All night, Lyanna's mind kept circling around Vaelith's words…
And when dawn finally broke, she stepped outside.
Today was the day
the day she had trained for an entire month to change herself.
Lyanna assumed no one would be around.
But the moment she stepped out, her eyes fell on Vaelith
sitting on a stone, deep in thought about something unknown.
Just seeing him stirred a strange feeling inside her.
A heaviness.
A guilt
for hiding her power from him.
Vaelith's gaze shifted toward her, and the moment his eyes caught Lyanna,
he began to walk forward as if he wanted to speak to her.
But before he could reach her, Rosielle arrived from a distance with Varen.
The moment Rosielle saw Vaelith after so long, she ran straight to him grabbing his hand sweetly.
"Vaelith… it's been so long since I saw you."
She looked at him with a soft smile
and then noticed where his eyes had been just moments earlier.
On Lyanna.
Realizing this, Rosielle turned toward Lyanna, her gaze sharpening with quiet anger.
"Lyanna, I heard you've trained really well…
Varen said no ordinary human could improve this fast.
Only the ones belonging to this realm could."
Hearing that, a cold fear tightened around Lyanna's heart.
Did Rosielle realize that she also had a mysterious power like them?
Lyanna opened her mouth to say something, but Rosielle spoke again
"And I heard… you can dodge every attack now."
Her voice lowered, too sweet almost poisonous.
"Well then… I suppose from now on, Vaelith will protect me.
Since you"
Before she could finish, Vaelith cut in sharply.
"We should leave as fast as possible."
He began walking, then suddenly stopped and turned back to address everyone
his voice deep, steady, almost commanding.
"What's wrong? Why are you all standing around?
And Rosielle… no matter how well Lyanna dodges, no matter how much she trains,
she is not one of us.
She is normal human being..
And protecting her is my responsibility."
With that, Vaelith walked away. Varen followed him immediately.
Just then, Rrisu appeared.
Rosielle smiled sweetly and said
"You two are so silly. Why walk when I have Rrisu?"
Seeing Rrisu, both Vaelith and Varen looked away, a little embarrassed for trying to act serious earlier.
….
They began traveling through a new path.
Lyanna observed everything around her.
This place…
it was nothing like the world she knew.
As if each person here shaped their surroundings like their own dream.
A thought came to her
If everyone lived alone in their own dream-like space…
why did they still need such mystic powers?
Did something happen here?
Was there a danger she didn't know about?
Lost in thought, Lyanna looked at Rosielle and suddenly asked
"Miss Rosielle… may I ask something?
Since everyone here creates their own personal space…
and no one lives close to each other…
why does everyone still need a special power?
Is there some danger here?
Some kind of attack that happens?"
Her words made Vaelith, Varen, and Rosielle all look at her at once
a strange, unreadable intensity in their eyes.
Feeling their gaze, Lyanna became uneasy.
Then Rosielle broke the silence with a serious voice
"Lyanna… your question surprised me.
For a moment, I felt like…
you wanted to become one of us."
She paused, then continued,
"To tell you the truth… yes.
There are attacks here.
That's why everyone needs their own power to survive… and "
Suddenly Vaelith's deep voice cut through.
"Lyanna… if you're thinking about staying here… don't.
Maybe you like this place now.
But trust me the beauty you see is nothing compared to the pain behind it."
He stepped closer, voice sinking lower
"The world may be cruel…
but this realm is worse.
Sometimes I feel as if someone made all of us into puppets,
forced to live inside their carefully arranged design."
He looked at her gently, painfully. "And you said it yourself once
'you choose real pain over false happiness.'
Lyanna… this place is false happiness,
and far more terrifying."
Hearing his words, Lyanna realized he misunderstood her question.
She opened her mouth to explain, but Vaelith continued ,
"Yes, some people want to stay here.
Like Rosielle.
But many others have spent years trying to escape.
No matter how dream like your space is…
being alone breaks you slowly."
His voice softened.
"And Lyanna… remember the day I found you among those strange creatures?
They would've killed you and taken your place.
Those things attack whenever they can.
That's why everyone here needs a power
to defend themselves."
He looked down at his own hand, thoughtful.
"This place ..everything you see…
it could all be fake.
Even me.
Even you."
Lyanna stared at him, hearing the quiet pain hidden in his voice.
Rosielle and Varen also looked at Vaelith
realizing how deeply he cared for Lyanna,
how he protected her,
and even gave her such bittersweet warnings.
…
Then suddenly
A voice echoed from somewhere unseen.
"They're coming."
---