"Well, are you ready?"
I asked my sister as we gathered in front of the compound to take a car toward the Gate.
"Yes, let's go," she replied as we sat together.
There were only four of us now: myself, Jet, Yareesa, and Vera. The rest of my sisters had already departed using their anchors in the Dream World at Raven's Heart.
As for the four of us,
we didn't possess anchors there. I didn't have one because I was a Dreamer and couldn't bind myself to any Citadel yet.
My three sisters, on the other hand, had their anchors in other regions of the Dream World. Jet's anchor was located in the Citadel of the Clan of Sorrows, where they needed help dealing with waves of Nightmare Creatures. As for Yareesa and Vera, they were at the borders of Song's domain, conducting campaigns to subjugate new territories and clear recently occupied areas.
Looking at them, I couldn't help but think of what I had felt and read before.
Beautiful monsters.
That description truly fit them. Who would have imagined that these delicate women before me, in their velvet dresses, were war machines who spent most of their time drenched in the blood of their enemies?
As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I felt the car stop, and the driver's voice informed us of our arrival. I stepped out, staring at the building before me.
"Where are we going?"
Hearing Mammon's voice inside my head, I hummed an answer as I began walking.
"You'll see."
We passed through security, greeted by the guard as we did every time. Inside, a staff member was already waiting and led us deep into the building. Step by step, through numerous procedures and corridors, we reached the Dream Gates of Song's domain.
And there, in the back, mystical and magical, lay Raven's Heart.
My home.
"Have a safe trip," the staff member said with a bow as she returned to the elevator, while we began entering the Gate.
Soon, I felt that strange sensation of transitioning between worlds. When I opened my eyes, I found the white halls before me.
"Welcome to Raven's Heart," I said to Mammon, who was pecking at my Soul Cores. If I had to describe the feeling... hmm... it was something akin to soul-harassment. I ignored him, feeling him refocusing to look through my eyes at the new place.
I continued walking through the jade halls as Awakened greeted my sisters and me. Gradually, the Awakened disappeared as we went deeper, until we reached the Great Dining Hall beneath Raven's Heart. The gate was open, and many of my sisters were already seated.
I walked forward boldly until I reached and sat in the seat closest to my mother's. My sisters realized I would sit there, so they had already left it empty. We all sat, waiting for Mother.
After a few seconds, I felt silent eyes upon me. Finally, I turned to stare back, saying:
"What?"
No one answered at first, the silence stretching. Finally, Revel replied:
"You look like a doll."
I turned to stare at her. "Hello, sister. Glad to see you too. Yes, I'm also happy I survived the Nightmare." I said this with total indifference. This was my first meeting with her since my return, as she hadn't been in the waking world.
"Yes, you still look like a doll."
"Shut up, you novel-obsessed geek."
As I said this, Hel turned to whisper to Eunbin:
"He looks more beautiful when he's angry."
I heard her. And she knew I would hear her. I turned to her as well and said:
"Do you want to be slapped again?"
She looked at me silently for seconds, then shivered theatrically, grabbing Eunbin's hand and hiding her head.
"Sister, he's bullying me! Stop him!"
Eunbin turned toward me, her voice full of amusement. "Orion, Hel is right. Why are you so harsh? Apologize now, or I'll pinch your cheek."
Before I could answer, Eunbin stood up, reaching across the table to start pinching me. "Well, you're the one who refused, so you deserve the punishment."
Who refused, you cheeky woman? You were planning to pinch me regardless of what I said.
However, Eunbin's amusement didn't last long as she suddenly screamed while sitting down:
"Kyaaaaa! Hel, what are you doing?!"
Hel stood up immediately after pinching Eunbin's backside, laughing. "Hahahaha! I'm getting revenge for what you did this morning!"
She said this while running, and Eunbin began chasing her.
Watching them, I couldn't help but sigh.
Yes, these are the most famous princesses in the world.
Children.
Unfortunately, as the only brother, I had to participate in this farce. So I stood up, raised my water glass, and poured it over Luna. Call me a coward, but I wasn't going to risk pouring water on a Saint. Luna was the youngest after me and still an Awakened.
"You bastard! What are you doing?!" Luna shouted, standing up with a wet face.
"You stole my cake two weeks ago!" I said as I started running, feeling her hot on my heels.
Fortunately, the dining hall was huge enough for all this chaos. As I ran, I turned toward Hel's direction. I summoned one of my Memories—a rubber ball that never stops moving—and threw it toward her.
As she was looking back at Eunbin, the ball struck her face, causing her to stop. One second was enough; Eunbin caught up to her, and they fell to the ground together in what seemed to be a "backside-pinching war."
As for me, I continued running. Unfortunately, as an Awakened, Luna was much faster than me, and I could only rely on tricks to keep her away.
Well, that was until the ball bounced off the table and hit two more of my sisters. And so, I became the one pursued by three angry Yandere sisters. I realized that at this rate, I was going to lose.
But as I was thinking of a solution to my problem,
the solution arrived on its own.
And it brought an even bigger problem.
Everyone felt the change in the air and stopped what they were doing.
Soon, the echo of my mother's footsteps resonated, coming toward us.
The Queen of Worms. The Queen of the Dead.
Ki Song had arrived.