Ferry didn’t linger on the topic and posed a question of her own, “Ciel, do you believe in the Gods?”
Ciel blinked a few times, surprised by the question.
He considered his words carefully before responding.
“Of course. Any proper citizen of Leichren follows the God of Fire, and the other Gods are also respected as such.”
He was a bit puzzled by her question.
“Do you?”
Ferry replied with a sense of wonder in her tone, “Looking at a place like this, it’s hard not to imagine the kind of being that created this as a God.”
She continued as she stood up, walking away from the writing.
“We are taught that the Gods are the masters of their respective element, and yet we know nothing about who They really are.
The Gods are a force of nature, yet They are supposed to be the protectors of humanity.
She looked at Ciel and asked innocently, “Do you want to hear what I think?”
Ciel hesitated slightly before nodding, choosing to entertain her answer.
“I think that the Gods are more alien than we can imagine, yet they preserve the world all the same. It’s… comforting that something else out there is looking out for… everything.”
Ciel stopped for a moment, stretching his arms in circles before replying, “If They are so alien, can They really be seen as comforting?”
“I find comfort in things I don’t understand. I can choose to change that or I can remain blissfully unaware. That choice is comforting.”
“Most of the time that choice isn’t yours to make,” Ciel replied sternly.
It was something he was all too aware about, considering it was what was currently happening to him.
“That’s true,” she conceded.
“It’s only comforting when it’s something far off and doesn’t affect our lives. However right now, our ignorance is our biggest weakness.”
Ciel couldn’t agree more.
It infuriated him to no end, but he found some consolation in the fact that Ferry shared his troubles.
That’s stupid, I’d much prefer if she knew everything, including how to get out of here…
Ciel felt the conversation was getting off-topic.
“But what does this all have to do with that writing?” he asked in an exasperated tone.
“The writing isn’t as important as it may seem. It means nothing because no one wrote it.”
No one wrote it?
What kind of nonsense is that?
Ciel stared at her in disbelief.
“So the words just appeared?”
“Exactly. The dream is trying to use our own weakness against us, Ciel. It is intentionally confusing us to keep us confined, to distract us from what actually matters. It’s all designed to keep us inside.”
“What kind of jump in logic is that?” Ciel scoffed.
If she was offended by his words, she didn’t show it.
She simply responded in the same emotionless tone, “Look around, Ciel. If you don’t think this place is capable of doing this, your thinking far too small.”
Ciel glanced around again, wanting to refute everything she was saying.
However, he had a sinking feeling there was some truth to it.
It didn’t make sense at all, but maybe that only served to support the idea.
What worried him the most was that the dream was supposedly trying to confine them.
He thought back to the experiment he had done in the original room.
Remembering the entity hovering outside in the black void, he felt that it wouldn’t be a stretch to call it a guard of some sort.
Almost like something that was ensuring he stayed inside.
Ciel hadn’t made the connection before, but what if this was another area that served to confine him?
This area was far larger, but it could serve the same purpose.
In both cases, he couldn’t leave unless he woke up.
It didn’t necessarily mean they were the same, yet he couldn’t confidently disprove it either.
Still, he couldn’t just accept what she was saying.
“Sure, the dream could be the culprit, and it could be slowly boxing us in until we have nowhere left to go, but why should I believe you?”
He pointed an accusatory finger at her as he snarled, “You could just as easily be trying to trap me in here. Using your logic, you might be trying to dissuade me from deciphering this message. What if it’s important for how to escape this place? Why dismiss it so easily?”
Ferry frowned “I’m not dismissing, I’m only providing another theory, one that you wouldn’t normally think of. In a place as bizarre an backwards as this, the first things you should question are the ones that are normal and straightforward.”
“And how do you know how I think? You act like you have me all figured out, while you remain completely elusive about yourself. Then you wonder why I don’t trust you. You’re trying to find something that helps us? There’s no us if you refuse to even tell me what it is. To me you’re just as much of a danger as this damn tree.”
Ferry flinched, a reaction that Ciel least expected.
He continued to glare at her, but she no longer met his gaze.
Just as he was starting to regret his outburst, she spoke in a soft tone, “You’re right, Ciel. I need to remember my place… and yours. It’s just… after a while, it all blends together. I’m sorry, you deserve to at least know what I’m looking for, although I’m afraid the answer might disappoint you.”
Ciel was slightly unsettled by her sincerity.
A dull pain rose up in his chest, although he couldn’t identify what it was.
“My goal, or at least what I’m searching for, is the end. It’s not anything tangible, and I don’t even know if it’s real, but I always keep telling myself, ‘there has to be an end.’ I’ve been stuck for longer than I care to admit. My goal has been the same since the beginning. I want out, and to do that, I need to keep moving. Up, down, forwards, backwards. It doesn’t matter. So long as I keep going one way, I’ll find the end.”
It was a simple goal, and not one that Ciel had expected.
However he found it oddly fitting, like it could be concluded from her nature alone.
Of course, he didn’t know her enough to be familiar with her nature, but that feeling was still oddly present.
Ciel glanced down past Ferry into the red emptiness that surrounded them.
His eyes slowly moved up as he said, “Then it seems our goals align, for now.”
The ghost of a smile appeared on her unnaturally pale face.
It was the first time Ciel had seen her smile, and it lasted only a moment.
Let’s continue, We’ve been here for far too long.
Ciel nodded, following her lead once again.
He was now revitalized from their break, and could speak while climbing without running out of breath.
After some deliberation, he shared his findings from the first room with Ferry.
That winged creature without a face was still displayed clearly in his mind.
He didn’t share because he fully trusted her yet, but he wanted to show his good will in freely sharing his own information, in hopes that she would would also do the same.
From her clear distrust of the red doorway outside to her hyper vigilant attitude she kept up inside, Ciel knew that she was also prioritizing survival over everything else.
This was part of the reason why he had jumped in so recklessly, to put them on the same level.
Sadly, that was the only part of the plan that worked.
After he finished describing the outside void, Ferry was silent for a while, absorbing the information.
When she finally spoke, her voice finally showed a hint of some emotion.
It was the last one Ciel wanted to hear.
Fear.
“Was there… no end in sight?”
Ciel didn’t like the way she had asked her question, as if all her hope would dissolve if he didn’t give her the answer she wanted.
It made him not want to tell the truth, but that would just be more cruel.
If he was in Ferry’s position, he would’ve wanted the truth.
“There was nothing in sight. The room just… stopped.”
Ferry didn’t speak immediately, making him worry.
Then, he heard a small barely audible whisper.
“There has to be an end.”
Ciel grimaced at her words.
He had no way of seeing her face, and he was grateful.
Her usual unflappable expression had likely dissolved with this news.
Even still, she did not falter.
Her body refused to betray her in the same manner as her voice.
It was at that moment that the leaves above them quivered.
Ferry instantly dropped down to a larger branch, scanning above.
Alarmed, Ciel took the risk, falling down just like she did.
This branch was a lot closer than the other one, meaning he landed with only moderate pain.
His heart raced as he looked up, the heavy foliage shaking as it concealed the looming threat.