“Not bad at all; I’m starting to understand Sei’s logic a little.
If that Gunlaug wants to stay, living the best way possible is the right call.
No one’s even glancing our way either, and there’s no trace of active surveillance.
It must be true that they don’t have spare personnel, or they just don’t see us as a threat.”
Cian nodded at his words and pointed at the window.
Inside his own room, Aisling looked at the cloud-filled sky that never cleared, with Cian on his shoulder.
He then turned toward the figure of the Crimson Spire in the middle of the coral labyrinth in the distance.
It was late, so there was still a bit of light left to take in the view.
The room had a cracked mirror with one large intact piece where he could see half his face, while the rest scattered across every broken angle of the shattered reflection.
He stared at his own eyes and smiled with cold irritation.
“You survived another day, you wretch…
Keep it up.”
He turned around and kept looking over his room.
“I have a good view and can appreciate myself.
Now…
what should I do?”
Aisling believed that as long as there was daylight, it was wise to do his best to increase his odds of survival.
It had always been that way.
Sei needs to rest; I can’t go out either without raising suspicion.
Right now I need to cling to the role I was given; better not to take risks and not give them a reason to cast me out.
Checking his priorities and his odds, he stood in the middle of the room and closed his eyes.
His mind went back over every moment of his training with Seishan.
He recalled with clarity the sensations his body had experienced: how he’d felt the princess’s gentle hands, how those same hands had twisted his body and broken it over and over, where she’d applied the pressure and force needed for each action.
Every training session was a torture for his body, but it was necessary and quite convenient given his ability.
His food reserves had been replenished with the murdered Dreamer from the hut; he had plenty stored, and restoring limbs was simpler than restoring vital organs, though it still came at a cost.
If I gorge myself to the point of being sated, will I no longer need to eat when I take such grave wounds?
I consider it likely, but finding out comes at a price.
He focused solely on maximizing his external senses, granting himself sensory memory and recalling the events of the past month.
From his fight with that small crab, to meeting Seishan, the training atop the statue, the fight with the mother crab, and the continued training of these last few days — he hadn’t really learned anything as such; he hadn’t even managed to move past the merely decent.
He went over every moment again, feeling the wounds of the past once more, trying to understand the mistake in each decision he’d made and the contingency he could have prepared; he failed, failed, and kept failing.
He couldn’t grasp the essence of what he was supposed to learn and what he was supposed to retain.
And yet, something felt different.
He felt like he was discovering something; his instinct screamed it loudly.
Though to say he was discovering it would be a lie; he was more like grazing it, entering its periphery, still very far from understanding the core he wanted to learn.
The sensations flowed through his body and returned in a looping circuit.
Suddenly, a light tap landed on his head, pulling him out of his flow state.
“Cian…?
What’s wrong?”
He looked at the window, where light was still coming in, and at Cian.
It was strange for Cian to interrupt him without any important reason.
Cian pointed at the door, and at that moment someone could be heard knocking.
It’s strange; who’s visiting me at this hour?
It didn’t sound like an aggressive knock, but it was firm.
Aisling summoned the mask covering his face and hair, and put on the ragged cloak over it.
He calmly walked over to open the door; either way, he hadn’t done anything wrong that they could accuse him of.
Sure enough, he found Seishan standing before him.
“Good evening, Sei.
Need something?
Want to share a room?”
Seishan looked at him as if she didn’t understand his question.
“Are you still asleep?
It’s breakfast time.”
“Huh?”
Has it already dawned?
* * *
After a few questions and odd looks, they entered a large hall with several wooden tables where people were already eating their food with complicated expressions.
Seishan took her food in silent company with Aisling.
They chose one of the most secluded tables and sat in silence.
From the moment they entered the hall, they could feel the stares from most of the busybodies inside that place.
Seishan paid them no mind, knowing she’d have to get used to it; she just disliked it whenever someone approached and tried to cross the line with her.
As for Aisling, he had no trouble not eating, for obvious reasons.
He’d also dulled his sense of smell so as not to feel so uncomfortable, thanks to the mask he wore.
Many of the stares that landed on Aisling, drawn by his strange appearance, quickly retreated only to settle back on Seishan, who offered a far more pleasant sight.
Aisling did the same; he was allowed more leeway to do so as her escort.
He also looked at the plate of food in front of him, quickly looking away and deciding to focus his attention elsewhere.
It didn’t take long before certain Dreamers stood up.
Unlike most, they wore armor and sheathed weapons; whenever they passed near someone, the common reaction was to avert their eyes or bow their head.
If the legacy clan kids are irritating for their supposed superiority, these are irritating for possessing skills more useful than average.
He could see their obvious intent when they ignored him and headed straight for Seishan with a perverse glint in their eyes.
Seishan noticed it equally, but didn’t focus her attention on them.
Instead, she looked at Aisling as if waiting for his reaction, without interrupting her meal.
I guess it’s my turn.
What a hassle; my mind is foggier than usual.
Must be from not sleeping all night.
Aisling stood and silently positioned himself between the young men and the beauty.
The Dreamers frowned at the figure standing between them and her.
“Move, weirdo.
We just want to introduce ourselves.
