Webnovel

Chapter 1: Prologue: The Beginning Of A New Dream (1) (Rewrite)

Before Lila was born, a large scale fight took place. A fight that decided the fate of the world and everybody's futures. Her parents and their friends worked hard to achieve this peace.

A modern-day society where abnormal humans with 'powers' exist. They call these individuals 'hanyou's.' Like the name suggests, a half-human and half-demon. But unlike those creatures from the myths, hanyou's crave blood. Are they vampires? Not quite. The only blood they crave is the one they love. Nothing but the blood of their loved ones could quench their thirst.

A strong gust of wind caused her eyes to close.

"Mother, I want to become like you. Do you think I can do it?"

She turned around but couldn't see anyone there. Even though moments ago, her mother was right there beside her. Was this a dream? The surrounding scenery suddenly became blurry. Lila covered her face with her arms to block the wind. When it finally died down, Lila found herself in a pitch-black space.

Darkness. She was surrounded in nothing but an eerie black. Lila couldn't move her feet. She wanted to run, but when she tried to raise her feet, something grabbed hold of it. A pair of hands shot from the ground and pulled. Due to the darkness, Lila found it difficult to see what it was. She struggled to break free and screamed. However, nothing came out.

She felt helpless, lost, and confused.

She felt frightened. For the first time, Lila felt so frightened. Her entire body shook with fear, and her heart pounded loudly. She wanted to escape. But even those thoughts seemed to fade away. It felt like something was taking over her body, immobilizing her mind and telling her. 'Stay here. Do not move.'

Where is her mother?

Mother would never leave her alone.

In the next moment, Lila found herself in a familiar field. She recognized the place immediately. It was the field behind her house. A relieved sigh passed her lips. Is she finally home? Lila took a few steps forward, but she halted. The smell of fresh blood in the air. 'It can't be...'

She immediately rushed to the source and found some dead bodies on the top of the hill. Lila tried to steady her breathing, but it was no good. She felt the color drain from her face and knew that she looked like a ghost. 'No..' The bodies on top of the hill belonged to her dear friends.

The one closest to her feet belonged to him. The man's fingertips had turned blue; his entire body looked frozen. Why? How come?

No matter how much Lila screamed or yelled, nobody could hear her. She couldn't hear herself either since her voice had yet to return. Lila suddenly felt pain emerge from her throat. Trying to scream when she couldn't, only led to her straining her vocal cords.

Then again, she knew nobody would be able to hear her through the howling winds. 'Why? Why? Why did this happen?'

"Don't you know the reason why?"

Lila turned around, and her eyes widened when she saw who the voice belonged to. 'Ah...why?'

"M—m-other?" Indeed it was none other than mother, but something was different about her. A black eye patch went across her eyes, covering it, and she wore a strange black robe—a bright crimson red gem in the center of the black robes.

The moment Lila's eyes made contact with that jewel, she felt a throbbing pain appear in both her eyes.

It was hot. Both her eyes felt like they were burning.

In seconds the field was covered in flames. Lila couldn't see a single house or even the hill she was on moments ago. Bright orange and yellow hues, ashes of smoke lingered in the air. 'How come everything was in flames?' Lila didn't understand at all. She didn't have time to process her thoughts when somebody answered her question.

"It's because you're cursed."

Lila couldn't see the owner of the voice due to the flames.

"Die! Die!"

"Kill her; let's kill her!!."

Lila wanted to refute their words, but she could not do so. It felt like something shackled her hands and feet. She couldn't move, and she couldn't breathe anymore. ...Yet her sense of smell had yet to leave her—the smell of blood and her desire. A terrible thought crossed her mind. She wanted nothing more than to rush over to the dead bodies and drink. No, she wanted to rush to his body and drink from him. Now he is lifeless and still, what would his blood taste like? Would there be any left?

Lila hears somebody scream, snapping her out of trance. The voice belonged to a young child. "Mommy, I hurt myself."

"We have to escape! Quick run."

"Hurry, the monster — she will…"

..

Lila woke up screaming, and her breathing was unsteady. She placed her hands on her cheeks; ice cold sweat clung to her face. Her heart pounded loudly. She immediately glanced at her surroundings and found herself in her room. To be exact, her room in Moonlight Entertainment company.

"I'm not cursed.." Lila repeated in a trance. Even without looking at a mirror, Lila knew her 'hanyou' state had activated. Both her eyes were scorching hot. However, it was the usual. It was not like the sensation she felt from her nightmare.

She took a deep breath and flopped down onto the bed again. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it. The throbbing pain in her chest had yet to disappear. As Lila tried to calm herself down, her thoughts drifted to the past few years. No, her life.

