Lying on the ground, I raise my arms to the sky as if reaching for the stars. Freedom is right at my fingertips, yet I feel something weighing me down. Ever since I came to this spot, all I have been hearing is constant white noise. Hours went on and no one has found where I have gone. I don’t understand why, but I just want one person to care for my well being. My vision is cloudy as my eyes begin to droop from my insomnia, but in the distance I can see a dark blurry silhouette. My heart begins to palpitate profusely as the figure inches towards me. With each second that passes, my body stays frozen to the ground. I can’t move any of my limbs, as if bodies of water are encapsulating me. Suddenly, thousands of crows appear out from the tall evergreen trees and lift my body with immense force until I am in front of the person who’s silhouette I saw. “You’re going to die soon.” they say callously while their hands are lifted to control the birds. My mind is spinning, I can’t think or speak of how all of this could possibly be true. The stories that I heard people talking in town about the silhouette, spawning crows, and everything else turned out to be real. I remember them saying that they hope to never encounter a lady with crows or even see her true identity because they say that once she takes off her face cover, you will never be able to see the light of day again. “Save her if you can, Ren..” my eyes widen as I finally understand what’s going on and that’s when everything disappears around me. My hands pound down hard on the wooden door I spawn in front of, until I notice multiple doors spawning around me with white glowing crescent symbols on them. In my peripheral vision, I see small dark figures running around the doors, opening and closing them as they pass. Underneath me is mirror flooring where I finally notice my reflection. I can’t bear to see myself anymore because every time I do, I feel guilty for being alive. It makes it harder for me to breathe whenever I am reminded of how I gave her up to save my people. I never wanted to be a prince, but I wanted so eagerly to prove to my mother that I am a capable leader. I wanted to be a son that a mother could be proud of and brag to her friends about. Despite that, my mother didn’t even bat an eye in my direction when I sacrificed my spouse for her approval. To her, my existence was nothing but a waste of her precious time. Now that I have been given a chance to redeem myself, I want to save my wife.

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