SHK CH 770 (Patreon)

[Inside the Dream.]

Ambrosia stared at her reflection in the mirror. Five years had gone by since she woke up. 

At first, she had wondered what the point of the illusion Hypnos had trapped them in was. But now she realized just how destructive it is. 

“My story is changing.”

Currently, she was clad in expensive clothes she should have never managed to wear in this period of time. Maids and servants were taking care of her and adjusting her beautiful dress. 

Her brown hair admired her new form. That of a young lady from a relatively wealthy family. 

In this new story, she never made a contract with Asmodeus, and as such, she never learned magic. 

She never went on an adventure. Nor did she get captured by slave traders and thrown in the Coliseum. Which means she never met Anubis.  

What she was living now was a simple and mundane life. A life with no curse. A life with no pain. One where she was loved and appreciated. 

This was not just an illusion. This was an entire alternate reality. One that was entirely possible. One that most likely happened when taking into account all the possibilities that existed, and this is why it was so dangerous. 

“He is rewriting the present by changing the past. He is changing my foundation.”

Divine authority was truly incredible. Her moments of clarity were fewer, and she had a feeling that once she accepted this new reality as her own, she would immediately face a terrible backlash in the real world and possibly lose most of her power. 

From the Duke Realm, where one realized their own Truth, to the King realm, where you found your True Name, and finally the Demigod Realm, where you needed to discover and follow a concept. 

All those steps were deeply linked to the sense of self, and what created this sense of self were the experiences and memories one went through. 

“I need to wake up.” Ambrosia kept muttering while ignoring the strange look she received from the servants. Getting embarrassed would mean she acknowledged them as real. Which would bring her deeper into the dream.

“My lady Ana, it’s time for dinner.”

Ambrosia, no, Ana sighed. A part of her wished to rebel, to leave this place and find a way out. But— Why did she need to rebel? Life was beautiful.

Her eyes became unfocused as she followed the maid and joined her new family. 

Looking at them, she could not help but smile. 

“Ana, how have you been?” A gentle father who hugged her. 

“Ana come take a seat.” A beautiful mother who loved her. 

“Ana take a look, I made a new scarf.” A sickly but kind little sister who followed her everywhere. 

“Ana. You need to eat more and train.” A stupid but helplessly lovable big brother who doted on her. 

She spent the entire night enjoying the dinner they prepared. She laughed and joked around with them. 

Truly, those were beautiful moments. Knowing that this could have been a possible future made it hurt all the more. 

But it didn’t have to be a possibility. She simply had to accept it. 

At the end of the dinner, Ana sat near the firebox of the chimney, looking lazily at the dancing flames. 

Her father was telling a story, but her mind filtered the words. Memories of her past filled her mind. 

“Ana. What is the matter?” Her mother asked, and she replied. “I was thinking about my biological parents.”

“Oh, Ana. Forget about them. You do not have to care about this sad past anymore.” She was once again hugged.

“Sad, huh?” Ana muttered, then chuckled. 

“Did you know? Rather than something like Lust. The two emotions that filled my heart were hatred and jealousy.” 

She looked up, “For me, the small house I lived in was the whole universe, and the parents who created me were basically gods. Getting beaten was normal. Getting cursed was a matter of course. So I never complained. After all. It was normal to be mistreated. Of course, now, I can say confidently that they were nothing but pure trash.”

“Parents losing control of their anger and striking me. Throwing bottles at me or kicking me when they were in a bad mood. I thought all of this was normal. I might have lived like this my whole life, but fire changed my destiny. Was it an accident? Or simply an inevitability? A discarded cigarette wasn’t properly put out, and fire roared. Burning everything on its path. Even my parents. But miraculously, I survived.”

She started laughing. 

“Ana, it’s enough, you don’t have to tell us this.”

She ignored them. “After the fire, I wandered the slum for a while before being taken to an orphanage. But well, it wasn’t that different. The children around me had no parents, and most had experienced abuse like me. So I thought everyone was like me. Somehow this actually made me happy.”

Ana stood up, pushing away the hands trying to stop her.

“One day, I went to the main town while begging, and then my world broke.” 

She started approaching the fire.

“They were people like me, or so I thought. But the truth was different. I saw it. A child throwing a tantrum for a gift. Far from getting angry and throwing punches, the parents soothed the child and walked along with him. What I saw was love.”

“From that day on, everything changed. I felt dissatisfied with everything. It felt unfair. I never complained in the past because I thought it was normal. Because I thought everyone was unhappy like me. Poor and hungry, everyone should have been like that.”

“But that wasn’t the case. Many people were like me. But even more people were happier than me. My parents and the parents I saw that day were different. Why? Why were they different? What was so great about those children? Why could that child smile while I was begging for food? What did I do wrong?”

She was now just a few steps away from the fire. 

“That day I realized. We are not born equal. I did nothing wrong. It’s just the world that is wrong, and such a world should burn down like my parents.”

Crack Crack Crack

Fissures appeared in space, and the house started shaking while the people inside became blurry. 

“Ana! Stop, it’s dangerous!” 

She ignored them as her hand reached for the growing fire. 

“Dangerous? Haha! Did you know? My innate magic. The first sorcery I learned after becoming a witch was none other than Fire magic.”

Out of all magics, elemental magic was considered to be of the lowest level. Most witches strived to learn higher conceptual ones. 

But even someone as strong as Ambrosia had a humble beginning, and that was none other than fire.

 “Flames can never hurt me!” 

Her hand plunged deep into the fire. Her pristine hand showed no sign of burn. 

Cracks

You wake up from a— Whoosh!!

Golden flames spread out. devouring the entire dream in a heartbeat.

The elegant home, the loving family, the warmth of laughter and comfort — all of it went up in golden fire. The walls melted into light, the ceiling dissolved into the void, and the smiling faces of her “family” warped into static silhouettes that screamed as they burned away.

ANA!! A guttural voice reached her as the illusions started burning away.

“My name is Ambrosia, not Ana. It’s a name I chose for myself. You cannot deny it.”

YOU CANNOT USE MAGIC!

“Fire is my blood, and magic is my body. You cannot erase it.”

WHY! WHY FIGHT AGAINST SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DREAM!?

“Simple…” Her form changed. She grew taller, fuller. Her long, lustrous black hair gleamed under the light of the fire while her golden eyes shone like the sun.

“I already have a family. One I would replace for nothing in the world.”

 <<Avatar: Akasha>>

The book of Akasha appeared above her. Pages flew, showing the images of different witches until they settled on one. 

Ambrosia herself. 

“Remember this, hypnos. Only I can determine the start and end of my Story. Not the Goddesses, nor Fate, nor even Asmodeus, and certainly not you!”

Thus, the world was reduced to ashes, and Ambrosia stood amidst it all.