During the first four years of her life, she couldn't go outside. She was born with a curse - a cursed lineage. The curse was inherited from her mother to her. One of her first memories was waking up to darkness.

For the longest time, that darkness accompanied her, and she never saw anything wrong with it. It wasn't until she met that person, somebody with a foolishly bright smile, did she realize what she was missing.

Because of this 'curse,' Lila couldn't go near the light; a single speck of light would cause her to break out into a fever. That's why she was homeschooled and kept indoors. To stop the light from entering the house, she mainly stayed in the darkest areas of the house.

It was a miracle encounter that happened during the summer she was four years old. Thirteen years ago, an unusually hot summer, bright blue skies. A beautiful sky blue, the sunlight glistening on the large lake. The sounds of the birds chirping, the fresh air, and him.

But the memory itself was very fuzzy. If she closes her eyes now, will she remember it clearly? Lila felt very drained, and despite her fear of sleeping after that nightmare, her eyelids dropped.

- Thirteen Years ago- July 1st Year 2022-

Lila nervously poked her head out from behind her Mother. She looked at the scene or rather a particular individual with great interest. A young boy with bright brown hair was arguing with Ren-san. 'Is that the child they mentioned?' She heard for the first time about Ren-san's son three months or so ago. Since then, Mother has mentioned him a lot. 'I want to help that child.' Despite her young age, Lila could read her mother's emotions well.

"You can't disagree, she is here already!" Ren sighed.

"Old man you're always so---"

She quickly interjected, "I'm very sorry. Am I causing problems?" Lila didn't understand what they were talking about very well. But judging from the boy's angry tone, something was wrong here.

"Of course yo--" the young boy paused. He looked her up and down, and suddenly averted his gaze. "Your welcome here..."

Lila tilted her head confused. 'Did he say something?'

Her thoughts broke off when the boy walked over and grabbed hold of her hands. Her eyes widened. "Aunt Sumire! I'll take care of her."

Mother chuckled, "I knew you would." her mother bent down. "Have fun, Lila-chan. Don't exhaust yourself."

"Mommy, um…"

She still felt uncomfortable being left alone with someone she just met. Her mother gently kissed her forehead. "I will watch over you. Just call me when you need me."

..

Lila quietly followed after the young boy. He walked incredibly fast for somebody with short legs. Lila struggled to keep up with him and ended up losing her balance. But the young boy caught her.

"Easy," he trailed off. "Sorry I walked too fast."

"Um! Um!"

"What?"

"N--name? What's your name?" Lila stumbled on her words.

"Haruka."

"Haru? As in spring?" Her eyes brightened.

Haruka sighed and looked away, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Spring, it suits him. Lila glanced down at their hands and laughed. "Um, you know, nobody other than Mother and Ren-san has held my hand before."

"Well, I heard your clumsy."

Lila pouted, "Ren-san is lying. I'm not clumsy. I just like holding his hand, so I pretend."

"You like my father a lot, huh?"

"Yes! Yes, I do," Lila nodded happily. "Ren-san is always there for me. I can't seem to fall asleep without him by my side, either. When we're away from each other, I feel very sad."

"It almost sounds like your in love."

"Ah! I love Ren-san the most." Lila immediately agreed with his words.

"Then, can I ask you a few things?"

'Ah? Does he want to get to know her?' This is good progress. Lila thought it wouldn't go well.

"Do you have a favorite color?"

"It's lilac!"

"Then what do you do in your free time? I know you can't go out. But you must do

At that comment, Haruka scratched his hair with his free hand. "You know, are you this honest to everything?"

"Eh?"

"I mean, seriously. You answered honestly to every single question. Usually, people would lie."

Lila looked at him with a puzzled expression. What is he talking about? It sounds very complicated.

"Um, did I upset you? I'm sorry. This is the first time I've had to really interact with another person."

"You've really stayed at home for so long?"

"Ah, yes, I don't have control of my powers."

Haruka sighed, "Well, it really can't be helped then," he squeezed their hands and leaned forward slightly. A bright smile appeared on his face. "Let's have some fun, okay, Lila?"

"O--okay!"

...

The two of them ran through the field of sunflowers. When Haruka suggested it at first, she felt scared. Her weak condition meant that she wasn't allowed to run. But Haruka said everything would be okay, and that he would be there for her. Just like that, for the first time in a long time, she used her feet and ran. Lila doesn't know when the last time she ran was. It felt refreshing.

Bright blue skies and the air. Lila didn't know whether it was like this all the time. But it felt crisp, fresh, and clean. She took a deep breath. 'How relaxing.' Lila caught Haruka looking over at her, and she returned his gaze. However, he looked away again.

"So, you know.."

"Yes?" Lila only replied half heartily since she wanted to look at the flowers.

