Book Three: Beacon of Hope
My eyes flew open as I took in a sharp inhale of breath. I rolled onto my side, coughing and gagging, as the mory of being backhanded by the massive, tal hand played on repeat. However, I was no longer in pain. Instead, I felt a warm, comforting presence surrounding like a soft blanket enveloping my body. I did not want to move. I just wanted to stay here forever and close my eyes. But where was I even?
I forced my eyes back open and gazed out at my surroundings, and that's when I realized I wasn't in the facility anymore. I was outside, lying in a green and golden grass field similar to my ho. Distant rolling hills could be seen for as far as I could see. I appeared to be in the shade, beneath a large Sycora tree, its pink petals falling gently to the ground around .
That's when I realized I was ho. This is the Sycora tree near the Hautchkins mill. As I turned my head, I could see the old wooden mill standing tall in the distance. It was all a dream. I thought and sighed heavily with relief. Thank, God. I knew it was all too much to be real. I snorted and giggled as I glanced down at myself. I noticed the blanket I thought was around was there—a dark blue and comforting blanket my parents had given when I grew out of my crib.
"Luna!" I heard my mother's voice distantly shouting my na as she clanged two pots together. "Luna!"
My head perked up at hearing the sound, and I sighed. I did not want to leave the comfort beneath the tree. Not yet, at least. I was having such a nice nap, and I wasn't even hungry. I took a deep breath and flopped back onto the grass.
"I'll go when I'm ready," I said to myself with a huff, and I smiled then closed my eyes. Momma will just have to wait.
The soft crunch of grass caught my attention, and I popped one eye open. The woman in the finely tailored suit and white hair sat beside .
"Gorgeous, isn't it," The woman said her voice husky and low.
My heart twitched in my chest as my single eye locked on her and quivered. I felt a strange sense of familiarity, and my heart rate began to rise. As the woman turned to , her red and blue eyes locked onto mine as she smiled.
"Hello again," Charity said softly.
"I-I rember you," I said hesitantly as I opened my other eye. My body began to tremble, rembering the last ti we had t. Which also ant this wasn't real. None of this was real.
I died. I died.
"You almost did," Charity said as she plucked a Sycora blossom from the air. "By fate alone, you were really lucky to survive." She tossed the blossom back up into the air and blew on it, sending the petal flying off. It landed gently on my shoulder. "Or perhaps luck isn't the correct word," she said a bit more coldly. "Because you survived, the Dark Lord was able to further his plans of dominance."
"What do you an?" I asked nervously, my body seemingly locked into a lying position beside Charity.
"He has possession of your body. Your soul is trapped within a vessel that he controls," she explained grimly as she gestured around the field and my distant ho.
"Wait, what?" I sat up. "The man in black possessed ?"
"Exactly as I said," Charity said as she side-eyed . "When you were knocked to your weakest state, without your will to defend, he capitalized on the situation and seized more control."
I looked forward and towards my ho, or at least, its depiction. Yet, it seed so real that I could almost reach out and touch it if I went to it. But I knew that it was just an illusion created by my mind, a mirage of what once was.
"A quaint prison of mories and dreams," Charity said softly. "A comfortable realm for you to live in at the end—"
"Shut up!" I snapped.
Charity flinched and turned to look at , her red and blue eyes wide as our eyes locked. I glared at her. "You're lying!" I growled. "The Master—Whoever he is, Dark Lord, I don't give a crap. He wouldn't steal my body, at least not to keep it." I gulped.
Charity's shocked expression turned to that of humor, and she began to giggle. "Are you so sure about that?"
I hesitated but then nodded. "Yes, he's done so much to help . He said he needs , not my body. We got off on the wrong foot at first, but he's shown genuine kindness."
Charity leaned back on the grass and crossed her legs as she smiled at . "So because soone was nice to you, you should trust them?"
Once again, I froze up. "I, uh, would like to think so," I admitted as my head lowered. "I don't know how you... Beings work," I gestured to her. "Gods and such were never a thing I ever had to deal with… I just…" I groaned and sighed as I pulled my legs up to my chest. "Why is this happening?" I moaned and buried my face in my knees. "Why is everything going to hell?" I began to tremble. "Everything started so well and now it's all falling apart so quickly."
"We all dream of simpler tis when life felt easier and problems weren't so overwhelming." Charity said with a sigh of her own as she stretched her legs out. "Yet it is not up to you mortals to decide how long you must endure these hardships."
I sniffed and glanced at her. "What do you an by that?" I asked as I wiped my eyes.
