We Are A Family

He only saw darkness in his sleep.

A stasis of some sort, but not the kind where you would feel nothing but helplessness. Instead, the state Klaus was in could be described as "a feeling of enlightenment that one obtained from embracing nihilism"—an epiphany that brought euphoria to oneself.

He blinked a few times, and still, the darkness was still there. There was no escaping it, but he didn't mind.

Strange. Why did he pay no heed to the fact that he was being consigned into such a bleak void? Why was he there in the first place?

The boy tried to comprehend what was happening, and just when, he was about to do just that, a blinding light erupted before him. The flash stirred negative emotions inside him, so much so that he hated being pulled out of the comfort of the "darkness".

Stop. Don't take me away from this place.

"...Stop!"

His right hand reached out towards the stimulus that came out of nowhere, wanting to eliminate it in some way. He felt only anger, and it cascaded into rage as if his toy was taken away from him. It was as if being embraced by the calming darkness was his addiction. Who would dare to disturb him? For what purpose did this person pull out from the eternal darkness?

The light engulfed Klaus's entire being, and after a few seconds that felt like an eternity, it dissipated and vanished. By the time the light had retreated away from his vision, he was in a library—a library he knew all too well.

This library was both a boon and a bane to his existence.

It was this place that he first met the entity known as Brynhildr.

It was this place that he discovered that he was reincarnated along with his family.

It was this place that... he realized that humans were fragile creatures—too fragile that they could be killed even when they were taking solace from a reprieve from the abuse of "life".

After a few moments of standing still, Klaus remembered that he'd always went through the "void" to come to his Personal Dimension. An uncomfortable phase, to say the least.

"..." Klaus took a quick glance at his surroundings expecting to see a familiar face there. Unfortunately, Bryndhildr was nowhere within sight like he'd expected her to be. Seriously, where was she all this time?

Draugrs could come out from nowhere and tore him apart! At the very least, he could guarantee his own life if Brynhildr was by his side at this time. Though that was just him being selfish.

Other people could use her help more. That was a fact in and of itself. After all, who was he to claim Brynhildr's assistance for himself only? Thinking of such a notion contorted his expression ever so slightly.

"..." Klaus reminded himself of this and bit his lip, trying to accept what was supposed to be common sense. Wait, relinquishing your right to someone else was common sense? He, too, had the right to have Brynhildr by his side as much as anyone else!

Right then and there, Klaus needed answers to all these questions clouding his mind. Why should he fight the Draugrs? Couldn't he just run away from them when they appear to get him?

How was Freda doing?

Had she been fighting by herself all this time? Had she claimed the Crown in her Personal Dimension? Why did she want to forget about her past life? Was he not important to her anymore since she was reincarnated in the literal sense?

More importantly, why did he still care about her wellbeing like this?

At that moment, Klaus remembered the exact quote that his grandmother had said to him just this morning—that he should stop doing something if it meant throwing himself in harm's way. He forgot that Freda was only a few years younger than him and was old enough to think for herself.

Klaus's worry was unnecessary.

He should prioritize himself above all else at times like this.

"...For now, I'll just go back," Klaus whispered to no one.

He felt a slight discomfort in his c.h.e.s.t when he discarded the image of Freda that flitted into his mind. When he thought about it, Freda shunned his existence ever since the day they first met in this world. That meant she had resolved to throw away her past life since the beginning.

Does everyone who'd been reincarnated has the same mindset, that is to settle into their current life and forget the past?

If that was the case, then Klaus should follow them from now on. Anyhow, there was no need for a teenager like him to think too much into the abnormal.

Klaus turned his back and began to close his eyes... Wait, why did this place feel unusually sultry right then?

An ostentatious presence filled the air. The aura it exuded was but amiable and cordial. An incomprehensibly heavy stench of death quickly made its way towards Klaus, and he couldn't help but shudder when assailed by it. He held in his breath as his eyes opened wide.

He could feel the moisture in his throat dried up while the presence unconsciously opened every pore in his body. Without a doubt, there was a strong Draugr in the library and his brain cried none other than for him to escape. Unfortunately, he couldn't even narrow his focus at all since the air was mixed with scorching heat and a nauseating stench of death.

Klaus felt sick and his stomach responded accordingly and began to push its content out. Within a mere second, the food and drink he'd consumed during the day were thrown out in the form of yellow vomit.

"Graaakhggh!"

A pulsating pain hammered his skull for a few minutes as he tried his best to deal with the sickening atmosphere. What was happening? How could a Draugr let out such a vile stench of death?

"...Urgh."

After a while, Klaus managed to adapt to the "new" environment although he was certain that he had vomited every last bit of food in his stomach. That was quite an experience if he had to say so himself. Wait, he was being quite calm even though the possibility remained that a powerful Draugr was in the library.

A Draugr powerful enough to bring down a human to his knees without even fighting.