"You're asking the wrong man for help" A traitor.

Chapter 18: The Girl from Nowhere

Behind the eyelids of a sleeping thirteen-year-old girl, moved her restless hazel.

Adena had slept for what her brother would perceive to be five days and four nights. Not to worry Adena's not in a coma or under some sleeping spell cast by the Evil Queen, and she hasn't pricked her finger on a dirty spinning wheel at the top of some grandiose tower. She had found her escape, and now it was time for her to wake. But to wake she has to open those big brown eyes of hers by shaking off the comforting warmth sealing them shut.

Eyes energized, quiver, and after a few more seconds of moving around they open, welcoming the new day.

Opening her eyes with a breeze at her back, Adena rises from her dream escape. She wakes with a yawn that is soon replaced with a soft lackadaisical smile on her face.

I just knew today would be a good day. I felt energized, better than the previous 'usual' that had grown stale after I'd stopped feeling like a stranger in my own home.

The air smelled crisp of old wood, and... floor polish. Then it all comes crashing down as my elbow hits a wall as I stretch, a closet wall too close for comfort to be exact.

"Wait, something’s wrong," confusion comes after my sense of unfamiliarity grows. 'I’m getting a weird sense of Deja vu.'

'Where... where am I?" Adjusting to the black specks jam packed into the room with a newly found ease, I took a deep breath, instead of crying or screaming which was the normal more appropriate thing to do in a situation like this.

*Bing!* [You have unlocked an Achievement! You have traveled to another world, Congratulations! {System Reward} {Title ~ Otherworlder}]

"Where am I?" I spoke softly into the cramped room. "Is this a broom closet?" It was in fact a broom closet scrubbed clean to the crack in the wall, under the room's 12x12 square grid glass window. A tree branch with a bunch of twigs literally stood in staring distance eight feet away from the mattress I had woken upon.

“You're fine Adena,” a chipper child had spoken. I would've been more content hearing the sound of actual chirping of birds outside. Maybe then, I wouldn't have jumped up on the yellow mattress I was currently lying on. A jolt went up my spine hearing the creepy voice in my head.

It was finally hitting, the realization, I hadn’t been dreaming the following three chapters of my grossly underrated princess life. My life had spiraled, having arrived at a horrific end.

My throat was parched, and my chest hurt but the panic attack I was anticipating never came. 'How did I get here!'

"Eden," was stated. He had said the word like it held no further connection to me, like the name was simply a word and not something Papa dangled in front of me.

“Adonin?” I asked unsure if my memory was falling short. It was falling short alright, my brain was Swiss cheese, and I couldn't fill the holes in my memory to save my life.

“Yeah, it's me. Your older brother,” A child replied. Nothing was funny about hearing a kid call themselves your 'Older Brother' with that type of over-enthusiastic tone.

It was creepy. He was creepy.

“You don’t sound older”, I said, talking to myself, hearing the fear in my voice. I had my feet dangling off of the bed now feeling the white thin sheets under my hands. I had a panoramic view to my right of a vacant living area. 'Maybe, I'm imagining it.' unsure if I was completely insane. I stared at the huge brown couch on top of an ugly thick carpet.

The carpet, the carpet was the same color as-

“You're not crazy, Eden," Adonin teased. I got goosebumps as tears almost came to my eyes. How did he know Papa’s nickname for me? How could he know how the left-wing wallpapers looked? The flowery Aleiah of the Mabtali Mansion had been etched on that ugly carpet.

'Where am I, how does he-', And as if being the proverbial nail in my coffin, he answered my thoughts.

“Well, that's easy, quite funny. I'm always with you, and I have control of both of our memories.” He spoke to me like that was the greatest concept known to man. My hands were shaking. He had control of what?!?

“First off, stop it with the feat, we’ve been with each other our entire lives. I've saved you from harm far too many times to count, 'BE GRATEFUL.'” Adonin was protesting, and the scariest part was it felt like a small chibi clone of Papa had been living in my head all this time without me knowing. I stopped thinking, or attempted to, slightly scared to death but there was a tone in his voice that I could never triumph over.

