Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!

Chapter 1235: Sofia



Maybe because I didn't have such a long-standing bond with Sofia unlike Emily and Alma, I was able to take this decision without feeling too bad about it.

Although I did empathize a lot with her and felt genuinely sad about her childhood and the reason why she's even in this dream to begin with, I know that this isn't the best.

Dying in an illusion doesn't mean she'll be happy; it means that she's forcing herself to be happy within the illusion.

But since she already is self-aware, she knows this isn't real, and there's a part of her deep down that is not enjoying this, most likely.

A part of her that's wondering "Why am I doing this, if I know it's not real?" and I want that part of herself to win, not the other, delusional side.

Her common sense must triumph above her emotions, and she has to face reality, instead of trying to hide behind lies.

We stepped forward, as we walked right towards Sofia, interrupting her in her family picnic. "Sofia!"

Emily called for her.

"Sof!"

Alma called for her too.

"Eh?"

Sofia glanced towards them; her eyes slightly widened.

She recognized them, I think.

At the same time, her parents were confused.

They looked at her, then at us.

"Who are... these girls, Sofia?" her mother wondered.

"Do you know them?" her father asked.

There was visible concern in their eyes, they really had no idea who we were, or why we were here to begin with either.

They were completely and utterly confused, and to make things worse, Sofia's face made it feel like we were bad people too...

"I-I..."

She was somehow looking rather shocked, a bit sad, and perhaps angry.

Was she angered we were here?

That we came for her?

Maybe she didn't want us to come at all.

But that's how its going to be, Sofia.

I'll drag you out of this little paradise your Nightmare has built for you.

And bring you back to the harsh reality you want to escape from.

We're confronting the world together.

And I'll make sure you don't suffer anymore.

"Sofia, we've come for you. Let's go back to the real world."

I walked towards her, standing right in front of her, extending my right hand towards her, to help her stand back up.

She looked at the hand and then at me.

"Ma... Maria?"

She recognized me instantly, I knew it.

She was conscious, she was not unconsciously dreaming.

She wasn't either completely trapped either!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Maria? You know her? Who is she?!" asked her mother.

"Sofia, have you been meeting with these girls before? But they're not your age at all!" her father said.

Her parents were very defensive, I noticed Sofia was about to extend her hand towards me, but her parents stopped her, standing in front of her to protect her from us.

"Don't come closer to our daughter!" said her father. "We don't know you at all! Are you someone that want to kidnap her?! We will not let you!"

"Yeah! T-That's right!" her mother said. "Please go away or we'll call the police!"

Sofia glanced at her parents, hiding behind them.

She looked like she didn't know what to say or what to do, she was simply hiding, perhaps too afraid to do anything else.

She didn't want to talk with us either, remaining in silence.

Perhaps she still wanted to remain in this fantasy, in this temporary illusion, all while her life is eaten away by the Nightmare Lord.

"Looks like she doesn't want to go with you," said Beatriz, glancing at the scene in her small black cat form. "What are you going to do now, Maria?"

I ignored her words as I looked at Sofia behind her parents.

Emily and Alma panicked, trying to calm down her parents as if they were actually real.

"W-Wait a second, we aren't weirdos!" Emily said.

"W-We are Sofia's friends...!" Alma said. "Sof! Sofiaaa! Please don't ignore us!"

"We came all the way here for you!" Emily said. "You don't know how many Nightmares we fought, w-we almost died like three times!"

"Ah!"

Sofia seemed to be slightly worried, looking back at us after Emily said that.

"Hm..."

However, she lowered her head again, and then averted her gaze from us.

Wow, so that's how it's going to be...

Should I just cut apart her parents or...

No, that's too extreme.

"Sofia, we know why you are the way you are," I said. "We also know what happened to you, and we also understand why you wouldn't want to leave this place, your life hasn't been the best, like, ever, at all... Your mom's dead. And your dad isn't like this guy. You know exactly how your father is. He's an asshole that looks down on you."

"W-What did you said?! I'm dead?!" her mother cried. "Is this some sort of threat?!"

"I am not an asshole... I love my daughter!" said her father. "How could you say such a thing!"

I ignored them, as I kept looking at Sofia.

"Your Familiar died," I told her.

Her eyes widened, glancing at me.

"He gave you his heart, which ended becoming the Nightmare Lord," I said. "You're in a nightmare, this is not a nice dream, Sofia... Your Soul and your Lifeforce are being sucked away. Once the Nightmare Lord is done eating you, you'll die. And then the Nightmare Realm will spread and kill... perhaps hundreds of people. Are you really okay with this? With dying, and then provoking the death of innocents?"

"Ah! No..." Sofia muttered, suddenly panicking.

Despite what her character description said about her, she wasn't an evil person. In fact, she had the personality of someone that wanted to fight for justice and protect the weak.

The moment I told her that, she immediately snapped back to reality...

"We love you Sofia!" Emily started crying. "Please come back with us! We'll do our best to

be... the best friends you could ever hope for!"

"Please don't die Sof!" Alma cried. "I need you with us!"

"..." Sofia looked at her friends with eyes full of emotions, crying. "Really?"

"Yes!" I nodded. "Please, stop ignoring how much we care for you, Sofia! Come back with us!"

"Maria..."

She started crying, slowly walking towards us.

And as she extended her hand so I could grab it.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER AWAY FROM US!" Her parents screamed with loud, monstrous voices.