Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1147 - 259 The Reality after the Nightmare

Catherine suddenly opened her eyes wide, the memories of her dreams intertwining with those of reality in her mind. For a moment, the girl was stupefied, unable to distinguish which memories were dreams and which were real. Those scenes in her dreams that caused her heartache and even despair still lingered vaguely before her eyes. Those most cherished and important things had been cruelly torn apart in the very ways she feared and worried about. The girl stood there, daring not to reflect upon them, as if the mere act of recollection would unleash endless pain from the depths of her soul, an unbearable agony as if her spirit were being torn apart.

Snapping out of her daze, between dreams and reality, Catherine felt there wasn’t much difference, except that it wasn’t so cold anymore. At the end of the dream, the sensation of the icy rainwater still lingered in her heart, so cold that it was unbearable, as if even her spirit and consciousness were about to freeze. But at the very end, the girl no longer felt cold; when that familiar figure embraced her, the blazing warmth seemed to envelop her instantly, dispelling the cold, dispelling the pain. What remained was only warmth and peace, a contentment she desired to melt into.

Therefore, being unable to differentiate the changes between the dream and reality, it was the same fervent breath, the same familiar person, the same tight embrace, the same safe arms, the same kiss that made her lose herself. Perhaps the only difference was the setting, from the mansion in the cold rain to the camp under the moonlight, and not far off were a few girls standing dumbstruck, eyes wide and mouths agape as if they were witnessing the most astonishing thing in the world. Those must be her sisters, the ones in her dreams who loathed her, who left her forever, never to be seen again. Ah, it’s so good to see you all again.

The knight girl felt an indescribable sense of happiness, her body gradually becoming softer in the strong embrace, her bleary eyes from the awakening dream slowly becoming hazy, wanting to sink back into the sweetness and comfort.

The vulnerable knight girl seemed to remember something, and her eyes, which were about to close again, suddenly sprung open, her long eyelashes fluttering. What was amiss? Everything seemed so perfect, so normal; she felt so happy. How could there be anything wrong? Even the one kissing her... Wait? The astonished sisters nearby? They seemed to be looking at... herself? And, the person kissing her?

The girl’s hazy gaze became lucid in an instant, as all the events of the past rushed back into her mind—the Mage Vivian about to be corrupted, the desperate charge to aid her, the icy touch of Twisted Souls, Pannis’s anxious and hopeless face, and her own feelings of attachment and reluctance. It seemed, it seemed, it seemed that not long ago she stood before her sisters, and then... the person kissing her seemed to be...

Her brain whirred rapidly as consciousness and reason returned bit by bit. The girl’s face grew redder, her eyes more and more panicked. However, at the moment, she was about to burst with embarrassment, the strong arms holding her tightly suddenly went limp, her steadfast support, the body upon which she could rely, also weakly collapsed into her embrace, relying on the girl’s support to barely avoid falling to the ground.

"Pannis, wake up," Catherine’s face changed drastically; she remembered what had happened to her and guessed what her nightmare might mean. The knight girl hadn’t forgotten that once affected by the invasion of Twisted Souls, there was no way to save the person; the process was irreversible. Yet now, she had clearly been pulled back from the twisted process, and it was Pannis who had done so in a mysterious way. Although she didn’t know exactly how he did it, given that she had previously sacrificed herself to replace Vivian, could it be that Pannis had also used a similar method, rousing her from the twist with his spirit as the price? Thinking of this, the girl’s fists clenched tightly, her gaze anxiously scanning her surroundings, finally resting on Dillie playing with its tail. Her voice trembled as she said, "Mr. Dillie, Pannis, he, he, what’s his condition now?"

"Big sister, you came around? You’re really awake?" The three girls, who had remained gaping, seemed like they were the ones just waking from a dream. Although only two minutes had passed, it felt like an eternity for the four girls. Seeing Catherine and Pannis suddenly regain form from the haze, they all fell into a stunned silence until that moment, their faces filled with disbelief yet also deep concern, as if afraid this was all an illusion, tentatively asking, "Are you, are you okay, and how is Pannis, is he also okay, can we, can we come over now?"

