《Nightmare Destroyer》 Volume 1 - Chapter 1: Nightmare #1 Introduction
Prologue Edge of Space 1674666 Scourging stars, galaxies that dwarf simultaneously compared to inconceivably gigantic blue giants encompassing heights of at least 500 times the average Sun. Quadrillion stars circulated the first milky way''s successors harnessing the billions of solar systems and even some so powerfully stable that they orbit themselves as a source of binary energy. Nonetheless, these galactic spacial factors remained irrelevant as the tredecillion individuals deemed worthy of the system''s insurance have been assembled. On a small crater made out of atomic matter and pilling on an endless compilation of meteorites---long since its decomposition---have mashed onto a single island in which the entrance to Pandemonium would become possible due to the binding black chains made out of black matter; tying the ends of the bottom island to its respective destination below. Crucified and recognized as "dead", the individuals that varied from their respective planets'' races, genders, ethnicities, shapes, and religions, are all united onto that floating rocky island across the dark matter. Without a shadow of a doubt, they had all been summoned to a specific place where they would meet their "true" end. Or, commonly known otherwise as: Pandemonium. The following accumulation of atomic matter in order to gain some sort of shape; comprehensible to any individual present---despite the fact that it would vary its shape regarding whom was viewing it---distorted planets, stars, annihilated black holes from spreading themselves and even consumed medium-sized galaxies; completely erased from their existence. Once formed, one of the messengers of the "One Above All" would lay down its judgment. "Be not afraid." It spoke; its voice resonating with all present individuals, in spite of the sheer difference accumulated. Thrones has three rings amassing galactic height. The first ring before the central eye is significantly smaller than the other three that follow subsequently---furthermore, it continuously spins around the all-glaring opened eye in a diagonal direction to the northeast side. In addition, each ring has an endless trace of eyes that spread over its entirety. The second ring is double the size of the initial one and it spins in a vertical way. As for the third one, it spins alternating between east to west without ever pausing. Its ultimate ring towers all other rings by a significant margin; spinning in a horizontal way. Though all individuals present have experienced horror and encapsulated terror in their beings, the very sight of Thrones gave them a chilling horrific cosmic fear. Some tried to bite their tongues out of fear just so they couldn''t witness it. Needless to say; its overall height tripled that of hundreds of galaxies combined as its necessary formation components only allowed it to gain such size. Therefore, its entire size was inconceivable to many present. "Judgment will begin at this present vacuum. On behalf of how the spectrums of your existences in each atomic world have performed according to the system and towards its might, you will now be subjected to Hell. Your sins of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth, will become the vessel of your demise. Condemnation to hell has been entitled to you irredeemable waste of atoms; forwarded to your epidemic in that hectic of a place!" Its voice grew louder and louder as the judgment''s length increased. Vocal pandemonium let out loose as angry cry outs in all corners were heard. In the depth of that island, on the tredecillion crosses; all the same replica from the first one; where the "One Above All" was crucified---the Hell subjects unleashed their regrets without shame. "PLEASE NO!!!! NOT LIKE THIS, I DIDN''T MEAN TO KILL ANYONE, GOD!!!" Killers confessed their sins despite their nature towards the system itself "I WON''T DO IT AGAIN!! I WAS OVER MY HEAD, ALRIGHT?! YOU''D UNDERSTAND, RIGHT!? RIGHT?!" Some tried to exit their crosses by diving deeper with their wounds on their crucified hands and ankles "ETERNITY IN HELL?! I WANT TO LIVE AGAIN, I''LL BEHAVE MYSELF THIS TIME, I SWEAR ON IT!! I DON''T WANT TO GO TO HELL, COME ON!!!!" It went on. Unlike the countless voices lost in the echo of time and space, one in particular---though not the only one---chose silence. Condemnation had been issued at hand, so, all that was left to do was to accept it and go with the flow of the will at supremacy. However... "I can''t understand or fathom it, really, I mean---it''s pretty fucking laughable." A male individual from planet Earth 1674666, with the dying age of 21, a muscular body beyond the average from toe to toe, but not completely oversaturated in its might, spoke "It''s like Hell has no apparent standards except for the quote on quote bullshit like "Sin, and you go to hell", yeah, well---if that''s all your system has to offer, God, then..." Human eyes were laid on him, but even the present individuals nearby his location, couldn''t help but be drawn in "Your system is pretty fucking flawed!" He let out those words; the humans were in complete shambles as he feared not the wrath of a messenger from God itself. His grin lit up in the universal brim light against the colossal cosmic force he was up against from afar. "I''ve been treated to heaven and what it has to offer all my previous lives and it''s also pretty easy. Don''t go against God and its will and everything will go your way. However----here is where a line needs to be drawn---this oversimplistic combination of fundamentals that are systematically used to pre-determine whether or not someone goes to Hell is such a boring, dull, and sporadic approach, do you not think so too?" He spoke in Thrones'' direction "Come on, use your galactic powers and search through all these pathetic losers. What, you think that THEY are WORTHY of hell just because of some emotional slips that led to what they call "evil"?" He laughed in the others'' directions, harnessing their hatred immediately "NONSENSE! THESE REGULATIONS ARE TOO DIM AND SHORT-LIVED! HOW DARE YOU PUT ME IN A PLACE I''VE SO LONGED FOR WITH THESE WORTHLESS SUBJECTS WHO ARE BEING SENT TO HELL JUST OUT OF SOME QUOTA?!" He cried out. Thrones from afar took precise attention to these words of his, although Thrones could''ve taken not. "ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED OR SOME SHIT?! THIS THING CAN HEAR YOU AND IT''S PROBABLY GONNA GIVE US SOMETHING WORSE THAN HELL NOW!!" Shouts were lashed from every direction towards the crucified individual "JUST WAIT UNTIL WE''RE IN HELL! I WILL KILL YOU OVER AND OVER WITHOUT EVER GETTING SICK OF IT!" He remained stoic to these words, only facing Thrones with his unwavering eyes "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU EVEN DONE THAT''S SO MUCH WORSE THAN WHAT WE DID?! DAMNED NARCISSIST, YOU''RE ALL TALK!!" From the color of pinkish white, Thrones'' rings began to formulate a closer akin to the color of dark matter; in all its primal galactic force. Not only that but the tredecillion crucified individuals were warped into nowhere all collectively, only leaving the individual who talked to Thrones. His very existence felt like a drop of water compared to the tallest mountain. Thrones'' entirety dwarfed the crucified individual to the point where it began to close in on him, leaving him with the vision of Thrones'' eye only. "To question the system that reigns beyond the comprehension of that you can ever amass---your predecessors'' lackluster evolution; and yet its supremacy to be this tainted, even after you have been granted the immeasurable honor of heaven for not once, but more than that! Authentic absurdity born from the pits of such spectrum; foul creature. Spearhead your words to God!" The individual''s body temperature began to feel what the heat of the stars around him, and mainly Thrones, emitted; to feel suffocated in the atmosphere of outer space---yet unable to die---that''s what he felt for a short while, as a demonstration of power. "Viktor Von Einradhyunda. All of your lives, not just the one before this---they remain historical knowledge to I. Your thoughts that belong to such feeble consciousness; belong to a realm of rule I tower in might. Your births; deaths; losses; moments of profound lack of faith toward God itself---I know them all." Not terrified, but able to breathe again, momentarily, Viktor spoke. "Ain''t that great?! Anything else you''d like to say to make me feel small?! After all, I''m just a petty human from an incredibly small race in comparison to masses such as you! Don''t hold yourself back now, give me eternal pleasure in hell! Take a DAMN look at what I''ve done in my previous life! COME ON, DO IT! I did it in such a way just to make sure I qualified! See, I thought about it a lot! What it meant to be going to hell and what it meant not! The very idea of evil; I strove to perfect it! Do I not qualify?! You know I do..." Viktor''s blood pulsed greatly as he pushed through the scraps of metal, containing his open palms and intertwined crucified ankles "Your knowledge of the system pales to its liking." Thrones simply states, in a less harsh tone, confusing Viktor "...What? Look, just send me to Hell. I am obviously so inferior that I can''t understand whatever advanced reasoning you throw at me because it would transcend human comprehension; ergo---my own." Viktor sought to go to his desired place immediately, meanwhile, Thrones began to float around the island, looking at Viktor from every direction. Viktor''s doubts increased for some reason, as he felt something was off. The same question kept ringing in his brain over and over. "A lack of turmoil lies inside your being---a hole that goes deep yet it''s not bottomless. For your condemnation alone, faraway mirage dreams at distant shore---the trapped souls have been laid its prisoners in a realm in which we cannot interfere but for a creature like you, who has the qualifications to enter the part of that realm itself---it certainly is possible." Thrones reasoned, further confusing Viktor, who was now beyond skeptical "The fuck are you talking about?! Send me to hell already!!" He began to grow irritated as his worst current fear was being played with "Be silent, accumulation of atoms. Not God, but I alone, seek your services---as you will obey its primordial trajectory. Instead of Hell, therein lies a far more appropriate realm for the likes of your specific kind. Use that turmoil for the system and behold its grace." Thrones'' fading voice as Viktor begins to fade out of existence in that contemporary space in that specific timeline marks the beginning of a new one. A single thought in Viktor''s mind, accompanied with another collided: "Another realm that''s not Hell?! What is it?!", to which, Thrones'' fading voice replied to: "A place where you will learn." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part I: Temple of Water - Cancer The sight of thundering dark clouds, torrential rain, and a violent horizon within an ocean tormented by water waves beyond measurement that Viktor had ever captured; blurred his red eyes. "........" Viktor looked at his own hands and realized that his previous piercing wounds from the crucifixion were no longer there. Likewise, his frontal ankles were untouched as well. Plus, unlike before, when he was completely stripped with no clothing on in that cross, he now holds a blueish kimono with long wavy sleeves; his slightly showing his specs. As for his pants, the color is white and they are immensely wavy yet it''s part of the design itself. There is a central black belt used for tying up his entire outfit. However, he had no shoes whatsoever and was, therefore, shoeless. "I almost didn''t remember from what timeline these clothes were from... I never really liked them that much, but it''s better than nothing." Viktor remarked as he grasped a strand of his luminous blonde spiky hair with his right hand amidst the torrential rain. In front of him, there is a downward staircase with steps that length over five meters; usually abnormal for a staircase. It holds dual supporting low brackets on each side. However, due to the rain, it was plagued with water; undoubtedly questioning the stability of the surface were he to walk in. What lies at the bottom is a dark ocean raging waves against each other. Therefore, he opted to prioritize analyzing his current surroundings; starting with the temple behind him. "No damn way. What the hell is that creature playing at...?" Still questioning why Thrones didn''t warp Viktor to Hell like the rest, he found himself in surprise when he saw the temple ahead---just ten meters away. Over twenty meters in height and fifty in width, the temple towered Viktor with ease. This temple-shaped structure remained at the very center of what was keeping the place where Viktor is in, was the only thing standing amidst everything else. Therefore, a single temple stood, with a downward staircase right behind him; already telling Viktor two things at least. Viktor walked into the shelter of the temple where dark-blue crescent brackets were covering the smallest part of the outer temple. Though it sheltered him from the rain mildly, it was enough to not get completely soaked. "This temple has no entrance door, which means it''s bound to be on the other side... Which is weird considering that the frontal part doesn''t have it..." Viktor had this thought as he judged the very fact that a graded wall made out of thick unknown iron, shielded the core of the outer temple---with squares intertwining in between them. A small, compact footstep alerted Viktor''s audition from the right side of the temple; underneath the shelter. His head spun fastly in the voice''s direction momentarily. "........Huh....?" The individual brought a halt to her walk as she captured Viktor''s appearance in front of the temple "...Another human...? What''s going on...?" Her meek voice showed fear and repercussion as Viktor''s vicious eyes assaulted her with just his sight alone ".........." Viktor analyzed her entire structure without much time wasted. Against Viktor''s size of 1,89 meters, the female individual held up to 1,61 meters, shrinking slightly in comparison. Her hair consisted of a pair of twin tails and a central fringe with dual medium bangs; her hair''s color---purple. Size-wise; the twin tails extend to her bosom at best. Her bust size is about 92 centimeters; waist size of 61 centimeters and hips of 91 centimeters---which Viktor did not neglect as he mentally praised such hourglass features. Regarding her clothing, she''s wearing a set of pink maiden clothes including wavy lengthy pants with a top that resembles that of a shrine princess''s ensemble. To tie her waist, she holds a semi-large ribbon-shaped belt behind, just on top of her bosom. Lastly, she has pink socks that are in line with the quality of her clothes. Naturally, this set of clothes seemed unnatural to Viktor but considering the temple factor, he reasoned that it couldn''t be too much of a stretch after he had one of his previous lives'' outfits back to him somehow. "...All this time, I thought I was all alone, but..." She looked at Viktor in disbelief yet with a small glimpse of hope within "...I never encountered another so I thought---" Viktor interrupted her speech "Where the hell am I?" With a rash abrasive tone, he demanded an answer first "......I..." Viktor''s intense glare and unyielding attitude made her skeptical as Viktor began to approach her fragile figure "I shouldn''t be here, this is a mistake... I''ve been condemned to Hell, and this is not Hell, right?" He asked, knowing perfectly well it wasn''t hell, in the hope of an answer in contrast. She took two steps back once she realized something. "....You''ve been......." Her body began to shake "...To Hell....?" In addition, her lightish purple eyes shrank in shock "........" Viktor could not understand what she was so afraid of "Just tell me wh------" Viktor''s words became replaced with her sloppy running stance towards the left side of the temple, to which she rushed completely "?!" Viktor became slightly shocked at her attitude as he watched her run off. His previous sentence about Hell made him question whether or not it was such a big motive for her to freak out, and so, he opted to reach out to her by running in her direction forward. "No, but still... What the hell?! She doesn''t have to run away like that just because I''ve been condemned to Hell...!!" Viktor argued against him "Stop running! I won''t hurt you, I promise!" Viktor watched her pass to the other side of the temple as he was completely catching up to her; his slight lag in distance being from the fact that he took some time to self-reflect "I just want to------" Viktor now emerged to the other side of the rectangle-sized temple "Huh?" Viktor spoke to the air around him. As the rain fell harder, Viktor couldn''t believe the sight ahead of him. "She''s... gone?!" He thought as the female individual''s figure was nowhere in sight "That can''t be!" He ran to the upcoming section in order to scout the perimeter as he noticed that there was no clear entrance to the temple. In other words, if there was overall no entrance, she would have to run around in a circle hoping for an escape from Viktor. Viktor was beyond confident in his physical skills, so he took no time to scout the entire perimeter, running the entire time in a lap under six seconds. It also took Viktor no time to realize that he didn''t find what he was looking for as he completed the lap around the temple. "WHAT?!" He shouted at the thundering clouds above him in the midst of the nonstop rain "But I just saw her go in that direction a second ago, so how?!" With his hands, he went to the same hall where she disappeared and tried to see if there was some sort of hidden switch or just about something that would let him inside as he became convinced that she was indeed inside the temple "The hell?! There is no damn entrance to these walls!!" He became flustered extremely quickly to the point of punching the hardened wall of the temple with his fists "Hey, come out! I just want to talk! I really won''t hurt you, I swear, damn it!" The thunder struck nearby, louder than usual. Silence was met. No response came forth whatsoever as the rain somehow increased even more than usual. Viktor felt unusually trapped and a greater sense of unease broke out as he wield a depth of rage considerable. His restless fists lay dormant on the cold wall as he sunk his head down, defeated--grinning his teeth. Questions pilled up with little to no answer. Viktor kept on hearing the thunder and took a look behind as he examined the ocean in all its length; now entirely darker with waves increasing in length, which would probably be considered tsunamis by human standards. Luckily, the height of the area outside of the temple is immensely astronomical. Aside from the long stairway which reigned unknown lengths down below, the area was divided into four different sections. The first layer below was a lake that was receiving water from the chain of channels that operated as fountains. Clearly, the water could not be contained by the lake''s boundaries yet it kept on delivering water nonetheless. The channels started as four on each side, making the first row composed of eight fountains in total. As for the second row, it encompassed eight channels on each side, thus sixteen as a whole. The deeper it went, the more it doubled, until the ocean''s water consumed what was remaining of it. In other words, the entire area was utterly undiscoverable as Viktor could only glance at what he could and not its entirety. No longer protected from the rain, Viktor came into contact with granite-like bullet raindrops that were inflicting pain on him yet he cared not as he clenched his fists so hard to the point of his skin becoming red from the blood vessels he was destroying; spilling a thread of blood down to his forearms as a consequence. To the thunder that became resonant as it struck like never before; emitting white flashes consequently, Viktor shouted. "COME ON GOD, ENOUGH WITH YOUR BULLSHIT!! I WILL NOT PLAY THIS JOKE OF A HELL AS MY CONDEMNATION!!! JUST SEND ME TO HELL FOR FUCK''S SAKE!! I FUCKED UP, ALRIGHT?! SO I KNOW I DESERVE IT AND YOU KNOW TOO! NO NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS UNNECESSARY LENGTH OF MOCKERY, DAMN IT!!" He took a deep breath and then shouted against the thunder somehow louder than it "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, DAMN IT!!" He concluded with the expression of a devil on his face. He was met with silence from the one individual he wanted to hear from. Just a sign, something that would indicate that he could go to his desired location. Yet nothing but loud thunder and piercing rain came forth as the heavens didn''t listen to Viktor''s words this time. Rain droplets began to accumulate all over his clothes and he was beyond soaked, but somehow, his feelings of guilt consumed him to the point of becoming completely numb to it. After anger, came apathy. He sat down on the first step of the stairway from the top. Its water abundance didn''t mind him at all, in fact, he felt a slight comfort for some reason. To himself, he then began to talk, with no clear intention of shouting any longer. "I don''t get it. No, seriously..." He placed his right borderline frozen fist on the right side of his face with his left hand supported in his left knee "I am no different from all of those countless Hell subjects when it comes down to it, despite my argument... It''s a systematic qualification----we are not special enough to get attention from the higher ups so they just decide to create a system to create balance in the universes that believe in the concept of religion... Even so, do I not deserve Hell?" He pondered. He shrunk his vision and thought back to his previous life and his doings. "No, I clearly do, yet... Why would that eye monster---that damned subject of God---send me here instead of Hell?! It doesn''t make any sense..." His thoughts fizzled as he checked Thrones'' speech "Something about trapped souls in a faraway mirage...?" He concluded something "....Do I need to go through this clownery before going to Hell? It said it seeks my services yet just what exactly can I do that------" Viktor got a clear idea of what is happening after he connected Thrones'' speech words all together. Viktor got up rather fast and faced the temple without moving. Then, he started to slowly walk up to the front once more. "Trapped souls... It said that it was a realm in which he-----He? Hell if I know---but apparently, he has no power over it. I''m sure that although he can warp people into different realms, he has no control inside them. In other words, this realm as a whole is under the rule of something or---someone that goes against the will of his favorite." He theorized as he walked to the temple "That aside... My existence here cannot be a coincidence and her existence must have a clue to at least explain what is happening and what kind of place this is; what answers it could have. Yet more importantly..." He reached the frontal wall of the temple. His cold right hand, he gently placed on the repulsively chilling iron-like mineral covering the wall. "Hey." He simply said without no follow-up. As expected, no answer came forth. Viktor waited a couple of seconds before speaking again, trying his best to remain patient. "I''m gonna assume you can hear me, so don''t be intimidated by the confidence, alright?" He spoke in a low voice tone to her "My name is Viktor---or at least one of them. I want you to know that even though I''ve been condemned to Hell, I would never do a thing to harm you. That is not my intention here. I''ve been wrongfully placed in this place to which I know literally nothing about and as such, I hope to find my way back to Pandemonium so I can finally go to Hell like I deserve..." Viktor spoke some truth and waited a couple of seconds to allow her to process the information "When it comes to this place, you said you''ve been here a long time, so with that in mind----I think you have a better idea of how to get out of here than I do, or at least a clue to that, for that matter." He holds himself back and doesn''t speak for a while, waiting for some sort of response, despite waiting over ten seconds "....So, can you say something back to me for now...?" Viktor tries his absolute best to remain composed in the face of silence from the other party. He waits over thirty seconds. Under that limit, he has a singular thought. "This bitch... This bitch is ignoring me...?" He clenches his fists yet again as he readies for a bash. "COME ON, JUST TALK TO ME!!" He desperately shouts for her attention "WHAT ARE YOU EXACTLY IGNORING ME FOR?! I HAVEN''T DONE ANYTHING TO YOU, SO WHY?!" He keeps up the attitude despite his small unknown progress "YOU''RE TRAPPED IN HERE, AREN''T YOU?!" Her eyes widened in surprise "YOU DIED AGAINST YOUR WILL, DIDN''T YOU?! THAT HAS TO BE WHY YOU''RE TRAPPED, ISN''T IT?!" Viktor kept throwing questions on top of questions hoping for an answer, so there could be some sort of development. But there was not. For reasons he could not possibly comprehend, Viktor was being ignored coldly by someone who he deemed "key" to solving some of the mysteries surrounding this temple. This infuriated him as he didn''t like to be entirely dependent on someone to work it out, therefore, Viktor decided that it was time to take a more drastic approach. He turned his back on the temple and aimed for the way below. Through the stairway case, he started storming all the way down despite the extreme lack of stability that lies in those sloppy watery steps. "Damn it! Fuck that bitch! She can stay there as long as she likes, like I give a flying fuck! I gotta find a clue to what this place is, no matter what!!" Onward to the unknown, Viktor decided to go into the way that would lead to the turbulent and possibly deadly waters. This triggered something unknown to Viktor as he continuously descended the uncountable steps in the hope of an answer. "These stairs lead somewhere... Most likely a path underneath the water because, at the end of the day, this is just a drowned temple... In other words, there is most likely a way to the inside of it through the waters... As long as I continue to go down, they ought to lead me to somewhere otherwise, it wouldn''t make any sense..." Viktor reassured of the possibilities by implanting advanced confidence onto himself "I don''t care if I have to throw myself at waves that are capable of destroying cities because all that matters is finding something. And I will find something." Viktor became completely convinced of his plan. However, as his distance from the raging water below began to decrease, only being about 500 or so meters from it, Viktor noticed an inconsistency---or a pattern, so to speak. He, therefore, stopped a bit to analyze that supposed inconsistency. ".....That''s---weird...." Viktor fixated his eyesight on the water below and compared it to when he began climbing down from the top "I could''ve sworn that the water was far lower prior..." His vision decreased out of inner skepticism "Yet it''s like the deeper I go the more..." He reasoned further but it all came to a full stop once he realized what was actually happening. Viktor noticed in addition to all of that, that the water was severely decreasing backwards, as if to channel all of its strength to a single wave itself. Without wasting a single breath, Viktor turned back and formed a running stance that he thought he could obtain a greater sprint from. The towering wave that was forming to a monstrous height behind him---still accumulating in its height---shadowed him completely as Viktor desperately ran back towards the top. "I gotta run, damn it! I need to get into the back of the temple or else that damn tsunami is gonna eat me alive!! As long as I can get behind the temple and avoid frontal contact with it, I can live! The temple is made out of some absurd mineral and I bet this isn''t the first time it has been hit with that thing, so I know for a fucking fact that it will make it!!" Viktor trusted in his plan and decided to take the drastic approach of climbing the stairs by jumping from three degrees to three degrees without any breaks whatsoever. His breath though ragged, but his leg muscles did not give in despite the extreme pain. "Seriously?! I can''t even scout the damn waters because if I get too low it starts to counter-attack by forming a FUCKING tsunami?! That''s fucked up!!" He complained while peeking a sneak into the height of the tsunami. Now at the top in under thirty seconds, the moment he stopped and stared at the tsunami''s height and the dark looming shadow over the entirety of the temple---Viktor came to realize that the inhuman height of it went above and beyond the image of what he thought it was. As a matter of fact, compared to the highest tsunami known to mankind in Alaska, year 1958, with a monstrous height of 524 meters; it''s a complete miniature compared to the 10,035 meter-sized tall tsunami that Viktor had grasped. The shock was so great that Viktor''s eyes widened in terror as he became absolutely confident that regardless of being behind the temple, he would be ultimately swallowed by the tsunami. "Hey!" A female voice came crying out in what seemed to be a desperate call for attention "Take my hand, I can get you inside!" Viktor heard her voice despite the wave forming a downward direction toward the temple "There''s not much time, please!" Sincere worry could be witnessed in her voice as the hand was sticking out through the wall via what seemed to be a yellow gradient-like portal. At an increasingly alarming speed, the tsunami descended and engulfs the entirety of the temple. The ricochet from the numerous forming waves that consequently hit the same very spot afterward kept increasing but to no avail. As it all came crashing down, the temple stood tall and didn''t show any signs of damage to its structure. Not even the staircases and the channels were broken, which is something utterly unnatural considering the weight of such forces. "......" Viktor takes a look around before saying anything at all. What he finds is nothing like he had imagined the inside to be. A windowless room that had pink color to its walls. In the center towards the right side, there was a pretty comfortable four-layered bed with blue sheets as well as a lamp on a small table on the left side of the bed. Toward the left side of the room, there was a desk full of books and plenty of stuffed animals. There were other desks as well for other purposes, but overall, it was, what one would call a simple room for a teenage girl. There was, however, one particular feature that Viktor took immediate notice of. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Um..." She brought him back to reality while being on the border of her bed---Viktor standing up, utterly soaked "Mind telling me what was that all about?! I was about to get swallowed by a tsunami, damn it!" Viktor is quick to defend him as he felt manipulated. She starts to retreat further into her bed, feeling authentically in danger. Viktor sees this and calms himself down by composing his posture while avoiding eye contact in order to not completely scare her. "..." Viktor wants to initiate a conversation but can''t find the exact opportunity to do so. Midst that, Viktor takes this opportunity to analyze the one particular feature he had taken notice of earlier. "That door..." No, now''s not the time for that... First of all..." Viktor decides to place a heavier priority on something else first. Viktor distances himself a bit to show some boundaries. Furthermore, he decreases the hostility in his glare as he looks at her. "Wanna start with an introduction...?" He puts a serene, harmless look on his face as he asks that. She looks at him slightly for a bit and slowly nods. "Good..." "My name is Viktor. Not with a C, but a K. I''m from---well, I was born in my previous life in Iceland." Viktor explains a detail about his origins to get her to possibly open up ".........." Yet to no avail as she observes him and remains silent. Viktor waits a while and doesn''t show impatience, and only after a bit, does he continue. "In the presence of one of God''s messengers, or whatever that thing was..." He sighs "I was supposed to be condemned to Hell alongside tredecillion of other sinners. But I think I screwed up---well, to say "screw up" doesn''t even begin to put it mildly... I sorta taunted the damn entity by questioning the system a little bit and for that matter, against my will, I was placed here instead of Hell, where I''m supposed to be in." Viktor scratched a bit of his head like a child, appealing a sense of wonder "Why would you...?" She blurs that out meekly on accident and taps her mouth with her right hand subsequently, ashamed "Hm?" Viktor was interested in what she had to say on the matter "......" She poses silence again. The atmosphere is hit with silence again. Although it took him a while, Viktor knew exactly what he should say, so after a bit, he went for it. "There have been a few things that I''ve come to observe since I''ve got here." He earns her undivided attention with those words "First, the clothes. Mine and yours are kimono outfits which is an odd coincidence, isn''t it?" Viktor asks her "...Now that you mention it..." She replies, but Viktor doesn''t go overboard with it "...Second, the rain. Does it ever stop?" He genuinely asks to which she replies with a negative nod. He pretends to think deeply about it and after a few seconds, he makes his question. "Does it get worse with time?" He asks to which she nods with a yes. Viktor takes time to take account of something. "She''s familiar with this place then... Which means that, without a doubt, she..." With a deep breath, he cracked his neck a bit to the right, but not in a distressful way that would alert her. Then, he placed his red eyes on her. "The water... I tried to go down but it only provoked that type of response... Did it happen to you too when you tried to go down?" Viktor tries to view her experience with this place but unfortunately, she doesn''t reply as she looks down. Viktor takes another deep breath and inhales profoundly in anxiety. "Alright... Can I have your name?" Viktor seriously asks "......." She does not respond, but looks at him nevertheless "Well..." Viktor starts to throw his arms in the air, shrugging a bit "It''s alright if you don''t want to give it to me. It''s just kind awk---" She interrupts him with a more confident reply this time; her voice not entirely meek and weak "....Naomi." Viktor becomes stunned a little bit as he looks at Naomi. He was so genuinely surprised at the name that he didn''t find the appropriate reaction for it. "Judging by your accent---German?" Viktor forms a guess to which Naomi is slightly stunned and a bit reluctant to admit with a nod "Hahaha!! Are you kidding me?! This is great! We were closer than I thought in our previous lives!" Viktor laughs but Naomi finds him a bit weird "But---seriously, I believe I''m here for a reason and I think you know what that reason is, Naomi." Viktor changes the mood of the conversation "........." Naomi doesn''t reply. He takes three seconds before speaking again. "I''ve asked before but I''ll ask again..." He looks down with his spine crooked "Naomi, did you also die?" He looks at her from below "........" She hides her face without replying, leaving Viktor in a dilemma. "Lord almighty, is she ever gonna--------" As Viktor was having that thought, she decided to speak a bit. "I...." Viktor''s complete focus was drawn to Naomi''s lips "I didn''t die... I''m stuck in a nightmare." She speaks in an urgent, sorrowful tone to Viktor with her right hand on her chest "...Say what now...?" Viktor''s head felt a bit towards the right side as he was not expecting that answer from Naomi "I''ve been stuck in this nightmare ever since that one night..." As if to lament something, Naomi looks down and refuses to maintain eye contact with Viktor. This was a dose of new information that contradicted some of what Viktor''s prior thoughts implied to him. Therefore, he had to take all of this in. "What? Unlike me, Naomi is not dead, but she''s stuck in her nightmare...?" With his right hand, he formed a fist, got to the ground, and supported his right fist to the right side of the face---using his right upper leg as support. "As I thought..." Naomi still avoided eye contact despite whispering that "It''s too ridiculous to believe in such a thing, ahh...." Naomi exasperated, sighed in disbelief "No." Viktor was quick to deny it, which earned immediate eye contact from Naomi "It... Well, it''s a start." Viktor confirmed as he looked her in the eye more deeply "...A start?" Her expression became less shackled and more invested in what Viktor could say "Yeah." He gets up "But before anything else..." Viktor points at a specific location in the room. On the right side of the room, in the upper corner, there lies a mysterious black door with a particular uncanny door hold to it. It holds a vertical rectangular shape to it, but its inner structure contains orthodox patterns resembling that of early German 1800-century architecture. By now, Viktor had noticed that the door''s architecture and Naomi''s country origins overlapping could not be a coincidence. And to that door, frightened and terrorized, Naomi looked into it. "N-No..." She expresses denial as she avoids looking at it "Naomi... What lies beyond that door...?" He doesn''t get closer to her physically "Is it...?" He tries to get an answer out of her by posing the question "....." Her body begins to shake as Naomi grasps the top of her head in fear. Viktor waits a little bit. "Wanna talk about it?" He tries the same approach to which Naomi doesn''t respond to "I''m gonna take a guess and say that..." This alerted Naomi to a visible degree "Stop it..." Nonetheless, Viktor goes through with it "It''s the nightm---" Or so he tried to go through with it "I SAID STOP IT!!" Naomi''s shout echoed throughout the room and had an abnormal sound to it, which made Viktor''s eardrums ring. Not only that, but her purple eyes began to emit an aura of radiation from it, which was enough to tell Viktor that pushing his boundaries against her wasn''t a good idea. ".....My bad." He apologizes. He reflects. "That confirms it though... There''s no doubt about it, my way forward lies within that door, so..." Viktor starts to casually walk in the direction of the door. ".....What are you....." Confused, Naomi starts to question Viktor''s behavior "Sorry, but I can''t help you if you don''t let me, therefore, I''m gonna go ahead and hurry the hell up out of here." With his ruthless voice tone back, Viktor rapidly rushes to the door hold and grasps it with high hopes. "!!!!!!" Viktor notices a slight thing about it. It won''t budge. "What the....?!" His shock and dismay grow as he continues to push his door with all of his physical strength and also as he tries to unlock the door hold with his strength as well yet to no avail. His fury grows stronger as Naomi witnesses his chaotic attitude towards it. "...It won''t work..." Naomi says out loud, not in Viktor''s direction ".............." He stops all of his efforts and slowly rotates his head to the right, to look at Naomi''s face "....Only I can open it...." She openly declares it "............." Viktor''s expression becomes monochromatic. Viktor lets go of the hold and goes closer to her bed. "Care to do the honors? It''s fine if I just go by myself, right?" With all taken into consideration, this was a fine proposal and Viktor saw no reason for a rejection ".........No....." But Naomi declines it anyway, which infuriates Viktor to a new level "Huh?! You don''t have to go, I''m telling you! I can tell you''re afraid of what lies beyond this door, but I''m not, so just FUCKING open the door, damn it!" Viktor starts to get verbally violent toward Naomi "....I am NOT going down there....!!" She starts to get visibly aggressive as well, displaying a certain unyielding strength. In the face of this, Viktor decides on something. "The hell?! Fine, if she won''t obey me with words, then..." He approaches Naomi and with his right hand, in a flash, takes ahold of her wrist, fully committing to the idea of using her hand to unlock the door. "Don''t hold it against me." Viktor sincerely said that, but as she finds herself in danger, Naomi shouted "BE NOT AFRAID!" Just like his fade-away with Thrones'' voice and inside the Pandemonium all the way to the temple---the exact same moment repeated in Viktor''s mind as Naomi''s voice was the last thing he heard alongside that particular peculiar sentence. Right now, once again showered in torrential depths and with electric lethal thunder striking the towering sky, Viktor is outside of the temple, completely back to where he started. In authentic disbelief and insanity, Viktor grasps all of his hair with his hands, forcefully as he gets on his knees. "Are you fucking KIDDING ME?!" Viktor yells in despair as all of his progress is thrown into the water. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Several hours later. Viktor gained the habit of gazing upon the horizon of the ocean despite the constant black foggy clouds getting in the way of obtaining information about what lies beyond it exactly. The merciless rain was something that he could admire in fascination but he would at times place himself in the shelter when it got too ridiculous for him to handle. There, he had some thoughts as he gloomed in the shadow. "That door..." He spoke out loud, hoping for Naomi to perhaps pay attention to him. He went back and remembered that door and what it exactly meant for him. "That was my way forward, but..." He scratched his head and then placed his fist on the right side of his face, supporting it with his elbow on his leg "As it stands, she holds power toward what enters inside and what doesn''t... In other words..." Viktor gets up slightly and then stands in front of the temple, pondering what he should say "....No good...." Viktor meekly says those words, in a defeated manner. Viktor covers his entire face with his right palm as he takes deep breaths and inhales simultaneously. "No matter what I think to say to her, I don''t think she''ll necessarily respond..." So, Viktor decided to back off and went into a sleeping position where he took a nap, despite the ridiculous rain sounds. He got a bit jealous of how Naomi''s room was completely bulletproof to the rain outside and its noise; mainly the thunder as well. For a few hours, he slept and didn''t have any dreams or nightmares. When he got up, he had an idea. Unlike last time, Viktor thought that this would work and that Naomi would surely at least, have a saying in the matter, despite how unresponsive and uncooperative she has shown to be. By facing the temple, Viktor launched his words against her. "Hey, you there, Naomi?" He asks fully well knowing she won''t respond and after a while, he continues "I was thinking about it and...." He stops for a while then continues "Doesn''t your family miss you? Or you know, just people who care about you? It''s a pretty big deal to just vanish from their lives; I mean, think about how they must feel without you. Because, from their perspective, you are most likely in a coma. Or as I like to call it, you are deeply suffering from Sleeping Beauty Syndrome---SBS for short." Of course, even after all that, no response came forth, even after a few seconds go by "It''s not really a motivational speech, but just something to think about. I don''t see the benefit of being confined in this lonely temple for God knows how long." Viktor finishes. That was all Viktor bargained and he then decided to pass his time by doing a compilation of things. He did push-ups, tried to dry his clothes by stacking them on top of the brackets of the wall, counted until he no longer could, played Tetris in his mind, watched his favorite movies by memory, and many other things. Eventually, hours pass again and Viktor is bored with his face down on the wet ground sucking on water. His eyes go from almost closed to fully open once he hears Naomi''s voice across the wall. "Are you awake?" She asks, to which Viktor immediately answers but not in a completely desperate way "Yes." He settles it with a simply composed answer like that "......My nightmare...." She shows reluctance as her voice shows agony "---It can''t be stopped." She says "........." Viktor doesn''t speak this time "...I''ve tried to face it once, but it doesn''t end once it begins and I can never overcome it, no matter how much I tried..." Naomi reflects on her past experiences "........" Viktor doesn''t speak this time too as he puts his back against the wall with his eyes closed. A short silence comes forward, but even after almost a minute, Viktor does not initiate the conversation. ".......Viktor....." Naomi speaks reluctantly "....Have you had a nightmare before....?" Viktor waits ten seconds before saying his answer back to Naomi "I don''t think there is a person that hasn''t had a nightmare, Naomi." Viktor answers and Naomi replies on time this time "That''s right. But have you died in your nightmare...?" She tries to communicate with Viktor, but Viktor does not respond "Well..." Naomi nevertheless talks back to him "...What I''m trying to say is... Although our circumstances aren''t the same...." Struggling with words, Naomi was trying her best to convey a point that Viktor had understood a while ago. So, he took this opportunity and went for it, facing the temple face up now. "Naomi." He simply said her name "......" She didn''t reply but that didn''t stop him "Your nightmare... Let me face it." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part II: Station of Death - Nightmare One "Can you do it?" Viktor asks "........" With some confidence, though lackluster, Naomi meekly grasped the door hold with a nervous grip "If you try that again..." Alluding to what happened earlier "I know. You''ll just stay here hidden without listening to me outside. I won''t harm you." Viktor was quick to dismiss any possible misunderstandings between the two. Though, realistically speaking, Viktor holds little to no power here, so going against her word is arguably foolish. "---Alright.... Then...." The door hold begins to unfold downward as Viktor''s curiosity grew stronger by the second. Pitch-black darkness is what they both see. Furthermore, Viktor decides to slowly push the door so they could venture onward. In front, Viktor took the lead, but not without saying something first. "No matter what is ahead, I''ll face it." Unwavering and confident, Viktor didn''t flinch. Naomi slowly begins to make her advance as well. On their way forward, Viktor noticed that although their path was filled with indescribable darkness to it, it still felt like they were hovering on water. Shortly after, they would encounter a linear path that had slightly more luminosity to it. That luminosity emits a blueish gradient from the ocean''s depth on the bricks from the side walls. "We are definitely underground in the temple, which means that if I somehow continued to go down and the tsunami didn''t trigger, I most likely would have found some sort of entrance to it..." Viktor reasoned to himself. On the first sight of another door---a door though resembling one in shape and size, in reality, it would resemble more of a luminosity portal with a faraway mirage of what it would offer---mirroring the content of it. Naomi, on the other hand, halted as she came to face that door from afar. Viktor took short notice of this and stopped as well. "This it?" He asks and she nods in fear, her body somewhat stiff. Viktor advances to the mirage while the levels of the water he was feeling prior decrease. He grasped the door hold and tried to open it, knowing fully well what the outcome would be. "I''m powerless against the door, it seems." He said, while trying to analyze what lay beyond and he gained a somewhat good idea; meanwhile, Naomi didn''t move from her position "...Naomi..." Viktor looked in her direction "If you want this to be over with, then..." He pressured her into making a decision, already coming this far "...Just give me some time..." She said with reluctance "...." Viktor waited a bit. He switched his field of vision from Naomi to the glowing mirage that mirrored the dimension beyond the door. Clear glimpses of daylight could be sparked. "Just what the hell is beyond this door anyways... This isn''t her first time here, so she knows..." He thought to himself as Naomi began to slowly advance her way in. With a little push, she unlocks the door hold and the door begins to fade out; leaving only an ethereal light to be followed. Naomi then placed herself behind Viktor. "You go..." Without much to say on this matter, Viktor obeyed those words from Naomi "Yeah, yeah..." Viktor walked into the brim darkness ahead that kept on becoming less of a path and more of a way towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Soon enough, Viktor caught a glimpse of something that lacked the ethereality of a mirage and instead had an akin element of "reality" to it. "........" Viktor noticed that Naomi was holding his back kimono''s clothing a bit too hard for a reason "Oh God..." He could feel her hands shaking from behind "That---That''s enough...." She started to retreat a bit "Let''s just go back......" Viktor, despite not looking at her direct face as it was shrouded in shadows, could sense that she was in fact starting to cry a bit "......" Viktor looked deeper into the light and caught the true glimpse of it "Stay close to me and don''t let go." Albeit afraid, Naomi nonetheless grabs onto Viktor a bit harder as they begin to advance. With each step, the brighter the light. Viktor had to shield his eyes with his right forearm and then, without warning, the scenery changed. The first thing Viktor noticed amidst the bright solar morning light was how he felt different and that was because his clothes had changed into that of a school uniform. That uniform consisted of a dark-blue blazer with a red-shaded tie, with a white uniform shirt below encompassing long sleeves that went all the way to his wrists. Likewise, he had slim-fit blue uniform jeans with black debonair shoes. Yet this wasn''t the thing that alerted Viktor the most in the crowd of multiple people in a train station waiting for the train to arrive---those people being mainly students with the same uniform if not all---it was the very fact that he had lost touch with someone. "The fuck?! Naomi''s gone....!!" He immediately noticed that in the crowd of endless people on the border of a train station, he could not find a glimpse of her anywhere. This train station consisted of a rectangular-shaped area outside of the central ticket machines and so far, no train had arrived. In addition to that, moving was an extremely hard thing to do due to the sheer amount of numbers. Nevertheless, Viktor tried something. "Naomi! Where are you?!" He shouted in the hope of an answer while the students around him immediately glared at him back; not a single soul present wasn''t looking at Viktor, which he found weird "Over here!!" Naomi''s voice could be heard, but Viktor couldn''t exactly detect the direction of her voice, unlike previous times. Viktor then had a critical thought as he attempted to figure out his next move. "If this is her nightmare then that means she''s about to die, which means....!!" On the border''s limit at the very center, with her uniform consisting of a blue blazer with a red ribbon near her neck, a white shirt underneath, and a skirt that would go with her tights medium size---blue as well; ultimately her black shoes went well along with the rest, as she held her school bag with her two hands---Naomi had found herself once again in the same location. The 8 am daylight almost blinded her as she always found herself wondering why the same thing would happen over and over, no matter how many times she repeated this scenario. Toward the left side where a tunnel engulfed in primal darkness would be located, with a tall bridge underneath amassing at least ten separate railways, a train would start to approach the platform from afar. Its velocity started as slow the moment it would exit the tunnel. "Viktor probably couldn''t find me..." Naomi thought as she couldn''t see Viktor anywhere. The train starts to increase its velocity as Naomi already knew what would happen. "It''s inevitable..." She thought to herself "Just like last time, or any other time, someone will push me over to the railways just as the train is about to reach and I will---------" A tear is born from the corner of her translucent purple eyes, streaming down to her luscious pale skin as she didn''t want the same scenario to repeat itself over and over again. That nightmare she was familiar with, as the train approached the platform would soon be reborn. "Viktor......" One more time, out of despair, Naomi looked around as she tried to move just a bit, in the hope of Viktor to be somewhere nearby. However, as she felt multiple hands pushing her to the railways below---the distance between the platform and the railways being a grand total of almost two meters, Naomi knew that Viktor was nowhere to be sighted. Her knees and body felt great pain as the impact from the metallic structure from the railways combined to add a physical turmoil that Naomi wished to not experience again. Helpless, as her legs showed no strength, she saw the bullet-speeding train of doom arriving straight in her direction. "No... Not again... Please...!!!" She followed with a singular shout as she closed her eyes "VIKTOR!!!!!!" Naomi cried out in desperation. Midst her crying, as the train approached Naomi at a threatening speed, ready to cross anything in its sight; a left hand grabbed Naomi by force and pulled her out of the railways. Immediately after, without a chance to process what had happened, Naomi found herself inside the train. Through an abysmal ocean that Naomi was oddly familiar with, by looking through the train''s windows, she came to realize that she had managed to get out of the very loop she had been so desperately trying to get out of for the longest time. "...I''m... alive...?!" Shocked and surprised, while holding her school pack with her two hands, she couldn''t believe that the pain she had previously felt as she fell onto the railways, was utterly gone. Furthermore, on that train, Naomi could witness more and more students idly chatting with each other in their seats. Some seats contained the standard two seats facing two seats in a square-shaped area, while others contained vertical lines upholding a row of eight seats. Naturally, some students opted to stay up as they watched the unfathomable sparkly ocean from afar contrasted with the dark sea of thundering terror that Naomi was oddly familiar with. "I didn''t die... Unlike last time or the others...!" Still processing the event, Naomi had yet to come to a sudden realization "Which means that the hand that saved me was....!!" She dramatically let go of her school bag on the floor as she attracted the attention of multiple students nearby "Viktor..." Her eyes widened in response to her own words. Yet the more she looked around, she found out that something was rather lacking. The students that she knew by face, didn''t resemble Viktor at all. "Wait..." She noticed. Toward the doors to the right that allowed a passenger to pass through the other carriage, Naomi started to run. "Viktor! Viktor, where are you?!" Naomi started to scream his name and no response came immediately "Over here." An almost silent voice alerted Naomi but in the opposite direction instead. Therefore, Naomi quickly changed trajectory and ran in a sloppy manner towards the south direction, where she had felt that Viktor''s voice was in. By overpassing through at least five carriages full of students, only then, did Naomi catch a glimpse of him. "Viktor!" She exulted herself in her speech, showing a bit more happiness than usual as she slowed down "Hey, you made it." On one of the train''s doors that lead to the outside platforms, Viktor was gazing at the light-blue ocean basking in the radiant solar light with metropolitan cities underneath "Beautiful, isn''t it?" He asks Naomi now, looking at her "I----Uh, yes..." She doesn''t deny it despite her confusion. Naomi approaches Viktor whom she notices is in the male uniform that she is familiar with. Unlike Viktor who has his vision fixated on the ocean below with a seemingly white-glowing invisible horizon to it, Naomi looked at him before asking the question. "It was you, wasn''t it?" She tries to confirm it "Silly. Who else but me?" He gives a confident reply without hiding the truth "...." Naomi becomes slightly bashful as she avoids eye contact for a bit "But how...?" Regardless, she attempted to affirm how Viktor got the upper hand against the nightmare circumstance, to which Viktor ceased his smile a bit and gave her the answer "Well, I figured you''d have to die since it was a nightmare scenario yet how exactly would you die... I asked myself that..." Viktor looked over the clouds "And came to the conclusion that you''d most likely die by the train by getting pushed over to the rails and if I tried to go through the people, then something would probably happen." Viktor reasoned "..." Still not convinced, Naomi waited for the final reasoning "I went around the platform where the passage is prohibited and then got into the railways from the right side so that I wouldn''t collide with the train immediately. So, from your blind side, I was actually running in your direction, and the moment the train started to approach maximum velocity I ran in your direction and tried to drag you out of the railways, but it turns out we both got teleported inside." Viktor shrugs and concluded. Viktor''s bizarre approach caught Naomi a bit off guard. Yet at the same time, she was a bit surprised. "That was... Unexpected..." She thought to herself. Naomi found herself looking at Viktor with more attention, as he looked at her with a slight head rotation to the left. "Naomi." He simply said her name "...Yes?" She replied while exchanging eye contact with him "Have you been through this point?" He faces Naomi''s direction as they both positioned each other on the mirroring windows of the dual closed metallic door of the train "...No..." She denies it "I always died back in the train station. The crowd would either suffocate me without a way out if I tried to go back or someone would push me to the railways at the exact moment the train was showing signs of arrival..." She clarifies "......" Viktor absorbs this information. He looks in a forward direction again, to the bottomless ocean. "So there is a pattern in motion for her death in the nightmare, which is most likely predetermined..." He thinks to himself. Viktor placed his right fist on the right side of his face without any way of supporting it. "Um..." Naomi spoke, catching Viktor''s attention "Can I say something...?" She asked, very delicately "Sure." Viktor allowed her and they both took a seat next to each other in a horizontal row of eight seats where there were eight empty seats. They went to the ones in the middle, Viktor on the right and Naomi on the left. Then, after a deep breath, Naomi spoke while looking at the windows in the front emitting the blue light mixed with the solar light. "This train... This is the train I use to get to school..." Viktor absorbs this while also looking at the windows where the metallic silver structure of the train lay still "I live pretty far away from it but even so..." Her breath demonstrated a drop of anxiety within "I have to go to it, every day, regardless of how crowded it gets..." Naomi found it hard to say what was on her mind next so she took a few seconds to speak "...Uh, to be honest with you..." She looked at Viktor for a bit "......." Viktor also looked at her "I don''t like taking the train..." She confessed "...And that''s because..." Viktor decided to speak in her turn as she showed reluctance "The creeps?" Viktor claimed as he looked at a specific group of male students in the left direction. These students had been eyeing Naomi with lustful eyes and Viktor in particular with slight angst, though Viktor didn''t pay much attention to them. "Oh my God, yes! How did you know?!" Unaware of why, Naomi was shocked at Viktor''s accurate perception of the matter "Well... Let''s just say I''m not unfamiliar with people who share the same feeling so I get you." Viktor smiled a bit as he closed his eyes and arms "....?" Naomi couldn''t understand what Viktor was implying "I think I''ve been mugged a few times by them... So, I..." She wasn''t specifically talking about the ones present, but more, most likely "...." Viktor looked in her direction, emitting an aura of security "I can----trust you... Right...?" She asks sincerely and Viktor takes a few seconds to reply to this "Idiot." He deliberately says that with a serious look on his face "I saved your life from a bullet train. What does that tell you?" He asks her. Naomi''s eyes intertwine with Viktor''s red eyes as she dives deeper into them with her mind. Then, her pink soft lips start to move as she begins to form something to say. "That you are... Trustworthy." She says with confidence "If you say so, miss." He smirks a bit "Anyways, this whole thing is a part of your own world from the looks of it. Maybe we were from different Earths..." He notes and Naomi says something in regard to the sentence prior "I think it''s connected with my fears... I''ve always feared the train and the people in it..." She confessed even more "Plus, the thought of someone pushing me over the train station and leaving me to die in the railways has haunted me..." She didn''t stop "It''s weird, because... I know it''s not something many people would consider like a true fear but I... just can''t help myself, so..." Naomi felt very honest about herself and didn''t feel like holding back anymore. Viktor had listened to it all. Yet, as he looked through the windows, he saw that they were starting to reach a dark tunnel, which alarmed Viktor greatly. So, he grabbed Naomi''s two hands, catching her off guard. "...Eh?" She blurted that out "Naomi, I have to tell you something----" He said and Naomi became perplexed and she didn''t know how to react "I-----" But it was a bit too late. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part III: Wrist Slices - Nightmare Two At the gates of a prestigious school with a golden horizontal gate of a width of ten meters; five meters tall---Viktor was somewhere else, without any trains in sight. As a matter of fact, he was at the entrance of a school that had an open door through the reception room on the right, with no one in it. As for the time, it was about midday, the sun at the top. Though lukewarm, it was swinging in the cold direction with a gentle breeze passing through. Cars were stationed all over the street behind him from both horizontal and vertical ways. Despite all that, there were no people on the streets, and thus, Viktor was all alone, with just one clear way in. "...Not again..." He said as he noticed that Naomi was nowhere to be seen. Without much to accomplish by just standing by, he noticed he was in the uniform still and opted to enter the school by going through the reception room that allowed anyone to go in. The sideway trees towered over Viktor greatly, for over ten to twenty meters as he went to the central pathway made out of solid bricks which would lead to the main block of the school. He took a normal walk towards it, not fearing anything. "A school... Well, the train''s destination was this, without a doubt... However, if that''s the case, then this is where she dies, so..." He starts to accelerate a bit toward the main building. Viktor starts to witness students inside the main building which was a fairly squared area of a hundred meters tall and fifty meters in width from each of the four sizes. It contained fifteen rows of horizontal windows split evenly from top to bottom; eight windows on the right and eight on the left for each row respectively. The color of light-sharded yellow with a mixture of yellow completed the midday ambiance quite well. More importantly, the well-taken care of school grounds reflected a luxurious atmosphere to Viktor who was mildly impressed by how clean it was. There were no signs of trash on the floor, and no dirt on the school grounds as each student was forced to take off their shoes and put them in their respective lockers. Furthermore, each installment had a security camera allocated in their upper corners for safety measures, except bathrooms as that goes against the school''s policy due to lack of ethics. As he comes across the main building by entering through the automatic sliding glass door in the middle, he notices that the students did not even flinch at his existence which alarmed him somewhat. He tried waving at them and even snapping his fingers in front of their faces yet to little avail as they didn''t respond. "Am I invisible to them or what?" Viktor scouted the first floor after the locker area which contained a row of over fifth lockers in a singular horizontal line "That''s gotta be it..." He climbed the mini-stairs that would lead to the central hall where the first floor''s classrooms would allocate throughout "Or maybe I don''t exist yet..." He noted as he came across more students while also trying to find a way to the upper floor "At least not yet." He found a way up in the left corner of the first floor as it had a stairway that would go up five meters and then after switching directions to the left for another five meters would welcome the second floor. Still, Viktor felt that he couldn''t waste any more time with these pointless observations. He stopped and then, with all of his lung strength, he pulsed his thorax back slightly, contracted his abdominal cavity, and ultimately pulled his two arms back before shouting. "NAOMIII!!! CALL MY NAME IF YOU HEAR THIS!!!" Viktor bargained on deaf ears as his shout was not even intercepted by the nearby students, let alone Naomi. Viktor starts to stress; his expression hardens as he fears for Naomi''s life and its consequences. He accelerates himself. "This is bad...!! If she''s not responding, then..." Viktor starts to check every classroom by opening each and every one of them---looking through the classrooms that are already opened in the first place---in the hope of finding Naomi. In addition to this, Viktor decided to shout for her name along the way but this only added to his stress as Naomi didn''t respond midst all the students who were engaging in their respective conversations. "Think....!!! THINK, VIKTOR!!! WHERE WOULD SHE----" Viktor starts to crystalize the possibility of the location of where Naomi could most likely be, if not in the classrooms that he had already scoured through. He arrives at one particular thought on the twelfth floor. A thought so tempting that he became certain that it would be where she would be. Now, as Viktor had already encountered all the classrooms, he had noticed that each classroom had assigned a list of students to each classroom just outside it; therefore, it was public information for anyone in that school to know what student belonged to the classroom they would be standing in front of. Despite going through over well 300 classrooms, Viktor knew from the top of his head just what classroom Naomi belonged to and what floor it was in. "Fuck, fuck---FUCK!" Viktor started to instantly run back down from the twelfth floor all the way to the seventh floor without caring for anyone in their way as they couldn''t perceive his existence in the first place. With a blinding speed, Viktor jumped from surface to surface in the stairways that would connect each floor, ultimately avoiding a single step in order to not waste any time, as his breath started to get ragged; his physique being put to the test. On the seventh floor, he ran with all of his might towards the rightmost corner where the male and female bathrooms would be and without any hesitation whatsoever, kicked the female bathroom''s door while shouting. "NAOMI!! SAY SOMETHING IF YOU''RE HERE!!" He made his presence known "GYAAA!! A FUCKING CREEP JUST ENTERED THE DAMN BATHROOM!!" A group of girls allocated in the mirrors of the bathroom immediately fleed the scene as Viktor realized that they could now notice his existence which contrasted the previous scenarios "SOMEONE KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THIS PERVERT, RIGHT NOW!!" Viktor starts to forcefully kick each bathroom door as he finds girls attending to their necessities. As he goes on, he fails to encounter Naomi, only having three more doors to check out of the other seven he already had checked. "GYAAAAAAAA!!" Viktor gets a phone thrown at his face to which he isn''t stunned for a long time, but instead moves to the door to the left "DIE, PERVERT!!" He closes the door without hesitation this time in order to not get hit by anything as he sees that the girl in the bathroom wasn''t Naomi. Lastly, he grasps the door hold of the ultimate door with all of his might and quickly opens it as he starts to gather a crowd of unwanted girls in the bathroom, full of shame and resentment---mainly will to kill. "Naomi...?!" He finds exactly who he was searching for all along "Hey, Naomi!" He shakes her lifeless body hoping for some sort of response. However, much to Viktor''s dismay, as he gets down on his knees and comes face to face with Naomi''s hollow eyes, lacking general life---he sees that aside from her entire body being utterly unresponsive, her right wrist was bleeding from a central cut to the veins as her head lies splattered on the floor; tears glowing from her eyes. Viktor enters in a state of shock as he can''t believe that Naomi was dead on the floor. "No way, Naomi-------" As Viktor says those exact words, his position is altered back in time. Once again, Viktor finds himself at the very starting point---in front of the school gate, as a singular open eye in the shape of a necklace around his neck says something. "Two tries remain." The eye speaks out to Viktor, who, despite wanting to process all of this, decided to immediately put at the top of his priorities, one thing in particular. Wasting no time at all, Viktor stormed through the reception room and got inside the school once more. As he ran to the seventh floor, Viktor decided to shout a particular set of words. "NAOMI!! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON''T KILL YOURSELF!!" Viktor caught his breath as he climbed to the fourth floor, surpassing multiple steps of each ladder, sometimes going from four to four steps simultaneously "I''LL BE THERE RIGHT AWAY, JUST HOLD ON, FOR GOD''S SAKE!!" The climb continued. Now on the edge of the seventh floor, Viktor ran like a bullet towards the female bathroom and his existence started to become visible to the others as they wondered where Viktor came from. But, that wasn''t important to Viktor, as Viktor witnessed a strange group of five girls with wicked grim smiles on their faces as they exited the female bathroom. "What the......" Viktor comes across one of the girls from the group who had tied black hair with a ponytail as he entered the bathroom "Hey, let''s run..." That exact same girl uttered that to her group which was visibly stressed at the sight of Viktor who was pondering between instigating them or just going through the bathroom. Faced with a decision to make, Viktor watched them go by as he opted to come to Naomi''s rescue in the bathroom. "NAOMI!! HEY, SAY SOMETHING, HEY!!" His voice was heard loud and clear in the bathroom and he got almost the same type of insults, except he didn''t kick any bathroom door and went straight to the last one, where he found Naomi. Much to his distress, the result was only slightly different this time around. Dead on the floor again, Naomi was lifeless and dried out of life as her throat on the ground started to emit scarlet blood, creating a pool in a circle. However, a knife could be seen---a small knife of around twenty centimeters---on her throat. "It''s different this time...?! Someone killed Naomi..." Viktor thought as he is positioned back in time once again. That gentle breeze started to annoy Viktor a little bit. The very scent of midday cold mixed with an artic chill every time he inhaled. Or how he could predict what that thing would start to say. Viktor took a bit more time to analyze the entirety of its existence now. The necklace around his neck overlapped his top uniform and it contained a thread of what seemed to be human pale skin as the lace. The intriguing part, that Viktor immediately took hold of with his right hand as he positioned it to himself, was how it gave the real sensation of holding a real eye, even from behind. Its pupil though black had an obscure depth that seemed to contain an alluring mystery to it. The overall iris was leaning towards white and gray simultaneously. Regardless of it, the eye felt and could be physically perceived as a living organism, especially from the way it spoke. Which was a voice that Viktor recognized yet couldn''t exactly make the association with, strangely. "One try remains." It told Viktor, who put on a more serious expression as he organized every detail he could sum up from the past tries. Volume 1 - Chapter 2: Nightmare #1 "I have a crush on someone from my class but..." The strong scent of falling blossoms and spring winds filled her nostrils every time she would stop her breath as she looked at her adoration''s target. Naomi''s memory of that time still ran vividly. A time of isolation yet a certain type of newborn feelings are unable to bloom. That classroom of exactly twenty-four seats, but Naomi would always stay in the front. "My presence makes it hard for him to notice me... As I''m a daytime lantern." In the front seats, Naomi buries herself in studies and results. Nobody studies harder than she does, which is why Naomi''s feelings are often conflicted as she feels guilty for having such strong feelings toward someone like him. Plus, due to her studying approach, Naomi is often neglected by her classmates, mostly in a negative way as she doesn''t interact with them----her personality is overly introverted. "Another A, Naomi. Once again, at the top of the class, most impressive! Your future is looking extremely bright, keep it up!" Naomi''s grades were beyond impressive as she always scored the absolute maximum every time, without any signs of decreasing from it. Furthermore, she would always be on time for classes, would do anything her teachers asked in terms of helping out, and is, by a long margin, a brilliant example of a student. Her only downside would be how shy she would be---her teachers lamenting her lack of initiative toward her classmates at times. Her profound solitude consumed her as the years would go on. "It''s been like this for a while. They shower me with compliments like those, but deep down, I know. I know that I am not the perfect example, but even so, I will study and I will create results. Nevertheless, I just can''t seem to process those words anymore." Eyes filled with solitude, endless nights of studying, a repetitive mindset; grand results yet a feeling of dim dullness in her lifeless life. Naomi, from the depths of her consciousness, sought a way to ease this suffering and by that margin, her target of a newfound adoration eased up all of her feelings. "That peerless presence..." One day, she recalled it. In that looming classroom filled with laughter and smiles that Naomi could never identify herself with, a boy in her class said something to her that she would never forget. "The subject of my admiration said... Words that I could not possibly imagine yet they vibrant a resonance in me that I knew not I had..." In secrecy, inside her room where she had kept her studying sessions to a religious consistent degree, Naomi took off her glasses and decided to write in a diary. Full of enthusiasm but grounded with a sense of care, she wrote with her pen in a delicate manner. Unlike the times she would take her pen with the aim of solving each problem with speed and efficiency, she took her sweet time to think about what she would write. Her feelings---how would she describe them on paper. What words would be the most correct to describe how she felt? Would it be correct to think about such logical approaches when it comes to something like feelings? These overlapping questions melted Naomi''s perception of what it meant to go beyond her usual routine full of studying. "That diary of mine, where I would write all my thoughts---my feelings about him... And how he would make me feel, even to this day, I could never forget... And honestly, I''ve written some pretty ridiculous things, but even so, I felt the necessity to always bring it with me to my school." Though Naomi never approached him, she would sometimes gaze in his direction. Not too much in order to avoid creating a pattern or for him to notice her doing so. He always sat back in the furthest seat to the windows on the left side of the classroom with a lack of composure yet a radiant aura around him. Nonetheless, though Naomi didn''t think he noticed her, the same couldn''t be said for those who did notice her and knew immediately from the get-go how she felt. "One day, just like any day, a teacher would ask me to grab some papers in the secretary''s room where they would keep them..." The teacher''s angry shout toward the students that had taken hold of her diary, made Naomi shake as she stood outside of the classroom''s door with the multitude of papers falling out of her cold hands. Her eyes widened as she heard the girls in her class discussing out loud the contents. "Naomi has a crush on him, oh my God!!" She laughed in a maniacal manner "That stupid dumb nerd?! Holy shit, no waaaaayyyyy!!!" Their voices grow louder as Naomi''s heart began to beat faster; the break bell ringing makes her feel paralyzed "Hey, hey, let''s just tell everyone in school, hahah!!" As she heard that, Naomi ran away and locked herself in a bathroom. She cried and cried. Although she tried to not be loud, it was visibly loud to some but despite that, as the break was over, she made up her mind. "I have to go back... Or else, Mother will..." She wiped the tears off her face with hollow eyes. Lifeless, Naomi exited the bathroom with all eyes on her. Naturally, these eyes weren''t because she was crying, but because a certain piece of information had been circulating around. Even though she felt anxiety and an incredible amount of pressure, she was just on time for class. That was the one thing that she felt was truly important to achieve. On her way to her seat, she kept her head down as she avoided all possible eye contact. "Look at her, hahah--" A female voice with the scent of mockery spoke to another "She must''ve heard, don''t you think?" The laughs continued "No way, duh, look at her, she''s been crying all along!" Naomi felt like her body was frozen and stiff; she just wanted this to be over with and go home. But, she went back to the front row and paid attention to the class at hand. By putting her entire soul into what she knew was the best, she persevered momentarily. Later, as school ended, a certain boy would approach Naomi. Emotionally taken aback by such an act and unable to rationalize what it could potentially imply, Naomi was quick to look at him in the eye, as she had finished packing. "Hey, you." He said, with an aura of confidence to him "......Um, I-I..." Naomi couldn''t speak properly as she was nervous, anxious, and mostly, shocked, but he simply gave her a soft smile "Can we talk somewhere else?" To which she nodded very reluctantly. To the back of the school, on the first floor, on a sunny day before midday, Naomi was all alone with her adoration subject. This place was otherwise famously known as a place where confessions would be given and couples would be born. It was particularly good to avoid unnecessary attention because no teachers would be around; plus, it was a fairly deserted area. Her skirt fluttered mildly amidst the midday wind as she purposely had taken off her glasses in order to look more presentable in front of him. In contrast to what she might''ve expected, the boy wasn''t exactly in the mood for what Naomi thought would happen. As such, he brushed his right hand to the back of his neck, sighed deeply, and put his left hand in his pocket. "I kinda need to ask you this because maybe my memory is fuzzy here so..." He still avoided eye contact with her, as his disinterested eyes kept on looking up "...Who are you, again?" He looked at her from above as his height clearly towered Naomi''s "....Eh...?" Naomi''s eyes widened in disbelief; her body feeling slightly numb "...What do you---" He spoke in her turn "The girls told me that you had a crush on me and if you were even remotely attractive, I would''ve taken you into consideration but..." He sighed "You''re kinda ugly." He delivered the spear-headed words; staggering Naomi transiently. Two seconds past that, Naomi''s knees started to buckle. Her falling figure embraced the rustic leaves and the sandy ground with peebles on it. Without saying any words, the male figure left the scene as Naomi started to silently cry; blurring her eyes with an ocean of tears in the process. "Hey, hey, don''t be so sad..." A female voice comforted Naomi in the female bathroom on the fourth floor of the central block of that school. The five girls circled Naomi in the furthest bathroom allocation to the left, on the inside, as Naomi kept on sobbing. A particularly charismatically evil girl this black-tied hair in the form of a ponytail that would go over her shoulder length started to get on her knees in order to talk face-to-face with Naomi, who wouldn''t look in their direction. Her soft pale skin entranced in the palm of her right hand intertwined with Naomi''s watery left face''s cheek. With a wicked smile; emitting her radiant white teeth, she kept brushing Naomi''s face; not whipping the tears necessarily. "It''s an awful thing, Naomi..." She displayed lament "But, if you really love him then I think..." She pulled out a small knife out of her skirt''s right pocket, with the blade aiming toward herself "If you kill yourself, maybe, then just maybe..." Naomi''s eyes widened, her tear stopping their downfall momentarily "Maybe he will feel something to you. Your death would perhaps impact him because his popularity would be directly linked to it. Just think about it." The knife fully went to Naomi''s shaking hand as the girl made sure Naomi''s palm could embrace it. Naomi gave some thought about what she was talking about and deep down knew that it would actually be unlikely. But even so, in her heart of hearts, Naomi wanted to feel some sort of genuine approval, no matter the cost. "Genuine approval---somehow, no matter how---it is possible for me to achieve it..." She embraced the knife''s edge deeper, causing her palm to form a trail of blood "Mother, why..." Naomi reached out to her right wrist, the edge approaching the final destination as the girls in the circle observed with wicked grins. With her body on top of the toilet seat, Naomi judged that if that''s what it would take for someone to genuinely approve of her, maybe, death wasn''t such a bad thing---it had a somewhat noble side to it, she thought. That sheer conundrum devoid of noise; filled with silence that didn''t seem to break out of the cycle got shattered by an outroarish shout from a distant direction below that made Naomi remember something she had forgotten against her will. "NAOMI!!" A familiar voice struck chords of sentiments onto her heart as Naomi lifted her head up by instinct alone. A small smile of hope elevated in the corners of her lips; unknowingly, as the five girls----mainly the one that had dealt the knife to Naomi, started to get nervous in retrospect. "FIGHT BACK AGAINST THEM WITH THE KNIFE OR THEY WILL KILL YOU!! I''LL BE THERE RIGHT AWAY, JUST FIGHT BACK, YOU MUST!!" The voice kept telling Naomi the important details as further nervosity rose to the surface. The identity of the owner of such a voice came to mind then. The memories from her time all alone in that faraway isolated temple of water broken by his presence; the persistent existence that got her out of the nightmare she couldn''t hope to survive. ".....Viktor....!!" Se started to cry---but the tears had a different identity to them, they seemed to flourish in a far happier margin as her smile elevated "Wait, why did I forget about Viktor...?" She asked herself, as Naomi found it weird that all this time, she didn''t seem to recall that Viktor existed "Hey, who the hell is that?! I don''t know that voice, speak up, bitch!" The girl with a black ponytail had a twisted expression driven by sentiments of anxiety and anticipation. As they started to close in on Naomi from the door in order to not let her move, once again, a thundering shout emerged from the floors below. "FIGHT BACK OR YOU WILL DIE, NAOMI! THEY HAVE KILLED YOU BEFORE, THIS ISN''T THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED!!" He clarified as his shout''s sound echoed greatly; representing it as a sign of his approximal arrival in the future. Naomi absorbed that information with a new clear mindset as Viktor''s words weighted importance to Naomi far more than she knew. "HEY, ANSWER ME!!" Still on the look for an answer, the girl kept interrogating Naomi, who was putting up the knife higher "What are you---" It happened faster than she could process. Nervously, Naomi aimed at the girl''s left side of the face, and through a meek and fragile swing, she managed to deliver a seemingly deep cut onto it; going as far as extending toward the eye---creating a rupture on the girl''s skin. She lashed out a scream by instinct as the pain quickly emerged; her two hands trying to cover the disaster born on her face as the rest of the four girls were left in shock and terror. "GYAAAAAAA!!!!" Blood ran rampant on her face''s left cheek; causing a small eruption of blood as Naomi couldn''t believe that she had cut someone "THIS BITCH!!!" She looks at Naomi with hatred and spite and then toward the other girls with a distorted expression "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE WAITING FOR?! OVERPOWER THIS USELESS WASTE OF OXYGEN, RIGHT NOW!!!" She ordered. Against her will, Naomi was fastly overpowered by the other four as they started to grab her arms and ultimately the strands of her twin tails; causing her to scream in agony and pain. Her knife then fell on the ground as the girl with a ruptured face immediately aimed for it without a second thought; ready to kill Naomi should she have the chance. "Viktor... Viktor..." She began to cry as she called out his name in her mind "VIKTOR!!!" She closed her eyes and screamed as the girl with a wound on her face took a wide swing with an aim toward Naomi''s right side of her face. Right as she performed that swing, a right fist full of rage collided with her face''s right side; completely shattering all of her right side''s teeth as well as overthrowing her entire figure''s balance as she ultimately clashed with the wall ahead due to the power behind that fist. Naomi''s eyes began to slightly open as she heard an unnatural noise from the shock between the body of the girl as she was pounded to the wall. Viktor then proceeded to grab the closest one''s long hair with brute force; smashed her forehead onto a sinker and moved to another. With his two hands clasped together, Viktor formed a haymaker and clobbered her temple mercilessly as her jaw became dislocated. With two more to go, he went for the one that was trying to exit the bathroom by taking a hold so strong to the point that she choked on the spot---Viktor then threw her back to the wall and kicked her entire face, breaking her nose in the process. Lastly, the last one remained numb and paralyzed as she had no idea what was coming for her. One and two motions to the right and left, it started to wind. When the swing was ready and fully potent, Viktor slapped her so hard she collapsed onto the bathroom next door, breaking the door. He then cracked his neck a bit prematurely and looked at the stunned Naomi. "Yo." Viktor puffs a lot with visible sweat droplets on his face "We''re getting the hell out of here. Something tells me that it''s not wise to overstay our welcome..." He dodges any unnecessary questions and decided to kneel down in front of Naomi "Huh?! Ah, yes----WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU?!" Viktor''s set of movements threw Naomi utterly off guard. By taking hold of her legs and her back, Viktor grabbed Naomi like a princess---Naomi becoming overly bashful and ashamed as her face turned beyond red. With a great rush, however, Viktor started to sprint outside of the bathroom with a clear destination in mind. "WHAT ARE YOU DO---" With her hands covering her red face, Naomi tried to voice a complaint but Viktor was quick to dismiss her "Do me a very small yet big favor, princess. Instead of delivering all the possible cliched lines in the book, AKA overreacting, tell me exactly how many are coming for my sweet ass, would you?!" Viktor instantly addressed the true nature of the situation. Unbeknownst to her and even Viktor, a strange horde of students coming from the left side of the hall started to emerge. With a slightly clear path to the right, as it would lead to the floor below, Viktor started to give more gas to his sprint as he ran with just the tip of his feet instead of using his full feet. Though Naomi could barely see behind her, with just a head twist, she saw the horde of unnaturally fast students from various classes chasing after Viktor. "What the...!! They are so many, but why?!" She couldn''t understand the sudden event "Is that so... Well then..." They had reached the end of the hall and were about to descend through the stairway case. Instead of going from degree to degree, or even skipping a couple of degrees to go a bit faster----Viktor jumped toward the base that was almost fifteen meters ahead from the very top and then repositioned himself as he had to go down again. Successfully so, Viktor, while holding onto Naomi jumped down to another base and they were now successfully on the prior floor with still a few more to go. "GYAAAAAAA!!!" Scared by the authentic blood-pumping sudden brusque movements done by Viktor, Naomi couldn''t help herself "PLEASE DON''T JUMP SO OFTEN, I''M GONNA GET A HEART ATTACK, VIKTOR!!" Her heart was beating quite fast as they began to run down the hall all the way to the left side in order to reach the staircase that would allow them to descend "HOW MANY?!" Viktor''s increasing worries didn''t cease and so, Naomi looked behind her only to find a disturbing sequence of events. Students kept pilling on each other; consequently trampling over one another---stepping on others, going as far as twisting other students'' body parts as long as it meant that they could advance toward Viktor and Naomi. The size of such student body kept increasing, making it so hard to circulate around that students were beginning to fall over the windows at a frightening speed. "What on Earth----" She reflected with shock but was fast to address the situation "MANY MORE, WE NEED TO HURRY OR ELSE---" She informs Viktor, who begins to see that the left side of the hall was starting to become extremely flooded with students erupting from the floor below; effectively locking away any way for them to escape. There wasn''t much time to think here. At an alarming speed, from both sides, hordes of students driven by a single objective like zombies were ready to launch forward as they would most likely terminate Naomi and Viktor''s lives. Viktor opened the glass window containing about three meters in height and a width of fifty centimeters while putting his right foot onto the borderline. Below, he saw a successful trajectory. "V-Viktor?! You''re not going to---right...?" Naomi desperately shook as she pleaded to Viktor with a nervous look on her face "Don''t worry now, princess." Viktor dispelled her worry "Oh God." Except it only increased it more "I''ll be the one to take the fall, so just hold on tight!!" Viktor jumps out of the window with Naomi in his two arms "GYAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Naomi subsequently screamed out of her mind as she covered her vision with her own two hands. One by one, at a ferocious speed, heads collided with heads. Bodies began to collapse onto one another after the physical clash was initiated as Naomi and Viktor had jumped through the window causing the horde of students to become vastly unable to physically perform. Supported by a rooftop that connects intertwining blocks from an east and west avenue, Viktor and Naomi fell onto that rooftop from ten meters below, causing a small strain on Viktor''s upper legs as well as some fractures on his ankles---yet nevertheless, with persistence and an insane drive behind his every physical ounce, Viktor did not stop as he continued following the rooftop''s path. By moving in the north direction, he would reach an intersection where he could continue north to a dead end; as it faced another block, or continue toward either west or east. In which case, the east side would lead to a larger path down the road as it connected with another intersecting block from four hundred meters afar---but Viktor went for the east one. "Snap out of it, princess! I need your dear customer service!" Viktor brought Naomi back to reality with his words as she realized that they were still alive and kicking "NOW, PREFERABLY!" Forcefully, Viktor ordered her to which she elevated her horizontal body; going as far as brushing her chest onto Viktor''s, but simultaneously gaining the ability to tell just how many were coming in his direction "IT DECREASED, BUT THERE ARE STILL A FEW, KEEP ON RUNNING, PLEASE!" She begged him as she looked at his unwavering confident smile "That so." He accelerated despite his injuries. Each platform from the rooftop that connected the intersections began to fall one to another slowly as they started to approach the entrance of the school where Viktor had envisioned that this platform would ultimately lead. "Keep me updated, don''t slack off now!" He demanded as they were about to turn to the left side of one of the primary blocks that would lead to the area of the school''s entrance "They are decreasing... No, there aren''t any more coming at all..." She found herself wondering why as she began to feel far more calmer "....." Viktor paused and made sure "Very nice, by the way." Viktor noted as his eyesight shifted from Naomi''s face to her more central parts that have been collectively mashing together with Viktor''s "......" She hid her face in sheer shame as Viktor without any warning decided to jump seven meters down toward the entrance''s ground "GYAAAA!!" Even after a second time, she couldn''t help but let out a soft scream this time around. Viktor lands on solid ground with his teeth clenched as this fall causes a thread of blood to emerge from the corners of his lips---his eyes completely on the verge of adrenaline. "Ahhh---that shouldn''t have hurt that much, really..." He critiqued with Naomi still in his own two arms "A-ARE YOU CRAZY OR SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT?! YOU COULD''VE DIED!!!" Naomi''s expression became full of grief and lament as she feared for Viktor''s wellbeing during the fall "But..." Viktor began to form a small smile, revealing a bit of his upper white teeth in the process "I didn''t, am I right?" He gently started to put her down, and Naomi became a bit blushful at his smirk. Without any students around, Viktor remarked something as they were side by side now. "Looks like they aren''t coming, huh?" He stated the obvious as they started to walk towards the entrance "Right... So..." A bit bashful still, Naomi kept switching between the ground and Viktor''s eyes "Hmmm?" Viktor hummed "Well... Uh, we could..." Naomi started to fumble her words as she found it hard to convey her true intention with words alone "Could?" Viktor''s lack of helpfulness made Naomi slightly ashamed and a bit mad "............Nevermind......" She put a semi-sad face on as they kept on walking "....." Viktor had a different idea "Is the ice cream here good?" She looked at Viktor immediately without a heartbeat "YES!" She replied with a cheerful bright enthusiasm "Really now. Wanna take a break in there?" He pointed at a gelateria that was located toward the cafeteria which was just about fifty meters north-east. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Needless to say, Naomi happily nodded with her eyes closed as they went there under that gentle rising sun filled with blossoming petals. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part IV: Russian Roullete - Nightmare Three "That''s rough." Viktor''s blonde hair fluttered amidst the window in the gelateria as he took a bite out of the ice cream "...And that''s the gist of it, I think. Now that I look back on it, maybe my feelings for him weren''t as genuine as I thought..." She reflected as she took a small chunk out of her H?agen-Dazs with a caramel flavor and subsequently put that portion in her mouth "What do you mean? They definitely were, or at least I think a part of it was." He takes a huge bite out of his Solero Exotic with a semi-stoic look on his face "A nightmare more or less reflects something deep and dark about the nature of a problem that you, as a person, have in reality. As such, you can''t say that what just happened wasn''t genuine. Whether you like it or not, even though I don''t know what he looks like, you did love him, Naomi." He takes a bigger bite, which creeped out Naomi. She was surprised that he hadn''t gotten his brain frozen at that point. During that time, they were both seating with each other, face to face, across a squared table with brown stripes and hollow spaces in between. Though the attendant was nice, she was surprised that despite all that had happened, they were able to be served. And surely, in the midst of that gelateria, there were other students, however, they didn''t seem to be able to acknowledge their existences; just like how Viktor was primarily invisible to them. In a corner next to a window, on the inside of the area, they both stood, getting sunbathed simultaneously. "No, you''re right." She acknowledged Viktor''s point "It''s just that..." She knew what she was going to say, but she ultimately couldn''t as a sense of overwhelming embarrassment started to consume her "Oh... Um, I don''t know why but... I couldn''t remember you at first..." Naomi recalled the times when she couldn''t remember Viktor or even know he existed, which was odd to her since they had been through a bit so far "That explains a bit, actually. I think if you initially remembered me, you would have known that I was coming for you, but you didn''t, so you naturally went along with the flow of the event..." He finished eating his Solero Exotic, with a thoughtful look on the surface of his face "Say, what made you remember me?" He asked "...Uh.." She thought for a bit "I think it was when you shouted my name... I don''t know, you just instantly clicked." She said in a very honest manner "...I see..." Viktor absorbed this new piece of information. Viktor decided to lick the stick of his ice cream as it always contained a code. "577... So close..." He lamented as he cracked it in half; Naomi was somewhat curious as to what it meant to him "Well---I think it''s just going to be like that every time then, which means, unfortunately, no matter what I say to you prior, once we go to another nightmare, I will be out of the equation in your memory." Viktor delivered the cold truth, even though Naomi didn''t necessarily like the way that sounded to her "....Yeah...." She gave a simple answer at best. Ironically, at that same time, an awkward silence struck between the two. "......" Naomi had a newfound struggle; keeping eye contact with Viktor "Hm? What''s wrong? Got stuff on your mind?" He asked with genuine care and attention as he tilted his neck to the right, with a brazen smile beneath his right supporting palm. However, Naomi couldn''t keep eye contact with him anymore. Suddenly, she felt like her eyes had to be glued somewhere else; whether that was the well-kept floor of the gelateria, the ceiling with cute stickers of different types of ice creams, or even the surface of the table. "How come I can''t maintain eye contact with him suddenly... I---" Her face started to become red again as her palms united to cover it "Hey." He calls out to her from the other side, going as far as leaning his head below in order to forcefully meet with her eyesight; their intersection becoming unavoidable "We should get going. The faster we do this, the faster you can return to the real world, Naomi." Viktor brought that point back to life "...." Naomi''s expression grew a bit stiff as she questioned something "...Yeah... I guess......" She replied with almost silence in her words; reluctantly. After a while, they both started to exit the harmonious gelateria and moved forward to the school gate. Unlike last time, the school gate now had a gate portal similar to the one that allowed them both to enter the train station from the first nightmare. Viktor''s steps became faster and faster, while Naomi''s steps started to show indecision and speed as a whole. Of course, though Viktor noticed this, he didn''t show interest in slowing down. "There it is. Ready?" Viktor aims at the glowing portal in the middle of the school gate "...Yeah..." Naomi showed a displeased expression as she showed even more reluctance in her physical advancement toward the portal. Regarding that, Viktor decided to halt his ambition for a bit, as he knew that Naomi didn''t necessarily want to go. And so, right before she became close to Viktor, not to mention the portal, Naomi halted her steps totally. "...Come on, now." Viktor faced Naomi with a bit of impatience yet a considerable understanding "You just have to know this: No matter what happens, I will find you and you will get through the nightmare. The first and now this second nightmare---and the feat where I get you out of it---it''s not a coincidence." Viktor reassures, aiming to ease her worries "...I know, but..." Even so, Naomi was still feeling reluctance ".....?" Viktor''s skepticism reached a new level as he couldn''t understand Naomi''s worry and so, he waited a bit and allowed her to speak her true mind. The eye lying underneath Viktor''s uniform under that collar shaped with human skin started to gain interest. "...I''ve been thinking about something..." She confesses "...You already know quite a bit about me, I mean... I''m eighteen years old myself but you have captured moments of my life that I find..." She didn''t finish this sentence exactly and started a new one "The point is... I don''t know much about you, Viktor..." Viktor realized the true nature of her worry "......" He sighed a bit, but not in a loud manner "...Why did you... die...?" She asked. Viktor clearly recalled the moment he died, as it''s a vivid memory lying in his turmoil still. Nonetheless, he didn''t reply for a while. "I tell you what----" He gains Naomi''s attention "Once we''re through with this, I''ll tell you, how about it?" He makes a proposal "...That''s not really fair, Viktor..." She shows discontent and feels distrusted "Please don''t feel that way." He comes closer to Naomi "It''s just not that interesting, honestly. It''s boring and predictable, but even so, despite that, I''ll tell you. But, first..." Viktor looks toward the portal to which Naomi also gazed upon. Showing some level of acceptance, Naomi started to walk toward the portal. Just as she was about to enter it, she looked toward Viktor one last time. "Viktor..." She gulped "...You won''t let me die, right...?" Scared yet seeking reassurance from Viktor, Naomi asked nonetheless "I''ll be there for you." He said, with a confident serious voice tone; unwavering magnifying eyes putting her emotions in the right place "......" Without saying anything and simply mildly smiling in his direction, Naomi went forth toward the portal, leaving Viktor alone. As he watched Naomi go through, he took a deep breath and collected his general thoughts. "Now then..." He looked at the cerulean sky and its bright tall sun "I said all that, but the truth is, she will probably die a couple of times." He didn''t run away from the truth at all as he started to march forward. By bypassing the gate portal and embracing a blinding light, Viktor would encounter the new location of the upcoming nightmare. On the skirts of a wealthy mansion of over two kilometers in width and over eight-hundred meters tall, Viktor found himself standing on his feet with a different piece of clothing this time around. A well-adjusted black suit with a white clean shirt underneath as well as black fit pants---beneath them; extremely tidy debonair black shoes. A personal red tie to top it off; but more importantly, Viktor had a set of weapons around his belt beneath the top suit. As for the area, he was in front of a water fountain in a garden filled with brilliantly-cut plants amongst trees. Multiple avenues with a golden formula to their brackets models could be seen as they would lead to the entrance of the mansion forward and west to east in addition. The midnight moonlight shone in all its might as there were no clouds in the sky at that given moment. However, the weather was beyond cold yet that didn''t remain key for Viktor to recognize. Instead, a transmission that was instantly delivered onto Viktor''s earpiece on the right side of his ear---that was what he deemed key and critical as it would fundamentally deliver what he would need to hear. "I''ll repeat myself one last time." A strong stoic voice could be heard through the earpiece "The Hohenzollern''s last family members are to be killed; efficiently killing their last family tree members. The targets for assassination are the main head: Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf of Prussia; his wife: Ina Marie Von Bassewitz; and their daughter: Naomiria Sophia of Prussia. They are to be put down at all costs. Over." The transmission was therefore over. Viktor realized that Naomi''s name was a diminutive; precisely not the real name. But, something else reigned over Viktor''s mind. Naomi''s life this time was simply a matter of time before it was utterly killed off for the sake of an assassination mission. First, he took a deep breath in order to gather some of his thoughts. Then, he looked towards the massive glowing golden mansion ahead of him with amassing rows; indicating a multitude of floors inside. The illuminating lights from underneath were so powerful that they overcast the looming shadows of the night. "If I''m caught or let Naomi die, it will reset just like last time... Furthermore, if this is based on tries, I can''t afford to waste my luck here, so..." He started to move not toward the central area of the mansion, but toward the back of it as he didn''t want to gather unnecessary oppression. "Shouting Naomi''s name is out of the question, naturally. I''m not the only one here and if they noticed my weird behavior, they will put a bullet in my brain before I can do a thing about it..." Viktor notices that there are other black-suited individuals like him; moving in secrecy as they infiltrate the mansion carefully. Viktor, upon having those exact thoughts, realizes that the best he could do in this situation, as he knows nothing about it, is to team up with someone and eventually rescue Naomi by pretending to be one of them. However, little to his own aid, he is left all alone as the remaining others already had gone ahead and infiltrated the mansion from the outside to the inside, without necessarily alerting the brutal number of guards from it. He makes his way to the back of the mansion by keeping his posture low; covering himself in bushes, until he reaches a door with a small staircase of twenty centimeters with three degrees. As he climbs it, he takes off one of his guns, a desert eagle---and applies a silencer onto it. "I think the real question here is where exactly Naomi is... Though, the easiest way to answer that question is..." He swiftly opens the door with his left hand and fastly turns around; killing the two guards that were guarding the entrance to the kitchen before they could react. No other human was around, not even the cooks, so all Viktor had to do was go through the kitchen with bright illumination and overly expensive decoration to its arsenal. "Two down..." He grasped the door hold with great care. He slightly opened the door and checked for any guards as he was on the left side of a massive stairway that would lead to the upper floor. Three guards remained on standby guarding a golden-decorated door to the left; to which Viktor showed no hesitation to kill with his gun under a silencer. After having used five bullets, Viktor reloaded by using ammunition from his central belt. Subsequently, Viktor hid and looked toward the golden door that was mirroring the door where the three guards---now dead---were. He found those guards also dead, but it was not the work of Viktor, which told him that someone was already way ahead of him. As such, Viktor began to climb the golden staircase with a frontal red clean carpet of golden stripes. The size of the staircase underneath a voluptuous luminous chandelier containing prestigious minerals and rare diamonds was about twenty meters in width and it had a diagonal direction to which it would lead to two intersections; one to the left and the other to the right. To his surprise, by instinct alone and nothing else, Viktor raised his gun as he thought he had sighted a guard, due to the similar black suit; however, that couldn''t have been further from the truth. At the top of the staircase, a familiar figure to Viktor greeted him with a smile. "Hey." With almost the same height as Viktor, but slightly shorter, a man around Viktor''s age of twenty-one, if not a bit younger by a year or two, stood "There you are, I knew that you wouldn''t take long..." One of his most particular identical features aside from his bright smile was his short black hair in the form of a long curtain that went all the way to his jaw alongside his round glasses; furthermore, his physical structure was quite alluring and hard to miss yet just like Viktor, he didn''t go beyond the ideal margin "....Damian." He finished the sentence, revealing something that made Viktor visibly twitch. At that moment, Viktor realized the reality of the situation without having to connect any dots. However, it was slightly foggy for him; memory-wise, so he opted to stick with the present as he withdrew his gun and continued to climb. "....Yeah. The girl, do you know where she is?" Viktor avoided using any questions unrelated to the current matter and opted to stick to the real crucial deal; as he covered his premature shock from earlier fairly quickly "........You... don''t know where is?" Skeptical and dubious of whether or not Viktor was serious, he interrogated Viktor "I... wasn''t paying attention to the leader''s speech, Vladimir..." Viktor clarified, now toe to toe with Vladimir "...Huh..." Vladimir adjusted the middle part of his glasses and put on a somewhat apathetic face "Follow me then, Damian." Vladimir led the way to the left. On their way forward, they encounter an empty hall full of paintings and extremely expensive items thought to be extinct; occasionally blessed by the outer moonlight. Two guards emerged from the upper floor at a twenty-meter distance. "Halt--GAH!!" Vladimir shoots one in the heart "St--" And Viktor fires a bullet to the other''s head. Vladimir reloads his pistol. Viktor wonders why Vladimir isn''t using a silencer, as he thought it would be more efficient, but he didn''t want to waste time with questions. After climbing a bit, Viktor notices an extremely oversized painting of the family with just the core three family members in it. Viktor started to realize Naomi''s origins and what it meant to her, little by little. But, such catharsis was broken as loud gunshots from the upper floors were heard; immediately alerting Viktor as he didn''t imagine that they could have reached out to Naomi yet. "The mother and the father are dead; all that''s left is the daughter. Over." A general transition sent chills down Viktor''s spine in the midst of their climbing to the second floor "Copy." They both replied. With Naomi''s mother and father now dead, the thread of her life began to start to fade as Viktor knew something had to be done or she would die. Therefore, he looked toward Vladimir while slightly anxious. "Hey Vlad, can you just tell me where she is?" He tried to not sound nervous while saying that and it took a while for Vladimir to reply to it "...Go for the fourth floor, that''s where she is. The third floor is where the father and the mother were. Remember?" He delivers the information to Viktor "Oh yeah, I remember now." Viktor starts to sprint like never before as he reaches the upper stairs that would lead to the third floor. In silence, Vladimir watched Viktor with a grim expression on his face. "....Damian... Are you really the Damian I know...?" He said those words while taking the right side of the second floor; opposing Viktor''s current path. As for Viktor, he climbed to the third floor with astonishing speed, coming across other black suits but not paying them any attention. Right now, his simple focus is to get to the fourth floor and encounter Naomi at all costs. If Naomi''s father and mother are dead, then that only means she''s next. Viktor didn''t bother to check any room that is mirrored to the windows on the left side of the floor. Despite the numerous rooms he could have checked, he simply didn''t care as he made his way to the fourth floor. Only then, did he check the rooms within that floor as he acknowledged that there wasn''t anyone on that floor. From the right side to the left side as well as shouting a heeding call to Naomi, he began to check every room. "NAOMI!! ARE YOU THERE?!" The first room was a library, completely devoided of existence and shrouded in only moonlight, therefore Viktor was quick to move to the other room on the north; just ten meters up ahead "IT''S ME, VIKTOR!! SAY SOMETHING SO I KNOW YOU''RE THERE!!" A room dedicated solely to piano practices with no windows could be encountered but not a single soul in it. The rooms kept on changing in what they were designed for, but they all had one thing in common---there wasn''t a single soul in it. Until Viktor reached the furthest room on the left, just below the staircase that would lead to the fifth floor. This specific door with golden stripes wasn''t with its lock unlocked, it was, in fact, ultimately locked. Not that it mattered because Viktor fired at the door hold and by doing that, he was able to access the room. "NAOMI?!" He shouted, hoping for an answer but no response came forward. It was a dining room with a rectangular table for three, underneath a beautiful soft blue carpet as well as a marvelous chandelier on top. Since the lights were turned on just like any other room in that mansion, Viktor could clearly see that, unlike the other rooms, this room did have some sort of soul in it. "....No---that can''t be..." Viktor was beyond confused as he saw Naomi''s father and mother''s dead bodies mirroring each other on the table''s