Free Web NovelChapter 99: Chapter 99: Home
Chapter 99: Home
—CELIA—
My eyes flew open as I gasped desperately for air.
The sudden breath tore through my lungs so violently that it hurt, yet my body refused to move no matter how desperately my mind screamed at it.
It felt as though I had been buried beneath an endless ocean, trapped inside an invisible cocoon that had held me captive for what felt like an eternity.
Every muscle felt impossibly heavy. My chest rose and fell in uneven, painful breaths while a crushing weight pressed against every inch of my body, pinning me helplessly to whatever surface I was lying on.
I wanted to sit up. I wanted to ask where I was. I wanted to call someone’s name.
But nothing happened.
Not even my lips obeyed me.
For several terrifying seconds, I genuinely wondered if I had become paralyzed.
My heartbeat thundered violently inside my ears as panic slowly began clawing its way into my chest. I fought against the heaviness surrounding me, but it was like trying to swim upward while chains dragged me toward the bottom of the sea.
The harder I struggled, the more exhausted I became, until all I could do was lie there and breathe.
At first, I thought I was still dreaming.
After all, hadn’t I just...
My thoughts halted abruptly.
Images flashed through my mind faster than I could understand them.
I could still remember the last thing I have seen.
Forests, moonlit flowers, a crystal throne, a pair of emerald eyes.
’...Farewell, dear friends.’
My own voice echoed in my ears.
Then... darkness.
The memories scattered before I could grasp them.
The silence around me slowly gave way to sound.
At first, it came only as distant echoes, muffled and distorted, as though I were listening through layers of deep water. The voices overlapped one another until they became impossible to distinguish, yet beneath all the noise lingered something unmistakable.
Desperation.
Someone was crying.
Someone kept calling for a doctor.
Someone continued pleading over and over again, refusing to stop no matter how much silence answered them.
"...Please..."
"...Wake up..."
"...Doctor... hurry..."
The voices drifted closer.
With every passing second, they seemed to pull me upward from the suffocating darkness surrounding my consciousness.
My breathing became increasingly ragged as I forced my eyes to remain open despite how painfully heavy they felt. Bright white light immediately flooded my vision, forcing me to squint. Everything appeared blurry, almost unreal, as though my eyes had forgotten how to focus after remaining closed for far too long.
Gradually, shapes began forming.
I began to see a white ceiling, fluorescent lights, transparent tubes, monitors, and machines.
The rhythmic beeping beside me echoed steadily throughout the room, accompanied by the sharp, unmistakable scent of antiseptic lingering in the air.
It was... in a hospital.
No.
It couldn’t be.
Then a voice broke through every other sound surrounding me.
"Celia!"
My heart stopped.
"You’re awake!"
The voice trembled so violently it almost cracked. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"Oh my God... Celia!"
Tears immediately blurred my vision.
...Lilith.
Even after everything...
Even after another lifetime...
I recognized that voice instantly.
My sister.
The overwhelming relief that washed over me was almost painful. Countless emotions crashed into one another all at once until I couldn’t tell whether I wanted to cry, laugh, or simply close my eyes again.
How...
How am I here?
What happened?
Wasn’t I...
Wasn’t I just...
The memories surfaced again before dissolving into confusion.
I desperately wanted to ask someone.
I wanted to ask Lilith.
I wanted to know whether everything I had experienced had truly happened.
Instead...
Not even a single word came out of my mouth.
My throat felt painfully dry, as though I hadn’t spoken in weeks. Every attempt to move my lips ended with nothing more than another weak breath escaping my mouth.
Suddenly, footsteps hurried toward my bedside.
A middle-aged man wearing a white coat leaned over me, shining a small penlight into each of my eyes while several nurses quickly surrounded the bed. Fingers wrapped gently around my wrist as another nurse checked my pulse while someone adjusted the machines beside me.
"She’s responding well," the doctor said calmly after several long moments. "Her pupils are reacting normally."
I could barely move my eyes toward him.
"Blood pressure is stabilizing," another nurse added.
The doctor gave a small nod before looking toward someone standing beside the bed.
"For now, continue observing her. If she begins speaking or regains more motor control, notify us immediately."
"...Doctor..."
Lilith’s voice shook so badly it barely sounded like her.
"Is she... really going to be alright?"