"He’s fine, at least for now, yes, for now he’s definitely all right. Just let him lie on the side and rest for a while," Dillie tilted its head, pondering before delivering a conclusion that made the girls sigh with relief. Then, as if the bout of growling at the girls had not come from him, Dillie spoke in an inexplicably casual tone, "As for you girls, if you want to come over, then come over. I wasn’t stopping you."

The three girls had already lost interest in arguing over who had angrily told them to stay put and watch. Together with Ava, they rushed over to Catherine’s side. First, they helped to lay the limp Pannis flat on the ground. Just as Catherine was about to examine Pannis further, Lina and Vivian suddenly pulled her to her feet. Each girl took one of Catherine’s arms, squeezing and kneading up from the hands and muttering to Freya and Ava, "The feel is unmistakable, it’s not an ethereal body. It’s just a bit stiff and cold. Oh no, that’s just the temperature and hardness of the Armor. Yes, yes, yes, let’s look at the face. It’s definitely solid. The skin is soft, but why is it so hot, and why is it so red? Is she still being affected? Big sister, how are you feeling right now? Oh my, maybe we should purify you again. No, no, no, that’s not right. We can’t purify. What if we hurt big sister again? Big sister, are you really okay? No, it can’t be without any effect. Big sister, you should lie down. We’ll check you over, we..."

"Stop." Catherine shouted, and to the startled girls, she spoke with a mix of laughter and tears, "What’s wrong with you all? Are your brains malfunctioning? Can you speak normally, please? At least take turns talking. How can I understand anything with all three of you speaking at once? Learn from Ava; she’s not as noisy as you are. I’m fine now, rather than worrying about me, you should check on Pannis first. He’s currently..."

"Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine after a lie-down. If you hover around him making a fuss, it’ll only do him harm," Dillie muttered, "You should better take care of yourselves first. I reckon you’re going to be very tired in a bit."

"Very tired?" Lina was puzzled for less than a second before completely dismissing the information and continuing to look at Catherine’s body with eager anticipation, "Big sister, you’re really okay now?"

"Really, I feel great now." Not knowing what her state had been like before, nor the pain and oppression the girls had experienced while she was out of it, Catherine asked in confusion, "What exactly is going on?"

"It’s good that you’re alright; really, it’s such a relief." Lina and Vivian let go of Catherine, exchanged glances, and suddenly leaned on each other for support. However, both girls seemed drained of all their strength, their legs giving out even as they propped each other up, collapsing to the ground. But Freya seemed ready for this, helping the girls to sit down gently. After doing all of this, Freya remained silent, sitting next to them, resting her chin in her hand, staring blankly at Catherine’s face as if seeing her for the first time, or as if trying to imprint her features deeply in her memory. It was then that Catherine realized the lips of both girls were blue, their foreheads covered in sweat, their bodies shaking violently, even their clothes soaked through with sweat. But even so, Vivian still struggled to say, "Ava, Ava, can you still move? If you can, could you please help check on big sister, like how you instantly knew what was wrong with me with just one look back at your place?"

"I’m sorry, I don’t have any equipment here; there’s nothing I can check," Ava replied with her usual expressionless face, her voice as mechanical as ever, but even the dullest person could see endless joy in her eyes. The girl managed to maintain her usual monotone as she spoke, "And I think instead of checking on big sister, it’s better to pay attention to other issues first."

"What issues? Pannis?" Lina gasped weakly, "Didn’t Mr. Dillie say not to disturb him and that he would recover after lying down for a while?"

"Which is why I’m not talking about him." Ava’s gaze remained fixed on a corner diagonally from where the girls were, ever since Catherine had returned to her normal state and the chaos began. Besides Ava, no one had noticed that direction. Seeming to understand something from Ava’s words, the girls quickly turned their heads and saw a figure glowing faintly, silently standing about ten meters from them. It was not clear how long he had been there, his figure hazy, looking very much like Annie’s state, probably also a soul.

The soul that stood quietly looked to be in his forties, wearing a Mage’s long robe, with a pointed Mage’s hat on his head, a neatly trimmed beard on his chin, exuding an air of Elegance. As for his face, Lina swore she would never forget it in her lifetime; it shared a strong resemblance to Catherine’s, the face that had almost caused them to lose Catherine forever.