A massive castle stood beside the vast ocean, looking almost like a perfect copy of a fairy-tale fortress.
Right in front of the grand castle stretched an enormous garden—so full of colors that it looked like a second sea, a sea made of blooming flowers. The garden was so large that one might mistake it for another ocean altogether.
And in this ocean of flowers, a little girl was running. She was trying to catch a butterfly, and from the smile on her face, it seemed as if no one in the world could be happier than she was.
"Ah, Elena, slow down or you'll fall."
A man came from behind and scooped the girl into his arms.
"Hmph, but Papa, I want to catch that butterfly. It's so cute! Because of you it flew away! I wanted to make it my pet!"
The man laughed. "Ah, Elena… but if you run like that, you might fall and hurt yourself."
"Hmph, but I want it…"
He laughed again, gently. "Of course, sweetheart. But if you do that, your little cute butterfly might get hurt too. It'll be separated from its family. Then the butterflies won't like you."
"Huh… but I really love butterflies."
"Haha, of course you do. But think about it—if someone took you away from Mama and Papa, wouldn't you feel sad? Everyone has a family, and everyone wants to stay close to them."
The little girl suddenly became emotional. "No… I don't want to be away from Papa and Mama. I don't want anyone to hate me."
The man smiled softly again. "Ah, don't worry. We will always be with you."
"And the butterflies will always come here. You can play with them as much as you want. They're free here, and they like you."
"Really?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then let's go to Mama!"
"Hm? Mama?"
The girl looked ahead and saw a woman standing not far from them. But the woman had no face. Behind her, other people were standing—maids, butlers, knights—but none of them had faces either.
The girl froze in fear. "Papa… what happened to Mama?"
Then she looked at her father's face—and his face was nothing but darkness.
She looked around and saw more of the castle's people, but she couldn't see anyone's face.
"Papa? Mama? What happened? Why can't I see anyone's face?"
Terrified, the girl collapsed onto the ground.
In an instant, the garden turned into shadows. The sky turned red. The grand castle shattered, flames roaring everywhere.
"Elena, are you alright?"
She could hear her parents' voices.
"Young miss, are you okay?"
"Sis, why are you scared of us?"
"Ah, thank God the young miss is safe!"
"Milady, please come with us."
"Don't come closer to me!" the girl screamed. "Who are you? Where is my family?!"
Crying, she started running. Everything around her was turning into darkness, but far away, she saw a white light. She reached out her hand toward it and ran as fast as she could. Then she heard—
"Hey, you okay?"
"Wake up!"
"Wake up, you damn girl!"
Slowly, the girl opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar face—someone dressed in strange clothes, like a circus performer.
"Ah, damn, you finally woke up."
It was Michael, who had barely managed to open a portal and escape.