Adonin was aware of all of my movements, my every thought.

“Stoooop!" He screamed in his squeaky voice. "You need a recap, so I'll show you something personal. How about it? An icebreaker, wink, wink.” His words sounded convincing, but they couldn't possibly be true. It wasn't possible for him to show me something about myself I hadn't already known... It can't be true.

“You know I don't trust you, but you're still trying to win me over, why?” It seemed like he was in a bad mood when the only person who should've been in a bad mood was me. It should've been me who had that right reserved.

“You're acting like a brat,” he said, replying to my thoughts.

“I am not a brat!” I said that out loud, standing corrected.

“Okay, lay down, back on the mattress you go, we need to have a chat. I want you to come back to Nothing.” Adonin had changed his tone in an instant.

“What the heck is "Nothing"? You're losing me again; I have no clue what Nothing is." I tried to be nice, but nothing came to mind- until something did.

I recalled the memory of sitting on my bed. 'The black bed sheets', he's the one who had them changed from white. No wonder the ghost of him was haunting my parents.

And with a gasp, I remembered "the space that I ended up floating in "Nothing" was the perfect way to describe it."

'How much?'How much have I forgotten? That question was a prelude to disaster.

“Yes, this is good, you're recalling things, but I think it's also a good idea that we meet again." I've never met him a day in my life.

"No, we've met. Not, recently. But we've met. I'm usually asleep when you're awake and vice versa, dreaming about your day as you live it. We met many times, but you were younger and... dumber, than you are now.”

'Enjoy lecturing much,' I tried mumbling those words, but they never came out. I should've been angry with him for blatantly insulting me, but I was unable too.

Any built-up anger I had towards him was dispersed, there was no time to have any reaction to him. And as Adonin spoke the memories came back to me like I was hearing the story of my life, a narration of my life. Adonin was pulling memories back from the depths of my mind and I couldn’t do anything but be absorbed.

"And off we goooooo." I felt like I was physically pushed off of the bed after I was deliberately told to lie down.

===

'Preschool?' He had sent me back to preschool.

'A preschool,' I'd never attended preschool, I'd have remembered if I did.

We didn't exchange any more words after he had forced me to relive this unfamiliar past. And this place couldn't be real, seeing as I'd been homeschooled my entire life. I can't explain to you how excited I was to even go to the mall with Papa. How thrilled I was to leave the estate, the heart palpitations of going past the saintly edged black high gates of the Mabtali's.

It- He didn't give me a say.

He didn't ask if I wanted to go back, he made the decision for me. There was no consent whatsoever, as I felt deep down like he was trying his best to therapize me. He'd pushed me down a hole in my own mind and this is where it led.

A seat at the table.

I was sitting at a table, talking to myself. No, I was talking to him. And it looked like a normal day, "I am, normal," there was no need to question it. This was a time when I didn't have to question it, a time when I didn't have to question my own sanity.

Why would I, a child, have cared about what other people thought of me? I question what is right in front of me. I question the sight of a girl, who turned out to be me. And I believed myself to be deranged since birth. I don't know how I developed this thought process, but it was a part of the shame I kept at bay.

'Don't think that way, I'm perfect the way I am! Why did he take this from me?!' More and more the questions piled, as the scene pulled me in.

"How," how was I simultaneously experiencing two perspectives at once? I was both sitting at the table, a child, yet above the table looking down. I had become a Sims character, how is this possible!? I didn't like it one bit, this out of body experience. My head was in the ceiling fan, and I wanted nothing more than to come back down to earth. That's not right, I wanted my two worlds to collide.

===

The flowers weren’t anything special neither was the drawing paper, the flower was drawn on. Though there was nothing 'special' about my drawing I couldn't help but notice the smile on my face. I had a smile on my face as if the five circles and vertical rectangle had brought the essence of spring to life.

