Chapter 285: Threads of a Broken Fate

Alright, I am gonna enjoy today...’

Amelia thought with a smile on her face as she slowly moved toward the hall where the main party was being conducted, though she was a little later than the given time.

But a girl needs at least a little time to get ready. I had to dress up like this, it is also my first time...’

She had spent most of her childhood with her Grandfather, so she was mostly oblivious to dresses and the sense of style a girl should naturally know. Thankfully, Elysia, Grace, Lyra, and even Melissia had guided her, teaching her patiently and helping her shape a better sense for such things. It felt as though they had washed her with that sacred instinct only women carried.

"It feels a little uncomfortable, but that is because I am not used to it," Amelia consoled herself. In this world, make-up was not used very much, especially not by the awakened. Their skin became as white as snow and clear of all impurities, so they did not need artificial means to correct it.

Those who wanted something more relied on potions whose effects were permanent rather than make-up, which only gave a temporary result. However, since such potions were extremely costly, makeup was still used by poorer people.

Amelia’s discomfort came from the gown and the accessories she wore, as they felt unfamiliar and heavy compared to what she was used to. The gown brushed against her skin with every step, and the ornaments weighed on her slightly, making her more conscious of her movements.

Is that the entrance...?’

She thought as she moved toward the large door guarded by two people wearing the insignia of the Ravencroft family, dressed in black and red.

As she neared, the massive doors opened automatically with quiet grace.

She stepped into the light, immediately drawing every gaze without saying a word. Her gown was a flowing silver-white, shining softly as if threads of starlight had been woven into it. The fabric shifted with her movements, catching the glow from every angle and reflecting it in gentle waves.

The dress left her shoulders bare, with delicate jeweled clasps fastening the sleeves, while a large satin bow rested against her back, giving her figure an elegant charm.

Blue gemstones adorned her ears, her neck, and even her hair, where crystal flowers and silver chains sparkled faintly among her long, dark curls that cascaded smoothly down her back.

Her skin was soft and fair like polished porcelain, while her deep blue eyes carried a quiet allure that seemed to linger on anyone who looked for too long.

In that moment, she appeared like a vision from a dream, beautiful and untouchable, moving with a grace that felt almost beyond the reach of this world.

The crowd stared at her with admiration, their whispers rising like a hushed tide. Some were struck silent, unable to look away, while others leaned toward one another, speaking softly as though their voices might break the spell she carried.

Men unconsciously straightened their postures, and women adjusted their gowns in subtle ways, as if to compete, yet none could deny that she stood apart from them all.

....It’s the same as every day...’

Although she was smiling, she could feel all sorts of emotions bubbling around the people. Most were filled with lust, jealousy, envy, disdain, and many other shades of ill intent. Yet among them, there were still some who shone brighter, showing only admiration and even love.

..L-Love, oh my... someone loves me...?’

Her cheeks almost warmed, but she quickly controlled herself.

Sigh, I overreacted a little, it’s not my first time seeing something like this...’

Being able to see everyone’s emotions had long since become a habit for her, and sometimes she allowed herself to react this way simply for her own amusement. After all, she had good friends who held no bad intentions toward her due to this very ability.

Even so, the ability took away some of the joy of exploring the unknown. Seeing emotions as clear colors left little room for mystery, and though she was not entirely numb, there was always a faint emptiness where curiosity should have been.

As she moved past one point, most of the people began talking amongst themselves again, though a few still continued to look at her with lingering gazes. Amelia ignored the weight of their stares and focused instead on a pair of familiar faces she had spotted across the hall.

So they are already here.....’

She smiled softly and lifted her hand to wave. Standing not too far away were Lyra and Grace, both dressed in gowns that radiated their own kind of allure.

Lyra wore a black gown that revealed one of her long, pale legs, a daring style that gave her an almost dangerous kind of charm.

Grace, on the other hand, glowed in her white and golden gown, looking like a Saintess who had descended straight from the heavens themselves, as if an angel had stepped into the hall, only the wings were missing.

"You both look like fairies from a fairytale," Amelia said, her tone lighthearted but sincere as her smile reached her eyes.

"Oh, come on, you are looking more beautiful than we are," Grace answered quickly, though the faint pink dusting her cheeks betrayed her flustered heart.

Around her, Amelia could sense emotions blooming like a flower opening at sunrise, happiness spilling outward.

Lyra tilted her head with a small nod. "Indeed, we are all looking like fairies," she said, her words spoken with a playful grin.

They all laughed at that, their laughter weaving together easily, softening the air around them. Yet through the surface of amusement, Amelia could see more.

Beneath Lyra’s expression were tangled threads of emotion—relief, happiness, mischief—but buried deep beneath them were sadness and heavier feelings that she kept carefully hidden from everyone else.

Looks like a lot has happened with her,

’ Amelia thought quietly, though outwardly she kept her laughter steady, her mask of ease never slipping.

She did not know exactly what Lyra was enduring, but she could do nothing more than stay by her side and try to bring her a little comfort, even if only for a brief moment.