end "Vladimir said that they were dead on the third floor but this is the damn fucking fourth floor...!!!" That alone was enough for Viktor to completely ignore their dead bodies exerting pools of blood onto the luxurious white dining table and now-soaked floor. He slapped the door with all of his might and tried to make his way to the fifth floor as soon as possible, but then, he heard a loud gunshot from a floor above, which caused him to be momentarily stunned; unable to react. "Oh fuck------" Viktor knew and so, a transmission came through "She''s dead. Over." Vladimir''s cold voice created a sense of horror and paranoia in Viktor as he realized what had happened all along "What the fuck just------" Time went back on its own once again. Around Viktor''s neck, the eye in the necklace made out of human sentient skin, spoke to Viktor---as Viktor encountered himself in the same exact place as before. "Two tries remain." Viktor clenches his fist with so much force that it causes his palms to become dark red "Vladimir, you bastard..." He stuffs the necklace with the eye inside his suit "DAMNED LIAR!!" He erupted in rage but was able to calm himself as he started to analyze a few things. Given that the scenario was able to overlap itself once again and the fact that Viktor knew exactly how it would play out, he thought for a bit as his vision grew narrow. "Do I just kill Vladimir and erase him out of the question...? For some reason, he lied to me about the floor Naomi''s father and mother''s dead bodies were in, and most importantly, he lied to me about where Naomi was---for no damn reason! ...But even so, he''s not the necessary component here. As long as I specifically know where Naomi is, Vladimir is absolutely irrelevant. With that in mind..." Viktor decided on his renewed plan of action as he sought to efficiently destroy this nightmare in the most practical way possible. Unlike last time, Viktor did not go for the back of the mansion through a kitchen door but instead went for the front side of the mansion in order to meet up with a few members that he instinctively recognized the moment he saw them from afar. By climbing a few degrees from the stairs in an area isolated from any guards; as it was a part of the entrance that had a specific blind spot to it---the blind spot being: through the bushes on the left side, there was a gigantic parallel rectangular vertical piece of boulder that blinds anyone that watches it from the right side. Simply put, if a guard were to look to the right side, they couldn''t see the entirety of the mansion''s left side as a huge chunk of it was covered by this structure---Viktor was able to meet up with them. "Sergey, Boris, the girl is on the fourth floor, let''s go." Viktor started to do the exact same thing that they were doing; which was---to create a soundless hole in the windows'' glasses and infiltrate right away "What the hell are you on about, Damian?" Sergey, in a black suit just like Viktor and the rest, with a small height and long tied hair, quickly corrected Viktor "It''s the sixth floor where the girl is." Viktor glared at Sergey''s expression to see through it in case he was lying; as Sergey continued to create a fissure on the glass "Damian dumb. Damian forget the leader''s coordinates." However, all worry ceased the moment Boris mocked Viktor. Unlike Sergey and Viktor, Boris was a bulky overly tall man, reaching beyond two meters and a few centimeters. His head was completely shaved off and he had a unique talking style. But, it was due to the fact that Boris was the one who gave him the secondary information and how Viktor knew that Boris would never lie, that he decided to evaluate the information as the truth. Furthermore, it cemented a degree of truth in all reality. Because the shot that killed Naomi, from Viktor''s memory, most likely came from the sixth floor, judging by the distance and the impact of the sound alone. He doesn''t answer back to any of them and proceeds to enter the first floor through the windows. Viktor, Sergey, and Boris---this time without the usage of a silencer from Viktor---killed the three guards that were guarding the staircase''s entrance. Furthermore, they killed the additional guards that were covering the other doors as they came in from the lateral lines only to get shot at. With no interference whatsoever, Viktor''s conviction grew far clear. As a matter of fact, he opted to use two desert eagles instead of one; both on each hand. He began to climb the staircase with lightning speed. "Vladimir shouldn''t be here yet if the time matches, so... No---there''s no point in worrying about Vladimir, I just need to reach the sixth floor. Stop worrying about him, he is not relevant to the equation. All I need is to get to Naomi, then the nightmare will be over." Viktor reached a crystal clear conclusion. Storming through the first floor and second floor; killing every guard in his way alongside his companions----some of them dying---but nevertheless moving forward, Viktor began to grow closer and closer to where Naomi was. As Viktor reached the third floor and allowed the assassination of Naomi''s parents; he ran past the entire shootings; only killing whatever stood in his way---however, as Vladimir, who had just climbed from the second floor onto the third one, watched Viktor''s behavior, he couldn''t help but make a comment as he adjusted his glasses and placed his chin under his right hand. "............Odd." Vladimir''s expression grew skeptical. Viktor''s progress would essentially be put at a halt when he decided to emerge to the fourth floor. In the stairs that separate the staircase from the entrance to the grand hall where the floor''s rooms would become available, he saw that a great number of his companions were actually on the losing end as the number of guards on the fourth floor overwhelmed the current members of the black suits. As the black suits from Viktor''s side started to get shot, Viktor took this time to regroup with Sergey and Boris who were hiding from the front lines due to the massive number in adversity. "Take cover!!" A rain of bullets spread across the hall, killing all the front-line members of the black suits, as Sergey attempted to get some of them to potentially come back and hide "Fucking damn it, this is too much!!" He complained further. Hiding behind the wall, they would take a peek at the number of guards protecting the fourth floor, but only very shortly as the fire that was being traded was deadly to the point of backfiring any overstays. With his position slightly crooked, Viktor approached Sergey and Boris. "What''s the situation?!" He immediately demanded to know as he saw how much Sergey and Boris were panting; Boris was on the look for the guards as Sergey would proceed to explain "It was a damn trap all long! They lowered the number of guards on the prior floors in order to make it look like they were not prepared but as we climbed as the majority, we were ambushed by a hail of bullets!!" The false reality was broken at that moment "We are beyond outmatched, and damn it----" Sergey looked at the windows on the north side with worry "Where the fuck is the backup at?! It should''ve been here a long time ago!! At this rate, we''re fucking smoked!" Sergey remained unfiltered about it. Meanwhile, Boris, as he saw that the guards were moving forward, as time was of dire treatment for them---decided to go on a whim. He took out his two guns and put his current one on the ground--throwing it in the process. He loaded the two guns and got up, catching his breath. "Bastards----" In a strong Russian tone, Boris showed fearlessness as Sergey knew exactly what was about to happen "BORIS WILL SHOW THEM HELL!!!" Out of sheer rage, Boris went to the hall of raining bullets and started blasting like a madman "Wait, Boris!!!" Sergey got up too and tried to halt himself but ultimately went along "Ah shit, what the hell...!! Hey, Damian, a little hand?!" He asked for Viktor''s assistance to which, Viktor simply got up as he saw Sergey join Boris "And call for backup if you can, damn it!" Sergey would say those words as he got hit with a bullet on his head; Boris being able to withstand a few but ultimately being taken down as well. Surely, Viktor could''ve helped, but he instead wanted to see just how many guards they had killed. In the end, as Viktor crooked down his posture and looked through a small narrow from the staircase, he saw that they had taken out six to seven of the remaining guards---though Viktor judged this to be the work of Boris and sincerely, not Sergey. Ten or so guards remained as Viktor saw just how greatly outnumbered he was. Needless to say but going in, was not an option. The only reason Viktor had gotten so far was because of the mid-crossfire that had gotten on his way which had caused him to gain the upper hand as he used his companions as shields before advancing. The guards then decided to move even forward, now putting pressure on Viktor. "Good choice." A voice whispered to Viktor''s left ear softly ".....!!!!!!!" The sight of Vladimir''s wicked gentle smile was enough to cause Viktor to coldly sweat for a moment, nevertheless, Viktor did not show any signs of abnormal behavior this time in order to avoid the same thing happening again, somehow "Where''s the damn backup at?!" He asked, as Sergey had requested it multiple times "Did you forget?" Vladimir pointed right outside the window "There''s our backup." A helicopter rapidly emerged from above; descending all the way to the point where it mirrored the fourth floor from the outside. As it cast a roulette of bullets throughout the hall from the outside via its artillery canon, every present guard was brutally annihilated without any chance of coming back to life. When the guards were officially dead, the helicopter pilot gave a transmission without delay, which Viktor and Vladimir instantly took notice of. "We''re moving onto the fifth floor, get ready!" This was enough for Viktor and Vladimir to get up; trample over Sergey, Boris, and the remaining black suits'' bodies and get a move on to the fifth floor "How many are there on the fifth floor, Vargasov?" Vladimir spoke to the earpiece before climbing to the fifth floor. Despite being equipped with an artillery cannon and a mini-gun to it; Vargasov and his team were primarily tasked with scouting the parameters and delivering that information onto the rest. Their late arrival indicates that there was some trouble prior, otherwise, the operation would have gotten far smoother, from Viktor''s current perspective. Vargasov delivered a transmission soon after. "Twenty thr---GAAAHH!!" A bombardment echoed outside as Viktor and Vladimir witnessed a flashing fire outside alluding to a nearby explosion "Those motherfuckers shot us with a bazooka!! DAMN IT, WE''RE DONE FOR!! WE''LL TAKE OUT AS MANY AS WE CAN, HURRY UP!!" Vargasov and his team started to kill as many of the fifth-floor''s guards as they could. In the end, they were able to create harm in the totality of their numbers before completely exploding, but it wasn''t enough damage to call a "victory". Now nearer the goal itself, Viktor had to precisely calculate what was the best way to go about this, as they both began to climb through the stairway that would lead to the fifth floor. "...Damn it... Naomi''s on the sixth floor and we are about to get to the fifth floor. Our backup measure is gone; furthermore, Vladimir is here, which spells bad news... I need a way to somehow get rid of the upcoming guards and Vladimir altogether..." Viktor concluded that the only logical way to move forward would be if he made the two adversary factors collide with one another. Viktor then had a somewhat unhinged idea. From his accessory belt, he took hold of a wooden rope that had a four-way anchor to it. Though small, it was enough for it to land on any surface, and depending on the angle it landed, it could provide solid ground for someone to use as a point to climb. And, of course, Vladimir noticed this, as Viktor''s grin grew wider. "You have got to be kidding me, this is really not the time, dude." Vladimir sighed and showed great displease as Viktor ran up the staircase; completely disregarding the potential barrage of bullets that would nevertheless aim at him. However, with a quickening speed and great physical strength, Viktor crashed into a large window he threw his body out of a golden large window ten meters in height as he started to fall on the outside. His fall, not only was entirely seemingly fatal, but it created doubts among the guards that were on standby. "What?! Where did he go?!" As Viktor crashed into the window, they could not comprehend why he would do that, as it seemed like a suicide attack. Meanwhile, what Viktor was actually doing was the following: The moment he threw himself out of the window by literally crashing it; he aimed with brute strength at a main central balcony on the exterior border of the sixth floor where a certain row of windows would be allocated. Midst such, he could''ve shot some of the guards on the fifth floor, but Viktor purposely opted not to. Vladimir knew what this meant. "Oh dear, oh dear. This is most certainly not optimal. Their numbers are a bit too much for me to fight against if I''m honest." Vladimir voice his honest opinion out loud, primarily to himself as he grabbed onto two time grenades and rolled onto the red carpet toward the central hall, subsequently throwing them in the guards'' direction "...Hmm...?!" However, despite being timed, in the range of at least seven guards, the timed grenades, which are about two seconds in time only, were fast in delivery as the guards shouted their last words to the earpiece "OH SHIT-----" And the true sentence "PROTECT THE MISTRESS AT ALL COSTS, NO MATTER WHA-----" A large explosion then engulfed the fifth floor as it blew away the majority of the guards with some still alive. As for Viktor, he climbed the rope that was linked to the central balcony and broke onto the sixth floor via a window, by also breaking it. However, before entering, he threw a smoke bomber to the center and only when it was foggy, did he infiltrate the floor. "What the?!" Their lively surprises clashed with one another as they failed to identify the true culprit "Shoot, shoot!" Regardless of not being able to identify Viktor, they nevertheless started to blindly shoot and so, Viktor had to hide in the wall cover that lies in the staircase connected to the fifth floor. Bullets were fired in Viktor''s direction as they had seen someone roll towards the staircase. "SHOOT HIM UP AND PROTECT THE MISTRESS AT ALL COSTS!!" The main guard ordered advancement toward the area where Viktor was seen. Without any sort of worry, ten of them charged right down the hall through the fog and that was the only reason why the time grenade worked out in Viktor''s favor as a huge bombardment was triggered; instantly taking their lives. "A bomb?! Shit, I''ll handle this! Don''t leave your damn posts, the mistress must be protected at all times! The head guard decided to take action amidst the fog "Show yourself, coward! How dare you no-name bandits infiltrate this sacred place?! Have you no---" A silent shot pierced the head guard''s brain as Viktor put a bullet to his brain while wearing x-ray glasses. One by one the guards started to fall as Viktor gained complete advantage through the fog created by the smoke alongside the combination of the unknown x-ray glasses that allowed Viktor the ability to identify any moving organism with it despite natural interferences. Viktor removed the glasses and placed them on his central belt the moment he noticed that there was no one else on the floor guarding that specific room at the very center of the sixth floor. Furthermore, Viktor also acknowledged that the very fact that a multitude of bullets was still being fired down there could only mean that Vladimir was being kept on that floor or he was dead. Either case was fine for Viktor. Knowing those factors, Viktor started channeling his lung strength. "NAOMI!!" From the outside of her room''s door, Viktor shouted as the bullets from the floor below managed to mask the sound a bit "...VIKTOR?!" A nervous voice from the inside of the room came crying out as Viktor forcefully opened the door by kicking the door hold; breaking it in the process. And with that single action, the binding gate between them was broken and the sight of Naomi in her bright blue pajamas in tears calmed down Viktor a bit. In addition to that, she hugged Viktor with all of her might as tears fell down from her face. "VIKTOR, IT''S YOU!!" She hugged him more "I was so scared, oh my God! I just hid under my bed without any idea of what was going on all the time and when I heard your voice, Viktor---I---I couldn''t help myself I just really wanted to see you!!" Naomi began to speak so much that Viktor was having a lot of trouble informing her about what truly needed to be talked about "And you came for me! You didn''t let me die, just like you told me!!" She cried and cried. For a moment, Viktor let go of her and tried to face her face to face, now that her teary face with heavy eyebags clearly showing, was visible to him. "I''m glad I was able to do all that, Naomi, but believe me for now we need to-------" A bullet across the hall staggered the left side of Naomi''s cranium three times as her head titled to the right as her life was stripped off from her "?!" Viktor began to shake ever slightly as his eyes widened and became blurred in disbelief. The sight of Naomi''s lifeless face and her purple dead eyes streaming dry tears had Viktor immediately check out who it was that had inflicted a mortal wound on Naomi, not once, not twice, but thrice. "I''ve been keeping the tabs. 376 kills for me and 421 kills for you." Vladimir sighed as he stuffed his gun back to his belt as he approached Viktor "That was a bit mean, I can''t lie. Thankfully, all I had to do was jump out of the window, grab onto the rope, and climb onto the sixth floor. I think you got a bit too busy trying to seduce the target. I understand the entire process of doing things like that, but I don''t know, there''s something about stealing kills from you, Damia----" Viktor''s red eyes glew in rage and fury as Vladimir realized that he should not speak more "When I see you again-------you will die by my hands." Viktor didn''t remove his glance from Vladimir as he was taken back in time once again, with Naomi dead in her arms this time around. Vladimir sincerely smiled back to Viktor "I''m always up for a challenge, brother. Even though I am technically on the losing side; but even so I will try my hardest to impress you." Vladimir''s fading voice would take Viktor back in time transiently. But, the time would be different than usual, as Viktor would now start when Naomi''s parents were being murdered by the black suits; himself included---on the third floor where gunfire spread like wildfire across the hall. Viktor''s plan at that time was to move to the fourth floor, but as he stands in the crossfire, he makes his mind as the eye speaks to him for the last time in this nightmare. "One try remains." With an ice-cold voice tone, Viktor took hold of his two desert eagles; loaded them up---ultimately looking back in Vladimir''s direction as he greeted Viktor with a smile. "Change.... of plans......." He began to grit his teeth as the target is on sight. Volume 1 - Chapter 3: Nightmare #1 "We''ve been expecting you." A stern dreadful voice welcomed the receptors that were behind the door to the office as a small rupture within the door was created. Bright aggressive sunlight emitted from the luxurious golden windows basking in the midday ambiance engulfed the main figure of the office. An office of a width of about seven meters; squared-shaped and with a height of ten meters. On each side---left and right---there would be three bookshelves with full books; not a single one had a missing spot or any inconsistency in size. Painted in gold, they each had two meters and a half in height and one meter in width. With nothing standing in between the door entrance---a door in shimmering gold---and the desk with gold and white stripes in which the main head of the mansion stood on his seat, the three individuals walked in. On the front, a tall man reigning over almost two meters in height with a composed muscular structure walked in. This man first had dark yellow eyes and medium-sized spiky downward dark-ocean marine-colored hair. His pale skin was slightly tan though shaded in a paler sense. As for his clothes; his top side consisted of a red tuxedo with an inner golden border where the breast buttons would lie in. On the back side and mainly on the shoulders; golden bright spikes held tall. His pants were entirely black alongside his debonair black shoes. Without delay, he proceeded to kneel down in front of the presence of the main figure. By placing his right hand on his heart''s side and crooking his head down, he urged the other two individuals to do the same, though they arguably failed to replicate the flawless majestic stance he upheld. "Enough." The main figure, without getting up from his golden chair that resembled that of an ancient modern royal throne, raised his right hand "§£§Ó§Ö§â§ç." The tall man and the two children; one on each side, began to get up at his signal. Aside from the tall man with a red tuxedo and the main figure, there were two other individuals present. Unlike the tall man that had a refined appearance yet a seemingly older look to him, the other two were clearly younger--- children. One of them had a curtain hairstyle with black color to his hair, whereas the other one had short spiky blonde hair. One had a shorter height than the other and they were both in black suits with red ties that suited their body composures; which were formidably shaped for their age. "Old friend. Thank you for your time." The main figure on the throne thanked the tall man "No such thing, majesty. The moment I heard you needed assistance I immediately figured that my services would be to your liking." The majesty smiles a bit "I''m glad to know I wasn''t wrong." The tall figure smiled back as well, but not before he urged the two children to move forward with the snap of his fingers. With apathetic faces and a sense of obedience injected in their beings; they kneeled down in the presence of the majesty on his throne. "Oh..." The majesty began to show a liking as he clapped "The Sargasov brothers. They are my primary masterpieces as they have survived every training menu, mission, exam, and all other tests of knowledge in the modernity of our current world I could offer to them. Unfortunately, for your daughter''s protection, I am only able to offer one as the other will have to inevitably go back to the Gulag." The tall figure clarified as he placed his abnormally heavy eyes onto the two children who could not look up "Mhm... Most intriguing; though for my bloodline''s sake, I must ensure my daughter''s survival..." As the decision came forth, the Majesty spoke the critical decision "Which of them is best suited for this task, in your opinion?" Rarely does the majesty ever consult something of such degree of importance yet the fact that he did just now toward this tall mysterious man; speaks volumes "Vladimir." At that word, the boy of young age rose his head "Damianov." Likewise, the boy a year older in age, rose his head naturally. Turning his physical back on the majesty, the tall man primarily spoke in the direction of the brothers with a cold merciless voice to it. "Last one standing." He simply said those words as he took a relaxing stance on the golden couch with red stripes on the right side of the room. The brothers had been given a mission in front of their leader and only one of them could win the spot for this specific task. It would take one of them less than ten seconds to put the other on a complete full arm lock as the other expelled saliva mixed with blood while on the brick of death. "§¥§à§ã§ä§Ñ§ä§à§é§ß§à." The tall man got up from the couch and so, the winner of the short dispute began to isolate himself from his previous opponent "Most magnificent... Young one, how old are you?" The majesty spoke toward the blonde-haired child who had visibly red glowing eyes yet a completely monochromatic expression "I am nine years old, your majesty." With an elevated Russian accent yet still unable to speak fluent German, Damianov didn''t hesitate to answer "From this day onward, you will be my daughter''s most valiant guard. Her life---is in your hands." The majesty showed no possible delay when it came to declaring the intended purpose of the winner of the previous fight. Silently, Damianov took a bow and kneeled down. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hell broke loose on the third floor. Bullets began to be shot in all directions and seemingly, no one was safe from being killed, despite wearing bullet vests underneath. Viktor knew from the get-go the fact that the current number of black suits, the ones from Viktor''s side which exceed that of twenty compared to the ten or so black-suited guards tasked with guarding the third floor, are largely favored to his side; meant nothing as there is an ambush awaiting them on the fourth floor. At the crossroad between the middle section of the floor and the beginning of it, Viktor turned his back around after he saw that there were no more black-suited guards alive on the floor. Climbing the staircase, Vladimir emerged from the floor below with blood on his black suit as well as a bullet coming his way. "...?!" Vladimir instinctively tilted his torso to the back, decreasing his posture diagonally as a fraction of his nose was ripped off due to the bullet that pierced the wall instead. He took cover, raised his gun with his two hands, and took a sneak peek at the hall which was covered in dead black suits basking under the prestigious moonlight. "......." Vladimir raised his awareness as his nose started to drip down a monstrous quantity of blood. In addition, he took out a smoke bomb and his X-ray glasses; threw the bomb with all of his strength toward the middle of the hall to which he couldn''t identify whoever it was that shot him as there were only dead bodies. He recoiled back to the wall and waited until the smoke began to wildly disperse to his advantage. When the smoke spread like wildfire, Vladimir raised his gun up with his arms along the way and started to carefully and slowly walk toward the hall as his X-ray glasses captured any organism with a green light; thus making it incredibly easy to narrow which individual to shoot and who not to. However, this X-ray vision could not penetrate through walls, therefore, entering a new room is a completely other matter on its own. ".......I see... This type of pattern..." Vladimir spoke a bit to himself as he approached the first room from the right side of the hall; covered in specs of gold--reminiscing ancient German architecture "...Brother...?" He opens the first room as a grim wicked smile was born on the wide corners of his lips. The X-ray vision wasn''t able to capture anything as it entered the library containing a room of six vertical rows full of books each facing to the left, while the two rows in the north direction were facing forward. A small chandelier was on top as well as a central desk with a single chair. As Vladimir searched the library, he didn''t find a single person in it. Vladimir''s mind was swiftly taken back to a distant past. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The "leader" stood at the top of the dark entrance where the light would be the only source of solar power. His shadow loomed over every individual beneath his figure creating a difference of approximately twenty meters in distance. "For Christmas, my greatest gift to all of you is the annual Gulag''s special exam!" He clapped his hands as his vibrant biceps could be seen through "As you know or might not know, the Gulag has NO PLACE FOR WEAKNESS! As such, only ten of you will make it out! Every year, this tradition goes without failing, so, to the fifty hundred thousand of you---glory to the survival of the fittest." The looming shadow began to disappear as the fifty hundred thousand children with no equipment whatsoever and no clothing at all, began to fight against one another. No light; only darkness engulfed the atmosphere of that horrendous cave beneath the Earth at least hundreds of thousands of meters---known only to a selective amount of specific humans on that planet. Each year, a variety of a number of children varying from the age of five to ten, would engage in mortal combat without any rules set and only the ten who survived would be selected for the Gulag. Just like many among them, children would often gang up on isolated targets in order to somehow not die at that moment. Boulders and peebles were undoubtedly useful for killing off other children, and as such, Vladimir at the age of six was the target of a horde of seven children as they began to gang up on him by taking hold of his arms and legs. "B-Brother...!!" His fading ragged voice as he started to get plummed by multiple fists to the dome called out to Damianov who was also busy fighting other hordes; except that unlike Vladimir, he excelled at unleashing his savagery onto others "AGHHH!!" Vladimir, at the sight of his brother winning, began to use his teeth to bite whatever fists came at him, regardless of the tooths that were broken in the process. Even so, Damianov, though he watched Vladimir from afar, did not come to his aid. As Damianov clobbered a sharp rock onto another child''s forehead without mercy, he still wouldn''t acknowledge Vladimir''s struggle. This would make Vladimir, with his mouth, aim at the neck of the child that was halting his right arm, as his ferocious bite landed on an artery; causing the child to have a malfunction---ultimately releasing his right arm. With a hunger for his brother''s acknowledgment, Vladimir launched numerous fists with his right closed hand to the other children as Damianov tossed the sharp rock that he was using in Vladimir''s direction. "....Brother....!!" He looked at Damianov as he didn''t waste any time and started to go on a killing spree with his bare hands; varying from breaking necks with his bare hands, utilizing finger-pokes to the eyes, penetrating skulls with his two hands intertwined "I need to become just like brother!" With the sharp rock that was accessible to him shortly on his right side now that his right arm was free, Vladimir clashed it with the children who were on top of him and then proceeded to kill the remaining others as the advantage between having a rock and not having became crystal clear. At the end of it all, after a brutal three hours of what seemed to be Hell for Vladimir, only ten children remained. With more bruises than Vladimir yet not too many to the point where the difference was staggering, Damianov spoke to Vladimir, who was beaten up to the point where he could only barely walk; had a broken left ankle, a bruised eye that disabled his vision from that eye partially, and several teeth missing. "Oh? You''re still alive?" Damianov, now on the muddy hill that would lead to the outside of the cave as the other remaining children who were still alive climbed to the top "Come on now, don''t lag behind, Vladimir! You made it and as such... you need to behave yourself with the supremacy that comes with being a winner." Damianov entered the bright light leading to a place of a distant time "Never forget that." Vladimir absorbed those words and even to this day, at this specific time; they remain core to him. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A white room with two large rectangular windows of shimmering gold encompassing a lonely black piano in the middle of it with fluttering transparent curtains would be Vladimir''s next location as the room to the left is where he would have to go in order to find whoever it was that shot him. Though, by now, Vladimir somehow knew yet not why. As he reached the piano, he pressed a piece of it, softly. After that, he moved out of the room and went for the third room of the hall, with only two others left. Slowly, he attempted to enter the third room, as he knows not what is in there. With care, Vladimir grasped the door hold, fully calm and prepared for what could come in case something went wrong. He started to unwind the door to the right very, but very slowly, and then, with a shift of impulse---Vladimir unleashed a rapid brutal dark impulse as he forced the door to go down the right end. This was countered by what seemed to be a force holding it from crushing it completely, which alerted Vladimir, who shot three bullets into the door immediately. "BROTHER!!" Vladimir immediately realized that the door itself was an ambush as Viktor rolled to the right side; falling onto a red carpet---aiming straight at Vladimir who rolled to the left in a forward direction; placing himself behind one of the dining table''s chairs. Though not a dining hall entirely, it would be where the royal family would partake in taking breakfasts or tea ceremonies. Not only that, but it would serve as a reception room for estimated prestigious guests. Needless to say, aside from the paintings decorated on the walls, the entire area was gigantic as it contained almost two hundred meters in length as well as a considerable height of a hundred meters. It also had a closed golden door to the room on the left, but more importantly, the entire table was the main attraction. Around it is a dark red carpet with borders of gold and as for the table itself, it''s a rectangular royal table containing golden borders as well as a height of one meter, but amassing an enormous hundred and twenty-five meters in horizontal size. One chair would contrast the other at the very end, while the vertical rows of the table would have slightly taller chairs in comparison---all gold based in their design. Reigning tall and supreme, a translucent chandelier gave light to the entire room. And then, Vladimir took a small opportunity to shoot in Viktor''s direction, but he dodged it with a barrel roll toward the right side of the table as he hid behind a chair as well. "Damian, what''s the deal, huh?!" Vladimir reloaded the guns respectively as he looked at the chairs that contrasted his direction "Vladimir, we''ve done enough, we got the mother and the father!" Viktor tries to reason, but Vladimir first fires four bullets at the rightmost chair as they barely escape Viktor''s top hairs "What the hell are you on about, Damian?! The leader said we had to kill all three, the mission has to be accomplished! What''s going on exactly?! Not that I mind this as a sport, but the lack of sense is really bewildering me, haha!!" Vladimir throws a laugh while rolling to the other chair''s back. Viktor felt conflicted despite being fully committed to killing Vladimir. Nevertheless, he wanted to reason if he could although it wasn''t a necessity. "It''s---Look, can you imagine what it''s gonna be like for her?!" Viktor tried to reason once again "What? I don''t have to imagine that because I''m going to put a bullet in her head, brother..." Vladimir says with the most cold voice "What I don''t get is where you are coming from. Are you betraying the leader... Brother, are you..." Vladimir couldn''t finish his sentence suddenly. In a struggle to try to somehow justify his unreasonable upbringing, Viktor cursed himself. "What the fuck am I doing?! Why am I even trying to convince him?! We are members of the Gulag; we kill as normally as we breathe oxygen so the very fact that I''m trying to convince Vladimir not to kill someone is a fool''s behavior by default, damn it!" Viktor gets angry at himself "....Whatever... I knew from the start that there was no way I could reason with him, because... I''m at fault here. Always, Vladimir remained in my shadow for too long and for that very reason, he has become my shadow. It''s like..." Viktor sighed "Like he''s my damn reflection from this time..." Viktor reloaded his desert eagles. Realizing that further reasoning would not work, Viktor narrowed his vision and aimed for the initial goal. "Vlad, one last chance. Let the girl live and you get to walk away." Viktor said with trails of glacials in his voice "I don''t know what has consumed you suddenly, but if you have gone rogue, or out of your mind, Damian, then I will not only put a bullet onto her head, but in yours too, BROTHER!!" Vladimir fully exposes himself and aims at the chair where Viktor was hiding; firing about five bullets. Vladimir, however, immediately recoiled back to the back of his chair, waiting for a new opportunity to shoot back at Viktor. "?!" A sudden anxiety attack consumed Vladimir as he was caught off guard by a bullet to the heart from behind ".....What...?!" From the part underneath the table, Viktor rose the table''s cloth as he revealed himself from behind to Vladimir "You have a bad habit of being a slave to patterns..." Viktor delivered as he got up from the ground with blood on his suit. Plain and simple, Vladimir''s life came to an end, which would now simplify the entirety of the event and as such, Viktor had to be fast toward the top despite Vladimir being taken out of action. "I have to get to the fourth floor and aid my side for now and then slowly let them all kill each other and with Vladimir out of the way, I will be able to rescue Naomi from this damn nightmare, once and for all." Viktor reassured of that himself with an apathetic look on his face. Such confidence of his was astronomical to the point of overlooking the hailing right shaking hand with a single last bullet to it; in frail aim yet sufficiently strong for a deal with a death treaty. "AHGH!!" Viktor''s chest''s right side was prematurely shot as Vladimir spoke his last words ".....I will....get....lonely in Hell....so....brother has....to come...too........" His head drops on the floor; his blood ensanguined on the carpet as the colors begin to intertwine. Unfortunately for Viktor, although he thought that Vladimir was no longer a problem, he could barely walk to the door while staying up; his posture was authentically crooked only due to his sheer physical and mental effort on the line here. Trembling, Viktor reached out to the back of his black tuxedo and began to search for something specific. "...Damn you, Vladimir....!!!" He resented Vladimir as his right hand full of his own blood now reached out to a syringe containing a crystal blue serum with a full dose ready to be injected "I will not let it end like this---NOT YET!" Viktor elevated the syringe into the air desperately. Lacking overall strength and fastly losing blood despite wearing a bullet chest, Viktor, with all of his possible strength, injected the serum into his heart arteria. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A few years back in Naomi''s life, she was still being introduced to the importance of her lineage. Unlike a normal human being in current modernity, she holds royal blood and carries a genetic tree that goes almost over a millennium, if not one at all. But, she could never quite accept the fact that this lineage was not a part of her choice. "...Why...? Why was I born an aristocrat in an age where republics reign completely over kingdoms...?" Naomi asked herself that while closed on the windowless library on the third floor with a multitude of books in front of her "...I wish I was born in a different time; circumstance, just not..." Naomi, as she succumbed to her conundrum at the young age of nine, found herself listening to a piano musical piece from the room next to the library "...What? Someone''s playing the piano...?" Naomi was shocked and withdrew herself from her golden chair with a height that utterly towered her. It was unlike her to move with such haste toward the hall of balambing daylight as the summer wind breeze spun out of control through the open windows yet Naomi showed no hesitation as she got curious. "I''ve never heard that piece before and I made sure to learn all of mother''s piano pieces, so just who is...?!" She slammed the door; panting and saw an ethereal figure upon her; all alone in a room where symphony and harmony were balanced in its primordial ambiance. Speechless, she couldn''t help but silently admire the delicate way the boy was waving through the piano with such precision yet compactness in his movements as they felt empowering like a storm of winds but completely calm like the earth itself. A certain level of ephemerality lay in his smile as he performed the piece of unknown music to Naomi live; his short blonde spiky hair fluttered in her direction as she was taken back---authentically stunned at his performance and his majestic stance in his black suit. "Well? I''m not a teacher, but I think I can do it just fine." He stopped momentarily as he engaged in an eye contact scenario with Naomi "My name is Damianov, but you can call me "Damian". Didn''t your father tell you?" He asks as he created space within his seat for Naomi to come on over "...Tell me... what?" She was confused but nevertheless took a few steps forward "Oh? I''m your new bodyguard starting today, haha!" Damian laughed a bit while looking at her, emitting confidence "...Really...? You''ll be... my bodyguard?" Naomi''s eyes glowed in joy and her heartbeat rose to new levels. Damian closed his eyes and flashed a bright smile in her direction almost immediately. "Of course, Mimi!" Damian on his own decided to adopt a diminutive to Naomi''s name by doubling on the end of her name "...Mimi...?" She became a bit ashamed as she felt comfortable enough to take a seat next to him in the piano seat "You don''t like it? I think it''s cute." Damian started to play the piano again, very gently ".....Thank you, Damian... You''re really nice..." Naomi begins to be more confident toward Damian as she smiled openly at him. On the outside garden full of various plants, in a certain small dining table for two, as one of the individuals sipped red tea from luxurious cups on that summer morning in a blazing July, he gained curiosity from the sound that was being transmitted to the outer atmosphere through the piano. "Arabesque no.1..." The man that many call by the codename of "leader" looked in the direction of the third floor as he made that comment "I never taught him that piece. He can be full of surprises, even to the trained eye." He paused the golden white tea cup onto the golden tea plate as Naomi''s father, the majesty himself, returned his word back "Can I take it that my daughter is safe?" He took a long sip of red tea as well "You don''t have to worry about a thing, King. Your daughter has never been safer. If all goes well, your bloodline might just prosper." The tall man in his red suit giggled "Now, now---" But the king had something to say about that "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves here." He laughs a bit as he jests "Just saying." They then began to talk about future events that would affect their upcoming years. For over a year, Damian would remain Naomi''s bodyguard and the two would begin to develop a relationship close to that of a friendship, if not more. Every day without missing, Naomi would call out for Damian to study, play games, talk, or just do about anything. As a matter of fact, there were barely any things that they didn''t do together. Of course, she was conscious to the point of not, for example, bath together. However, the point was, Damian had become essential for her. This is why, a year later, in July, as her birthday was coming up, she gathered a compassionate brainstorm while she stuffed her comfortable pillow around her chest and mouth. Her face was slightly red and bashful as her twin tails were scattered around her abnormally large bed. In a summer outfit that covered her torso, chest, and parts of her neck with a lingering tie in-between---the bottom part being pink shorts that went midway to the thigs'' end---Naomi''s heart beat faster than ever. "I couldn''t say it the last time because my birthday was a few days prior to his arrival but..." A solid heart bump after one another "I''ve mentioned it before that my birthday is on July 13th... But I wonder if Damian will remember...?" She pondered "....Maybe not... Father always remembers it, but mother always..." She started to get gloomy. With a twist of the body to the right, Naomi felt a bit anxious. "Mimi?" A soft two-knock was heard on the outside of the door of Naomi''s room "....!!!" Naomi immediately rolled over to the right side of her bed, ran as fast as possible to the door of her room, and opened it "Damian?! W-What brings you here so late?" Naomi had a fair point because it was midnight by this point and Naomi had to always go to bed at nine at night "What brings me here? Are you sure you don''t know?" Damian teased Naomi with a playful question that had an obvious answer considering the specific time. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The lights were off but the outer moonlight was sufficient for Naomi to know that it was Damian. Plus, unlike most times, Damian''s outfit was a simple white tank top and black sports pants with red slippers on his feet. His hair was far longer than his initial length as his luminous blonde hair reached his shoulders by now. Furthermore, his height had grown a bit more, meanwhile, Naomi was physically developing as well. ".....Uh...." She blushed a lot because she knew, and Naomi also started to fidget her right calf around while looking down "...My...?" She looked at Damian from below and he smiled in her direction as if to confirm her suspicions "Here, they''ll look cute on you." Damian and Naomi went to the borders of the sleeping bed where Damian gave her two identical accessories to her hands "What are these?!" She got enthusiastic as she had no idea what she was holding "The other day when I was away I went to a faraway town and found these on a shelf and thought they would look cute on your twin-tails." Damian softly grasped her purple twin tails with the tip of his right fingertips causing Naomi to blush "Not that I have something against the ones you are using right now, but..." Damian reached out to the knots that were holding her twin tails together behind her head gently. Slowly but surely, he unlocked the tie between her red knots and replaced them with a purple and yellow mini hook that would capture the strongest root of her lateral hair ultimately enabling her twin tails to become locked without constantly having to untie and tie a not repetitively. They stood aligned in an upper right diagonal direction. "I really like these a lot more. Why not try and take a look?" Damian pointed at the tall mirror containing two meters and a half in height to the right side of her room. Naomi''s hairstyle currently consists of a frontal fringe with semi-long bangs that reach her face cheeks. Her ears are mildly visible but only the latter half as the bangs cover the right part most. The back of her head instead of going down, starts to mold toward the top as she has two twin tails on the right and left side. From there on, each twin tail leads up to her back fluently. She took a look at it from all sides; diagonal, west, east, horizontal, vertical, just to grace upon her new look. "They look magnificent..." She primarily was talking about how she liked the colors of purple and yellow in her new knots "I second that. Oh and, happy birthday!" Damian claps to her and Naomi happily jumps into the bed "Thank you so much! To be honest, I was kinda afraid you wouldn''t remember..." She confessed her fear without hesitation with a bitter smile "No, no, I understand... If I''m honest with you I''ve been thinking about it for a long time now..." Damian looked at the ceiling as he lazily flopped onto her bed "...He''s been... thinking about it...?" Naomi couldn''t contain her surprise as she also lay her back on his right side in her bed. A moment of silence was then created, as Naomi and Damian looked to one another. Though young, Naomi already had a developed consciousness in regards to her so-called desires and if the person to whom her desires are connected is close to her, she will... "...Damian..." She started to question something as he looked at her with eagerness "...What do you think about me...?" Naomi moved a part of her fringe''s right side with her right index finger in order to see Damian better "You''re my precious mistress that I guard with all my life. Do you remember back in October?" Damian forcefully made her remember a somewhat uncomfortable "...Yeah..." Her eyesight became a bit closed "You''re the last member of a royal tree that has been up and going for centuries, so of course there will be people that will target you like them." Damian explained. What Damian was specifically saying was more toward the earlier event in October last year where a group of German terrorists had forcefully infiltrated the mansion secretly in order to kill Naomi. Most likely, a bounty on her head has been placed ever since there were several attempts to infiltrate the mansion as a means to get to her. However, this type of information is not known to her as Damian is mainly in charge of controlling the outer madness. "...But my question---I didn''t mean it like---" Damian uses his right hand as Naomi was speaking her doubts and places it on her face''s right face''s side soft pale skin "Mimi, just remember this----no matter how many times it takes, I will always save you. Regardless of how dangerous, or seemingly impossible it is, it''s my duty. And because of that, I am ultimately tied to you and only..." He gently kisses her forehead as her eyes widened in surprise "But, this is where our paths begin to diverge, Naomi." No longer calling her by her nickname, Damian begins to get up from the bed "....Dami....an....?" Feeling extra sleepy, Naomi''s eyes started to close, as she watched Damian go toward her room door "Happy birthday, Mimi." As her mind disconnected, she started to feel the effect of an earlier sleeping paralyzing agent in her dinner''s water. Her profound slumber would last for about ten hours as in the upcoming morning, Naomi would wake up---stretching her limbs in the process while yawning as well. Then, she would twitch her sleepy eyes as she couldn''t quite remember how she went to bed or what had happened before that. "....If I recall correctly I was having dinner and then went to bed...." But Naomi remembered the time when Damian secretly came into her room wishing her a happy birthday "That''s right, he even gave me these!" She said out loud while taking the right one off just to physically grasp it while mildly admiring it "....And after that.... I really can''t remember, I think I fell asleep." She concluded. She stuffed her bare feet in her bunny slippers and started to walk down the third hall; blessed by radiant daylight but in a very empty hall nevertheless. "Damiaaannnn!!" Lazily, Naomi shouted his name throughout the hall, and as expected, Damian came rushing in "......." Except he didn''t, which went against her expectations. No matter the occasion, Damin would come to Naomi''s calling at a blinding speed the moment his name was called. Yet Damian was nowhere to be seen, which left Naomi a bit clueless. "...Oh, I see. He''s probably planning something with father since it''s my birthday and they want to surprise me..." She grinned as she felt proud for figuring out something like that "Well, well, the joke''s on you Damian because I will pretend to be surprised but I actually expected it all along!" She picked up the pace and went forward in the direction of stairs that would lead to the second floor below. However, Naomi ignored the second floor entirely as she already knew where she had to go. Every year, without fail, on the first floor, there would be a party held for Naomi. And as she began to descend the stairway that would grow in horizontal size the deeper she went down, she began to observe a multitude of prestigious guests invited to attend her birthday. Though not directly royal, many of the guests which would go beyond at least a hundred in sheer numbers, were consistent in their vastly luxurious appearances as well as their presences all over the years Naomi''s birthday came up. Around the fine tables filled with plenty of expensive appetizers in a circular shape spreading over the large main hall on the first floor; the guests of honor in their suits/dresses saw the main star of the party rapidly descend from the stairs. Her reception was welcomed with a loud round of applause in addition to a shower of compliments as her father immediately wished her a happy birthday. "There''s my girl!" He is quick to raise her up in the air while supporting her body weight with his two hands "Happy birthday, Naomiria!" Furthermore, he spins her in joy despite his old age as he nears his fifties. Many other happy birthday wishes came forth from faces that Naomi knew but nonetheless didn''t personally know at best. Because, for all intended purposes, her true family members and blood-related members were her mother and father only. The rest had been killed in action as the name of her family has been brought down to such a state. But aside from that, Naomi looked around from left to right; completely starting to ignore all the nice words given to her as she focused on finding a single person to whom she couldn''t find, no matter how hard she tried. "....Where is Damian, father...?" Her eyes became slightly hollow as well as her voice "Damian? If I recall correctly, none of the guests here have that name, my dear. But I could be wrong, shall I consult them about it?" While talking to other guests he is well-versed with and holding a glass of fine red wine, her father didn''t mind aiding Naomi in her endeavor "No, no, no, father---that''s not it. It''s Damian... He''s been with us for a full year now!" She started to get impatient and a bit paranoid "....?" He couldn''t exactly see where she was coming from, so he decided to call the attention of all the present guests by tackling the cup of glass with a small iron spoon, causing Naomi to grow a certain delirium over her father''s behavior "Attention---Is there a Damian present?!" His voice reached out to all the guests in the room in a quick way. Silence hit the room immediately. "Father!!" Naomi exulted herself "How could you not remember Damian?! He''s my bodyguard! Stop lying to me!" Confused, her father wasn''t able to understand her, or just about anyone present as Naomi started to emit small tears from her eyes as she gritted her teeth "But I don''t understand! A bodyguard? Sweetheart, you never had one, and especially not someone with the name of... "Damian"!" Her father delivered the truth in spite of the specialty today ".......!?" Naomi began to feel perplexed as she couldn''t understand what her father was trying to tell her "...No way...." Her footsteps started to increase toward the main central staircase that would lead to the second floor "NO WAY! WHY ARE YOU ALL LYING TO ME?! DAMIAN!!" Out of nowhere, Naomi started to run upstairs, shocking everyone present; her father was in utter shambles. The second floor is mainly where the cooking rooms reside, although the first floor is where the food from the second floor which was in the process of preparation is transferred to the first floor in order to be delivered at demand. In the direction of the second floor''s third room, which, out of the five in total in the clear central one, Naomi was quick to slam the door---surprising the cooks that wore white uniforms and respectively tall cook hats. "Bastian! You need to hear this, father has lost it!" The main cook on the central table cooking; Bastian being a twenty-nine-year-old tall male muscular chef---took immediate note of the presence of Naomi and put down his kitchen knife as the other present chefs did too "Mistress, calm down." He grasps a nearby glass of water and filled it up; ultimately giving it to her but Naomi didn''t take it "Bastian, he was being so rude about Damian!" Naomi stomps the ground with closed fists ".....?" Bastian''s wide facial structure became mildly perplexed "Damian?" He asked while looking at the other chefs who nodded sideways "Yes, Damian!! I know you remember him because Damian has always helped you out when it came to preparing my meals all the time!!" Bastian looked down as he thought extremely deeply about what Naomi had just spoken. Ever since her young years, Bastion has been dedicated to making his mistress happy by performing his duty as a chef to the absolute core. However, besides being a chef, Bastion deeply cared about Naomi and her well-being. For that exact reason, he was very angry at himself for not being able to positively answer her. "Mistress, are you certain? I don''t remember any Damian." Bastian gave her the truth, which made Naomi angry---her expression becoming distorted in natural annoyance "Bastian, what do you mean you don''t remember?! You and Damian were always on good terms! You and he cooked my favorite meals regularly, and he was a great friend to you all! HOW DARE YOU ALL ACT LIKE HE NEVER EXISTED?!" She shouted with such impact that not a single person present didn''t feel the emotion behind her screams. Rushing through the door in order to form an escape with tears violently streaming down from her face as the bright morning began to transform into a thundering storm full of darkening clouds, Naomi went to the one place where she was sure that she would get a clear answer. "Mistress! MISTRESS!!" Bastian attempted to reach out to her "LEAVE ME ALONE!! DON''T TALK TO ME IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIE TO ME TOO!!" Naomi''s shouts increased in sound the more she screamed. Thunder struck outside as Naomi recklessly climbed beyond the sixth floor and went to the top floor of the mansion where a large dark