[color=lightgray][center][color=red][h1]FLASHBACK[/h1][/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/YGxzxVR.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/mD0Zdvf.gif[/img]
[color=#D0B4EC][h2]Part 1[/h2][/color][/center]

[color=#D0B4EC]Time:[/color] 2am - [color=red]Ignis 5[/color]
[color=#D0B4EC]Location[/color] Lover’s Lake
[center][hr]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/J4RxO3lRsi0?si=m-uqFigFCFZJMELW[/youtube][youtube]https://youtu.be/gQXYyfN_U3U?si=uQt_Ogm2VRW9U3gI[/youtube]
[hr][/center]
[indent][/indent]

The rushing sound of the waterfalls was almost louder than the beating of her heart.

It felt as though the world had narrowed to nothing but water and wind, the sounds pressing in on her from every side.

Wet blades of grass brushed against her legs as she stood there, cold and slick against her skin. The wind shifted without warning, snapping her skirt behind her, tugging at the fabric as though it were trying to pull her backward. When the wind stilled, the rain took its place, drumming against her shoulders and arms, soaking into her nightgown.

Heavy strands of black hair clung to her face and neck, as though unseen hands had taken hold of her and would not release her. They laid heavily across her mouth and eyes, masking her vision. She lifted her hand and swept them away with trembling fingers, but the wind fought back, catching the dark strands and drawing them forward again. They lashed across her face and settled there, plastered to her skin.

For a long while, she did not move.

She remained at the edge of the tree line, suspended in the darkness. The night had swallowed everything that wasn’t directly in front of her, and the rain made it worse, blurring the world before her. She squinted, lifting a hand to shield her eyes. The shadows pressed close behind her, while the lake before her stretched out ahead like an invitation she did not remember accepting.

Ahead, “Lover’s Lake” stretched out like a vast, black mirror. By day, it was a place of laughter in the sand and by night it was a place to rendezvous for romance later in the evening. Everyone knew the stories. 

But now, in the heart of the storm, it bore no resemblance to its reputation.

The moon was shrouded behind clouds, broken only by fleeting shimmers of moonlight when the clouds shifted just enough to let a sliver through.

The cliffs on the far side didn’t seem far, but in the darkness, they felt impossibly distant. Their outlines rose against the sky like massive, sleeping giants, water pouring over their edges in torrents, vanishing into mist before they ever reached the lake below.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed there, just watching.

Minutes might have passed, or hours. Her thoughts slowed, drifting apart, until she no longer remembered what had brought her here in the first place.

Eventually, a strange stillness settled over her.

The storm raged on, and yet the stillness spread through her bones, dulling her fear and doubt until they felt distant. Without quite realizing she was doing it, she stepped forward. The ground grew softer under her shoes, turning to mud that sucked at her boots with every step. 

[i]“Charlotte…”[/i]

The whisper was louder here. Her gaze snapped upward, locking onto the middle waterfall across the lake, where white water crashed endlessly into darkness.

[color=#8a5cff][i]“cʜᴀʀʟᴏᴛᴛᴇ…”[/i][/color]

The whisper was clearer now, layered beneath the roar of falling water and a shiver ran through her. This was ridiculous. It [i]had[/i] to be. It was so late, three in the morning to be exact, that exhaustion was playing tricks on the mind.

That was all this was.

[right][color=#b478ff][i]“c h a r l o t t e . . .”[/i][/color][/right]

Or maybe this was a dream.

Afterall, she had no business being here so late and alone in the dark, listening to a phantom voice.

[center][color=#d8b5ff][i]“ＣＨＡＲＬＯＴＴＥ…”[/i][/color][/center]

Her heart pounded harder, faster, until she felt dizzy. She took a hesitant step back, her heel nearly slipping in the mud; she just barely caught her footing.

The voice seemed to rise from the lake itself, to slip down from the cliffs, to breathe through the very air around her.

She knew, with sudden clarity, that she should turn around — [i] that she should run. [/i]But her feet remained rooted to the ground as she peered out at the waiting lake.

It no longer felt like water alone. The surface stretched before her, dark and waiting, as though it marked the edge of something she could not yet see, but could already feel.

And somewhere beyond it…

Something else waited too.

[h3][color=#6a4cff][i]“c̣̐h͕̙͝a̞̎͟r̫͡l̥̊o̱̾t̰̔t̢̍e̙͠…”[/i][/color][/h3]

It was as though the last whisper had come from just behind her ear…

…so close that she did not dare turn around to prove whether anyone stood there at all.

Her next breath faltered as though it had been taken for her.[/color]