"Where am I?

"

A croaky and weak voice resounded across the small room as both Amanda and the queen froze on the spot where they were standing.

Blinking her eyes a couple of times, Natasha's eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and when she did, a familiar figure appeared in her vision. She was an otherworldly beauty with long silver hair.

"Maylin?

"

Natasha called out. There was notable confusion in her voice as she stared at the figure looking at her from above.

Although she looked like Maylin, she also looked a little bit more mature compared to the last time she had seen her, and therefore was uncertain about whether the woman staring at her from above was really Maylin, her friend.

Extending her hand out the narrow gap of the capsule, Natasha asked.

"Maylin, is that really you?

"

Upon hearing Natasha's voice, Maylin smiled. Reaching out to grasp her hand, she nodded her head.

"…It's me.

"

Her voice was filled with emotions as she was barely able to keep herself from leaking out her emotions.

However, given all of her experience in the past, she was able to keep her composure.

"I see.

"

Upon getting confirmation from Maylin that she was indeed her friend, a relieved smile appeared on Natasha's face as she muttered softly.

"You look quite different from the last time I saw you.

"

The more she looked at her, the more she was convinced that Maylinn had changed.

Compared to the last time she had seen her, she looked a lot older, and beautiful as well. If before she looked like a mature teenager, right now she looked like a fully grown adult.

Mayilin's smile hardened a little when she saw Natasha's confusion. Most likely, she was still unaware of the fact that a long time had passed since the incident.

"Huh? My curse?

"

Natasha's startled voice echoed throughout the room as she slowly sat up and patted her body.

Snapping her head in Mailyn's direction she incredulously said.

"The curse, it's gone! Did you manage to remove the curse from me?!

"

Tears started gathering in the corner of her eyes as she looked at Maylin. However, contrary to her expectations, shaking her head Maylin pointed towards another spot in the room where a girl stood.

"Actually, I wasn't the one that managed to help you get rid of the curse. If you want to thank someone, thank her.

"

It was only after Maylin pointed it out to her that Natasha finally took notice of Amanda's presence, and once she turned her head to look at her, she was left stunned.

'How beautiful.'

She thought inside of her mind as she gazed at the young girl in front of her. She was simply stunning. With her glossy black hair gently cascading down her back, the young girl's face had this youthful innocent to it that made anyone that looked at her have an urge to protect her.

The more Natasha looked at her, the more she couldn't help but admire her beauty.

However, this didn't last for long as his brows soon knit into a frown. The reason for this was because the young girl looked quite familiar. But regardless of how much Natasha tried to think about it, she couldn't make heads or tails of where she had seen her before.

In the end, snapping out of her thoughts, Natasha lowered her head and thanked her.

"Although I do not know who you are I wanted to thank you for what you did to me.

"

She was so lost in her beauty that she had forgotten to thank her.

Despite not having known the girl for long she had this sense of familiarity with her that made her warm up to her instantly as a smile blossomed on her face.

"Truly, I am grateful.

"

"…It's okay.

"

Amanda awkwardly replied. It appeared as though her mother had not recognized her yet. She was not disappointed by this. She understood exactly what was going on, and didn't say anything else.

Turning her head, Amanda's eyes met with Maylin's who nodded her head and turned to look at Natasha. Raising her head, she pointed in Amanda's direction.

"Natasha, do you not recognize her?

"

Tilting her head and staring at Amanda, Natasha's brows knit together.

"She looks familiar, but I'm positive that I've never seen her before in my life.

"

Glancing at Amanda, Natasha asked.

"I'm sorry if I haven't been able to recognize you, but have we met before?

"

The more she looked at Amanda the more she found the sense of familiarity increase. This became especially prominent after hearing Maylin's words.

But just who was this girl? No matter how much she tried to think, she just couldn't piece the pieces together.

Seeing the notable confusion on Natasha's face, Maylin let out a long sigh. She understood the crux of the problem. Instead of directly introducing Amanda to her, she asked.

"Natasha, how long do you think you've been in a coma for?

"

"How long?

"

Though surprised by Maylin's sudden question, placing her hand underneath her chin, Natasha thought for a moment and answered.

"Maybe half a year to a year?

"

Maylin pursed her lips. Lowering her head for a moment, she took a deep breath and softly said.

"Longer.

"

"...Longer?

"

Taken aback, Natasha's head recoiled back as her brows furrowed. Her heart started to slowly sink.

"...Two years? Three years? It can't be any more than that I don't thin...

"

Whilst speaking, Natasha made sure to check Maylin's reaction, and when she saw that she was still shaking her head, her heart sank completely and her face paled considerably.

"...N..no, it can't be.

"

Her shoulders started to tremble as she had a difficult time trying to formulate a sentence. She was a strong woman, however. Closing her eyes, she calmed herself down.

Staring at Maylin, she softly asked.

"How long have I been in a coma for?