Charity smiled widely and gestured out to the world before her with her white-gloved hand. "I can make this a reality, Luna. I can change everything; we can go back to the tis you enjoyed."
"Really?" I blinked.
Charity smiled and nodded. "I can," she said. "All you need to do is wake up, and together I can show you."
I blinked and once again hesitated. "Wa-wait, what?"
The sound of my incessant alarm stirred from my sleep, and I groaned loudly as I rolled over in my bed. Of course, I still have it set to the air-raid siren. I groaned, unable to stand the noise anymore. I kicked off my covers, flung my hairy legs over the bed, and reached for my phone. Disabling the ear-annihilating alarm, I sighed with relief and saw what ti it was. 9.15 AM. I should probably get ready for work—wait a second, it's Sunday. I thought as I looked at the date and smiled pleasantly.
Heck yeah, no work. I chuckled and glanced at my bed, contemplating going back to sleep, but decided against it. Sunday ant no work and no gym today. Sunday Funday!
I yawned, stood up, and glanced at my PC. What ga should I play today? I thought as my stomach grumbled as I bent over to grab a pair of used Star Wars pajama pants off the ground rather than grabbing a fresh pair.
Frostpunk again? Maybe Stellaris, or maybe I can finally get around to finishing Pillars of Eternity Two! Gah, too many choices. Not enough ti. I sighed as I slipped into my pants and shuffled out of my room and imdiately into the bathroom on the right.
Switching on the light I was greeted by a scraggly human man standing before in the mirror. His long, dirty blonde hair covered his left eye, and the rest reached down to his neck. I looked into his right eye and noticed it was lazy, slightly looking off to the left at sothing more interesting than himself. He was a plump man, probably in his late twenties, and was a bit pear-shaped and short. His beard was thick, so much so that you'd think the trimrs would get entangled if he tried to shave it.
He, who is he? I thought briefly as I reached up to touch my face, and the man in the mirror did the sa. Suddenly, my head twitched and my eyes widened as I shook my head and laughed. "Have I really not left my room for that long?!" I said it out loud and shook my head. "Crap, I really do need to shave though." I leaned back into the mirror and cupped my chin, my fingers digging through the scraggly hair.
I then stepped back, turned my body, and glanced down at the disgusting gut I carried. "Maybe I should go to the gym today," I said softly as I gripped the flubber attached to my body. "I went yesterday, but slimming out is taking forever." I sighed but shook my head.
I've been trying to lose weight for over a year now. It started strong, having dropped nearly twenty pounds. I could now wear most of my pants again and so shirts, but recently it's sort of plateaued a bit. Matthew, my brother and roommate, told this was to be expected. Having been a forr bodybuilder, he said weight loss tends to co in waves sotis since everyone is different.
I just hope that's true. I'm tired of looking at this fat bastard. I took a deep breath, released my gut, and went back to my room to change. My room was small, like everywhere else in this trailer. I had a full bed in the corner, a dresser to my left, and in the back right was my L-shaped desk and PC, which was also my workstation.
Ever since the pandemic, I've been working from ho. For many years, I've worked day and night in this room. Aside from the few grocery store visits and going to the gym, I don't leave this room often. It's beco my paradise and sotis even my hell.
I hate it.
At least I usually do, but today. Today felt different. It was like coming ho to an old friend. The room felt nostalgic. Like I hadn't been here in ages. It was oddly comforting. When I made my way to my closet and opened it, I was greeted by dozens of handy-down shirts and clothes from high school. I knew I could not fit, but I kept them anyway. I was overwheld with a sense of nostalgia.
And like those many, many tis in the past. I grabbed my go-to outfit. A black zip-up hoodie and whatever T-shirt fit comfortably beneath. In this case, it was a plain green shirt that was way too big for . A handy note from my Uncle Scotty, one of the largest yet funniest n I ever knew.
After that, I grabbed so of my black ice cologne and sprayed myself before sitting down at my PC. Yet when I tried to sign into it, I ca to a horrifying realization.
What's my password again?
"You've got to be kidding ," I muttered under my breath, scratching my beard. "I used it yesterday, right?" I said I was trying to think back, but…
What did I even do yesterday? I couldn't recall it.
I turned and glanced at my dresser. "Don't tell I overdid it on the edibles again…" I groaned.
"Fucking hell." I crossed my arms and shrugged. "Well, that changes everything." I stood up from my computer chair and began to pace around my room, wracking my brain for any information.
