With a charging thrust, Eris stabbed her sword into the beast which tried to hurt her little brother and killed it.
Standing up victorious, Eris couldn't help feeling a bit of pride in herself.
She then turned back and walked over to Lucas, smiling at him as she asked, "Are you alright?"
Nodding, Lucas smiled back and reached his hand up towards her.
Eris naturally extended her own hand to help him up, but when she did, she suddenly felt like something was off.
Tilting her head, Eris looked down, only to see a bloody stump where her arm should have been.
After staring dumbfounded at this scene for a moment, Eris let out a scream and fell back on her butt, clutching what remained of her right arm while crying out for help.
However, no matter how she called, nobody came to her aid.
Tearing her eyes away from her missing arm, Eris began looking around, but somehow, all she could see was a black, empty space, with a pool of blood covering the ground.
"Lucas!" All of a sudden, Eris spotted her little brother, but unlike before, he had collapsed, with terrible claw marks covering his chest and blood pouring out of his wounds.
Somehow ignoring her own pain and panic, Eris scrambled over and grabbed Lucas, but no matter how she called out to him, he remained unresponsive, his eyes dull and dim.
Just then, she heard a growl from behind her.
Whipping her head back, Eris saw the terrible beast, which she thought she had killed just now, standing above her menacingly, completely unharmed and looking even bigger and scarier than before.
Eris tried to run, dragging Lucas along with her, but the beast lunged, opening its jaw impossibly wide as it bit towards them.
As the putrid smell of the monster's breath overwhelmed her and the sharp teeth closed in, Eris instinctually closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come…
…..
Eris woke with a fright, sweating profusely, and cried out in terror; or at least she would have had her throat not been dry and her tongue not felt numb, causing her scream to only come out as a hoarse whimper.
It took a moment for her breathing to calm down, but upon noticing that she was in the familiar main hall of her home, Eris gradually began to come to her senses. Just as she was about to try to get up, though, a friendly looking old man dressed in white robes came over and gently pressed her back down, "Don't try to move, little girl; just lie still."
Eris didn't recognize this old man, but the gentle aura he gave off helped to put her a bit more at ease.
As she laid her head back down on what seemed to be a bed in the infirmary, Eris muttered to herself, "So, it was just a nightmare…"
Breathing a sigh of relief, the young girl tried to wipe the cold sweat from her brow, but when she lifted her arm to do so, she realized that it felt much lighter than she remembered.
Glancing over, the sight which filled Eris' eyes made her realize that while her worst fears hadn't come true, at least part of what she had just dreamed had indeed happened.
Staring at the thick white bandages wrapped around what was left of her right arm, Eris wasn't quite sure how to react.
Was she upset, or panicked, or afraid, or some other emotion she couldn't describe in simple words?
She didn't know.
One point Eris did find odd, however, was that despite literally having her arm bitten off, she didn't feel any pain. She tried to recall what exactly happened after the beast attacked her, but everything was a blur.
I remember falling down, then… then the beast… exploded?
Shaking her head, Eris found what she was thinking ridiculous; after all, how could a beast just explode? She felt it was much more likely that she had passed out and the beast had simply died from its injuries or been taken care of by someone else.
Maybe it was Lucas who finished off the beast.
When her mind drifted to her little brother, though, Eris suddenly had a terrible thought.
If her losing her arm was real, what about Lucas dying?
Was he alright?!
Jolting up from the bed, Eris ignored the old man in white's urgings for her to stay still and began looking around frantically as she called out, "Lucas?! Where's Lucas?!"
It was at that moment that a young voice shouted from the entrance of the hall, "Big Sister Eris!"
Rushing over, Lucas hurriedly stopped Eris from getting out of bed like she was trying to, making sure she laid back down as he repeatedly comforted, "It's alright. I'm alright. You're alright. Everything will be alright…"
Sasha and Charles weren't far behind, though they didn't shout out loud like Lucas as this was still an infirmary and there were many other injured people being treated inside.
While them being a bit loud would likely be overlooked given the circumstances, as the Lord and Lady of Redwood Town, the pair still felt they needed to maintain at least some semblance of calm and project a sense of confidence.
Of course, that in no way meant they weren't feeling emotional seeing their daughter lying in bed, missing her right forearm; in fact, both Sasha and Charles had to try very hard to not smother Eris and burst into tears.
It took some time, but eventually, the small group of four managed to all settle down, with Lucas, Sasha, and Charles kneeling around Eris' bed.
"How are you feeling? Does it… does it hurt?" Sasha finally broached the main subject.
Lying in bed, Eris was clearly still a bit overwhelmed by everything and simply said, "I'm okay… it doesn't hurt."
The short and curt response from her daughter, who was normally so rambunctious and never held anything back, felt like needles stabbing into Sasha's heart. Her eyes, which had just barely dried, began moistening again.
Taking over for his wife, Charles spoke up, "You were very brave, Eris. Your mother and I are both proud of you."
Although she might have agreed with him, Sasha immediately felt like chastising her husband for encouraging their daughter's reckless behaviour, but she knew this wasn't the time, so she choked back her tears and nodded along.
Lucas also nodded and said firmly, "Thank you, Eris, for saving me. I promise I'll find a way to restore your arm!"
Pursing her lips, Eris nodded as well and muttered, "En."
Perhaps because she was finally able to relax knowing that her loved ones were safe, or perhaps because so much attention was being paid to it now, it seemed reality was starting to sink in for Eris, causing her responses to become more and more muted.
If she was asked if she regretted her decision to act back then, the answer would most definitely be no, as not doing anything would have meant watching Lucas die.
However, if Eris was asked if she had any regrets, then she most definitely did.
She regretted not checking more carefully to see if the beast was really dead, she regretted swinging to counterattack instead of just dodging at the last moment, she regretted many, many things; but more than regret, what Eris felt most right now was uncertainty.
How would she live from now on?
Would she still be able to cultivate?
Would she be able to go off and see the rest of the world?
Would she ever be able to wield her sword again?
Would the people around her start looking down on her?
Would they pity her?
Would they scorn her?
The future, which Eris had always looked forward to with great enthusiasm, now seemed dark and scary, causing her to increasingly turn inwards.
Seeing a grim and fearful look cover their daughter's face, Sasha and Charles immediately reached out, intending to hold her one remaining hand, but they hesitated at the last moment, worried that doing so would only further emphasize what Eris had lost.
Lucas noticed this change as well, but he was even more confused about what to do.
He wanted to comfort his precious big sister, but he had no idea what to say.
His inherited memories contained many scenes of tragedy, or mourning, and of loss, but those were more like stories he had read, or movies he had watched, rather than experiences he had lived.
Now, in this moment, Lucas simply lacked the ability to express what he wanted to say.
On top of all that, Lucas was feeling incredibly guilty.
His logical mind told him that none of this was his fault, but seeing Eris lying there, growing more and more despondent, his heart ached as he unconsciously blamed himself for acting so recklessly.
When Lucas saw those two children in danger, his body moved before he could even think about it. He had done what he thought was right in that moment, but as a result, Eris had been terribly injured.
All of a sudden, what was right and what was wrong became unclear to the young boy.
If trying to help strangers hurt those close to him, was it the wrong thing to do?
Or, was trying to help others despite knowing it might put yourself and those you loved in danger what made it the right thing to do?
Lucas simply didn't know.