"It's a flower," It didn't look like a flower in the slightest, you would think it was a windmill before coming to the idea of a flower. As I stared at the drawing paper wondering, waiting, I heard it.

I heard him loud and clear, a friend.

"Eden, they’re perfect, you should add some blue, the sky’s just perfect today.” He was nice and warm, he cared about me. All was right with the world. The specks weren’t bothering me that much.

The specks weren't bothering me at all, why were things different? The Specks stood still, the table didn't look like it would crumble at any given moment into browns and grayish blues, my arms weren't covered in black, the bookshelf in front of me didn't look like the books were vibrating off the shelves.

'Why would he take this from me?' I asked myself again, finding no logical answer. This was a moment that I could look back on, and be thankful for, a time when my world stood still.

"How old was I," maybe five or six? The small mole at the bottom of my left eye hadn't turned black. It was barely noticeable. My teeth didn't look like they'd been sharpened or whitened.

I was normal, I was me and the world hadn't descended into chaos or looked like it was coming undone.

I didn't have a sudden urge to run outside for fresh air like I was somehow being deprived. I was fine with staying still, I was okay with sitting down and taking time to draw.

"Look at her, look at me." I was adorable.

The green bean bag chair by the bookshelf in front of me didn't churn my stomach or make me want to hold my nose, rainbow patterned cubed pillows at the bean bags sides didn't give me a headache, I didn't hear the creaking, cutting, carving of wood every time my hands traced across a wooden surface.

"Why did you take this from me, answer me!" I knew I had been heard, but an answer never came. I wanted a verbal answer, but instead I was given more perspective.

I thought I'd been given the full picture. In reality, I hadn't known half of it. It's like I was looking at myself in the mirror but everything behind me was covered in a thick smoke. I'd only gotten glimpses.

A first-person perspective zoomed out to match that of a third-person perspective and the dark cloud I didn't know was hanging over my mind had cleared.

The bubble that was a preschooler's table life had popped.

There was more than one drawing. Taking a look around there was a whole stack of my doodles at the side of the table, those drawings had been completely colored in crayon. And like a normal girl, I had ignored drawing inside the lines.

The girl's bubble had popped, by eyes piercing my back.

"That's no way to look at a child." And I was right, there was more to this picture.

A woman. Behind me sat a woman. She watched me, no, she eyed me. The someone, once hidden behind the shadows, was a teacher.

The Caucasian woman looking to be her late thirties had been watching me the entire time. But I didn't know, I didn't care, there weren't any white specks pulling my attention away from what was right in front of me. And I didn't have the visual range of an owl, this was life without 360-degree vision, a life not knowing what was at my back at every turn.

With that said, the woman was suspicious, it was her job to watch me just like it was her job to pay attention to the other fifteen or so kids sitting at the carpet.

There was a question on my mind, but it never came out of my mouth.

I wanted to know, he wanted to know, we wanted to know.

"Use the blue crayon," He talked around it. The question never came.

'Why am I sitting alone," was I a bad kid? She, I don't look like a troublemaker.

Meanwhile, the woman was following my conversation with Adonin and that didn’t sit right with her. Something clearly wasn't sitting right with her. She had the Hungry bookworm in her hands but the only thing on her mind was me.

Why is she still staring? There was a book in her hands, but I was her primary focus.

She had seen me not as unique and imaginative but weird and disruptive. I could see it in her eyes, I could hear her mumble. She may have been on the other side of the room, past the brown tables. Lounging on the sofa in front of the alphabet sofa, but I could hear her just fine.

“All that money and they can’t afford a shrink.” The woman was mean.

"Why didn’t she like me?", is it not normal for a child to have an imaginary friend?

The flower clock on the wall showed eight, and a chill was in the air, or at least on my spaghetti strapped shoulder.

The day was far from over. The woman had left me alone for the entire day from eight to nine, from nine to ten.

I grew hungry, who wouldn't have been hungry after hours of drawing. I'd considered snacking on a crayon. My hands hurt, and they were covered in marker. But there I was, at the same table, in the same seat, drawing.

