NoGift

IT was dark and the surrounding was filled with nothing but silence.  A little girl who looked like she was four or five years old was walking along a corridor.  The only light that was guiding her was coming from the tall windows where silvery moon beams struck.

One could clearly see the fear and anxiety on the girl's lovely little face.  She was clutching her nightdress so tightly, showing just how nervous she was.  She continued to walk, looking from left and right, even though she barely couldn't see anything from this darkness.  As if she was frantically searching for something.  Or rather, someone.

Then she heard a cry, a voice filled with suffering.  Repeatedly asking for forgiveness.

She followed the voice.  Every step she took felt like she was stepping on nails.  Her heart beating faster and faster as she got closer to the voice.  An unknown sense of dread slowly enveloping her.  But despite that, she still continued to walk.  Until she ended up in front of a door.

The tall door was like a looming shadow over the girl's small body.  She could hear voices coming from inside.

"P-please… please… l-let me go…" a woman's voice cried and pleaded.

"Let you go?  Never!  You are mine, An-------!  Mine!  You hear me?" shouted by a man's voice, full of obsession and insanity.

With trembling hands, the girl turned the knob and slowly pushed open the door.  What she saw was something her young mind couldn't process.  All she knew was that the woman was asking for help.

"Mama…?"

The woman turned, her silver eyes were filled with tears.  But when she saw the girl, those silver eyes were completely horrified.  "R-run…"

Then the monster turned.

And smiled.

=====

Argent was startled awake.  Cold sweat was dripping behind her back.  She could even feel her heart beating at a very fast speed.  As if she ran a marathon.  She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.

What was that?

It felt like she dreamt of something.  No, not a dream.  But a nightmare.  Even though she couldn't remember what it was, the fear she's feeling right now was evidence enough.  This kind of fear, she only felt it once since she came into this world.  That time when she underwent the dragon king's trial.

She still couldn't remember what happened during that trial.  But the fear she felt after was still vividly fresh in her mind.  Just why she knew that the fear she's feeling right now was the same fear she felt then.

There's only one reason she could think of why she couldn't remember.  Because the source of this fear was connected to the memories she had forgotten.  Of course, she was talking about the life she had as Xia Yin – the genius inventor from Country C.

As far as she was concerned, her memories began at the age of five.  Everything before that was just a blank slate.

She was raised in a lab and was taught by scientists.  When other girls her age were playing with dolls, she was tinkering with robots and already making her first invention.  The government gave her all the resources she needed.  But in turn, all her inventions would be given to them.  She grew up in an invisible cage and the government was her warden.  It wasn't until she reached her twenties that she managed to regain her freedom.   

Growing up, every time she tried to fill in those blank spots in her memories, she would have a splitting headache.  So as time went by, she never tried again.  Maybe because she knew subconsciously that remembering would only hurt her.  That's why it was so easy for her to just give up.  She was living just fine without those memories.  So why would she waste time on remembering when she could spend it on a much useful endeavor?

Even when she crossed into this world, that forgotten past never crossed her mind.  That was until the trial of the dragon king.  But it had been more than a month since then.  Why did she suddenly have that nightmare now?

Argent opened her eyes and looked at the time stamp on the screen in front of her.  It was already past five in the afternoon.  She didn't even notice that she fell asleep.  Was she actually that exhausted?  Could it be the reason why she suddenly had that nightmare?  She was so tired that her brain's defense subconsciously lowered so she experienced that nightmare?

This was a sign that she should take ample rest from time to time.  Honestly, she didn't want to feel that kind of fear again.  Especially since she had no idea what's the exact source of the fear was.

Argent was about to stand when she saw a notification on the screen of one of the monitors suddenly popping out.  The signal came from the flying car she lent to Black.  It was asking permission to land.

They're finally back – Aurum and Black.

She raised her head and saw that White was still attached to the main system.  She didn't bother her and approved the request for landing.  After doing that, he walked out and went straight to the open hangar.

When she arrived, she was slightly surprised when she saw Lei Feng.  He just landed on the hangar.  It seemed like he flew here.

"Sorry, I just saw the flying vehicle and thought that you'd be here," he apologized when he noticed her arrival.  "I'm not really sure if I could enter the building, so I just flew here."

"It's okay, no harm done," Argent said.

Lei Feng was about to say something when he noticed Argent's pale face.  He could even see the strain between her eyebrows.  "Are you alright?" he asked.

Argent looked up and saw the clear worry in Lei Feng's obsidian black eyes.  "I'm fine.  Just lack of sleep."

"You didn't rest?"

"I took a nap, if that's what you mean," she said, then jokingly punched his arm.  "Don't act so serious.  I told you, I'm fine."

Lei Feng wanted to say something more when he saw that the flying car was slowly landing on the hangar.  When it did, Aurum rushed out followed by Black.

"Brother--!" 

Aurum was about to hug her brother when she noticed the tall, serious looking man standing beside Argent.  She slowed down her steps and couldn't help but frown.  She almost forgot that this guy came with her brother to this island.

"Master!" Black shouted and immediately attached himself to Argent's side.  "Black miss you so much!"

Argent helplessly smiled.  "What miss?  It's only been hours since you last saw me."

"But Black still miss Master," Black pouted.

Lei Feng stared at the boy.  Even until now, he still felt a headache seeing the kid act all spoiled.  So he just looked at another direction to avoid having a headache again.

"Go and accompany White," Argent just said.

"Okay!" Black happily skipped towards the lab.

"Brother, I have something to say," Aurum suddenly said, then she gave Lei Feng a look, silently telling him to go and scram.

Lei Feng, of course, got the message.  So he said, "I'll go and cook dinner.  Food taste best when their hot.  So try to head back quickly to the villa once you're done with your talk."

"Okay.  Could you go and bring Janea on your way to the villa?  He must be hungry by now."

Lei Feng nodded and flew out of the hangar.

Aurum stared at this interaction and couldn't help but think of how domestic it was.  Like the two was a pair of old couple or something.  She shook her head.  Just where did that thought come from?

Argent turned to her sister.  "What happened when you went with Clay that made you sound so anxious when you called me?" she asked, not going around in circle.

"It's the pendant that Clay's father left with him," Aurum answered, also not beating around the bush.  "I accidentally dropped my blood on it."

"Your blood?  Did you get hurt?" Argent immediately asked worriedly.

"I'm fine.  I just pricked my finger a little.  Anyway, that's not the point.  When my blood dropped on the pendant, it glowed.  Like brilliant green glow.  Then an image appeared after the green light slowly subsided."

"What image?" Argent asked, already curious.

"A map."