Chapter 51 51: That Grey Lady [Pt1]

Elysia felt the sensation of detachment for the first time in a while. She did not know if she was glad to be in a dream or disappointed to be back here.

It had been some time since she dreamed about the future like this. The last time Elysia had felt something like this was when she dreamed about Sara.

'But that was a different case. This dream feels similar to the one I always have in the Cleansing pool.'

The dream Elysia had about Sara was more like an out-of-body experience for her. She had seen that dream from Sara's point of view which was different from how she usually saw these visions.

The way Elysia was current reflected more of the usual pattern.

Elysia instinctively knew that the body she was in was her one. The hallway she was walking out of was the royal palace.

Elysia had yet to walk through this corridor in real time physically but her vision had made her more than aware of how this corridor looked.

And she knew what awaited her at the end of the corridor. The contents of that always changed but the outcome was always the same.

It ended with Elysia lying dead on the floor with Adam's eyes staring her down. Eve was always there as well, sometimes in the background and sometimes nearby.

'I wonder what it will be this time? A swift stabbing? Or would it be drawn-out torture this time?'

It had come to a point where Elysia didn't even feel afraid of being in pain. Knowing that this was a dream helped a lot.

'Time to face the music. I wonder what will happen next.'

Elysia finally stepped into the familiar courtroom she had seen hundreds of times. There had been a time when Elysia tended to break out in tears as soon as she stepped in here.

But it was a long time ago. This place had left its scars on Elysia's soul.

'I wonder what Adam would say if I tell him the real reason I refuse to step into the royal palace? I bet he would offer me to tear the courtroom down.'

But Elysia could not let that happen. This courtroom was a much-needed element of the future.

"Elysia, why did you do that to me? I thought we were friends and you also said that you did not want the Crown Prince 'that way."

'Ah, so it is Eve this time? Is it just my imagination or does she sound different than before?'

This was not something out of the norm for Elysia to face. There were visions where Eve accused Elysia of doing a lot of bad stuff and it ended with Adam giving Elysia a swift out.

This was one of the better visions Elysia had where things ended peacefully for her. A quick death was all she could ask for at this point.

'It's almost time. Eve will make me face her and then Adam will come.

Elysia's body was turned around, just as she had expected. She opened her eyes wide in hopes of catching the vivid blue of Eve's eyes.

Her eyes met a pair of purple instead.

"So why? Why did you betray my trust in the end? Was it for that bitch Eve's sake? Was she the reason why you did that? What did I do wrong?"

'She's not Eve? Then who is she?'

Elysia took a hesitant step back but she felt something sharp pierce her abdomen. Her eyes met shadows and a burst of crazy laughter spiraled out of the unknown girl's mouth.

Now that Elysia took a better look at her, those grey hair and purple eyes were familiar. Elysia was sure she had seen them before but briefly.

"Elysia, my poor dear Elysia. Did you think your life will be better if you avoid getting killed by your precious friends? It's quite regretful for me to tell you but there is no way out for you. You could not save yourself, just as you were not able to save me."

The blood was flowing from Elysia's wound faster and faster. The sword in her abdomen was twisted and it forced in deeper.

'This should not hurt me this much.'

The visions had never hurt Elysia quite like this. But Elysia was sure she could feel a vivid hand squeezing her side and the wound was pulsing.

"W-Who are you? Do I know you?"

Elysia questioned, her consciousness trying to hang on to what little it could.

But the crazy girl in front of Elysia did not answer her question. Instead, her eyes had a hint of sympathy for Elysia.

"Do you know me? Isn't that too late to ask that? But anyway, I can die happily now since I get to take you along with me. Then, let's have a nice afterlife together."

Elysia tried to reach out toward the grey-haired female's pain-filled face. Seeing that face forced a wave of guilt down Elysia's throat.

'Is it my fault this happened? Should I have not interfered?'

Elysia wanted to know more but her body gave out. It always did give out at the end of these visions.

All Elysia remembered when she woke up was a feeling of guilt that choked her as well as the look of regret on that female's face.

