Thanks for the Treat - 1

Elysia opened her eyes to the sounds of explosions echoing from all directions.

She didn't know why such sounds were coming from within the Order.

But one thing was clear: an unknown change was occurring right now.

*What should I do?*

Rationally, she should have immediately risen and exploited the change, but... Perhaps it was because her only hope had been brutally shattered, and she had realized that everything around her was a lie. She no longer wanted to do anything; she simply wanted to give up on everything.

I don't even know how to move forward anyway.

Just as she was thinking that remaining still, like a corpse, wasn't so bad. Past memories resurfaced in her mind.

Starting with her Mother's last words, and the Northerners' cries, which, in retrospect, now seemed utterly artificial. And even Damian's inexplicable kindness.

Perhaps because she no longer knew what she was supposed to do, the past kept replaying in her mind. It continuously produced only regret, delusion, and torment.

Regret fed on regret, swelling in size. The regret, growing steadily, eventually consumed her entirely. Just as she reached a state of powerlessness where she could do nothing at all... a thought she should never have entertained resurfaced...