Chapter 14: Fantasy Heart Awakening

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I had a beautiful dream.

I dreamed I was back in my previous life, but everything felt different.

Two new teachers have arrived at my school. They looked so much like them, like my new parents in this life.

Like the parents I had always longed for, parents who were… almost like heroes, haha.

Mirai and Louis were there.

They saved me from my abusive parents. I could finally tell them everything I had endured.

And they even adopted me.

It was such a strange, vivid dream, one I cannot stop replaying in my mind.

And yet, somehow, I know it wasn’t just a dream.

When my father unsealed the mark on my forehead, something shifted inside me.

I felt as though I had become something else entirely, while at the same time my consciousness drifted far away.

I was split into two.

One part reliving my past, the other… a beast.

As a beast, I did what beasts do, I trampled the earth, roared, and snapped at anything that came near.

And in my past… what did I do?

Almost nothing.

I couldn’t do anything, just like before.

Until they arrived and changed everything.

As I open my eyes and these memories flood back, I realize once more that it truly wasn’t a dream.

I was floating in a completely white space, looking around in confusion.

“W-where am I?”

The entire void felt strangely distorted yet utterly empty, devoid of anything at all.

Why was it like this? Where exactly was I?

I examined the composition of the white expanse…

It felt like some kind of domain. Or perhaps a realm?

Wait—a Fantasy Field? Or even a full Realm?

“Elizabeth!”

“My daughter!”

“Eh?”

I turned at the sound of my parents’ voices.

There they were, flying toward me through the white void, arms open.

I felt as though I hadn’t seen them in ages, yet at the same time I had just seen them moments ago.

In that dream, in that world, reliving my past.

A past I could never change now, but one they had helped me remember in a gentler light.

A beautiful “what if.”

“Mom! Dad!”

I threw myself into their embrace. The moment they caught me, I felt safe again, truly protected.

“W-What happened? Where am I?” I asked.

“It’s complicated…” my father sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth… this is all my fault.”

“Huh? Why?” I asked.

“I was too cautious. I held back your growth for so long that your power built up dangerously, causing this whole disaster…” He looked down, voice thick with guilt. “I… I still have so much to learn. I’m not a good father. I make too many mistakes. I’m sorry you ended up with someone like me…”

“Dad…” I could hear the raw sorrow and regret in every word.

After everything he had suffered in his own life, I never expected him to be perfect. I’m his first daughter, after all. First times always come with mistakes; it’s part of learning.

And even with that, he is so much better than the hollow thing I once called a father, a figure I can barely remember now except as someone who existed only to criticize me and my mother.

“Louis, how can you say that?” my mother sighed gently. “Don’t listen to him, sweetie. He’s just being overly sensitive. He always blames himself for everything… he’s done it for years. Not everything is his fault. Not everything happened because he wasn’t ready.”

“But I…” my father murmured.

“You’re a good dad!” I smiled, hugging him tighter. “You were just worried about me… and I appreciate it, Daddy. Thank you.”

“…Elizabeth,” he whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks. “Would you forgive this foolish old man?”

“There’s nothing to forgive…!” I beamed. “I love you, Dad…!”

“A-Ahh… Elizabeth!” He sobbed openly now, holding me close. “I love you too! More than anything…! I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…!”

My mother chuckled softly, wrapping her arms around both of us before gently guiding us out of the void. “I’m glad you two have made up, even though you never really fought, haha. Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

“B-But what is this place? What happened?” I asked.

“It’s a long story,” my father said. “But when I released your seal, your Fantasium had grown so immense that it warped reality, creating this Fantasy Field… or rather, a full Realm. You… transformed into a Grievance.”

“Eh?!” I gasped. “Really?!”

“Not anymore. You’ve returned to normal,” my father assured me. “But you’ve likely awakened your Fantasy Heart. We’ll have to help you train it properly so nothing like this happens again.”