“Adena, ask the teacher for your food, there's no harm, it should be lunchtime.” Adonin voiced reason. Following that reason. I had asked for food and got what I wanted sitting back down at my table. I ate alone that day.

I ate alone every day. And no one noticed the routine.

Days turned into a week, the same routine in and out. I'd come home but Papa would be nowhere to be found until it was time to go to bed. Father never asked me how my day even went? He never does unless Papa makes him or nudges him in my direction.

Another day begins, and I'm happy about my purple dress but sullen about the coming day. I wanted to give coloring a rest, the sight of crayons made me sick.

“Are you okay Adena? go talk with the other kids.” He was the voice of reason when I was alone.

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The classroom had changed that week.

The kids were isolating me, as was she. And I could only assume that it was because I talked to myself. The teacher's smile was covered in green, and she had no reason to hide it, always being at my back when the other teachers were nowhere to be found.

Green Specks were all over her. The speck fell to her desk like her skin was unclean, to the point where her flesh was falling off in green chunks. I started imagining her as a zombie. And coloring at the table in the corner as I did alone, for the past week. There was nothing I wanted to do more than get bit.

Adonin had spoken up, “Adena I’ll tell Papa and Dada something’s not right here, I don’t like it.” A voice of reason alone, and I replied to him as I always did when I looked up to see the other kids on the carpet.

"I’m fine,” How could I possibly be fine when the other kids were reading on the carpet in partners and pairs while I'd been sent to a stale table.

Adonin gave it time, another day had passed. On a Tuesday, the whole classroom was free of smoke and mirrors. The specks were a fourth of what they are now. And the memory was on full display, my memory was clear as day.

Eyes staring at me with envy, and disgust. What did I have to offer? I was outside of the gate filled with green, and I wanted in more than anything.

“Start with Hi, I’m Adena." Adonin was trying to give me lines to rehearse. We practiced at the table while the other kids sat with the teacher on the carpet. It was the same time of day as usual, yet she was ignoring me.

“No, Adena you can’t mention me, this has to be your idea.” How come Adi was so mature, were we not the same age?

"He’s your older brother," I see that now, Papa. He was my life partner, if you could put it that way. Though he wasn't physically there, he was there in my mind and spirit. Day in and day out.

Adonin had readied me for the sea of green, and I was to set sail.

Three minutes later I smiled and got up from the table. I believed in myself. He made me believe in myself. It took time and now I had found the courage.

I was delicate and fragile and Adonin knew that.

Nervously shaking, I walked to the carpet, "I know my ABC's." Adi had told me that was all I needed to know for them to let me in. I wanted to sit in the circle.

I was tired of sitting alone at the table.

Adonin was making sure not to distract me by keeping his silence.

“Hi, can I sit next to you?” I spoke for the first time to a classmate on our third day of icebreakers. The kids on the carpet started whispering, the faintest silver streaks connected mouths to ears showing the verbal transaction.

“Please don’t, I can see you, that’s not nice." They were repulsed by me, shunning me. Why is it like this?" I hadn't done anything wrong.

“Ms.H, Adena wants to sit by me.” The kid complained unsure of how to process the change in my behavior. He was a kid, I was a kid, I get it. Kids don't like change, but something needs to give. I was also a kid. How was I to notice that the boy spoke my name with a familiarity?

“Adena, are you sure you want to sit at the Capet, the tables right there. you’ve got paper and crayons” Ms.Hacken was green and pushing me to make a decision, a decision she had already made for me.

She couldn't open that rotten mouth of hers without green specks spewing forth across the carpet. Someone had soiled themselves and it wasn't the kids.

The carpet reeks of slobbering green envy.

“Adena, you want to sit down on the carpet tell her,” Adonin had spoken up after his two minutes of silence, he was right, I was growing tired of isolation. But I remained silent, unable to voice my opinion of discomfort.

