“Sharn!” Bart pounded on the door, his voice brimming with anxiety, “Are you in there? Open up, quickly.”
Selim, manipulating Bart’s body, continued to bang on the door, but inside, it was deathly silent.
Bart took a few steps back, then suddenly slammed his body against the door.
Inside, Sharn was kneeling on the ground in a daze, her lips trembling as she muttered a single word over and over.
“Witch… Witch…”
“What happened? Why can’t I find Vikas?” Bart squatted down beside Sharn and asked, “Where are Rosha and Selim?”
At the mention of those familiar names, Sharn’s shoulders shuddered, and her unfocused gaze finally fixed on Bart’s face.
“They’re gone… All gone.” She suddenly flung herself into Bart’s arms, her voice saturated with despair. “Selim… She’s a Witch! I was so foolish, I never saw through her disguise!”
“Selim? A Witch?” Bart was incredulous, pointing toward Selim’s room. “How can you say that about our daughter? After all these years together as a family…”
“I don’t want to believe it either.”
“But whether it was Vikas or Rosha, they disappeared right after talking to Selim.”
Sharn clutched her head, her mind starting to unravel.
“Selim was even outside our door, in front of everyone, killing all those people.”
“Let’s run, Bart, take Jialan, let’s leave this cursed place, find somewhere no one knows us, and start over, please!”
She grasped Bart’s hand as if it were her last lifeline.
“No, I don’t believe Selim would do such a thing.” Bart shook off Sharn’s grip. “I have to find out the truth.”
Bart stood up and walked toward Selim’s room.
Inside was evidence Selim had long prepared, enough to clear ‘Selim’ of suspicion.
“You still don’t get it?” Sharn chased after him, “None of this matters anymore!”
“We should take Jialan and run away right now, find a place where we can be happy again.”
“Do you think you can still hide away and keep dreaming?” Bart stared at Sharn. “You’ve become weak and selfish.”
“What?” Sharn was furious at Bart’s painful lack of understanding.
“What do you know? Where were you when it mattered? Now you have to listen to me.” As she spoke, Sharn grabbed Bart by the collar.
The two of them struggled in Selim’s room, and under Bart’s deliberate guidance, they crashed into a table.
A Notebook fell out from the cabinet, landing before them.
“Wait, Sharn, is that Selim’s Notebook?” Bart broke free from Sharn’s hold and pointed at the Notebook on the ground. “Maybe we can find something in there.”
Sharn let go, crouching down with trembling hands to pick up the Notebook, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
The first dozens of pages were childish doodles and daily ramblings.
As Sharn flipped through, a diary entry written in blood-red ink caught her attention.
“Harvest Day, clear. Today I met a gray wolf. It hurt so much when it bit me, I couldn’t stand up.”
“But I met a strange fellow who told me, as a Witch’s daughter, as long as I’m willing to hand over my pointy ears, I could see Mama.”
“But if I lose my ears, what if Sharn Mama worries? It said, it can make sure Mama never finds out.”
“It’s a good fellow. Sharn Mama really found me.”
Reading this, Sharn’s heart almost broke. With trembling fingers, she turned to the next page.
“Bright Moon Day, overcast. I met that good fellow again today. It said my Sharn Mama is going to die.”
“But… what is death?”
“It said it means Mama will never see Selim again, unless Selim dies in Mama’s place.”
“But if Selim dies, then she can’t see Mama either?”
“That’s right, good fellow is really smart. Selim has Mama, but Mama still has Vikas, Rosha, Papa, and Jialan.”
“So, I’ll die in Mama’s place…”
“No, don’t agree, my Selim, it’s lying to you.” Sharn’s tears fell onto the page, forcing herself through the pain to turn to the final entry.
“Liar…”
“Mama is very sad.”
“You’re not a good fellow, you’re a bad one, give my family back…”
The diary cut off abruptly, as if something sudden had interrupted it.
“Bart!” Sharn snapped the Notebook shut, an astonishing light bursting in her eyes. “Quick! Let’s go save Selim! There’s still time!”
“No, I’ll protect Jialan.” Bart shook his head and spoke in a tone of entrustment, “I believe you’ll bring Selim back safe and sound.”
“Yes, that’s right…” Sharn exhaled deeply. “Protect Jialan, be ready. When I bring Selim back, we’ll leave this place together.”
With that, under Selim’s gaze, Sharn dashed out the door again.
And that monster seemed to have figured out some sort of pattern, praying for Selim to agree to let it devour Bart and Jialan.