“Oh…”

As I sighed, I remembered Mongrel. I quickly checked my Soul Space, he was thrashing around but safe, circling the frozen blue lily that floated aimlessly.

“Ugh, what the hell is wrong with you? Why did you turn into a monster out of nowhere, stupid?!”

“Aw, were you worried about your master?”

“Shut up! I wasn’t worried! What the hell is wrong with you?! One disaster after another! Can’t we get a damn break?!”

“Hmm, good point.”

As I spoke with him, my father continued.

“This white space was what remained after we fulfilled that Fantasy,” he explained. “Or rather, the requirements were different, we had to complete a Fantasy that never truly happened.”

“Oh…” I murmured. “W-Wait… was it weird? I… I don’t remember clearly…”

My parents smiled warmly and shook their heads.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” my mother said, kissing my forehead.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“You just need to know that you have us now, alright?” my father added. “And we will never leave your side… I promise.”

“Eh? Thanks…” I chuckled, basking in their warmth as they hugged me again. “Umm… so what do I do now?”

“You should absorb this space,” my father said. “It will become the foundation of your Fantasy Heart Domain, your own Inner Realm within your Fantasy Heart. This place overflows with refined Fantasium. You can use it, right?”

“Can I?” I tilted my head.

“Try it. If it doesn’t work, we’ll absorb it ourselves. Don’t worry,” my mother encouraged.

“Um, okay! Here goes nothing!”

I extended my hands, closed my eyes, and focused on “Harmony.”

FLAAASH!

The entire white void compressed toward my palm, then flowed into my body.

It surged through me, reaching my chest and settling inside my heart, blending with my Soul and Soul Space.

Are Soul Spaces and Fantasy Domains the same, or are they connected?

Hmm, I’ll figure that out later.

When it finished, we stood just outside the castle, which, astonishingly, remained intact.

“Your majesty, it’s good to see you and the princess safe!” Gigantia greeted us with visible relief.

“Indeed, did everything go well?” Vlad asked, concern etched on his face.

“It did. Be at ease, everyone,” Louis nodded. “Any casualties? Injuries?”

“Some injuries, but no deaths,” said a half-ice-elf, half-rabbit beastkin woman in white scale armor, gripping a powerful ice blade. I believe she’s Anastasia, a character I never created myself. “The castle reconstructed itself through the special formation you placed. The VPI is secure, and there were no containment breaches.”

“That’s a relief,” my mother sighed. “It looks like things ended well… barely.”

“Yeah,” my father said, still carrying me in his arms. “Elizabeth, once again, I’m—”

“Daddy, that’s enough! Stop apologizing!” I pouted. “This was just an accident… don’t worry.”

“…Is that so?” He gave a bittersweet smile and nodded. “Thank you…”

“Ahem! Well, now that we’re here, shall we have lunch? Then we can discuss everything,” my mother suggested.

“Sounds good! I’m starving!” I cheered, leaping from my father’s arms—only to suddenly rocket upward into the sky.

“Eh?”

Wait a second.

“Huh?!”

I found myself floating high above the clouds, nearly touching the stratosphere.

“A-Ah…”

The blue sky darkened, and stars began to appear.

“W-What happened?!”

I looked around, realizing that the instant I pushed off my father’s arms, I had shot upward in a heartbeat.

“It’s so big! So much bigger than the game! A-And…! Wait, where should I go?! Where’s home?!”

Confused, I tried to descend.

BOOOMMM!!!

I crashed into a wasteland, then my body hurled through a small mountain, obliterating it.

“Ouch, ouch…”

I rubbed my head, sitting in the center of a massive burning crater, as though I had fallen like a meteor.

“W-What… what is this?”

I scanned the surroundings, trying to place myself.

“I better stay put. My parents will find me, but… this is shocking.”

I wandered out of the crater and realized I was in the glass desert I had seen before.

“Ah, the glass desert!”

White sand shimmered beautifully under the blazing sun. In the distance stood a towering glass pyramid.