Chapter 134 - Illusion
The woman lowered her head to glance at her daughter, and her heart squeezed within her. She turned to the middle-aged man, and her brow creased deeply in anger. "Why?! What has she done this time?! Why are you doing this to her?!" She questioned in a rage, and the middle-aged man smirked wickedly at her.
"Despicable!" He glanced at the young woman with disdained-filled eyes and turned to gaze intently at her. "You, of all people, know why? So do not act dumb with me or else..? Woman, you are the misery of her and I will never break the promise I made to you that day!" He chuckled evilly and lowered his gazes to glance at the young girl who flinched back in fear at his sudden glance.
"Now step out of the way and let me teach my dear daughter a lesson." He grinned malevolently, and the young woman lowered her head in defeat. She removed her daughter's hand and stepped away, creating a distance between her, her daughter, and the middle-aged man.
"Mu-mum." The young girl's body trembled in disbelief and she reached out her hand to her mother, but a bash of whip landed on her body and she flinched away in deep pain, caressing her body as a loud cry erupted from her throat.
"You know how much I hate being disgraced and you have the guts!!" He raised the belt again, ready to whip her, but the young girl began to back away, her head furiously shaking in terror. "Dad, please, I am sorry." She cried bitterly, but as though her plea fell on deaf ears, the belt bashed on her body and her white polo tore, revealing her pale skin.
She immediately stood up from the floor to run, but he grabbed her hair and pulled it harshly, causing the girl to cry out loud. Drops of blood began to drip from her nose, and he violently kicked her leg. As helpless as she was, she fell heavily to the floor, and without hesitation, the middle-aged man continued to whip her without mercy.
Her body became bloody and, at a point where she couldn't take it anymore, she felt her vision becoming blurry. Before she succumbed to darkness, the last thing she saw was her mother's teary eyes, which were staring at her with guilt apparent in them.
...
Leia's heart squeezed tightly within her in pain, and she helplessly fell to the ground on her knees. She punched the floor in a rage and threw her head back, letting out a long scream. "Why?!!"
She wailed uncontrollably and lowered her head, feeling empty and alone. "Why?!!"
The gentle wind abruptly blew around her and beautiful voices echoed in her ears. A shadow swirled around her and bent down to her level.
Feeling the presence of the shadow, Leia raised her eyes and stared at her front. However, she saw nothing, but only emptiness. She knows someone is right there in front of her. She could feel the tremendous power raging from the person, but she couldn't see who it was. It was as though it was a ghost.
"Who are you?" She asked in a cold tone, but instead of answering her question, the ghost, however, began to laugh softly.
"Why are you so sad?" The ghost inquired in a gentle tone, and Leia suddenly felt some sort of peace wash over her.
"Hahaha... I am quite disappointed in you." It clicked on his tongue, and Leia's brow creased deeply. "Who are you?" From the voice of the ghost, she could tell that he was a man, but what she wanted to find out now was his identity. For some reason, she felt he was familiar, like this wasn't the first time that he had come to her.
"Who are you?" She asked yet again, but the ghost chuckled once likewise. "The human world has ruined you this much. I don't understand why you're crying. You're not supposed to!" The ghost's gentle voice became a bit harsh as he said his last sentence, and Leia narrowed her eyes. She is baffled at herself for still being here talking to a ghost without freaking out.
"Stop talking to me if you won't answer my question." Her face darkened, and she glanced around.
The soft cold breeze blew on her body yet again, and she suddenly felt the presence of the ghost become a bit distant. She stood up from the ground and slowly followed the power radiating from the ghost.
Her eyes abruptly blurred, and she suddenly felt very lightheaded that she couldn't help but close her eyes. When she felt herself feeling better, she opened her eyes and where she found herself next was in a place where she knew too well. "Home." Her face contorted in anger, and she began to yell in rage. "Take me away from here now!" She gazed into nothingness, and the ghost chuckled mockingly.