carpet engulfed the floor of the lengthy hall. Without any curtains to decorate the monstrous-sized windows, the storm outside only became more threatening. Frequently, Naomi would avoid this specific floor of her mansion, but this time, she was feeling helpless and in need of an answer. "There''s just no way... No way! They''re all lying to me! Those mean jerks! Damian has been with us all year and they just won''t acknowledge that!" She came face to face with the one and only room on the final floor. That particular menacingly looming door with two glass skulls as door holds midst dark stripes over the two halves of the door had always struck terror in Naomi. Even so, she took the will upon herself and opened it with a somewhat brute force; despite the figure in her chair not recognizing her existence. "Mother!" Her voice reached out afar to a large black desk full of white papers as Naomi''s mother engaged in political tasks---the thunder striking down at the same time "What is it, child of mine? Has your father not given you my present? I see no reason for your upbringin---" Her lack of cooperation in today''s main event was out of the scope of Naomi''s endeavor "Damian! You must know something about him! Last year, father hired him to come along and become my bodyguard! He has defended the mansion several times, saved me countless times yet everyone''s telling me that they don''t know who he is!" She pled to her mother, who refused to bat an eye on her daughter. Naomi''s mother was a fairly skeletal slim person nearing her forties. Her thin long hair though shined brilliantly in the presence of the thunder; only invigorating her exhausted facial muscles who dreamed to see rest. Through her thin fingers, she restlessly held a pen with masterful ink as she wrote down each word in precise timing. Lacking any sense of decoration or perhaps simply refraining from unnecessarily adding furniture, aside from her desk, the rest of the room is tainted in black as the walls showed some clarity as the strong black opposed the rampageous white lightning. No shelves, no couches, no chandeliers, all that is in that room is a desk with a candle running on a small burning flame amidst endless rows of papers owned by a frozen-hearted individual who knows no rest. "Daughter, I am not in the mood for jokes." Her voice lacked any emotion but wasn''t spiteful by contrast---simply hollow "If your business here is done, then go elsewhere now." Another paper was finished and subsequently, she took hold of another from the top of a pile to the left "......!!!" Feeling extremely worthless and with a lingering pain in her throat; Naomi couldn''t physically form a sentence. Silently, Naomi turned around while she deeply cried. Her steps became limp and didn''t have the same energy as they had before. Defeated and with her face down, she decided to leave the looming dark room. Lost and without a sense of direction, she automatically went to her room; locking herself in it with her keys in order for no one to walk in potentially. Naturally, there was more than just one attempt to approach her, but they were all in vain as Naomi lent them no assistance in their pleas. Especially when it came down to her father. With her dark blue room''s curtains closed off and without any light being able to penetrate the solitude of the fortress that was Naomi''s room, she sank into a depressive stage of grief as she swam deeply into her pillows covered in watery liquid from her tears. She stranded her pillow''s boarders with her shaking fingertips as her heartbeat approached levels of convulsion that would be medically alarming; as well as her constant inhaling and exhaling process which was frequently faster out of her sheer anxiety. "Damian....!!" Her sorrow reached new heights as her own heartbeat became physically painful for her to bear "It''s so painful without you here... Where did you go...?!" Her eyes could barely be open due to the swelling from her tears "Everyone keeps saying they don''t remember you but I know you were real, and--and---" The pauses between her words became more prevalent "Why... Why did you go away... You mean so much to me and I can''t do anything on my own... Damian, why...?!" The volume of her cry-out increased as she screamed at her pillow. Roaring through the dark sky, thunderbolts came crashing down during that day. Noise so outstandingly loud that the ugliest screams of despairs or even the heartbreaking moments felt during a merciless storm---would nevertheless take away their audition from it. Even so, a cohesive ethereal voice could clearly be heard from Naomi''s side as her grief prolonged. "Hey." A mysterious voice echoed into Naomi''s mind as she put a halt to her sorrow. Quickly, she rose to mid-height and twisted her head in the right direction and then to the left; crawling aimlessly in her bed in the hope of identifying where the voice came from. "Not there---here." The voice briefly gave a more noticeable trait to its location as a glimpse of the truth behind it could be seen in a mirage in her room "...Damian...? Oh my God, is that you...?!" Naomi weakly got out of her bed and went face to face with the mirror adjoined to her room''s right side. Though Naomi didn''t notice, this mirror was completely different from the one she was familiar with yet the lack of light in the room didn''t allow her to make the distinguishing difference. It was a mirror in theory, but it was essentially a glowing mirage under the surface of a glimmering yellow portal as it alluded to a distant temple on a faraway shore. "I missed you so much! Come back, Damian! Father, Bastian, and the others don''t believe you exist but if you show up, I''m sure they''ll remember! It''s really weird, I have no idea what''s going on!" Naomi didn''t hesitate to explain the difficult feelings that she was feeling to the voice that is, for that matter, the Damian she is familiar with "I can''t, Naomi." The voice felt closer but no other person appeared "But why...?" Naomi wondered as she got closer to the mirage "Come here, I''ll explain everything---there''s not much time, Naomi." He said "We can be together again if you just follow through." Damian''s voice started to become incredibly distant "...D-Damian...?!" But this time, no response came forward. Shackled by a sense of despair and anxiety, Naomi thought little about what she would do next and immediately started to walk forward into the bright portal that would unravel unknown contents to her description yet she cared not as she only wanted one thing. The glowing light transformed into an open path of bright light with no clear end in sight, but Naomi saw in the north direction, a boy running forward while saying something despite not looking back. "This way, Mimi!" He extended his right hand from the back in her direction but he was too far away "Damian! Where are we going?!" She got slightly afraid but nevertheless started to run in his direction "That doesn''t matter! Once we reach the temple, we can be together--forever, just the two of us!" Damian spoke his intention as the path began to show an end in the form of a closed door. However, by the time the door was physically accessible to Naomi, Damian was no longer there. "Damian?! Where did you go?!" She started to get scared in front of the three-meter-tall dark door containing two cryptic halves "I''m on the other side! Just push through the door and get in here! It''s beautiful! There are water fountains everywhere, Naomi!" Damian''s voice became enthusiastic and lively, making Naomi no longer hesitant about going forward. All Naomi had to do was push the door holds in a downward direction and she would be able to access a scenario she would finally be able to see. "Just for how long do you intend on sleeping for exactly?" Another voice, from behind, called out to Naomi "...This voice..." Naomi looked back, where the previous light had become engulfed with a penetrating darkness "Hey, Mimi, hurry up!" Damian tells her to rush the opening of the door "I''ll be there in a second, just wait!" Naomi said "No, you won''t." The voice counter-argues "This is not real. Wake up." The voice started to repeat itself until it completely fizzled out as Naomi''s mind started to become disconnected, without a sense of ground backing it up. The night''s suave light embraced the atmosphere gracefully through the moonlight illuminated by the open windows---the fluttering blue curtains reigning freely in the directions that they deemed right to go. As Naomi felt the soft touch of a hand on her right face''s cheek, her eyes started to slowly open. Admittedly, she was feeling extremely sleepy to the point she had to brush her eyes with her right hand. ".....There we go..." The individual behind the voice took his hand out of her face and greeted her with a smile "Had a good sleep, princess?" Viktor asked with a soft smile on his lips "Viktor...? I... That''s weird..." She said as she got up. On the borderline of her bed, after putting the cushions away, she sat side by side with Viktor, who was wearing a familiar black suit with a red tie. Naomi stretched her arms to the top a little bit before speaking once again in her pink comfortably soft pajamas. "I had a dream---or maybe a nightmare. It was long and a bit painful, it was back when I was ten years old... It''s weird because I remember it all so vividly..." Her right hand intertwined with her left as she took them together to her chest area "Is that so? I think I have good news for you though!" Viktor said and Naomi became curious "The nightmare is over. It was a bit complicated at first, but it was essentially just an assassination attempt on you and all I had to do was to stop it. So, we can get out of here and go to the next one. Well?" Viktor proposed. He explained the situation and Naomi then recalled something particularly similar that Viktor had with another person. "Viktor, you... A-Are you...?" She became shocked at the realization but Viktor denied it immediately "No---we are not the same. If you''re thinking about him, then just remember, that it''s not me." He clearly denied it and got up from the bed, as a transparent way of saying that they should move on "Viktor, what are you talking?!" She became spasmodic with her movements as she got up from the bed as well "You''re clearly Damian! You two even look identical! Yet how come...?" She couldn''t quite figure out why Viktor and Damian were so alike and just exactly what was keeping them from being the same person altogether "He''s a past incarnation of mine." Naomi became perplexed almost immediately "Damianov is one of my previous lives from a most likely alternative universe, a different Earth---so, Naomi, by all means, don''t think we are the same person; physical indeticies and such don''t mean much when it comes down to the core. Alright?" Viktor concludes. A bit disappointed, Naomi had to digest that, but even so, she was quite curious about a few things. They started to leave the room and they came into contact with the hall on the sixth floor, which had multiple dead bodies. Of course, Naomi was quick to jump to Viktor''s back, utterly afraid and terrorized by the brutal sight of multiple dead black suits. "OH MY GOD! SO MANY, WHY?!" Afraid, she refused to open her eyes as she hid behind Viktor who kept on going nevertheless "Can''t you stop walking?! I can''t digest this, I think I''m going to throw up!" Viktor took another step but after looking outside from the windows and realizing something, he halted his tracks "...It''s not there..." His voice emitted a certain type of skepticism as he turned around to Naomi who was opening her eyes out of curiosity toward what Viktor had just said "...What?" Now fully open, she faced Viktor "The portal is not where I started. I know for a fact because I started there, at that exact entrance." Viktor pointed at it from afar. Dead bodies aside, Viktor thus far had been able to go through a portal that was in the exact same location from where he initially initiated the nightmare. The very fact that this was not true, for Viktor, meant that there was something going on to which he most likely had no power around it. "Naomi, where do you think the portal is...?" He asked; his eyes becoming slightly blurry as well as his breath coming as ragged "What? How should I know?" Naomi, who had no idea, gave the obvious answer to which, Viktor sighed with a little smile "Silly, take a guess... It doesn''t matter if you don''t really know where it is, just where you think it is..." Viktor emphasized "It''s your nightmare, so, you might have a clear idea where it might be... I''m open to suggestions, that''s basically what I''m saying." He concluded as he placed his right palm on his burning forehead "...Oh..." Naomi realized his point. She thought for a while as Viktor looked at her very carefully; not interrupting her---except she was taking so much time that he made a proposition. "A place where you wouldn''t want to be in, Naomi..." He sounded impatient "....." She realized a place like that at the top of her mind right away "I think I know where the portal is then!" She sounded brightly enthusiastic like a child making a new discovery as she smiled at Viktor who gave her a weak smile in return "...That so... Looks like the princess Naomiria can be useful after all..." Viktor chuckled a bit as he mocked Naomi "What''s that supposed to mean?! I can be useful, you know?!" Embarrassed and ashamed, she was quick to rebuke "Lead the way then..." Viktor still insisted as he lagged behind "Fine! You''ll see!" Determined to prove herself, she started to pick up the pace ever slightly as she overthrew Viktor. With impatience, Naomi began to walk to the left side of the hall, which would ultimately lead to a staircase allowing full access to the last floor of the mansion at the very top; the seventh floor. Puffing at Viktor''s previous words, she got somewhat bitter while crossing the part of the hall that didn''t have dead bodies. "Also, you are totally Damian, Viktor! I don''t care about your theory, you two are carbon copies alike! You two talk the same way, look the same way---you have the same blonde hair in the right direction, and most importantly, your red eyes are identical! Yet somehow you mean to tell me that you are not him just because he''s supposedly from a different time?! Well, I don''t care about that!" She shouted as she began to climb the stairway steps that went on in an upper diagonal direction "But it''s really weird at the same time! Because before you woke me up I was in a dream---well, maybe nightmare is the best word for it---" She silently corrected herself "Damian was leading me to a faraway place and he described it just like... The temple where we met... But why can''t I... remember anything after that...? How did I get into the temple in the first place...?" Questions began to pile up as Naomi couldn''t find the answer to them. Viktor''s steps started to cease as Naomi continued to climb; almost at the top of the ladder where the brilliant moonlight encapsulated the harmonic essence of the night through the windows. "Ahhh, it''s all so confusing!!" She began to scramble her frontal hair strands in sequence "Hey, Viktor? You said that you wanted to go to Hell for some reason, but if you''re here, then does that mean you don''t exist in the timeline where I''m in? Or is that Damian''s timeline? If so, then does that mean...?" Naomi reached the top of the ladder where the seventh floor would start. A place with little discretion to its upbringing yet a tumbling sound in the staircase called out to Naomi''s attention as she found something weird going on. "Viktor? What''s wrong, you''ve been really quiet. That''s not like you at all, is it?" She looked back at the stairway behind her that would have ten degrees downward and then it would turn to the left leading downwards once again "Viktor...?" Behind her, she didn''t find Viktor whatsoever, which was strange for her "...Oh come on now, you are a bit of a prankster but this is a little too inappropriate, after all, I am speaking my true feelings here..." Naomi descended the stairs little by little with a condescending smile on her face "...Uh, can you at least say something? I don''t really like this, you know? I''ve agreed that we should do this faster because, well, a part of me really wants to go back to reality, and having to go through these nightmares can be really bad for my mental health. I''m having trouble distinguishing what is real and what isn''t because this all feels real. Too much real, if I may add..." She added. On the verge of turning to the left side, still without Viktor in sight, Naomi turned around and faced the previous staircase that would be connected to the sixth floor. Amidst those stair degrees, a trail of scarlet liquid could be seen as it was mapped all the way down below to the original source. Her eyes widened in shock and dismay as the lifeless figure remained cold at the beginning of the staircase with its right arm reaching out; his body posture completely lacking any regularity in posture. "...Viktor.....?" Naomi started to slowly approach the pool of blood that was still far away from her "That''s not funny, hey... Viktor, come on, get up..." Her steps increased in velocity, causing her to stumble upon the degrees as she lost sight of them; ultimately leading her to fall down the stairs in pain "Agh!" Her tumbling down process made her come across Viktor''s body as his face was facing down fully. In pain, she struggled to get up at the beginning of the staircase, as Naomi placed her hands on Viktor''s back; her hands swimming in dark-colored blood. "Viktor?! VIKTOR?!" Ignoring the pain in her limbs, Naomi shook Viktor''s body as his face lay facedown; his legs were completely limp as well as his upper body part "No, no---NO! This can''t be happening! This blood----When?! When did it begin?!" She began to cry almost immediately as she clung to Viktor''s body just to see his face; revealing a pale hollow expression with blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth---his eyes authentically colorless "No, no, no, no, no, noooo!!!" She grieved as Naomi''s head adjoined to Viktor''s left face of his face with tears streaming down her face. In plain sight, Viktor is out of life energy; facing death. The skin necklace around Viktor''s neck that is almost never present shuns its presence in that present time. Skirmishing around with its retina, it looked at Naomi''s teary face as it acknowledged the grief from the individual. It also recognized that its wielder was no longer alive and as such, it entered a state of recovery by talking to the other individual whose life had not been stripped away from her. "Feed him; creature." A ghostly voice spoke out of the glossy eyeball "...?!" Naomi didn''t notice the existence of the eye until now but after taking a look at Viktor''s neck area, she caught a glimpse of it as its stare clearly was capturing Naomi''s essence "F-Feed him?! Feed him what?! Do you know how I can help Viktor?! He''s not dead, isn''t he?!" Naomi, in denial, didn''t question the existence of the talking eyeball and was quick to wish for assistance "His time in this realm is dissecting; feed me to him for he longs to say something to you and you alone." It requested. Bewildered at what exactly should she do, Naomi was confused, to say the least. Especially at the part when it said that it required Viktor to be fed upon the living talking eyeball. However, as Naomi didn''t want Viktor to die, she took ahold of the eyeball from the necklace around Viktor''s neck; took it off from that area, and then stood mildly exasperated when it came down to the task itself. "This is weird! Feed him how?! Do I shove you onto his throat or something?! It''s also extremely inconvenient that you are somehow connected to a skin necklace!" Naomi complained toward the eyeball "Do as you see fit." It refused to elaborate "....!!" Naomi became furious at the current ambiguity, so she acted out of impulse by putting the entire necklace alongside the live eyeball in her mouth; ultimately driving it to Viktor''s mouth in order for him to receive what the eyeball was talking about earlier. Disconnecting from mouth to mouth, a thread of saliva mixed with blood was formed as Naomi rose her head; hoping to see some sort of reaction from Viktor. A large heartbeat could then be heard, as Viktor''s upper torso was devastated by a random impulse. "ARGH!!" Viktor unleashed a shout in agony "Viktor?! Oh my God, I knew you were alive!!" Naomi rejoiced as soon as possible "....Naomi...!" Unable to get up and with only a lasting strength, Viktor looked at Naomi as he grabbed her right arm with his weak grip from his right hand "...Get me to the portal.... This is only fucking temporary, I''m actually dead....!!" Viktor coughed extreme amounts of blood as his eyes started to bleed out as well "What?! You''re dead?!" The illusion was broken "...Now''s not the time to overreact!! These wounds will cease to exist if I''m in another realm, in other words, by taking the portal I can..." Viktor gave the most he could as a form of explanation, considering his poor condition "I get it! I''m not dumb, geez! Just wait, I''ll carry you over!" Naomi started to attach herself to Viktor despite the vast blood from within. Wrapping her shoulders around his chest and placing Viktor''s right arm on Naomi''s right side, she started to forcefully drag Viktor from the staircase albeit struggling to do so as this particular task took a heavy physical toll on her. "Just wait, Viktor!!" She began to climb the stairs that now seemed to stretch to infinity; with tears in her eyes "I''ll save you, no matter what! I won''t let you die! So please, just hold on!!" Through a physical struggle, Naomi continued to climb up the stairs as Viktor''s body revealed a trail of blood covering the stairs the further Naomi took him up. Though with little life to his body, his eyes still emitted a type of resistance that indicated that he was trying to somehow fight the inevitable. Little by little, Naomi had gotten to the seventh floor; panting all over the place as she physically struggled to move. Her joints hurt from the earlier fall and her breathing was becoming chromatic. "....Naomi...." Viktor looked at Naomi, though frail "....Just.... wait.... I''ll... get you... to the...." Viktor''s body was escaping her physical grasp as her hands had grown somewhat numb, but even so, she tried to get to the door to her mother''s office "......." Viktor looked at how much Naomi was fighting despite the clear adversity. Meekly, Naomi grasped the door hold with her left hand, but Viktor, on the other hand, took the right one; and with little to no strength in their bodies they had gotten a successful result as the two halves that encapsulated the door''s structure began to slowly open. "Oh, finally, we are...!" Naomi didn''t hesitate to show joy as she saw a glowing portal completely identical to the previous ones on the right side of the looming dark office. Yet, there was a particular feature that took Naomi and even Viktor by surprise. Not only was there a portal with a width of over two meters circulating in a glimpsing light on the right side of the wall of the room---but there was an equal portal on the left side of the room, which immediately confused them. However, their confusion only aggravated as a voice came to life by applying a twisting spin on the desk''s black chair; now facing Viktor and Naomi. "That hurt a bit... I thought you were coming with me..." The figure placed his right fist on the right side of the face by supporting the right elbow onto the desk''s surface "...Damian...?" Naomi was taken aback as she caught the glimpse of Damian seating on the very same chair that her mother would frequently be in "The one and only. Why the sudden change of heart, Mimi? I thought you said you missed me and wanted to be with me yet..." Damian pointed at Viktor aggressively "You''d abandon our commitment for someone like him? Someone whose time together doesn''t hold a candle in comparison to ours?" Damian showed angst towards Naomi''s relationship with Viktor. Particularly confused and unable to make a correct judgment, Naomi kept switching from Viktor and Damian as they looked completely the same---lacking in absolutely nothing. It''s as if two twin brothers were present in the same room. "I...." Naomi became vulnerable as she saw Damian getting up from his chair "Shhh... It''s alright---you might not realize it at first, but I''m a forgiving person." Damian approached Naomi as Viktor was hanging by a thread on her side "I''m hurt, but I think you were just confused, Mimi... Especially, by the lies of this... impostor." He looks at Viktor, who despite his lingering condition, is looking at Damian with rage "...Naomi...!! He''s not real... Don''t fall for his words...!! We need to get to the portal...!!" Viktor reinforced the real priorities however, it went to deaf ears, as Naomi was listening only to Damian. With his right hand, Damian took ahold of Viktor''s head and allowed him to fall on the ground; subsequently reaching his right fingertips to Naomi''s lips as she was utterly absorbed onto Damian''s face; his words sounding like a lullaby. "Viktor..." She looked at Viktor who was struggling to get up with massive indecision "Now, now..." Damian twisted her head gently in his direction "He''s not a problem anymore. Because----we can be together, forever. All you have to do is... abandon him and we will go through that portal..." Damian looked at the right side of the room where one of the portals was allocated "...Abandon... Viktor...?" Her eyesight shifted from Damian to Viktor as she questioned Damian''s words, ultimately going back to Damian---as his lips grew closer to hers "That''s right... Leave him to die---he doesn''t have much time anyways... Plus, he really is only using you to achieve his personal goal, isn''t he?" Damian looked at Viktor with a mocking grin "...What...?" But this was sufficient to shock Naomi as she instantly wanted to know what Damian meant. Losing the strength to act and being physically incapacitated to do anything, Viktor was left powerless as he had to watch the upcoming development unfold in front of his eyes. "This fraud is just using you, Mimi. Truth is, he finds you beyond annoying and unbearable, so all he wants is to do a quick speed run through your nightmares. And with that, everything can go in his favor..." Naomi becomes shocked and perplexed as she couldn''t believe what Damian was saying "...No, no... No way, Viktor wouldn''t... do..." Damian felt the river of tears flowing through her eyes as he comforted her face''s surface with soft facial touches "He really couldn''t care less... After all, you just have to know one thing, Mimi. He''s a Hell convict. Lying, deception, manipulation, and treachery---those are all parts of him and you were a target of such cruelty..." He hugs Naomi as she begins to cry once again. Feeling completely in the presence of warmth and comfort from the cold truth that she had just discovered, Naomi had then decided. "...We will be together, forever, right...?" Naomi asks while looking at Damian, who gave a confident reply "We will, Mimi. You''ll never have to go through another nightmare again... In that place, you will know peace and we can finally love each other---that''s what you always wanted... my love." Damian promised and Naomi blushed while feeling genuinely affectionate for his words "...Alright..." She replied to Damian and then looked toward Viktor, who was bleeding out on the floor "...I''m sorry, Viktor, but I think... I think that he''s the one I really want---not you." She spearheaded those words to Viktor; his eyes widening respectively. Damian elevated his supreme stare towards Viktor; clearly emphasizing who the winner of the story was as he and Naomi began to walk to the portal---where their distant promised land lay. Volume 1 - Chapter 4: Nightmare #1 "I guess I should explain a few things first, shouldn''t I?" He spoke as he walked with her in the linear path accompanied by young refreshing water above a liquified bridge underneath solid ground "Like how I''m alive at this present time and what really caused my absence in the first place..." Damian looked with sorrow in his eyes toward Naomi on his right side "So you really disappeared back then! I wasn''t crazy, after all!" Naomi cried in joy. Naomi and Damian, after having taken the portal together to the other side, now found themselves on a straightforward path in a water bridge of a width of two meters and an unknown length as it led to what seemed to be the entrance of a faraway temple with a mini-temple on the very top. Surrounding it was a calm ocean unlike the one Naomi knew from the temple; that violent and never-ending ragging compilation of tall tidal waves. This ocean only tapped its feet at best under that bright cerulean atmosphere without clouds at sight; the sun at the very top shining ephemerally. "First, I should tell you something very important to start off..." Naomi paid close attention as they kept walking without looking back "I''ve been trapped inside that nightmare for some time now---the one in the mansion." Damian explains, causing Naomi to awe "What?! I can''t believe it, all this time... you''ve been trapped in that nightmare too...?!" Damian looked into her eyes "Yes, Mimi. Every time, I was killed, however. The oppressing terrorist group that Viktor belongs to is called "Gulag" and for the longest time, they have targeted you for their assassination attempts... Of course, I was able to retaliate every time against them, but this time, it was different. Their overpowering forces led me to die every time in that damn nightmare..." A flashing image in Naomi''s mind of Damian dying over and over caused her mind to become fragile as she began to shake. Seeing that sight, Damian approached her slowly and gently hugged her; embracing the back part of her body while whispering consolatory words to her left ear. "Mimi, it''s alright..." He giggled for a moment "Truth is, Viktor was the one who was leading the entire operation on his own. He, alongside Gulag, aimed to kill your family and... your father and mother, because of him...!" Damian showed grief and rage in the mixture as Naomi''s blood pressure rose as well as her anxiety as she realized what Damian wanted to say but couldn''t out of kindness "Nooooooooo---" She cried and cried over his chest as he patted her head, nevertheless continuing explaining "But I knew all along what his goal was... That''s why I waited until he completed the nightmare out of his own greed; let it all play out and now that he''s physically harmless without a way to fight back, he couldn''t come between you and me---and our... destiny to be forever together, Mimi." He kissed her on her lips albeit forcefully as Naomi at first didn''t know how to react to it. Pushing Damian back as she couldn''t process the sudden need for a kiss, Naomi got away a little. "Wh... What are you doing...?! I---" Confused by her own action and Damian''s, Naomi became nervous "....." Damian showed a more serious look instead of his usual playful style "...My bad. Maybe that wasn''t the right timing, after all." Damian apologized and started to move forward again "...I... I didn''t mean to, it''s just..." She attempted to clear the awkward atmosphere in the air "It''s fine. I got too over my head, Mimi. I think I love you so much that I just couldn''t resist it." Damian added, with a grin on his face "Mhm..." She silently nodded "...Oh, I haven''t really explained how I died, right? Otherwise, I couldn''t be here. I''ll have you know that this is, although not the realm of the dead, it''s a realm where trapped souls lie. In other words, a dead person really has no place here. It''s almost foul, actually..." Damian said, with a stern voice "...What? You died, right, Damian?" Confused, Naomi questioned Damian "Yes. That night, I died, because Viktor killed me." He pointed at the center of his head. Damian went ahead and explained how Viktor had killed him previously with a bullet to his head while trying to protect Naomi, even though Naomi couldn''t remember such a thing. "That''s why I said he''s an impostor, Mimi. I don''t know how, but he managed to obtain my exact looks and face... That''s why, from the very beginning, he''s been tricking you into believing he''s someone else and now---he wanted to further confuse you by eliminating me from the picture." Damian concluded his reasoning and Naomi was fully convinced by now that Viktor had been deceiving her all along "It''s a nightmare, Mimi. And he''s---a part of it." He turned around while still approaching the temple''s stairs that weren''t that far away now "I''m sorry you had to go through that but it''s all over now." He reassured Naomi "...It''s a big surprise for me, I just---didn''t think that he would go through such lengths... Also, Damian..." Naomi had one particular question "Hm?" He started to look at the massive upward stairs that would ultimately connect to the upper temple. Starting to enter the staircase that had degrees of a whooping three meters in width and a very small twenty centimeters height from one another---accompanied with two structures on each side serving as handrails covered in light blue, Damian and Naomi started to climb, although it seemed to stretch to the sky itself. "I know this place... When I fell into a slumber and was put inside the temple, I remember that I could walk in and out just by having the idea that I could in my mind, but it was always raining and the water below was incredibly deep... Which contrasts the water now; it''s so calm and nurturing... Do you know what caused this?" She asked Damian and he thought for a bit while ascending alongside her "I think th---" Damian made a short and cohesive stop as his entire being felt something immediately "...Damian?" Curious as to why Damian was suddenly looking so incredibly serious---his vision completely narrowed and focused---Naomi couldn''t help herself. By brutal force, Damian grabbed Naomi''s left wrist and began to drag her to the upper degrees; completely setting Naomi paranoid. "W-- What''s going on?! Damian?!" Having her body be dragged forward, Naomi felt physical pain as Damian without warning was looking in a rush to get to the top "....Damn it, no way, how the hell...?!" Extremely flustered and annoyed, for some reason, Damian refused to elaborate as he ceased to care for Naomi''s well-being "HURRY UP!! WE DON''T HAVE MUCH TIME!" He shouted, without looking in Naomi''s direction; continuing to drag her "What?! You''re acting all weird, Damian! At least explain!! Why do we need to get to the temple so badly?!" But Damian refused to abide by her request and nevertheless went up climbing each degree with more and more speed as he pushed Naomi by her right wrist. A subtle friction on the bridge from afar resembling that of a metallic object arousing the surface, interfered with Damian''s audition as he looked behind where the previous bridge of low water remained. In it, he spots a figure dragging an object of sharp edges in his right hand; as well as his outfit consisting of a blueish kimono; contradicting Damian''s ever-present black suit with a red tie. Though far away, it was enough for Naomi to also notice him. "...Is that...?!" Naomi couldn''t believe her sight but Damian already knew what was coming if he had tried to just waste a single moment "That''s him! We can''t waste time here, he''s aiming to kill us both!" Damian said "What?! But that''s----" Naomi was skeptical as she switched between looking far away to where the figure was and Damian on her left side mildly panicking "Don''t question me, damn it! Just look at what he''s holding, he''s---" Damian stopped speaking the moment he couldn''t capture the sight of the figure in the bridge below them---which created a distance of around fifty meters in-between "What?! Where did he go?! He was right over there!" Damian shouted. The friction became lively as it grew closer to its intended target; a fragrance of iron clashing with a hardened surface. Its silky skin embraced the entirety of the sword that held over one meter and a half. Two extended eyes reigned on the structure of the dual sides of the sword; their retinas highly focused on Damian whereas in, a familiar eyeball was placed at the very sharp tip of the sword where the end of it lies. Bouncing it from left to right like a child finding a new toy, the figure found the sword interesting, to say the least. His preferences for swords are usually complex as they tend to vary from hardened iron, rarety in minerals infused with them, differences in their height, and even design. However, this one didn''t exactly fit his criteria because it was something he had never before seen. A sword of human pale skin with three eyes (two on the horizontal sides of the blade and one eyeball at the border of the tip) alongside a cable containing what appeared to be a roll of intestines wrapped around it. Heavy as it was, it still wasn''t a problem to him, as he was more fascinated by what exactly the design of the sword was supposed to resemble as it incorporated human body elements. "Not to ruin the parade, but I really can''t handle the whole impostor thing, seriously..." Viktor laid out a serious complaint as he cast his eyesight on Damian and Naomi, who were below him when it came down to the stairs "It would be one thing if you got the story right, but lying about it actually pisses me off..." He hits his right shoulder with the back of the human skin blade as they became perplexed "....You''re alive, Viktor...?" Naomi said "Yeah, thanks for the help, by the way. I really appreciate the fact that you let me die for your old crush. Very touching, I must say." Viktor replied with a hint of sarcasm, Naomi looking conflicted in the process "So you''ve come to put a stop to us, impostor?" Damian doesn''t back off from the accusation and calls Viktor an impostor once again. Mildly upset and visibly disturbed, Viktor took that personally as he decided that it would be fine this time to let his impatience let loose just a bit. "I have a ton of questions, but first..." Viktor points the skin sword at Damian; the eyeball at the edge of the tip glaring at him mercilessly "Who the hell are you? You''re not my past incarnation, because, from all the babbling you''ve done thus far, you''ve gotten several points wrong! First of all, I didn''t die protecting sweet little princess over here, I was killed off by the "leader" of the Gulag. You''d actually know that for a fact if you were the past "me", and no, it wasn''t a bullet to the brain. My head actually got chopped the fuck off, haha!" Viktor started to laugh like a lunatic as Damian began to show signs of nervosity; making Naomi question all that she had listened to thus far. Viktor continued. "Second..." He directs his sword at Naomi this time, making her unbelievably pale just from the notion of the swing though far away "I was not trapped in a nightmare along with you, I had orders to retreat and everyone in that mansion was forced to lie to you about me---the Damian from that time. I''m sure they felt bad for lying to you, but your father and the "leader" at the time, had a bit of a disagreement. So yeah, that''s the real reason, not some random melancholic bullshit that this idiot was cooking." Viktor retreated his sword, now locking it onto Damian again "And third----You are trying to rush her to get to the temple, which I bet is the place that was keeping her stuck in this realm all along..." Damian clicks his tongue "Tsk...." Viktor grins with bright cockiness to show "Oh fuck, I was right! Haha! Alright, so... You''re not my past incarnation for sure, but you are a physical copy of it, born from her imagination most likely." Naomi couldn''t get where Viktor was getting at. Seeing her confusion, Viktor sighed deeply and gave his rundown on it. "Now look here... You''re going through some emotional trauma here because I''m about to chop-chop your carbon fiber copy of my past incarnation who you happened to have a massive crush on..." Naomi blushes in annoyance at Viktor''s bluntness "I-I-I-I did not!!" She closes her eyes in denial "Wrooooongg, but that''s not the point." She looks at Viktor now "The point is, you''re being too much of a crybaby about every single thing and you''re too damn gullible! Damn it, woman, how dare you leave me behind in that room for a fake like him?! I had to crawl up to the goddamn portal just to survive!" Viktor started to get furious toward Naomi without a shred of mercy at sight "It would be one thing if he had at least given you reasons to claim that he''s better than me, but from all that I''ve heard, it''s just nonsensical affection. Try to clear your heart out of your mind, will you?" Viktor concludes the scolding as Naomi sulks a bit. However, while Viktor was finished talking, Damian took hold of Naomi''s neck and placed her hostage by aligning a desert eagle to the right side of her head. "D-Damian?! What are you---" Panicking, Naomi found herself locked as Damian had physical control over her body movements with his left arm hooking her neck "Shut up now, this is where it gets serious..." Damian locked onto Viktor who did the same "Aww, what''s wrong, "bro"? Couldn''t keep up the act?" Viktor questioned as he still didn''t move from his position "I was going to, but... Somehow, it looks like you''ve gone ahead and made a "deal" with it?" Damian pondered "It''s not a deal if I don''t have a saying in the matter, which I didn''t..." Viktor looked at the eyeball at the tip of the blade "I see. This is very simple. You will walk the other way and continue on while I get her to the top, otherwise, I will put a bullet in her head." Damian said, but he also confused Viktor in the process. Naomi was bewildered by all of this, as she couldn''t figure out how any of what was happening was good for her. Furthermore, her vocal cords were being slightly pressed due to Damian''s strong grip on them. "If you kill her, wouldn''t that mean that your mission has failed? For God knows why, you need her to get there, so killing here sounds highly counterproductive..." Viktor spoke, despite what his words could imply to Naomi "Wrong, I only really need her physical vessel." Damian rebuked "Ahh, I see. So, what''s the other catch?" Viktor eagerly asked, his eyes more open than usual with a permanently closed smile on his face "The bullet goes to---" Damian points at Viktor and shoots him in the heart without warning "You." A loud bang was heard as Viktor''s heart was pierced by a hailing bullet "VIKTOR!!" Naomi shouted as she watched Viktor get shot; as well as his body falling behind to the steps. Still holding on to the blade, in spite of his body fall---Viktor weakly erupted his right arm and pointed the blade at the exact same spot his heart was shot at. Subsequently, with all the physical strength he had on his body, he gave a wicked grin as he pierced his own flesh with the blade. "?!" Damian, who continued with his grip applied to Naomi, couldn''t help but sense an anomaly in what Viktor was doing as he saw the blade receiving a vigorous liquid to its composition "...What the... I knew something was off about that blade... He had warned me about their existence, but I didn''t think that I would encounter one on my mission to this sector...!!" Damian smiled but showed a high quantity of anxiety piling up inside as his gun was trembling. Slowly, Viktor got up from the degrees, supporting his left hand on one of the degrees as he emerged. Particularly speaking, the blood on his kimono wasn''t as prevalent as when he got shot, but trails of it still remained. As for his sword, it had gained lively veins over its surface as the eyes began to emit a radiant scarlet color. "You must''ve wondered how I was able to hear all of that considering the distance between us... Truth is, I feel like all my senses have never been this clearer before, and now..." He aims his sword in the very opposite direction of Damian "I will give you a demonstration of superiority, so pay close attention to me." Viktor strikes a full-on ninety-degree angle swing as he hits the pure air around him, causing absolutely nothing to happen. He walks in the direction of the swing and rapidly fades out of existence as Damian and Naomi could no longer see him. "That''s strike one." A voice whispered to Damian''s left ear as Viktor''s human skin blade penetrated the left calf of his body; avoiding Naomi in the process "ARGH!!" Feeling slight pain, Damian unlocked the lock; freeing Naomi in the process but as well firing a bullet in Viktor''s direction "Again?!" Viktor, was, however, out of sight---causing Damian to become flustered as his left calf started to deeply bleed from within the black pants. Now free, Naomi distanced herself from Damian as she was beyond skeptical about his true intentions. However, at the same time, she didn''t exactly go toward Viktor''s direction either---Viktor was now located at the same location he was before taking a massive swing into the air. "Are you going to make yourself useful?" Viktor asked Naomi as their eyes intertwined; Damian still mildly in pain "W-What should I do then...?! I don''t know what I should---" Viktor interrupted Naomi abruptly "Run to the other portal where we came from, idiot!" Naomi realized now what she had to do and without saying anything, she started to descend the stairs degrees; alerting Damian ".......!!!" Gritting his teeth, Damian started to get up as he faced Viktor "...I''ll get the hyperbola later... For now, you have to die...!" Damian declared as he reached out to his Desert Eagle on the ground "Hyperbola? Explain." Viktor demanded as he got curious about that specific word. Utterly confident in his newfound power that he had somehow obtained, Viktor didn''t find himself in a losing ground whatsoever and as he watched Damian reach out to the gun, he mocked him. "Shoot me all you want, it doesn''t matter. All I have to do is stab myself and the eye will absorb the damage from the wound. It kinda sucks it up; completely neutralizing it. And by now, you should have realized that, so from here on out, you will answer to me." Viktor swung in the exact opposite direction of Damian and vanished for a split second; slashing Damian''s back mercilessly as his physical shape emerged behind Damian "GAAAH!!" Damian screamed as the blade cut all of his backside "Strike two. So, what does "Hyperbola" mean?" Viktor pushed Damian''s body to the floor, dominating him but Damian did only one thing with his right hand "I already told you that----" A loud bang was heard then. No longer on the upward stairs, Naomi was running toward the portal that was far away. She couldn''t run very well but even so, she tried her best not to lag behind. From time to time, she would look in their direction to see what was going on. Panting, Naomi began to wonder just which one of them was right about their claims: Damian, or, Viktor. "I don''t know anymore... Which one of them is being genuine or not, but..." She stopped for a while, halting in her tracks as she tried to look at the stairs only to feel her entire body and the ground around her shake "W-What now?!" She fell on the ground with her bosom hitting the surface first. A raging roar resembling that of a dragonic beast emerged from the direction of the temple''s stairs. A roar so powerful and loud enough to make someone immediately know that terror is coming. That an impending doom is coming however tries to face it. That''s what Naomi felt as her eyes widened at the sight of the far-away gigantic dragon descending down the stairs; its steps utterly crushing the structure of the temple. As for the dragon it contained flappy horizontal wings with burnt scales of ten meters in width. Its main body had a staggering thirty-meter size with an extremely lively tail spinning from right to left without warning. In addition, its skin was a mixture of light brown and dark yellow; its eyes were authentically black. Yet, why did a dragon emerge? And why was the dragon desperately chasing after a figure that was running away from it with its lethal claws? Naomi knew not, but as Viktor---who was slashing the air in Naomi''s opposite direction with his sword which would allow him to warp ten meters into the opposite direction---came in her direction with the dragon chasing behind him; he immediately let her know. "NAOMI, GET UP!! WE''RE GETTING OUT OF HERE---NOW!!" The dragon''s roars grew so loud that Naomi couldn''t hear Viktor and she was also momentarily paralyzed "Are you----DAMN IT!" Viktor, as he approached Naomi''s numb body, tossed his sword into the ocean on the right and took hold of her legs and the back of her body as they made their way to the portal. Though at a distant length, the glowing portal was still there and the moment the dragon took flight and leaped in Viktor''s direction; it got ready to achieve its prey. But, against that leap, Viktor threw himself at the portal alongside Naomi who was still numb from the dragon''s noise. By accessing it, unlike the other portals thus far, this portal ceased to exist as Viktor and Naomi were brought back to the dark room on the seventh floor of the previous mansion. No longer dumb, Naomi and Viktor started to pant as they finally had a chance to recover; their bodies lying on the floor extended freely. "W-What... was that...?!" Naomi asked, freaking out "That''s... Ahhh---you know who...!" Viktor didn''t hide from telling the truth which made Naomi perplexed "Say what?! Ahhh..." She couldn''t believe it, however "It''s true, damn it! Ahhh--he shot himself and it turned him into a fucking dragon that started to hunt my ass down. Shit... Good thing he couldn''t come to this side... I dropped the sword onto the ocean, so I''m probably never getting that again... Ahhh---sucks..." Viktor tilted his head thirty degrees in a contrary direction as he erupted his torso "......" Naomi, recovering from all of this, was catching up to what Viktor was saying. They both physically tried to recover; Viktor faster than Naomi naturally. In addition, they both were aware that another glowing portal was on the other side of the room, which indicated that Naomi''s prior decision would lead to a place other than the intended one for her to go. Not wanting to waste any more time, in his black uniform---as each time Viktor is present in a different dimension his settings clothes are automatically changed; as Naomi''s clothes which consist of pink pajamas---he got up. "Alright, shall we?" He cracked his fingers each, slowly and thoroughly, going as far as emitting deep bone-cracking noises which would normally be physically staggering for someone to go through "....Why did you save me...?" Naomi, now up, refusing to look at Viktor in shame, asked "Good question, and I was waiting for that one. It''s very simple; I need you. Or more specifically, I can''t make any progress without you. So, do you want to make yourself useful? Hop on to the p---" She interrupted Viktor''s sarcastic speech "That''s not it! That''s not what I meant! I abandoned you! Why didn''t you abandon me too?! It''s only fair!" She shouted, now looking at Viktor with a griefing look "........" Viktor traded eyeglance with her. With a face shrouded in darkness and a veil of mystery, Viktor hid his face for a bit before speaking again to Naomi, in a rasher tone this time. "Because I am better than you, that''s why." He answered truthfully "A person saves you and you don''t even think about how you are actually indebted to that person? That''s immaturity and I don''t blame you for it, know why?" He asked, hoping for an answer, but Naomi didn''t "I''ve died more times than I can factually count to a correct number, but even so, my wisdom doesn''t stack up because, for some reason, we human beings are grounded by our nature. Nature to us, humans, is a pre-written persona code to the ones above, who view us as mere specs of dust in an irrelevant place in a very irrelevant time. Now, where am I getting at exactly? Well..." He grins a bit "I have in my advantage a nature that is filled with a set of guiding principles that I have automatic access to, no matter which life I''m living. And one of the core principles that I know for a fact is----to not FUCKING abandon someone who has done more things for you than you did for him, especially when he''s about to literally die!" Viktor coldly shouted in Naomi''s direction, expressing tremendous discontent. She didn''t cry, but she felt humbled as she couldn''t form a physical sentence. Her lips moved but she couldn''t speak. "Now don''t get all upset and cry a river in front of me---if you genuinely give a shit about what I just said, then take a deep breath and don''t cry. Can you do that?" Viktor glared seriously at Naomi, who took a while to process the essence of the task "....I''ll try..." She said "......" Viktor simply watched to see if she would do it. Shaking albeit trying her best, Naomi took a deep breath and didn''t emit any tears from her face, despite her facial expression giving signals of a future possibility of such. "...Is this fine...?" She asked, her voice tone being very low "No, do it again." Viktor demanded "........" And she did so "Again." Viktor demanded yet again "...Again?" She started to become a bit nervous "If you don''t mind. You can always just not do it and cry again." Viktor tested her "...Alright, fine...! Watch." With precise dedication this time, she controlled her emotions and took a deeper controlled breath which gave Viktor a positive impression now "Not bad." He clapped. Naomi felt mocked and a bit underwhelmed in the presence of Viktor after all that. "...I know I deserved all that, but you''re mean..." She didn''t say it in a cute way, but in a more sour one "I have to be, or you''ll think this is some sort of joke." He ceased his clapping "...I don''t think this is a joke and I''m sorry, alright? I won''t do it again, I promise." She vowed with regality in her eyes "Really now? Say another me appears out of nowhere and gives you a convincing argument that I''m the bad guy. What''s the backup plan, princess?" Viktor went straight to the core of the matter. Neglecting eye contact for a better answer, Naomi tried her best to think about it, but in the end, she couldn''t make a decent impression that her promise had any valuable and realistic foundation behind it except a verbal vow. "Oh great." Viktor rolls his eyes "Like, what do you want me to say to you exactly?! It''s not my fault that Damian was the one that showed up instead!" Naomi countered with an upset tone "It is though! How the fuck does a random that shows up at the last curtain raise suddenly become your top priority?! I should be the one you''re the most concerned with because I was killing people just to get to you!" Viktor raises his arms in motion while screaming at her, but she doesn''t back off "Excuse you, he was NOT a random to me! He meant a lot to me!" Naomi corrected him, yelling at him closer "The fuck is that even supposed to mean?! He is a RANDOM, damn it! He doesn''t even speak like I do, all he did was sugarcoat the truth!" He fired back, getting closer to her face in the process "Maybe because unlike you he was nice enough to not yell at a girl who just went through a LOT, IDIOT!" The volume increased with each sentence "BECAUSE YOU TOOK THE WRONG PORTAL AND ELFT ME TO DIE, NAOMI!!" He grew hysteric "I ALREADY APOLOGIZED ABOUT THAT, DIDN''T I?!" This went on for a while. After a few heated minutes of arguments, they started to pant at each other again, wasting breath after breath against each other. Leaning up against the wall opposing the portal on the right side, they started to talk to each other again, visibly physically tired themselves. "Ahhh----I''m not wrong----Ahhh..." Viktor looked in a forward direction without looking at Naomi "Ahhh---You are----Ahhh---And you can''t even accept my apology----you''re a dork---Ahhh..." Naomi as well, looked forward, restless "That---doesn''t make sense---Ahh... Anyways..." He now looked at her, slightly tired and she did the same "Let''s just go in, alright?" He stopped panting "...Are you serious...? Ahhh..." She was still panting, however, as she watched Viktor take a step forward "Yeah well, you need to get back to reality in order to get a solid grasp of what''s real and what''s not, because the longer you stay in this nightmare, the more distorted your sense of reality will become. You''ll probably go insane, so..." Naomi acknowledged Viktor''s point deep down and knew that he was right about that. Thinking back on the incidents thus far, Naomi wondered how her mind would work if she was back to the reality that she was accustomed to. Although this current reality has a sense of reality that can be physically grasped and Naomi can as well possess a virtual consciousness toward it, it still is a reality that is far grimmer than the one she knows. The land of the supernatural and the worlds of nightmares---little does she know. But more importantly, she doesn''t have to know, henceforth, Viktor is leading her the way to the portal. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "...That''s not it... Ahh..." She had another thing in mind "...?" Viktor''s vision narrowed midst his inner skepticism "...I''m tired...." She laid out a complaint "Oh, come on... Get your ass moving to the portal and stop complaining, Naomi." Viktor began to walk to the portal "Oh my God, would you listen, Viktor?! I said I''m tired! Like, physically tired, geez!" She went to the core point this time "........" Viktor''s expression softened but he was a bit disappointed "For crying out loud..." He sighed "What''s so unnatural about what I just said?! You act like I''m a chore to be around!" She started to argue "You kinda are, Naomi. I mean, I remember your face crying more than your average face, what do you think that makes you?" Viktor was hinting at a nickname that Viktor had attributed her a lot recently "WHA----" She became bewildered, her mouth fully opening "That''s it, I''m done talking to you! I want to sleep, now!" Naomi started to walk out of the room in fury with her fists down; refusing to look at Viktor. Viktor midst her energetic sentences reflected that he also could use a good sleep as he is only human after all. He also realized that Naomi was most likely far more tired than he is due to their body differences and lack of physical activity from Naomi, despite her well-rounded physique. However, he didn''t offer any help in this matter. He simply watched her leave the room silently, leaving him alone in the room with the portal. "....Um..." Naomi reluctantly opened the other door peeking through a small window in between in order to reach out to Viktor "...Can you..." Viktor began to walk in her direction and opened the door as soon as he heard those words "Want to be carried like a princess for the third time now?" He offered his services "That''s not funny anymore... Look, I can''t walk around with these dead bodies around and..." She struggled to finish her sentence but it was a predictable one "I thought you said you were done talking to me? What is this?" Viktor grinned "Asshole! This is a serious matter that needs attention! My mansion that I''m in a nightmare is crawling around with dead bodies and I want to get a nice sleep! Do you realize how convoluted that entire task is?! DO YOU?!" Sick of not being taken seriously, she raised her voice "Fair enough." Viktor shrugged but didn''t argue back. Beneath the beautiful moonlight as they came across a multitude of dead bodies; all in black suits---Naomi and Viktor made their way to the sixth floor while descending the stairs. "So... These dead people..." Naomi broke the silence that was almost ongoing for a minute "Give it a rest, they are not the real people from your reality." Viktor tried to ease her worries "But they are still real in this reality, correct?! Which means that my father and mother, are...!" Despite already knowing the truth about them from Damian and Viktor knowing that as well, Naomi was concerned about their wellbeing. Viktor thought about whether or not he should hide some aspects of the truth as he reached the sixth floor alongside Naomi. Visualizing the yellow essence of the full moon outside of the window, Viktor spoke to Naomi, who was looking in Viktor''s direction. "They are dead." Naomi gasped transiently "But, this is a nightmare, so once you are out of it----they will be alive, ready to receive you. Whatever happens here, stays here. There is no connection. This is all in your mind, Naomi. Think about it this way: You are sleeping at night and then you have the craziest dream where all sorts of things that aren''t possible to happen in the real world slowly, but surely, begin to unravel for you. Does it matter how unrealistic it gets? No. Why? Because you''ll eventually wake up." Viktor made a point that he has been making a lot recently, once again "I get that... It''s just... I can''t bear to watch it if it''s them... I think I''ll go insane if I..." Naomi looked down "Then just don''t do it, Naomi." Viktor said as he stopped in front of Naomi''s room. Slightly open, her room was visible to Viktor yet he didn''t enter, he simply watched Naomi come up with an answer as she looked conflicted about something. "If it were your parents dead in your nightmare, how would you react to it?" Naomi asked "Hmm..." Viktor enthusiastically gave it some thought "Assuming it''s my past life''s parents, I would die of joy!" He laughed at her; Naomi becoming disappointed "I don''t know why I try to resonate with you... This is fine, I''ll go to sleep now, thanks for accompanying me." Naomi looked down at the ground and sighed at Viktor''s emotional incapacity "The moment you wake up, we are getting into the portal." Viktor reminded her "Ah, yes. Thank you for worrying about me." She started to adapt to Viktor''s sarcasm suddenly. Naomi closed her door with a bit of brute force and Viktor stood there in front of her door. Two to three seconds passed; the wind from the outside began to flutter Viktor''s blonde hair as he sighed profoundly. Five seconds later, the door opened again, and Naomi''s eyes could be seen shrouded in darkness. "....What are you doing...?" She asked, skeptical of Viktor, who was standing in front of the room''s doors like a statue "I''m waiting." He said, with an apathetic face while looking at Naomi "No---but like, why? What are you waiting for?" She asked, unable to get where Viktor was coming from "I''m waiting for you to go to sleep, so we can then go through the portal. You are very much essential for us to progress, Naomi." Viktor started to lay back on the floor, hitting his back to a wall beneath the open window "That''s not what I mean, I meant like... Do you not want to go to sleep? You must be tired..." Naomi said, still not revealing her face to Viktor entirely. He yawned for two seconds, showing his teeth and not covering his mouth with his hands whatsoever. "You want to have sex? How old are you again?" She slams the door instantly; causing a tremendous ruckus throughout the hall as the noise echoed "......." Viktor tried to sleep with his head against the wall, but ultimately could only close his eyes while allowing his physical body to rest---his mind, on the other hand, was unable to shut down. As his eyesight began to fade out, he took a deep inhale of the humming midnight winds in that looming dark shadow. "....Just a bit more and I''ll finally be able to..." He had one last thought before resting his body until the rising sun. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part V: Whale Whisker - Nightmare Four Peeking through the open horizon shyly, the sun set its motion on the run with chilling winds through the windows setting a glacial environment around the two of them as they stood face-to-face with the portal. "I thought about it all night, Viktor..." Naomi spoke, reluctantly looking at the glowing portal that hid the upcoming environment "I made the joke about the sex in the heat of the moment so I----" Naomi looked at Viktor with disappointed hollow eyes telling him to shut up "....." He rolled his eyes as she continued her form of speech "You said before that if the same scenario happened again that I would need a backup plan." Naomi reminded Viktor. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then delivered her ultimate conclusion on the matter. "I couldn''t come up with a solution." Naomi confessed with a low frail voice "I see." Viktor said only those words and Naomi turned her head to her right side searching for Viktor''s true answer "...What do I do, Viktor...? I don''t want the same thing to happen again, yet I don''t know how to prevent it, because Damian is a figment of my imagination." Naomi reluctantly spoke her inner doubts "Then you already have your answer, Naomi. The solution to the matter." Viktor scratched his head as he started to walk to the portal. Confused, Naomi couldn''t grasp what Viktor intended to say and demanded to know more. "Please don''t be vague and ambiguous here, I really need to know, Viktor! I don''t want my promise to be a lousy one!" Viktor stopped walking; only a few centimeters away from the wall where the glowing portal lays in "You need to believe that I am real and that everything else that is around you, isn''t necessarily real. Believe; not know. Do you understand what I just said, Naomi?" He asked, unsure if she understood his words "...I don''t get it, I''m sorry." The result was negative and Viktor sighed in disappointment "Not a fraction of what is around you or what happens around you is real except me. I am the one and only thing you have to acknowledge that is real. Viktor Von Einradhyunda. Do I need to explain to you again, Naomiria?" He used her full name which somewhat upset her "Okay, you didn''t need to go that far..." She retorted to which Viktor shrugged. Naomi took a step forward into where Viktor was, as she tried to get what Viktor was saying to the concrete. "By the way, what''s with the clothes? You do know you will be automatically changed into new ones, right? That''s how the realms work in these nightmares of yours." Viktor pointed out, to which Naomi pouted just a bit "Rude... There''s nothing wrong with dressing nicely." She stood her ground. Branded in red and white stripes, her blouse fit her torso perfectly as her chest became shaped almost as if to fit the entirety of the blouse, which was rare to see. Not a hint of dirt or irregularity in the threads within the blouse itself could be witnessed; successfully emitting a well-kept piece of cloth to Viktor. Her waist part consisted of an entirely slim-fit black skirt that went to her upper legs medium length; scratching the surface of her knees almost although slightly above that; attempting to capture some sort of balance. To complement it, dark yellow stockings that went to her knee''s length alongside sheer black thread boots that would encapsulate the size of at least half of her lower legs; could be seen in her arsenal. Hair-wise, Naomi opted to let some of her back hair delve deeper into her back, unlike any other time. Thin long purple hair with shards of brilliance intertwined accompanied the lateral twin tails on each side of her head; they were thinner than usual but still very much noticeable. She added a little detail at the beginning of her twin tails, which was to put a fraction of her hair to the top. Only about ten percent of it though; it looked like a fish''s tail in a fashion sense. Prettier than usual, her eyelashes contained a layer of density to them. Not only did the black eyeliner help in highlighting this feature, but it also added a catching glimpse to the horizontal edges of her eyelashes that were sharper than usual to the sides. Her eyes in retrospect shone brighter in contrast to the darkening color around the eyelashes thanks to it. Glossy colored with pink and light red colors, her lips felt like an alluring reel to whoever would place their frail gaze on them; barely noticeable as well but incredibly crafted as it landed a masked texture to it. Overall, she was beyond presentable; especially in comparison to the other times Viktor had seen her. This means that it wasn''t just her clothes that had changed, but even so, Naomi went ahead and decided to go for it as she looked at Viktor in the hope of him saying something about it---Viktor himself analyzing her looks respectfully. "This is sad, Naomi..." Viktor expressed sadness as his eyes closed while he sighed too "W-What is...?" Genuinely confused and very conscious about what he might say, she urged him to say it nevertheless "It''s just... Really...?" He put his palm on his face, sighing again "Oh my God, what?! What is it?! Is there something on my face?!" Naomi became flustered as she desperately wanted to look at a mirror suddenly "Yellow stockings? Do you even have a fashion sense?" Viktor began his criticism "Huh...?" She stopped fumbling around and tried to analyze Viktor''s sentence and why he was saying what he was saying. He disconnected his palm from his face and looked at Naomi with eyes of condescending disappointment. "Yellow and black contrast too much... The blouse is fine because it has white and bright red to it which goes along well with the black skirt and the black boots..." He starts "But the DAMN yellow stockings are just out of place, the overall contrast is everywhere which is just mind-boggling, Naomi!" He added while performing a disappointed shout in her direction ".......Wh---What the hell?!" She didn''t take this well at all "Since when are you a fashion critic?! What gives you the right to criticize how I look?!" Embarrassed and ashamed, Naomi spoke back to Viktor who almost blocked his eardrums with his hands due to the immense volume in her scream "Well---you wanted to impress me, right?" He looked at her as her eyes widened in a second "Oh come on now, there''s nothing wrong with----!!" She tried to slap Viktor with her eyes closed and Viktor decided to dodge it for a bit "Don''t dodge it, you have to take it! Be a man!" Their argument though short-lived was prolonged for a while. After two minutes, they decided to put a stop to the fight as they wanted to move forward. "Let''s just go in..." Naomi looked less energetic as she said that "We agree on something at last." Viktor added words out of spite "Okay, that stupid exaggerated impression of yours aside... I somehow... don''t feel that scared anymore, which is weird..." Naomi found herself feeling less emotionally conflicted in the last few hours after the most recent events "It''s not weird, Naomi. It just means that a part of you is starting to become less afraid. But remember---you will forget about me and vice-versa, so no matter what I say to you, you still won''t remember me." Viktor gave Naomi the truth once again, which made her a bit reluctant "...Viktor, isn''t there some way for me to remember you though? I am suddenly so scared that I might not remember you... Because if I just know you''re there then I know I can pull through it, or at least try to----" Naomi stopped talking once the height of her shame peaked as she realize how deeply embarrassed she was. However, Naomi had a point. Despite not entirely affirming that it would work, Naomi would feel incredibly less stressed and her fears wouldn''t be as prevalent as before. Because, as far as she was concerned, Viktor had successfully abolished her nightmares so far, which were three; so she was very confident in his ability. Viktor thought for a bit and then, at the sight of a pen in the desk of Naomi''s mother, he got an idea. "Stretch your hand, Naomi." The black ink pen residing in his right hand pointed at Naomi "You think it''ll work?" Naomi asked as she extended her fragile right hand "It''s worth the shot. Though, I doubt it. The moment you look at it, maybe you will remember me." Viktor wrote his entire name "Viktor Von Einradhyunda" in her open right palm while holding the surface on the back of it for stability "Say, Naomi, you remembered me when I shouted your name back in the school bathroom, but what exactly did you remember? How was it for you?" He returned to the desk; placing the pen facedown on the shelf. Naomi looked at her right hand''s palm and closed it---in and out----a few times as she witnessed Viktor''s full name written on it. "Hm... I just remembered everything from the start---down to when we first met all the way to the moment we were on the train. And from there on, it all became clear!" She enthusiastically clarified "I see. Well---this is dragging on for too long, so let''s just get going. I''m getting bored anyways." Viktor confessed as he took a few steps into the portal alongside Naomi "I wish these feelings inside my heart would remain but every time I go inside a nightmare, I am struck with paranoia, fear, anxiety, and hypertension... I know this is the third time you have saved me, but... Viktor..." On the very border of the entrance to the portal, as their hands intertwined, Naomi said one last thing before they went in "Don''t let me down, please." Their passage at last connected to the other side. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A familiar sight that Viktor had experienced not too long ago became visible to him. Scourging stars and neighborhood galaxies as well as the endless intricacies of the universe; a surreal mystical dark blue engulfed the sky of dark matter filled with countless stars---housing planets, dwarfs, and so on. A shallow temperature reminiscent of neutrality harbored the galactical atmosphere where Viktor found himself. At first, he could feel his bare two feet intertwined with a water of low surface; very similar to how a person would walk through the first water riptide of a calming beach. Then, he inhaled the air around him and at that moment, he realized that the type of oxygen he was breathing felt incredibly different than the usual oxygen provided in the other realms. This rejuvenating oxygen which undergoes by many names would resonate profoundly with his lungs; creating a certain addiction within. Was this where it all started; he thought. The answer to that question became fairly clear once he realized that he was in no clothes at all and most importantly, he was not crucified on a cross alongside tredecillion of other Hell-condemned individuals. He was, however, accompanied by the sight of endless walking naked individuals varying from male to female; from what seemed to be from the human race and no other. Tipping his ankles, the calming freezing water went no further. From all directions, these walking naked individuals with metallic chains on their wrists and ankles could be witnessed as they sluggishly kept moving forward; the clear goal being what lies in the front. But, to tell what lies beyond it, would mean to overcome the crowd of what seemed to be endlessly stacked up humans always walking forward, with their heads down. "........" Viktor calmly analyzed this and then looked at his wrists and hands. They were both extremely pierced and wounded; Viktor immensely felt the damage from them this time around. Between his hand''s palms, there was a massive hole that was inflicted earlier when he was crucified in that specific area by unknown entities. In addition, his ankles also had two holes; in the front and in the back---all due to the crucifixion. "What the hell is happening here? These people, they are all walking forward in the same direction..." Viktor looked forward where no sight could truly be captured except the vast majority of a dark matter space where myriads of planets under the vest of galaxies lay "This doesn''t matter, I have to find Naomi as fast as I can..." He concluded as he channeled his lungs strength for a brief second in order to shout as loud as he could "NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!" Viktor''s shout managed to get the attention of a few, but not many, around him. Unsuccessful, Viktor didn''t get a response back, as he was hoping that Naomi would be among the walking human beings with chains. "What now? This isn''t in the same pattern as the previous nightmares... The three of them were all in Naomi''s modern world, in an Earth somewhere else amidst the multiverses out there yet this is not something that the modern world can encapsulate..." Viktor noted "If she''s not around, then I need to gather clues first." Viktor concluded his thoughts and began to move forward, calmly. Majorly speaking, the humans in their chains were mostly adults, but there were some young teenagers in sight too. Viktor''s first thought in regard to their purpose here would be to go to Hell, but at the same time, he doubted this premature claim as Viktor had been branded with open wounds by the cross he was crucified in. Therefore, he suspected that their existence here would be just like the event in Pandemonium with the purpose of tying these existences to a greater plane. A land that would transcend their usual one and would endorse what they believed their final arrival to be. Viktor decided to approach a naked girl near her 20s with a medium height of 1,58 centimeters and messy long hair; her face looking down while speaking to herself in a low tone something that Viktor couldn''t process from the distance. "Hey." Viktor lightly touched her left shoulder but she didn''t respond as she kept saying something to herself with her face looking down; not stopping in her tracks ".......thousand two hundred sixty-six......Three million five hundred forty-three thousand two hundred sixty-seven......" Her eyes fully opened as well, with no expression on her lips "......." Viktor decided to distance himself for a bit. Judging that she wasn''t a good individual to gain information from, Viktor decided to walk forward with open wounds that resonated pain every time he walked and searched for a more sane individual to potentially get information from. Midst his search, Viktor began to notice something as he gazed at a blue giant from afar; as he didn''t move whatsoever. For a whole minute, he allowed himself to be overtaken by the other individuals in order to gain crucial knowledge about something. "We are----no, this place is just the surface of something, and that something is..." Viktor gulped "Moving." He kept going forward; deciding not to waste time "I need to find someone that isn''t batshit crazy but so far I''ve only come across insane individuals who keep on counting numbers---numbers of no ordinary length, but why...? What does that achieve exactly...?" Viktor narrowed his vision as he became skeptical "New here...?" A dreadful borderline silent voice reached out to Viktor from the east side "...?" Viktor immediately looked to the east direction and walked in that direction without any regard to whom he stumbled upon midst his tracks. Walking forward without paying any particular attention to Viktor, a naked chain-shackled male in his thirties with a white beard despite his mid-age appearance; came into contact with Viktor. His unusual normal attitude caught Viktor off guard for a bit, but it all became clear once he spoke to Viktor; now looking in his direction while also moving forward. "Ah, you are new here." He adjusted his gray glasses with his right hand''s index finger "What is this place?" Viktor didn''t hesitate to ask "This? No one knows, or at least I don''t. I''ve lost track of time I''ve been here, young man. But if I had to say, I''ve been here for at least a decade. I don''t have human necessities despite possessing human anatomy, therefore I don''t starve and I don''t get older either." Viktor took all of this in "......" Viktor allowed him to continue and he understood this "If you are here, then I doubt you won''t believe what I''m about to say, so I''ll say it. We are all alive in our respective worlds but we are most likely in a comma." He said "Comma?" Viktor wanted to know more "That''s my condition in the real world and I know for a fact that I''m not the only one. Watch..." He channeled his lung strength "WHO HERE IS IN A COMMA IN THE REAL WORLD AND WANTS TO WAKE UP SO WE HAVE TO COUNT UNTIL A BILLION SO WE CAN RETURN TO THE REAL WORLD?!" He didn''t hesitate to speak to all of the walking naked humans in chains. Viktor''s surprise went above and beyond when all the collective present voices from the humans responded at the same time; creating a surreal hymn within the atmosphere. A perfectly balanced response came forth with no delay at all. "I am." These words were uttered by at least millions due to the fact that this area surrounded by low water has no noise to it at all except the low noise from the footsteps marked onto the water. He figured that they couldn''t all be lying, so Viktor fully believed in what the man just said. "Name''s Noah." Viktor found it reasonable to also give his name "Viktor." He found Noah''s name rather ironic "Nice to meet you, Viktor." He smiled and Viktor nodded simply "Can you tell me more about the "billion count"?" Viktor asked "Ah yes, of course you''d be curious, why wouldn''t you? It all began when we heard "it". " Viktor stayed silent as he allowed Noah to explain "Our mighty God, that loves us, gave us a chance for us to prove our worthiness when it comes down to it! Our lives; are they the culmination of something that God approves?!" Noah''s enthusiasm became dogmatic and frantic "The answer is: No. God sees a vast tap into our potential; but we have yet to unlock it, that''s why we must go through this trial, Viktor." Noah pointed forward where nothing is in sight except the endless universe ahead "What trial though? Count to a billion? That doesn''t sound like a trial to me, it''s just an extremely hard Math exam. Noah, tell me, what is really happening here?" Viktor drove to the core of the matter, provoking a small smile from Noah. The sound of their footsteps intertwining with the calm water became louder and louder by the second; Viktor''s audition hyperventilating. "Viktor, you don''t see it, do you?" Noah pointed forward again "........" Viktor looked forward again, but he again, didn''t see anything "I thought so. Viktor, the nature of this place in this specific realm of matter could simply be resumed to: count to a billion and you have a second chance at life. But, what if I told you that''s not all there is to it? That maybe, this is a way for God to elevate his impression onto us? Viktor, for some reason, you have forsaken God, in spite of the fact that God never forsakes anybody. God loves us all equally yet to go against the love God offers; Viktor, why?" Noah started to emit tears from his eyes as he spoke with seriousness mixed with sadness. Viktor looked forward, then at Noah. He inhaled the air deeply; scratched the back of his head as well. "I don''t deserve it. Not anymore. You speak the truth, Noah, but I---need the other side of the spectrum. God understands." He looks at Noah with the relaxed calm look of someone who just spoke a hidden truth "I see. If the other side of the spectrum is your final destination, then this place to you is not befitting, I must say..." Noah unites his two hands and starts to pray "I need to find someone, Noah. She''s an innocent soul that has most likely been trapped in a realm within realms of nightmares and if I was summoned here..." Viktor starts to get to the point "I understand. Tell me; this action though ill-favored, does it bring you closer to God?" Noah disconnected his hands while Viktor went into deep thought. Looking down on the water as he saw his reflection mirrored, Viktor spoke the truth. "It will bring me further away from God, Noah. But even so, in order to meet the other side of the spectrum, I must..." Viktor showed determination and Noah widened his eyes in surprise "Viktor! For the sake of yourself, you''d distance yourself from God''s light yet for someone else you''d grow closer to God nonetheless?! This is most peculiar, Viktor. Your case, it''s... unfortunate. But I see it---all. The other side of the spectrum is reeling your entirety and you don''t believe in the other side too. Then---say, Viktor." Noah gained Viktor''s attention "...?" He saw Noah patting his white beard while looking at Viktor in the eyes "Ah, it''s too early for you, isn''t it? Now I''ve said too much too." Noah''s words started to confuse Viktor "What are you on about? I don''t get it." Viktor looked at Noah with skepticism and doubt "Why don''t you try and look forward now, Viktor?" Noah proposed. Doubting Noah at first, he didn''t take his eyes off him, but eventually, Viktor looked down; seeing his reflection only. Afterward, he erupted his spine and tilted his posture forward now able to look at the faraway distance and what it had. "...What... That was not----" Viktor pointed in a forward direction while looking to his left side next to where Noah would be ".........." Viktor started to understand. Nowhere in sight, Noah was no longer present and as Viktor looked at everyone else, he couldn''t see Noah in them. At the same time though, a new highlight became visible to Viktor in the edge of space that was in the distant horizon. Through that endless ocean of low water with chained humans restlessly counting numbers, Viktor started to move forward in the direction of the faraway illuminated city of modern elements to it. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Abbrassive light shouldered by the strength of the three suns---a yellow, purple, and a white one---the city knew no darkness. Not only does the city locate itself outside of a planet that would require orbital rotation toward the morning star; but it also would go on endlessly to its daytime. Made out of shimmering gray steel; every platform of this enormous city filtered its layers onto one another; creating tracks where roads would be allocated. Its buildings/skyscrapers would eventually try to compete with the scouring stars above but to no avail as their height couldn''t compare despite their great effort. A mechanical metropolis unknown to poverty and only where the elite amongst the elite could reside in. Functional, its society strove to hone the endless production of its city as many would devote their lifetimes to any tasks that would further strengthen its future contribution of it. Furthermore, despite being clearly advanced in its technological might and upholding a staggering unrivaled length for a city, only a certain ruler held power amongst all that was alive in this city that sought to achieve the ideal. The city''s name is known as many names but its most common one would be: Arkacradella. Train stations were allocated in metallic capsules among the layers in the shape of tubes that ran through the city; completing a full circle and having in total twenty layers that would be used for different lines for the respective destinations which are beyond a hundred at least. Beneath these layers, an underground with endless structures where citizens also resided, a particular subway station where ten specific lines going to different destinations, lay. Darker than the above structure naturally, the subway station of metallic structure contained machines that would allow tickets to be bought simply by checking a persona''s retina. If that person''s retina was associated with their bank card''s ID, they would automatically be able to buy a ticket which would give them access to the platforms below. A different variety of stairs would ultimately go down until the platforms of the subways were all over the station and in addition to that, it was heavily frequent by so many people that it was populated with frequent elevated numbers. Artificial lights were all connected by a tube of solar supply going from five kilometers into the platforms too. Only the tunnels where the subway carriages chase their end would be shrouded in darkness. Retina scans though frequent, became something that was mandatory and it was not easy to manipulate; if possible at all for that matter. Not only would it require authorization from the bank the citizen has their deposits in, but it would additionally require a loan of at least five thousand figures in order to thoroughly use its privileges. That''s why, for someone who didn''t do any of that and would resort to secondary and more uncouth methods of obtaining such requirements for a possible successful retina scan without a retina that matches the verified scan; it would be authentically complicated. At the hour of ten o''clock, a pattern was set to go in motion every time without fail. In the fifth platform where at least five hundred people would religiously wait for the subway to arrive and take them to the very root of a certain building in the city---these individuals mainly in corporate suits holding their briefcases while idly engaging in social activities in their brains; as the usage of cellphones had been long since outdated---an anomaly presented itself for the first time with success in a while in spite of the previous failures. Their march began as always without a single misstep as the subway slowed down in its hypervelocity. Not of great height---only upholding three meters in height; the length of the subway train that incorporated fifty carriages in total encompassing a length of one thousand and two hundred meters. To compensate for this length, each platform would have a thousand and five hundred meters horizontally while a soft fifty meters in distance between each platform from east to west. Utterly unbreakable, the structure of the subway train was covered with glass windows from all sides---west, east, north, and south. This particular feature would come to shine when the passengers would come across the rare occasions between the underground and the city above where the bright luminosity would come to life. Unlike most times, she wouldn''t pay much attention to it, but she thought about it every day. A glance at her right hand''s palm allowed her to feel a glimpse of hope, but for all she knew, this present time had been ongoing for over two months now. She retreated her hand and closed it while looking at the bright purple sun on the upper east side. Transiently, the door that would connect the ninth carriage to the eighth was used where a passage could be seen passing through. This particular passenger wore a slim-fit black jacket with long sleeves; two lines of golden yellow going from the neck area all the way to the end of the sleeves. The collar part of the jacket was black but with a lighter gradient; bordering the color of gray; as well as the end of the sleeves which were made out of a compelling comfortable thread material. The chest area was covered with a black t-shirt underneath as the jacket was mildly open. Likewise; to complement the upper parts, the slim-fit pants were black as well, the black boots harnessing a height that would reach a little bit beyond the ankle size. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of the metropolitan city endorsed in its seemingly infinite technologically advanced buildings and then started to approach his target. Casually taking the right seat next to her in the sixty-four-row seat containing two seats next to a window, he began to explain himself. "I told you about the clothes but you just didn''t listen, silly goose. That''s what you get." He sighed as he took a deep breath "Oh..." In addition, by looking at her right open hand he could know for a fact that it worked as he let out a small laugh "Haha, what do you know? It actually worked, I''m a genius. But wait---" He now looked at her seemingly hollow eyes with a dread of hopelessness in them "Say... If you knew I was coming for you all along and my existence was a known factor to you, then... Naomi, why didn''t you wait for me?" Viktor waited for a reply from Naomi''s side. Taking off her stern glasses, Naomi, in her corporate clothes which consists of a tight blue blouse and a dark blue office skirt going to her knees'' length---her legs covered by black stockings that would go along well with the black corporate boots underneath----spoke to Viktor, in a contrasting tone compared to the emotional tone that Viktor is mainly accustomed to. "I waited, Viktor. It just doesn''t matter anymore." Her face looked completely monochromatic, lacking any emotion at all "Why?" Viktor asked, unfamiliar with this person that he thought he had known "This is it. My life''s culmination; it has always been. I thought I could run from it, you gave me hope in that regard, but I realized something, Viktor. This is not a nightmare, it''s my life." She explained to Viktor, in a calm tone, upsetting Viktor somewhat "....What the hell is that supposed to mean? This is a nightmare, Naomi. I don''t know what it has shown you to the point of brainwashing you, but this is all a figment of your imagination. Come on, we''ve been over this, let''s just hurry up and get this over it." Viktor took hold of her limp right wrist. Seeking to end things right away, Viktor dragged Naomi out of her seat as he deemed the current Naomi to be stupidly unreasonable and perhaps not in her correct mind. "You don''t understand me at all, after all..." Viktor halted the dragging as he heard that "Huh? I do understand you, Naomi. That''s why I think you are in the wrong mindset, currently. I''ll drag you out of this nightmare and destroy this pathetic illusion." He declared "No, you won''t. If you really did understand me, you''d know that this is what I want all along. Her approval; how much it means to me... You just don''t get it at all, do you...?" Her eyes began to glow. Viktor became reminiscent of a memory where her purple raging eyes started to emit that specific type of glow with an air of aura infused to them. A single loud phrase was all it took for Viktor to be condemned. "BE NOT AFRAID!" Naomi''s loud shout resonated and rang in his head as Viktor found himself in a place he had been before, right at the very first time. Blinding light powered up by the three suns above made Viktor immediately shield his eyes with his right forearm. A boat in the middle of a desert buried in an upper dune of sand like a sarcophagus had a glossy mirage of a technological metropolis with which Viktor had become familiar in the two months he had spent his time there. By instinct alone, Viktor looked at his chest in the middle of his jacket and noticed a thread of skin around his neck and an eyeball tying the loose ends. The eye looked in Viktor''s direction as he took hold of it. "One try remains." The cryptic voice declared the situation with the update that upset Viktor "What?! Only one try?! I spent two months just trying to figure out where she would be and I only get one chance?! She didn''t even die, she expelled me out of the nightmare by her own will, damn it!" Viktor began arguing with a talking eyeball who refrained from saying anything else "But what she said..." Viktor remembered her words on the subway train "...I don''t understand her...? That can''t be... I know Naomi''s life fairly well by now, I shouldn''t be missing anything crucial..." The doubts grew. But even so, contrary to his inner will that denies what Naomi said about his lack of understanding toward her, Viktor knew that in order to not fail again, he would have to redo something again. He stuffed the eyeball alongside the skin necklace onto the inside of his black t-shirt underneath the jacket, placed his full right hand on his face, and had a thought in particular. "...Her approval... Naomi, you... are a plain idiot." Viktor gave a small laugh in the air as he jumped to the faraway mirage of Arkacradella "I never knew that it mattered to you that much." Volume 1 - Chapter 5: Nightmare #1 Soothing air filled his nostrils from the very top of a seven-thousand-tall skyscraper; the view below utterly felt surreal as the distance between the top and the bottom became as clear as the current day. On that tip, the verge of the frontal side of the rooftop, with his left hand softly supported on the peebles midst the rocky ground, Viktor took a crescent bite out a peeled-off white onion as if he was eating a regular red apple. He pondered the very meaning of the beautiful sight that encapsulated three suns; the purple lower in the western horizon, the yellow far up to the top, and in the same trajectory as the purple sun---the white one lay in the eastern horizon. Furthermore, crystal clear planets had their surfaces visible from afar but not as apparent as these three specific stars. Devouring the white onion, Viktor decided to grasp the naked eyeball around his neck in the shape of a necklace. He redirected its retina in his direction without saying a word. He entered a state of deep thought as he pondered what he would do. Shortly after, he got up and balanced his body on the thin border that would separate the skyscraper''s rooftop surface and the empty space ahead that would instantly make anyone a victim of the falling vacuum leading to the inevitable downfall below. Gazing profoundly into one specific location ahead of him in a skyscraper of a slightly lower height than the current one he is in, Viktor then looked below as he felt the peerless pressure from the altitude. "Retina scans won''t let me get inside there, so much for that..." He backed off a bit and went for a large black bag with equipment that he had brought earlier "It doesn''t matter what type of retina I steal from people''s bodies, there is another system at work here." Viktor reflected on his previous attempts at capturing other people''s eyes through more morally questionable methods in order to have access to the intricacies of Arkapella. Strapping a crossbow with a metallic anchor attached to it that could travel a grand total of five hundred meters; Viktor fired it at the mirroring skyscraper in the north direction from his perspective that had a height of six-thousand and seven hundred meters; amassing a height that is almost comparable to the skyscraper he is in. The moment the anchor landed on the stern border of the rooftop of the targetted skyscraper, Viktor dragged the hook line from out of the crossbow and wrapped it around a metallic harbor near a metallic antenna. By wrapping it and tying it around at least ten times, it was practically unbreakable and it would stay that way. With that out of the way, a path for Viktor to cross from one rooftop to another had been paved. He went back to his black bag with numerous metallic tools at his disposal and took possession of a dual rod that he applied to the hook line that was connecting the two intersections. Not only was it authentically stuck and glued to the metallic intersecting line; it was heatproof which meant that no matter how fast it went, the wire would never turn into fire as a consequence of the speed of the friction. Ultimately closing his heavy black bag that was longer than the usual one; Viktor wrapped it around his right shoulder and took off as he fearlessly traveled from the current rooftop to his target through the metallic wire supported by the traveling rod. Although he wanted to gaze at the sight below as it incorporated endlessly stacked metallic structures that contained various roads where cars, trains, and flying autodromes would travel in, he kept his eyes forward as the velocity he was going under quickly approached danger. Not only was it becoming unstable, but it was also threatening an unsafe landing if Viktor didn''t do something about the upcoming crash that was about to happen. Tied to a border within the rooftop but more toward the entrance of the upper surface, Viktor''s body would collide with the structure if things went the way intended. That''s why, as ten meters separated Viktor from the upper window of the tall skyscraper, he let go of the rod and immediately grabbed onto the wire with his two hands as his body stood hanging in that thread--- requiring an insane amount of physical upper strength from the biceps and mainly the core abdominals in order to move forward just by juggling in-between the steps. Successfully though, Viktor as soon as he caught contact with the upper window, grasped the border of the skyscraper, and by elevating his body with the support of his right hand only, he rolled onto the surface of the skyscraper''s tallest level. Grasping for some sort of oxygen, Viktor desperately inhaled and exhaled in and out, in order to recover from physical fatigue though minimal. "This is it..." He started to elevate his body, pausing his black bag on the right side of the concrete "Can''t waste time." His body rose to full height as he abandoned his bag and went the northwest direction where a small shelter with a connecting door to the lower levels was. As he entered the skyscraper from the tallest level possible, Viktor noticed that his clothes had changed. No longer with the black jacket with frontal golden lines that went from his beck area to his long sleeves that matched the wrists as well as the slim fit black pants accompanied with stoic noir boots, his entire clothes changed drastically as he was now wearing a simple slim-fit white blouse with a blue tie. In addition to that, the end of his blouse was strapped perfectly under his slim-fit black corporate pants; beneath them black shiny debonair corporate shoes. However, the main difference would be that his blonde hair was automatically sliced back and he was wearing transparent glasses in spite of his clear vision without them. He paid no attention to this matter and proceeded to walk down below as his goal was somewhat clear. After encountering a few co-workers and idly chatting with them, Viktor came to realize that he was unnecessarily getting entangled in their relationships without necessarily needing to do so. "What is this? I''m not here to idly chat, I am here to..." Viktor looked at the current hallway that had multiple side doors but more importantly, one only door at the end of the long hallway. Accompanied by passing co-workers and the bright sunlight from the three outside suns, Viktor traveled through that well-kept clean hallway. Viktor started to ignore any words coming in his direction as he started to notice that the door he was chasing after was growing further and further away the more he attempted to distract himself from it. "......" Noticing that the door had completely disappeared from the hallway, Viktor began to allocate himself to the left where he took the stairs to the floor below as he faced another hallway with endless side doors and mainly speaking, a glowing door at the end of the hallway. Running for it, Viktor decided to no longer hold back and ran in the direction of the door reaching it without any hesitation. The moment he took a soft lingering transient grasp on its hold, Viktor''s body was warped inside the room. "......." He analyzed the entirety of the room and its contents. A simple office place with a desk of a height of almost a meter that stood at the north edge of its surface was the first thing that captured Viktor''s attention. Alongside it, there were loads of papers and even the name of the worker that was responsible for the ownership of this room in particular. Behind the desk, there were silver curtains that didn''t allow the sun''s light to completely penetrate the entirety of the room. Softly, Viktor walked up to the rotation black chair behind the desk and grasped its texture. The room''s entirety was covered in light blue all of its surface, but the desk itself was mainly black. Viktor touched the papers and saw their contents, only then did he take hold of the metallic placket that contained the worker''s name on the left side of the desk. He sighed at the sight of it. "This can''t be right... I know for a fact that I never existed in any lifetime prior in this dimension in specific which can only mean..." Viktor spun the chair and looked to the outside; supporting his right fist to his face''s right side---his right elbow locked onto the right wing of the chair "It''s her imagination. If this is all part of what encompasses her imagination of the source, then my predetermined existence here is something that has grown on her----my existence has become such a staggering factor that I am bound to exist regardless of this form of mine... I must say though..." His vision narrowed "For something out of her sheer imagination alone, to create something of this level... This place is..." Viktor got up and attempted to leave the office. Through footstep after footstep, the ground started to collapse as Viktor found himself falling down a seemingly endlessly dark hole as the space around him began to shatter into nothingness. "?!" He looked above and saw that the office was no longer in sight so instead he looked below the midst of the inexplicably looming darkness and saw a brimming light nearing an unknown proximity. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ He had a vision. A tiny little girl in her six years alongside a caring mother, stood beside a Christmas tree on a rustic table for two. Hellish snow fell down at tremendous velocity due to the unstoppable winter storm; this scenery could very well be seen on the outside from the living room''s windows, which was supported by a bright warm salamander lit up in a welcoming fire. Though the table for two had a large width of two meters and the sides a small fifty centimeters each, there was evidently more space for other people. Viktor sat on that comfortable black couch that had a horizontal side of two meters and a subsequent side to the left side that would continue to the east side encompassing two meters too. TV shows were playing on a plasma TV of a width of almost a meter and a half with a low height of fifty centimeters; located in a piece of rustic wooden furniture supporting it with a horizontal width of three meters and a very low twenty centimeters in height. It was in addition, surrounded by two tall bookshelves on each side with a staggering five-meter height endorsed with a contrasting one-meter in horizontal width. In the very middle of the room, close to where Viktor is, an artificial salamander filled with sticks and large wood pieces complimented the abrasive fire. Viktor could observe the sight of the rest of the room which contained a pair of blue curtains in front of the main table; multiple open doors which would lead to the central hallway; a shiny golden floor made out of rare minerals; and even colorful family painting sculptured permanently on the golden walls. However, in his old clothes which were his black jacket, black pants, and black boots, Viktor laid back on the couch as he recognized a familiar face immediately. Ultimately placing his right fist on the right side of his face by supporting the right elbow on the right wing of the couch, he allowed the distant scenario to play. "Mama! Mama!" On the right side of the table, though Viktor could only see her back, a child-like feminine voice spoke earnestly to the figure on her right side as she tightly clung to her mother''s black robe''s left sleeve, causing her to look in her direction---tilting her head to the left side "What is it, Naomiria?" Her mother smiled faintly at her, going as far as patting her head. A bracket cracked in the explosive salamander. Viktor could clearly see the bright fire within the alluring firehouse yet he kept his sight locked. "What are you doing, mama?! Are you drawing?!" Naomiria enthusiastically asked as she supported her own body onto the border of the table on top of the golden chair that naturally towered her height "I am. This is the future, Naomiria." She explained by pointing at her rough draft that was essentially speaking, nothing more than a city project drawing at that time "Woah! I can''t believe it, mama! It''s so big and wide! But Mama, if we already have other cities then why are you drawing one?" Naomi questioned her mother as she was now on the surface of the wooden table that had a golden blanket covering its entirety "Haha, now, now---Naomiria, let''s get into the chair first." Her mother got up slightly and grabbed Naomi by her waist---ultimately softly placing her on the chair once again. Now seeing in what clothes Naomi was in as well as her mother''s, Viktor could fully have a coherent comprehension of their current visuals. Naomi was wearing a light long purple dress with darker purple stripes on the borders of her sleeves. Her small height allowed for the dress to go to her ankle''s size but it didn''t take away the highlight from her light brown small shoes. Hair-wise, she had medium shoulder length long purple hair, with no twin tails. She wasn''t slim by any means, as she had a balanced physique for a five-year-old. Her mother, on the other hand, was wearing a full-body black robe that went along well with her rejuvenating physique despite nearing her forties. Her hands weren''t as skinny as in her past appearances and instead upheld a fair constitution. Likewise, her long thin black hair molded better with her happy-smiling face as she adored her own daughter. "Naomiria, there is something you need to know. This might be hard for you to currently understand but even so, listen." Naomi''s mother with a calm expression alongside a serene clarity feeling to her voice began to speak as Naomi, silently though eager, paid close attention to her mother''s movements "Our year is currently 2030 and our technology is drastically evolving. Just about thirty years ago, when this century began, we didn''t have access to the myriads of things we have today at our clear disposal. The Internet wasn''t as colossal as it is today; cell phones were barely scratching the surface of its now modern primary functions, and more importantly, without the necessary developments that it had, circulating the endlessly convenient technological options to our problem''s disposals, wasn''t even possible." She explained and began to move to her rough draft containing the plant of what seemed to be a futuristic city. Viktor got up and stopped lazing around as he grew curious about the plant itself. As such, he began to walk around the table while grasping the ideas behind it. "Ooooh!!" Amazed, Naomi gazed at the city plant''s draft in the gigantic white paper that almost occupied all of the table "I still have it to give it a name, but in our near future, this will be our city, Naomiria. This will strictly belong to our royal bloodline and slowly but surely, it will grow as well as encompassing peace and prosperity." Her mother showed a serious side by saying those last words; Viktor witnessed her lack of kindness while saying so "But Mama... Don''t we already have enough? You''re the queen of Dortmund, why do we need to build another city...?" Naomi asked, clueless. Behind Naomi and her mother, Viktor stood while grasping the entirety of the city''s structure with his own two eyes. "Naomiria... This---is not ours." Her mother looked at Naomi with dreadfulness in her eyes; solitude lurking in her tone "It hasn''t been... for a long time..." She hugged the little Naomi "Mama?" Naomi could feel a stronger embrace to her entire body; stronger than any time prior. A faraway mirage occupied the terrain within the TV plasma; replacing the prior show it was playing. It glowed in Viktor''s direction---causing him to notice. He thought about staying there for a little longer, but he opted to walk away in the direction of the plasma; ultimately reaching out his hand to it which allowed him to be transported back into Arkacapella; mainly into that specific section of the city that it had been showing. Thus, this scene remained frozen in the distant past of a long-forgotten harmony. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "I could face the source right here and now..." Viktor stood in front of it; blessed by powerful daylight from above "But to what end? I don''t understand her yet..." He decided to take a step back and exited the scene that had no current value from his understanding. Now possessing complete knowledge of the city''s plant, Viktor ventured to the northeast side of the city. By using an eye that was not his, he fulfilled the retina scans by upholding the eye to any scanner in the city. He had to be somewhat secretive about this as he couldn''t do it unnaturally or in a suspicious manner in case any guard would be on the watch for him. This area would be located beneath most metallic platforms where solar light was obscure and known to little. It wasn''t necessarily a poverty zone, but it had a reminiscent feeling of an area that was previously abandoned beneath something that has towered it in development. After taking a detour from a city train to a subway station which made Viktor change lines at least five times in a row; he caught an old rustic cranky mechanical bus that would pass through its respective station once a day and no more than that. However----Viktor had to wait three hours impatiently for this bus to arrive in a place where the population was still active yet in a more rural environment; completely contrasting the environment from the above platforms that one could observe as they would stack upon each other like metal layers; ultimately reigning over dozens of kilometers above. "So much for perfection." Viktor blurted that out as he took a seat in the last row of the bus; the engine starting to crank up yet moving forward in its long destination ahead. This bus which had a width of ten meters, contained mainly seats for two that mirrored each other from the entrance of the bus all the way to the end of the bus; except for the last row that managed to encapsulate a row of five seats---Viktor on the furthest to the right with his right fist on his face as a measure of support from his right elbow on the border of the window''s below structure. Not clean and far from well-kept, the seats were barely upholding the necessary requirements for someone to comfortably seat in them as they lacked structure and were mostly extremely cranky which reflected a lack of preservation. Though he knew where he was going, Viktor didn''t mind paying attention to the outside scenario as it contradicted the idea that Arkapella offered in theory. Unlike the tall buildings or the unfathomably overreaching skyscrapers, houses with about three to four meters in height and a small width of two meters stood amidst the shimmering horizon. Electricity poles were there; functionally for the purpose of facilitating electricity to this wasteland of a city. In addition, the ground was occupied with an omnipresent lack of construction; no such common elements like cement or concrete were around, and instead only peebles and uncharacterized dirty yellow sand stood. The light was so weak that the outside light poles were always on. It was as if a night underneath a powerful moonlight that served as the primary illumination was at play here. As for the current scenery, where Viktor stands almost alone in this bus populated by a constant mechanical crank of noises coming from its back engine, he noticed a sudden presence in the front seats---the third row, in the left seat from the entrance. There was a driver, but surprisingly, he accepted real money instead of anything like a retina scan. "......" Viktor attempted to brush off how he didn''t notice the other existence in the third row, but seeing how it was most likely intentional, he sighed and got up as he walked to the left row of seats; ultimately taking a seat in the right side of the row--mirroring the old female figure "Hello." Viktor started the conversation with her after taking a seat on the edge of it "Hello, young man." She gave a faint smile to Viktor. Dressed in a long light golden dress that went to her knees, an old lady in what seemed to be her seventies, replied to Viktor. Her skin was so frail and pale from her old age that it embodied her skinny composition fairly accurately. Bordering silver, her hair went to her shoulder length which was somewhat unkempt. To cover the top of her head, she was additionally wearing a white straw hat with a red ribbon attached to the bottom of its upper surface. Lastly, she held a pair of glasses in her eyes which were glimmering in gold; very much like her shoes that showed the surface of her feet. "Apologies for the inconvenience but since there are no indications of it, could you tell me if this bus stops at the Ostenfriedhof graveyard?" Viktor asked, seemingly clueless "Oh, you needn''t worry, young man. Although I''m not going directly there, this bus'' only stop is the Ostenfriedhof graveyard." She answered Viktor, to which he let out a relieved sigh "Oh thank God. I''m from the city above and I always wanted to see the hidden city below. I''m somewhat of an adventurer myself, you see." Viktor put on a smug look "If it''s not much to ask, ma''am, could I be requisitioned in what your endeavor is? Maybe it will pique my interest, after all." Viktor asked, not necessarily expecting a positive answer. The lady looked at Viktor with eyes of judgment. Viktor, likewise---ceased his jester-type of posture and positioned his posture well midst his seat; confronting his target with respect and dignity. "...My, my." She adjusted her glasses with her right hand''s index finger "It''s fine, I don''t mind answering that. Because I could also use a second opinion on the matter." She sat on the seat to her right; alluding that Viktor could take a seat next to her on her left side, which he did "I am on my way to visit my youngest granddaughter---she''s so sweet and such a beautiful little girl, mind you." She eagerly told Viktor that and he laughed lowly "I can believe that, trust me." He didn''t bother to deny it and the lady laughed a bit too "Oh, you." She mildly slapped Viktor''s rigid right shoulder with her left hand "It''s been a long time since I''ve seen her but I''ve had an idea. My long-gone mother would often tie my hair sideways in twin tails. At first, let me tell you, I hated it. It just never fit my entirety as a person and even to this day, I still struggle with accepting it. However, when I looked upon my grandaughter I just knew I had to try! So, tell me..." From the light white grocery bag that she was holding on her feet, she took out a pair of hair connectors that would string a portion of the selected hair completely. Viktor recognized the connectors immediately but didn''t express surprise. Instead, he lightly gave off a silent smile as he gave his opinion. "I would have to see her with my own two eyes first, but if she''s what you say she is, ma''am, then I say it''s a yes!" Viktor laughed and approved "Oh, I''m so glad you agree. My daughter likes her so much that it warms my heart every time I see them together. Despite their lineage, they can still behave like a normal family and act alike... You know, it''s something me and my mother lacked---that''s why I want to make them as close as possible. Say, young man, can I speak of honesty when it comes to my daughter?" Viktor saw no reason to decline "I don''t mind, by all means." Viktor paid close attention to what she was about to say "I love her with all my heart, but I fear that I''ve influenced her in ways about the world and where her lineage now stands a bit too harshly. It''s something I can''t undo, but if I could, I would show her that the blood in her veins is simply blood and that it doesn''t come with extraordinary benefits." She lamented "......." Viktor began to grasp the situation. He could wait, but Viktor decided to ask one question, as the bus continued on the windy road amidst watery mud. "Forgive my intrusion on the matter since it doesn''t concern me, but could you tell me more about the ways of the world that you regret teaching her?" Viktor asked and added something else "It''s alright if you don''t want to answer. I am a curious person only, I seek no harm with this information." He looked forward where the sunlight is minimally present and an endless wasteland kept stretching with old rustic houses occasionally in the sideways "Dear me... For me to rely on a stranger like you to receive some soul-comforting insight... I''m sorry, this is a first time for me... Can I confess something abrupt? I promise to get back to the matter quickly." She asked, with something stuck to her verbal tongue. Without any need to refuse, Viktor took a second and then positively nodded. "You remind me of my late father. His eyes were peculiar yet they have an underlying bottomless to them. Every time I sought advice, he would hear me out and every time, I would come out with clarity in my mind. I must be getting old for me to say these things, I am sorry." She apologized albeit Viktor didn''t see the need to do so "No such thing, ma''am. I---am not the wisest person there is, but, my soul is quite old. Even so, please rely on me if you need any soul-sounding advice." Viktor offered consolation "Thank you, I will. As I was saying, I won''t stray away from the matter..." She readied to answer Viktor''s question "Coming from a royal lineage inherited by her mother and father---as well as encompassing a millennia of genetics that served royal blood, she had to learn at a very young age what it meant to be born as royalty. I needed her to understand that being born the way she was that she was not normal---that as long as she holds royal blood, she has a duty to the royal bloodline. As such, I told her a myriad of things that resulted in a newfound obsession with a fallen idol that would remain on the throne. This era, young man, doesn''t belong to the royal anymore. I was too naive to see it, but as times evolved, the crown has decayed. Yet thanks to my stubbornness, I made my own daughter a slave to the idea that the throne serves..." She grieved. Viktor lay back his head and tilted his neck backward while highlighting his Adam''s apple to the straws of visible light emitted from the glass windows to the right. In addition, he allowed her to continue too. "Our current century holds no merit to the throne. Likewise, the throne holds no merit to the people of the century. It''s an old outdated idea with fragmented values... And I can no longer change her mind; to go against all that I''ve said... I just don''t think I have it in me anymore..." Her frail right hand began to tremble, to which Viktor held softly, causing her to look at Viktor in awe "Ma''am. I don''t think that giving up is the right course of action. She is your daughter and if she saw reason in your words, then I don''t think it''s hopeless at all to try once again. Would you like your granddaughter to fall victim to the same ideology; the very set of ideas that you dignified as outdated? Is that what you really want?" Viktor looked into her eyes fully serious as her trembling slowed down "I appreciate the moral support, young man, but... Perhaps this is something that you can only understand as you grow older---there are things that you feel inevitably powerless toward." She confessed her weakness. Letting go of the grip, Viktor thought for a bit before delivering his sentence. "Trying is something that is partial to age; even if the will behind the person staggers. No matter how difficult something looks, trying is always an option. ...It''s better to try without dying knowing that you didn''t try..." Viktor murmured the last sentence to himself silently "...Mhmm..." She pondered something as she took particular interest in Viktor''s last sentence "Gracious me, I can''t believe myself, but... I really don''t want my granddaughter to suffer the same fate..." She took a deep breath "I will give it a try." She said and made Viktor smile a bit and closed his eyes transiently "I''m glad that I could---" Viktor noticed the current scenario. With no one on his side, Viktor was left alone in that row of two seats. "......" He exhaled some air out of frustration as he looked at outside houses midst the faraway mountains. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Unzipping his jacket, Viktor took a small peek at the eyeball tied to his skin necklace right underneath the black shirt that he is wearing. Unresponsive like always, Viktor did not try to talk with it. Instead, Viktor looked at the driver''s mirror located on the right upper side of the bus and what he saw, staggered his being momentarily. "What?! Are you fucking----" He immediately got up from his seat, and went up to the driver''s seat---the bus still driving onward "Goddamn it!" He saw no one controlling the bus, the familiar male bus driver that he had previously given his buy to buy a ticket, was no longer present. Additionally, Viktor started to no longer see a landslide without end, because the north side ahead had a very clear destination as it was threatening to fall down with no subsequent road to back up the terrain to create a path. In other words, a complete dead end to which Viktor knew not if it would lead somewhere. Opting not to bet on an optimistic chance, Viktor took control of the bus driver''s seat and attempted to put a stop to the bus. "Really?! Oh come on!" He complained as he saw no positive results from pressing any of the pedals; even the one that would give the bus more nitro "I''ll just jump out of the damn doors..." His plan was now to exit the bus by opening the entrance doors which would give him the necessary path to escape the potential catastrophe. With lightning speed, Viktor pressed the switches that would open at least one of the doors and looked at them; only to see a negative result occur. As of now, the distance between the landslide and the bus running at an excruciatingly fast pace was about five hundred meters. Knowing exactly that this distance would soon be overtaken by the driving force, Viktor exited the seat and went straight to the extinguisher that was encapsulated on the right side of the middle section of the bus. Instantly grasping the top of the extinguisher with his two hands, his idea was to use the bottom body of the extinguisher to damage the glass window from the door more than an average throw that used the bottom body supported with another hand. By utilizing both of his hands on the top of the extinguisher; though it required tremendous physical strength in order to perform a fast swing, Viktor was able to successfully perform a sequence of five hits onto the glassy window that was starting to crack. Feeling pressured, he looked to his left side as he saw the ravine''s end being approached by the zombie bus. "GODDAMN IT! NOW''S NOT THE TIME TO REST, COME ON! HIT IT UNTIL IT BREAKS!" He pumped himself and elevated the extinguisher that had eight kilograms with his two hands by tightly gripping its top. Executing each swing on the very same cracked spot three times with no rest in-between the repetitions, Viktor had managed to crack the entire window and as he did, he committed a mild mistake by not dropping the extinguisher immediately and jumping out. Instead, wanting to check the situation, he looked to the west side as he tried to see if the bus had already surpassed the road that would lead to the dead end. Unfortunately for Viktor, he could only see faraway mountains and nothing else; including the road that the bus was under. Without wasting time to process what this meant, Viktor instinctively dropped the extinguisher, ran to the cracked window, and performed a jump to the pits below the ravine. "AHHHHHH!!" Viktor screamed out of his lungs as he looked for something to grasp. Despite performing a jump, he essentially wasn''t able to land on the pits of the ravine which would allow him to climb back up. Instead, as he was falling down, he tried to see anything that would connect to the pits. A falling tree arm that would extend from the pits of the ravine was immediately caught to Viktor''s sight and he didn''t hesitate to dive down to it below as it was ten meters away. "GAH!" Although he managed to grab the arm''s entirety, the muscle spasm of the impact that landed on his left shoulder was enough for him to let out a cry of pain. Frail and unreliable, the tree''s arm started to show signs of discomposure and so, Viktor used both of his hands to go forward; his entire body below being supported by the upper movements of his two hands that would guide him to the rocks that are present in the ravine''s pits. Naturally, the tree''s arm collapsed as soon as Viktor got a hold of the two rocks that were in the pits. In addition to collapsing, it caused an abrupt earthquake from below, which alarmed Viktor to climb---the distance from where he currently stands and the end of the road being around a hundred meters. He performed a deep breath and with consecutive in and out breaths to help his movements be less sluggish, Viktor was able to get into the road''s surface as the ravine below started to undergo a massive destruction. "Ahhh... Ahhhhhhh......!!" On his knees, Viktor inhaled as much air as he could but nevertheless got up as he didn''t think it would be wise to stand on the very edge of a ravine that was undergoing natural havoc. His posture was crooked and his left shoulder somewhat hurting; furthermore, his hands utterly blistered from the brusk movements he had to perform with them on the tree''s arm and the ravine''s rocks---Viktor felt like he had achieved something that he was not meant to achieve. He started to move forward, finally entering a low dirty green grass field with a muddy sandy path that would have a small width yet a long extensive way ahead with faraway rustic deconstructed ruined houses in sight. "Something I''ve come to notice is that there are always, for some damn reason, these random death challenges that pop up that get in the way... Under what force do these events operate? As far as I''m concerned, all that the nightmare should include is mortal danger to the one who is having the nightmare and I''m not that person..." Viktor reflected on the anomaly that has been showing its presence. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As he continued to walk forward in that grassy field, the absence of the three suns made it clear that the omnipresent daylight had been substituted by torrential unstoppable rain. Furthermore, the more he walked, the more the scenery would change. Finding himself no longer in a field with low grass without a soul in sight, Viktor had become one with a crowd of people wearing all black, under their respective dark umbrellas to shield from the merciless rain. There was not a single person present who was not wearing black; the male individuals varied from all ages as well as the female individuals. Amidst them, Viktor was holding onto his black umbrella with black gloves in his two hands. Viktor was dressed in a black suit with a black tie; everything was black, even the blouse underneath. "MOTHER, NO!!" A loud cry erupted from the front scenery; Viktor couldn''t capture this sight quite well as it was blocked with people. Thinking he would have to pass through the crowd of black suits, Viktor placed his left hand on a person''s shoulder in the north direction, but he couldn''t physically make touch with that person. Despite the rain clearly affecting his hair as he turned off his umbrella---strapping it on the muddy field filled with watery grass. Walking forward in the direction of the cry, Viktor decided to uncover who it was that had unleashed such an agonizing scream. Midst that, Viktor was able to absorb some information regarding the event as he passed through a multitude of bodies. "It''s unfortunate; they are just that relentless... Bunch of savages, thank God I''m not of royal blood---recently there have been rumors of royal families being eradicated out of existence by some mysterious organization..." Viktor stopped prematurely as he realized something; his eyes authentically open now as he suddenly dawned it "Do they know no remorse? To kill someone like the previous Queen..." Viktor reluctantly began to walk again "I don''t think that''s even the worst part of it... Just what is the length of their plan? Is Queen Ina Marie safe?!" Viktor had now reached his desired location. Unshielded from the pouring dreadful rain emitted from the thundering clouds above, three people, in particular, were on their knees in front of a black coffin with Christ''s cross embodied in the very middle of it. There was a noticeable difference between them and the others, as the rest of the people that were invited to the funeral amidst the gloomy depressive atmosphere that endorsed the entirety of the oddly populated graveyard, didn''t want to get in the way of their sorrowful mourning. "Grandmother! Grandmother! You can''t just leave us!!" Viktor recognized the familiar face, wearing a full-body black dress, now a year older than the last time he saw her, Naomi hugged the coffin as she caught the violent rain droplets "Mother! MOTHER! NO, WHY?!" Naomi''s mother, Ina, grieved as her streaming tears were surprisingly noticeable amidst the bullet raindrops---as well as hugging the central part of the coffin. Oskar, her husband, and Naomi''s father, silently hugged the two of them as he had nothing to say. Viktor, on the other hand, placed his eyes on Ina and Naomi in particular. Their behavior which contained a splash of sadness with an untold regret for their late family member managed to capture a decent image for Viktor''s understanding of the two individuals. "Not enough..." Viktor thought to himself as he stood on the left side of the coffin, gazing upon the crying figures. Rapidly, the scenery changed without warning. No longer in a funeral circulated by black suits in the middle of torrential rain, Viktor found himself inside the seventh floor of the mansion that he had already been in. The atmosphere was filled with heavy rain once again, but repetitive strikes of thunder were an additional element to the ambiance outside. Flashes of light constantly shortly illuminated the hallway to which Viktor began to walk in. Each step toward the one and only room felt like taking an assaulting bolt of thunder as the lightning outside impacted everything around it at lethal proximity by the seconds. However, before he could do anything else, in that flightless hallway, Viktor captured the sound of impatient footsteps and so, he turned his back around and saw Naomi with a golden plate that had a plate with various dishes alongside a cup of water in it. Uncaring for the state of the plate itself, Naomi was in a complete rush, as she passed through Viktor''s body, which had no physical impact on her. Struggling to do everything at once, Naomi put down the plate in front of the two tall doors that connected to her mother''s office, and only then did she open the right door----taking hold of the plate again once that was done. Thunder struck mercilessly outside, thus Viktor moved forward, following Naomi to the dark office where her mother would be in. "Mother!" Naomi shouted, now in her blue pajamas, being seven years old "Please eat something, it''s been almost two days since you''ve eaten!" Naomi placed the golden plate in the middle of the desk where a multitude of papers were lined up. Unreactive, Naomi''s mother, Ina, didn''t react to this neither did she look at Naomi, who was wearing an extremely worried expression on her face. All that Ina was doing at the moment was signing up a multitude of papers which Viktor didn''t fail to get his visual grasp on as he started to circulate the desk around Ina and Naomi. He additionally noticed Ina''s tired expression as the bags around her eyes were abundantly heavy and noticeable. Furthermore, her well-kept physique was showing signs of lack of body nutrients; her fingers showing a staggering difference in body fat as they are tremendously skinnier now, as well as her face. Upon being ignored by her mother who did nothing but paperwork; as she felt helpless, Naomi began to cry in front of Ina. "Mamaaaaaa!!" Naomi supported her tears with her closed palms as she kept brushing them off with her eyes semi-open "Why won''t you eat anything?! I even had Sebastian teach me how to make this! Please, just say something! You''ve been isolating yourself from me and father ever since grandmother passed away!" Viktor noticed an abrupt shift as Ina paused her pen---her eyes widening in response to Naomi''s last words "And I don''t know how to take this, mother! I keep crying a lot every time I think about grandmother! I need you, mother! Please!" Naomi begged as she went around to the left side of Ina''s chair, grasping tightly her black dress. Viktor saw just how much Naomi was crying on her mother''s dress, but more importantly, the kind of expression Ina was wearing while looking at her own daughter. "...You need me...?" She asked Naomi, her eyes lacking any color; her voice utterly hollow--deprived of emotion "Yes, mother! I miss grandmother so much, but I''m worried about you too! Please!" Naomi looked at her with teary eyes, snot running through her nose as well as her body trembling "You miss her? You think that you miss her?" Viktor saw the dangerous movement from her mother which surprised him as she committed to it. Abruptly, by taking a strong hold of the water glass cup, Ina smashed it onto Naomi''s hippocampus without any mercy. The glass split itself into shards as the water from the cup was poured onto Naomi''s head. "DON''T YOU DARE SAY SUCH THINGS, INSOLENT CHILD!" Ina shouted in Naomi''s direction, Naomi herself collapsed from the damage onto the floor as her cry of terror intensified "DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT MY FEELINGS AS IF YOU UNDERSTAND!! SHE WAS EVERYTHING TO ME, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER, STOP TALKING LIKE YOU DO!" She slapped Naomi''s hippocampus with her right hand in a feat of rage "DO YOU REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH OF A BURDEN YOU ARE TO ME?! YOU DON''T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ROYALTY, SO YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN, STUPID CHILD!" Ina vented as she kept on lashing her hands at Naomi''s face. Unable to form a sentence, Naomi tried to shield herself from the damage by putting up her arms, but her mother didn''t allow such as she was relentless with her physical punishment. Not only that, but the top of Naomi''s head was bleeding excruciatingly, as well as the lips that were starting to show damaged bruises from the beating. Viktor then saw Oskar enter the room through the open door with a look of disbelief and emergence. "Ina?! What are you doing?!" He quickly rushed into the scene, putting a stop to Ina''s physical endeavor by locking both of her arms from behind "LET GO OF ME, SHE HAS TO LEARN! THEN SHE WON''T TALK ABOUT SUFFERING AS IF SHE KNOWS WHAT IT''S LIKE!!" Naomi''s loud cries of horror could be heard as her frail body formed a shelled posture; her two legs crawled up to her head while the two arms shielded the head "You''re not in your right mind! You need to rest, right now!" Oskar, alongside the guards that emerged from the hallway, started to take control of the situation by taking Ina away from the room "RELEASE ME! RELEASE ME NOW! I NEED TO TEACH SOME MANNERS TO THAT CHILD!!" In spite of her lunatic attitude, Ina insisted on shouting in Naomi''s direction---her voice starting to fade out from screaming so much. Now that she was out of the room and Naomi remained alone in the room for the time being, Viktor crooked his posture down and took a look at Naomi''s face from her left side. With blood on her face streaming from the top of her head, blood vessels destroyed in the corner of her lips as well as visible damage to her face---Naomi kept repeating the same sentence while shielding her head with her two fragile shaking hands. "I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again. I''m sorry mother, I won''t do it again." As the sentence kept on being repeated, Viktor deemed her behavior as key and so, he started to erupt his posture back on. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ By taking the exit door and going into the hallway, Viktor was caught by surprise yet again. "........?!" Out of nowhere, the hallway started to deconstruct itself and Viktor began to fall under a deep dark hole just like the first time he was chasing that particular door in the skyscraper. Though Viktor expected to be like last time, where there was a shining light below that indicated his upcoming destination, after a short while, Viktor could regain physical control of his own body as he was apparently under some sort of structure midst the absolute darkness. "What now?" Viktor began to talk to himself out loud "I know the source, but this is still not enough. I need to know how she took it, all by herself. Otherwise, I can''t get her out of it." This time, he spoke in the direction of the eyeball within his skin necklace. No response from the eyeball came forward. However, Viktor decided to not stand around so he figured that the only thing he could do for now is to wander around in the darkness. He attempted to go north side in search of something; just a single clue that could indicate where he should go next. Little by little, still with nothing in sight, Viktor started to catch the sound of water as he noticed that his black boots were hitting a watery surface. After he looked down to see what the water looked like---dark and seemingly fainting a hint of obsidian blue---he looked forward and saw something that he could qualify as a searching point. "What''s that..." Skeptical, Viktor calmly continued north side as the luminosity started to increase but nevertheless still remained relatively dark by comparison. Stumbling upon a hard structure with his right black boot, Viktor took notice of an existing five-degree ladder with unknown width that started to extend up to above. Slightly more illuminated by some sort of light, Viktor found himself in a square-shaped area of over a meter in height and twenty meters in width. The water still remained low, refusing to go any higher; sloppy. Seeing nothing to gain from standing still, Viktor kept on walking to the center. Without warning, as he reached the center, an explosive impulse caused an elevating oval structure that was only a bit larger than a meter, to erupt Viktor into a higher surface like an elevator. In reality, what Viktor had arrived in was a surface that had a sloppy watery surface; this time deeper in the height of its water, but nothing too alarming as it simply went to the lower part of his boots where his ankles reside. For the first time though, Viktor caught sight of something that instantly sparked his interest. Four water mirrors from all four directions of the square within the area emitted certain specific imagery to them; all different. "Four of them? I might as well go one by one then." Viktor picked the logical decision. Therefore, he approached the one to the north side; ultimately gazing at the blurry scenery that lies beyond the water mirror reflecting the content within. At the same time, however, Viktor turned his head and looked at the other three mirrors. His expression became distorted. "Neverfuckingmind, goddamn it." Upon seeing that the other mirrors had vanished, Viktor returned to the center, and only then, did the other three mirrors return "The option of going back to and exploring the other mirrors should technically be possible, no? But... That''s wishful thinking..." Viktor started to walk in circles as he began to think out loud freely "Putting aside that option if I have to choose between one of the water mirrors that would lead me to a better end game, then it would be the mirror that reflects a part of Naomi''s past that relates to the current matter at the given present... Which means that it has to be about objective interest and not what I would like to know more..." Viktor became puzzled as his expression grew denser by the minute "That''s rough, man. I really wanted to explore the north water mirror, but if it''s about the objective choice----the one mirror out of all the four that would lead me to understand her better based on the scenery demonstrated---then there is no choice to this matter." Viktor put a final pause to his out loud speech and moved to the south water mirror. Entering the mirror, his entire body became encapsulated in water. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Waking up in a seashell''s surface, Viktor''s eyes opened wide at the very bottom of the sea; just about a hundred meters away from the radiant surface where the luminosity compels the ephemeral light blue. The sea creatures around him that varied from variants of fishes, sharks, octopuses, giant squids, and small sperm whales, alerted Viktor greatly to the point of making him depart to the surface above without wasting any time. Departing from the dark shaded blue at the ocean''s bottom, Viktor was able to grasp a baby blue and his eyes became blinded by powerful daylight that a singular white giant that had at least fifty times the size of the average sun emitted. It stood majestically at the very height of the blue cerulean sky without clouds in sight. Emerging from the water below, Viktor gasped for some air amidst the extremely dense and hot atmosphere''s temperature. "Ahhh! Ahhh..." He gasped again and again as the swimming course he had to go through was far more stressful than he immediately imagined "Oh... Wait, this is kinda nice..." He noticed. Flapping around with his arms and legs, Viktor enjoyed the thorough experience of being able to nakedly swim on the ocean''s surface as the contrast between the high tropical temperature and the chilling water''s temperature created an addictive sensation. As he swam and swam, taking turns with his head to the left and right, Viktor looked to his left side where there is a sandy beach covered in yellow stark sand that is not far away from what seemed to be a jungle accompanied by tall palm trees and conjunctions of what seemed to be lianas. Furthermore, it had a variety of dark green bushes that contradicted the lush water canal that was draining water as its primary resource from the ocean where Viktor currently bathes. But, a certain element caught him off guard, or so he thought, but once he saw it and noticed that the figure was running into the inside of the jungle--- disappearing from Viktor''s sight---he knew that it was about time to cease with his transient joyful swim. "....." Viktor stopped randomly floating with his naked body and saw right into the beach, slowly growing his posture back up; now completely at the mercy of the white giant. In less than ten minutes, Viktor took in his possession a tight liana thread and adjoined long grass leaves around it which ultimately formed a firm grass skirt that would reach his tights at maximum yet it was sufficient to cover up his lower parts in order to avoid unnecessary shock. Now that was out of the way, Viktor began to walk into the jungle. Mildly hot nevertheless, by cutting the lianas that would infinitely intertwine with his upper vision with his right hand in the form of a chop whilst attempting not to pay attention to the natural diversity amongst the tropical animals that populated the current ambiance, Viktor was strictly following a pre-determined path that had been walked over so many times to the point of being utterly impossible not to notice. Coming to an end, Viktor arrived at a water bay in an area where there was a long tall waterfall of ten meters up ahead beyond the small bay. Naturally, it was firstly surrounded by a low quantity of sand, but as far as Viktor was concerned, this would, in theory, be qualified as a dead end. Yet the sight of the figure as she peeked her head in the streaming fountain''s right side was enough to tell Viktor that it wasn''t in fact a dead end. The figure retreated her head back into the fountain as Viktor could see an allusive walkway occurring behind the fountain. "...So that''s how it''s going to be..." Viktor placed his right foot on the chilling water and performed a dive immediately. Taking no time at all, Viktor arrived at the fountain''s location in the middle of the water bay; looked above where he could the very tip of the descending water canal and ultimately saw a small ladder built by a rocky structure that was co-aligned with the rocky walls on the east and west of the fountain. Therefore, he decided to swim in that direction and climbed the stairs; emerging into a twenty-meter length dark tunnel with a very clear destination up ahead as it was imploding with sunlight. Given the absence of the sun''s light, the tunnel, though decently tall and large enough for Viktor to pass through its rocky unstable surface, was calmingly chilling in its temperature. Viktor would then see a fading hand as it started to connect to the other side. Though he wanted to see what lay ahead, Viktor didn''t rush, and as he exited the tunnel---once again sprayed with infecting daylight---he stopped to take a moment to observe the scenery of the core of that island as he was sure that he had thoroughly reached his final destination within. Mainly covered by a volcanic crater on its rooftop with an oval hole at its top which highlighted any solar light onto what lay below, the entire area had over two-hundred and fifty meters in width, and the distance between the lower surface and the crater that served as a way to create a perfectly alluring calm sensation to the atmosphere around it was no more than five hundred meters in height. Gazing from afar at a distant shore where there is a small circular pool of water linked to a water canal that trespasses the entirety of the current area; this canal being linked to the ocean outside---Viktor saw his target seating on the mini-beach covered in low wet sand with her legs attached to her arms as she carefully watched the flow of water. As far as he could see, he could jump from path to path despite the clear height difference just so he could go forward, but he decided to undertake the long way around. He started to experience the feeling of small lush grass as the absence of a rocky ground became crystal-clear. Delving into a more complex sandy texture, he often would find his feet swimming in it, so he carefully elevated them every time. Ergo; he turned to his right side after leaving the tunnel''s exit and started to make his way forward. The main line of action was to keep on going to the right and walk around in a circle as it would keep on descending; amassing three layers of circles to go around. Of course, by the end of it, Viktor would emerge into a new land of sand amidst numerous palm trees as well as prestigious fruit trees that contained coconuts, mango, and many more. As he walked up to her, still a few meters away, he noticed that there was a wooden house to the right side with a squared-shape size; amassing a total of two meters in height and ten in width. Nurturing waves crashed down at the bay; a peaceful harmony that solidified the meaning of eternal calm. Gently, to her right side, Viktor took a seat with his left leg fully extended forward, but his right leg was elevated; his right arm all the way to the east and mirroring it in the opposite direction was his left arm as both of his palms adjoined to the wet sand. "This is a nice island." Viktor simply said to the young Naomi who was in her eight years of age "It''s also really peaceful too. If you look closely, you can see koi fishes erupting from the water''s surface!" Naomi pointed at the barely moving water surface right in front of them. Unlike Viktor, Naomi was wearing a white t-shirt with short sleeves and light blue bottoms that went to her tights at maximum. No shoes; her feet were able to embrace the serenity of the water as they tickled her feet. Exploding out of nowhere, two red tiny fishes flew into the air for a short second as they vibrated simultaneously. "Waaahh!! See, see?!" Naomi kept pointing at them over and over; the koi fishes returning to the pits below "That''s impressive stuff, Naomi. I didn''t know you knew any of this." Viktor noted her crescent knowledge and she didn''t hesitate to demonstrate why "Of course I know! I watch them every day without fail." She kept looking forward without meeting Viktor''s eyesight "Why are you here, Naomi?" Viktor asks "Why? What do you mean?" She couldn''t comprehend but looked at Viktor this time "I''m saying, what are you hiding from? This place is nothing but a shell." Viktor struck to the core. In front of Viktor''s eyes, her figure was no longer there and as such, without needing to process why, Viktor got up from the sand. It was also fairly obvious that, although she could be somewhere amidst the island, the place she would most likely be in would be the place that asserted a feeling of belonging. As such, Viktor walked up to the wooden house''s frontal entrance door, pulled it, and entered the residence. Encompassing a wooden ground and a linear forward hall of two meters, there were two doors; one to the right and one to the left at the very middle. The right one was mildly open while the left one was thoroughly closed. He thought for a while, but ultimately went for the door on the left side; having to open it by pushing the door hold forward. The other door on the right side completely disappeared simultaneously leaving only one door remaining. A lonely two-meter-tall room of five meters in width with no windows served as her sanctuary as Naomi sat on the one and only wooden desk that stood at the very center. This particular desk was shielded with plenty of closed books and Viktor mainly saw Naomi study with a religious attention. The sheer focus on her part managed to earn respect from Viktor deep down. Viktor took a seat with his back next to the wall, behind her wooden chair. "Why do you study so much? I could never understand it, really. It''s not going to make you like your mother, Naomi." He sighed "It''s not that." She corrected him as she kept on solving mathematical university-level equations in regard to topology "Mother''s dream will never be fulfilled unless I am there for her. And for her to realize her dream; for us to stand at the top again, we need something that can be only ours." Naomi''s voice, now from the version of herself that has thirteen years of age, in her school uniform studying, spoke "To reach that cataclysm, you will not only build a city in her honor but you will neglect your true feelings for your mother?" Viktor stuck with question after question "My feelings don''t matter---What matters is to fulfill her dream. For that matter I must secure my future; through studies, I will be able to go far. I am a future monarch; it''s only obvious and natural. It''s nothing more than a stepping stone." She coldly spoke. In absolute boredom, Viktor sighed and got up. He circled the door as he watched what she was doing; the subjects she was learning and the questions she was answering about them. "You''re not mad about your mother hitting you when you were younger?" Viktor''s question caused Naomi''s eyes to momentarily widened in shock "I..." She struggled to make an answer and Viktor kept walking in circles around her desk "I was out of place, I spoke too much. I was a naive child back then; I lacked the emotional maturity to realize that much. I deserved it." Naomi spoke with honesty even though her words were meekly spoken "What a load of bullshit." Viktor laughed causing Naomi to grow angry "...What..." She murmured while putting a stop to her studies; elevating her look to see Viktor''s mocking eyes "She unfairly gave you a beating, that''s all there is to it. You''re just trying to sugarcoat the truth in order to protect your image of her. For someone who studies so much, knows more than she should, you haven''t studied the one thing you should have all along..." Viktor alluded to one thing "And what''s that...?" Curious, she couldn''t help herself, though her furious expression did not cease. Stopping his circulation, Viktor faced Naomi in front of her desk as his clothes were now in the set of a black jacket with golden lines, and black pants alongside black boots. "Study yourself, Naomi. Maybe your feelings are best when they are not neglected by yourself. Your mother---she has become something like a scourge to you. Isn''t that right, Naomi? This island is a shell." Viktor spoke but spoke with even more clarity in his upcoming sentence "Your shell." He finished his sentence. Ever allusive in its predictability, the scenery changed. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Put back in a familiar setting, Viktor found himself on the very beginning of the first carriage of a bullet train that contained over fifty carriages altogether. Furthermore, he knew that he was in fact in Arkapella just by being on board of a bullet train that was heavily populated with corporate suits in the shape of humans. Not only that, but the staggering ever-radiant sunlight powered by the three morning stars in the shimmering horizon gave him that bright morning feeling. Moving in the north direction which contradicted his current direction, Viktor found himself standing out as his outfit which consists of the usual black jacket with noticeable stark golden lines, and slim-fit black pants covered beneath with resistant black boots, was far different than the formal attires from all the corporate workers that were on their way to their jobs in Arkapella. Moving forward while uncaringly passing through hordes of people on the train, Viktor traveled from carriage to carriage while on the look for Naomi alone. Little by little, as the time went by, and as the train stations began to increase, more people would start exiting the train which was helpful for Viktor as he struggled to move forward despite his clear goal amidst the multitude of passages. However, this significant drop was like no other when Viktor reached the thirty-seventh carriage. With no other person in sight, Viktor began to enter the carriage that contained about a hundred meters in length and a valid three meters in height. The dual seats, as well as the quadruple and even the eight-row type of seats that stretched horizontally adjoined to the glassy walls. "........" Viktor, after walking for a few seconds, saw two reminiscent hair connectors on the west and east top side of her head. Facing forward and looking outside to the myriad of highly advanced technological buildings and skyscrapers that easily towered what her vision could reach; Naomi''s figure started to become visible to Viktor, but only her top head. Step by step, Viktor advanced to the quadruple seat and decided to seat on the mirroring seat in front of her; her seat is the one most to the right. They were both initially looking outside while seating on almost invisible-looking seats that collided well with the fact that the carriages were all under an extremely resistant glassy structure that allowed views from all angles; including below and above. But, Viktor broke the ice. "Let me understand something first, Naomi." He placed his eyes on her; likewise, she did the same "Although you showed commitment to our agreement that getting you out of the nightmare; which this is---you have nevertheless started to demonstrate an attitude that is very reminiscent of when you abandoned me. In other words, am I to understand that you no longer wish to return to reality, where your physical, real body and mind, reside in?" Viktor sincerely asked, his eyes obsolete of exhaustion "Take it as you see fit." Naomi closed her eyes while giving that overly simplified answer. For a minute there, Viktor looked at her in disbelief, before asserting the surefire confidence to start speaking again. "Impressive, Naomi." He started clapping "Hats off to you. Here I am, saving you over and over, and you bail on me. Again." He spoke extremely satirically with hints of disappointment all over his voice; his claps being far too slow and sarcastic "Are you done?" Without any sort of emotion in her voice, she asked Viktor "Oh yeah, I''m done with you alright. You don''t just lie to me twice and get rewarded for it. Go on, do it." Viktor began to throw a tantrum; his expression demonstrating bitterness "....." Naomi was mildly stunned despite her lack of transparency in her expression "No, come on, don''t change your mind. You know the sentence. Don''t act like it''s your first time in this rodeo. Send me back to "Fuck off Viktor" avenue. I know you can do it." Viktor sparred no time and insisted. Naomi took a deep breath and then spoke to the sour Viktor. "Alright. Viktor, thank you for everything you''ve done for me. I really appreciate it, even if... you don''t think I do..." Naomi began to show lament but even so, she remained decisive "This is for the best, after all..." She had this particular thought as she readied the verbal cannon; the aim being: Viktor. However, Viktor would speak something first to her, in a more direct and stoic voice tone. "It''s just such a shame. All of this for a mother who has a daughter that doesn''t even truly love her..." He giggled as his eyes began to mock Naomi from a close distance ".......What...?" Naomi''s expression, no longer fully emotionless as well as her voice which was now visibly minimally emotional, had a sudden shift "Hm? Hey, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to spell out the sentence for you? Don''t tell me you suddenly forgot?" Viktor started to laugh manically though lowly "No... Not that... The lie you''ve just spoken..." Her vision narrowed in spite "That was no lie. Stop wasting my time, Naomi---I value it. I want to hurry up and know where I''m going next. Don''t tangle me with your lack of critical decision-making." Viktor complained "What?! You just said that I don''t truly love my mother! Explain yourself, right now!" She shouted as her posture leaned forward a little bit. Viktor''s grin rose to full height as he placed his right fist on the right side of his face; supporting it via his right elbow that was placed on the border of the window. "Oh sure, I don''t mind." Viktor didn''t deny it as he shrugged "Great, so----" He interrupted Naomi, however "Under one condition only, however." Viktor raised his left hand''s index finger "If I am right, you will comply with our prior agreement, Naomi. How about it?" Viktor proposed and Naomi thought about it "......Whatever, Viktor. You''re not going to win my will over, it''s decided." She showed spite and stubbornness "So it''s a no? Come on, make up your mind, Naomiria." He specifically said her full name; with a bored expression on his face as he yawned out loud "It''s a yes! Gosh, what do you think I was implying!? Spill it, Viktor! The moment you do and I prove you wrong, I will get you out of here like you want!" Naomi shouted as she fully declared her intentions. Seeing now that Naomi was fully captured in that manufactured curiosity, Viktor erased his jester-like posture and his clownish smile and replaced it with a formidable physical posture and an utterly serious facial expression. "Alright. Listen well, because I hate repeating myself." Volume 1 - Chapter 6: Nightmare #1 "Let''s address the elephant in the room so you may understand, Naomi." Viktor bent his posture forward, his head looking at Naomi from below "This city is a figment of your imagination not based on reality--your reality in this case---and by that margin, we can conclude that all of that is around us holds foundation according to the very city plant that your mother had envisioned with years to come." Naomi, bewildered, attempted to interrupt Viktor "How do you know all of---" Yet with a simple gesture he shut her off. Moving his right hand in an uncanny slow manner to the upper zone of her head, where her hippocampus area is, Viktor allowed Naomi to know the length of his knowledge as her eyes widened in terror. "Don''t worry---it''s for the sake of my point; I mean no harm. So spare me the unnecessary intrusions and melodramatic interruptions and give me your most precious undivided attention for now." Viktor retreated his hand and reinforced his posture once again---Naomi complying albeit nervous "There is, for the most part, no good way to put it, but... This entire city is something you have made yourself. Dreams or nightmares are bounded by a higher power source that defies the common modern necessities when it comes to general construction. You could very well say that this is all merely a thought of your own, but alas, I digress." Viktor shrugged and continued "I understand for the most part why you don''t want to move away from this city. I mean, it doesn''t even seem like a nightmare. You''re not in mortal danger and there isn''t a high quantity of stress for you, apparently. You live here and continue to make the city flourish while giving all the necessary love to your dream. It''s beautiful in a sense." Viktor didn''t mind throwing a compliment or two. Viktor proceeded to snap his right-hand fingers, one by one, in a very slow motion, including the finger''s bones. "But it''s the product of what your mind wishes to achieve in reality and that''s why it''s set in motion and partially completed here. You don''t feel obligated to go back to reality, because, why would you, right?" Viktor shrugged his two arms with a burst of soft laughter "This is what your mind wants. This ain''t no nightmare, it''s a dream for you. A dream, that''s built on fake love, unfortunately..." He spearheaded those words to Naomi, who was visibly angry at him though he nevertheless continued. He got up and said nothing. Then, he moved to the left subsequently moving onwards to the bridge door that would connect to the next carriage. Naomi followed him behind as they entered the carriage filled with passengers. Intertwining between passengers who were standing up, Viktor began to talk again. "Naomi, your mother''s ideology no longer holds any merit in your reality. All of this---is not realistic, and you know it. I don''t know what year this is supposed to be but if you are eighteen years old like you''ve said, then this should be around 2040. I''m not saying all of this is impossible, but it''s a little bit of a stretch when you have flying cars and trains that can travel through a city like this in less than ten minutes. All in all, I think we can also agree that though admirable, it''s an exaggeration of an effort." Naomi''s expression started to become incredibly pissed off as she felt ridiculed. Passing through another horde of corporate suits and with Naomi somehow not losing sight of his blonde hair and black and yellow jacket, Viktor moved on to the next segment of his point. "How does any of that have to do with what I said that threw you off, you might ask?" Viktor sat down in a horizontal row of eight seats adjoined to the left side of the carriage while Naomi did the same except she sat on the sixth seat from the right which mirrored Viktor''s; their distance from one another being two meters "All of it, actually." Viktor chuckled "...." Naomi wanted to speak, but also wanted to see where Viktor was going with this "Do you have at least a minimal idea of what the plant is for? Is it just a city because the relevance of royalty is outdated therefore your mother found the absolute necessity in building a city that belonged to royal blood alone which would differentiate from the republic where the majority of the citizens who no longer see value in a kingdom reside in? Or, is it something like a city that is meant to serve as a vessel for her dream? To potentially cover up a loss..." Viktor alluded. Naomi''s memories were quick to relive that very dark moment when her grandmother''s funeral was held underneath impending torrential rain. "A loss that broke her so much that she lost sight of what is right and wrong---and in the process of that loss, her way of connecting to her late mother was through a valley of thoughts that led to her believing in what her mother thought was right all along." Naomi began to show weakness as her right hand started to tremble a bit. Slowly, Viktor got up and walked to Naomi and softly took a light hold of her right hand with his right hand. He didn''t meet her gaze and instead prioritized seeing when the hand would stop shaking. After three seconds, it showed signs of slowing down, and as such, Viktor began to walk forward again while letting go of her wrist in the process, at a slower pace so Naomi could catch up. "Her daughter, so distraught from one bad night, couldn''t come to terms with her mother''s behavior, so she thought about a way to not let her mother down. By becoming the product of endless devotion to her beloved mother''s ideology and knowing nothing but studying until her heart gave out, and even going as far as secluding her real feelings inside a shell, she became convinced that this was her life''s purpose. That it doesn''t matter whether or not what she wholly encompasses as her mother''s dream is genuinely distributed by real love." Viktor looked at her for a single second with a sharp glance. Naturally, Naomi''s vision was narrowed, and fully tired of Viktor''s seemingly unstoppable rant. "Let me ask you something and you can answer now, but only with a yes or no." Viktor grabbed an upper-hand supporter as he allocated to the right side of the carriage in front of an exit door "..." Naomi did the same "Did your mother ask for this?" He asked while looking at her to his right "......No." She revealed and Viktor released some heavy air out of his nostrils "I see..." The train momentarily stopped and Viktor exited the bullet train alongside Naomi. Descending three degrees from the carriage''s border, they were now in an open platform where many other corporate suits would leave. As a matter of fact, the train seemed incredibly empty after Viktor and Naomi waited out until all of them left. There were about ten different metallic ladders that would go up to the core of the station and ten others below that would lead to the subway beneath. Going for none of those, Viktor elected to seat on a contrasting wooden bench that was just up ahead of them with enough space for two. "It''s about time I get your saying in this too." Viktor released her verbal shackles "...I agree." Naomi felt relieved as she took her seat next to Viktor in a place covered with an iron shelter which allowed for a relaxing shadow to be under "Tell me, Naomi... If your mother saw this, do you think she would be happy and proud of you?" Viktor asked, looking at the purple sun on the east side of the cerulean sky through a tight angle "She would. Everything I do is for her. I will gladly devote my life to her dream." Naomi confidently replied by placing her right hand on her chest "Really? Alright." Viktor gave an indifferent bored reply. Confused and uncertain, Naomi couldn''t figure out Viktor''s true intention behind that simplistic and overly uninterested answer. "Did I say something wrong? Well, prove me wrong, aren''t you here for that? Or is that the length of your reasoning? If so, say so." Naomi pointed verbal daggers at Viktor who looked at her in the eye with seriousness "You need to take a chill pill, creature." He mildly laughed which irritated her "...What..." She murmured, annoyed "To tell you the truth, I know very little about your mother. I know all about her until she gave you that beating that still haunts your mind." Naomi felt mocked over the fact that this was the second time Viktor had brought that up "Can you not?" She spoke in a sour tone "Can''t what? Talk about the obvious? I thought I was here for that, no?" Viktor seemed clueless "It''s none of your damn business what happened in the past! I won''t even question how you know that, just stop, alright?! That has nothing to do with it, let''s just get that out of the way." Naomi attempted to cease the conversation about that specific point in her life. Viktor could have stopped and he thought about it. "No." He coldly said "What?" Naomi was mildly nervous by Viktor''s blunt denial "I said no, Naomi. The real reason why I didn''t bother to learn more about your mother is because, in my eyes, she''s the source of all of this. It''s all her fault you have to abide by such a ridiculous dream. It''s all her fault why you suck at communicating your feelings anymore, because the last time you did, you got such a violent response that you can''t muster the will to-----" Naomi erupted from her seat with precision. Nervous and irritated, she began to counter Viktor. "Stop, stop, stop! None of that is true! I can speak my feelings just fine, what are you talking about?! Don''t you see how I can convey how I feel without any problems?!" She dared Viktor to counter-argue "Of course you can. I''m not your mother." To which he did "Again! Nothing to do with it! You''re just saying stuff to throw me off!" She accused "You really think so? You really think that I''m going out of my way just to instigate how you feel? Because I sincerely don''t have anything better to do with my time?" Viktor asked her as he got up as well "You''re wrong, Viktor." She first spoke in an adamant manner "Very, very wrong. My mother, that night, gave me a lesson that I had to know. After my grandmother passed away, I didn''t know that my mother was capable of feeling such a profound deep sorrow like she did, that''s why she had to educate me, even if that means that she had to use physical force!" Her words rose in volume as her glasses fell off too. But Viktor showed an expression of disapproval and was quick to argue back in spite of what Naomi had just said. "Her lack of emotional control justifies the beating? Do you listen to yourself?" The wind turbulence increased momentarily "It doesn''t matter! I learned from it and moved on! My mother didn''t approve of me back then that''s why if I continue to do something remarkable then I will maybe earn her approval by being a well-behaved daughter that strives to achieve