Chapter V - End

I opened my eyes again, blood kept dribbling down my body.

Erika grabbed my arm, squeezing it as she cried silently.

I looked over Yunya...no, Nelya. She stared at me with a peaceful, sad smile.

“I suppose you witnessed my memories.” She said. “What you just saw...is my past.”

“And...you made me re-do it.” I nodded, leaning of the table as the wound got worse, and worse.

“I killed him, I helped you kill him even if you hurt me so badly.” She gripped her fists hard with rage. “My love for you...surpassed the monstrosities you did! Just like the Nelya of this dream did for you!”

I was in shock.

I didn’t remember one single thing of that bold, ominous Lillya. My void life as a puppet reigned with full conviction, and I wasn’t going to believe that I was the same person as that girl any soon.

“Dream…?” I muttered.

“Yes. This is a dream.” Nelya confessed. “In truth, everyone in this place is a ghost, a puppet...made for you to remember and come back to me. The only exceptions are you, Erika and that stupid white cat.”

I looked back at Erika, she nodded at me while still sobbing.

“Erika is my first puppet. She was a failure. I tried to summon your soul...and failed. All I did was summoning a mixture of my emotions in a single person. Cold, serious, analytical and with a tendency to hate. I ditched her into the world after failing to make her remember...but she somehow made it back to this mansion, knowing I was going to hurt other people and she tried to defeat me. So, I was forced to make her believe she had a life on her own in this fictional world by partially erasing her memories. Yet...she somehow remembered me as soon as I manifested myself during your first murders...and she tried to stop us because she hates me.”

“All my studies...all my promised success in life...THEY’RE ALL FAKE!” Erika screamed, pushing me aside and going towards Nelya. “I knew it...I knew that you still had control on my life despite my freedom! I’m nothing but a stupid toy, am I?! All those streets, friends at the academy...they were all a stupid dream!”

“I’m sorry.” Nelya sighed.

“You’re sorry?!”

She tried to go for her, but instinct took over. I grabbed her from behind and snapped her neck, putting her to rest forever. My last kill.

“W-What about me?” I asked her, making Erika's body rest on the floor before unsteadily rising up.

“After Erika, I tried again. You were born. You look exactly like her...but you don’t remember anything. I set up the dream for you too, and Erika didn’t take your existence well since the start, because she could unconsciously smell me through you. My plan from then on was...trying to recreate everything as you did it. I have no idea of what you did to my family while I was unconscious, except for William’s and Ferya’s death.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“But I didn’t touch Ferya.” I retorted.

“Because I couldn’t bear the sight of her pure soul dying again.” She confessed, sighing and looking down shamefully. “I don’t think it matters, anyways. Even if I did make you kill every corpse I found that morning before hanging myself...you still wouldn’t remember.”

“I don’t remember."

I didn’t remember anything. My motives...my desires. What did I mean when I told her that this was hell? Where was I gone when I died? Why didn’t I come back for her? What was that book?

That girl wasn't me.

“I’m starting to believe you’re not even her. You’re just my image of who she was.” She sniffled, holding back her tears.

“What...what about Milo?” I asked her, my wound starting to hurt more and more. "And Katherine seeing the woman in white?"

“Milo? I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He’s probably a manifestation of the mild freedom of thought I gave you. This place is a warped reality...that cat could have been your own creation trying to stop yourself from killing. Katherine's visions were...a decoy for her to reveal things to you that could have triggered your memories.”

"Well...t-they did. But they were only small, short flashes."

"Yes. I remember." She sighed. "But that is not enough. I need her back fully."

I groaned, looking down at my bloody nightgown.

“Oh. Right. I’m truly sorry…” she moved her hand, and the pain disappeared. I finally could stand up and walk to her.

“What now?” I asked her.

“I don’t know. You won’t remember...you won’t come back to me...I don’t know what to do anymore.” She muttered, hugging my body. For the first time, she started crying, burying her face into my shoulder.

“Nelya…” I muttered, hugging her back. “...I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, dear. It’s not your fault. I’m so, so sorry for putting you through all this pain for no reason.” She whimpered through her sobs.

I held her tightly, feeling her shuddering as she cried.

The weight of everything she confessed fell heavily on me, but there was a strange comfort in the chaos. This dream world, filled with pain and uncertainty, had revealed the fragility of everyone in it. Nobody was at fault, nobody was bad.

Lillya did what she did for purposes that are still a mystery to me, Nelya did what she did for love.

I, as a void puppet with the mere scope of bringing back someone that probably would have never came back, could only thread something new...laying the first seeds of redemption.

“Nelya…” I pulled her face up with my fingers, pushing my forehead against hers. “Let’s end it. Together.”

“W-What…?” She muttered, still sobbing gently while trying to calm her soul for me.

“I may not be that Lillya. But I’m still your faithful puppet. Also...I did sometimes dream of things you didn't see in your memories. Somewhere...deep down...I know that she's in here." I pressed my hand against my chest.

It was a lie.

I did dream of a shore...of someone blonde...but those were probably just hallucinations. Random things.

But I wanted to give her hope.

"I forgive you for all the sins you committed. I accept your love.” I said, smiling gently. “Let us erase this cursed dream once and for all...and let us rest...together. In this mansion. You don’t need to linger around this rotting place alone any longer. Remove all the bodies...remove all the illusions. It will be just us, forever...just like the old Lillya wanted.”

“Yes…you’re right.” She nodded happily, drying her tears. “I don’t have to wait for her any longer. I have you now...and you’re more than enough. I love you, Lillya.”

“I love you too, Nelya.”

Everything swirled around us. Erika’s form dissipated into nothingness, devoid of any other goal. Same thing for every other thing that had the purpose to make me remember.

We closed our eyes, holding each other’s warmth.

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And so my story ends here.

I'm currently living with her in this haunted, abandoned mansion, living uneventful days with someone I'm learning to love more day by day.

I still don't feel any trace of that Lillya coming back, but I think that's for the better.