Chapter 25: Reverie

Omega opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a field of Cornflowers, a flower that a certain late friend of his liked.

Cornflowers? What on Earth is this place, then? He thought.

He looked around and saw that everything looked monochromatic grey as far as his eyes could see, except for the petals of the said flowers. The field also seemed to stretch endlessly.

Is this a dream? Whatever, I'll get through this.

The place looked rather unrealistic and dreamy, but it felt real for Omega despite the whimsical, otherworldly feel. He couldn't describe the feeling welling up deep inside him, but he felt a strong sense of nostalgia, and a desire compelling him to know more about wherever he's in.

Out of curiosity, he got up and traversed through the endless azure plain of flowers. After walking for so long, he stopped to pick one of the flowers from the field.

Ah, just look at how pretty these flowers look, no wonder she likes them so much. Omega thought to himself as he admired the vibrant blue color of the petals. 

The flowers looked healthy and fresh so he decided to get a whiff of the petals' scent after looking at them. Suddenly, flashes of memories appeared in his head.

"You promise me that the two of you won't fight, okay? Have fun, children! I'm really sure that the two of you will get along together."

"Does it matter if we have no Selected Team this year? Diamond was killed, when she should be safe."

Teardrops ran through Omega's cheek. He then discovered himself lying in a fetal position all of a sudden, causing him to get back up again.

After rubbing away the tears with his hands, Omega saw a structure amidst the blur. It looked as grey as the rest and featured the architectural style during the late period of the Blumen regime.

He then convinced himself to keep going, and trudged through the field faster, forcing his legs through and dragging them across the dense field of flowers.

He arrived in front of the building, and upon closer inspection, it was an exact copy of the Northriver Boarding School.

After a short walk, Omega got into the building. The rooms were the exact copy of the ones he recalled, although the halls were devoid of life and color, and the constant faint buzzing of the Redstone lamps could be heard easily. As he walked, the hallway echoed with the heavy footsteps from the heels of his leather shoes.

He passed through empty classrooms he had once gone to. Oddly enough, it seemed like some still had the belongings of students and teachers. More and more fragments of distant memories flashed as he looked through the windows and doorways. He tries to block them out and hastens his pace.

Why am I even running away?

At this point, Omega was confused, unaware of what he was doing.

I think I should check our dorm rooms. Seems like the right thing to do.

After a while, Omega reached the dorm room that he and Diamond once shared. He opened the door, and right before him is that same room. It looked the same since that very day he left for the Lifeboat military. Unlike the other rooms he saw previously, it had color.

There's still the bunk bed with sky blue and burgundy red colored sheets, and two desks, one had colorful, girly stationeries, light novels, photographs, and vibrant artworks. Next to it is a slightly messier desk, with books, paperwork containing various essays and schematics, a typewriter, and a pinboard hanging on the wall, which had pinned equations and photographs.

The wardrobe still had a few clothes in it, and all are just gender-based variants of the standard Northriver uniform. The locker next to it contained things such as fishing rods, lanterns, board games, toys, and more stationeries, which are both shared by Diamond and Omega.

As Omega was done investigating the room, he looked at the photographs on his pinboard for one last time. He particularly liked a few of them.

One showed a picture of him and all of his friends: Ashleen, Tanman, Chaiya, Junita, and Diamond, together in a circle while eating sandwiches on a picnic. Another showed them in a carnival, along with Ashleen's father, Yeeter, and the last picture shows the very last moment Omega spent his time with all of them.

It is a photograph taken at the end of a Promotion ceremony that took place in the Sunset Tower. In that photo, Omega was just standing— with his usual unfazed, expressionless face— Ashleen and Junita posed for the camera, close together with both their arms on their shoulders; Diamond could be seen smiling while holding two cotton candies, and Tanman flashed a smug smile, as he was hugging a huge chicken stuffed toy, holding it high enough to be seen from the camera while partially obscuring Chaiya from view in the process.

After Omega was done looking at the photographs, he noticed that the hallways' color had returned to how it should've looked; blank, yet warm and vibrant. It also appeared to be brighter than it should have, so he hastily left his room, slamming the door as he exited.

At his left was a dead end blocked off by a wall, but when he looked in the opposite direction;

A blinding, bright light shone in front of his eyes. He could see a faint, ghostly figure walking in the middle of the hallway. The light seemed to emit from the figure's aura.

He decided to follow the figure, who walked at a very slow pace. He started running and he got closer and closer every second.

The figure looked rather familiar to him. He walked towards it, and got closer with every step, determined to approach it.

Could it be her?  He thought, hoping to meet someone in particular.

"Hello?" Omega asked the figure in a loud voice for him to be heard from such a distance. He wasn't noticed, so he tried again. "Can you hear me?"

