LittleVixen

Hey Hey and welcome back to the third chap. Sry for the long wait, but I wasn't rly well over the last few months, but I'm getting better step by step. Anyways, have fun with the chapter and if you see any typos, please let me know^-^

Enjoy~

I didn't know how long I was lying here already, and I did not care. Was hoping for one day on which I could feel like a normal person, so wrong? What evil did I commit to deserve this? Then a flash, a forgotten memory.

Home alone, my father was at work, my mom? Simply not here. I was curious, young, adventurous. An open door, a step inside. So many colors! Those were clothes, my mothers? They were different than mine, not just blue and grey. Next to them—a small table full of shiny things that came in pairs. Mother always wore them, not dad, though. Dunno why; they always looked great! 

But how would I look with all of this? I wanted to know, wanted to test. Normally, dad never allowed me to wear anything he disapproved of, but if mom could wear those without him protesting, I should be allowed to wear them too! 

When I stood before the mirror, I saw something I didn't understand. But a pleasant warmth spread throughout me. 

A muffled sound. My father's briefcase. At the doorstep, him. A distorted face. Screaming, then a slap, and another, and another. I didn't know why this was happening, but tears streamed down my face, like now. Again shouting, 'a man does not feel pain, does not cry!'. But it hurt so so much! What had I done wrong?! I did not know and still do not. I still remember how he called me 'boy' for months afterward on any occasion—why ever. It made no sense; he never did. What came after that? Blurry.

But why did I remember this now? Was this the reason I had to suffer? Cause I wasn't like my father wanted me to be? Would I be happier if I were his picture-perfect self of me he always imagined? I think not. 

So why flashed this memory into my mind? Another riddle that inflicted me only more pain. Pain I will never comprehend. 

Only now had I noticed that my eyes hurt. I touched them. They were wet. Wet? Did I cry...no, I still did. But why would I do this? Over what? Nothing made sense anymore, not even the ache I felt in my heart.  

So I kept crying whilst the rain poured down on me. My sobs swallowed up by the storm. No one would hear my despair—not that anyone would care. They never did. So I lay curled up on the ground, my clothes already completely soaked, like an empty, useless shell of myself. 

Suddenly the sound of rain felt more distant. No more comforting droplets fall down on me. I only heard the same sound of rain that happened when it hit a tent. 

"Hey hon, are you okay? I mean, obviously not, since you're lying on the ground completely soaked in this god damn storm," disrupted a sweet voice the world's noise," I nearly couldn't hear this quiet sobbing. Did one of the guys do that to you? Fuck, why can't they treat a pretty girl like you properly?! I swear, it's always the same with the guys of that dorm. Tell me which bastard caused this and I beat him up for you!" 

I dunno why, but my sobbing completely stopped; instead, a giggle now left my libs. 

"Damn, this is some cute laugh you have there," stated the unknown girl. 

'C-cute? M-me? No, this couldn't be. Ah, yes, she also said something about me being a girl,' my body felt warm for a second before reality crashed right back into it and froze everything over. I was no girl; no, I could never be one; this wasn't possible. I would always be a man, a useless specimen, a disappointment. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm no girl. I'm also a guy of that dorm. Yes...just another guy..." I said maybe a bit too sullen.

"Wait, what? You're not? Oh fuck, I'm sorry! I didn't misgender you on purpose. It's just...your voice and your look. Don't take me wrong now, okay, but you looked like someone's girl who borrowed her boyfriend's clothes. And your voice is super melodic and soft...I really couldn't tell."

"It's...It's the first time someone told me this," I answered, genuinely surprised. No one had ever said something like this to me before. It felt kinda, right? No, it shouldn't feel right. I still must be confused because of all the shit that happened today. 

"So yeah, it's fine. Don't worry; the guys in the dorm also make a bunch of jokes 'bout me. So there is really no reason for you to apologize to me."

For a moment, there was a weird silence, then the girl spoke again, "I didn't say this to make fun of you; it was an honest compliment, but whatever. You don't seem to be in any condition to accept any of those at the moment."