“Don’t rush. It’s not time yet.”
Selim followed Sharn at an unhurried pace.
As Sharn approached the execution ground, the crowd grew lively again.
“Prepare to execute the Witch!” The Executioner raised his cold spear high.
“Stop!” From a distance, Sharn saw that they were about to thrust a spear into ‘Selim’s’ heart.
But she was still a step too slow. The spear drove mercilessly into ‘Selim’s’ chest.
Blood instantly drenched the entire scaffold.
“The Witch is dead! We’re saved!” The crowd erupted in deafening cheers, and no one stopped Sharn as she staggered up onto the platform.
“Selim, open your eyes, look at me, Mama’s here.” Sharn cradled ‘Selim’s’ body, helplessly staring at the gruesome wound.
“Cough… Mama…” ‘Selim’ struggled to open her eyes. “It hurts… so much…”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Sharn’s tears fell onto Selim’s face. “Mama… Mama shouldn’t have doubted you… shouldn’t have…”
“It’s okay, Mama.” Selim struggled to lift her right hand, using her sleeve to wipe away Sharn’s tears.
“Because to me, Mama is always my favorite mama.”
Her arm slid limply down, and ‘Selim’ lost all life.
“Selim—!”
Sharn collapsed over ‘Selim’s’ corpse, sobbing.
‘Selim’s’ body began to drift upward, just as Vikas had vanished the first time Sharn saw him disappear.
“No, don’t take her.” Sharn hugged ‘Selim’s’ corpse tightly.
Crunch… crunch…
Gnawing sounds arose from within her embrace.
“The Witch has been judged!”
The crowd watched as ‘Selim’ vanished, breaking out in another round of cheers.
Sharn was swallowed by the rejoicing crowd. She looked around at all the familiar yet strange faces, a cold hatred swelling and spreading wildly in her heart.
“Hate, I hate you all so much, I wish you’d just disappear!”
The entire world began to fracture, shaken by Sharn’s violent shift in emotions.
Sharn’s despair and resentment were tearing this illusory prison apart.
“Sharn, is making them disappear your wish? Fine, I’ll grant it.” Standing in the shadows, Selim wouldn’t let such a good opportunity slip by. She drove the monster to start devouring the people around Sharn.
“Witch! Sharn is the real Witch! Run!”
Screams, cries, and chewing sounds instantly replaced the cheers, like a vision of hell.
Sharn stood up, slowly descending from the execution platform. She ignored the people being devoured around her and paid no mind to the shattering world.
Now, there was only one thought left in her heart: to find Bart and Jialan and leave this land of sorrow together.
Sharn returned once again to the front door of her house, but before she could open it, she heard Bart’s horrified shout.
“Monster! Stay away from my daughter Jialan… aaaaaah!” This was followed by the gruesome sound of chewing, and Bart’s screams were cut off.
“Bart!” Sharn rushed inside to help, only to see a floating tentacled monster scooping up Jialan.
That tentacle monster was none other than the prototype race of the [Soul Eater Walker] Profession that had yet to appear in the world.
Because of Selim’s schemes, Sharn’s mind had completely broken, and the world itself was on the brink of collapse.
The monster that had always lurked in the world finally revealed its true form as reality crumbled.
Even Selim’s appearance shifted, now that of a young maiden rather than an eight-year-old child.
The monster paid Sharn no heed, acting only on Selim’s orders and its own instincts.
Crunch!
It bit down fiercely on Jialan’s head.
“So it was all you? Die!” Sharn charged forward with her sword.
The tentacle monster, unable to dodge in time, had several tentacles slashed by Sharn’s sword, emitting a shrill cry of pain.
Now, the Dream Master and the Dream Creator had become mortal enemies, their conflict utterly shattering this world.
Selim had finally reached the moment to harvest the fruits of her labor.
Just as a shepherd feeds cows and sheep to harvest their flesh, Selim had invested so much power feeding this tentacle monster, naturally intending to fatten it up for the ultimate feast.
As the Dream Master, Sharn was so powerful that the immature monster couldn’t even fight back against her.
Selim didn’t even need to lift a hand.
But now was not the time to be a shadowy mastermind; Selim felt she should at least offer Sharn some compensation.
Selim let her long robe slip away and quietly drifted to Sharn’s side.
Sharn noticed the figure appearing beside her and, looking closely, spoke in disbelief, “Are you… Selim?”
Selim smiled faintly and took Sharn’s sword hand in her own.
“Mama, just for me, kill it.”
“Let’s end this Nightmare.”