Mom? Is this really you? Is this another dream, or have you finally come to my rescue?

I couldn't hear anything; I didn't know if I was saying those things out loud or was just thinking them. I desperately reached out forward, hoping to be able to embrace her, but I couldn't feel anything.

A whirlwind of emotion was brewing inside me—relief, sadness, guilt, and anger. I desperately wanted to be hugged back; I wanted that bastard to be on his knees, begging for mercy, for a moment; I wanted the bloodshed to continue. I was also angry towards my mother, because had she come a few seconds earlier, she could've saved Elena and her father.

The many hands quickly wrapped themselves around me and lifted my body in a fetal position.

“You can rest easy now, honey; you’re safe.” A tender voice whispered directly in my ears.

It was a voice so soothing I couldn’t recognize, a tone completely different from its usual; I was so used to listening to its angry rant that I had forgotten how sweet it sounded when it talked to me affectionately.

I could hardly hold back the tears; I felt my heart being torn apart when she whispered those words to my ears.

Is it really you? This is not a dream, right? When I open my eyes, you'll be there for me, right? I don't want any scary ghosts haunting me anymore; I just want to rest… Please, let it be over; I don't want to stay here anymore.

I tried to keep my composure, but that wasn't possible. My mouth was trembling as a flood of strange images invaded my mind.

A burning city, a blue gun in my hands, some strange people at the front door, a large red eye in the skies, red tentacles, a golden apple.

"What? my eyes..." Tears began rapidly falling from my eyes uncontrollably. "I can't… I don't… I'm sorry, Mom, I promise I won't do it anymore; I will listen to you… I'm sorry… I didn't mean for this to happen! I thought… I thought I could've been the hero… I wanted… I just wanted…" It was hard to talk. I was a sobbing mess.

I instinctively tried to wrap my arms around her, but I couldn’t feel warmth, I couldn’t feel the texture of her clothes, nor could I feel how her skin felt, so I hugged what I thought was her body as hard as I could.

“Mom!” I wanted to say a lot of things, but I couldn’t; I was barely able to speak. I feared this was just yet another illusion or was going to turn once again into a nightmare.

She hugged me tightly, squeezing my body so tightly she made it a bit hard for me to breathe, but even that, even for a moment, felt incredibly warm and safe.

"Thank you… Thank you… I promise I won't break any rules from now on." I repeated over and over again as I clung to her, squeezing her neck with all I had.

"Now rest up; it's going to take a while before we're going to be back on the surface." My mother whispered to me as she caressed the top of my head.

No, I don't want to sleep. What I want to see is… head… Julian's head… rolling on… the… floor.

I don't know what she used to, but when she gently patted me on my back, I suddenly lost all my energy and promptly passed out on the spot despite my best efforts to stay awake.

When I woke up again, I was sleeping in an unfamiliar room, a white room with the wall decorated with golden murals depicting various animals such as lions, tigers, and more.

Sitting next to the bed was my mother, currently kneeling on the floor, gently caressing my forehead. With a sweet and soothing expression on her face, completely unlike her usual.

“Mom?”

As I called her name, she suddenly seemed to gain life; she immediately threw herself at me, hugging me so tightly she was slowly suffocating me and showering me with kisses until I tried to push her away.

"Is this a dream? Are you going to disappear just like Dad did?" I asked while pinching her cheek to test if she was real.

“No, sweetie, I’m real. You’re safe now; we’re in the Miran now, just like you always wanted.” She responded as she hugged me with more strength.

“Mom! No! Stop! Stop! I can’t breathe!” I complained while pushing her away.

After some time to breathe, I paused and began thinking about everything that had happened to me so far. But something was missing; there was something that didn't feel right. My heart was aching for some reason, yet my mind couldn't tell why.

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“What about Julian? What will happen to him?” I asked her.

What is going on? Why is my heart tightening in my chest? Did something strange happen while I was sleeping?

“He’ll no longer pester you, him, or the rest of his family. Don’t worry about it.” She reassured him as she stood back up, still holding me in her arms.

I could feel my eyes getting watery, but it all stopped shortly after. I heard the sound of the door of my room being opened. I was startled by the sudden sound; it sounded as if someone was trying to break in. My heart jumped in my throat from the scare.

My father had just entered the room holding a white wooden tray containing some risotto with parmesan sprinkled on top. It was incredibly refreshing seeing colored food again. The door was locked, and to get in, he had accidentally destroyed the doorknob.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” He quickly apologized as he brought my meal to my bed.

Wow, so it's true, I'm no longer in the Fracture… I… I'm safe! I'm saved! I… I can't believe it.

