Before, Liana would become terrified every time she closed her eyes. Now, she was determined to uncover the secret behind her dreams.
While Liana's attention was focused on the road, she spotted a woman who looked strangely familiar. The woman stood motionless, staring at her from a distance.
Liana was startled and tried to make sure what she was seeing was real. She rubbed her eyes, but unfortunately, the figure suddenly vanished before Liana could open them again.
“What did you see, Li?” Rinjani asked curiously.
“N-nothing, Mom!”
“All right. We’ll be home soon.”
“Y-yeah, Mom.”
Liana grew even more curious when she realized that someone from her dreams had come to meet her in the real world.
“Mom, I’m going straight to Ami’s house!”
“All right, be careful!”
“Okay, Mom!”
“You’re not going to let Sis take you?” Debi asked.
“No need, Sis. I feel like walking! Besides, Ami’s house is pretty close.”
“Oh, all right then. Be careful!”
“Okay, Sis!”
After saying goodbye to Debi, Liana immediately headed for Ami’s house. At first, everything went normally—until Liana realized that someone was following her from behind.
Liana wondered if it was only a hallucination, so she tried to ignore her fear.
But then, strange things began to happen. Ami’s house was only a ten-minute walk away, yet now it seemed incredibly far.
Liana had been walking for nearly half an hour, but she still hadn’t reached Ami’s house. Instead, she now found herself in a place she had never visited before.
“Where am I? I should’ve reached Ami’s house by now. There’s no way I took a wrong turn! I remember clearly that I was following the road to Ami’s house!” Liana muttered as she looked around.
While Liana stood there in confusion, the sky suddenly darkened. Black clouds gathered directly above her head.
BOOM! A bolt of lightning struck the ground right beside Liana’s feet. Liana was so startled that her body began to tremble with fear.
Then, an old man approached her. He was the figure Liana had met in her dream—the same person who had destroyed Lianka.
Liana slowly backed away from him. Fear spread throughout her body.
“So the prophecy was true after all!” the old man said.
“Who are you? What do you want to do to me?” Liana asked, trying to fight down her fear.
“Hahahaha… Why are you still standing there? You should’ve chosen to run away like a frightened rat.”
The old man’s laughter thundered through the air, making Liana feel even more terrified.
“Answer me! What are you going to do to me?”
“Why are you in such a hurry? Don’t you want us to reminisce a little after not seeing each other for hundreds of years?”
“I don’t know who you are! So leave me alone!” Liana snapped irritably.
“Lumosss… My name is Lumos!” Lumos whispered directly beside Liana’s ear.
In an instant, Lumos had moved. He was now standing right beside Liana. The flash of red light in his eyes made Liana collapse limply, overcome with fear.
“This is how it should be. Your body should tremble with fear. Now you finally look like a cornered rat,” Lumos said arrogantly.
“Go away! Leave me alone!” Liana screamed.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t hate me so much! I wouldn’t bother you if you hadn’t come back to life!” Lumos said, bending toward her.
Liana’s head began to spin. She didn’t understand what Lumos meant. Her body grew increasingly weak and helpless, leaving her able only to sit there and keep watch over Lumos’s movements.
“Don’t you miss the warmth of my fiery blasts?” Through the gap between his hands, Lumos released roaring flames.