Somehow it felt like she was offended by what I said just now. So, for the first time since this weird conversation started, I began to loosen my curl and looked at who exactly I was talking to. 

When I lifted my head, a stunningly beautiful young woman glanced at me with a concerned expression. Her crystal blue eyes felt like the first warm spring breeze after a long cold winter. Her long fiery red hair flowed down her back. One side was tucked behind an ear and revealed a gorgeous golden earring with a small violet gem in the middle. Her clothes consisted of a leather jacket—with a little pride flag button on it—a normal black shirt with Female Empowerment printed on it, and blue skinny jeans. In one of her hands, she held a big scarlet umbrella. Only now did I notice that she wasn't solely beautiful but also really tall. 

I blinked and asked myself how someone like her would stop for something like me. 'Pity,' I guessed, and my mood took another hit. 

"Soo," she began her sentence and brought me back from my self-misery, "do you want to stay down there, or will you get up and get out of the rain?" 

"O-oh, yes, yes, of course," I answered her. But when I tried to stand up, I felt heavy and lost my balance. But before I slipped back onto the ground, the girl's hand grabbed me and pulled me up into a steady position. 

"T-thanks," I stuttered and thought, 'Saved by a girl, again...I already can hear Brian's laughter.'

"My god! Could you please stop looking so hurt? I get the urge to hug and tell you that everything will gonna be okay. But I guess that might only have the opposite effect," the girl voiced concerned. 

"I wouldn't mind a hug," I said to myself and responded, "Y-yeah...," to her and began to instantly look down on my feet. This conversation felt awkward, everything was awkward! 

"That doesn't—no, no, this is neither the right time nor the right place to talk about the obvious problems you have. First, we need to take you to another place and get some dry clothes on you." 

Then she took me by the hand and simply walked away with me. I was too confused to voice any complaints or anything reasonable. Bubbly feelings started to rise again, but I shoved them down before they could affect me. I wasn't supposed to feel this way. 

"C-could you please s-stop?" I totally successfully stuttered. To my surprise, she did listen to me. 

"Listen, cutie. I don't know what happened, but I'm someone who gets really concerned when I see someone acting like this. Even now, I sense that you aren't really with me right now but in a place somewhere far away. Call it a sixth sense or whatever, but I honestly think something horrible might have happened to you if I had left you lying there. 

"So, I'm taking you to a safe place, and we talk. And even if you don't wanna talk, I'll stay with you till I have the feeling that you won't get struck by lightning any second now, metaphorically speaking, of course. And by the way, 'Hello, I'm Gwen. It's nice to meet you, and I'm sorry for this weird situation but roll with it for now.'" 

Perplexed, I only nodded. Gwen smiled and started walking again, but— sadly—without holding my hands this time.

We were just walking silently, side by side. Even now, everything around me felt blurry, not real. Was I still in a dream? Maybe? Never before did someone show this much concern about me, let alone without knowing me. I mean, yeah, she somewhat seemed weirded out too by this whole situation, but who wouldn't after you expect a girl and get a fake like me. 

The thought just wouldn't leave me. What if I were a girl? Would she have hugged me instantly and patted my head until I stopped crying? Would I feel not guilty about the warmth? So many ifs, but I knew the answer all along. A simple plain 'No'. Why? Because something fucked up like me could never be a girl. 

I stopped walking. After a few more steps, Gwen noticed that and turned around to me. She looked saddened, and I somehow imagined hearing a whisper that said something like, "Just who hurt you that deeply?". Yet, that wasn't simply possible. Yes, like my dreams, none of this concern was genuine. It never was. 

Claps of thunder repeatedly roared, and the air once again trembled, but this time it didn't stop. Another clap, another one and another one. Each of them became louder and louder. At first, I thought this was my imagination, but then I saw Gwen. She was frightened. I looked around and saw that other students had similar reactions. When did they arrive? I thought to myself.

Then lightning struck a tree. Everyone jumped up in shock. After this? Silence. A silence that anyone hearing would interpret as the messenger of nightmares. Only now I realized that the tree was gone, and only a purple flickering flame remained on the ground. Even without thinking further about it, I already knew what would happen next. 

