“Sick? Where?”

In the midst of everyone gathered, my mother rushed toward me. Beneath my blurred focus, Mother’s face, contorted with concern, seemed to shine through.

“Where, where does it hurt? Huh?”

Her hands frantically searched across my face, arms, shoulders, and body for any signs of discomfort. Her flurry of touching caused me to sway. Following close behind, Father and Brother approached.

“Where does it hurt? What is this all of a sudden?”

“Yes, Selena, where….where does it hurt?”

I found myself unable to respond to the barrage of questions. Despite my intention to speak calmly, to share with a smile, to treat this as just another piece of news, the words failed me.

“I… I am…I”

Like a child learning to speak, I could only repeat ‘I am…’ I should’ve said something but couldn’t continue.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was unable to bear even the blurred faces.

Only in the darkness, when everything faded away, did my heart slowly begin to calm down. I soothed myself like I was performing a duty. Like saying something that doesn’t really matter.

“I’m dying.”

To my ears, my voice sounded reasonably calm, but it seemed to have a profoundly different effect on everyone else.

Silence fell like death itself. I slowly raised my eyelids at the frozen room. The afterimage of my mother trembled. Was it my shaky vision or her shaking body?

“Ha…Don’t joke about that, Selena.”

It seemed it was indeed my mother trembling. Her voice quivered just as much.

Her shaking voice was heart-wrenching. I knew full well how much I meant to Mother. Yet, the conversation had already begun. Regardless of the nature of the truth, it had to be faced.

“I’m dying, Mother.”

Repeating the stark truth caused my mother to gasp audibly, followed by a voice loud as a shout.

“Sel….Selena! How can you make such a joke? How can you say such a thing! I’m….I’m your mother. There are jokes you can make, and jokes you can’t… How could you say such a thing…”

Her hand dropped from my face as the blurred vision cleared suddenly.

Oh, it comes and goes on its own accord. It clears up precisely when I wish it wouldn’t.

My mother’s face was twisted so sadly. Her eyes reddened from tears beginning to flow. Then turned into sobs that filled the quiet room.

“…Selena.”

His voice lost in shock, my brother murmured my name and reached out his hand.

Before I knew it, he had passed Mother and grabbed my shoulder. It was as if someone drowning grabbed for a lifeline.

“What do you mean by that? What are you saying?”

His voice rose as if he couldn’t believe it, only to fall again. As if even it couldn’t find its footing in this reality.

Understandably, he wouldn’t believe it. Who would easily accept such an abrupt declaration of illness and impending death?

I bowed my head in solitude. I was unable to bear the sight of my family teetering on the edge of despair. I couldn’t bear to see them.

But I had to face this.

I must face this.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my head.

“The Grand Cleric.”

Mentioning the Grand Cleric brought a chilling silence back into the room.

Mother stopped her sobbing, and everyone held their breath. Even I had to pause for a moment to gather myself.

The Grand Cleric was our nemesis. The villain himself.

In manhwas or novels, there’s always …. a final boss. The last boss’ ability is…. Even mentioning it can weigh down the air around you. That’s what happened in that moment.

In the cold, frozen atmosphere, it seemed only I could move. I wiggled my tingling fingers a few times before firmly making a fist.

“The Grand Cleric… cast a dark spell on me.”

As confusion swirled in Mother’s face, she fell. Brother hastily caught Mother who slumped down.

“Mi…Miss…Miss…what do you mean…”

Jane’s voice reached me. A stark contrast to her previously cheerful demeanor like a child who smiled brightly and beautifully, her face was now marred by tears.

She kept repeating ‘what do you mean,’ and broke down into sobs. It was like a scene from a disaster movie.

Such a foolish thought appeared to me.

“Before his death, the High Priest cursed me. It was an irreversible dark magic. Because of it… I’m sick. I’m… going to die soon.”

“No! No, my daughter! No!”

The sharp outcry tore through the air as soon as I finished speaking.

Leaning on Brother for support, Mother’s voice echoed. Her shrill voice repeated, and her limbs flailed.

As if to deny everything in the world.

Trying to hold her steady, Brother swayed under her distress.

I pursed my lip and continued.

“In the next two weeks… very, very….at most… I only have about two weeks left.”

“Selena. Even your mother tells you to stop making such jokes? Enough…just stop. Your jokes have gone too far.”

Even Father faltered as he denied reality. His helpless hands moving in the air made my throat burn with emotion.

My father seemed fearless when he went to war and endangered his life. But now…Father looked terrified.

“Father…I’m sick. Father, I’m really sick.”

I had planned to laugh it off, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile. It was different from the days when I forgot how to smile.

I wanted to smile now but couldn’t.

Seeing the faces of my family as I revealed the truth, it felt as though a dam in my heart had burst. Emotions I had hidden even from myself spilled out uncontrollably.

“Father…I’m…I’m in so much pain. It hurts so much, Father….I’m so scared.”

I don’t want to die. I’m afraid of death.

Pain, suffering, it’s scary. I want to live.

“Selena…Selena, don’t do this. Such jokes aren’t right. You’re tearing your father’s heart apart. Stop it, Selena.”

My father’s plea made me shake my head. Regardless of how much I wanted to avoid facing reality, reality remained unchanged.

I shook my head again and again, as if trying to shake off my thoughts.

I felt like a mad person, shaking my head around until suddenly, a piercing ringing overwhelmed my ears.

Despite covering my ears, the noise persisted.

“Ha…hah…”

My heart raced as if it would stop any moment. My mind, which had been completely white, was filled with nothing but dizzy chaos.

It felt as though my brain was frozen.

Blood seemed to rush backward, making it feel like my head would explode.

“Sel…Selena, what’s wrong? Selena!”

The voices calling me sounded so distant, I couldn’t tell who they were.

What are they saying….What are they even doing?

That’s when I realized I had been under a massive delusion.

The symptoms of the fourth petal weren’t just about blurred vision. What really blurred was…my mind.

“Miss!”

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