You…

You did this!

“No!” Kita yells, sitting up in a panic to find herself atop a table, with bloodied rags around the wound in her chest.

“Shhh,” Ms Eeve says with Jan and the other black-eyed child sleeping beside her, “You dream a lot,” She whispers.

“What happened?” Kita stammers before glancing out of the window to see the myst, beating against the store like a relentless storm.

“The myst,” She responds, “Have you forgotten?”

“Where’s Caitlin? And Raya?” She asks in a panic, glancing around the room to the sight of strangers and Reiku lying underneath the table.

“I’m uncertain, but I’d imagine they found safety,”

Kita grunts as she wipes her forehead, “I think it's coming back to me,”

“Your daydreams are becoming more frequent,” Ms Eeve says, “In case you didn't notice,”

“I noticed,” Kita grunts.

She hasn't noticed, but she knows Ms Eeve is right. She isn't quite sure what to make of it, or how much of an issue it might be but for the most part, she hasn't hurt anyone yet.

“What were you dreaming about?” She asks.

“Why would I tell you?”

“Well, I’m your best bet at understanding them,”

“Oh yeah, when did you study psychology?” Kita grins.

“You know about psychology?” Ms Eeve asks with a stammered expression.

“Uhh, no shit. Who doesn't?”

“Psychology is an ancient science of the mind, lost to the passage of thousands of years. There is simply no way someone like you would have studied it,”

“Who said anything about studying it?” Kita chuckles, “I just know what a psychologist is,”

“Where did you hear of it?”

“How would I know? What are you asking me right now?”

“Your mind has knowledge that people of this time do not typically have. And I’m certain your too much of a simpleton to have studied any of it,”

“What’s that supposed to-”

“You aren't from here. Are you?”

Kita glances over her shoulder to see Reiku lying on the floor, and glances around at all of the civilians from different floors, communing with one another.

“No,” Kita answers, “I'm not… But, I have these dreams that often feel like memories. The world is a completely different place. Luscious green trees everywhere, and plenty of food and water. It's like a different world,”

“It is!” Ms Eeve eyes light up and the dim light of candles glisten in her golden smile, “Your memories are of the old world,”

“The old world doesn't exist,” Kita scoffs, “I might have read about it in books or something,”

“In books?” Ms Eeve raises an eyebrow, “Who are you parents, Kita? Do you have any memory of them raising you in this world,”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Kita pauses for a moment, immediately realizing her lack of memories from this world- but that might be a result of her losing her soul, along with most of the memories from her past lives.

“No… I don't,”

“Exactly!”

“But that may be a result of my soul being separated. I've been forgetting my past lives,”

“Forgetting?”

“I woke up here a long time ago now, and had to come to the realization that I had died before. That’s why I didn't know Chevo or Vlad or anything else for that matter. All I knew is that the dark one took it,”

“I see,” Ms Eeve thinks, taking a long glance at the kids beside her before looking back up at Kita with a stern expression on her face

“Please allow me the permission to study you,” Ms Eeve says, bowing her head.

“What?” Kita chokes on her words, “Why?”

“To learn more about living a life in infinity,” She responds.

“Ugh,” Kita moans, “Whatever, I won't be your lab rat but do what you want,”

“Thank you,” She says followed by an unknown voice in the distance, one that sounds familiar but foreign.

You deserve no thanks.

At the same moment, Kita looks out of the window- glaring at the myst as it rages beyond the window to the store. She squints at the dark fog and can’t help the shiver that passes through her body when she wonders if it was coming from the Myst.

“Kita?” Ms Eeve asks.

Kita says nothing, still staring at the myst when she identifies the sensation of a presence amongst it- She can feel it, like a voice calling to her but inaudible.

“Who’s there?” Kita asks out loud, prompting Ms Eeve to raise an eyebrow in concern.

Kita steps of the table, putting on the jacket that was placed on her like a blanket. “Who are you?” She asks as she walks towards the door.

“Kita.” Ms Eeve repeats, with a more concerned tone in her voice.

You already know. The voice responds to her-

“You,” Kita feels the rage boil within her the moment she recognizes the presence of the dark one. She reaches for the doorknob when Ms Eeve suddenly steps in front of her, using her body to block the door.

“You’ll kill everyone,” Ms Eeve warns.

“I already have,” Kita says, not entirely aware of Ms Eeve’s presence but aware of what she is saying and doing- stopping her.

Kita raises her hand at Ms Eeve, and she looks back at Kita with fear-filled eyes. Shaking her head slowly as she tries to help Kita realize what the result of her actions may be.

“Are you dreaming again?” Ms Eeve asks.

Kita says nothing, she isn’t dreaming but she isn’t exactly awake- As if Ms Eeve and the reality she’s currently in is simply a moment in time that she can return to. Over and over again.

Is this the dark one’s doing? Mind control? Kita wonders.

Freedom, The voice responds.

With ninety-one souls available to Kita, she knows she can follow the voice and find the dark one- her concern, however, is that it may not be her own decision.

With the control of her body and mind that she has, she lowers her arm from Ms Eeve’s face- a part of Kita knows the myst will kill everyone in the building, and focusing on this small part of her is yielding more self-control than she would have thought.

Kita says nothing more and channels the souls in her body before using twelve souls to teleport beyond the door. Leaving her with seventy-nine souls and once she finds herself on the other side, she is surprised by the lack of pain and anguish that she is experiencing.

In fact, she can feel the myst all around her, and each of the souls that is has consumed- with a powerful source at the centre of it all, calling to her louder than any audible sound could. The call is internal, like that of a magnet intuitively moving towards an attractor.

She can’t fight it.

She doesn’t want to either.

As she walks through the myst as though she is high upon a hill, walking through the clouds, she raises her hand to feel the blazing fog and feels the granular texture of it caressing her fingertips. Instinctively, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, embracing the feeling of the myst around her and finding an aspect of its presence that reminds her of home.

But she has no memory to associate it with.

Home? I don’t have a home.

As she opens her eyes and continues walking towards the centre of the myst, a fear overcomes her as she feels the strength in her body increase with each step that she takes. She immediately knows why, and with hesitation, she feels the urge to check how many souls she has stored within her.

One hundred and eighty-three souls.