It's beautiful..."
---
Sunny was eating with Talia; the deer he had just caught had been turned into jerky by smoking it.
"Haha! Why are you eating so much?"
"Mmmph mmmph! Mmmph!"
"Haha, finish chewing!"
After he swallowed down his food, without waiting a second more, more food entered his mouth. Gulping down the milk they had gotten from the buffalo, he let out a loud burp.
"Ah—sorry about that, just making sure I'm full. Don't know when I'll get the chance to eat again."
Talia blinked before tilting her head and already bringing out their eighth serving. "What do you mean? We'll eat tomorrow, of course."
Sunny leaned back in his wooden chair, looking up at the ceiling, a bone hanging out of his mouth from one of the fishes.
"Nah, as much as I would like to stay I can't—gotta go back to the real world, y'know?"
Suddenly the girl's eyes changed ever so slightly; they began to fill with sadness.
"W-what do you mean? Why are you leaving us and what do you mean, real world?"
Her eyes began to water as she sank down on the floor, tears trailing down her face.
"Please... don't leave me... you're all—"
"Hard pass!"
Sunny spat out the fish bone before standing up. Looking down at the girl, a snarl painted his face.
"I was gonna leave peacefully, but you just had to pull this stunt, huh? Well, it's of no matter. I'll burn you to the ground once I'm out of here."
Picking up one of the knives on the table, he plunged it through his own heart.
---
"Gasp!"
Sunny's eyes shot open. Catching his breath, he finally realized the predicament he was in: they were still inside the tree, but roots had wrapped all over their bodies, slowly burying them into the surface of it.
He attempted to summon shadows only to be met with a lack of essence; it must have slowly been draining them of it.
He attempted to pull away, but the vines were far too strong for his current weak physical strength.
There was one thing he knew that never failed him. Biting into the roots, he tore through them. Slowly but surely he made his way out. Wasting no time, he began to pull away at the vines wrapping around Nephis with all his strength.
What time were they caught in the illusion? It had to be before they had left the tree; that means it was more likely ever since they stepped foot in this damn tree—or rather ever since they had eaten the first fruit. Still, that would mean they most likely all had different memories of the tree, which made him relieved knowing Nephis won't remember what had happened. Ripping her out, she fell on top of him. Rolling her over, he saw her face trailing with tears. There was no time to feel pity or anything of the such at the moment. Jumping up, he ran toward Cassie, ripping her out as well.
And then he heard a roar.