Ba… Thump!
I felt my heart race as the woman's figure became clear; her presence felt stronger than before. I clearly understood that she was not one of the puppets of this dream.
"A—"
"Don't talk!" I almost yelled at Franz, as he clearly was about to say something similar to my name.
The woman blinked, her lips curling up even more.
"Oh, don't worry, I am not going to eat you… yet." She paused, then took one more step forward and said with a small tilt of her head,.
"You haven't answered my question. Did you two break the curse? If yes, can you tell me where?"
'Does she not know our position?' I thought to myself and looked at the still crumbling dream.
Gulp…
"A-And if we did?" Franz asked.
Clap—
She clapped her hand gently, her figure coming close to Franz, then gently lifted his chin with her fingers before asking. "I might give you a reward… But you clearly destroyed one of the bombs—ahem, I mean, investments, yes, investments I placed."
Our face went pale, as she clearly understood what we did. Then with a flick of her wrist, we both found ourselves bound by chains made up of dark-colored petals.
Tink—!
"Who are you?" I asked, gathering some courage in my scared heart.
"Ah, how did I miss you?" She raised her brows, then came towards me with graceful steps; her hand ran through my face, sending shivers down my spine.
"You have silver eyes, how amusing. Are you a descendant of the Pandrix family? No, they should already have an heir, so why do you have these eyes?"
"What?" I asked back in confusion; rather than feeling scared, a new curiosity now took over me upon hearing the word Pandrix.
'Are my eyes related to some family?'
Franz's eyes continued to shake as he started to mutter something out in a low voice.
The woman ignored him and squinted her eyes.
"You don't know Pandrix? How could that be possible… Why are you in this phase, then?"
"I don't understand anything you are saying, but first answer my question… Are you the one who cursed them? Turning their life like this?" I asked with a blazing fury. If looks could kill her, she would have died thousands of deaths by my gaze alone.
She pursed her lips, then sighed.
"I said that seconds ago, didn't I? I did place a curse on them, well, many of them, but I am sure that's not the topic here. You tell me first, why are you in this phase? Are you like some bastard son?" Her smile grew wider with every question she asked.
"I have no idea what you are talking about…" I answered, trying to buy some time.
My only hope was Franz and whatever backup plan he had. It was clear from the beginning that Franz did nothing inside the dream, as if he never felt his life was in danger. I had planned to confront him after leaving this place, but that was no longer possible.
The woman nodded, clearly expecting such a response.
"How lucky of you that I am not in your phase right now, or I would get all my answers by now." She spoke with a small voice, and then her eyes lit up.
Clap—!
She clapped excitedly and then bent toward me with a big smile on her face.
"Oh, how about you come to me!"
"Yes, I am truly a genius; if I can't come to you, you come to me." She nodded to herself, not giving me a chance to think of my next move.
"Let's just do some small touch-up—"
As her hand moved towards my heart, she stopped, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"You are the most annoying man I have ever met." She said, with little to no warmth.
"I am very grateful for your compliments, Witch." A voice answered from her back, as I finally noticed someone had grabbed her by the neck from behind.
He was a man with a slender build just like myself; his eyes shone with brilliance and a confidence I couldn't describe. He wore a black hat atop his head, a black cloak with blue patterned lines engraved over the shoulders, and a white vest beneath it.
'Who is he?' I turned my gaze towards Franz, who looked relieved, as if all the burden from his shoulders had been lifted.
"Are you his bodyguard, Saint of Paths?" She asked, her head tilting towards him.
He didn't answer and just smiled back at her. Before we could tell what happened, the world, which was already crumbling at a slow pace, seemed to hold its breath and vanished.
The man's grip on the woman's slender neck tightened as he said his parting words.
"Nice try to curse him."
Whack—!
The woman got crushed instantly as the space around her folded, her body vanishing into the thin air of this empty world…
With that, the dream came to an end.
*****
I slowly opened my eyes; my stomach seemed to be dying of hunger while my throat felt dry.
My eyes looked at the mansion ceiling and then drifted to see the man, called the Saint of Paths by the Witch, sitting on a chair with a bored look.
"Good morning." He greeted me with a grin.
I slowly shifted and then stood with an uncomfortable feeling and quickly calculated the time.
"Two days have passed." I muttered, knowing my abilities had returned.
"Correct, you don't look confused. Any reasons for that, Asher?" He asked.
I looked at him, then at Franz, who also woke up from his slumber and stood beside him.