He continued running, and running until the figure reached the end of the hallway. It stopped walking and it peered through a window. Omega stopped and beckoned the figure to come closer.

"Hello…? Wait."

Omega paused as the figure turned around slowly. He might have just realized who this ghostly wisp is supposed to be.

The silhouette looked very familiar and somehow warm to him. They had snowy, white, wavy hair, and pale skin. They were dressed in a white dress and a blue cloak, and they walked on the cold tiles barefooted.

It was someone he last met a long time ago.

"Diamond?!"

After all, his suspicions were right.

"Diamond!"

She did not speak a word, but she gently waved and smiled at Omega. He got up while crying and ran toward her with his arms wide open. Diamond did the same thing until they hugged each other.

Omega couldn't believe what was happening, his vision was obscured thanks to the blur from his tears and the reflection of light. 

"Welcome back, Omega," greeted Diamond. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too, Diamond." sobbed Omega.

The familiar, cold breeze of Aldrich embraced the two as they both shared a hug, tighter than what Omega recalled since the last time they held each other. He almost felt like Diamond was there the whole time. He was longing for this kind of feeling ever since the very moment Diamond stepped foot on the grounds of the cold, deathly arena.

After a long time of not being able to see each other, they were finally reunited.

"Can we stay like this for a while?"

"Alright. Come here Omega, take a deep breath and just relax," he got closer, with his head now resting atop Diamond's chest.  "We can stay… For a while, at least."

"But, Diamond," Omega pleaded. "I don't wanna go. I don't wanna leave you!"

"Shhh, It's okay, it's okay," comforted Diamond. "Come on now, it's alright." She then started to caress Omega's hair. He seemed to have calmed down; his breaths had gotten steadier although he never stopped crying.

"There, there. You can rest now," Diamond whispered, as she hugged Omega tighter in return. "You did well. Now don't go hard on yourself, okay? It's not your fault, Omega."

His eyes had shut gently. He was speechless, not knowing how to say or how to feel now that he finally got to say goodbye to his beloved with a hug.

"Thank you for being there, Omega."

Diamond placed her head on top of Omega's cap.

"To me, you will forever be the best, and I will forever love you."

She felt Omega gasping for breath; he was sobbing again.

"Shhhh,"

Suddenly, Diamond removed Omega's cap and gently kissed the top of his head.

"Now, continue doing your best, alright? I love you."

Diamond kissed Omega again for one last time, both closing their eyes and hugging each other tighter than ever.

~×~

gasp!

Omega woke up in a room he had never been in before. He found himself lying on an ornate couch out of polished dark oak wood and a soft cushion covered with a vibrant purple sheet.

The walls were equally ornate, too. Candles rested atop golden candelabra with floral and avian-themed carvings. Paintings of landscapes and historical figures were hung on the wall, as well as the banners of the Marigold Order.

The next thing he noticed is a moderator, Kaiurii, watching over him, as well as Cyclosword, who was working on a report of some sort at a desk.

"He's finally awake," said Kaiurii. "You were crying as you slept, you good?"

"Uh, yeah," replied Omega, getting up in an instant. His voice sounded coarse and dry as soon as he spoke. "Don't worry about me, it's just a dream… Why am I here anyway?"

"We took you in because being unresponsive after the simulation has been such a rare side effect. The last report was eleven years ago."

"Is he experiencing any other side effects?" asked Cyclo, as he turned to the moderator. 

"I've been in a coma? For how long?" asked Omega.

"Not really a coma, you just overslept for nearly a day," replied Kaiurii. "Approximately twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes long. Let us know if you feel anything off as of now."

"Well other than that I feel quite dizzy and my joints feel really stiff," said Omega, as he placed his hand on his forehead. "Also quite thirsty, guess a little bit of water would do."

"Alright. Take your time off home and have some rest. Just wait for a bit, we'll get water for you then you can go." said Cyclosword, standing up and heading outside the room to fetch a glass of water. 

"Thanks, Cyclo."

Omega received the glass, held together by both of his hands. He shakily raised it toward his lips and started to drink it slowly, as if he was savoring every drop of water he ingested.

"By the way, Leader Splodger would like to arrange a meeting with you tomorrow," Kaiurii brought up a request from her leader. "If you're unable to, or want a reschedule, let me know."

"What for?" Omega asked, lowering his drink. "Thanks anyway."

"It's something regarding… the lack of personnel within the Marigold Order." answered Kaiurii. "You're also the kind of guy who notices issues, uh, easily, and has some political involvement as a former commander and as the deputy mayor of ConCraft, so we thought you'd also share some, say, insights. We'd love to have your presence."

"Sure, I'll go."

Kaiurii then handed over the glass Cyclosword fetched, and Omega gulped all the water down in less than a moment.

"Cheers," Omega stood up and walked to the exit. "I'll be there tomorrow."