A helping hand would do you good if you want to survive.”
His companion followed suit, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“So let us escort your pretty girl; we’ll take care of her, she won’t suffer.
Maybe we’ll let you tag along if you behave.”
The two believed that was enough, but Aisling’s masked figure neither moved nor reacted to their words.
Irritated, they ignored him and went straight for Seishan.
Just as one of them had stretched his hand to grab her by the shoulder, Aisling sighed.
Interrupting the motion, he caught the Dreamer’s arm.
“You…
let go of me if you know what’s good for you!”
Aisling didn’t let go; he increased the pressure with a firm, unhurried grip, and without rushing placed his other hand beneath the elbow.
Confused, believing the guy was crazy, the Dreamer was about to lunge at Aisling when a dry crack echoed through the air.
Everyone in the hall, who had been watching the unfolding events, stood with their mouths agape at the scene.
The Dreamer’s companion even stared at him in shock, eyes wide open.
“Eh…?”
The Dreamer stood frozen, not understanding what had happened.
He looked down at his arm, noticing the irregular angle along with the bone poking through his skin, then back at Aisling, who had withdrawn his hands behind his back, tilting his head slightly as if curious about what he’d do next.
What followed was a sharp, terrified scream that echoed through the castle walls.
* * *
“That wasn’t bad.”
“In a way you’re right; you did better than I expected.”
Aisling looked at Seishan, confused, expecting a complaint, as they walked through the narrow, dirty alleyways of the slums.
After breaking the Dreamer’s fragile arm, Tessai — another of Gunlaug’s lieutenants — along with Gemma, arrived to settle what had happened.
Seishan had managed to use her words and the impact of the moment to turn things to her favor.
It ended with the Dreamer punished and with a broken arm, and them being set free while solidifying her image.
“Were you expecting someone to come close enough to break their arm?”
I expected something lighter; even so, it had a greater effect.
It’s important to make clear that they can’t walk all over us.”
Aisling tilted his head, thinking deeply.
“I understand.
Truth be told, I didn’t expect it to break that easily.”
Seishan nodded.
“That’s right.
Remember you have a strong body; you could overpower most people through sheer force, but that’s not what’s decisive in a battle.
You got lucky catching him off guard.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
They walked around the alleys until they reached a pair of young female Dreamers embracing each other.
Aisling stayed where he was, just watching Seishan approach and kneel in a genuflection, offering her hand.
The beautiful grey princess’s hand brought a little light back to the young women’s eyes; they hesitated, with a deep fear inside them, but truly wanting a change, they made a decision and accepted the gesture.
Seishan gave them a delicate smile, far from her usual coldness and sharpness — almost maternal — carrying emotions hard to put into simple words, accepting them in that small moment.
Many shine doing good, others doing evil.
That princess shines because she found her place.
Aisling couldn’t help but smile beneath the mask.
He looked up at the cloud-covered sky, understanding something very deep within himself.
I’m of no use here.
Silently, he turned around and walked away.
He walked far enough to hear a noise in the darkness of the alleyways.
He approached calmly, catching the scent of fresh blood.
He was certain someone had had an unfortunate day.
It didn’t take long to find a young Dreamer gravely wounded in the depths of the slums.
His condition was terrible.
Collapsed on the ground and bleeding out, he was missing a leg and had severe claw wounds.
The Dreamer was startled at the sight of the Fox Mask, but upon noticing it was another human, his eyes lit up with hope.
“What luck!
Please, friend.
Help me…!
Cof…” He coughed up blood, but his fear was so intense he kept talking.
“I’ll be okay, right?”
Aisling removed his mask and knelt on one knee in front of him.
“Yes, you can rest easy.
Your nightmare is over.”
With evident joy, the Dreamer let out a hearty laugh, feeling as though he had beaten death itself and that he could accomplish anything if he lived.
“Thank you, friend!
I’ll give you my Soul Fragments, so get me out of…
Mpfm!”
Aisling silenced him abruptly.
He grabbed his mouth, producing confused mumbles.
Then he took the Soul Fragments and scattered them across the floor.
He pulled out his needle-leg and placed it in the Dreamer’s hand, closing his fingers around it.
One by one, a total of six Soul Fragments shattered in succession and were absorbed into the Dreamer’s inactive core.
The Dreamer didn’t understand what was happening and wasn’t allowed to speak, barely able to resist, his limbs lacking strength.
Despite being weak, he still wanted to live with all the desperation he had, clinging to the arm holding his jaw shut, trying to pull it away by any slim chance.
He scratched, struck, kicked, tried to bite him, but the ash-haired young man didn’t budge or show the slightest glimmer of hope to cling to.
Aisling stared straight into those eyes so full of fear and sorrow, weeping thick drops of resentment, without much interest.
“I don’t need you to see me as a monster to know how terrible my actions are.”
Gripping the needle-leg once more, Aisling himself ended the Dreamer’s life by stabbing him in the temple.
Pulling his hand away from the mouth, the Dreamer was left in an image of extreme strain with his mouth half-open, frozen as a young man trying to ask for help.
Aisling brought his hand close again to gently close those intense, dead eyes.