All what had happened before I went to sleep felt like a bad dream. It was as if I was experiencing a nightmare of sorts. I couldn't believe all of this was real now that I woke up on my comfy bed, feeling nice and healthy. I thought I had just dreamt all of it, and that my life was just as nice and relaxed as it always has been.
However, I quickly remembered that it was all real… all the crap I went through, how we almost died several times… everything, it was all real. Though fortunately, when I woke up, the first thing I saw was something very beautiful, something that soothed my fearful heart.
Aquarina stood in front of me, crying rivers once she realized I woke up. Her warm tears dripped down my arms as her beautiful and shiny sapphire-colored eyes shone brighter than ever due to her tears. She was such a cute girl…
"Sylphy! Buuuaaaahhh!"
Aquarina jumped over me and began to hug me tightly, screaming loudly while crying a lot. She was crying all over my face, covering me with her tears. Seeing that, I couldn't help but hug her back as her warmth really felt comfortable. At the moment, I felt like hugging her forever.
"Aquarina… I'm so glad you're alive…" I told her. I recalled everything that had happened in that fight, how much effort I put in to protect her life, and how hard it was. Of course, I'm glad I was able to do it at the end, I'm glad I was able to… not lose her.
"Sylphy… mommy and daddy told me what you did… what happened… I… I only have faint memories… is it true that you protected me… even when your entire body was destroyed?" she cried.
"Ah… t-they shouldn't have really told you that… but… well, a bit… erm, maybe they're exaggerating. Well, it wasn't much, so don't worry," I replied
"Sylphy!" she cried even louder. Then, out of nowhere, her lips suddenly kissed my cheek.
She was already over my body, and she was way heavier than I remembered her to be. I embraced her in my little arms as we rested over the bed while she slowly stopped crying.
"Y-You shouldn't have… done all of that…" she told me.
"It's fine… I'm alright now, see? My body is back to normal!" I said in response.
However, I suddenly realized I had enormous hole-shaped scars all over my body. Was my mother not able to heal them?! Then again, a long dress can easily hide them, plus I've had worse scars in my previous life.
"B-But your entire body is filled with scars…" she told me.
"Don't worry about it! Mom is an amazing healer. She'll help me out and heal them one day. Don't worry too much," I said with a bright smile. I didn't want her to feel guilty.
"I feel guilty… what happened to you is because I'm weak… and pathetic… Sylphy-chan… y-you're the most important thing to me… sniff… I don't want you to die…" she cried.
"T-The most important thing? W-What about your parents?" I asked.
"A-Ah…! Uwah… I-I mean! I… after them…" she corrected herself while blushing.
"I-I see… well, my memories of that time are just as blurry as yours, but I do remember a bit of it. I know that you did your best as well… you awakened the power of something, and you saved my life back," I told her.
"Eh? Really?" she asked.
"Hmm… maybe we should talk about that with our parents present, but Leviathan from all things showed up to help you…" I said to her.
"L-Leviathan? The monster that my accessories were made of? Come to think of it… the accessories disappeared…" she said.
"Well… he… he sacrificed his life for you," I replied, my tone somewhat sad.
"I-Is that so… I didn't even get to talk with him… why would he do such a thing?" she asked.
"I don't know… but he seemed to have seen your growth. Through that, you earned his heart… he was only a soul, so he perished after doing everything he could to protect us… without him, we would have died," I answered.
Aquarina looked down, feeling down after that. I shouldn't have told her this now that I think about it. I think I screwed up.
"But don't worry! He went down like a brave fighter…!" I hastily added.
Then again… I remember he died sorrowfully, screaming in pain at Aquarina's name.
I wish I could have helped him… I know he used to be a demon general once… but he did this for us… I wish he could have stayed for longer.
Aquarina began to cry sorrowfully again. This girl cries way too much. She'll get dehydrated at this point.
"Aquarina… crying is okay but… crying so much will not really bring us anywhere… instead of crying, why don't you decide to live up for his sake? Make his sacrifice worth it? Try to live a happy life, just like how he would have wanted you to," I said to her.
Aquarina nodded in response as she wiped off her tears, looking at me with a fiery gaze.
"I-I will! I will also… work hard for you too, Sylphy… I don't want you to suffer… like that…" she said.
"Mn! That's the spirit, dear. See? You have to see the bright side of life. You're still alive, so you still have time to grow stronger. Enjoy every little bit there is," I told her.
"As long as I am with you… I'll be happy," she replied.
Aquarina held my hands tightly after that as she looked at my eyes with a strong intent…. is she really 4 years old?! I feel like she has the gaze of a tigress all of a sudden.
"A-Aquarina?" I asked.
"L-Let's train together… later on… w-when you get better… I want to spend more time with you, Sylphy… I want to treasure every minute with you…" she said.
"Huh? S-Sure… I will gladly do so…" I said as I gave her a warm smile. And then… I kissed her on the cheek.
She suddenly got all red as steam came out of her ears and mouth…
She almost fell to the floor, but I caught her in time.
"Y-Yeah… I'm just… happy…"