Ms.Hacken got out of her seat, put down her book and walked me back to isolation. Only she had taken the greenest of the kids along with her. She was giving me a drawing partner. The boy who always wanted to draw when he saw me drawing.

'What changed her mind?' It was getting on my nerves, Adonin my questions.

“No, not him,” Adonin spoke only for his words to fall on my ears.

The following hour was unpleasant. The following hour was unpleasant for me.

The breaking of crayons and pulling of hair, my hair.

'Why is my hair even down?' No pigtails, ponytails, or braids. Highly unusual, for Papa to let it hang free in front of grubby handed kids. One grubby handed kid in particular.

Adonin had told me to call for help. Ms. Hack was pretending that she didn't hear a thing.

Her cruel intentions had been seen through by Adonin but not me. I got up out of my seat, I could run away, I could run to the carpet.

I wonder why Adonin didn't like the kid. Why didn't the kid like me? He didn't have to like me. The boy didn't have to try tripping me either but often we do things without reason.

Adonin had decided to push the kid away not to bloody him or cause the kid injury. He had barely lifted one of my fingers. There was no force behind the finger which made me question the validity of the entire memory. I was so drawn into the moment. I needed someone to come to my rescue.

In Adonin's defense, no one else would come to my rescue. My move had already been made as I looked behind myself to apologize to the kid who'd been knocked over.

It was never okay to hit someone, unless it was self-defense. I thought Adi was in the wrong for sticking out his finger, and he was, I was... I shouldn't have pushed the kid.

The Malicious woman was smirking the entire time. I'd fallen into her trap.

“Adena, you keep those damn hands away from Charlie.” It had taken her three steps to get to me, and one swing to slap me.

This woman was no teacher. She was someone who preyed on the weak, she had orchestrated the whole scenario.

Charlie would probably grow up to be just like her. I could see the resemblance, blue eyes, dark brown hair, lack of eyebrows.

I was little, I was weak, and I couldn't speak up for myself.

Adonin on the other hand knew right from wrong. Only a scratch was left on my face. It could be covered up and hidden away by the teacher, and I wouldn’t have spoken a word. My cheek burned and a drop fell. My eyes watered but not a tear was shed.

I'd awoken in bed on my unicorn sheets set, tired with a throbbing headache. Father was sleeping right next to me, telling his five-year-old you "had a bad dream." It gave me goosebumps, looking down on us like I was my bed canopy.

I had woken up without a brother. Someone I had supposedly spent five years living with. And Adi's trying to tell me that he'd just cut himself out of the picture.

'This can't be real, none of this is real.' The more I think about it, the more I toss in turn in bed until my head reaches a breaking point.

===

"What Happened!?" I shouted.

I find myself back on the small yellow mattress. My head throbs slightly like the day he started fabricating my life.

"You fabricated my life." Adonin had taken that memory away from me, who knows how much of me he still has. How many memories did he cut out. One Hole in the Swiss cheese was filled in but what about the rest.

'Goshhh, do I have a headache," I wanted to cry, I needed to scream not because I was sad, but because I was angry.

"I'm not a toy," he can't just do whatever he likes. 'Did that woman get away with hitting me!?', why aren't you responding!!!

Adonin spoke in my mind with no concern whatsoever. If there was, I couldn't hear it in his voice. That's what made him so creepy, "I hate you, I wanna go home!"

“Adena don’t be mad at me, I took them because it was something you didn’t have to remember. Imagine living with that. Being the weirdo, the outcast, the girl who talks to herself.” Adonin was talking to me like I was a child. He was being condescending. He was manipulating me into believing whatever nonsense he decided to shove into my head.

“No, Adena I'm not being condescending. It's good to ask questions. I'm being honest with you while being as delicate as Adoninly possible.” He was intruding on my thoughts, and I hated it.

"I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF AND MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS!!!" Shouting and shaking the unfamiliar house I had awoken in. It must've been my imagination. I was running hot, and my cheeks were flushed, I needed some air.

I need him to stop talking!