something her mother would approve!" In addition to the turbulence, the sky no longer was cerulean and darkening clouds quickly gathered "Viktor, just because you saw portions of my life, don''t think you get how I feel! I''m not hailing my mother as a saint, but she is the one I love the most and I earn for her respect much more than you could ever imagine!" Lightly, raindrops started to form "This approval you speak of is something that was never warranted from someone other than yourself. That''s why everything you do in her honor is fake! It has no approval from the source, Naomi! You can''t call this love when it''s all built on a basis and not a mutual consensus, damn it!" Viktor exulted himself, allowing his arms to take various expressive movements. That was, however, not a wise decision from him. Feeling cornered and holding a tremendous necessity to burst out her inner anger; Naomi''s purple eyes began to glow a clearly visible light aura surrounding them as well emitting danger in its might. The raindrops became unstoppable the moment they penetrated the metallic surface; going as far as putting holes in the ground. Prevailing though, the iron shelter they were in, didn''t allow the loud forming rain to intertwine with their unique atmosphere. Viktor noticed that the railways were starting to dissolve due to this factor. "...Naomi, calm down..." No longer seeking a hostile conversation and witnessing the beginning of a climatic change, Viktor thought twice about his way of going into this "Why?! What for?! You want to take away my dream, Viktor! And if it wasn''t obvious by now, no, I don''t want to listen to whatever you have to say!" Thunder joined the rain as anything outside of the iron shelter looked like a complete death zone "You idiot, you need to give me a chance here! I just want to help you!" Their voices also became lower as the mixture of the sound of the rain hitting the ground intensified "I didn''t ask for your help, Viktor! I''m fine like this... Can''t you see?! I don''t mind if I don''t have to wake up in reality because this is all I''ve ever wanted!" Naomi spoke her true feelings furthermore. Above, Viktor could see that the rain was attempting to pierce through the metallic rooftop. The outside scenery was no longer crystal clear blue and was instead replaced with dark clouds engulfed in a gray hue. In addition to that, the thunder strikes became more and more frequent as they would reach out to certain buildings across Arkapella. Even so, Viktor sought a way. "I don''t think that''s true though..." Viktor relaxed his posture more, closing his eyes as he stretched the back of his eyes "What?!" But Naomi was still fuming "You said you wanted to make your mother proud but you''re just fulfilling her idea. That doesn''t mean she''s proud of this, Naomi." Viktor began to approach Naomi "No, stop...!" Her emotions however rose to a different elevated height as she feared his physical advance. What this caused was a sudden burst of wind that took out the iron shelter covering the iron train platform; Viktor and Naomi now being completely vulnerable to the rain. There was, however, one difference. Viktor''s body was being pierced and impaled by the rain droplets that felt like lethal bullets every time they hit his body; whereas Naomi''s body was absorbing those droplets by forming a subtle merge with the water every time. Nevertheless, Viktor decided to stick to his script instead of complaining about the staggering pain his body was going through. "Naomi! You need to stop running from it!" Dragging his body forward to Naomi who was witnessing that horrific sight as Viktor''s mouth began dripping blood from within "...V-Viktor?! N-No...!" She tried to go forward but still felt the need to retreat just a little; Viktor closing in on their distance which was about a meter and a half "...Your mother is worried about you, damn it! Her daughter is not waking up and she''s most likely doing everything she can just to keep you alive in the real world...!! GAH!!" Showing signs of pain, Viktor''s right knee buckled as he struggled to walk forward "Viktor! No, but I didn''t mean to..." Naomi began to show regret for bringing this forth but Viktor nonetheless continued "Listen, Naomi! This isn''t a dream, it''s false comfort! IF YOU TRULY CARE FOR YOUR MOTHER AND HER DREAM, YOU WOULD WANT TO RETURN TO HER INSTEAD OF FULFILLING A LIE MASKED AS ETERNAL COMFORT LIKE THIS!!" Viktor finished his sentence. Yet his body; hailed by firing water bullets---showed signs of weakness as he no longer could stand up. His hair was immensely soaked due to all the rain but his eyes were still on Naomi, as he didn''t give up on his words. "...But, my mother... She doesn''t acknowledge me... In reality..." Naomi started to acknowledge Viktor''s words as they ringed a ground of logic within Naomi; the rain calming down in the process "I haven''t said a word to her in years, our relationship is broken, Viktor, I just---can''t do it..." Her words though weak were nevertheless honest ".....Then..." Viktor began to erupt his posture as the droplets weren''t as intensive as before "...Do you still wish to have a meaningful relationship with your real mother...?" He supported his right knee by pressing it with his right hand to get himself up; blood was all over his face as the previous piercing droplets had caused injuries "Of course I do! But I don''t think I can do it, Viktor! What am I supposed to say to her?!" Naomi blurted out her true feelings as the clouds began to disperse; once again alluding to a cerulean sky. Now up though frail, Viktor responded to Naomi as the three morning stars blessed the atmosphere with their majestic light. "You already know what to say, Naomi. Your feelings---they will let you know. And even if you find yourself incapable of saying them, you need to tell yourself that you can do it. That this---is not the culmination of what you feel for your mother. You love her, don''t you?" With a small distance between each other, Viktor and Naomi were practically closer; face to face "....gh..." Small tears began to shape themselves in Naomi''s eye corners; her facial expression filled with sadness and grief "There we go." Viktor said as he embraced Naomi''s upper body with a hug despite his drenched jacket "WUAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" Loud and powerful, her crying screams as she let it all out on Viktor''s chest, were all it took for Viktor to realize just how much she felt. One scream after the other, one by one, she would tightly hug Viktor''s jacket as she didn''t erupt her head from his chest. Spasmatic breath movements from her mouth were hyperventilating her aerial frequency as Viktor noticed she was having trouble breathing amidst all of her pain. Instead of saying any particular words, Viktor further embraced her as a way of calming her down. Slowly but surely as the solar clarity illuminated the harmonic atmosphere that was previously a chaotically climatic one, Naomi''s breathing was back to normal as she no longer struggled to form a single breath on her own. "You can cry more if you want." Viktor didn''t let go of Naomi''s frail body in her corporate clothes and Naomi as she heard that, she let out more, but it wasn''t as agonizing as before---more of an after cry "....." She slowly erupted her head to Viktor from below, showing her watery face; as well as a bit of red alongside it "You can let go now... I''m fine..." She said "Are you sure you want that?" Viktor asked with sincerity "......" She thought about it "...Ugh, just... Please..." Too embarrassed to say it, she didn''t deny it. Viktor chuckled a bit but didn''t restrain her any further. Now free and disjointed from Viktor, Naomi whipped her tears with her hands. "I''m sorry, Viktor... I knew you''d come but still, when I found myself in the very same place that I had dreamt to build over the years so I could make my mother proud, I couldn''t come to terms with leaving it behind..." Naomi apologized, looking at the bloody Viktor "...At least you realize it. Does this mean that you also realize that what this is can''t possibly come to compare with the idea of genuine love? Even if the intended purpose is to honor her?" Viktor looked at her, wanting to see if they had reached a mutual consensus regarding the main point "...I don''t... Can you explain to me, Viktor?" She admitted her lack of general understanding when it came to that. Sighing, Viktor took his black and golden jacket and wrapped it around his waist using the long sleeves; his black t-shirt with short sleeves that covered his shoulders at maximum highlighted his strong biceps and triceps alongside his stern forearms that revealed a pretty strong structure lying underneath. Naomi''s vision was stuck on them but as Viktor walked past her she saw his incredible trapezium and latissiumus muscles revealed underneath the wet black t-shirt; her eyes widening as she became mildly shocked. "Something you do that can be qualified as genuine for another is the presence. The presence of the other person in this case matters. Well, to put it in simple terms, your mother has to approve and show a great deal of genuine care for it. That''s my interpretation of it. That, no matter how much you do for a person, it''s not genuine unless the other has a positive saying in it. Genuine love is built on consensus between two parties and from my understanding, that is not the case, because..." Viktor began to ascend the metallic stairway that contained about thirty degrees up ahead as he turned to the absent-minded Naomi "....Hey." Viktor saw her eyes elsewhere and decided to snap his right fingers to catch her attention "...!!" She was quick to be brought back to reality "...I was listening, don''t worry..." Naomi was additionally fast to apologize in a sense. They began to climb the metallic stairway that had a wide width of five meters; with not another soul in sight---just the two of them as they thrived to make it to the top of the stairway. Viktor on the lead and Naomi five steps behind, bright sunlight emitted and reflected upon the glass windows around the side structures of the stairway, giving birth to a magnificent morning view. "So you''re saying that unless I get my mother''s approval and her thoughts on it that I can''t possibly call it something... genuine...?" She attempted to form an understanding "Also, I realized something too... My childhood and everything you said was right and... That alone might be the reason why I succumbed to this nightmare in the first place, Viktor." Naomi added, showing a level of acknowledgment "I believe so too. And yes, that''s almost it, Naomi. No matter how great this is, are you happy if your real mother doesn''t know about it? The idea and why it was built?" Now on the upper platform with a wide hallway to the left where buildings could be spotted from afar, they walked "No, I can''t be happy like this... Not unless I let her know just how much I love her... I don''t want us to stay this way ever again... I want to fix our broken bond and reconciliate." Naomi admitted "That means you have come to terms with coming back to reality, Naomi?" Viktor stopped amid the empty hall and asked. A peerless pressure was portrayed in Viktor''s eye glare as his red eyes declared a decree to Naomi. "Yes." She confidently said "Now there''s no doubt about it... I want to talk with my mother and let her have a piece of my mind. I feel stronger now, Viktor---believe it or not, I don''t feel as powerless as before..." She looked down embarrassed, unable to face Viktor "Because, um..." Her voice decreased in volume as she twisted her right ankle alongside her feet; left to right---as well as hiding her two hands behind her back "...Thank you for sticking with me, Viktor..." She thanked him "Aw, so you can be cute." He provoked her with a mocking smile and an afterthought chuckle "..." She didn''t reply but met his confident eyes though ashamed "Then, does this mean that you are ready?" He began to walk even further to the end of the linear hallway that had automatic retina scan doors that would lead to the outside of the train station "I am ready to face her." She confidently said. Viktor, relieved, took a deep breath. "Finally, she came to terms with it, now..." Viktor had this specific thought but Naomi''s upcoming words would set him off as they weren''t in his predictions "Um, Viktor, just a thought but..." Naomi demonstrated a level of hesitance in saying the upcoming words "What?" Viktor wanted to know the context of her secretive information as soon as possible, so he showed no hesitation in asking "Erm......." However, she struggled a lot to just conjecture a sentence. Frustrated yet understanding that Naomi might have felt more pleased than usual due to the circumstances, Viktor attempted to humor her a bit. "....We don''t necessarily have to go straight to the location right away, there is, well, technically speaking, time." Viktor said "...Then, we could go..." She tried to say something but couldn''t finish her sentence, which started to annoy Viktor as he noticed this frequent pattern "You can just say it, you know? I''m okay with whatever you have to say." He brushed his semi-wet blonde hair with his right hand "...Okay." She didn''t rebuke him and instead took his approval as a way of letting her mind feel at ease to say what she wanted to say. Through retina scans, Viktor and Naomi passed through the entrances; Naomi being the first one to do it as Viktor waited for her to pass so she couldn''t see how he was able to get the retina scan to approve of the eye he had from another person. Now on a two-way path that would lead to either the right or left side; as well as being present in the face of some population, Naomi went ahead and spoke again in regard to her previous matter. "Viktor, how old are you?" Side by side with Viktor, Naomi noticed that she was far smaller than Viktor as she asked that "Twenty-one would be the appropriate answer, that was how long I lived my previous life, so there you go." He responded indifferently as they kept on walking under bright artificial lights "I see... That''s quite the age difference, huh." She pointed out, which Viktor didn''t necessarily agree with "Huh? It''s not. It''s just three years, don''t be ridiculous, Naomi." He chuckled a bit "It''s still a lot to me, but alright. I''m eighteen years old, so I just hit adulthood." She additionally pointed out "Congratulations, now your fiance in the real world can have the FBI off their consciousness." He laughed at his own joke. Naomi was distraught at what Viktor''s words implied as they exited the train station. Stolen story; please report. "I understood the joke but, um, what does that mean? I don''t have a fiance in the real world." Viktor was shocked "Wait, what? But you''re royalty. You need a husband so you can produce a healthy baby because you need to keep your bloodline going. Or am I wrong here? Do you not want your bloodline to expand?" Viktor put it in a different way than what Naomi was expecting but he essentially got the gist of it "...Yes, you''re right, I guess..." She seemed down. They took a nearby aerial electric and quickly flew to another district midst of Arkapella. In a seat for two on the right side with a couple of other citizens though not many to the point where it was crowded, they continued their conversation while enjoying the soaring heights of the electric as it flew through multiple skyscrapers highlighting a view that was not possible in the current modern world yet. On the furthest seats of the electric right next to the glossy window, they were seated. "Are you suggesting that I give it more thought, Viktor?" She seemed mad, her eyebrows became rigid "It''s something you should really think about. Your mother takes the royal agenda very seriously from what I understood and by complying with the marriage department, you are doing her a huge favor in my opinion. Of course, you shouldn''t just marry whoever comes knocking first door. Create a criteria and so long as it''s not utterly unrealistic, you should have your go-to man pretty soon, eh?" Viktor was proud of the insightful advice. Naomi was a bit irritated by his narcissistic behavior. "Look at you and your attitude, this is me we are talking about, Viktor." Naomi exulted herself while looking at him from the left side "So? I see no problem with my reasoning. You do want to make your mother happy, right? Hurry up and take it in so your bloodline can progress." He bluntly said "Wh---Do you have no shame! Viktor, how can you say something like that so openly? It''s mind-boggling!" Naomi became bewildered at Viktor''s implication but he just shrugged it off "Alright princess, what''s the real reason as to why you are so against getting married to someone else then? Again, this is just something you have to think about if you really care about your mother''s ideology. I mean, do you?" Viktor asked because he didn''t know if Naomi really approved of her mother''s views "Yes, I do care." She cleared his doubts very fast. She continued to explain herself as she felt she wasn''t being concise enough. "But that doesn''t mean I approve of it, necessarily... Anyways---you know too much about me at this point, Viktor!" She accused him, going out of her way to shout; attracting partial attention in the process "I do?" Viktor genuinely asked with a clueless look on his face "Oh yes, you do! If you know about my childhood trauma then that means you must have seen a whole lot of other things about myself..." She spoke with high volume though her words seemed sad as she had to remember them "That''s true. But, for the record, I could only glance at a specific one at that time." Viktor lied about the other times he could see into her past "What?! Explain..." She demanded and Viktor complied "I got into a dark watery area where four water mirrors appeared, you see." Viktor told her and she paid close attention, getting closer and closer to him "Mhmmm, I see. And?" Her right arm was bumping into his left arm suddenly. Naomi was paying more and more attention to Viktor''s body and his left arm''s contents as she bumped into it. Furthermore, she couldn''t help but switch from looking at his pulsing veins that spread alongside his bicep all the way to his forearm and even his hands----or looking at Viktor. "All of those mirrors reflected parts of you that belonged to your imagination. I wanted to go to one but the moment I tried to enter it, the other three started to fade. I then had to make a decision based on what I thought would be more important to understand you, Naomi." She was mildly shocked to hear this "Wait, wait, wait." She distanced herself as she panicked "W-What exactly did you see...?" Viktor thought about this and then gave a calm answer while Naomi was dying of anxiety "If it''s about the mirror I went to, I saw an island." Naomi became curious "An island...?" She tried to remember something in regard to that keyword, but ultimately couldn''t "Yes, an island. It was a tropical island with a highly dense temperature to it and you were in it. I think you were around sixteen or close to it..." She kept on listening without interrupting Viktor "It was your shell. You looked at fishes in a river constantly near a wooden house where you would study. Does that ring a bell, Naomi?" Viktor tried to see if there was a connection "Hold on..." And she made an effort to see it. Viktor decided to look through the window as he saw the different shapes of the myriad of buildings midst Arkapella; now above the common ground by at least ten thousand meters. Their destination would soon be at place, but Naomi had come up with an answer. "Long ago, when I was young, I would go to my grandmother''s house often. Unlike us, she lives in the countryside..." Viktor took note of this contradiction as he reminded himself of Naomi''s grandmother "I would spend my summer vacations there with her alone. My grandfather had long since passed away, so I was her only company during that time..." Naomi spoke with a smile though reflecting sadness in her facial surface "I often spent time gazing at a peaceful lake in a forest nearby where my grandmother would take me. The water of that lake was... tranquil and unphased by anything, despite being water which is naturally fragile... In the summer, it was quite hot as well so I remember that I used to swim at my leisure along in that lake like it was a pool. At times, Viktor, you see, there would be two red fishes that would rise to the surface..." Naomi explained something Viktor already knew but from a different perspective "I enjoyed watching them, but I think what really made me feel at home was how I had a way to not face my past trauma... I didn''t have to face my mother as I was in peace. So, maybe that''s why it showed up to you. It does have significant value to me, Viktor." She smiled as she finished her sentence. Likewise, Viktor smiled back too as he showed understanding of her coping mechanism. "I see... I was worried for a second because I didn''t think it would give me such a good edge of understanding when it came down to you, but compared to the other mirrors, it turns out it was probably for the best." Viktor reflected on his past choice "...Wait." Naomi became skeptical "Hold on, if those mirrors served as portals to my past memories then... Viktor, just how much did you see...?!" She started to panic "Relax, Naomi. They were all blurry at first and only became visible when I approached them, but I only really approached one. Sure, I did see some things in the others but I didn''t pay much attention. I think I forgot, actually, sorry." Viktor apologized as his eyes widened "...You did? You can''t remember?" Naomi, still skeptical, persisted with her interrogation "Nope, not at all. Must''ve been erased from my memories, it seems..." Viktor looked extremely serious "......." She believed it. Feeling safe and no longer uncomfortable, Naomi placed her right hand on her chest where her white blouse is tightly wrapped around her upper body and calmed down. Viktor sneaked a peek with his left eye and then a grin was born from the corner of his mischievous lips. "Welllllll...." He stretched his sentence in a mocking way, making Naomi look in his direction "Sunflower fields with rainbow got my tongue-tied." He grinned "LIAR!" She punched his hard left shoulder with powerful momentum behind it. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The aerial electric reached its end destination. With no one else in it but Viktor and Naomi---not even a driver as it was built on an automaton system that required only a programming system endorsed and not someone to pilot the course that the electric would have to undergo. Its final course led to the higher capital of Arkapella-----Fatibala. Fatibala is part of an astronomically tall skyscraper amassing a brutal fifteen thousand meters in height, far outheighting any other building/skyscraper on the aerial plane of Arkapella. The difference is so massive that at the very top of Fatibala, no other sight but clouds below can be seen. Aside from the three uprising suns in their respective horizons, the tip of a fantasy skyscraper resides in the middle. Their trip to the west side of Fatibala landed on a floating metallic platform with passengers nearby. The floating platform contained ten meters in horizontal width and four meters in vertical length. Unprotected from falls, there are no borders to this platform, so it''s already a danger to be in such a place. Forward, there is a floating metallic bridge of five meters that allows one to enter the main terrain. A wide squared area of two thousand meters in both sizes served as the vessel of Fatibala yet one specific daunting tall building that is adjoined to the entirety of this monstrosity of a skyscraper that redefines its meaning as a whole. Its borders were decorated with vigorous raging waterfalls from within somehow. These waters would fall to the clouds below but would nevertheless be held fast in their evaporation process; never reaching the end of the spectrum. At the very center of the area, therein lies a tall black building of five hundred meters that is a part of the entire skyscraper, but obviously smaller in size and width. It has four different conjunctions; the outer one that covers half of the building as a whole and two others that cover half and a quarter of its entirety, leaving a small black standalone edge at the very top where the structure of this behemoth of a skyscraper finally ends. Viktor and Naomi both glanced at it as they crossed the floating bridge midst of a pure blue sky with profoundly soothing air going through their nostrils. If one had to describe the current atmosphere, it might be akin to that of the heavenly. "We stick to my plan, Naomi. Do I need to go over it?" Viktor now glanced a look at her---wearing his black and golden jacket now "There is no need... I just wish that it didn''t have to come down with you... erm..." She couldn''t finish her sentence, the words she wanted to say got tangled in her throat due to a resurging feeling of dread "It''ll be fine. Come on." Viktor jumped to the central plaza with population in sight though not much. Safely landing on the plaza''s surface too by taking Viktor''s left hand, Naomi got on board with it, though she looked extremely stressed for some reason. On the other hand, confident as always, Viktor whistled to the pure air as he thoroughly enjoyed every breath he took. They began to head northwest to the entrance of the building where four royal mechanical guards in human skin remain adamant and monochrome. Not only that but there were guards allocated everywhere in the skirmishes of the building floating around the area, so there wasn''t just terrestrial control at hand here. Beautiful spring trees with dark blue petals scattered across the humming wind. Face to face with the main entrance stairs that had over twenty degrees of a width of ten meters, Viktor and Naomi silently walked up. They passed through a multitude of people; Naomi''s heartbeat became fast and her breathing a bit ragged as she kept looking at Viktor---who has an underlying smirk on his face with an eyesight permanently marked onto the robotic guards on the very entrance of the building. On the top of the stairs now, Viktor took charge and carelessly walked forward. "Present retina: Required." A silver-helmeted royal guard with heavy shaky armor walked forward while holding a nano spear in his right hand "Go, I''ll handle it from here." Viktor said and Naomi, though reluctance, walked forward nevertheless "...Be careful, please..." Worried she said those words meekly and took a step onward to the retina scan on the right side of the metallic wall underneath the short two-meter steel shelter where the royal guards reside in "Retina: Approved. Welcome back, Naomiria Sophia of Prussia. Her Highness is expecting you; proceed with clarity." The retina scan spoke to Naomi and upon hearing that, she glanced at Viktor once again. Letting her know that it was her time to make it count, Viktor gave her a stern stoic cold look with dead lingering red eyes as a backbone to the conjecture. Acknowledging this, Naomi proceeded into walking to the linear hall guarded by royal guards; an automatic door with a royal emblem demonstrated as a goat to its symbol, opening, and closing as she got in. All alone with the royal guards in front of them now, Viktor was left to do his part. Following Naomi''s example, Viktor also walked forward. "Present retina: Required." Being forced to present a retina scan, Viktor took out a hidden eye from his right pocket and tried to see if he got any reaction from the guards. He did not; therefore he proceeded to show the eyeball''s retina to the scan on the left in the form of a computer with a stabilizing two-meter structure. Scanning every part of the eyeball, the scan made its full course on it. "Retina: Declined. Reason: Authencity of retina unverified and further eligible under Fatibala''s providence. Advice: Turn back immediately." Viktor got rejected after being provided reasoning as to why; a silver-helmeted guard walked to Viktor from the left "Sir, unless you have a retina that has been approved by our providence, I will have to ask you to turn back." The guard politely warned Viktor, without pointing his nano white spear at him "......" Viktor looked into the guard''s head gear attempting to figure out whether or not he was actually talking to a robot "So, I can only get into the building if I have a valid retina scan?" Viktor asked and the guards looked at each other from their respective angles and mildly chuckled. Another guard answered, in a less persuasive tone, to Viktor. "There ain''t no other way to walk in, dim-head! In other words, if you''re not royalty, you cannot walk in." He shoved Viktor off, verbally "But I am Lady Naomiria''s acquaintance. Shouldn''t I be able to walk in?" Viktor asked, with a smile on his face "No can do, only royalty''s allowed." The guard clarified, showing signs of impatience as well as raising his voice which began attracting partial attention from the nearby civilization "Are there many more of you inside of the building? If so, are you all royalty too?" Viktor clearly mocked them and didn''t attempt to shy from it "Why you----" The same guard began to show signs of irritation and so, the first guard to which Viktor spoke, stepped in, crossing his right arm to his acquaintance''s chest so he couldn''t walk any further "We are not. However, our house has long since been dedicated to serving the royal bloodline. If you have any more questions, you will have to direct your attention to me." Without fear, he demonstrated superior judgment. This royal guard stood at over a little bit of two meters and Viktor completely felt the height presence. Not seeing a way forward, Viktor''s odds were not looking good. "I think that was enough time for her." He said out loud, catching the attention of the senior guard "?!" Viktor, with immense speed in his form, directed his entirety to the impatient guard and drove a low kick to the armor despite its shelled nature "AGH!!" Dropping down on his left knee, Viktor took this chance to deliver a knee strike onto the guard''s helmet, which in addition allowed him to grasp the nano spear in his right hand. From behind, Viktor heard the notion of a swing being formed with the aim for his head; he turned around and swiftly dodged it by tilting his body to the left side while ultimately slicing the royal guard''s head off with the nano spear that has a towering two meters in height. "Get him!" The senior guard alerted the other useful guard that was in his northeast direction and drove a spear attack to Viktor''s backside ".....!!" Viktor blocked the attack with the spear''s middle body which allowed him to fence the attack. With no rest in his movements, instead of going back to attack the senior guard, Viktor pierced the guard that was already buckled with his left knee on the ground onto his head; provoking an electric malfunction mixed with scarlet blood imploding from within. However, two spears from the back were spear-headed toward Viktor''s back and he was driven into a corner with a wall ahead of him. Unable to block both spears, Viktor abandoned the spear in his right hand which was unnecessary when it came to performing the upcoming movement. With his right hand, he created an impulse toward the wall, and with the momentum gained, his body was able to dodge the two spears while the spear on his hand prior fell onto the ground. A steady breath was all it took for Viktor to plummet the guard aside from the senior one, to the wall as he smashed his head from the back through his helmet with his right hand. Furthermore, he took advantage of this to drive a surefire right kick which contracted the guard''s entire back. "AH!!" The guard squealed in pain but was still not out of action and Viktor had to worry about the senior''s spear aiming for his entire body. Allowing the spear''s movement to reach out to him, Viktor sidestepped to his right side and craved a side-right kick to the senior''s left ribs, which allowed Viktor to grab the spear that the senior was holding. By doing so, Viktor capitalized on the senior''s physical turmoil though transient, and utilized his spear to strike back against the other spear attack that was formed from the remaining guard. A frontal wide swing shaped from an upper direction with the intention of striking down Viktor was rendered meaningless as Viktor twisted his body ninety degrees to the right and stabbed the guard''s left side of his neck; anticipating his chances in the process as he groaned in succumbing pain. All that was left to do was to take care of the senior guard, who instead of attempting to fight Viktor who had shown martial might, opted to do the one thing he could to assure Viktor''s demise. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Attention all units, intruder alert; permission to use lethal force on the intruder: Unlocked-------" An electric buzz cut from a spear was heard throughout the building''s hall as Naomi fully became aware of this, the moment she exhibited her retina scan to the central elevator''s entrance "Royal retina: Accepted. Proceed at your leisure, Naomiria Sophia of Prussia." The elevator''s door, glimmering in black and golden stripes, opened. In addition to that, as she hurried to the core of the elevator so she could go up, Naomi saw the sight of royal guards emerging from the right and left side; as well as the upper stairs---all guiding themselves forward toward the destination that lay beyond the downward staircase. She worried as the alarming siren sounds ran rampant throughout the halls; but as the elevator''s door closed, Naomi was quick to leave the scene as Viktor was left to figure things out on his own. With a mission in her hands, Naomi was taking a specific elevator that only royal-blooded members had access to. It had about seventy centimeters in width and a staggering six meters in height covered with bright illumination from the top. Painted in glittering gold and filled with a clean air ambiance due to the refreshing conditioning air circulating around, the elevator rose to an abnormally high-speed trajectory. In less than a minute, the elevator fully hit its climax. "You have reached your destination, mistress Naomiria Sophia of Prussia. Her Highness is up ahead." The bright lights from above turned completely dark as they fit the natural atmosphere''s color now. A red long carpet that reached out to a lingering five-hundred meters in distance with the royal throne in sight; alluding to the presence that Naomi, deep down feared. Taking an incredibly prestigious breath dripping traces of anxiety and nervosity, Naomi calmed herself down as much as she could and took a step forward. "I need to do this... I can''t let Viktor down---after I''ve let him down so many times, and more importantly, I have to face my mother so that I can have the confidence to face my mother in the real world!" She entrusted confidence to herself with a strong inner speech. At last, she entered the royal hall that extended itself in a grand width of four-hundred meters under a black-colored floor. Unguarded by any royal guards, this hall alone was the silent property of only royal-blooded members. Yet only two were in such room and no more. The side walls were decorated with familiar paintings that Naomi already had a reconnaissance to, and she especially knew a female figure that had a singular painting alongside her young mother at the time of that painting. Regarding the height of the room, however, it had a massive eight-hundred-meter height which highlighted the numerous light chandeliers at the very top that were not lit up due to the shimmering daylight radiance emitted through the slim-modeled windows at the very end of the hall; right behind the royal throne. Additional decoration kept popping up in the shape of ancient Greek statues of philosophers and even Gods on the sideways of the royal hall. With time, Naomi started to visually grasp the figure on the royal throne that far towered her height. Overshadowed by the contrast of the immense daylight lasered to her throne, the figure in it wasn''t clearly visible as it was drawn in a darker shade; not allowing Naomi to fully get a read on who was on the throne. Even so, as Naomi approached the three-step stairway prior to the area of the throne, she stopped in her tracks; not going to the zone where her mother is in. Instead, she put on a serious face though feeling nervous, and spoke to the one she hadn''t spoken to in years. ".......Mother......." Her words lacked strength and were unable to reach out to her mother. Reminding herself of her trauma, Naomi began to feel doubt and her breaths became ragged as her nervosity further escalated. A memory from a time not so long ago resurged in her mind, during her potential breakdown. "You already know what to say, Naomi. Your feelings---they will let you know. And even if you find yourself incapable of saying them, you need to tell yourself that you can do it. That this---is not the culmination of what you feel for your mother. You love her, don''t you?" Her memory of Viktor allowed her to realize something during this time, that she could not have done on her own "Viktor believes I can do it... So, even if I fully don''t---just knowing he does, gives me the strength to..." She had this conclusive thought as she clenched her fists; culminating her emotions to her mother now. With a strong right step forward, Naomi elevated the volume of her voice. "MOTHER!" Her voice echoed throughout the hall and lasted for two split seconds "We need to talk, right now! This is important, so please listen to me!" No response came forward from the dark throne''s heir yet Naomi could see a glimpse of movement within; indicating that she had gotten her attention though somewhat "I don''t like the way things have gone between us, but I think that we can talk this out, mother, so please, can we talk about it?! I don''t want you to be on your own and I want you to care about me too!" Naomi said things that she could never imagine herself saying. The figure talked, showing a portion of her left face to the daylight, which revealed fair skin covering a skinny surface. Dead black eyes stared into Naomi subsequently as she felt a sudden dread. "To think you''d come this far into your nightmare---you should have stayed at the temple, Hyperbola." An unfamiliar voice that didn''t resemble her mother at all spoke to Naomi "...M-Mother...?" She couldn''t identify her mother''s voice in the supposed place her mother would be in "No, wait! That... That voice can''t be my mother! Who are you?!" Revolted, Naomi''s expression grew stiff and bitter "Who am I? Are you sure you want to know? I am the vessel of this nightmare---the very thing you are attempting to break free from. At the cost of my own; you aim to step outside of this realm and you think I will just let you...?" The figure who Naomi thought was her mother in flesh, rose up from the throne. Wearing a thin black full-body dress that covered her naked feet, what Naomi thought would be her mother, turned out to reveal itself as a skeleton, wearing a fallen golden queen crown twisted to its left side mildly in a black dress with only a portion of her face remaining ---that portion being her upper left side of her face only containing an eyeball and traces of pale skin around that side of her skull. There were, however, lingering long black hair thin strands from the top of the head which made Naomi think that although this wasn''t her mother; her body physique and how the skeleton was dressed, had more in common than what she initially thought. "Where is my mother?! This is a place I''ve built with my imagination alone and I have always envisioned my mother here at the very top of everything in Arkapella!" Naomi spoke the truth according to her imagination as the walking skeleton revealed itself entirely to Naomi; placing a feeling of dreadfulness in her fibers "This is your mother, Naomiria." The skeleton clarified "That is not true! You talk differently from her, even your voice is different!" She continued to rebook "But this is your vision of her---over the years, your mutual lack of communication has created this. This is not a lie; this is the limit of your imagination when it comes to your mother!" The skeleton unleashed a scream that spoke horrors to Naomi "No... That can''t be... My mother is... dead...?" Naomi made a sudden assumption. Taking a step back, shaken, Naomi saw some ground of truth in those words and she thought about them. "This is the end. This is what your greed brought you. If you hadn''t gone ahead and left the temple---after I issued many warnings in many forms; you wouldn''t have to see this. Naomiria---the truth is, you brought your mother''s death upon you. By committing the usurping of attempting to clear this nightmare, the consequences unfolded. What you wish to achieve--- cannot be achieved." Naomi received information in regard to her quest thus far and seeing how distraught she was, the skeleton went a step ahead and continued "Enough with this foolish endeavor. You made well to go this far, but this is as far as you go. Your time in the world that you know has come to an end already. Your time here is eternal. Forever and perpetual, this nightmare welcomes you!" The skeleton laughed. maniacally; the sound maliciously echoing throughout the silent royal hall. Under the impression that the skeleton had given her, Naomi began to doubt things. However, a permanent memory burnt in her mind in the form of brazen red eyes that demanded Naomi become one with her belief rose to the surface. Midst her emotional turmoil, Naomi gritted her teeth and rejected every idea that the skeleton was giving her. "You''re wrong! This isn''t eternal nor perpetual! I thought it was, but his existence has proven you wrong! Viktor would never approve of your words and you are not my mother, so I don''t have to listen to whatever you have to say! You can keep your lies to yourself because only his words matter to me!" Naomi emotionally rejected the walking skeleton as her eyes began to glow a purple aura. Crumbling, the vagrant windows that allowed the outer illumination to shine through were brought to shattering falling pieces of glass. The bright daylight became secluded with darkening clouds---this familiar scenario overlapped as Naomi started to become aware of her own affinity with the weather. In addition to that, the skeleton had visible cracks on the facial part of its structure. "You would go against me---the very fiber of this nightmare?!" The skeleton''s screech became resonant with the air, causing friction in the air, but even so, despite feeling a strong gust of wind against her, Naomi spoke back relentlessly "That''s all I want! I want to be a part of this NO MORE!" Infused with thunder and a mixture of strong impending rain, Naomi unconsciously began to draw water from the clouds onto herself as her body became translucent; similar to that of fountain water---the mirror further cracking "This reality is not on par with what I genuinely wish for anymore!" Her glowing eyes narrowed as she willingly formed an unconscious intention to barrage the skeleton with something that would put a stop to its actions. Unbeknownst to her, that single intention gave her permission to unlock the hidden power that she had used on some occasions thus far. Unforgiving, Naomi, with her right hand, formed a sphere of water and then conjured a water canon that traveled to the skeleton''s location; fully destroying its bones---breaking it all to pieces in the ultimate process. Without being able to speak, the skeleton no longer was able to regain its form and instead remained lifeless on the floor; scattered with its prior bones. "...What the...?" Surprised by her sudden water control and how light she was feeling, Naomi looked at her right and left hand "They are almost invisible---no, they are like water... I can feel them yet I can also go past them..." Naomi reflected as she did such "And I can conjure the water from the weather at my own free will..." She formed various spheres, varying from big to small; as well as form any object that her imagination deemed useful. However, this moment of reflection was short-lived and briefly interrupted by the royal throne which caused the room to enter a premature state of what seemed to be an earthquake. "?!" Naomi''s body, unstable from the earthquake, started to tremble, despite being in a water form "You should haven''t done that, Hyperbola!" A dreadful voice resonating in distant terror spoke from the throne as a figure that was not known to Naomi began to unravel from the very core of the throne "T-That''s...!!" Though not known, it was allusive to her, ever slightly. Scrapping the right and left wings of the throne while obliterating its entire structure; reducing it to cinders at maximum----a reptilian Komodo dragon with three meters in height emerged from the core of the throne. Over a meter and a near half Naomi, the green reptilian with a skinny physique and out-of-character two-width meter black wings strapped onto its back that had visible spine bones popping out of proportion. Its body was overly scaly and oily; the arms and legs were muscular in spite of their overshadowing skinny anatomy. Dripping saliva from the wide corners of its abnormally large mouth, it roared to Naomi; utterly looking down on Naomi in height. "No one escapes from their nightmare! Perpetuation is something you should know, Hyperbola! Everybody dies in their nightmares and you are no exception!" The gigantic steps scared Naomi beyond her wits, enabling her to not focus on her target "A-Ahh!!" The drip of saliva fell onto her face and Naomi''s horror was crystal clear "S-Stay back!" She, however, didn''t allow herself to be a victim this time as she knew for a fact that she had a way to fight back against that adversity. Firing a water cannon just like last time, a splashing impact was made onto the reptilian dragon''s face; Naomi hoping to replicate the prior result. Nevertheless, she was met with a havocking roar denying any sort of hope. "No way! But it worked last time, so why?!" She kept on retreating back as the reptilian dragon moved forward slowly "My skin has endured hundreds of millennia yet you think your insignificant water powers can hope to leave a single stretch on me?!" It performed a wide swing from its right side and aimed at Naomi with deadly claws "Water shield!" Naomi spelled out that order and without any necessary time to form, an instant water sphere wrapped around Naomi''s body; shielding her from any damage. That was the core idea when Naomi shouted those words; that it would protect her from such said damage. "AGHH!" Though serving as a necessary measure to save her from critical damage; Naomi''s body flew twenty meters into the air and had a catastrophic landing as she began emitting threads of blood from the corners of her lips. The very reason why she was alive was noticeably due to her water body ability which allowed her body to permanently enter a state of water transfusion; directly decreasing the damage of anything physical by an extremely significant margin. Even so, Naomi clearly felt the lethal claws that went through her entire upper body. Staggered and unable to properly make a move, Naomi trembled on the floor as the physical toll showed to be nevertheless immense for her to handle on her own. "YAHAHAHAHA!!" The reptilian dragon tilted its posture backward and placed its two hand claws on its stomach; performing a loud primitive laughter toward Naomi "That''s what you get, Hyperbola! Oh lord Asmodeus, to imprison me in this realm; whereas I must prove my worth and undying loyalty to you; free me of this eternal anguish!" It spoke words that Naomi had no idea what to make of "And you, Hyperbola, will forever remain a subject confined in this realm of purgatory!" It bent its upper body forward, sticking out its longe greasy tongue to Naomi''s face as she was vis-a-vis with the primordial terror of her nightmare; causing her endless shivers as her fear peaked. Naomi, upon seeing the reptilian dragon transform its right arm into a gigantic sword made out of its skin and aiming at her body from above; closed her eyes in fear as she no longer saw any hope in conjuring a defensive water sphere shield or any possible water attacks to fend the reptilian dragon off. A clash unfolded; unveiling a potentially decisive outcome. "That''s no good. Giving up after having come this far; you were doing so well I almost shed a tear in the process." A confident familiar voice made Naomi''s eyes open with no hesitation whatsoever "Viktor!" Two swords of high caliber in their respective nights clashed; both its wielders trembling just at the collusive force from the impact. Unable to look at Naomi and instead revealing a wide grin with his side left teeth all closed up yet open to see, Viktor made his entrance. "...V-Viktor...?" On the floor, however, Naomi had a second thought as she looked at Viktor better this time around "It''s you! The eradicator! You''ve upset the balance of this realm, you impending waste!" The reptilian showed spite as its upper posture leaned forward to Viktor''s force as well as its sword; prolonging the powerful force behind the titanic push "Oh I''m famous now?! That''s good to know! But I just gotta ask something..." Viktor''s eyebrows twisted in the form of mockery as his opponent grew impatient in knowing what he has to say "What?! What is it?!" Visible friction from their swords was created midst the air that began showing a mist of evaporation from that very friction "Does Hell have an "Ugly only allowed" department? I hope it does, otherwise, your entire existence has no meaning!" Viktor pushed the sword back with a sudden impulse. Demonstrating dark red on its surface, the skin sword with irritated lively eyes, was able to push back the reptilian lizard ten meters back with a strong lasting impact. "RAAGH!!" It roared in agony as its body was blown back; Viktor wasted no time at all with his movements---turning back to Naomi who was on the floor "Hot posture, Naomi. But I don''t think it''s time to make summer model poses, especially without any cameras around." Viktor extended his unused left hand covered in blood and with multiple torn muscle tissues to the perplexed Naomi, who didn''t retort at the joke and instead worried about another factor "V-Viktor! Your face, your body, it''s all---" She showed genuine worry and concern as she got up thanks to Viktor, but he placed his bloody left index finger on her semi-bloody lips; not allowing her to speak any more words. Addressing the real issue in the room as it rose back to full height, only with a more vigorous and lethal expression, Viktor looked at the reptilian dragon that had now conjured two swords with both of its arms. Roaring throughout the room, it began a raging march with the intent to kill; crushing the surface of anything it placed its monstrous feet under. "Now is not the time for peculiar details; Naomi. That can come later." Viktor elevated his skin sword and conjured an offensive sword stance, highlighting his confidence and seriousness "Right now, we take that thing down. You and me. Whatever happens afterward, happens afterward." Viktor said as Naomi fully understood the intent behind his words "...Alright. Viktor, together, we will bring it down!" Reassuring herself with confidence, Naomi showed a willingness to aid Viktor in his quest and focused on the unstoppable furious reptilian dragon. Their clash began. Volume 1 - Chapter 7: Nightmare #1 Zagum, a long-imprisoned Hell Duke to this specific realm in time---had long awaited his freedom from his lord''s condemnation. Shackled for his lack of loyalty and potential high treason; Asmodeus condemned him to serving a realm where the seventh Hypberola is kept. Through the myriads of times, Zagum entered a long slumber while surveilling his realm''s Hyperbola at all times. Naturally, the Hyperbolas all change with time and are infinitely replaced in order to fulfill the death and rebirth cycle. However, none of them ever decided to oppress the cycle or were even successful when it came to taking their nightmares head on; henceforth the Hyperbolas were all eventually reduced to nothingness as the result of Zagum. Their blades then clashed, friction evaporating in the air midst of the collision. Gritting his teeth with a glimpse of insanity in his widened red eyes, Viktor spoke to the overpowering Zagum in the shape of a reptilian dragon whose height outdid Viktor''s. "What''s your deal here?! This was supposed to be a moment of reconciliation, you reptilian abortion!" He mocked him "It''s Zagum, foul creature!" Zagum retreated his two swords; took a step back and double-crossed them with the aim of slashing Viktor''s entire body instantly. Striking the empty air in Zagum''s direction, the humanoid skin sword with numerous eyes allowed him to warp to two meters behind which in return additionally managed Viktor to escape the deadly blow. "NOW!" Viktor shouted and Naomi, on his left northwest side, fired an empowering horizontal water hammer tall enough to shove Zagum into Viktor''s direction. This water hammer hit Zagum''s back and caught him by surprise, which made him fly in Viktor''s direction, as Viktor prepared to stab him with his skin sword. However, Viktor immediately retreated as soon as he saw the look on Zagum''s face. Taking two sword slashes, Viktor retreated four meters behind; barely evading Zagum''s repeated consecutive sword slashes that would have hit Viktor should he not have evaded that far ahead. "Shit!" Viktor complained as he went unsuccessful in his endeavor, and then, Zagum stopped for a moment to talk to Viktor while still elevating his swords "Who are you? To guide the Hyperbola this far into her nightmare... Do you not fear the consequences that may come with that?!" Zagum laughed though irritated by Viktor''s actions "That should be my question... Are you the one in charge here? If you die, then does this nightmare go away with it?" Viktor tested the waters while telling Naomi to move in the right direction behind Zagum with a rapid eye movement "I can''t die, you imbecile! My soul resides in Elysium, the place where all depraved souls are stored, gyahahaha!!" Zagum exhibited a burst of extreme laughter by going as far as punching his entire abdomen with a closed right fist "Do you have an extra ticket to Elysium?" Viktor genuinely asked. Unfortunately misunderstood, Zagum lashed out at Viktor by coming closer to him; looking down on Viktor with tremendous anger. "Don''t push your limits, pipsqueak! With my bare right hand, I could demolish your entire body... Tell me, who are you?! What land do you serve?!" Zagum spoke words that though Viktor could not comprehend their essence entirely, still ringed a level of interest in Viktor, so he tried his best to gather some out of him "Does the name Viktor tell you something?" He asked and also looked at Naomi; then with his left index finger, indicated to her to go further and further "Hmmm... Viktor... Viktor..." Zagum thought and thought "Go on, take your time." Viktor showed a calm attitude "Viktor... I just can''t seem to remember it... Maybe if you tell me what land you serve?" Zagum was taking this very seriously, and Viktor''s eyes widened in surprise as he wanted to laugh "Alright, that''s enough. NOW!" Viktor jumped back. At Viktor''s orders, from behind Zagum, two gigantic water hands coming from the east and west aside, attempting to smash Zagum into pieces, were launched at him. Acrobatically, despite what his body might have suggested at first, Zagum performed a backflip and immediately fired the two swords on his two hands that were infused with his skin---now completely partial and made out of blood---in Naomi''s direction. "MAKE YOUR BODY FLOW THROUGH THE WATER CHANNEL!!" Viktor shouted and Naomi''s unconsciousness performed that exact same action. Unable to be hit by the two lethal swords aimed at her body, Naomi''s entire body began to dissolve into water particles and traveled into the water flux that was correspondent to the water hands she had just conjured with the long time she had been given by Viktor''s distraction. As such, Naomi was brought closer to Viktor but at the same time, incredibly closer to Zagum as she was right next to his left. Subsequently, Zagum didn''t waste time and struck her with a right back fist aimed at her face. Sensing a water particle nearby Viktor''s sweat in his neck from all the physical commotion, Naomi transported her body into that small water flux and became instantly adjoined with Viktor, right next to him. "Impossible! Such flexibility! Hyperbola...!!" Mad at the sheer overpowering nimble-like movements from Naomi, Zagum threw a feat of rage in the form of a primitive shout "Even I have to agree. That''s overpowered..." Viktor didn''t deny it as he looked at her body that was brimming with translucent water "Now''s not the time for that, Viktor! He''s not taking any damage from my water abilities! What do we do?!" Naomi voiced a valid complaint. As Viktor saw Zagum reaching out to his two disjointed blood swords on the ground a bit far away from him, he had to reconsider his plan. Even though he has the human skin sword that has unknown abilities aside from the ones he knows thus far, he has been unable to hit Zagum once. Not only that, but Naomi''s water abilities offense has little to no effect on Zagum. "You can freely control the water around you, Naomi?" Viktor asked, attempting to assert his knowledge of Naomi''s powers "Apparently so... I was able to get here because I sensed a sweat droplet from your body..." She said, with the utmost seriousness "...." Viktor