Ancient Corruption

Shattered Mirror

—In an endless dark realm.

[————]

A girl is standing there, looking dazed by her surroundings. She reaches out, trying to grab something that isn't there. Her expression shifts from confusion to desperation. Desperation to try to find a way out.

"W-where.... am I?" The girl asked herself that. But nothing answered her back.

The girl started walking in the endless dark realm, trying to find an exit. She wasn't even sure if she was walking in circles; all she could do was continue walking. She started to panic, she couldn't relax, and she was becoming more agitated by the minute. Until...-

"Is that... me?" The girl looked puzzled. She saw herself from a distance, but it wasn't her.

The other her was glowing a faint grey light; it was the only source of light in this whole realm, so naturally she walked over to it.

"C-can you hear me?" The girl spoke to her other self; they looked identical, they both had long black hair, golden eyes, and small wings on their heads.

The other her gave no response, she looked like she was frozen in time. The silence was dreadful to the girl; she started fidgeting with her hair, waiting for a response. In the deafening silence, she could hear a faint voice calling her name.

"—Nouryra....Nouryra..." the faint voice spoke in a nervous voice, one that she couldn't tell who it was speaking to. 

Nouryra approached the other version of herself, thinking it was the other version who had said their name. She reached out to touch the other her, but then — a crack in the space appeared between them. Instinctively, Nouryra drew her hand back and stumbled slightly back, looking frightened by the sudden crack in the space.

[————]

The realm in which Nouryra stood started to shake. She fell onto the ground and passed out. She felt that someone was shaking her body. 

Nouryra opened her eyes to see a girl with silky, smooth, long pink hair and gentle cyan eyes and curled goat horns on top of her head. The girl was the voice calling out to her, and she was gently shaking Nouryra's body.

"Hey, Nouryra, are you okay?" The girl spoke to her in a soft voice, trying to hide the stress in her words.

"...I'm okay, Naleya... it was just a dream—" Nouryra spoke in a shaky voice, trying to convince herself she was fine.

"You're not fine, Nouryra! You were having a nightmare... You were sweating and crying... You can't just tell me you're okay!" Naleya said, frustration clear in her voice, her hand resting on Nouryra's forehead.

Everything Naleya said was true. Nouryra's eyes were blurry from crying, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead. She was startled by the sudden change in Naleya's tone, her eyes widening as she stared at her. An uncomfortable silence settled in the bedroom between them—until Naleya's voice broke it.

"... I'm sorry for lashing out... it must have startled you... If you want to talk to me about what happened, know that I'm always here for you." Naleya's tone softened, shifting from frustration to something gentler.

"... I-i..." Nouryra hesitated to speak out about what happened, the small, fluffy wings on her head curled up. She was confused about what had happened in that realm, in other words, what had happened in that nightmare, and so she didn't feel comfortable recalling and explaining the events of the nightmare.

"Take your time, Nour." She rubbed Nouryra's back, gently urging her to continue, hoping to calm her down.

"I was in an... Endless realm filled with darkness, I didn't know where I was, so I just walked and walked... Until I saw a replica of myself." She told most of what had happened, except the part when the realm shattered.