Serena found herself in a dark place, barely able to see anything around her. She walked for a few metres in the darkness when something suddenly grabbed her leg.
She turned to see what had caught her leg, shocked to find it was a human hand. It led to a battered corpse dragging its damaged body across the ground.
"What the…" Serena muttered, trying to kick the corpse away.
But it only tightened its grip on her the more she kicked and pulled away from it. Another hand soon appeared as Serena continued to struggle.
"Monster!"
"Murderer!"
"You belong in hell!"
"Just die, you killer!"
The cries of multiple voices yelling those words at her like some chant began as more corpses appeared to drag her down. Dark red liquid rose from the ground, soon covering Serena as she cried for help.
But it was only the corpses around, dead set on dragging her to a watery grave. And when she was fully submerged in the red liquid, her throat tightened.
It became harder to breathe, her muscles staining from her trying to escape the grasp of the corpses. Her ears rang with hundreds of insults and calls for her to go to hell. To die.
And then Serena lost her strength, falling into darkness.
Serena's eyes snapped open and she gasped loudly, hand going to her throat as she choked on air. Her chest felt heavy and a small layer of sweat covered her body.
"Shit…" Serena cursed, sitting up. Another nightmare…
A small yowl drew Serena from her thoughts and she saw Kiro sliding down onto her lap. She picked up the cub with one arm, letting him settle down.
Once he was back to sleeping peacefully, Serena debated going back to sleep. This nightmare had not been as intense as her flashback nightmare, but it didn't mean it didn't linger on her mind.
She knew she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. She was too scared to.
However, it was still nighttime and as much as she hated to admit it Serena knew she needed to sleep. Otherwise, exhaustion was going to bite her tomorrow.
Perhaps I should use that Sleepy Flower. Serena mused to herself, glancing over at her basket.
She needed some sleep and the herb was meant to help her during times she couldn't sleep. What was the point of having them when she wasn't going to use them when needed.
Her mind went back and forth, debating on whether to make the tea or not. After a few minutes, Serena finally sighed. She was going to need that tea to calm her raging mind.
Serena moved to put Kiro down on the straw mat, but the young snow leopard clung to her arm for dear life. He began to whimper and only stopped when Serena patted his head in a soothing motion.
"Guess you're coming with me…" Serena murmured softly.
Moving with one arm cradling Kiro was quite difficult, but Serena eventually managed to get the flower and a bowl. She then stood up, using the soft glow from the almost burnt out fire to get to the door, careful not to wake the others.
She needed some water and recalled there being a well nearby. Hopefully, she could get there without too much trouble.
However, when she stepped outside, she found herself gazing at a tiger by the doorway. The tiger got up from its resting position and shifted into a familiar looking beastman.
"Where's Richard?" Serena asked immediately, recalling that the leader of the caravan was guarding the hut.
"Guard change." Theo answered automatically. He then asked with a raised eyebrow, "And what exactly are you doing so late into the night?"
"Making some tea." Serena answered vaguely.
"With the cub?" Theo gave the sleeping Kiro a pointed look.
"He wouldn't let me put him down, so I let him be." Serena muttered. "Now, do you mind helping me? I need some hot water please."
Theo gazed at her for a moment before he sighed, "Fine… I'll go fetch you some water. Just sit here while I go."
Serena nodded her head in understanding and handed Theo the bowl. He took it from her and headed off to get her some water. Meanwhile, Serena moved to sit by the nearby fire he had going to get away from the night chill.
Theo came back quickly with the bowl of water and placed it by the fire to heat. Serena watched him in confusion and asked, "Shouldn't you place that on a stone so it doesn't burn the bowl?"
"It's covered with Firespout Resin." Theo sat down next to her. "The bowl won't burn with a coating of the resin on it."
"I see…" Serena turned her head to stare at the crackling fire in front of her.
[General Knowledge Increased]
[+1 INT Stat]
Before Serena could understand what the sudden new system notifications meant, Theo asked, "Why are you making tea at this time?"
"It helps me sleep…." Serena answered, deciding to be clear instead of having people accidentally misunderstand her again. "I get nightmares sometimes."
Theo was silent for some time before he asked, "Can I ask a personal question?"
"About what?" Serena tilted her head, wondering what he wanted to ask.
"The nightmares… are they because of your mate?" Theo questioned. "I overheard the others say you lost your family and mate…"
He drifted off, noticing Serena's stiff posture. Thinking that he had hit a nerve, he quickly added, "I didn't mean to pry. You don't have to answer!"
"No… it's fine." Serena sighed.
Using the loss of the original owner's family to cover her real problem was a good idea, but it left a bitter taste and sense of unease within Serena.
However, it wasn't like she could admit she was from another world and died before soul swapping with the original owner. They'd all think she was crazy.
"Ser… I mean I watched my mate die…" Serena started explaining, free hand unconsciously covering her arm holding Kiro where the mate mark once was. "He got caught in the rushing mud while helping the chief… and no one helped him… They even stopped me. He disappeared and then…"
The words made her tongue heavy, unable to finish the story. Because while the original soul was gone, the body still felt the grief. A part of Serena understood the original owner's pain and anger.
"I wanted to be with him…" Serena gazed up at the starry sky, speaking the original owner's silent wishes. "But Kiro also lost everything. He needed someone to protect him… so I had to stay."
A part of Serena wondered if the two souls reunited and if the original owner finally found some peace. She would feel more at ease if that were true.
"You must've loved him…" Theo stated.
Serena nodded her head, knowing from the memories that the original owner loved her mate. "Yes..."
She loved him a lot.