Then, the silence was gone, and the whole sky seemed to turn purple. 

"What. A. Shitty. Day!" I muttered.

The first purple lightning struck right next to me and somehow stunned me with its energy. I couldn't move. Obviously, the other students around me began to scream in blighted hopes whilst the sky only continued to rage.

But then I noticed how one person tried to come to me. It was Gwen. The only person who would not run away from me was someone I had known for not even thirty minutes.

"But O dear, O dear, O deary,
 When the end comes sad and dreary!" I recited aloud and saw how something purple came directly down to me. 

And a voice that wasn't mine spoke to me in hollowness,

"'Tis a dreadful thing to tell
 That on every student fell!
 All they did this script rehearses,
 Both in horror and in verses."

And as the purple energy engulfed me and the world turned dark, another one joined too, 

"What a lovely thought I hear! Lightning struck poor Benjamin! Yet this was only the evil gods' first trick, but the second follows quick."

"Did we get her? Did we get her?"

"I think we did get him; yes, he is here. But, asleep?"

"She must be hurt! This wasn't supposed to happen! What did they do to her!"

"Quiet, sister! He is here, and that is the only thing that matters. We still have some time left for him to wake up."

"B-but I'm scared that she won't understand..."

"He will, he must. The act must go on, must start. Even if it pains me to see him going through all this."

"You had no right to bring him into this place! They. Are. MINE!"

"Hush, you dammed doll! He is waking up."

--------

Everything felt weird. I was sure the lightning had hit me, but somehow I was still alive? How? I tried to move. I failed. Was I paralyzed? 

"Hon, are you fine?" asked me the last voice I wanted to hear now. 

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked and noticed that I sounded weird.

"The Stage," answered another well-known mask. 

"Stage? What stage? Where am I? Why can't I see?" I frantically inquired of them. Also, yes, my voice definitely was weird right now...it somehow had no...tone?

"Yes, our stage, our realm. The place where we're not masks. Sadly, you can't see us right now. Your soul is still too inexperienced for this. Even your talking is nothing more than a projection of your thoughts made possible by us," they answered simultaneously.

"So that's why— No, stop, that's not the point! Why am I here?! I'm crazy, right? I never left the dream! I'm still in my bed and only need to wake—" 

"Shh, my poor thing. Even if we two wished for it to be a dream for you, it isn't. Everything is real. You were, are unlucky, and got mixed up in a game between gods. You weren't supposed to be part of any faction and still aren't. You are a phantasmagoria; you weren't even supposed to be in the first place. 

"How you came into existence? A riddle, a rhyme of the worlds, a trick of time and space, or something entirely else. We do not know. Yet you are here, a hidden trump card with sharp edges. A shard everyone wants, but no one can truly govern."

"I-I do not understand! Are you telling me I was not even supposed to exist in the first place?! That I'm nothing but a mistake? W-why do I even try to live!?" I shouted at them. 

"If you're a mistake, we're also one," they said to me. "But we are not, and neither are you. Still, you were not chosen by the gods, and yet you are here—a wild card. The others might be Chosen but are limited by their gods. You are not even if you were one of them."

"Can't you choose me?" I asked pleadingly, not even knowing what it meant. 

"We can't. We have already chosen someone else. We found you too late, too early. She already protected you. But even if we had gotten the chance, we wouldn't have chosen you. You are not supposed to be in this game; you were supposed to be with us. But it was impossible. We love you as our own, but we can't do more for you. In due time you will understand what we did. Now, you must leave. When you wake up in the other world...just run, like always, and survive. Goodbye, our child."

Before I could even act, could even beg them to explain their neverending riddles; everything turned dark once again. 

"God damn, Benjamin, wake up!" I heard a muffled voice.  

My eyes slowly opened, and I saw Brian and one of his friends trying to shake me awake. Before I could figure out what was happening, blood splashed on my face. 

A gurgling sound. A strange insect blade protruded from the belly of Brian's friend. Behind him, a giant abstract humanoid-like praying mantis.  

Then, clicking and hissing. 

"Shaaaaaarrrrd!"

LittleVixen

Thanks for reading!