Before I could say anything back, he had put a spoonful of food in my mouth. I was so distracted I didn’t notice him walking from the door to my bed. His cheerful and happy expression faded away pretty quickly after he fed me. So I wiped away the tears and simply cherished this moment of peace.

“How’s the food?” He asked.

“It’s okay.” I answered while looking around.

I still couldn't taste anything. All I could feel with my tongue was the heat of the dish, but none of that mattered to me at the moment.

My parents were a mess; they were trying to dress pretty elegantly, but the bags under their eyes showed just how worried they had been for me in the past few days. My mother seemed to have even lost some weight.

The room was barely decorated, my closet was nowhere to be seen, my rug had also disappeared, the curtains were of a bland white, my small library of comics was nowhere to be seen, and the only other object I saw was the TV and gaming console on the other side of the room.

“Yeah, we should probably schedule a doctor’s appointment soon; as for now, is there anything you’d like to eat?” Dad asked me as he patted my head.

“Really, can I eat anything I want?” I asked him.

He simply smiled affectionately in return while nodding back to me. In return, I asked for the only kind of food I could enjoy.

“I want chocolate, not just chocolate, a chocolate cake! Maybe even a chocolate-filled brioche! Oh, I also want a chocolate-filled croissant and one of those sponge cakes that’s half and half!” I began to go on the request, and they simply nodded along with me.

“Sure, sure, anything for our sweet little angel,” my mother said while pinching my cheeks.

Her red hair was a lot more vibrant than I thought. It seemed a lot brighter than my hair.

“We also brought that little friend of yours with us; unfortunately, right now she doesn’t feel like going out of her room, but soon you’ll be able to meet her. I think.” My father said.

Mom glared at him for a second and punished him by pinching his legs, making him take a step back. She had pinched him so hard she had left a hole in his apron.

“Friend?” I was confused until my brain was still half asleep.

“You mean Elena?” As soon as my brain began working properly, I was floored at the realization; I couldn’t believe it because I heard the gunshot that should’ve killed her.

“Lucy! You’re alive! I thought something bad had happened to you.” Suddenly, Uncle barged in the room with all of his kids.

Uncle Kiriam, from my father’s side of the family, has tinted his hair dark, unlike my father, who kept it brown. He has bright red eyes and bushy eyelashes. He had a cleanly shaven beard and was wearing a gray suit with a red tie.

His four sons were Ilay, Elvis, Michael, and Leonhart.

The three eldest were the sons of his first wife; they had much darker skin than me. Ilay was the oldest, being around eighteen; Michael and Elvis were twins and were both sixteen. Leo was the youngest, son of a woman we never met, with fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes, having the same age as me, 9.

Ilay was the only son with braided hair; the rest had straight hair, with Michel having long hair.

Ilay, the oldest, was wearing elegant clothes just like his father, having his braids gathered in a long ponytail; Michael instead let his hair flow freely to his waist, with a plain white shirt and gray shorts; Elvis, on the other hand, was the one that dressed the best out of the four siblings, with golden watches, necklaces, and many rings decorating his fingers and expensive-looking leather shoes.

Leo was wearing a white shirt with a large opening in the middle to show off a necklace with lots of blue gems, matching the color of his eyes, and black pants.

“Luca!” As soon as he got in, Leo ran up to me to give me a hug while the other waited in front of the door.

My mother didn’t seem all too pleased with their presence; she never was fond of Uncle Kiriam, but it was clear she was irritated they had interrupted our small family moment.

“We came here with some gifts to congratulate you on your return. I hope this can be a good lesson for the future, to not skip out on family outings,” he said while pushing his three sons forward.

Ah, right, he had a work trip and even bought a museum ticket.

I could feel the tension in the air rising between those two; my mother’s veins were starting to bulge out of her neck as she tried to keep her composed smile; uncle’s three sons were clearly uncomfortable with the situation but came forward with their presents.

Leo, on the other hand, was completely clueless about the situation unfolding.

“I heard they kidnapped you and dragged you into the Fracture! How was it? Did you see any demon? How did they look? I need to know!” He was rapidly firing questions with shining eyes full of curiosity while standing on my bed on his knees.

That wasn’t the end of it, but before he could ask for more, he was grabbed by Michel and Elvis and was dragged out of the room as he begged them to let him stay.

“Hope you’re doing fine, Lucy. If you have any problems, remember that we're always available; after all, family always comes first, right? We've prepared some gifts to celebrate your return from the fracture; I hope you'll be able to enjoy them.” Ilay said to me as he dropped the many boxes containing the present they had for me.