"You're the girl who sent me all those cards, right?" Haruka asked.

Ah! When she learned that Ren-san had a son her age. Lila was very curious, and before she knew it, she kept sending him postcards. Sometimes she would attach a letter but only after the first month had passed.

At first, he didn't reply, but eventually, he wrote something back to her. Lila couldn't hold herself back from meeting him. She wanted to meet the boy with the beautiful handwriting and his words. The world he saw, she wanted to see it.

Now that she is with him, Lila understands how he is able to smile so much. Once they reached the top of the field.

Lila laughed, "That was fun!!"

"I'm glad! Wasn't it refreshing?"

She nodded, "Yes, you run fast!"

Haruka chuckled and brushed his free hand against her forehead. Lila's eyes widened at the contact. This is the first time somebody else has touched her. What a gentle hand… and this warmth. It's unfamiliar but comfortable.

"You sweated a lot. Let's sit down and take a break."

"I'm hungry."

"What a helpless person," he let's go of her hand and looked through his bag. Lila watched as he pulled out a small packet, which Haruka quickly unwrapped.

"What is it?"

"Ice lolly, I only have one, so I split it."

"I've never eaten this before."

Haruka looked at her like she was an endangered species. Lila turned red, "B—but mommy always avoids me eating sweets.."

"Are you spoilt? No," Haruka shook his head. "It doesn't seem like that... There's a snack stand not too far from here. Eat that for now."

Lila nodded.

She wanted to ask him what a snack stand was, but she bites into 'ice lolly'; her eyes lit up. It felt cold in her tongue, but it was sweet at the same time. She never ate anything like this before. "Yummy!"

"I'm surprised she is that strict with you."

"Etto, I think it has something to do with my health. Normally I'm not allowed to go outside either. But my recent results showed I could, so I asked..."

"To come here? There's nothing to see in this place."

'She wanted to meet him..' Lila somehow stopped herself from saying that. Up till now, she only heard stories about him.

"I wanted to meet you."

At that comment, Haruka suddenly bit into her remaining lolly. Ah--?

"And now you've met me; I'm sure you understand there is nothing to see."

"No! Your very kind."

He averted his gaze, "I'm trying to scare you. But you keep replying honestly, what do I do with you?"

Scare?

Haruka sighed. "Are you really four years old?"

Lila blinked at his question. What is he trying to say?

"Then again, in terms of hanyou age, you would be eight..."

"Haru-kun, you're a hanyou, too, right?"

"I guess."

'Haruka doesn't act like he is six years old. Then again, it's the same as her.' They don't act like their age and have these unusual powers. Lila kept looking at him. He is the first person she has spoken to that's close to her age, so she felt a bit nervous. That's how it should be anyway. She should be nervous. However, Lila found that she could speak easily.

Her thoughts broke off when she saw Haruka bend down. He pulled a handful of sunflowers and started to make something. 'What is he doing?' Lila didn't know, but she continued to watch him.

Mother and Ren-san gave her this chance to go out and speak to someone her age. But Lila didn't know what to talk about. She felt very nervous and for some reason. Lila placed her hand on her heart. For the past few minutes, her heart kept pounding rapidly.

"Here."

"Ah?" Lila looked at it blankly.

"This is for you."

Lila glanced down and saw it was a small crown made out of sunflowers. Her eyes brightened.

She needs to thank him.

She recalled what her mother did earlier and copied it. Lila brought her lips to his forehead and kissed it. Haruka's cheeks burned red.

"Wh-"

"Thank yo-" Lila paused when she saw him edge closer. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, nose, and eyelids.

"And now, I think, we're even." Haruka tried to sound like he accomplished something. But Lila saw his burning red cheeks too.

She didn't reply, and for the next few minutes, nobody spoke. Still, Lila kept stealing glances at him. 'He truly is a kind person. She won't forget this day.' Even if they no longer meet.

….

Thirteen years later (Current Day) April 2035 - Moonlight Entertainment -

The words on the paper are slowly fading.

The ink has now blurred because of her tears that fall while reading it.

How many times will she read it?

How many times will she read it until she gets to meet him?

Before going to sleep, she holds the letter tightly and keeps it beside her. This is the only proof she has of the connection they once shared.

She's afraid that if she lets it go, he will also leave. That's stupid. It's still possible to send another letter.

But her fears never leave her.

He said to her, no matter what happens, the sky will always connect them.

The two of us live in the same world still, even if we're apart.

The daytime sky, the nighttime sky - everything will lead her back to him—her most beloved person.

"He is her most important person. But," a soft voice mumbled as she fiddled with the gold pendant around her neck. "There is something missing. The person I forgot, the one who brought the light on my dark world."