‘It’s not a dream…! It’s not a dream…! It’s not a dream…!!’
Emily was running down a path painted in sunset hues.
“*Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Where are you going~?”
A woman with long black hair was chasing her from behind.
Wielding a terrifying pair of scissors, she drew closer.
‘I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this anymore…!’
With a look of sheer terror, Emily caught a glimpse of the approaching woman, tears streaming down her face as she fled.
The second morning after her first death.
‘…Why does this scene feel so familiar?’
The déjà vu she thought she experienced in her dream wasn’t just a dream.
It was definitely memories from the day she was alive.
“Emily… Are you okay? You suddenly took the day off yesterday.”
Maron looked at her with worry.
“Good morning, Emily.”
Adrian greeted with his usual smile.
‘…I know all of this.’
Even the content of the class was exactly as she had seen in her dream.
The fact that Ken wasn’t at school was the same too.
Everything was playing out just like in the dream.
Which meant…
‘…Is that woman also on the path home?’
The end of the dream.
The chilling laughter and disturbing gaze.
The feeling of sharp scissors brushing against her neck.
As the coldness in her body came back, Emily shuddered.
‘I have to take a different route!’
If today flows just like that nightmare, what will happen ahead will be the same as the dream.
Then she must avoid it.
And Emily turned to a completely different route instead of the usual path toward the dormitory.
But, as if it were a cruel joke, she encountered that woman.
“Hey~, did you bring her…?”
Snip.
The chilling sound of scissors crossing and folding.
The woman with hair like raven feathers approached with a chilling smile.
Remembering the experience of being drenched in blood in her dream, Emily trembled in fear.
“W-why… I, I definitely came a different way…”
But standing right in front of her was the long-haired woman.
She asked Emily again.
“Did you bring the Child of Prophecy…?”
The words she recalled were the same as those she heard in the nightmare.
Bring the Child of Prophecy.
‘If they are talking about the Child of Prophecy… then they mean me.’
Before entering the academy, a high-ranking person in the kingdom had called Emily the Child of Prophecy and offered her a recommendation to the academy.
Despite her fear, Emily kept her composure to assess the situation.
Another day flowing exactly like the nightmare.
She tried to come a different way to avoid the long-haired woman but ended up facing her anyway.
Which means, she would soon die by those scissors.
Recalling the vivid pain in her neck, Emily spoke cautiously.
“I-I’m the Child of Prophecy?”
Then the long-haired woman abruptly stopped.
‘…Is that okay?’
If that woman’s business is with the Child of Prophecy, then it must be with her.
In that case, she would offer what she wanted.
If she realizes that Emily is the Child of Prophecy… she won’t kill her.
That was Emily’s reasoning.
But…
“…You’re… the Child of Prophecy.”
The long-haired woman muttered Emily’s answer.
Then she grinned grotesquely.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha! You~!”
“Hiiik!”
The sudden screams of laughter from the woman startled Emily, bringing back memories of the nightmare.
She stumbled backward.
“You…! You’re a liar~!”
And then the long-haired woman gazed at Emily with her eyes glittering from the tangled hair.
Feeling that gaze, Emily could predict what would happen next.
She would be chased.
“I don’t want this━!!”
“Kihihihihihit! Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Emily screamed and turned to run.
As expected, the long-haired woman chased her, letting out a grotesque and unsettling laugh.
‘I have to run…! I have to run…!’
The results after being caught had already been experienced in her dreams.
With all her strength, Emily ran.
Tears welled in her eyes, and her legs trembled, but she still gave it her all.
She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to suffer.
The sensation of scissors slicing her neck was still fresh in her mind.
That’s why Emily ran with all her might.
But despite her determination, the crazy woman coming at her was faster.
“…Kyaaa!”
“Come here~! Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
As Emily ran, suddenly her hair was pulled, and she fell backward, screaming in pain.
When she opened her eyes from the shock, what she saw was the gleefully twisted gaze looking down at her.
The long-haired woman, smiling widely, was towering over Emily.
“I-I don’t want this…!”
“A liar like you… should be punished~?”
Snip.
The scissors moved right before Emily’s eyes.
“W-wait! I’ll do whatever you want…! So ple-lease…!”
“You must be punished~!”
“Kyaaaah!!”
Pain and terror crashed down upon her.
“I don’t want this! Don’t…!”
“Kihihihihihit! Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“Kyaaaah!! It hurts! It hurts! Please stop! Huh… it hurts! I don’t want this!!”
In agony, Emily screamed.
But nobody was around to help her.
Only the insane woman was there, butchering Emily with her scissors.
“Ugh… please… spare me…”
Suffocated by pain and fear.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Kihihihihihit!”
“…Someone… save me…”
All she could see in her fading vision was the crimson-tinged sky.
And then, she faced death.
“I don’t want this!!”
Emily woke up screaming, throwing her body upright.
“I don’t want this, I don’t want this, my legs, my fingers…! Ugh.”
Tears streamed down Emily’s face as she groped her body, still vividly feeling the pain.
But there wasn’t a single scratch on her body.
The agony that felt like it was burning her entire body had already vanished.
As if it were just a dream.
But now Emily realized.
“…It’s not a dream.”
Huddling her arms around her body, shaking in fear, Emily cried over memories of pain she had never experienced before.
‘I have to run away.’
The only thought racing through her mind was to escape from this place.
Immediately, Emily packed her things and left the dormitory.
She had to get away from the academy somehow. Run far, as far as possible.
There wasn’t a time for classes or anything else.
Maybe she could go back home.
The woman had appeared around dusk.
So if she ran away now in the morning, she would have arrived much further away by the time it hit that hour.
Thus, Emily dashed desperately.
Running in the opposite direction of the usual path toward the dormitory.
She sprinted toward the academy’s main gate.