"This is an illusion." The heavenly, leisurely voice of the ghost suddenly struck her and she shook her head. This voice! She has heard it somewhere before! She definitely has. She cracked her brain trying to recall, but everywhere instantly became dark and memories began to emerge. Her memories, in particular
The day she started school,
Her, being whipped,
being disgraced in school,
her, fighting with her classmates,
her father's men pushing her into the basement and locking her up,
So many memories played like a movie in front of her eyes, and her screams, sobs, plea, all echoed in her ears.
"How do you feel?" The ghost asked, and Leia's body began to shake violently. "Take me away from here now!" She yelled angrily, and in the blink of an eye, she found herself back at the cemetery.
The ghost clicked his tongue and moved towards her. "Do you see how cruel the world is?" He whispered in her ears, and Leia's eyes fluttered.
"The world isn't a place where you expect to be loved, cherished, or treated equally."
"Haha... humans are despicable, cunning, and selfish creatures. It is no doubt why they are despised by other creatures. "
"They don't care about families. They only love themselves. Yes, you may think I am speaking nothing but a lie. However, until you find yourself in a dire situation in which they have to sacrifice something to save you, they will push you off the cliff and act as if nothing happened. That is the heart of man. It is full of lies and deceit. " The ghost chuckled heartily and turned to Leia.
"When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on them too. No mercy, no love, no second thoughts! Do it! Do what your heart yearns for you to do." He swirled around, and Leia's breathing became unsteady.
Her hands balled into a tight fist and her eyes, which had returned to their pitch-black, became deep red once again.
"If they hurt you, hurt them back, not in the same way, but in a much more painful way. If they hate you, hate them too! Revenge is sometimes the answer. " The ghost laughed softly and gazed intently at Leia.
"Revenge." The word echoed repeatedly in her head, and her fingers penetrated deeply into her palm. A slow, deadly smile formed on her lips and she shut her eyes. "Revenge!!"
She opened her eyes and tried to feel the presence of the ghost, but she found herself unable to. He was gone.
A deep breath escaped Leia's nose, and she turned her head to glance at her mother's picture that she had broken. Revulsion filled her eyes, and without looking back, she walked out of the cemetery.
She began to stroll down the road, making her way to somewhere unknown. She walked for at least thirty minutes before she stopped at a bridge. The bridge, which she would never forget. It was at this same bridge that she cut her hair and almost committed suicide, if not for Adrik.
"Adrik!" She suddenly recalled and proceeded to rush back home. However, from a distance, she saw something like a black dot becoming bigger and bigger with each second that was enacted.
She tilted her head to one side, and her brow creased deeply when she saw that the dot was aiming straight for her. Her face darkened when the dot altered into a human form, and before she could utter a word, with her eyes dilated, a great force surged and washed over her, and a strong hand hit her in the belly and pulled her along with him.
The silhouette ran nonstop, and Leia, who lost her consciousness the moment the force washed over her, fell into the silhouette's arm.
The silhouette carried her in a bridal style and raised his speed, then dashed off, whisking through the air. He passed different cars, and when he mistakenly didn't see one coming in front of him, he jumped over it, landing on the floor with his feet and continuing to run.
It took about ten minutes, and the silhouette, who was obviously Adrik, finally stopped in front of a mansion that was very familiar to him and breathed heavily to catch his breath.
Rains of sweat fell from his body and his banded-up hair, which was now loose, fell over his waist, reaching his back knee. A few strands latched onto his sweaty face, and he slowly walked into the mansion.
He felt very exhausted, as he had never run like this before, and he felt his vision becoming blurry. He staggered towards the sofa in the living room and laid Leia on it. Then he turned around to walk to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water to drink. However, dizziness overwhelmed him immediately and he gritted his teeth.
His gaze fell to the entrance when he heard someone step in, and he raised his eyes to view the person. "Supreme Alpha." A familiar voice resounded and the next thing he knew, he felt himself succumb to the darkness and he lost his consciousness. However, instead of falling to the floor, he fell right into someone's strong arms.