Clara's POV
My eyes fluttered open as consciousness returned. The pain was gone, but I was swallowed by darkness once more.
Just like before, a single door appeared ahead of me, spilling light into the void. Drawn to it, I pushed myself up and walked toward it. The moment I stepped through, my breath caught in my throat.
I was standing in the castle garden again.
Bathed in silver moonlight, it looked exactly as it had the last time I saw it—hauntingly beautiful, as if untouched by time. Awe rooted me to the spot, but confusion quickly clawed at me. How… how had I come here?
I turned back, but the door had already vanished, leaving me trapped.
I began to wander through the garden, weaving between flowers, searching for an exit. But no matter which path I chose, I always ended up in the same place. A chilling realization settled over me—I couldn't escape.
Resigned, I gave up trying and drifted aimlessly among the blooms, waiting for this illusion, this dream, to end.
Then, a sound.
Footsteps.
I froze and spun around.
He was there. Ciel.
A strangled scream tore from my throat as I ran toward him, my chest overflowing with wild joy, relief, longing. My hands reached for him—but passed straight through.
Just like before.
"No… Ciel!" My voice cracked as I called out his name, but he didn't hear me. His eyes never met mine.
I was invisible. Again.
I reached for him again, desperate to feel him—but froze when I saw his face.
Ciel's eyes were filled with sorrow, heavy and endless, as though he carried lifetimes of loneliness inside them. He looked… broken.
"Ciel," I whispered, my voice trembling, calling to him in fear. But he didn't hear me.
He walked to the center of the moonlit garden and stood still. The night breeze stirred his silver hair, making him seem ethereal—like a tragic angel abandoned by heaven.
Then he moved.
I gasped as he slid his hand through his own chest.
Blood spilled across the flowers as he pulled something out—his heart.
Crimson dripped between his fingers, but his expression was strangely tender. He lifted the bleeding heart to his lips and whispered, voice raw and aching:
"Please… be with me. Stay by my side, so I don't feel so lost… and alone anymore."
A soft light bloomed from his hand. His heart began to glow—shifting, reshaping, until it formed into something else.
Into someone.
Me.
My knees buckled as I stared in disbelief. It was me who fell into his arms, fragile, naked, utterly vulnerable.
He lowered her—no, me—onto the ground. My other self's eyes fluttered open, dazed and confused. She looked around like a child waking in a strange world, before locking eyes with him.
"Who are you?" she asked, voice fragile. "And… who am I? Where am I?"
Ciel's gaze softened into something unbearably tender.
"I am yours," he said. "And you are mine. This is your home, my love."
He wrapped his cloak gently around her bare form and lifted her into his arms. She clung to him, bewildered yet seeking comfort, while I—the real me—stood frozen, watching the impossible unfold.
I could only stare in disbelief as he carried her away beneath the moonlight.
Carried me away.
What was that? My heart hammered in my chest, confusion clawing at me. What did I just see? Why did it feel so real… so familiar?
Did he… did he just create me out of his heart?
The thought pierced me like a blade, and suddenly, I remembered his words back in the castle:
"This is where I created you—from my heart."
No.
If that was real… if this was true… then my family—wasn't real? Then Julie—wasn't real?
"No," I whispered, shaking my head violently as panic surged through me. My knees gave way and I sank to the ground. "No, no, no, no—"
I tried to deny it, tried to push the thought away, to convince myself it wasn't true. But deep inside, in the hollow of my heart, a terrifying uncertainty lingered.
What if it was true?
Every feeling I had for Ciel, every moment in these dreams or illusions—it all felt real. Too real.
I pressed my palms to my eyes, squeezing them shut as my mind began to spiral, fragments of thought colliding and shattering inside me. My chest tightened, my breath came shallow, and I felt myself slipping—losing grip on what was real, losing grip on me.
Ciel's POV
"We're here," Lucien said, his voice sharp with certainty. Relief and joy surged through me so suddenly it almost stole my breath.
I could feel it—her presence. Stronger than ever. Clara was close. Right there, just beyond that mountain.
"They're right behind it," Lucien continued as we soared toward the looming cliffs. He raised his hand, magic crackling around him. "I'll break the seal on the entrance."
A blast of power erupted, colliding with the invisible barrier. The mountain trembled, light flaring against its surface, but the seal held firm.
"Damn it… it's going to take a while," Lucien growled, firing another surge of magic.
"Hurry," I urged, my fists clenching at my sides. Every second that passed gnawed at me. "Please let this be the right place this time."
Lucien didn't glance back, only pressed harder.
I closed my eyes, reaching for her presence again, that fragile thread that bound us. My chest ached with the weight of her voice, her touch, her very existence.
"I'm here, my love," I whispered into the night, as if she could hear me. "Hold on. I'm coming to save you."