Chapter 531: Seeing One Last Time
****(POV)
Where am I? I can feel the blinding light piercing through my eyelids. I can feel how hot the sun is. I can feel some grass on my cheeks, it's rough and uncomfortable but I don't mind.
I see. This is a very realistic dream. I've had many of those recently. Should I open my eyes, I know exactly what I will see. There will be a forest and a white wolf. The same white wolf that took my vision away.
Every dream is the same. Is it a nightmare? Is it a good dream? I'm not even sure what it is myself. Every single time is the same. I get my sight for a fleeting instant before the wolf steals it away once more.
But there is one issue. It is something that terrifies me to no end. Not the wolf, the dream. With every subsequent repetition of the dream, it loses details. It becomes a little bit vaguer.
What was once a beautiful and highly defined wolf is starting to become a blurry white wolf. How is that horrifying? It means that I am forgetting what it is like to see.
I am forgetting what colors look like. I am forgetting what I myself look like. Soon enough I will be nothing but a single man in complete darkness. One that won't be able to dream anymore.
Well, perhaps I will dream of myself drifting in an endless dark space. I do not know. Right now, I know that the moment I open my eyes, the dream will be more troubled than it used to be.
I finally steady my heartbeat and slowly open my eyelids. Ah! That is when I see something new. No, something I saw yesterday. There was a fight here.
There was a man in some sort of cage, one I couldn't see the features. Well, I could hear his pleading voice. But even then, I had to look away. The current me is weak.
Ah, that's right. Then the horse came alive. Well, not really but it began talking. Then it began invoking. The voice that came out of it is one I know all too well.
It was the voice of the strange man that gifted me the mount in the first place. After that, it started using dark magic. What kind? I'm not sure.
But, even blind I could feel the vileness of it all. It was oozing toward our party, choking me. All until I lost consciousness, that much I know. I actually thought I was going to die.
Ah, perhaps I am dying. Maybe this is but my last and final lucid dream. For once it isn't a white wolf. For once it is clear. I can't help but watch my surroundings.
Corpses, destroyed land, two guys sleeping on the ground, it is a very ugly scene, to say the least. Yet, I can't help but feel tears well up in my eyes and a smile blossom on my face. Perhaps this is for the best.
I don't even mind dying right now. At least I am doing so with this last memory. It may be a horrible one but it does not matter. I will die my eyes open, seeing. Even if this is but a dream.
Who would have thought such a simple thing would bring me so much happiness? The old me was unsatisfied with how little I was seeing.
I complained about not seeing the future clearly enough. I complained about not seeing the present that I desired. I complained about remembering a past I disliked.
Yet, all that was such a goddamn waste of time. Instead of complaining, I should have been happy that I even had a past to remember, that I even had a present to live and that I had a future to look forward to.
Ridiculous how it took me dying to figure out how to live. Well, I'm not dead yet. I will just enjoy this moment. I will just enjoy this single instant.
I feel unexpectedly great too. I feel like all the old wounds I ever suffered are all gone. I feel like a completely new man.
I slowly raise up the coarse shirt I am wearing, and I inspect my own body. Yes, tip-top shape. This is nice. I don't even bother dressing up.
I find myself a big flat rock and I sit on it, waiting. Just enjoying myself. The breeze on my skin, the green grass swooshing around with it.
I can hear birds chirps and also see them. Very normal birds, the very boring-looking ones. But I can see their brownish color, their feathers, their small peaks too.
I can't help but laugh. Even the birds look at me weirdly. So what if I look like a madman? It doesn't matter.
I laugh heartily and I smile. Ah, but I don't close my eyes, no matter what. Just as I'm enjoying myself, comes the sounds of my two companions.
They are waking up. Waking up in my dream, talk about crazy. They look as if they have a crushing hangover.
"Hey, guys. Slept well?"
They groggily get up and slowly turn their heads toward me. That's when they start pointing and screaming.
"How?!"
"This is impossible!"
Both of them, the young one and the other that is slightly older are going crazy. Ah, let me guess. This is that kind of dream. Behind me, there will be a giant white wolf about to devour me or something.
I turn around, but nope. Everything looks fine. Strange…
"You can see?!"
"Why aren't you blind?!"
I turn toward them.
"This is obviously a dream, a nice dream it seems."
"What do you mean a dream?!"
"Of course it is one. All my injuries have healed. This is the only possible explanation. Still, I'm surprised you guys are so vivid-looking in this dream of mine."
They look at my body, then they look at themselves before hurriedly undressing. Then starts spontaneous dances of pure joy.
"I'm healed too! This is a miracle!"
"Me too, me too! This is amazing!"
I look at them, enjoying the sight. Well, not their half-naked bodies, just the fact that I can see.
"Wait, we need to leave before they come back!"
They approach me and forcefully drag me away. I don't even fight back. I'm just enjoying the sights. Walking is so fun! I feel like I have been reborn.
That's when I suddenly realize that my power of divination is back. With it, I somehow understand that all of this is real. A miracle?!
I'm tempted to peer into whoever healed us, but I know better. Now, my mission just changed. I am not only looking for a white wolf and her master, but also for my mysterious savior.
I have no idea where to head for this journey, but for once I do not mind. I will just enjoy the sights. After all, life is a blessing in itself and I will enjoy it as much as I can.
I can't wait to find my savior...