Maybe Yuna's days had been too peaceful—so peaceful that the law of transmigration seemed unable to tolerate her idleness—that she started hearing voices inside her head.
[Am I really the devil?]
[…a spawn of a demon…]
[I didn't ask to be born either…]
[…Why? I didn't mean it!]
[…Why do they hate me?]
[Why is no one on my side?]
Yuna felt like she was going crazy. Every night, she would hear a voice, and she was too scared to even make a sound, afraid that if she mistakenly answered it again, she would disappear and be teleported somewhere dangerous.
Her sleep quality dropped sharply, dark circles forming around her eyes until she became a human version of a panda. Ó╭╮Ò
"Little Yu, have you been staying up late these days? It's not good for children your age to stay up late," Grandpa Orion advised gently.
'I would also like to sleep, Grandpa!'
"Umm…." Yuna grunted in reply.
Grandpa Orion looked worried, wanting to say more but not wanting to sound like he was nagging or scolding her. The doting grandfather had never once scolded Yuna. She was his only family member, and he cherished her dearly.
Seeing his worried expression, Yuna felt guilty, but she didn't like sharing her problems, especially with family. Even if he knew, he couldn't help, and it would only add to his worries.
Thankfully, Austin had taken an escort job to a nearby town for a small merchant. If he saw Yuna's haggard appearance, he would persistently try to get an explanation from her. Just the thought made Yuna shudder.
She had never seen someone as persistent and determined as him.
Was persistence and unwavering determination one of the perks of being a main character? Yuna seriously thought that it must be.
Honestly, she somehow regretted getting involved with him.
He had almost—almost—made her spill about the plant adorning her right hand. If not for her strong perseverance and mastery at deflecting questions, he would surely have succeeded in extracting information about the plant growing on her hand.
She had pinned all the blame on her master, claiming that the flower was merely a magical protection artifact that looked like it had grown on her palm.
'Terrifying shit.'
She really hated sharing her problems with others and preferred keeping everything to herself.
Clicking her tongue, Yuna followed her grandfather to watch the shop with him. When night arrived, with a fearful heart, Yuna climbed onto her bed and let out a trembling breath.
[I hate light…]
[Why must it be me?]
Again, late into the night, Yuna opened her eyes—bloodshot.
'Oh my Goddd… here it comes again!'
Yuna silently listened to the voice, not daring to make a sound.
[I didn't mean to do it!]
[…Just because I was born with darkness, kindness can be so easily taken away!]
[If the world cannot tolerate my existence… I won't allow it to exist peacefully either.]
'Holy shit! That sounds like the beginning of a great blackening! My God!'
Yuna's heart jolted the more she listened. It was the sound of someone slowly morphing into evil.
"I—" Yuna clamped her mouth tightly. Stupid mouth, don't!
Her reader's instinct kicked in, almost making her utter soothing words to the wounded voice. Now was not the time to be a holy mother! It was fine back in the comfort of the modern world, where placating a wounded child through a phone screen had no repercussions—but this was different. Every action here had consequences she couldn't afford.
[To the world that abandoned me… I… will…]
Sigh…
'Ah mannn… fuck this shit.'
Closing her eyes, Yuna let out a rueful sigh.
"For my peace of mind…"
"I will stand by you. I accept you."
The stone finally received the words it had been waiting for and emitted a bright light. Yuna disappeared from her place.
She seemed to have some understanding of how the stone worked.
The stone had never brought her anything good ever since she first came into contact with it. Indeed, something belonging to a villain was never anything good.
….
The sun had not yet set in the place she found herself in. Dense trees lined the roadside, and the road did not seem like a place where pedestrians often passed.
Yuna heard faint breathing behind a tree, someone hiding there.
It was her target.
Approaching, Yuna found a burnt body. The body was breathing laboriously and seemed to be in a comatose state, a puddle of blood beneath him.
Yuna's pupils shook, her lips trembling at the horrifying sight. She had thought her mentality had improved a lot, but it turned out that it hadn't.
Slowly and cautiously, she approached and sat beside the burnt body. The mutated moonlit orchid, as if reacting to her hidden thoughts, elongated and wrapped around the burnt body from head to toe, flattening itself.
Once it finished wrapping him, green glowing dust-like particles emitted from the flattened roots.
This was a healing property Yuna had discovered. It was when she saw Austin return heavily injured from exchanging blows with beasts. At that time, she thought it would be good to have something that could heal injuries, and the moonlit orchid reacted, wrapping around Austin's injured parts and healing him.
It was also then that she was interrogated about the origin of the flower and how it had taken root in her arm.
In the end, he had said, "Your master is too careless to let you take care of this."
He knew the origin of the flower after all.
Yuna also thought his words were quite plausible, but she couldn't openly discredit her master. She also had to maintain her façade of not understanding how the moonlit orchid mutated or how dangerous it was. Defending her master was merely an excuse.
Sigh… once a person lied, the lies began piling up one after another, one lie backing up another.
The green light particles shone for a long time before finally dimming.
Yuna decisively cut off the vines and let them wrap around the youth.
Once the flower had properly merged with her, it had already become part of her body. She could easily control it or even chop it off effortlessly—unlike before, when she couldn't cut it with a knife or burn it.
Channeling wind energy, Yuna lifted the burnt person, who was still unconscious. The bloody smell might attract beasts, so it was better to leave and find a safer place.
A piece of survival knowledge gained from reading novels.
She had to wait for the person to wake up before understanding the situation. She had come here blindly, and she was sure she would eventually be teleported back. All she needed was to understand why she had been called.
That would also help her understand the dimension stone a little better.
There was finally a clue she could get her hands on. Since that was the case, she would pursue it… haha.
As always, she was too good at making excuses.
Yuna walked through the forest as the sky darkened, continuing to heal the burnt person. Luckily, she found a cave. Scattered dry wood and dirty pots lay around—it seemed to be a resting place for hunters passing through the forest.
Yuna gently placed the person on the ground and began building a fire.
She didn't know how long she would stay here or when she would be transported back. She belatedly regretted coming here hastily without adequate preparation.
What if she didn't return by morning? She would scare her grandfather terribly.
She had been short-sighted.
Next time, she would prepare everything in advance if she heard a voice again.
Let's hope she could return before her grandfather noticed her disappearance and panicked.