When Gima pointed at them, Ray felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. Shocked, she looked at Dio.
For a brief, terrible moment, the woman's scream made her doubt whether this young man was really the person she should be clinging to. Whether he was truly the right one to stand at her side.
Only for a moment, though. Mockingly, the strange bond between them stirred again, an invisible thread tying them together.
Still, Gima's panicked cries cut through her thoughts.
"What's your problem?" Ray asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
But Gima didn't answer.
Her face had gone pale, drained of life, and her body was visibly trembling. Her feet twitched on the ground, and her hands clutched the grass around her with desperate strength.
"I… can't…," Gima stammered.
"Gima, what's wrong?" the old man next to her asked.
He cast a brief glance at Ray, but then seemed to decide that whatever was happening with Gima was more important than anything involving her or Dio.
But to Ray's growing horror, not everyone agreed.
A few had already turned around and were starting to move toward her.
"Hey… what are you doing? Stop it, right now!" a brown-haired man standing nearby called out.
His gaze darted nervously between Ray, Dio, and the approaching crowd.
Others murmured among themselves; two young women even hesitantly stepped in front of Ray and Dio, as if trying to shield them.
But none of them did it with full conviction.
Gima's terror was too real, too raw, and Ray knew she herself would have reacted the same way if a trembling woman had pointed like that at anyone else.
"Please, we can sort this out! We don't even know what she's talking about," Dio said.
His voice was calm and clear, but Ray could feel the sweat on his hands and the slight tremor in his fingers.
"We can, young man. But first… let her go," the old man by Gima's side rumbled.
"Yeah, we can talk, but not while you two are clinging together. I don't trust you. I don't trust that other woman over there either, but better safe than sorry," a dark-skinned young man with a wild mane of hair agreed.
Ray's thoughts raced, and a cold dread crept up her spine.
She didn't want to let go of Dio.
She didn't want to be separated from him.
She just wanted to grab his hand and run away from these people.
Anywhere. Just away...
But when he turned to her, his lips pressed into a thoughtful line. She could almost see him working through the situation in his mind.
And... to deescalate things... perhaps they should comply?
If things got worse, they could always resort to more drastic measures later, but for now, the best course was to convince them they weren't a threat.
Dio seemed to come to the same conclusion.
He gave her a brief, questioning nod, and she answered with one of her own.
She squeezed his hand one last time, as tightly as she could, feeling his warmth.
Then she let go and put some distance between them.
Just a few small steps...
Yet it felt like a chasm had opened between them, a divide she might never be able to cross again.
For a moment, Ray felt utterly alone and abandoned.
Forcing herself to stay strong, she pushed back the darkness inside her that still gnawed at her mind.
She stood as confidently as she could, hoping the suspicious crowd around them would at least see that she wasn't afraid to stand by her actions.
A flicker of pain and doubt crossed Dio's face too... before he gave her another quick nod.
Ray still felt the fear clinging to her, a heavy cloak slowing her movements and thoughts.
The crowd kept closing in.
"You see, we've separated. I expect you to take that as a sign of our good will and stop approaching us like this... Calm down, please! I'm begging you! We're just as confused as you are," she called out, trying to sound diplomatic.
She tried to keep her voice steady and knew she was failing.
"She's right, get a grip!" snapped a young brunette woman with shoulder-length hair, who now stepped up beside Ray and gently placed a hand on her back.
For a moment, Ray thought she saw a faint shimmer around the woman, but she must have imagined it.
Finally, the crowd around them began to slowly stop advancing.
Instead of pressing forward, the group stood still and watched Ray, Dio, and those who had stepped up to support them with grim, distrustful eyes.
A shiver ran down Ray's spine as a vivid image flashed through her mind. Some of the men roaring like animals, dragging her into the dark woods, Dio's screams fading behind her....
Madness! Why am I imagining such terrible things? Why can't I keep a cool head like Dio?
He was afraid too, but at least he didn't let wild fantasies shake his composure. Judging by his focused expression, he was clearly working through solutions in his mind...