“But could she, Adena?” He hadn't raised his voice not once, I'd been silenced.

“Could a five-year-old Adena speak up for herself? No, she could not. I was by her side, and she was timid and easily pushed over. She laid her hands on you, and you would've been silenced. Her son kept bothering you, and your first thought is to apologize. “Adonin was still lecturing me and from the sound of it, he had not broken a sweat or lost a single nerve in doing so.

“Adena since you know everything, even what's best for you, what happens to children isolated and mistreated during childhood?” He was taunting me. The silence was invading me, he was poking holes in my head, he had to be. I was just about to burst and now two hot tears are streaking down my face.

“Adena don’t cry if you want to grow up you have to pick and choose when to cry or you will be labeled emotional, or childish, and that’s the last thing you want.” He knows me better than I know myself. I had lost this battle before it began.

“I don’t care about winning against you. See I almost called you an idiot again. We are like a coin with two sides. Heads and tails it, does it matter who is who, that's not the point. What matters is we are a part of each other. You are not alone." Adonin was talking, and it was my job to listen.

All I could do was listen. His voice had a nulling effect.

I'd choose that cold chill over a throbbing headache.

“Yes, we can function without each other. It was my idea that you started to do so. I want what’s best for your well-being, mentally and physically.” He was speaking the truth. I could feel it.

I have to believe it. Who else could I trust?

“When it’s all said and done, we are still a coin. Two people, a part of one, and I won’t limit you. That would be limiting myself.” The child had spoken nothing but words of reason. I was at a loss for words again.

"Why?" I didn't wholly understand what Adonin was saying. Papa never had to speak this much but it had the same effect. The benefit was that Adonin needed me to understand where he was coming from.

“I don’t care about winning, not like I get a prize and if it makes you feel better, I discussed taking a few memories with Papa and Dada before doing so.” A squeaky-voiced child was more mature than me and he said everything I needed to know. He was saying what I needed to hear. How could someone who calls a parent "Dada" be more mature than me?

"If you want what’s best for me then give me back my memories, all of them." I wanted what was rightfully mine.

“Are you sure about that?” His tone had changed from an angel child to something more Papa's polar opposite. Father never played games. He would never play them without teaching me some sort of lesson.

Who is he?

“Sister, dearest sister, you know what? I’ll give you back your memories and yours alone. I'll even throw in another gift, for free! How about it?" I was at a loss, and something told me I'd be at another soon after.

"A loss? I wouldn't call it a loss when you have everything to gain." Adonin's childish voice changed from trickster to charmer, and I knew well who raised him. But his charm, the words inside of my head. I didn't feel wary. I am unable to feel wary of him, in depth.

I kept quiet, hoping to not make him angry. But there was no point if he had already made up his mind.

He knows my every thought.

"I'll give you back all of your memories and I won’t be taking them back. EVER! A gift from me to you."

'Now I'd done it, they couldn't be that bad. What could he possibly have to hide from me?' And hearing my thoughts Adonin started listing out the things he'd been hiding from me.

“Hmmm, let’s seeee, most recently, the magical space vortex of pain, kidnapped by shit, is next in line, a couple of times you walked in on the Parents. That'll be hilarious, but I'll keep those. Preschool's already been checked off. Hmmm, I'll be keeping those two for now. I think that's it, nothing of yours is too traumatizing. You can have them back now if you want. I can always give them to you later. And no, your life is not a joke to me, so don’t say that. It's rather disrespectful to expect the worst from me, show some respect to your older, wiser, smarter Brother.” He takes after Papa so much it's annoying.

"And wipe your face," I wiped my face trying to catch my breath.

“I’ll have them back now then,” I said, terribly worried about my decision. A decision forced upon me.

“Wait, what about a space vortex!?” A good question on my part.

"Wait, where the hell am I? And how did I get here?" I finally found the topic that was of the most importance.

"Nah,a ah, ahh, Adena watch your mouth," I had used a bad word.

"Sorry," I don't know what's gotten into me.