Yet nothing; I couldn't rember.
"Maybe if I go for a walk, I'll rember sothing," I said as I puffed my cheeks and glanced down at my pajamas. "Whelp, I can't go out looking like a pathetic Star Wars nerd." So I dropped my pants and chose to go for so form-fitting denim jeans, after which I slipped into my sneakers before snatching up my wallet and key ring.
Once I was ready, I decided it was ti to do one of the hardest things I've done in ages. Touching grass. Taking in a deep breath, I ntally prepared myself for this difficult task and pushed forth from my room. Stepping out of my room, I closed the door behind and looked down the old, familiar corridor in my trailer. Like my room, I felt like I hadn't been here in ages.
The walls are decorated with abstract art pieces my sister-in-law, Katie, enjoys. As well as pictures of her, Matthew, and my nephews. I slowly walked down the hall, my eyes glued to each of the photos and art pieces. I stopped in front of the image of Mason, my oldest nephew, beside his younger brother Maxwell outside of their elentary school. The two of them looked so much like my brother Matthew, like direct little clones of him, yet even I could see other bits of our family in them.
Especially the long, curly, and dirty blonde hair. The sound of squealing from the living room snapped back to reality, and I cleared my throat and went to see what was going on. As I stepped out of the living room, I could see Katie sitting on the couch, wrapped in blankets, barely awake as she watched her two young boys wrestle over the small trampoline in the room.
"Hey, play nice now," I said, noticing Mason was getting a bit rough with his younger brother.
"Momma said it's my turn with the trampoline, though!" I glanced at Katie, who was about to keel over and nap, and looked back down at the two.
"Momma looks like she's barely even awake to say if it is your ti." I chuckled. "Just go easy on him; he's younger than you." I poked the seven-year-old in the chest and nodded toward the three-year-old. "If you're nice, I'll tell Daddy just how good you've been."
Mason pursed his lips a bit before saying, "Okay, Uncle. But only if we get to play Fortnite later too!"
I snorted and said, "Sure, boy." We sealed the deal with a fist bump.
I then straightened up and walked through the living room and into the kitchen, which was connected to it openly. As I crossed the threshold onto the vinyl floor, I opened the fridge and grabbed the jug of filtered water.
As I poured myself a glass of cold water and drank it, I noticed Katie staring at from the couch. I lowered the glass from my lips and blinked. "What's up?" I asked.
Katie yawned, leaned forward, and said, "Nothing much… I just noticed you seed to be in a good mood."
Good mood? Yeah, I guess I feel pretty good. I nodded. "Yeah, I guess I just had a really good night's rest."
"Good dreams?" Katie asked with a tired smirk before lunging forward to grab Maxwell, who had stumbled forward and almost fell. Catching the little, squealing three-year-old, she yanked him up and placed him on her lap as she looked at .
I shrugged. "Honestly, I can't recall… well… sowhat." I tapped my chin as I tried to think back to last night again. "I vaguely recall it being like a fantasy dream."
"So, like your D&D stuff?" Katie said it with a yawn, and I nodded.
"Yeah, I think so." I drank so more of my water before placing the cup down. "I'm going for a walk. I forgot my PC password, so I'm going to see if the air can clear my head."
Katie said sothing as I walked by and stopped. My body stiffened, and I turned back and said, "What did you say?"
Katie blinked and looked up at . "I said your mom called, asking about it."
I shook my head. "Before that."
"I said your na," Katie said with a slightly confused frown.
My na? I blinked.
Katie opened her mouth and said, "███"
Suddenly, as if hit by a baseball bat, my vision flashed white, and my ears began to sharply ring. I winced brought a hand up to my ear and croaked out, "Ye-yeah, so-sorry, I thought you said sothing else."
"Is everything alright, ███?" Hearing her say it again, I straightened up and dismissed her with a hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine! Just going to go touch grass now, bye!" I stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind .
With my hands stuffed into the pocket of my jeans, I made my way down the poorly maintained road in the trailer park I lived in.
That was so weird. I thought. Hearing my na like that, was that even my na? I don't recall ever being called that, right? I don't like it; it's la, but even then, what was that reaction? I sighed. If I'm going to go nuts over my na, I should get so help… Well, it's not so bad; my friend Cake hates his real na. Maybe I can co up with a cool nickna or sothing; perhaps I could be called "Coffee" or sothing. Eh, no, too close to ho.