'I should not have left her alone. I should have tried harder to prevent this.' But the Elysia in the vision could not change anything now.

All she could do was clutch her side as her body finally gave out.

For the second time in her vision, Elysia was killed by someone who was not Adam. and also for the second time in her life, Elysia saw a new face in her vision that connected to her death....

...….

...…..Finally, Elysia's consciousness could no longer hold on to the vision and forced her body awake.

Her side could still retain the sensation of the pain that vision had forced Elysia to feel but there was no wound on her body.

'Another death flag? Where do they keep coming from?'

Elysia had tried so hard to remain in a neutral role in her life. She had kept away from people and tried not to offend people.

"Why did I never dream about these things while in the temple? I would have been much more mentally prepared for all this if I had known beforehand."

Elysia's feelings could no longer be held in check. Her body was tired despite all the sleep Elysia just had,

"What kind of dream did you have to make you say this? Now you make me want to know more about it."

For the record, Elysia did not jump into the air as soon as she heard the voice. She was just a little startled to hear Sora's voice.

Her familiar's hair was rusted with sleep but his voice was amused. He was still in the same clothes as yesterday.

"Sora, did you never go back to your tent?"

Elysia quickly changed the subject, knowing that she should not tell about her visions to anyone.

She did trust Sora and her brother but there were some secrets Elysia wanted to keep to herself for now. It was a matter of self-preservation after all.

"Ah, that! I did want to go back but then I fell asleep as well. I just woke up seconds before you so I will be heading out now. We don't have a schedule today so what do you want to do?"

Elysia sighed in relief as Sora dropped the touchy subject. She was thankful that him taking a kid form came with such surprises.

"Since we don't have a schedule we should take this time to tour the surrounding area. I want to know more about this place."

"You just want to ditch the prying eyes. These servants are annoying, right?"

Elysia did not want to admit that the looks she was getting and the words she was hearing about herself were the reason she wanted to get away from the camp.

But as she expected, Elysia was not able to hide it from Sora. Her familiar knew her well and he could see how uncomfortable Elysia was with the soldiers.

"Well, that too. But I am genuinely curious about this forest and the wild beasts that live here. I've read about them and not all of them are harmful."

It was more like Elysia had come across some smaller beasts when she had been out on petrol before. And these beasts were friendly and kind to Elysia back then.

They had made her feel accepted to be out here. And for that Elysia wanted to visit them again.

"Read about them, huh? So, is my spot as your familiar going to be taken away?"

"Of course not. No one will be replacing Sora now and forever in my life."

Elysia could see that Lord Sorias had more to say but he stopped there. Elysia's confession had been unexpected but truthful.

"I see. In that case, I should let you change so that we can head out."

Elysia shook her head at her familiar's excited chatter. It was clear to her that Sora wanted to change into his original form and run around the forest as well.

Being in a human body all the time must be restrictive. Elysia did not want that for someone who was becoming like a brother to her in recent years.

For a millisecond, Elysia felt like someone was watching her. The sensation was brief and easy to miss which confused Elysia as well.

Generally, she was sensitive to such a brief look but something about this one had alerted Elysia to pay attention.

'Let's forget these problematic things for now. I should hurry up and freshen up. I don't have the luxury of maid right now so I will have to use magic to meet my needs."

No matter what anyone said, Elysia was happy to not have maids around her now. Their presence hindered Elysia's magic-usage.

The Head Preist had asked Elysia to keep a low-profile and that meant not using her stronger magic much.

'It's such a hindrance but I guess it has its uses at times.'

Elysia hurried up her routine before she headed out. She wanted to report to her brother before heading out to the forest and the excitement was getting to her.

But it all went down the drain as soon as Elysia entered Lucas's tent with Sora at her side.

A familiar vision of purple engulfed Elysia's eyes and her breath hitched.

"So, Lord White, allow me to formally introduce you and your daughter to my younger sister, Elysia Dirac. Elysia, this is Lord White and his daughter Emma White. Emma is a year younger than you so you both might run into each other a lot."

"I hope you both become good friends in the future."