"We've done what you asked! Now I expect Gima to explain exactly what she's accusing Ray and me of...? Being close? Holding hands after finding each other in that pitch-black forest? Offering each other a little comfort after waking up alone in an alien world?" Dio finally addressed the others, nodding toward the woman on the ground. "Gima, what exactly did you mean by all this?"
"She… she's unconscious," whispered the old man, now kneeling beside her.
A heavy silence fell over everything, pressing against Ray's ears.
No one moved.
Everyone stared at the strange woman lying motionless on the grass.
For a horrifying moment, Ray feared she might be dead... but then Gima's legs suddenly twitched.
She remained unresponsive, though.
"What's happened to her? What does all this mean?" cried an elderly woman who had settled near the brook.
An uneasy murmur rose among the crowd.
Dio took a step toward Ray, trying to take her hand again, but one of the men lunged forward and yanked him back.
"What do you think you're doing? Let me go!" Dio shouted, struggling to break free, but another man rushed in and helped to subdue him.
"Calm down! We're not trying to hurt you, but until this is sorted out, you're not going back to her!" the man panted, locking one arm tightly around Dio's chest.
Dio gasped, trying to speak, but no sound escaped his lips. His skin was turning a bluish shade, and his legs kicked out violently.
"STOP! NO!"
Ray's scream tore through the air.
They're going to kill him. They'll kill him, and then I'll be… alone. Then the darkness will come and devour everything. There will be nothing left. And I'll be nothing but a helpless target for anyone who wants to do whatever they please…
"NO! NO!"
Ray screamed again and fought to reach Dio, to save him, even though she knew her small body had little chance against the two men holding him down.
I still have to try!
But hands grabbed her, holding her back. Not painfully, but firmly enough to keep her away from the two men and Dio, who was now weakly twitching.
"No, please! You'll only hurt yourself! Please, RELAX!"
The young brunette woman who had just been standing beside her, trying to calm her, was now clutching her arms in an iron grip, surprisingly strong for someone so small. Ray struggled with everything she had, but she couldn't break free.
Dio's breathing was shallow now, ragged and rough, and his eyes seemed to be slowly dimming.
A sense of looming dread filled the air, seeping under Ray's skin.
A terrible danger, ready to rip Dio away from her at any moment and leave her stranded in this dark, barren, meaningless Dream…
The darkness is catching up... no, it might already be here...
Ray hated these thoughts.
She hated the fear growing inside her as she watched Dio fade before her eyes.
She hated the darkness clouding her mind.
No.
Any darkness could be driven away.
Any shadow could be banished. All it took was enough light!
Even these fears could vanish, if only her will burned brightly enough.
For a moment, Ray thought she saw a brilliant white in the corner of her mind, and she reached for it, grabbed it…
Then she hit the ground hard as screams of pain ripped through the air.
Her hands touched dry, brittle grass, crumbling beneath her fingers. Gasping, she pushed herself up and tried to understand what had just happened, but the sight before her stole her breath away.
Behind her, the young woman who had been holding her down was now writhing on the ground, whimpering. Her hands, red, raw, and covered in blisters, were pressed tightly over her eyes. Her long hair was scorched. The sharp, acrid stench of burned flesh filled Ray's nose.
Dio!
She looked around frantically... and spotted him not far away, coughing and struggling to his knees, one hand pressed against his chest. His curly brown hair clung damp with sweat to his forehead.
The two men who had held him down were gone.
The ground around him looked scorched, the grass brown and lifeless, as if a wave of intense heat had swept through and burned it all.
With growing horror, Ray realized that the grass around her own body was no longer green and lush either. Only charred stalks remained, some still steaming and filling the air with the sharp, bitter stench of ash.
A narrow path of destruction stretched from her to Dio, two rough, slightly curving lines that ended where he knelt.
Everyone else around them was on the ground, too.
What has knocked them all down?
Men and women were rubbing their eyes, dazed and panicked. Some blindly reached out, clinging desperately to the few remaining flowers and blades of grass.
Was… was that me? Did I do something… something that hurt those people?The two who almost killed Dio… there's not even a trace left of them!No. No, it can't be! I'm not a murderer, it must have been something else...
"Witch! She's a WITCH!" The man with the wild hair suddenly roared.
He had gotten back to his feet along with a few others and was now stumbling toward her.