Ciel stood rooted to the spot, his eyes locked on the empty red expanse where Ferry had disappeared from.
He had stood there for what felt like hours, almost trying to merge with the tree itself.
The constant barrage of creatures had stopped completely, but Ciel couldn’t bother to care about that as he continued to gaze at the crimson abyss below him.
He could no longer progress.
There was no exit.
There was no goal left for him.
All he could do was sit and wait for him to wake up or die.
Both seemed to elude him.
Ciel knew he should be paying more attention to the unnerving stillness around him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
He felt like it was all for naught.
Ciel shuddered violently, snapping himself out of his trance-like state.
So what if a monster had taken away the only help he had?
Even if he had no goal, he would make one.
Ciel recalled what Ferry had told him that made him come here in the first place.
There might very well be something here that could help them.
Something that went against the dreams, constantly shifting each time they entered, something permanent in a place of evanescence.
Ciel didn’t know what he was searching for, or if it was even here.
It didn’t matter.
It was all he had.
He exhaled loudly as he finally pried himself away from the infinite red atmosphere, back to the cool embrace of the world tree’s trunk.
The constant numbing pain in his exhausted limbs continued to plague him, but he had gotten used to it by now.
It wasn’t too long before he encountered another enemy.
Thankfully this time it came from above.
A two headed rodent fell on him, only half of Ciel’s height.
Its ferocious eyes gleamed with malice as it lunged at him violently.
By now Ciel had gotten used to the feral style of fighting these creatures all seemed to possess.
They all leapt forward with little care for danger, which Ciel now understood how to exploit.
A direct punch to the skull finally finished the job, and the creature’s body grew limp on the branch beside him.
Ciel looked at the corpse with disgust.
He was surprised to just now realize that he did not feel hungry or thirsty, despite the long hours he had traversed this area.
Ciel wasn’t sure if that was due to the time dilation inside the dream or if he had no need to ever eat in the dream.
Either way, he was grateful to not have to deal with that.
He shuddered as he thought about what he’d have to do otherwise.
Back on the move, Ciel would meet more creatures, but they were different than before.
They were less fierce, less intimidating.
He was surprised at how lucky he was, getting much weaker enemies than before.
Of course, he suspected it might’ve been something other than luck as well.
After each fight, Ciel would sit down and take a quick break before resuming his climb.
Despite the seemingly lower stakes, his latest break was wrought with worry.
His fatigue had never truly faded, and now it was beginning to set back in.
Ciel wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep moving, because he knew there was no Ferry to bail him out once his body inevitably gave out.
There was still no sign of his goal.
This tree had nothing but beings trying to kill him!
Nothing but wood, leaves, and violence.
Thud
What was that?
It was a loud crash that seemed to echo.
He strained his ears to find the direction of the noise.
As he was listening, his blood ran cold.
The sound was coming from below.
Thud
Again?
Closer this time.
Thud
Now around?
How is it so fas—
Thud
Ciel whirled around.
That last noise had come from right behind him.
He raised his arms quickly to block any incoming attacks at point blank range—
But… there was no one there.
Ciel saw nothing outside of the ordinary, even the leaves that had been shaking softly had returned to their usual stillness.
Nothing here, but that didn’t make sense.
Ciel scanned the area, straining his hearing, sniffing the air, trying to find any disturbances.
No matter how much he tried, he found nothing.
That same stillness continued to fill the entire world.
He almost could’ve imagined it.
At least he thought he did, until he heard a voice.
Ciel tried to find where it came from, but soon realized that was impossible.
It appeared directly in his mind.
It wasn’t his own, yet it spoke his language.
It sounded as if it had no business speaking a human tongue.
It only mimicked Ciel’s language out of pity.
“Be not afraid, boy.”
Ciel shuddered as it echoed inside his skull.
If it could talk, maybe it was another skinwalker… maybe he could try to be more peaceful this time.
Maybe it won’t attack yet.
“I’m not,” Ciel lied.
He knew it was hopeless to lie.
He felt all his secrets were laid bare before this voice.
The voice knew it all.
It knew him better than he knew himself.
The voice oozed in mirth as it replied.
“A pitiful lie. But it’s better that you are afraid. If you never have fear, it’s because you don’t value anything. And if you don’t value anything… What’s the point of being here at all?”
Ciel swallowed hard, trying to identify anything around him that may have been causing or controlling the voice.
But the leaves had long grown still.
The world returned to silence.
All the volume in the world magnified inside Ciel’s head alone.
“Remember Ciel, it is true that your fears can hold you back, but they can also keep you steady. They can make you stable. Stability is a marvelous thing to have. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Ciel began to feel a burning sensation in his head.
“I’m not—”
Ciel gritted his teeth against the pain, he felt something alien inside of him.
Something that didn’t belong to him, didn’t belong here.
What is it… doing.
I have to leave… dangerous…
Ciel felt his mind fly open, as though his whole body had opened itself in acceptance to the whims of the world.
He closed his eyes as he came to a startling realization.
This voice.
He… he longed for it.
He wanted more.
Anything and everything it said, Ciel would absorb greedily.
Looking around, he wasn’t searching for what caused the voice.
He was searching for something that would tear them apart.
The danger he sensed was its absence.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He couldn’t live without this voice.
If it disappeared, so would he.
Hearing it speak with words that didn’t belong to it, with emotions it couldn’t understand.
Ciel revered every part of it.
He wanted it to be his, and only his.
Ferry disappearing was necessary.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to experience this bliss so fully.
It could be seen as greed, but Ciel no longer cared.
He had their full attention, and he basked within it.
Or so he thought.
Ciel opened his eyes, only to realize he didn’t have any.
He didn’t need them, they weren’t necessary to hear the voice.
He tried to wriggle his fingers and realized they too had vanished.
Of course they had, they didn’t help him listen, so they were expendable.
Last to go were his ears.
Ciel resisted slightly at this thought, but was delighted to find that he could still hear the voice.
It was no longer an external sound, so ears were unnecessary.
Now he could finally be free of distractions.
The senses he had used all his life to experience the world no longer matter.
Now, the voice was his world.
He could enjoy this moment for all of eternity.
The words were dripping with ecstasy, so heavenly their meaning no longer mattered.
They dissolved his mind, an indescribable sensation that he basked in.
There was only one thing that could stop him from eternal happiness.
Only one cruel opportunity, the thing Ciel once yearned for the most.
He would’ve laughed, if he had a mouth.
His past self had been so naive.
In a place as blissful as this, why would he ever want to wak-
WAKE UP
The voice grew distant, as Ciel’s world crumbled.
He tried to reach for it, only to remember he had no arms.
He tried to shout, beg, or plead to return, but he had no mouth.
A gentle murmur filled the silent void.
“May you find your worth in the waking world”