The doctor smiled reassuringly.
"Yes."
He glanced once more toward the monitors before continuing.
"Medically speaking, she’s remarkably stable now."
He folded his clipboard beneath one arm before speaking more thoughtfully.
"What puzzled all of us was the coma itself."
Lilith looked up immediately.
"There were no signs of traumatic brain injury, no neurological damage, no underlying illness capable of explaining why she remained unconscious for nearly three weeks."
Three...
Weeks?
My heart skipped.
Three weeks?
"The scans consistently showed normal brain activity," the doctor continued. "Her organs remained healthy. Physically, she should have awakened long ago."
He paused.
"Yet she simply... didn’t."
Lilith lowered her gaze.
"I thought..."
Her voice broke.
"I thought she was slipping away."
The doctor’s expression softened.
"I understand."
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"But whatever caused the coma appears to have resolved on its own."
He smiled again.
"The important thing is that she’s awake. Recovery won’t happen overnight. Her muscles will be weak from prolonged inactivity, and she’ll likely experience confusion for some time."
His eyes briefly met mine.
"But she’ll recover."
Lilith covered her mouth as tears spilled freely down her cheeks.
"...Thank you."
After exchanging several more instructions with the nurses, the doctor quietly excused himself, leaving only the steady rhythm of the heart monitor filling the room.
Silence settled once more.
Then I felt warmth.
Lilith gently wrapped both of her hands around mine.
"Celia..."
The moment she whispered my name again, every bit of composure she had managed to hold onto finally disappeared.
"You finally opened your eyes."
Fresh tears rolled endlessly down her face.
"I really thought..."
She inhaled shakily.
"I thought I was going to lose you."
She lowered her forehead onto our joined hands as quiet sobs escaped her.
Each one pierced straight through my heart.
I wanted to tell her I was sorry.
Sorry for making her worry.
Sorry for leaving her alone.
Sorry for making her suffer.
Instead...
I simply lay there, unable to speak.
A coma...
Three weeks.
Then...
Everything...
Had it all been...
...a dream?
The question lingered painfully inside me.
Sebastian.
Matthias.
Ezekiel.
Ren.
No...
Damien.
Aria.
Aelith.
The memories came flooding back one after another with startling clarity.
The academy.
The dresses.
The tea parties.
The laughter.
The arguments.
The confessions.
The kisses.
The tears.
The throne room.
The farewell.
Every single memory remained painfully vivid. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Far too vivid.
Dreams weren’t supposed to feel like this.
Dreams weren’t supposed to leave your heart aching.
Dreams weren’t supposed to leave behind regrets so heavy they became difficult to breathe through.
My chest tightened until it almost hurt.
No...
It couldn’t have been just a dream.
Not after everything.
Not after loving someone.
Not after saying goodbye.
A single tear slipped from the corner of my eye before quietly tracing its way down my cheek.
Lilith immediately noticed.
"Celia?"
She quickly brushed the tear away with trembling fingers.
"...You’re crying."
I wished I could explain.
I wasn’t crying because I had awakened.
I wasn’t crying because I was frightened.
I wasn’t crying because my body refused to move.
I was crying because somewhere...
Whether in another world or somewhere beyond reason...
I had left people behind.
People I never imagined I would love.
People who were probably still searching for me.
People who might believe...
That I had abandoned them.
Summoning every ounce of strength left inside me, I focused everything on my right hand.
It barely responded.
My fingers trembled weakly before slowly closing around Lilith’s hand.
It wasn’t much.
Hardly even a squeeze.
But it was enough.
Lilith froze.
For one long heartbeat, she simply stared.
Then her eyes widened as hope burst across her face so suddenly that it almost stole my breath.
"Celia..."
Her voice cracked into a sob.
"You squeezed my hand..."
She laughed and cried at the same time before calling toward the hallway.
"She squeezed my hand! She’s really awake!"
The room erupted into hurried footsteps once again as voices echoed throughout the corridor.
Doctors rushed back inside.
Nurses followed close behind.
Someone called my name again.
Someone else checked the monitors.
The hospital room suddenly became filled with movement.
Yet despite all the commotion...
Despite finally returning to the world I had once believed was home...
My heart whispered only one quiet prayer.
Please...
Tell me...
It wasn’t all just a dream.
