Chapter 74 Redemption and Light in the Nightmare
Amelia tapped into the power of her soul to enter Michael’s dream.
It was a gloomy evening.
The sky was heavy with dark clouds, and the chilly autumn wind whipped the fallen leaves along the roadside, only to let them drift back down, hinting at an impending storm.
On the wide highway, two wrecked cars marked the scene of a devastating accident.
A teenage Michael, drenched in blood, sat in a pool of it, cradling the mangled body of Kennedy, whose arm had been severed and head crushed.
Not far from him lay another male body, unrecognizable and soaked in blood. Stefan’s dark khaki trench coat was now pitch black from the blood, and he lay there, lifeless.
Seeing this scene, Amelia felt a sharp pain in her heart.
Michael’s face was smeared with blood—Kennedy’s blood—making it hard to see his features.
But the distinct youthful contours of his face told Amelia that this teenager was Michael.
The scene in Michael’s dream was clearly the car accident from ten years ago—a horrific crash where he witnessed Stefan and Kennedy die before his eyes. Kennedy had shielded him, even at the cost of her own life.
Ten years had passed, yet this scene still haunted Michael’s nightmares every night.
No wonder he hadn’t had a peaceful sleep in a decade.
Because he had never truly woken from this nightmare.
Dreams are a reflection of the subconscious.
They mirror reality, but aren’t entirely real.
So Amelia saw that in this vast dream world, aside from Michael, there was only the endless highway and the bodies of Stefan and Kennedy.
Michael was lost.
He touched Kennedy’s horrifyingly disfigured head with trembling hands, trying to find traces of the past or to wake her.
But it was in vain.
In vain.
The unchangeable past causes people to struggle in their dreams, bringing certain desires into the dream world.
Everyone is the master of their own dreams.
People can reverse facts and alter the future in their dreams, providing some solace to their powerless reality.
So Amelia thought that when Michael saw Stefan and Kennedy die again in his dream, he would make some change.
Maybe make the sky suddenly clear, restore the cars, erase all the blood, and bring Stefan and Kennedy back to life. As if nothing had ever happened, everything would be beautiful.
Amelia hoped Michael would do something.
But the next moment, she saw Michael pull out a dagger from somewhere amidst the silence.
He gently laid Kennedy’s body on the ground and stood up silently.
The sky began to drizzle, washing away the blood on Michael’s face.
Michael stood before Stefan and Kennedy’s bodies, slowly raising the dagger.
He aimed it at his own heart.
At that moment, Amelia felt like she couldn’t breathe.
Michael’s hope wasn’t to change Stefan and Kennedy’s deaths. Even in his subconscious, he knew that was impossible.
His hope was to die with Stefan and Kennedy in that car crash.
The cold, sharp blade slowly pierced his heart, but Michael’s expression became relaxed and relieved, as if he had long awaited this moment of self-destruction.
As the blade fully penetrated his heart, Michael wavered and knelt in the rain. The blood from his chest was immediately diluted and washed away by the relentless rain.
Amelia felt the intense guilt Michael carried, blaming himself for Stefan and Kennedy’s deaths.
So he killed himself.
At the end of the blood flow, Amelia’s heart ached with the weight of Michael’s guilt and sorrow.
There was a sense of release and freedom.
Watching from the side, Amelia felt her face getting wet.
Not from the rain, but from tears.
She was a Rose Dryad, yet here she was, crying over a human’s dream.
This wasn’t right; it shouldn’t be like this.
Driven by some instinct, Amelia hurried to the car with the open hood.
She searched under the car and found the brake line. Her eyes widened at the sight of the obvious cut marks.
This accident wasn’t an accident; it was a deliberate act.
It wasn’t Michael’s fault; it wasn’t some curse that took Stefan and Kennedy away.
Someone wanted to kill all three of them.
Realizing this, Amelia didn’t hesitate and ran to the kneeling Michael.
Michael, sensing someone approaching, barely opened his eyes in the rain.
“Michael.”
The rain poured harder, becoming a deluge.
Amelia, also drenched, knelt in front of Michael and gently cupped his face with her hands.
“Michael, it’s not your fault.”
“Your parents didn’t die because of you. Someone tampered with the brakes to kill you all.”
“Michael, stop blaming yourself. It’s not your fault; it never was.”
“Not my fault…” Michael murmured, looking at her. “Who are you?”
“I’m here to save you,” Amelia said. “I’m here to save you.”
The next second, she pulled the dagger from Michael’s chest.
Blood gushed out, but she kissed Michael’s cold lips and placed her hand over his heart.
As their lips touched, Michael’s eyes widened in shock. He saw only Amelia’s trembling eyelashes and felt her breath mingle with his.
Just like the day they first met in reality.
A powerful force seemed to surge into his heart, healing the wound and making his heart beat strongly again.
At the same time, Amelia raised her other hand. The pouring rain suddenly stopped, and a beam of light pierced through the thick clouds.
Michael’s heart trembled violently.
In bed, Michael’s eyes snapped open.
This wasn’t the highway; there was no car crash.
The room was dimly lit, with only the floor lamp by the bed casting a soft glow, making it feel like the world consisted only of him and Amelia in his arms.
Looking down, he saw the petite Amelia resting her head on his chest, seemingly fast asleep, her left hand tightly wrapped around his waist.
Michael’s chest heaved as he struggled to shake off the dream, even noticing the slight dampness on his pillow.
For ten years, he had relived the same nightmare almost every night.
But this time was different.
This time, she was there.
She had said the car crash wasn’t an accident; someone had tampered with the brakes. She said she was there to save him.
He had always believed the crash was caused by the other driver’s drunk driving and Stefan’s inability to brake in time. He never suspected it wasn’t an accident.
But now, all Michael could think about was Amelia’s sudden appearance in his dream.
Was it because he missed her so much during the day that he dreamed of her?
Michael took a few deep breaths, finally calming down, and tightened his embrace around Amelia.
He didn’t want to wake her, so he gently kissed her forehead and lips. His eyes, filled with deep affection, gazed at Amelia.
She was his light.
He didn’t know if he deserved such beauty, but even if this was just a dream, he wished it could last forever.
If only it could always be like this.
Holding Amelia close, Michael closed his eyes once more.