Chapter 47: The Forbidden Land
S-she... Fiona just admitted that she's possessive! Are... are my ears hearing things? Could it be I'm still unfamiliar with my skyrocketed cultivation and I'm hallucinating or something?
"Fiona... w-what did you say? I-I didn't catch it," I asked, hoping to hear it one more time. That feeling of utter bliss and euphoria was a drug to me. It left me craving more and more, even against all my might and willpower.
She glared; her face still flushing red, like a kitten who couldn't take in the teasing anymore and was ready to lash out at me. I was unwilling to take no for an answer as her words still rang in my mind, sending both my heart and mouth into a smile.
"Daddy really didn't hear it—"
My words cut short as she ran away from me and into the depths of the forest. The contentment I felt turned to uneasiness as I chased after her. I overdid it with my teasing again, ah! But I really can't hold it in... she's just so cute, and her words, her scent—her entire being was a drug to me I couldn't get enough of.
How could I bear to lose her, even though she is throwing a tantrum? I raced after her underneath the afternoon sun. Her smell and traces of her spiritual essence led deeper into the forest, leaving me frightened.
I couldn't recognize anything anymore as the forest grew darker. The trees, the flowers and even the grass I couldn't identify with my miniscule amount of knowledge. Darn it. I should have asked Fiona for a crash course on the wildlife and regions of the continent. Who knows what dangers lurk around here.
Fiona's trail of spiritual essence ended here, so she must be somewhere nearby. I breathed in relief. It looks like she wasn't throwing a tantrum and ran away from home, but she had her reasons for coming here.
I glanced around my surroundings and used a flame talisman to get some light. You couldn't even tell that we were in the same forest with the amount of darkness that lingered around.
The trees, no, you couldn't even call them trees. They were huge. I touched the trunk of one nearby and moved my hands upwards. What in the world? The trunk reached all the way into the darkness... or was it just the canopy of leaves? I couldn't tell.
Enormous branches stuck out of the tree along with their forked twigs. The flame cast an ominous shadow onto the ground, making it look like the arms of a monster. It seriously creeped me out.
Something crunched under my feet as I backed off from the tree. Black grass and giant black leaves covered the ground along with an unknown material. It was definitely not dirt, and I didn't even need to confirm it. Soft. Mushy, and the sound of crunches.
I looked back at where I came from, and the brightness seemed like light years away. Along with where I walked, I could see bones of the dead.
I froze. How did I not notice that before? I looked around again, as I saw more and more bones scattered on the ground among the carcasses of animals. Could... the unknown material on the ground be... flesh?
I raised my leg. Something was definitely not right about this place. The more I paid attention to the surroundings details, the more menacing it felt. Why the hell would Fiona come here willingly? And... what's she doing now? Was she scared with tears down her face as she drew her dagger, staying vigilant? Could unknown creatures attack her and she be already like corpses on the ground?
I shuddered. The fear of this place collided with the fear of losing Fiona as I screamed out, "Fiona! Where are you?"
My voice echoed, eventually leaving behind an eerie "Fiona—" that lingered in my nightmares. My breathing became erratic as despicable, dark images that I did not wish to divulge flickered in my mind.
The images became clearer and clearer and I saw myself shocked at the vicious, horrendous sight that kept reminding me of one thing, one thing that kept repeating itself, like a terrible omen for the future.
I bit tongue, the sudden pain keeping me awake from those nightmares. I took gradual steps backwards as the lingering fear and chills my body was sending kept me more wary than I've ever been.
My senses have never been wrong—and it's telling me to get the f*ck out of here. The agony I suffered in the nightmare seemed to move from my head to my heart as I lost control of my breathing along with my calmness.
I took a big step backwards and—crunch.
I grabbed Heartbreak and swung it at the wolf who appeared out of its corpse, his fangs just mouthfuls away from sinking into my shoulder. No. This is the shoulder that Fiona loves sitting on. I-I already have lost her in the nightmares, I can't lose her like this, either!
The echo in the forest suddenly grew louder as it let out a shrill "FIONA!" as the dagger cut through the throat of the wolf. I saw its blood reforming into the image of Fiona, grasping Heartbreak with her bare hands. The hands I promised to never be in contact with blood were dripping with it.
My eyes widened in fear as I shut it—not wanting to see myself... stabbing Fiona.
Fiona. Fiona. Fiona. My heart chanted as I cursed the world and cursed myself. The world betraying me twice withered out of my hopes of living, but that I... killed Fiona completely pulverized that hope.
Hope. I was full of hope, wanting Fiona someday to tell me she loves me. I was the one who destroyed it with my hand. She... she was my everything, my light, my angel, my world.
I killed her.
I don't deserve to live either.
I punched my gut with my other hand, spurting a burst of blood that only reminded me of my helplessness. Weak. I'm so weak. I've killed her already, so why am I hopelessly clinging on to hope that she'll call me 'daddy' once more? Will that really stop that dagger from tainting her hands?
Was this my resolve? To hear her call me 'daddy', full of hate and loathing? Will that truly make me pass in peace?
No.
It wouldn't. I want to die when I'm old, watching her grow and mature through the ages. I want her to start a family of her own, full of love and happiness. I'm unwilling to die like this!
"Daddy," she called gently, allowing my arm grasping Heartbreak to fall to my side.
I collapsed onto my knees and sobbed for the second time in my life. She gave me back my emotions and dragged me out of the depths of hell; she gave me back my life.
Fiona watched me cry, cry my sorrows away. Cry for the second chance she gave me, for the joy she brought to me. She watched me cry the woes in my heart away. She mended it. The only one who could.
Fiona slapped my face. The pain stung harder than the nightmares. "Daddy. You look pitiful right now. Your own words, we can't cry alone."
I sniffed back tears. Her words were law. "Yes, Fiona. I'm sorry," I mumbled as I dropped Heartbreak with a loud clang.
Fiona walked over, pulling me into a slow hug. Our heights were even. I could see her beautiful features under the flicker of the flame. Silver hair. Big bright eyes. Pinchable cheeks. I ingrained this moment in my memory.
I clutched her tightly, unwilling to let her go. Afraid that she'll run away again and we have to go through all this again. I ignored her squirming, her pounds to my chest.
"Fiona. Daddy is taking you away from this sinister place, I don't care whatever your reasons are."
She pursed her lips and pushed me away. She grabbed my shoulders in frustration. "This is The Forbidden Lands, a shortcut back home, back to Glendora."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ryfulrifle
ryfulrifle Chapter 49. Almost the big halfway point to 100, which is my benchmark for the first arc of the story. The plot is developing at a faster pace now.