Chapter 5: Dreamland
Xerah spent the whole day in her room without eating. She cried over her broken nails and held them in her palms, feeling their warmth and radiance gradually disappear until they turned cold and lifeless. She regretted impulsively joining the battle and not paying special attention to Tony. Looking at her beautiful right hand where the broken nails belonged, only the long nails on her thumb and little finger remained, making her hand look uncoordinated.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of resentment rush into her brain, causing her hand to uncontrollably grab the wall. Soon, scratch marks covered the wall, and then she proceeded to the table, breaking it. Ten minutes later, the resentment subsided, and she calmed down. Then, she suddenly felt a call to head to the forest where she had fought before. She picked up the broken nails and immediately ran towards the forest.
It was already dark, with moonlight and starlight as yesterday. The forest was filled with a magical atmosphere, added with the hazy light, making it even more eerie. As she went deeper into the forest, Xerah didn’t feel scared but instead, a sense of excitement. In the dim light, she saw a light coming from a pit on the ground. Curious, she went closer and discovered a small pit filled with water that shimmered with white light and beautiful colors, dazzling her eyes. Without realizing it, she dropped the broken nails into the water. She quickly plunged her right hand into the pit, trying to retrieve the nails, but they had sunk to the bottom. Xerah sat by the pit, feeling despondent, tears falling from her eyes.
As Xerah approached the waterhole, a dazzling light emanated from it, drawing her in. Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled into the water, and a wave of dizziness washed over her as she lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself lying on a strange grassy field, with a crow standing on top of her. The sky was gray and in the distance, she could see a castle. The crow pecked at her finger before flying away. Xerah looked at her finger in surprise and realized that her previously broken nails were now whole again, but now painted a seductive red color. She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping, but she felt hungry and decided to head towards the castle. Walking barefoot on the grass, she left imprints in the ground where her red-tipped toes had dug in. Her nails became dirty from the soil, but she didn’t mind.
Unbeknownst to her, this is DreamLand, a magical world where legendary adventures would soon unfold for her.
— to be continue.