I took a deep breath and groaned as I ca to a stop on the sidewalk as I watched a large U-Haul moving truck pull into the driveway of a recently constructed trailer. I watched as the truck ca to a stop in the driveway and the driver's door unlocked. I could see that as the doors swung open, two young adults, probably in their early twenties, hopped out.
One is a tall, broad-shoulder man with tan skin and dark hair wearing nothing but a black tank top and combat shorts. The other is an extrely gorgeous woman, her body curving and her jaw-dropping. Her hair was short and dark like the man's, but she had cute blue highlights that streaked through and shimred in the sunlight.
Not wanting to be seen as a creep, I tore my eyes away and glanced at the strong-looking man who waved at . "Hey there!" His voice bood. "You live there?" He asked, pointing towards my trailer about 100 feet down. Between my lot and theirs was nothing but open space, as the park has slowly been being built for about the last four years.
I gulped. "Yeah, I'm, uh, taking one of my usual walks," I said nervously. I was never great at talking to strangers.
The woman reached into the truck, pulled out a cropped leather jacket, and slipped it on before adjusting her dark shorts. "For a trailer park, this place looks really nice!"
I laughed a little and said, "Well, it isn't called Quaint Village for no reason; it's open… and the owners have gardens." I said anxiously as I pointed to one of the community gardens across the street. "We-well, I ho-hope you two like it here!" I said, trying to make my exit. I began to walk past them and around their truck but stopped when the woman spoke up.
"Oh, hey, if you don't mind, my brother and I." She stepped towards , now within a few feet, as she gestured to the strong-ard man. "We were thinking of hosting a public cookout to try and get to know everyone around here. Would you be willing to stop by? Even if it's just to say hi, it's fine."
I tensed up. Seeing her so close to , her bright blue eyes were almost like an ocean that was about to fall. I broke eye contact and stuffed my hands deeper into my pocket. "Uh… huh…." I was at a loss for words. I wanted to say no. I was going to say no. "Yes. Sure." I nodded. "I can see if I can stop by."
The woman's eyes sparkled, and she bounced a little, and I had to forcibly look away out of respect. "I'm glad to hear it—Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"What's up?" I muttered.
"I never introduced myself." She giggled and straightened up before holding out a small, pale hand. "My na is H̷̨̛̻̯̳̞̳̝͓̝̣̻͙̤̭̾̃̔̏̀̋̀͛́́̀͝ͅä̶̧̻͔̻̙̗̪́n̵̢̛̛̹̹͚͖̍́̊́̎̏͒͑ä̷̡̰̜͔͙̯̫̯́̃͑ͅ, Luna."
My eyes widened. What did she just say, H̷̨̛̻̯̳̞̳̝͓̝̣̻͙̤̭̾̃̔̏̀̋̀͛́́̀͝ͅä̶̧̻͔̻̙̗̪́n̵̢̛̛̹̹͚͖̍́̊́̎̏͒͑ä̷̡̰̜͔͙̯̫̯́̃͑ͅ? What does that even an?
Everything seed to shift slightly as the world seed to brighten a little as the sun drifted across the sky. My stomach churned as the sensations of butterflies built in my chest, and the girl smiled as she gestured to her brother and said,
"And this is B̶̛̤̭͕̼͙͈a̵̡͉̳͓͗̏̀̾̓̓r̶̡̢̡̛̘̯̘̯̻̝͓̅̃̀̀̑̆̈̑̈̆́͘̚̕ͅͅr̸͓̣̼̖͉̠̈͠ÿ̶̧̡̺̝̜̝̮̰̮͎̥͜, Varis." H̷̨̛̻̯̳̞̳̝͓̝̣̻͙̤̭̾̃̔̏̀̋̀͛́́̀͝ͅä̶̧̻͔̻̙̗̪́n̵̢̛̛̹̹͚͖̍́̊́̎̏͒͑ä̷̡̰̜͔͙̯̫̯́̃͑ͅ, Luna smiled at as I blinked. "What's your na?" She asked.
I flinched, stepped back, and said, "I-I dunno…"
H̷̨̛̻̯̳̞̳̝͓̝̣̻͙̤̭̾̃̔̏̀̋̀͛́́̀͝ͅä̶̧̻͔̻̙̗̪́n̵̢̛̛̹̹͚͖̍́̊́̎̏͒͑ä̷̡̰̜͔͙̯̫̯́̃͑ͅ, Luna blinked curiously. "You don't know your own na—"
"I'm sorry!" I blurted, "I, uh, I do… it's just… my na is… my na is…" I looked at her, took a deep breath, and said it.
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