Angel Monarch

Everything was wrong. She could see again. She didn't remember the last time she had vision.

Maybe it was a minute ago, or an hour, or a day, a month, a year, forever? She didn't know...

The sudden light was overwhelming, but the sound was even worse. She heard a constant buzzing coming from above her. It was really annoying, but also felt like a melody.

It was a beauty to hear again, after so long of living without even the sound of silence.

The smells were also something she missed. She smelt blood, sweat, dirt and other awful smells she missed.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Her body was still mostly unresponsive, for reasons she didn't know. It was probably because of the destruction of her body.

She felt that the damage had been repaired, but her nerves were still malfunctioning.

It was great to feel with her skin again, but her body was still absorbed in the constant phantom pain which she had experienced for so long. Right now, her mind was confused. It didn't understand where the pain went.

With effort, she managed to turn her head to the side, and with her recovered vision, she saw a woman standing next to her bed.

She wore a dress that was like a second layer of skin, made of wood. Her hair was long and brown, while her eyes were a piercing bright green.

She cried as, but the tears weren't sad. She seemed to be overjoyed. The woman looked familiar, but Sera couldn't remember. She felt there was a connection between them, but it was foggy and unclear.

Her memory was full of missing pieces, and inside she still felt that brokenness. The feeling of her soul being broken. The feeling of something missing.

Sera began confused for a moment, then her eyes widened in terror as the green-eyes woman reached out towards her face.

Without a thought, Sera jumped away, placing the bed between her and the woman. She also saw a lot more people around the room, some more familiar than others, but all were strangers.

The woman went around the bed and walked towards Sera, but she just continued to back away until she was in a corner.

She and others were saying something, but Sera's mind was absorbed in fear, so she understood nothing.

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Her breathing turned frantic, and she sat in a fetal position. She began to wail and plead, but her mouth still hadn't gotten used to being able to speak again, so everything came out as a mumble.

Bea and the others looked at each other in anger and self-deprecation. They were so absorbed in healing the physical wounds; they haven't even noticed the scars that ran deeper.

After suffering weeks in this state, they were even amazed that she had some mental capability. She was in constant pain for so long, any normal person would've lost their mind's way sooner.

"What do we do now? We need to calm her somehow, otherwise things might get awkward and difficult." Said Damien, his voice calm, but also a bit worried.

Sera continued to sob and mumble. It was awful to see her like this, and Faith had to restrain Vicky, so she wouldn't run to her mom.

The five adults looked at each other, then at Sera, unsure what to do. They didn't know how far her mental damage extended, and it was clear that she was terrified just by them standing nearby.

Eventually, Melinda sighed, and with slow steps, she approached Sera. From the six of them, she had the highest chance of being remembered and getting through her.

"Please... Please... Please..." mumbled Sera in a meek, scratchy voice. She said other words as well, but they were still incomprehensible.

Melinda stopped a few meters away, then knelt down to be at eye level. She said nothing for a few minutes. Only after Sera got used to her presence did she speak to her.

"Hey there, friend... You don't have to fear me... I'm here to help you... Do you remember me?"

It wasn't easy to talk, since she had to hold back her tears of pain. This was her friend. They knew each other for so long, longer than anyone else still alive.

They were close to being sisters once, but after she lost her memories, their relationship came to a halt. Deep down Melinda always hoped that someday she will remember all those lost times, and they can continue their friendship.

Sera's sobbing slowly came to a halt, and from between her arms, a pair of terrified golden eyes stared out. They seemed to dig into Melinda's soul, and after a few seconds of scrutinizing, Sera jumped and hugged Melinda.

She wailed and tried to talk, but the words flowed into each other, so Melinda didn't understand anything. But since she was hugging her, Melinda reciprocated and both of them cried their eyes out.

It was all going well, but then screeching sounds came from the portal. The creatures from the labyrinth found their group.

"Victoria, send all of them back. Now!" said Damien frantically.

Vicky tried to react as fast as she could, but her outlook on reality was still a bit blurry. After a few long seconds, she ran to the portal and changed its destination.

The 24 people still in the observation room, got sent straight to New Athens.

The portal remained open, and soon they saw a dark beast enter the room. Its form was mostly intangible, but Vicky could determine where its head ended and neck started.

"Vicky! Close the portal NOW!" shouted Bea, but she didn't listen to her mother.

Vicky was fuming and enraged. Harold had taken everything from her more than once. She lost her memories because of him. She got tortured because of him. She got stuck in another Realm for two years because of him.

But these weren't the worst. She could've lived with all this trauma, she could've looked past it... But hurting her mother? Now that was unforgiveable!

She watched calmly as the dark beast closed in. It growled with hatred, but Vicky kept her cool.

She hid her hands behind her back, since they were trembling so much. Deep down she was terrified, but her outside expression only showed boredom.

The dark beast moved closer until its head was near the portal. Even after that, Vicky kept it open.

It growled again, then made a screeching sound and pounced.

In her mind, Vicky saw everything in slow motion. The beast slowly left the ground and flew towards her. Part of its head went through the portal, but it remained open.

After most of its head came through, two hands entered as well. Despite that, Vicky didn't act.

Only when the beast's head was fully on the other side did Vicky raise her hand.

The constant flow of essence that kept the portal open suddenly halted for a moment, then resumed, but this time it wasn't keeping it open... It was closing it faster!

It took less than a fraction of a second for the portal to fully close. Vicky could've sworn that the dark beast's eyes widened in that moment, but it was already too late.

In front of Vicky, a head and two hands plopped down, with a quirt of black blood. She watched the remnants of the beast with disgust. Then another portal opened, teleporting the head, hands and blood to the bottom of the sea.

The floor turned back to its perfect, bright whiteness, but in her mind Vicky still saw the blood.

The room's silence was palpable. Even the sobbing had stopped, but in Vicky's mind an uproar was happening.

This was the first time she had ever used her powers to brutally kill something. She had been warned about this, about how dangerous and powerful she was. But that warning came from an unreliable source, so she dismissed it.

Now, she felt different. She felt a change coming her way. She didn't even turn around or say anything.

Outside the room, screeches were approaching, so she opened a portal below everyone. They all teleported back to New Athens.

They stood in Sera's mansion. Vicky didn't know why, but she teleported everyone here.

Sera had fallen asleep in her crying, and Melinda carried her away. She also silently requested Lilith to inform Bran about everything. She just nodded in agreement, gave one pitying look to Sera and went away.

Vicky stood and watched as her mother was carried away. Her face stayed plain and emotionless.

A few seconds later, Bea tried to give her a hug and talk with her, but Vicky pushed her away. It seemed to hurt her mother, and she gave up on trying to give her affection.

In the next moment, Vicky teleported to her own room, alone. She then broke down, her emotions finally overwhelming her adrenaline.

The long day had taken its toll on her mental state. She was so tired, the moment she was alone, she fell to the carpet and cried herself to sleep.