Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 375: Recollection of memories better left forgotten

Chapter 375: Recollection of memories better left forgotten

It was a familiar yet unfamiliar palace with high walls and adorned pillars stretching up to the heavens.

She blinked multiple times as her mind moved in a bid to figure out her surroundings.

Due to the massive fog obscuring almost everything, it was difficult to make sense of everything but regardless, the feeling of familiarity ensured that she continued to ponder.

Soon enough, she found herself walking, not because she wanted to but because she didn’t have a choice.

Her body moved of its own free will, perhaps guided by fate toward a certain destination and despite her best efforts to fight against it, she found herself ensnared further by the weavings.

Finally, she arrived in a large throne room where corpses sat as though convening a court with rotten food set on the table and dried blood staining the floors.

The sickening sight, coupled with the pungent odor left her breathless and incredibly listless as she instinctively moved to cover her mouth, a deep sense of nausea rising in her throat.

Then she had a whisper, coming from somewhere far and yet so close causing her gaze to wander before finally arriving at the throne nestled comfortably at the helm of it all and seated on the throne, a most frightening figure.

All it took was a moment and then... darkness.

***

Ana awoke, her chest heaving as perspiration peppered her body.

Gulping hard, she sought to forget the contents of the dream she had but alas, found herself unable to do so.

As she continued to hyperventilate, her expression twisted in utter terror and agony, she gripped the side of her face and stared off into the nothingness of space, her body trembling as the dream replayed itself in her mind’s eye.

Just before she succumbed to the madness dwelling within, a warm hand grabbed her shoulder after which a soothing aura came upon her, finally ridding her of the terror that sought to drive her insane.

Sucking a deep breath, she glanced at the one present in the room to find that it was Alex, his expression filled with worry as he stared at her.

"I..."

"Are you okay?" He inquired softly with Ana barely able to respond with a nod.

"Take a deep breath."

"..."

"Come on, do it."

Nodding yet again, she did as he asked, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Finally, after much effort, Ana was able to recover well enough for a conversation.

Considering the tension in the room, Alex decided to do away with it as he joked. "I had no idea dragons had nightmares too, especially the one that calls herself the Omen of Great Disasters."

"... I don’t call myself that." Ana softly replied with a pout.

"That’s not how it seemed when you introduced yourself to me for the first time."

"... Well, it’s not like I named myself. I got the title after the disaster that caused the Southern prairie to become the Southern Ruins."

Alex paused, unsure of how to continue as he seemed to have touched on a sour subject.

Coughing awkwardly, he rubbed his nose as he found himself unable to continue.

Seeing him so lost, a gentle smile appeared at the corners of Ana’s lips as she softly intoned. "Thank you. I don’t know what I’d have done had you not come in when you did."

"Happy to help." Alex quickly replied, thankful that Ana hadn’t allowed the previous mention to affect her too much.

Taking the initiative, he inquired. "So, want to talk about what happened?... What got you so terrified in the first place?"

"I..."

"Don’t worry, I’m here."

Ana met Alex’s reassuring gaze and getting a deep sense of security within them, nodded as she remarked.

"I’m a thousand, two hundred years old, you know."

Alex nodded. "I do."

"Hmmph." Ana suddenly pouted as she put her arms at Akimbo while turning her face away.

"What?"

"At least act surprised, you sound like I look my age!"

Taken aback by her sudden outburst, Alex found himself at a loss for words.

Silence followed before Ana let out a light chuckle seeing him so perplexed causing Alex to let out an exasperated sigh.

"... Over the years... I’ve learned to hide things away. To intentionally forget memories that remind me of... things I’d rather forget."

"Like the true scope of the Great Disaster that created the Southern Ruins?"

Ana’s eyes flickered with emotion before she softly replied, the melancholy in her tone rather evident. "Yes."

"So why are you telling me this?" Alex inquired, sensible enough to not dwell on the matter.

Ana took a deep breath as she replied. "You remember that you once asked why I hadn’t found a solution to take care of Lincoln’s lingering corruption before you arrived, right?"

"Of course. You said you had reached out to the Church but they agreed to do so only if you join their ranks."

"Indeed. But that’s not all."

"Hmm?" Alex raised a brow at the admission.

Ana pursed her lips, taking the time to gather her thoughts before she explained. "The church or rather, the Divine Wheel isn’t the only Wheel that possesses a domain capable of purification."

"Hmm?"

"The Monster Wheel possesses two such domains. One, the Night domain which is held by the werewolves, and the other, the Day domain which is held by the Gryphons."

"Go on," Alex remarked as he leaned forward, uncertain as to what Ana’s explanation was leading to though that made him all the more curious.

"We and when I say we, I mean I and the Great Families searched for a Monster Wheel Mystic that had ingested the parts of a werewolf but due to the Curse that followed the werewolf bloodline, there are not many Mystics plying that route."

"Which leaves the Day domain held by the Gryphons." Alex inferred with Ana nodding.

"Gryphons are a noble race, said to be on par with the Dragons though I’d beg to differ but regardless, the will needed to ingest the parts of a Gryphon is incredibly high, almost bordering on the amount needed for ingesting dragon parts, which mind you, can’t be mustered by a human."

"So, that means Mystics plying the gryphon route are as rare as werewolves."

"But not non-existent. We found one."

Her words were meant to serve as a good thing but for some reason, Alex felt like this was where the problem lay.