"

Putting on a strong front, she repeated.

"Maylin, there is no need to lie to me.

"

Pursing her lips, Maylin had a difficult look on her face. Brushing her silver colored hair behind her ears, she sighed and said.

"Fifteen years. Natasha, you've been in a coma for fifteen years.

"

"...Ah.

"

A weird sound escaped from Natasha's mouth as her previous strong front crumbled apart.

No matter how strong someone was, if they heard that they had been in a coma for over fifteen years, their mind would have trouble processing the information, causing them to enter a state of momentary shock.

This was exactly what was happening to Natasha as her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Her mind was completely blank.

"F...fi..fifteen years?

"

She muttered. Her teeth chatter and the previous healthy complexion on her face paled to the point where she looked exactly the same moments before waking up.

"haa...haa...

"

Her chest moved up and down uneavely as she had trouble processing the information. It took a total of five minutes for her to calm down, and when she did, the first thing she asked was,

"My family...are they okay? Do you know anything about them?

"

"Yes.

"

Maylin nodded her head. Then, with a smile on her face, she took a step to the side and pressed both of her hands on Amanda's shoulders before pushing her forward.

"...Maylin, this right here is your daughter. Amanda.

"

Like a thundercalp, Maylin's words deeply reverberated across Natasha's head as he looked at Amanda who was standing in front of her.

Suddenly, the sense of familiarity she felt when looking at her made more sense. Not only that, but it was also now that she took a closer look at her that she realized that she bore a striking resemblance to herself.

She didn't pay close attention before since she had just woken up and her mind was still foggy, but the more she looked at the girl in front of her, the more she felt that the girl, no, woman in front of her was truly her daughter.

Closing her eyes and swallowing a mouthful of salive, Natasha weakly called out.

"...Amanda?

"

Meeting her mother's gaze, and hearing her words, Amanda smiled. With a weak nod, she softly said.

"Yes.

"

***

"Aaaarghh!

"

Grasping onto the floor, I tightly clenched my heart as spit dropped down from my mouth.

A heavy tightness gripped my entire chest as I tried my best to reach out for the potions that were scattered in front of me.

"Haa…haa..haarg….

"

With my hand shaking, I could feel every fiber of my body getting torn apart as I could barely move my body. Even then, gritting my teeth, I reached out to grab one of the potions in front of me.

Despite my hands shaking continuously, I uncapped the potion and brought it toward my mouth.

Gulp—

Taking a sip of the potion, a cold sensation washed over my body, alleviating some of the pain, however, my body still kept on shaking, and I could see blood seeping out from my skin.

Realizing just how serious the situation was, I didn't hold back and took the remaining potions.

Instantly, the pain further alleviated and I was somehow able to stabilize my mind. Originally, I thought that the potions wouldn't help much, but I was wrong. They really were of use.

The moment I took them, the pain subsided by quite a lot. Of course, this was only temporary as the pain would come back stronger and more powerful than ever before.

"Haa…haaa….Haaaa!

"

An electric current-like sensation suddenly coursed through my body, sending me spasming all over the floor.

'It hurts so much...'

I cried out inside of my mind as I tightly gripped the ground with my hands, and bit onto something soft. Compared to what I had experienced at the Monolith, be it burning myself alive, having my face scarred, and getting injected with a mind-numbing serum, what I was currently experiencing was far more painful than anything I had ever experienced in the past.

I could barely keep track of reality. My vision slowly started to blur and I could feel my heartbeat slowing down.

Slowly, I started to lose track of time.

One hour, two hours, three hours, for who knew how long, I screamed around the room and suppressed the intense pain that was coming at me in repetitive bursts that seemed more powerful with each continuous burst.

"Khaaaa!

"

With both of my arms on the ground, I gagged multiple times.

I didn't really know how I was able to stay sane for those many hours, but at the eight-hour mark, the pain finally stopped. Or so I thought it did, but just as I was about to relax, an even more excruciating pain suddenly washed over me, and at that moment, I felt my life flash across my eyes as I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Haaarg!

"

Following the scream, my body once again started spasming all over the ground. Many times I just wanted to pass out, but I knew that I couldn't. No matter how long and how painful the pain was, I had to remain conscious.

I didn't want to.

I really didn't want to remain conscious, but realizing that my life was on the line, all I could do was bite hard onto the sheet in my mouth and keep perserveiring.

"Hmmmmmm!

"

***

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Inside a dark space, cracks started to form around a white orb. Surrounding it were thin black threads that constantly tried to encircle it completely.

The black threads started to seep into the cracks as they formed. The pure white orb started to change, becoming an ugly, murky color. The process was slow, but as it continued, the changes became more obvious.

With his hands behind his back, Ren stared at the orb in front of him with an indifferent look on his face.

Closing his eyes, he muttered.

"Predictable.

"

His cold and deep voice spread throughout the void as his figure soon melted into the darkness.