Lorelei crouched and continued staring at the bloody bodies stacked on top of each other on the ground. She questioned herself as to why she hadn't felt any guilt for killing them, but also didn't seem to want an answer to that. The blood was still flowing out on the ground, making another puddle that reached Lorelei's feet. She could feel a grin tracing her lips, but immediately turned away and covered her mouth. She recalled the words of the figure in the mirror and got up. She started hopping playfully along the blood trail on the ground until she reached the knife she had dropped in the puddle next to the door. She took it and walked outside in front of the house. She walked a little more until she had reached the lower area of the field, where the grass became taller as she walked.
''Come to me...''
She stopped. The voice spoke to her again.
''Come, Lorelei.''
She looked at the knife in her hands. She felt something or someone calling out to her. So she brought up the knife to her throat. Lorelei wanted to stab herself with it, but before it could reach her, she stopped. Her hand was trembling; she didn't know if the figure was telling the truth or was lying to her.
''Trust me...''
That phrase alone was enough to make Lorelei believe the figure, after all it said that it was her ally. So, she took the knife, closed her eyes, and sliced her throat cleanly. It was scary. She wanted to scream, but nothing came out. Only groans of agony. Surprisingly, it did not hurt. She liked that feeling. It was an indescribable feeling that filled her heart with joy. Lorelei's consciousness slowly drifted away as she held onto the knife with all her strength.
...
Everything around her was dark and damp. She felt like there was an emptiness under her with no end. She felt as if she had moved; she would also be consumed by that darkness. The voices... They were talking, screaming, and crying.
''It's your fault! You did it! You killed and killed! It's your fault! You did it! You killed and killed!''
The voices intersified. Every time they spoke those words, they said it with a rhymn and anger. She crouched, covered her ears, and closed her eyes. The moment she did so, a surge of memories rushed through her eyes. In those memories, she didn't see people. this time; she felt it. On one, she was being hanged, and on the other, she was being burnt alive. She experienced all kinds of death and pain she had never imagined before. Put on the guillotine, pierced by arrows and spears, torn apart in half by bulls pulling both of her legs in opposite directions, skinned, buried alive, drowned. In a memory, she was put in a weird contraption with spikes in it, and the gate slowly closed, piercing her and turning her insides all upside down. The pain was unbearable, she screamed, but the moment she opened her mouth, a shadowy hand from beneath reached out to her mouth and covered it. More and more of these hands wrapped around her body until they had completely covered her, leaving only her arm out. They were pulling her into the darkness, and in a desperate attempt to get herself out, she reached her arm out.
''Please... Anybody... Help me.''
Nobody came, not a voice called out to her. She lost all hope of getting out and closed her eyes. Soon enough, her head entered the darkness. It felt like she was being submerged in water. She couldn't breathe, yet she still reached out her hand.
''Good... Come let us depart.''
A light shone upon her, and a hand grabbed hers, pulling her from the darkness into the light.
When Lorelei opened her eyes. It was daytime, and the sun was shining upon her face. She slowly got up and looked around her; everything seemed so distant. In the horizon, the only thing she could see was the same field she was standing on stretching across miles in the distance.
''Come. Have a seat.''
She heard a voice and turned around to see who was speaking to her. She saw a white gazebo ornamented with flowers around it. Lorelei walked towards it until she was able to see who it was. The figure looked exactly like her, yet she seemed much more elegant and ladylike. She was sipping on the tea while her other arm was in the air, pointing the chair to Lorelei.
''Have a seat before you say anything. I know you must have many questions for me. I will do my best to answer most of them.''
Lorelei walked towards the chair and pulled it to sit. The first thing she noticed about the figure was the weird shape of her left eye. It seemed to contain something in it, yet at the same time nothing.
''Do you want some?''
She shook her head.
''I'm glad you were able to last some time on the surface back there. You saved me the trouble of having to find you and reform your consciousness.''
''What wAs thAt plAce?''
The figure placed her cup down onto the saucer and asked Lorelei.
''You saw them, didn't you? Those memories.''
''YeAh.''
''You couldn't breathe nor see, could you?''
''No.''
''It's your sea. If I may say our sea. You've drowned your sea in sorrow. Those souls hate you; they despise you to the greatest extent. They couldn't move on to the gate because of the hatred they have against you. You alone carry inside the souls of millions, and in those millions, not one has any pity on you because you stole from them a life they wished to fulfill. Even at the surface of the sea, the voices still managed to reach you. Another second back there and they would've dragged you to the bottom.''
''WhAt do You mEan by Millions?''
''The ones you've killed. Rather, the ones he has killed as well as the one who died for you to be born. An existence like yours unstabilizes the scales of this world. So to keep them balanced, the day you were born, one person out of 7 died, and that death could have been any. You've barely experienced a fraction of them, and you're already in that state. Think about how much more you would've endured if you had stayed back there for another second.''
Lorelei looked at her, confused. She didn't understand what she meant by the ones he killed.
''WhO is he?''