Life is always full of ups and downs. The cycle never stops, and no one can escape it. What truly mattered was not losing sight of one’s goal even in the worst of times. As long as a person kept walking forward with the will to continue, the storm would pass and the light would eventually return, changing both life and the way one lived it.

It is always the ones who laugh the most, the ones who joke the loudest, who carry the deepest pain inside...

Amelia had come to believe this was true.

They continued to chat, drifting from one subject to another, laughter ringing naturally between them, when suddenly—

Her heart jolted violently, her pulse quickening as if something had seized it. A sharp ache struck her head without warning.

Ughh!! Not again.....

Her vision flickered, her eyes turning slightly vacant as her body staggered.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Come here, let me give you a quick healing," Grace said, her tone laced with worry as she instinctively stepped closer, light already gathering faintly at her fingertips.

But Amelia stopped them both, forcing a rushed smile as she raised her hand.

"No, it’s fine. Something just fell into my eyes. I’ll quickly go to the washroom and wash them out. You two continue."

Before they could say anything else, she turned and walked quickly toward the women’s washroom, her steps brisk and steady despite the growing pain.

Once inside, she shut the door firmly behind her and leaned against the wash basin, her breath coming fast and uneven.

The pounding in her head worsened, sharp and unrelenting, while one of her eyes began to shift, its natural color fading into a pure molten gold. Within it, a strange wheel slowly formed, spinning with a steady rhythm, each turn making the pain more unbearable.

...Why now, damnit..... it hurts like hell, and I can’t even scream here....

She shoved a handkerchief into her mouth, biting down hard to stifle any sound, though the cloth did little to ease the agony. Her vision fractured, as though the world itself was breaking into countless shards of glass, and the throbbing grew so violent it felt like her skull might split apart.

Her muffled cry echoed in the small space as her knees nearly gave way beneath her. Then the visions came.

Countless images flashed before her eyes, rushing past like a film played at impossible speed. Shapes, faces, landscapes—familiar and unfamiliar all at once—blurred together in an endless storm, overwhelming her mind.

She endured it for what felt like forever, though in truth it lasted only ten minutes. When the visions finally subsided, her eye returned to its normal color, and the wheel disappeared.

The handkerchief slipped from her lips as she spat it out, her breath ragged and uneven. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, sweat dampening her skin, as she gripped the edge of the basin just to keep herself from collapsing.

Damn it, another one of those damn visions. But they are literally wrong, everything that is happening is different from what I am seeing...they are just too different...

It had started soon after Ash returned to the academy. She did not know why, but from that point onward, visions began to appear more and more often. They came without warning, flooding her mind, and though they seemed vivid, they were all too different from reality. What made them even stranger was that many of those visions were of events that had already happened.

But it was different today, I saw a vision of this same festival and everything was too different...

Her head was filled with countless fragments of such visions, overlapping until they blurred together, but one thing was always the same. Every vision revolved around Ray.

She had seen Elysia with a cold and indifferent personality instead of the kind one she now carried. She had seen the deaths of many students, even Aurora, who was currently alive and laughing in this very world.

She had seen demons attacking the academy in great numbers, while in present times, there were no attacks at all. She had seen Ray’s growth becoming much slower than it was now, and in other moments, she saw him obtaining strange natural treasures and growing powerful in an instant. There were countless variations, so many that she could not even keep a list in her mind.

Every event that had already happened appeared again in her visions, but always with a completely different outcome, as though she was being forced to watch an endless string of alternatives that had never come to pass.

What is happening with me..?

At first, she had been happy, believing that the golden wheel-like eye she awakened was the same as her grandfather’s. But that joy quickly faded when she realized the eye only appeared whenever these memories forced themselves into her mind, leaving behind nothing but pain and confusion.

Still, it does not make any sense....there was no Ash at all... even this time, he did not appear once. Don’t tell me that my guess is right...?

That was the second common thing she noticed—the complete absence of Ash Burn from every vision. No matter what she saw, he was missing entirely, as if his existence had been erased. That absence alone raised countless questions and endless possibilities.

And the most possible reason she believed was that, The present is the present of the changed future, and the memories I am seeing is that of the unchanged future, or the supposed to be present....

It is more like Ash Burn did not exist at all, and he only exists here in this timeline, or this present....which changes all the future...thus making him the Anomaly..

The same anomaly Grandfather was finding.

She let out a faint sigh. She had already told the Whisperer that Ash was the anomaly he had been searching for, and from the surprised look he gave her, it became clear that even he had not expected her to discover it so quickly.

That expression had confirmed it—he already knew Ash was the anomaly. Yet instead of giving her answers, he simply asked her to enjoy her school life as much as possible and not to burden herself with thoughts of Ash. On the contrary, he had even encouraged her to grow closer to him.

Sigh, I am not going to tell him about these visions now. If they are really the visions of the Original world and not the Current world that was changed by the anomaly named Ash Burn, then I want to know what happened to the Original world too...

Looking at herself in the mirror, she gently fixed her hair and adjusted the accessories that had shifted out of place during the strain. Her reflection looked steady, though a trace of unease lingered in her eyes.

Though the vision I saw today...was it really supposed to go like this? Really? I cannot believe Ray was like this...