‘…I made it.’
She could see the guard standing by the main gate. Once she crossed that, she’d be free from the academy.
Seeing hope, Emily smiled with relief and quickened her pace.
“…Hey, the class is about to start…!”
Disregarding the guard’s words, Emily leaped over the main gate.
And then.
“…Where are you going?”
Swish!
Something hit Emily’s shoulder.
Soaking her shoulder, she trembled and turned her head.
“…Kihihit, the Child of Prophecy… has to be brought here?”
There stood the decapitated guard.
And the woman who had just butchered her a moment ago.
Emily trembled as she sat in the classroom.
‘What should I do… what can I do…’
Once she left the academy, that’s when the woman would appear and kill her.
Then she’d open her eyes in the dormitory room once more.
She had tried hiding her body until the day passed.
But the woman always appeared like a ghost at the same time and found her.
Then she killed Emily with the same chilling laughter.
In her last death, she did fight back.
Casting spells and swinging her sword.
But Emily’s skills were insufficient.
“Kihihihit! Rebelling… means a naughty child should be punished!?”
The last loop’s death was the most painful, worse than anything she had experienced before.
“Emily… are you okay?”
Maron asked, talking to her from the side.
But seeing Emily’s terrible state, she was worried.
Yet Emily didn’t respond.
She only trembled in silence.
‘What can I do… how can I…’
Her mind was solely focused on finding a way out of this situation.
But a clear answer didn’t come to her.
If she could give her what she wanted, then surely this pain would end, but she didn’t know who the Child of Prophecy was.
If it were someone completely unknown, she might try to look for them.
But as far as Emily was concerned, she was the only one here called the Child of Prophecy at the academy.
‘What the heck can I do…!’
Desperate to end the frightening, painful time, Emily racked her brain for a solution.
“Good morning, Emily… Emily?”
A familiar voice greeted her warmly.
Snapping out of her trance, Emily turned her head.
Standing there was Adrian, looking at her with concern.
“…A-Adrian.”
“…Emily, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
Noticing her expression, Adrian’s face hardened as he asked.
To anyone, Emily’s condition appeared dire.
Seeing Adrian’s worried face sparked a thought in Emily.
‘Adrian is the second strongest in our year, right after Raphne…!’
With his strength, he could definitely stop that woman.
“Adrian… help me!”
“Sure, don’t worry. Emily, first explain what happened.”
With a reassuring face, Adrian replied, and Emily felt relieved.
She cried tears of relief as she immediately explained everything to Adrian.
After hearing her explanation, the look on Adrian’s face was complicated.
“…So, an odd woman is trying to kill you. And when you die, the day starts over again…?”
His expression reflected disbelief.
And it was understandable. The idea of dying and starting the same day over was hard to believe, even for Emily herself.
But still, Adrian stayed here with her.
Despite the unbelievable scenario, he was by her side to help.
“Thank you, Adrian. I know it sounds strange.”
“Ha ha, that’s right. Anyone would think that sounds crazy… but I don’t think you’d lie about that.”
With a warm smile, Adrian reassured her.
Emily felt comforted by that smile.
The dire situation that had felt hopeless moments ago seemed like it could be resolved with him.
Then everything would be solved.
‘…Now, it’s okay.’
And so, Emily waited with Adrian for the woman to appear.
The location was the path leading home, composed of the same tiles as before.
Soon the sun began to set.
As the familiar sunset scenery unfolded…
“Kihihihit!”
Snip.
The woman appeared right in front of Emily.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Did you bring her? The Child of Prophecy… did you bring her?”
The woman appeared uttering the same words as always.
Fear flooded back into Emily, and she began to tremble.
The sound of scissors closing summoned up painful memories, and tears began to fill her eyes.
“…Emily?”
“A-Adrian…! O-over there. She has appeared!”
But this time, she was not alone.
Alongside her stood a reassuring ally.
Emily pointed at the woman beside Adrian.
“L-look over there!”
Even without pointing, the bizarre woman merely stood in the open space on the tiled path.
However, Adrian didn’t look at her.
“…Emily.”
He merely wore a troubled expression and stared at her.
“There’s nothing over there.”
Upon hearing that, Emily’s mind went blank.
“…Huh?”
It took her a moment to process what he had just said.
Slowly, she turned her head again to look at the woman.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Kihihihihihit!”
Snip.
The figure of the woman clearly existed in Emily’s eyes.
“…That thing…?”
Slowly.
Slowly, it approached without stopping.
The chilling eyes among her hair scanned both Emily and Adrian.
“Isn’t the Child of Prophecy here…?”
Emily felt chills run down her spine at the grin that formed on the woman’s face.
“…Are you okay, Emily?”
“I-I don’t want this! Don’t come near me…!”
Adrian called out to Emily with concern, but her ears couldn’t hear him.
With trembling legs giving way, Emily collapsed to the ground.
And the slowly approaching woman reached them in no time.
“…Emily.”
Sensing something was off as he saw Emily trembling, Adrian turned his gaze toward where Emily was looking.
But all that was there was an empty road.
‘…Is there something there?’
Knowing what kind of person Emily usually was, Adrian didn’t hastily suspect her.
So he stood in front of Emily.
Raising his hand, he gathered a flickering flame in it.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but Emily….”
Adrian extended his hand, ready to burn whatever was in front of him.
Not knowing the enemy, he gathered a massive amount of magical energy in his hands.
While preparing to attack, Adrian looked back at Emily, still on the ground.
“First, you get up and run…”
But before he could finish, the long-haired woman made her move.
Swish!
A fountain burst forth.
Red blood splattered onto Emily’s face.
“A-Aah.”
In despair stood Adrian, his head severed.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Good! That expression is great! Kihihihihihit!”
Having lost her last hope, Emily sank to the ground in despair.