“To put it simply I'm your guardian." He said laughing at me. No, he's laughing at the situation.

'Am I really this fragile?' Why am I trying so hard not to tremble?

“Give yourself some credit Adena you went eight years without my help and only a few mishaps in between. If the world wasn’t so illogical nowadays, you could’ve made it. Great job with the Fauxes by the way.” I was starting to feel anxious. I shook off the uneasiness that'd crept into the broom closet.

A memory was at the front of my mind like someone had thrown a throwing dart and the bullseye was my brain. Instantaneously I remember quite vividly the starving red monster fox wearing human skin.

“Don’t worry about them, they're all dead, the entire race. oh, and we’ve been, Isekai'd get some water and go to the toilet when you're ready for your memories.”

He described this episode of my life like it was a hard pill that I needed to swallow. “By the way you're not going to call me by my full name, Adi or Bestest brother will do.” He was quick-witted, if his character said anything, that was most evident. Isn't it too soon to make that assumption doesn't he have an advantage over me? It's unfair that he gets to read my thoughts, but I don't get to read his.

Shaking my head while blinking my eyes, 'How long was I sitting there staring into space?' Placing my feet on the ground I noticed that I had socks on my feet, clean, weird...what the heck were these things made of?

The socks were white, and they felt like wool, but they moved weirdly. They weren't made out of sheep wool. They felt the slightest bit squirmy.

“I need to get out of here." Walking around the rustic and worn-looking house I asked Adon- I asked Adi why the place smelled like a dog had been running around, and he said the most awkward thing.

“A Wolfman has fallen in love with me...I think.” Adonin wouldn't lie if the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Looking outside the house the words, [Eyes of the Watcher] came to mind.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!” I shouted, feeling a nudge against my train of thought. Words came to mind as if waved in front of my eyes on a billboard.

I gently waved my hand in front of my face to see if I was hallucinating.

Adi spoke up, clearing his throat. “I told you we got Isekai'd. That happened about three or four days ago. We are now in a world called "Candralt," This world has a System like that novel you like, "Wondering Wendy, was it?”

Why does he seem strangely well-adjusted?

“Aren’t we both you probably haven’t realized it yet, but your base stats have strengthened your body and it’s way easier to look into Matter.” I'm getting tired of him replying to my inner thoughts.

"What do you mean by “Matter”? I asked.

“Well, you call them specks, a silly name, but it works nonetheless,” If I could see Adi right now, he’d be rolling his eyes, his tone said it all.

Looking at the stone-countered rustic kitchen I got some water from the faucet and headed for the bathroom. I walked straight for the toilet! It was kind of nasty how you could see the bathroom and toilet from the kitchen. The broom closet was to the right of the bathroom.

“What do you want me to know?” I asked him.

“First stop speaking out loud, you sound crazy. Simply think and the message shall be received. Second, what do you think the water is for, and where should you go?” I’m not missing Papa anytime soon. I don't need two Papa's nagging at me.

“You will, I promise you that,” Adi replied to the thoughts that I tried and failed to keep to myself.

Thinking hard about what to do with the water I slapped my palm across my head noticing the fitted shirt and trousers I had on. Walking to the toilet I asked how he got my clothing measurements, and he just told me, “Don’t ask dumb questions."

A sigh and a nod were given in response. Rude, there was nothing dumb about asking how he knew my clothing measurements.

"The questions you wanted to ask were, how did you find clothes, or where did you get clothes from?" Yeah, I was completely over it.

Rolling my eyes and swiping my hair out of my face with both of my hands. I walked into the bathroom ready to get whatever it was, over with.

As soon as I got to the bathroom, I took notice of the toilet.

Standing in front of the toilet a wave of revulsion washed over me as more bile came spewing out. Too bad there wasn't anything left to get rid of. The fear of fighting tooth and nail for my life just to be shoved into a car by three of the worst people I’d ever met. Despair took hold of me that night, so I gave up.

