Ciel opened his eyes slowly, relieved they still existed.
He lifted up his arm, gazing at it as it caught the dim moonlight sneaking into his room.
Ciel was back in reality, and he remembered it.
Everything.
And he wished he didn’t.
It was just one horror after another.
They descended upon him in waves, all threatening to snuff out his life in every encounter.
This dream was not something Ciel could live with anymore.
It broke him physically.
It shattered his spirit.
Only then did it completely take control of his mind, nearly turning him into a mindless beast worshipping an enigmatic voice.
Ciel feared the effects would follow him to his waking self.
It was only now that he was back in reality that he could realize how close had been to losing his sense of self.
If it had gone on any longer, he was certain he would never recover.
Even this was… too much.
Ciel tried to distract himself by focusing on the… lighter parts.
The dream was startlingly surreal, but it wasn’t completely incoherent.
Ferry herself was proof of that.
Ferry…
Ciel couldn’t help but wonder what had really happened to her.
After his rude awakening, he realized that Ferry might’ve also simply woken up, even if it didn’t seem that way from within the dream.
Ciel hoped that she was alive.
Even if he didn’t trust her, he couldn’t deny that she had been a huge help throughout the entire experience.
If she was real, Ciel had a feeling they would meet again.
He hoped she was real, even if that meant she would cause him trouble in the future.
As for her search for the end of the dream, Ciel had no doubt that she would keep looking for it if she still lived.
He didn’t like her methods, but her determination was clear to him.
However, he would not be joining her.
He couldn’t do that again, at least not yet.
2 more days.
Once I get an Insight, then I’ll consider it.
Until then he was taking no chances.
Ciel had gone into the dream two times now.
Sleeping was now too great a risk to take.
Sure, he had gotten himself into the one place that Ferry had specifically warned him about, but that didn’t mean the rest of the areas weren’t just as dangerous.
He knew Ferry could take care of herself on her own.
He would only serve to slow her down, while he himself didn’t benefit from the dream at all.
Enough of this.
Ciel attempted to dig these memories out, but they were unusually stubborn.
The stillness inside his room was stifling.
Sighing, he slowly rolled out of bed, surprised at how well his body felt.
For several hours, it had been riddled with injuries and pure burn out.
Now it moved as if none of that had ever happened.
Ciel was a little inspired, so he decided to do a quick exercise routine right then and there.
He did this to help calm down by doing something natural and practiced.
During these sets, he found himself slowly returning to memories from the dream, disrupting his rhythm each time he emptied his mind.
The moonlight served as his only source of light as he moved through the familiar motions.
Once he finished, he left his room, in search of something to eat.
Outside, guards were posted up like before, but they were different from the ones beforehand.
They didn’t question him as he made his way to the pantry, choosing to simply follow silently.
Ciel browsed around before finally settling on some grapes.
The house remained quiet as he ate.
The others had probably left for the Darkest Nights Festival by now, so Ciel would’ve been alone if not for the guards following him everywhere.
He casually pulled back a curtain and gazed at their small garden outside, bathed in moonlight.
Ciel stared at the scene while he ate his grapes, lost in thoughts.
Just above the walls of the estate, the shattered moon was visible, along with the annual streaking black tendrils.
“Ciel? You’re finally awake?”
He turned around to find his brother, Leo standing in the doorway, his face looking distraught.
“Are you okay? Aurore told me that they—that you were shot and…”
Oh right, that happened just a few hours ago.
It’s not that he had forgotten, but his recent excursion in his dream was all he could think about.
It was difficult to keep track of two problems in two different realities.
“I’m okay,” Ciel said, slightly forced.
“Fortunately, my combat practice was enough to get me by today,” he chuckled dryly before correcting himself.
“Only getting shot once after being chased by three ascendants is incredibly lucky, though. No amount of training would’ve kept me alive.”
Leo seemed to be struggling for words, so Ciel continued, ensuring Leo wouldn’t find anything amiss.
“What about you?
The policemen that found me said that they had also gone to help you.” Leo looked up at the ceiling before replying, “I don’t know either.
I was searching for Aurore near the cathedral when I was taken in by the police.
They said Aurore had sent them, and before I knew it, I was at the police station.
