Chapter 11 The Crawlers
Lina's POV
“Velistra, Don’theos Eraziel!” I chanted at the top of my voice.
My arms instinctively rose up on their own.
Something or someone from within me was controlling me, and I couldn't fight it—I could only obey.
My fingertips slowly spread open, and a glowing light radiated from it, like sparks awakening.
“What's happening to me?” I thought.
What am I doing?
These questions lingered in my mind but i.still couldn't stop myself—I couldn't even bring myself to a halt. I continued to act involuntarily.
Suddenly, the firestorm stopped circling around me, and it froze mid-air.
Then, as if it was reading my mind, the flames suddenly sucked upward into the sky, dissolving into sparks and vanishing into the thin air.
The ground that was shaking suddenly stopped trembling and there it was—an instant stillness in the strange world where I found myself.
Slowly, the doors of the small houses squeaked open and one by one, the crawlers in human-like form suddenly emerged from their various homes.
They crawled out slowly, observing the calmness before they stepped out of their homes. They blinked surprisingly at the calmness around them.
Then they all began to stare at me like they've seen a god.
One by one, the crawlers began to rise to their feet.
At first, I was surprised because they looked lame as if they couldn't walk.
But the moment all of them finally rose on their feet, they didn't hesitate, they immediately bowed their heads at me.
While they still had their heads bowed at me, they started to chant a name as if they were worshipping a long lost god or a chosen one
I stood there—frozen and confused.
“Mireya, Mireya, Mireya” their voices echoed like a haunting lullaby, praising a god.
They bowed again for the second time still chanting the same phrase; “Mireya, Mireya, Mireya” this time their voices were louder.
They bowed for the third and last time, still chanting the same word; “Mireya, Mireya, Mireya” this time around they had tears streaming down their faces.
One of them suddenly fell to his knees, hands trembling, then he cried: “She returns, the flame remembers.”
Another one fell to her knees, pressing her forehead to the ground, she chanted: “Ignira Vayeth, She who silences fire!”
Then, in unison, all of them fell back on their knees and pressed their head against the ground.
“The prophecy, it begins again.” They all echoed in unison while they still had their heads buried to the ground.
“What the hell is happening?” I whispered to myself.
I was just as confused.
Why are they bowing to me like I'm some god or something?
The crawlers didn't raise their heads, they still remained on their knees bowing to me. I was the only one on my feet.
I didn't know what to do, I could only stand there, watching with the most confused expression ever.
I remained on my feet, still in shock. These creatures are refusing to stand back up, they still have their heads bowed.
Or are they waiting for me to summon them back to their feets?
I don't know what to do.
I began to hear my name. Someone was calling me.
“Lina?”
“Lina?”
The voice kept yelling my name, it sounded urgent and serious, so I slowly turned around to look at who it was that's calling me.
But by the time I turned towards the other direction where the voices were coming from, I suddenly jolted awake, back to reality.
I instantly locked eyes with Noel, then I realized it was his voice I was hearing in my dream. He was the one calling me.
I looked around sharply, trying to recover from what I just experienced in the other world.
My breathing grew rapid, each inhale sharper and faster than the last. The more I tried to pull myself together and make sense of what I had just experienced, the more terrified I became—until everything felt even more senseless.
I started to cry, I didn't even know why. Maybe because it felt like I was losing my mind.
I remembered every bit of everything that just happened. The images of the crawlers kept lingering in my mind and I thought I might be going crazy.
Who would believe me if I ever told them what I saw just now?
I don't even know what to call this. I can't call it a dream, neither can I call it a vision. Then what the hell was that?
No, it can't be a dream, I'm certain about that.
This is reality! It happened to me really—it’s just the world that differs. I saw it. I felt it.
I was trying to catch my breath, but the tears wouldn't stop coming.
I became totally restless, and my head wouldn't stop banging hard.
“Hey, calm down, Lina. We're here with you.” Noel whispered into my ear as he pulled me closer into his arms.
I still didn't stop acting weird, I was completely restless. It seems like the effect of walking into the other realm is finally downing on me.
I began to see everyone around the room as crawlers.
Kate, the Revealer, Father Eron, and Noel were all looking like crawlers to me.
I began to scream, still rumbling my body.
Noel tried to keep me calm but I was acting too wild so he slowly backed out, stepping away from me as if he was scared that I was going to shape shift into a monster.
Suddenly, a cold splash hit me—someone had dumped a full bucket of water over me, and I instantly began to calm down.
I didn't know who poured the water on me, but I immediately blinked my eyes sharply, gasping in and out like a drowning child.
“Why is she like that?” I heard Kate ask from the corner of the room where she was hiding.
“I think she saw something.” The Revealer groaned, setting down the empty bucket, then I realized she was the one who dared to pour that amount of water on me. Honestly, the quick wash did a great help, at least it helped pull me back to reality fully.
“Is she possessed?” Kate asked again, she looked way too scared and confused than I am.
This time around nobody answered her, and I could feel everyone's eyes on me.
My eyes were slowly becoming clear, then I began to identify every single person in the room.
Nobody stood close to me, except for the Revealer who had her hand placed on my head to calm me down, indeed her touch calmed me down.
“Are you okay?” The Revealer asked calmly.
I nodded slowly, tilting my head slowly towards her side.
My gaze darted across the room and I set my eyes on Father Eron. He was on his knees, silently praying. Sweat was forming on his forehead and his shirt was already drenched with sweat, he must have been praying for some time now.
Just a few inches away from him was Kate, hiding behind a wall, she looked like someone who'll cry anytime soon.
And there was Noel, surprisingly staring at me, his judgemental gaze boring into mine.
“Did you see the door?” The Revealer suddenly asked.
“I shook my head dismissively, then I murmured; “No.” My voice was low and weak.
“What door are you talking about?” Noel suddenly blurted from where he was standing, few steps away from me.
Everybody went quiet.
“I said what door are you talking about?” he asked again, his voice a bit louder than usual.
“There's a door. And somehow, something brought us together, so we could go into the door.” The Revealer explained with a silent sigh.
“Us? What do you mean by ‘us’?” Noel retorted from across the room, his voice almost like an astonished whisper.
“You've no idea?” The Revealer mumbled almost too dismissively
Noel scoffed roughly, “What's really happening here? Are you all trying to say, this case is beyond what can be solved in this realm?” He charged, he was beginning to sound unsure and maybe somewhat aggressive.
And for the second time, everyone in the room went silent again.