''Your predecessor. I cannot tell you more about it. At least not yet.''
''Who ArE You?''
''I am you, and you are me. That is all you need to know for now.''
Lorelei was getting triggered by her ambiguous answers, but decided to stay seated.
''WhAt is tHis place?''
''It's called a mindscape, but this one is a small one inside you, one I've built myself. In here, I can bend things at my will, just like a normal mindscape, and time here passes when I wish for it to pass.''
The figure snapped her figure, and the scenery around them changed. They were now on a beach with the blazing sun hitting them from the side. She snapped her finger again, and now they were floating above a boat. She snapped her finger one last time, and they returned to the flower field.
''I prefer this better.''
She continued sipping on her tea, asking Lorelei once again if she wanted some. A request to which she denies.
''What is yOur goal? WHy Are you helPing me?''
''You needn't know the purpose of my goal. All you need to know is that in this journey, until the end, I will be with you.''
Lorelei had had enough of her vague answers and got up, but as soon as she did so, the figure snapped her fingers and without her wanting to, she sat on the chair.
''We still have some time left. Why are you in a rush?''
Lorelei gave her a harsh glare, to which the figure ignored.
''Those souls you've taken forcefully by using your power. They will be a replacement for an energy core you do not possess. For now, the only thing you should do with them is extend your power onto an object. Try feeling the object as part of you, and for the rest, I will take care of it until you get familiar with the feeling.''
''WhY Am I abLE to use them?''
''Because of what you are.''
''WhAT am I?''
''You are me. And I am you''
''Answer Me pRoperLy! Who are you and What is yOur objective?''
The figure stayed silent and continued sipping on her tea.
''I am only here to aid you in accomplishing your wish.''
''My WiSh? Why dO you wAste yoUr time On my useLess wish? Couldn't You hAve helPed me before? When I really Wished For sOmebody to Come and sAve me? Why Weren't you thEre to saVe him? Why?''
The figure froze for a second with her tea still in her hands, and after a while, placed it back on the saucer. She got up and looked down at Lorelei. It was at that moment that Lorelei noticed a weird crest forming in the right eye on the figure, and on her left eye there were 3 questions marks that she wasn't able to notice since she saw her. The figure looked mad at her.
''There's no such thing as a small or insignificant dream. A dream is a dream, a wish is a wish, no matter the means to make them come true, as long as they're realisable, it is a dream. Even if half of this planet's life gets erased in the process, I shall not lose sight of it. For it is my will, my eyes, my ears, my body , and my soul. I will not stop until those ideals take flight, we shall not stop until they become an undeniable truth. I am you, and you are me; thus shall be the way we live forward.''
The figure sat down on her chair and crossed her legs, frowning. Lorelei was still looking at her, confused.
''There's not enough souls left to maintain this place. I will send you back safely. From now on they will watch your every move so be carefull. I will help you to the best of my abilities. We shall meet again soon.''
The figure snapped her finger, and Lorelei brutally got pushed back into the darkness. She looked at the figure in it, and it was smiling at her. She felt like her body was floating, yet at the same time, drowning. Soon enough, she lost consciousness and woke up on the grass she had slit her throat on. It was still nighttime when she woke up, so not much time had passed. She slowly managed to get on her knees. All around her was a puddle of her own blood. She touched her throat only to realize the wound she had was gone. She also realized that her left arm that she had lost since the beast tore it off was once again back. Both of her arms were dyed in her own blood covering them all the way up to the elbow. On the right side, the knife she had slit her throat with was still there, right beside her. She reached out to grab it, but the same ticking sound came back in her head. This time it was even louder and more painful. She repeatedly banged her head against the ground.
''Make- it StOp.''
''PlEase, sTop.''
She banged her head even faster and with more force until blood from her forehead traced down her nose. At that moment, she heard a whisper.
''Surrender your consciousness to me, Lorelei. I will ease your pain, I will carry part of the burden. I will be the roof covering you from the rain, I will be the fire warming you during the storm, I will be the light guiding you in the darkness. Have faith in me. Those shackles are not yours alone to wear. This boulder is not yours alone to carry. Those sins are not yours alone to commit. After all, in this descent, I am your only accomplice.''
Hearing those words, she stopped banging her head and stayed there, looking over at the moon. Tonight the moon was of such beauty that she had never seen before. It was brightening her face in this darkness. The ticking noise which had intesified had now lowered itself, but it was still present within her mind. When she looked at the knife beneath her, she saw her reflection. She could see herself smiling. She touched her face, and she indeed was. Lorelei desperately tried erasing that smile, but couldn't.
''Accept who you are, Lorelei. After all, why hide the feelings you have been suppressing all along? Say it, Lorelei, say it.''
Her smile was getting even bigger than it was before. She took the knife and brought it closer to her face so she could see her reflection better. She noticed that the number one had appeared in her left eye. Lorelei realized that it wasn't the figure smiling. It was herself.
''It's a pleasure to kill.''
Arc 2: The masked liar, end