Since I was there, I went in for questioning before returning just a few hours ago.
And then they told me about you… and…” He stopped and looked at Ciel uncertainly.
A short woeful silence followed, which made Ciel feel uneasy.
It reminded him all too much of the world tree’s eerie ambience.
Eventually, Leo walked up and sat beside Ciel, before speaking in an uncertain tone, “Also, when our parents came back, they let me know that there were some changes in the academy for this year.”
Ciel perked up slightly, motioning for him to continue.
A small smile slowly crept on Leo’s face, “As of this term they lowered the age requirement by a year, meaning I can also enroll for this year.”
They changed the age limit again?
Ciel was both surprised and unsurprised.
After all they were in a time of war.
Leichren could use all the Ascendants they could get.
In fact, he was almost surprised it had taken this long since the last change.
“What are you gonna do?” Ciel asked, though the answer was obvious.
Leo answered without hesitation, “I’m going.
I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life.
I still will have to do make-up at the Academy for my last year of secondary school.
Ciel nodded slightly, understanding Leo’s choice himself.
After all, he had waited for so long too.
Ever since he was adopted, he had been impatiently waiting for his turn to attend.
It felt like a dream come true.
“What do you want to do when you gain Insight?” Ciel probed.
Leo answered quickly, clearly having thought this out before, “I want to go outside, and travel the world!”
Ciel stared at Leo quizzically.
“What world? You know, traveling to other sanctuaries is banned. Anywhere between them can easily become an active war zone. There nothing else out th–”
“Not nothing,” Leo corrected.
“There’s opportunity. There’s so much out there to explore, even beyond the sanctuaries. Nothing has been mapped! And I want to be the one to see these places no one has ever seen before.”
Ciel was surprised by his brother’s passionate attitude.
“Still, there’s a reason so little is mapped out. We don’t have that kind of mobility. We can’t travel through that barren wasteland. We’re not Alloway. One rogue storm is all it takes to wipe out an entire exploration party. That’s not even mentioning all the monsters that could be out there.”
“Monsters? You believe in those bedtime stories? Even I’ve outgrown those,” Leo teased.
Ciel’s expression faltered.
It was hard to not believe in them, after how much he’d just had to deal with.
Still, he had to remind himself to separate the dream from reality…
“Do you really want to risk your life on a whim like that?” he asked anxiously.
Leo frowned.
“You’re too serious Ciel. You should remember to dream bigger sometimes. Even if there’s a chance of not returning, it’s worth a shot. It could very well change the world. Like what if there’s other people out there?”
“There isn’t, Leo,” Ciel said dismissively
“How do you know?”
“There can’t be. It’s far too dangerous. It’s only in these miraculous sanctuaries that humans can hide from the natural terrors outside.”
“And why can’t there be more of these sanctuaries?”
Ciel sighed softly.
“Even if there were, we’d never find them. They might be too far for us to ever reach them. Only the strongest ascendants can even survive outside. We can’t afford to waste them chasing fantasies outside when we need them to survive inside.”
“Well we can agree to disagree then,” Leo beamed.
“Just don’t try to stop me.”
Ciel didn’t respond, and they sat in silence again.
Finally remembering the time, Ciel asked with concern, “Why aren’t you at the Darkest Night Festival?”
Leo seemed slightly embarrassed as he replied, “Well, when I heard that you were being forced to stay inside from now on, I figured I might as well stay too. I wouldn’t want you feeling lonely.”
Ciel stared at him, unimpressed.
“Are you sure about that? Isn’t today the first day that circus that you’ve always loved performs?”
Leo stiffened slightly, his response delayed for a bit too long.
“I’ve grown out of it already,” he said with a look that said anything but.
Ciel exhaled softly.
“I guess you can stay for tonight. But promise me you’ll go tomorrow, alright?”
Leo nodded vigorously as he quickly switched gears to their future in the Academy.
Ciel listened earnestly as Leo listed off all of his wildest fantasies he hoped to achieve in this coming year.
Ciel found most of them absolutely ridiculous, but he didn’t interrupt.
This was a welcome change of pace.
Ciel could unwind peacefully like this.
Leo clearly believed one thing: the future would be a lot of fun.
Ciel hoped he was right.