Lumina opened her eyes and found herself staring at a woman much taller than her. She had long black hair and wore a decadent but form fitting dress that slightly flared outward almost like a fish tail. “Wow she’s really pretty. I love that dress.” Shaking her head, Lumina reminded herself that now was not the time to be admiring clothes. “Who are you?” She asked while looking around. Lumina found herself sitting in a shallow body of water that perfectly reflected the cloudy sky above and around her.

  She was glad that she was sitting, she might have fallen over. Her brain took a bit to finally orient itself with the confusing reflection. It was almost as if they were casually drifting in the clouds but sitting in a puddle at the same time. It looked like an open sky no matter where she looked. The ripples that flowed in the water from her movements made the scene only more surreal.

  As far as Lumina could tell, she must be dreaming. She could clearly remember arguing with Eldin back at the lake. Letting out a gasp of surprise, her occupied thoughts had distracted her from the situation.

  Approaching calmly, the woman rested her hand gently on Lumina's cheek. She could feel the calm warmth that emanated from it.

  “Who are you?” Lumina asked but the mysterious maiden did not respond. Instead, the sky darkened, the clouds became a dark ominous gray as the serene scene became a dull monochrome. Lumina watched with abject fear as the wondrous woman quickly devolved into a wrathful wraith.

  An ear-splitting scream blasted and surrounded Lumina as she felt herself get lifted off the ground. Its ghastly grip holding like a vice around her neck. Lumina had no idea what was going on, what she did know was that she was in danger. Reaching up to grab at the spirit’s arms, she was relieved when she was able to grasp them.

  The spirit immediately retracted its grip, a look of surprise on its face as it eyed Lumina.

  Thunder and lightning echoed around them. If Lumina wasn’t so focused on surviving, she might have realized that the exceptionally loud blasts from the sky, or the horrid screech didn’t bother her at all. Reaching for her sword, she fumbled about trying to find it. It was at this point she realized that she didn’t have any of her gear or armor. She was barefoot and wearing only her mother’s dress.

  The banshee, finally realizing that its prey was undoubtedly different, took another approach to finishing it off instead of absorbing their energy. Its fingernails grew into grotesque claws as it lunged forward.

  Lumina didn’t have the time nor the faculties to process everything that was happening. The only thing on her mind was to survive. By any means necessary. Leaping to the side and catching herself into a roll. The sound of water splashing around her feet relaying the frantic nature of her maneuvers. She didn’t have anything to use against the relentless spirit. The long dagger-like claws were far too dangerous to initiate a grapple with.

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  “I can’t keep running forever.” She told herself as she barely managed to stay one step ahead of the assault.

  “Grab your sword.” A voice commanded in her head.

  Lumina wanted to look around for the source of the unknown voice, but she needed to focus on the attacking spirit to avoid being minced. “What sword?” she called out in her mind.

  “Call your sword and it will appear.”

  Feeling more frustration than confusion, Lumina wanted to throttle whoever the unhelpful voice was that permeated through her thoughts.

  A triumphant screech from the ghost brought Lumina back to the now as she found herself about to be slashed by the freaky phantom. “Just give me a sword damn it!” She called out as she threw an arm up to protect herself from the oncoming attack.

  A watery-sounding clang resonated through the thunderstorm as both combatants stared in shock. In her hand, catching the dangerous claws of Alice was a sword of brilliant white yellow in color. “Woah.” Lumina commented as she forced the spirit back causing another screech of protest to erupt from its mouth.

  “I trust you can handle it from here?” She heard the same voice earlier comment in her mind.

  Thankful to finally have a weapon, Lumina charged forward. Claw met sword as Lumina quickly realized that she was still at a disadvantage. Not only was the monster taller than her, but it also had a set of claws versus her one sword. She really needed her shield if she wanted to fight on even footing. Regardless, Lumina managed to prevent Alice from overwhelming her, keeping the claws at bay.

  “I really need a shield.” Lumina commented in her mind as she focused on defending herself. Another screech from the spirit made Lumina realize that she was now wielding a shield in her other hand. “How?” She thought to herself as she went on the full offensive, unsure how everything was happening. Now armed with her weapons of choice, Lumina began driving the spirit back as the clouds began to thunder more fervently.

  The two interchanged blows between claw and shield as Lumina found it difficult to pin down or even strike the agile apparition. Swinging her sword upward, the monster jumped to the side retaliating with a slash of its own. Turning her body to face the attack, Lumina brought her shield up to guard against the swipe. Another clang like that of metal hitting metal underwater reverberated around them.

  The two fighters leapt away from each other as a crackling bolt of electricity exploded between them. Lumina averted her eyes in an attempt to avoid the blinding flash. To her surprise, she found herself unfazed by the bright flash of light nor the resounding roar of crackling energy that immediately followed after the flash.

  “Despite your form, this is not your body, but your spirit doing battle. The sword and shield are an extension of your soul.” The helpful but invasive voice sounded in her mind again.

  Lumina had no idea what was happening, but she didn’t have the time to think about it. There would be time to ponder after she defeated her foe. Focusing back on the enemy, Lumina found herself staring at the same beautiful and serene woman before.

  “Free me.” She said in a calming and sweet voice.

  The once chaotic scene of thunder now a peaceful sky.