I put up a fight, that's what mattered. I was exhausted from the recap, but Adi still wouldn't give me any rest, causing me to open my mouth again expecting there to be more bile.

As I held my face down toward the toilet, I felt a ton of regret after following his directions.

In came another memory. After being hunted by those nasty-looking foxes I went through a transparent portal that almost ripped me apart, robbing me of my specks. On the other side of that portal, I’d survived most likely because of Adi. I ran into a weird skeleton that wasn’t undead like I had thought, in my silly antics after receiving my stat page or status menu. I called out for the system.

"I never want to experience that again." The system put me through hell, that's how it felt. Torture, a feeling as if my body was being torn apart by a source, water flooding me from the inside. I was being broken down and filled with matter, torn and repaired until I couldn’t take it anymore from there.

I didn't last a second under the pain. Adi took care of the rest. I dry heaved but nothing came out. The day didn't seem like it was off to a good start.

"When was the last time I ate? Have I eaten anything? My stomach feels empty," Valid questions on my part.

“That’s because you didn't. Now, drink your water little Eden.” Adi had the perfect timing, and I was glad I wasn’t alone. It was a blessing.

“Aww, thank you, you know I try my best, but the little one is bound to get in trouble.” He laughed at me. I didn't want to say anything because I was trying to be... appreciative.

*Bing!* [You have unlocked an achievement Memories have been restored as they come back, they will be yours never to be taken again. Congratulations!] {Title - Memorist}

'What’s a Title?' It was just a passing thought. I wasn't the slightest bit surprised that he had already prepared a response.

“A Title from what I know is rewarded as a trophy or achievement by the System; they give you bonuses that improve your Class. On that note. Wait to choose your first Class. until you have more Titles and Achievements. Best you learn more about the system in general.” He seems in a hurry.

“Adena I will be going back to sleep for a while. Honestly, I'm tired, I miss Nothing, so it’s up to you to learn about the System. I think it’ll stunt your growth if I baby you. In other words, it'll weaken us in the long run, with that said I’ll know if you're truly in danger. Accomplish as much as you can. I'm always watching!”

Why does this sound like a goodbye?

“Lastly, take care of yourself. I'll worry about getting us back home. It's your job to keep us alive. You want to grow up, it's time for you to take on some of the burden. Love you, sweet dreams little Eden. Oh, almost forgot the Wolfman we’re staying with is called Clivent Bane. He'll treat you like a proper young lady and in return, I need you to adapt to this world and pull your weight. I’ll be around.”

“Wait, Adonin, please don’t leave!” I was scared to be alone, and he was leaving as quickly as he came.

“Adena calm down, I'm always with you, quite literally. I'm just resting, dreaming of you. That’s all I am doing. I’ll leave a note now and then for you every night. I also tend to sleep talk so try not to think so loud. If you need help Clivent will be around. Anything else you should know before I get some shuteye? Oh yeah, the system says you're not completely human, don't focus too much on that. Don't die, that's a good one, and again Clivent is to be trusted. But "no one" is to be trusted with our secrets, keep your status sheet to yourself.”

“No worries, take this world as a study abroad, learn about yourself, NO BOYS!!! Papa and Dada have given you rules, use them,” not what I expected at all. Wow, I want to say. "Some brother", but he really was "something else." A few additional memories wouldn't be able to change much.

Adi felt as distant as he'd always been. But he was all I had.

“The special boy,” he replied before yawning.

Okay, so I guess Adi’s sound asleep. The day had already tired me out. "Is it day, what time is it?

"I'm really hungry," I spoke. Only to be met with silence and an empty room.

"There’s nothing to eat? I guess, I’ll go back to sleep." The house creaked from the small bed that buckled under my weight.

'Everything is going to be fine. I hope." Taking one last glance at the broom closet-sized room I'd be sleeping in. I lay my head back on the feather pillow and was taken by a sudden need to sleep. I was exhausted.

I'd woken up only to be eaten by the yellow mattress. And to think I thought today was going to be a good day.