"Thank you for saving us, sir." I bowed my head respectfully in his direction, then looked him in the eyes and said nonchalantly, "Franz was quite useful in the dream, so I had expected to have some backup."
Franz's lips twitched as he coughed in embarrassment before saying,. "I was asked to just observe; don't blame me for not helping much."
The man gave him a strange look and asked with a deadpan expression. "Why are you telling him this?!"
Franz turned his head towards him and replied with a tone of certainty. "When Lady Morgana finds out that you tested Asher, she will get mad, so I have made myself safe by telling this to him now."
'My respect for him is suddenly going down…' I thought upon hearing Franz's words, then turned to look at the Saint of Paths.
"What kind of test, and why am I getting one?" I asked.
"Ah, first let me introduce myself. I am Elias Walker, the Saint of Paths, from the Temple." He said, with his hat pressed over his chest, and bowed his head.
"Um, you know me already, it looks like, but I am Asher. It's nice to meet you, Lord Elias."
"No need to be so formal, Asher. The test was to see if you were worthy of your reward, and you have passed with flying colors." Elias answered with a small smile, putting his hat over his head.
I frowned; my gaze went to look at Franz, who looked equally confused.
"Lord Elias, I am sorry to say this, but my time has not been so pleasant till now. I have been left with so many questions and no visible answers… So, I hope you won't play riddles with me." I said.
In the loops, I have heard stories that felt unbelievable about gods and forces beyond nature. But the questions that I could face right now were few to none.
"I see. I am sorry for that, but it was necessary. I am not someone who follows orders without thoughts, so I needed to do this to see if the reward that has been decided for you is something you are worthy of or not." He answered with a small nod and then gently added,.
"I can also feel the tremors in your heart, and Franz's as well. But the question you have is something that can't be answered, not now or Better if it never is; forget about what you heard inside from that witch."
Franz sighed; he had expected this to happen. Talking about gods or otherworldly matters at his level was a god-given curse he could never live with.
"Then, can you not even answer a single question I have?" I asked back, my hands wandering to my heart, where the mark of stars resides.
"If it's about reward, I will explain it in two days. Don't worry."
I shook my head and said in a small voice,.
"Pandrix, what kind of family is that? Who was that woman you called a witch?"
Elias's smile widened as he took a step back, his eyes turning to look behind at a corpse not far there.
"Not much can be told about Pandrx, since that family is very important and I don't know if you are connected to them or not. But I can tell you two things about them." He paused and raised two fingers in my direction.
"And that is?"
"You are the second person I have ever seen with silver-colored eyes in my life and the one who decided your reward is the head of that family..."
"Also, the reward is way too precious to be given for something as small as saving Atlas City."
My eyes widened instantly as I felt his words resound in my very being. I took a step forward and asked,.
"Someone who has silver eyes, can you tell me who or where they are right now?" I asked with a bit of desperation.
Someone who was connected to my past—I could feel it. This felt like an opportunity I could never get.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you that." Elias shook his head and said with a subtle smile,.
"And for the witch… she is just evil and a rank 4 Zenith like me."
'Zenith, is that what they call a rank 4?' I frowned, then asked.
"Is she dead?" I asked with a bit of disappointment.
Elias, the Saint of Paths, walked towards the corpse and ran his hand above it; the young boy, Leo, lying there instantly started to fold, his body then turning into dust.
Seeing this, my heart beat loudly, but I didn't stop him. They had died by flames, then were cursed to live as ghosts forever; this felt less painful for them.
"She is not dead… She even used Franz and you as bait to check the danger; if not for that, she would have never let Franz pray to me." He said and stood up from his knees.
"If not for her cunning nature, I would have gladly let you get cursed and followed you to reach her."
I stared at him dumbfounded; this man really said to my heart he would let me get kidnapped. Licking my lips, I said in a little stuttering voice. "I—I see. I will assume you won't answer any of my questions?"
Elias sighed, his eyes turning to look out of the window. "Never talk about gods to anyone, Franz, you as well. Don't report this to Morgana; she will know when the time comes. I have tried to shield you both from hearing the true name of Eater of Despair; if not for that, both of you would have truly died."
Franz and I looked at each other, an untold understanding flowing through us as we nodded.
"Good, I will send you both home now. Go have some rest; I will meet you in two days." Saying that Elias flicked his wrist towards us. I felt something wrap around me, my vision blurry for a few seconds.
My vision shifted as I uncomfortably opened my eyes.
I was in my room.