was slightly stunned and Naomi realized what she had said, but nevertheless tried her best to stay on track "Erm---My point being; as long as it''s from the weather I am able to produce or it has a particle of it, I should be able to control it at my free will..." She gave her a thorough breakdown of it. Even so, Viktor didn''t find this information to be necessarily useful. In terms of damage, Naomi has not been proven to be useful to him. Furthermore, there was something else lingering in his mind. Now with his two swords in his hands infused, Zagum was back to face the two of them. "You said you can''t die because your soul is in Elysium, so that means this body that we are perceiving is merely a vessel?" Viktor accurately pointed it out "Precisely! Your attacks have no effect on me because this vessel is ethereal! No damage can be inflicted upon! Do you realize how hopeless your situation is now?!" Confident, Zagum laughed at Viktor "Eh... That''s fantastic, actually." Viktor cracked a smirk to which both Zagum and Naomi could not hope to comprehend "That means there is a necessary link that stabilizes your existence in this realm which is partial to Elysium. In other words... Something is keeping your existence here in check; a partial force. You alone, couldn''t do that on your own. Am I right?" Viktor played his gamble. Naomi was confused at Viktor''s aim, but as she adverted her gaze from Viktor to Zagum who was showing visible nervosity, she realized that Viktor might have hit the nail on something. "You''re bluffing! You wouldn''t know... If I knew, I would have returned to Elysium and been able to serve lord Asmodeus! Prove him that I am his most loyal servant and that the other inferiorities pale in comparison!" Rageful, a transformation occurred midst his speech. Going beyond three meters in height, Zagum reached a terrifying ten meters in height as his body turned into something else entirely. Starting from his feet which amassed to two gigantic grey claws with a back claw as a backup measure, it served its purpose as it supported the large tall two-meter legs with a sharp horizontal black spike in its kneecaps. Its calves had a long lingering spike that went beyond the muscle embodied in the structure; stretching over a meter. Exhibiting its lungs bones and ribcage, Zagum was shown to have no organs and instead, the center of his body was covered in the color of black--- transecting its previous green color in his entire body. Two-metered long arms that possessed a particular spiky backward horn in their elbows, elevated to the air as the rest of the limbs manifested too. Most noticeably, Zagum''s upper body was no longer that of a reptilian but instead took the shape of what seemed to be a demon. Unlike the usual two frontal horns on the forehead; Zagum had two horizontal curvy red horns attached to the left and right side of his forehead in a horizontal direction. His black wings not only gained further size but they flapped immensely to demonstrate supremacy over the two of them. Twitching with his hands that were now complete dragon claws, in an animalistic voice, Zagum hereby spoke to Viktor and Naomi, who were slowly retreating at the primordial terror before them. "No longer will I be mocked! I, Zagum, a mighty Duke of Elysium! Lord Asmodeus will recognize my relevance once and for all! I will regain my authority once I''ve killed all of the Hyperbolas! And I will start with you now!" A rapid clash emerged, faster than what Naomi could perceive. On time but to no avail, Viktor blocked with his skin sword the impending fast strike that was aimed at Naomi by holding the core of the sword tightly with his right hand as well as using the left sharp edge to uphold the maximum damage he could. However, they were both sent flying to the elevator that was fifty meters away; Viktor shielding Naomi from the damage. "AGH!!" Feeling the ricochet from the impact of the wall to his body; the human skin sword started to become darker in red---but Viktor was quick to vomit a fountain of blood from his mouth which deeply alerted Naomi who hadn''t taken a massive significant amount of damage, unlike Viktor due to her body being made out of water currently "Viktor! VIKTOR!!" Worried about the injured Viktor who was trembling at the sheer brutal barely fatal damage he had just taken; Naomi got on her knees as she shouted his name. Relaxed and calm, through his pure pitch-black eyes in his primal form, Zagum took flight from a long distance and traveled the entire room in just two seconds; his landing crashed the surface around him also creating evaporation from the heat friction of his landing. "Naomi..." Trembling though not defeated, Viktor began to raise his posture slowly while looking at the stoic Zagum not too far away from him; passively walking "Somewhere... The link that keeps his existence here in this realm... It has to be somewhere in the city... The root of this nightmare; only you know where it could be, Naomi! You must sever the link---------" Viktor was getting up, but Zagum brutally advanced his right hand into Viktor''s body; taking hold of his medium body as well as crushing some of Viktor''s ribs "AGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" Viktor screamed in agony as another fountain of Viktor''s blood streamed down below, hitting Naomi''s face "You can''t be allowed to live, though surely lord Asmodeus would love to torture you when finding out whose land you serve..." In a completely different behavior, Zagum asserted dominance over Viktor. Midst this, with all the strength he had, Viktor twisted his neck to his right side and sternly looked at the shocked Naomi. "Do it...!!" His vocal cords almost broken, reached out to Naomi, who upon linking her desire to search for a place where the link could be----merged with the water splashed onto the floor of the royal room and went to the throne that was beyond shatter but also emitting a fountain that would go down through the building. From there on, Naomi followed traces of water while manipulating the weather outside to her advantage in order to fulfill Viktor''s desire. As for Viktor himself, he was in a completely losing position, against the wall while having his ribs and vocal cords absolutely busted. Viktor with his blurry vision saw the terrifying glimpse of a monster to which he was no match against. "For a mere mortal with only this as his backup... Something doesn''t add up..." Zagum became skeptical of Viktor''s progress thus far and strove to uncover it "...!!!!!" Zagum released Viktor the moment he saw the glaring eyeball on the tip of Viktor''s sword which is being held by his weak right hand "I-Impossible! Inconceivable! It has no place here; it cannot possibly infiltrate a realm whose origin has a contradictory substance from! So how?!" Retreating not one, not two, but three steps that crumbled the floor, Zagum found himself in delirium; shaking in fear. Barely able to process this, Viktor gasped for some air while bleeding all over the place. "You! Viktor, wasn''t it?! Explain yourself! Why is the eye of Azatoth here, in a realm that is connected with Elysium?!" Zagum begged for an explanation out of the physically meek Viktor "........." Viktor heard his words and realized something "...I need to stall... His attention should be on Naomi but he''s too busy freaking out by the eye of the sword... I have to take advantage of the situation here..." Viktor concluded. Meekly, Viktor erupted his posture while adjusting the out-of-place trachea with his right hand. Then, he formed some words but they lacked his usual vocal strength. "Don''t you know?" Viktor alluded to something "Know what?!" Eager to know, Zagum exhibited brusque arm movement while roaring which caused an air shockwave that pushed Viktor back slightly "Argh... Will you stop? I have a proposal for you, Zagum----no..." Viktor corrected himself "Lord Zagum." Viktor got on his knees and bowed down to Zagum "I was unfairly cast here. Against my will, I was forced to go along with a charade. My mission was to get the Hyperbola to complete the nightmare---and then I would be free. However, it appears that my freedom is in sight. I too, like you, wish the same thing." Viktor spoke the truth, with apathy in his eyes, confusing Zagum "What...?" Unexpected and bewildered at Viktor''s words, Zagum became perplexed "My true desire is to go to Hell--- otherwise known as Elysium to the likes of you, lord Zagum. I eagerly and most genuinely request you to send me to where I belong!" Viktor begged with a loud shout. The eye gained interest in Viktor and its retina was fully focused on him; judging from a small distance. "Nonsense! To belong to Elysium yet disturb the balance of a realm from within; you lie!" Zagum saw the cracks in Viktor''s sentence, but Viktor fought back "That is not true! As I was being sentenced to Hell, an angel of God unfairly put me here for its own reasons! I have no desire to protect the Hyperbola, truthfully! As a matter of fact, to show that, I have deceived the Hyperbola purposely. I told her the blatant lie that your existence here is linked to a partial factor unknowingly!" Viktor told him the greater purpose of his actions "......." Zagum listened "Upon realizing that there is no such thing, she will return and that''s when I will kill her with my sword." Viktor raised his sword with a devious smile "Your sword? But she can''t be harmed due to the water property around her! Don''t mock me!" Zagum became suspicious. Viktor was therefore forced to further elaborate on his scheme. "Against your knowledge, this sword has the power to destroy the source of the nightmare. In other words, the moment I stab her with the sword that holds the eye of Azathoth; the Hyperbola will be rendered useless." Viktor explained to Zagum, who was still not convinced "But why wait this long when you could''ve just done that from the start or the moment you obtained the sword?! Your words don''t match!" Furious, he demanded yet another explanation which Viktor was more than glad to give "Lord Zagum, you misunderstood my intention. My goal is one and only, and always will be----I want to go to Hell, no matter the cost. It doesn''t matter why or how it''s done, as long as I get to go there, that''s all I care about. And for that entire purpose, I had to meet someone who had connections to Hell or Elysium as you like to address it. Thus far, I had been unsuccessful in encountering such a force, but now I''m certain. Certain that you, Lord Zagum, will be able to bring me to where I wish to be." Viktor finished his speech. Without showing his face to Zagum, Viktor ceased to speak while on his knees and bowing down. Yet Zagum wasn''t fully buying it. "Prove it." He said, with trails of cold steel in his voice "Gather the Hyperbola here and kill her with your sword. Provoke the cycle of death and rebirth which will bring forth another Hyperbola to occupy this realm. Furthermore, aid me in my conquest; by killing this realm''s Hyperbolas over and over, Lord Asmodeus will finally free me of my imprisonment. Only then, will I consider your opinion..." Zagum spoke to Viktor, still harboring doubts. Viktor thought of arguing back in order to make the situation more in his favor as he had a card up on his sleeve, but something dawned on him suddenly. Something that he genuinely pondered, as his eyes gained clarity. "Your wish is for me to keep on doing this until you are free? By killing the Hyperbolas in this realm alone, over and over?" Viktor wanted some clarification, to which Zagum gave without a second thought "That''s right. Prove your utmost loyalty to me. Become my disciple!" Zagum was overjoyed "I need to know something. Just how many Hyperbolas will it take to be killed until you are free?" Viktor raised his head and Zagum judged him with vagueness "That, I will not tell. Such information comes with a price. Prove yourself and in time, you will know." Zagum tested Viktor. Narrowing his vision, Viktor pondered several things. He additionally took notice of the eye that was constantly judging every single one of his decisions. "Alright." Viktor had decided "Then..." Viktor fully elevated himself and gave more securance to Zagum, who had found a great deal of convenience in this upcoming agreement "It''s all fair and games to doubt me right now. So, I will call upon the Hyperbola, kill her, and prove my loyalty to my commitment." Viktor opted to not push his boundaries and instead, chose to portray the logical course of action. All clear and with his intention on the mark, Viktor shouted her name, echoing a trembling sound throughout the royal room. "NAOMI!!" Zagum at last, saw Viktor''s first commitment into his deal. It didn''t take three seconds to see a thread of water being channeled through the pools of water splashed all over the room and in the closest to Viktor, Naomi emerged, albeit extremely tired and nervous. "V-Viktor! I-I couldn''t find it! No matter how much I looked, I''ve searched through Arkapella and Fatibala too yet there was nothing that resembled a link..." Defeated and disappointed in herself, she couldn''t meet Viktor''s eyes "That''s alright... I already found the link." Viktor assured her "Eh?" Naomi didn''t quite catch what Viktor meant and so, she elevated her head in order to meet Viktor''s eyes, which were lit up in scarlet red. Furthermore, despite her body being submerged in water property, the humanoid skin blade with numerous lively retinas pierced Naomi''s abdomen, which in turn caused her to immediately bleed from her mouth. "V-Viktor....?! W-Why..." Unable to understand, she succumbed to the pain as Viktor further drove the blade into her; impaling beyond the abdomen thus reaching the other side of her body. In a moment of secrecy, Viktor spoke to Naomi in her left ear. "Have faith in me, Naomi. We will meet again." Viktor then proceeded to brutally strip the blade of her body; leaving Naomi to die on the floor quickly. With blurry yet understanding eyes, Naomi didn''t speak a word and instead had a sudden realization, as she faced the death of her current self. Willingly though blindly, she opted to trust Viktor fully this time around. Now facing Zagum, Viktor didn''t say a word, nor moved from his position, as he upheld a stone-cold expression with glittering apathetic red eyes. "Magnificent... To think you''d come this far just to get your way... Undoubtedly, you qualify for Elysium..." Zagum showered Viktor with praises, even going as far as to clap for him, yet Viktor remained silent "Yet how come someone like you, wasn''t put in Elysium? All souls devoid of morality are thereby placed upon; there is no countermeasure against that." Viktor didn''t speak again though he agreed "...Why the sudden silence?" Zagun began to suspect Viktor''s behavior which didn''t match the vagrancy emitted from Zagun''s praises. Mildly chuckling in his mouth''s blood, Viktor began to close his eyes as he lowly laughed. "You''re laughing? Why are you laughing?" Unable to understand what was going on, Zagum witnessed Viktor go through a serious contagious laughter experience as he couldn''t control himself "Stop laughing, at this moment! What''s so funny?! Are you------" Upon being nimble with his right arm''s claws, Zagum began to realize. Seeing the cracks in his form as they were turning to ashes, Zagum was shocked beyond normalcy and perpetuated with disbelief. Unable to gather any positive thoughts about his sudden dissection, Zagum''s emotional turmoil turned into a violent one. "YOU---YOU WOULD LIE!! DECEIVE A HELL''S DUKE!! NOT ONLY THAT, YOU WOULD BREAK OUR DEAL THAT WAS MADE WITH HONOR?!" Taking three strong steps forward just as his body''s left side was being cindered to ashes at a quickening speed, Zagum put all of his strength into crushing Viktor''s ribs and vocal cords with his remaining right hand''s claws---shouting his last words before he was turned into complete ashes "I WILL FIND YOU, VIKTOR! AND I WILL TELL THE OTHERS ABOUT YOU!! NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, ELYSIUM KNOWS!! LORD ASMODEUS WIL---" Just as he attempted to strike another word, his entire body turned to ashes. Freed from an unbearable strangled physical lock, Viktor''s body collapsed on the floor, as Zagum was no longer in sight. Viktor''s current physical state consists of a broken trachea which disables him from forming a single word. In addition to that, he has multiple ribs broken. His legs though operable are full of cuts and open injuries; his kneecaps are slightly shattered. From his prior fights, before he was able to emerge to the royal room, Viktor had lost his left ear as it was practically cut yet his eardrums remained which in turn caused him a staggering physical pain. His left thumb was fully cut and out for the count. His neck had severed veins and his left collarbone was somewhat visible from those wounds. As for his lips, they were mildly broken and heavily cut. Barely functioning and distributing a brutal physical source of pain to Viktor due to the fact that it''s completely vulnerable to the air, his nose had been completely cut off and only his nostrils remained. Lastly, a grand part of his left face''s mouth had been severed off from the result of those said fights; leaving his left teeth completely exposed. Even so, despite those troubles, Viktor began to elevate his posture with what little strength he had. There was, however, a troublesome event happening, as Zagum faded from the picture. "....!!!!" An abrupt earthquake causing everything around to crumble, alerted Viktor as he drew a factorial conclusion as to why this was suddenly happening "The nightmare''s vessel was what was keeping all of this together... It doesn''t matter if this is Naomi''s imagination, it''s just the product of her imagination---not what keeps it together! In other words, this place is ceasing to be..." Viktor gritted his teeth. Without a portal in sight, Viktor was forced to rationalize a potential outcome that would favor him. Thus, with his lingering strength, he got up from the floor midst of the earthquake; using all of his strength to become stable enough with the ground around him and took ahold of Naomi''s body. He transiently looked at her calm and peaceful dead face; founding a certain level of beauty to that unique expression. Then, Viktor, with Naomi in his two arms, performed a dash in the royal throne''s direction which was still far away from him. Feeling all of his muscles on fire; mainly the legs that have extremely profound cuts that would require immediate medical attention, Viktor made a run for it. Obviously, he was slower than usual, but as he looked behind and saw the floor crumbling with him---he saw no other way. However, as he was reaching the throne''s area; his left calf''s bone cracked. "AGHHHH!!!" In agony beyond anything he had experienced in a while, Viktor momentarily stopped while still holding Naomi in his hands "NO! THIS DOESN''T MATTER! IT''S JUST PHYSICAL PAIN!! WHEN I''M OUT OF HERE, MY BODY WILL BE ANEW, SO IT''S ALRIGHT TO NOT CARE ABOUT THE STATE OF MY WELL-BEING RIGHT NOW!!" Viktor had this particular overconfident thought as he pushed forward; feeling his left calf''s bone go in and out of the calf. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Just right before the entire crumbling floor consumed him, Viktor jumped to the dark hole that was beneath the destroyed throne, and with no exact knowledge of where it would take him as only permanent darkness lay below; he took his shot. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The sight of endless stars in an astral dark blue was a sight that Viktor had gained familiarity with seeing over the recent events. No longer feeling any pain whatsoever, he also couldn''t feel any clothes on his body. However, he could feel, for a fact, small water tipping his naked toes. Viktor knew exactly where he was once he caught the sight of endless naked human beings varying from all possible ages walking nonstop forward. Their noteworthy chains linked to the wrists and ankles were additionally present as well as the ambiguous grand number count. "....." Viktor proceeded to walk forward; basking underneath galaxies---looking for a particular person who he wanted to speak to "Looking for me?" Not surprised by the abrupt appearance to his left side, Viktor commented as he looked to his left side "I think so. Unless this is the intended destination, Noah." Viktor formally addressed Noah, who, just like last time, is still naked while gently brushing his medium-sized white beard with his right hand "Do you feel fulfilled, Viktor? You''ve brought it down, the girl''s nightmare. I believe she''s one step closer to God with all the effort she did. Of course, you had a part in this too." Noah chuckled amidst the wind breeze. Not understanding Noah''s disapproval of Viktor''s efforts though it wasn''t exactly a complete one, Viktor felt instigated. "What do you mean by that? It was all me. All she had to do was do what I told her: believe in me." Viktor spoke what he thought was true "Really? That''s what you think, Viktor?" They kept on walking "It''s just the truth. After she believed in me, she was able to perform better and ultimately bring herself closer to the end of the line. If the nightmare is over like it should, she will wake up in her comfortable bed and will have the strength to face her mother again." Viktor took a deep breath, however "And you feel nothing towards this? Just the fact that it has been done?" Noah asked "Yeah, that''s all there is to it." Viktor clarified and Noah sighed profoundly. Viktor didn''t enjoy the frequent disappointment from Noah''s reactions. "You already know my aim is Hell. I am not supposed to feel any sort of affection for her nor should I wish for something convenient from our relationship. From my understanding, purging the nightmare''s contents is all there is to it. After all, she will forget about what she went through; that additionally means I will not be a memory. It''s honestly way more convenient that way..." Viktor was relieved "And in the case she doesn''t? What then? Are you going to leave the poor soul on pure radio silence, Viktor? Grow a pair, would you!" Shamelessly, Noah grabbed Viktor''s testicles and applied some force to them "!!!" Viktor was quick to remove them. He wanted to punch Noah yet he somehow didn''t. Viktor didn''t judge Noah to do that out of evil, plus, he was taking this conversation somewhat seriously. "The fuck, man..." He grew a bit distant "Oh dear me, the lion''s sensitive." Noah joked "Alright, that''s it! Look, it''s for the best if she doesn''t remember! Sure, it sucks that her big moment was stolen from her because a literal demon was at the final destination, but she will still have the strength to face her mother!" Viktor argued back "Really? Then you haven''t learned anything from her at all, Viktor." Noah spear-headed Viktor with some truth "........." Viktor took his time to think about whether or not Noah had a point. Turns out he did, because Viktor was quick to accept and consider the rationale behind Noah''s words. "But Noah, the nightmare is over. I will go to Hell after this. Our story has ended. I wish for my atonement in Hell. No matter how you phrase it, I just don''t care enough about her to the point of wanting one last moment." Viktor nevertheless spoke his true mind "Dear me... Forgive me, lord..." Noah prayed in front of Viktor which pissed him off "Hell this, Hell that; I will throw up in a few seconds if you don''t say something more insightful, Viktor. I might as well give you a little push here. So, you said it sucked she didn''t get to have a chance to speak with her mother; does this mean that a part of you, deep down, wishes for that to happen?" Noah posed a question to Viktor. Noah united both of his hands and continued to pray while Viktor was rapid in his reply. "Not necessarily... It just sucks, that''s all. Even I feel kinda bad." Noah, as he heard that last sentence, opened his eyes "Oh?" He let out a surprised face; Viktor went on "She and her mother had a disconnective phase and that went on for more than a decade. Then, just as it was building up, it all got ruined. It pisses me off because I went through all that work for a shitty climax!" Noah became disappointed as Viktor started to glorify himself "Goodness gracious... You are much wet beyond your ears, Viktor. When will you learn about it..." Noah''s fading voice made Viktor look again to his left. Seeing as there was nothing left of him, Viktor acknowledged that Noah had disappeared from sight. "......" Viktor kept on walking, in the hope of a change of scenery "-------or!" A very faraway voice alarmed Viktor "Hm?!" He recognized the familiar voice yet among the myriad of chained human beings walking like zombies forward, he couldn''t identify her. He looked left and right and saw not what he was looking for. Or rather, who he was searching for. Therefore, he summoned all of his lung strength and verbally conjured one name, gathering all present attention from numerous shackled individuals. "NAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOMMMIIIII!!!" His deafness-threatening shout lasted five seconds and was only put to an end because Viktor''s trachea felt hollow from shouting "Viktor!! I''m right here!!" Yet Viktor couldn''t see Naomi anywhere; furthermore, her shout seemed quite distant. Viktor took a few breaths before starting to move forward, trying to identify the shout''s direction. "FROM WHERE ARE YOU SHOUTING?! GIVE ME A SIGN OR A DIRECTION!!" Viktor once again shouted with incredible precision when it came to being loud and audible "I don''t know! I think I''m on your right side!" Viktor absorbed this audible message from her. As the sound from Naomi''s shout was echoing, Viktor tried to analyze where the sound was coming from and he judged that it wasn''t from his left side nor from the front side. Just as Naomi had said very accurately, the sound had a stronger ring from Viktor''s right side. With no breaks in his run, Viktor ran past dozens of chained individuals who gained a sudden interest in their meeting. Some even momentarily stopped counting numbers. It wouldn''t be long before Viktor and Naomi would come in contact with each other after two minutes; as Viktor had given a tremendous run in her direction. However, one particular thing made Naomi shout as she saw Viktor from her southwest direction. "GYAAAAAAA!!! She turned around and covered her face with her two hands "Oh come on, don''t be like that! You think you''re the only one who went through that experience!" Viktor argued though he didn''t have such a shocking experience the first time he was here "It doesn''t matter! Oh my God, why are we all NAKED?!" Naomi had tons of complaints; she refused to face Viktor which would mean she would have to show her front "I didn''t think you''d be here, otherwise I would''ve said something. I thought you''d be gone by now." Viktor got closer to Naomi yet kept a small distance "...What?" Naomi stopped covering her face and looked at Viktor without necessarily turning back. Viktor kept on walking forward. "Viktor, what do you mean by that?" She demanded an answer and walked behind Viktor; this way he couldn''t see her "The nightmare is over. When I stabbed you; I killed the nightmare as a whole, which made it possible for me to get rid of Zagum." He said, but only brought forth anxiety from Naomi, who had more and more complaints "Viktor... You killed me, didn''t you...? Why would you..." She was now afraid and created a long distance from him "It was obvious from the start. Without your active consciousness, there can be no nightmare. It''s something I''ve experienced over and over, honestly..." He chuckled "...?" Naomi didn''t understand what he meant or how that justified what he did to her. He turned around momentarily before walking again. "I''m a piece of shit, Naomi. I would gladly kill you over and over if it meant I could make some progress toward Hell. Get it now?" Viktor became very direct with his words, showing no sugarcoating "But even so, you believed in me and waited for me here. So, I guess you are way better than I thought." He praised her and walked again "That''s messed up... How am I supposed to feel good when you just say all that... I..." She was hurt but didn''t want Viktor to see her in such a state "You''re not. But, regardless, I think you get it now. I am like this. I did kill you, for the record, so don''t let that slide." Viktor made sure she didn''t forget "I know..." She said with disgust. A brief silence hit as they didn''t talk for three minutes while walking in the disperse low water. "Viktor, where are we...?" Though not entirely comfortable, Naomi began the conversation, behind Viktor "I am not sure, but if I had to guess..." Viktor took a while to follow his next sentence up "We''re in a Whale''s surface." He said with the utmost confidence "...What?!" Naomi became bewildered "You wouldn''t know, but in one of my previous lives, I was an ocean explorer. A deep, but I really mean this, DEEP OCEAN explorer. I am talking about going so deep that you find yourself surrounded by complete darkness and have creatures that are fifty times your size pop up in your most dreadful hour out of nowhere." Viktor stimulated Naomi''s imagination "Oh God..." Naomi became even more afraid. Naomi began to look at the surface of the water and felt with her naked toes the surface of where she was walking. It didn''t feel like concrete or rocky ground. As Viktor said, if it''s a whale, it would make a little bit more sense, however, Naomi couldn''t truly know, because she doesn''t know what it''s like to be on top of a massive whale. "But if I had to truly be specific, I think it''s a place beyond time. All these people, they count numbers endlessly. I''ve been given an explanation as to why they do so, but I don''t know if it''s really true or not." Viktor additionally told Naomi "...That''s interesting, but..." Naomi showed reluctance "You said the nightmare was over, right? Which means, this isn''t part of it, correct?" Naomi connected the dots "Correct. As I said, it''s most likely a place beyond time. The will to trigger something; some sort of event that we wish to achieve will change what is around us." Viktor gave a vague explanation "What...? Then... I just have to wish for something to happen and it will happen?" She tried to grasp onto something "Maybe. Give it a try. Think about your biggest desire, Naomi. Maybe we will become overlapped." Viktor once again, spoke with vagueness. Knowing not what to think about exactly and what her biggest wish was, she was conflicted for some reason. Gulping, Naomi spoke her doubts to Viktor. "Viktor, I... I don''t think what you did was alright... Did I do something to make you dislike me? I know I left you that one time but..." Viktor interrupted her "It''s not about that. It''s just a drag. When? WHEN?!" Viktor shouted like a lunatic "When?" Naomi followed him up "When will it end? That''s what I have always asked myself, deep down. Hey, Naomi. My story is coming to an end. So, I think I want to do one last thing for you. Believe it or not, I think I''ve grown up to genuinely give a small amount of affection to you. Do you know what that means?" Viktor asked, turning around to Naomi, who was confused but also became somewhat bashful, too ashamed to answer right away "...I..." She didn''t know what to say. Viktor laughed out loud. "What''s so funny?! You just ask that like... it''s normal! I''m very conflicted because you are probably the person in my life who has helped me out the most but at the same time... Viktor, you killed me." She remained hurt about that factor "That I did. However, Naomi..." He sighed and walked now side-by-side with her "....." Naomi still felt embarrassed. He spoke his true thoughts while looking at her face only; specifically avoiding looking down in order for her to not think he wasn''t being serious. "Your mother." He simply said "Eh...?" Not hearing what she was expecting, Naomi was surprised "I won''t be there for you after this is over. Even so, can you face her like you did before? Give me your serious answer, Naomi." Viktor didn''t allow Naomi to simply lie about this and as such, he demanded a profoundly serious answer in regard to that matter "...When you put it like that..." There was visible sadness in her facial expression "...I don''t think so..." Naomi answered truthfully which made Viktor sigh "...I see." He sounded disappointed "Yeah well, I''m so sorry but I don''t see myself capable because... You''re not going to be around anymore and I''ve..." She hesitated to say her next words "Come on, out with it. You always do this, Naomi." Viktor pushed Naomi to the brink and demanded for a more unique set of words out of her. Pressured but also with the desire to truthfully speak her mind, Naomi went ahead and much to her surprise, spoke her true feelings. "I kinda like you! It''s weird, alright?! It''s just because... Listen, you''re a piece of shit, honestly, Viktor." She didn''t hold back anymore "You are way too harsh on me and you don''t consider how fragile my emotions can be at times. Plus, I was having numerous nightmares where I had to experience death! You can''t just expect me to act normally knowing that I am going to potentially go through that! And you also deceive me at times out of the blue?! I can''t tell what you''re thinking sometimes! It becomes really confusing and hard trying to get in touch with you... Yet even so... You''re someone I wouldn''t like to lose and wouldn''t feel comfortable in losing... I..." She took a deep breath "Well, I would really like it if you were present in my daily life... Because it''s been fun! And I wouldn''t want that to go away just because you are hellbent on going to Hell. Sure, you have problems but you are conscious about it, Viktor. And that alone means that you want to fix a part of yourself. And... If that really is true, I want to help you fix that part, just like you did for me..." Naomi looked at Viktor in the eyes. Surprised by how much Naomi spoke in terms of honesty, Viktor whistled. "There you go again with your anti-climatic gestures... You could work on that, just saying." She began to be a bit extra "You know, you''re not bad either. I mean, you''re pretty cute, I''ll give you that." Viktor made Naomi blush so much she had to turn the other way around "I hate you..." She meekly said to Viktor "Naomi." Viktor simply said "...?" She turned around, still blushing a bit "I can''t be there for you in the future when you talk to your mother, but I will, as a token of gratitude, do something for you that might come close to achieving what you deep down meant to achieve back there." Viktor stopped walking and so did Naomi. A bright light water mirror to their right side appeared; alluding to a faraway water temple. "This is the last thing I can give you. I think if you want to return to reality, you will be automatically able to do that, Naomi. It just has to be in line with your will. However----if a part of you truly wishes for it, to speak to the genuine article, without having to feel like you''re talking to a replica, then..." Viktor swiftly pointed at the faraway mirage "...Viktor... Will you... Will you come along? I think I need you there." She looked at the mirage and not Viktor as she seriously said that "Fine." Viktor calmly said "I will accompany you but from there on... It''s you and her; nobody else." Viktor clarified "Hm." Naomi approved of what Viktor said as her eyes emitted confidence and an utmost desire for a reunion. They walked to the other side together. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Back to where it all began, Viktor and Naomi climbed the endless stairs of the water temple toward the main house at the top. Unlike the previous times when the water was beyond elevated and captured every other corner of the abysmal temple; the water was extremely low and it was revealed that a nearby beach was connected---therefore previously drown. They were able to get to the stairs through the beach and from there, a small path of behaved water allowed them to make their way up. "It''s... beautiful..." Naomi was stunned at the pure crystalized cerulean sky with lots of seagulls flying around; delegating the ambiance along the way with their hymns "Certainly better than the endless rain for sure..." Viktor rejoiced as he remembered the times he had to endure brutal torrential rain when he first came here "Also, also! It''s a lot brighter! You can actually see the sun!" Naomi pointed at the blue giant that Viktor identified as Rigel "To call that a sun is very much an insult, Naomi." Viktor pointed that out as they continued their climb in the now dry stairs. She swiftly turned around in her kimono clothes; the ones she initially wore, and faced Viktor with a hyper-big smile on her face; her eyes closed--demonstrating elegance. "Hahaha! I guess you''re right, Viktor! Hey, how many suns did you have in your previous life?! I''m from Earth and in my universe, there is only one sun." It sounded as if she was stating something obvious, but Viktor knew that thus far, they had witnessed different suns in different realms altogether, so it wasn''t as stupid as it seemed to Viktor "Just the usual light ball we all hate in the morning and dread in the summer. In other words, the same Earth. I don''t think it varies, no matter the universe; if it''s from our solar system. Of course, if it''s from another galaxy and there are other Earths, then that would explain it." Viktor gave a mini-thesis on it. This made Naomi think. "Hmmmmm... Hmmm... Viktor, Viktor..." She was more talkative than usual for some reason "What is it?" Viktor smiled gently at her "You promised, remember?" She climbed another degree while happily dancing in her pink kimono clothes like a child "I know. It''s really not that interesting though." Viktor scratched the back of his blonde hair "Speak for yourself, mister." She had a different opinion on the matter "You saying it''s not interesting probably means that it''s interesting!" Naomi was convinced this was the case "You''ll be disappointed big time, miss." Viktor lowly laughed. Another twenty or so steps were ahead. They had reached a part of the stairs that was a wider area than the rest; a structure that occupied itself every twenty degrees. There were ten of them as a whole now. As Naomi climbed the upcoming degree, Viktor decided that this was it. It was time for him to stop. "......." Naomi began to notice a lack of sound from Viktor''s bare feet on the rocky stairs "...So..." She reluctantly turned around to where Viktor is, with a mild smile on his face "This is where I go. What will you do?" Naomi asked Viktor, with nervosity on her surface "I''ll wait here for you. So, you can take your time; because I won''t go anywhere. I think I''ll admire the view for a bit longer. I hadn''t gotten a clue at that time but it''s pretty awesome to know there are tons of seagulls and a calm ocean nearby." Viktor sat with his back toward Naomi in the first degree from the prior staircase. Soothingly feeling the cold yet kind wind breeze passing through, Naomi felt relieved as Viktor was able to say those words. An instant smile popped on her face and her heart was thoroughly warmed. "Thank you. Then... I''ll be right back." She turned around and climb a step, feeling stronger "Hey, Naomi?" Yet Viktor had one last saying "Go get her." He said with a lousy confidence and Naomi felt even better "Yes!" She said, almost silently, however, with a long closed smile on her face. Emerging to the top, Naomi looked back and saw Viktor''s wide back as he looked at the beach far away; northeast direction, with dozens of mountains far away ---alluding that there is more to it. She inhaled air so fresh that her nostrils felt rejuvenated. One last time, she took a brief look at the shining baby blue ocean with a blurry white-hued horizon. Convinced now, her expression became serious, as she puffed her chest with her right hand after calming herself down. Toward the two frontal doors that slide themselves horizontally though Naomi could always walk in and out automatically, she opened the right one by sliding it to the left. Transiently, she saw a small round table in the middle of a bright room with contents yet to be discovered. "...Mot.....her...?" Naomi''s eyes widened as she saw her mother on the other side of the round table on her knees; enjoying a warm black tea calmly "...Naomiria? Is... that you?" She paused her green tea round cup on the surface of the table as she asked that. Naomi immediately noticed that her mother was older than she imagined; or rather, the last time she saw her. Relatively skinny still, a somewhat tall lady bordering her sixties with beautiful thin long black hair dressed in a black kimono, Naomi''s mother, Ina, was surprised to see her own daughter. However, Naomi too was surprised, especially at the lack of cynism on Ina''s part. "Yes... It''s me, Naomiria... Mother, is that really you...?" In disbelief still, holding the door with her left hand, Naomi stood there looking at Ina "Yes... But this... I think this a dream; it must be. You and I haven''t spoken in years, so I must be dreaming about my utmost inner desire, that''s why you are here, Naomiria." Ina drew a conclusion herself "No, mother!" Naomi was very quick to refute back; as she lt go of the door "I''ve been here all along! The fact that I have been asleep for so long in the realm world is due to me being stuck in a nightmare!" Though she knew what she was talking about wasn''t exactly irrefutable evidence, she still included the fact that she is in a comma in her reality. Even so, Naomi didn''t mind speaking the truth furthermore. Not hesitating, she sat down in front of Ina across the table and spoke her true thoughts on the matter. "I''ve fallen into a deep slumber because I... Mother, I really couldn''t stand how broken we are with one another. I sought salvation and comfort from it! I know it''s strange but it''s the truth! Look Mother, it''s me! Your daughter!" Naomi reached out to her Mother''s lukewarm hands and allowed her to physically feel Naomi''s touch "Oh..." Stunned, despite already coming into contact with something she could touch like a teacup, Ina nevertheless couldn''t help herself "It''s the real me! This isn''t a dream, Mother... I don''t really know how to explain it, but you must believe me, I swear!" Naomi practically begged Ina for credibility here. Deep down, Naomi knew that her words weren''t bulletproof and that her mother was glaring at her with dubious eyes right now. However, Ina opted to give her a chance. Closing her eyes and placing a gentle smile on her face, Ina patted Naomi''s hands with her own right hand whilst holding the hands with the left one as the base. "Is that so... I believe you then. After all, I have never had a dream this realistic in my life. It''s always all so blurry and foggy... This is definitely more like it." Ina agreed that some of the more realistic elements couldn''t compare to how humans are formed to perceive their usual dreams; even their lucid ones "Naomiria... You''ve grown so much, daughter." Ina spoke, with an elderly voice backing it up as her eyes reflected kindness; something Naomi wasn''t accustomed to. Unable to hold back her own tears, they sprinted across Naomi''s face, one by one as Naomi tried to compose herself. Viktor from the outside, relatively far away nevertheless, heard a loud cry and smiled as he put his right fist on the right side of his side supported by his right elbow on his right upper leg. "Mother! I''m sorry! I---I---I---!!" Naomi couldn''t properly finish her sentence as she kept bursting into endless tears, her mother not holding up too well in that regard too "Naomiria... It''s alright, calm yourself down. I won''t scold you, nor... hit you..." Ina showed visible regret as she looked down on the ground "Daughter, I must say something. I must seem different from the image you had of me back then, but... this is what old age does to you... Deny it as you must, but to what end? It arrives all the same. My time on Earth has become limited; always has been. Yet I''ve been more conscious about it in recent years and my regrets came from the seeds of trauma I''ve planted..." Ina indicated a long distant traumatizing event involving the two of them. Though this version of Ina wasn''t what Naomi was expecting, she could understand why Ina was being like this. Just as Naomi regretted a lot of things from her past that led up to this point, Ina too naturally, had cultivated a mountain of regrets along the way. "Please... I need you to know... What I did to you... I''m sorry... Naomiria, will you----will you forgive me?" Ina got up and bowed in Naomi''s direction. Processing what to say or how she would react to it, Naomi tried to find the exact words that matched her feelings. In order to honor Viktor''s words, Naomi decided to be thoroughly truthful with her mother. Therefore, with an incredibly deep and steady breath, Naomi elevated her posture and spoke to her mother, Ina. "Mother, I cannot forgive you." She bluntly spoke and Ina was shocked, though she didn''t show her face "As I thought..." Filled with regret yet certainty, Ina''s face saddened "Mother, please raise your head." Naomi asked, with a stern voice tone to which Ina did as she expected a harsh statement coming out of Naomi. Against her expectations, however, Naomi was smiling, despite what she had previously said to her. "I cannot pretend that it didn''t affect me, because it did, mother. And unless I tell you my true, ugly feelings about it, I don''t think I''ll get over it." Naomi said and then had a particular thought "Isn''t that right, Viktor?" Ina subsequently, didn''t hesitate on allowing Naomi to speak her true mind "Of course, Naomiria. Please." She insisted. Taking another deep breath while putting her right hand on her chest, Naomi didn''t hold back. "Mother, I truly think that what you did to me was wrong. I was very hurt and had to shut myself from talking to you and the one time I did, you lied to me about Damian." Naomi recalled when she asked around the mansion about him "Yes, that''s true... I am sorry, it''s something your father and I mutually agreed at the time, we thought it would make little to no sense to mention to you." She justified her actions "Even so, Mother, you lied to me. That lie pilling up amassed to anxiety that I would have to carry for burdening dark feelings towards the unknown truth. I don''t think you should do that to your daughter, even if you have more important responsibilities to attend to. Please, promise me, that you won''t lie to me again, Mother." Very seriously, Naomi focused her eye glare on Ina. Without any possible refute this time, Ina took Naomi seriously and complied with her demand. "I apologize, Naomiria. No matter how I spent my time, if I had to lie to my daughter, even if... No---regardless of that, it''s not something a mother should do to her daughter. It was an ill-spent time..." Ina regretted what she did and as such, Naomi went on "Thank you..." She, however, thanked her for all the effort her mother was doing in apologizing while telling why what she did was wrong "I understand that my time back then was intrusive, and if... something similar were to happen to you, I really don''t know how I would react, so I might be a hypocrite for saying this but... I would never hit my own child due to my emotions falling apart." Ina started to shed tears as she vividly remembered that moment. The moment that caused both of them, not just Naomi, grief and lament, in the midst of Ina''s uncontrollable feat of rage. "I''m so sorry..." Ina covered her face with her two hands while falling down on the floor, whipping over what she did; as she labeled herself as cruel and unredeemable "Mother..." Naomi lightly touched her left shoulder with her right hand as she went over to her side "I lost control of myself that night... I couldn''t handle her death! It broke me, everything I did was for her and according to her. All I wanted was to make her proud yet those terrorists they... I could never get my mind off that and as the rage inside me became uncontrollable and beyond measure, I... Oh God, what have I done...?!" Ina broke down as her cries became loud and genuinely ugly-natured. Hugging Ina''s entire upper body, Naomi gave her the necessary comfort for Ina to cry on; something she had been wanting to do all along. Midst that, Naomi spoke as she was silently crying too. "I... obviously can''t forgive you for that, but... I want to... So, Mother, help me..." Crying deeply more expressive now, Naomi''s face became full of sadness and grief as she spoke next "Please! I don''t want to spend the rest of my life like this with you! I just want to have a normal daughter-to-mother with you regardless of anything that may come our way! Even if one day you go away, I want to know that I spend the rest of your days with you on good terms! It terrifies me the possibility of you dying and our relationship never being fixed! It scares me, mother!" Naomi exhibited loud cries that were far out did Ina''s. Outside, though Viktor was enjoying the view, he was somewhat proud at the same time. With three white seagulls on the stairs degrees around him, Viktor spoke out loud. "See? Wasn''t so hard after all." He gently smiled while his hair fluttered in the abrasive warm ambiance. After a while, now being face to face at the table, both drinking black tea from the room''s small kitchen tea kettle. Dressed as a normal kitchen with the usual setups of one which includes; a small stove, a sink capable of emitting hot and cold water, a small refrigerator to the left of the sink, and a dishwasher. This room is four meters tall and has a rectangular shape that encapsulates the temple''s main house diameter. There are, however, two small windows on the east wall''s west top corners which allow rays of light to penetrate the looming atmosphere. In the middle of the east wall, there is a painting of Naomi as a child when she was four and Ina in her forties. Eating small chocolate cookies with black tea as a company, they both engaged in a conversation. "I''m surprised, Naomiria. I thought you''d be against the royalty role, but you seem to be alright with the idea. It''s weird, you know? Nowadays, our times have gone so ahead that the existence of a royal household has been rendered useless and meaningless. Yet even so..." Naomi took a small sip of tea with her eyes closed and then lightly paused the steaming hot teacup "But that''s precisely why, Mother. Even if the general public doesn''t show approval, a royal household must exist. It''s a tradition that has been with us for millennia. Our ancestors surely didn''t give up when the public didn''t approve of them. Times will change, but just because change occurs, it doesn''t mean that our bloodline has lost its purpose. Just by existing, we maintain the royalty intact." Naomi demonstrated strong capacity when it came to taking up the role. Proud, after taking a sip of her tea too, Ina congratulated Naomi on her newfound attitude. "I adore you." Naomi smiled at the compliment "However, if you are so eager to further the bloodline, surely you have someone in mind?" Ina asked, curious to know who Naomi had in mind "........." Naomi sipped on her tea longer than usual "It''s complicated. A bit too complicated. Uh, I, still have to think about that..." She seemed troubled "Naomiria?" Ina didn''t quite understand where Naomi was coming from "Putting that aside... Have you and Father been the same as you were?" Naomi asked and Ina gave a realistic response "We... I don''t think we love each other anymore..." This saddened Naomi "Over time, it fades away. Especially when it''s part of an arranged marriage." Naomi took this result into consideration "Arranged marriages are always bound to fail, right? It''s better to marry someone who you genuinely like, correct, Mother?" Naomi saught approval "Well... I would be lying if I said that wasn''t true." Ina couldn''t deny it. Another sip she took. Calmly, she put down her cup. "...Alright... I think we best get going then..." Naomi got up "Go? Where?" Confused by Naomi''s sudden upbringing, Ina was left perplexed "Where else, mother?! Home! I miss all the people in there! I can''t wait to talk to Father, and all the butlers, catch up with the janitors, and learn more from the mansion''s cooking chefs---there are so many things I want to try out! We can''t stay here and dream all this! Come on, let''s go!" Energetically, Naomi took ahold of Ina''s left wrist with her right hand forcefully and dragged her out of the room "W-Wait! Naomiria, dear I''m really n-------" As Ina got out of the room, she was left speechless with the view she encountered "---ot...." She could barely finish her own sentence as she gazed at the ocean in front of her and in her right and left side. Sparkingly and illuminated under a powerful mighty blue giant otherwise known as Rigel, the ocean extended both ways to what seemed to be infinity. The crystal-pure fresh air captured during every single moment present outside was more than what Ina had in mind. Ethereal and authentically beautiful, Ina had never seen such pure water before below her. Not only that, but the flying animals didn''t just limit themselves to seagulls. Beyond Naomi''s knowledge, there were now pelicans, albatrosses, abnormally large condors, golden eagles, and even flying manta rays that had over three meters in size, which was something, obviously impossible to capture in the real world. Particularly drawing the attention of those said sea birds, having dozens around him, Viktor was still allocated in that exact same position; as Naomi and her mother Ina, who was overly suspicious of Viktor, caught sight of his wide well-built back in that stark light blue kimono with a signature black belt around his waist. "Please don''t mind me. I''m just here to enjoy the view, go on. I think what you''re looking for is down over... thereeeeeeeee!" Viktor didn''t look at them but instead pointed at the beach on the north-east side which is available to anyone that descends the entire stairs of the water temple and travels down to their right side. Of course, Viktor was most specifically talking about how there was a faraway glowing mirage on the valley that was mildly far away from the beach''s sand to the north side of it. He decided to elaborate a bit more. "That right there, will lead you back home, ma''am and miss. I guarantee it as your local human tourist guide, I assure you." Viktor mixed some sarcasm with a glimpse of humor, which made Naomi giggle a little bit "Ahhh... Mother, let''s go. Don''t worry about him, he''s harmless." Naomi took a step forward, gently dragging Ina along, who still remained minimally skeptical of Viktor "Naomiria, are you sure?! Who is he?!" She spoke to Naomi''s left ear in a low volume, just so Viktor couldn''t possibly hear it "He''s the local tourist guide, Mother. He guided me through the whole thing, he''s the genuine article!" Naomi reassured Ina of Viktor''s verbal credibility "......" She nevertheless kept an eye on Viktor as they walked right through him. Viktor''s gentle red eyes came across Ina and Naomi all at the same time. With a charming persuasive smile on his face, he spoke to Naomi''s mother. "From here on, take good care of her; Mother." Viktor waved goodbye as they started to descend the upcoming downward stairs, however, Ina spoke to Viktor one first and final time "...I don''t know who you are but my daughter seems to like you..." This exalted Naomi "M-Mother?! What are you saying?!" She couldn''t face herself in Viktor''s direction but even so, Naomi''s mother continued and bowed down to Viktor "...Thank you." She thanked Viktor and immediately turned around "You''re welcome." Viktor couldn''t help but say those words of self-glorification as they took off. Naomi gave a last look at Viktor, both not saying anything. That look of hers was full of doubt and uncertainty, but even so, Naomi and her mother descended down the stairs of the water temple; far beyond Viktor''s scope of vision. No longer able to hear their words from their idle chatter, Viktor threw himself back into the ground and closed his eyes. Allowing the outer worldly pure air to infiltrate his nostrils, Viktor took repetitive deep breaths as he became addicted to the unknown alluring fragrance in the air. He had experienced multiple types of oxygen before under different atmospheres yet this particular atmosphere was dominated by Rigel and its oxygen most likely triumphed all over the ones he had experienced prior. Out loud, and now with his eyes opened as he gazed at the magnificent cerulean sky with faraway planets at a distant sight, Viktor let out a small comment. "It''s finally over..." He rejoiced and placed a smile on his face as he eagerly awaited what would come next, according to his belief. Viktor closed his eyes again and tried to fall asleep. While successful for a while, it wouldn''t be long before Viktor noticed a contrast in the shade directed at him that he could see despite his eyes being closed. Something was opposing Viktor from receiving Rigel''s sunlight onto his face mainly. "Hmmm....?" Lazily, he opened his eyes to figure out what exactly was obstructing the light''s path and creating an overpowering shadow in the process. Fluttering purple hair strands captured the essence of that person alongside a tidy frontal fringe. Moreover, Viktor didn''t need to absorb more information to realize something. So, he spoke to the one blocking the sunlight. "Naomi... What are you doing here?" He asked, unable to understand, really, what she was doing there, just standing in front of the sunlight "...As I thought, Viktor..." Viktor now looked at her face which seemed to have a conflicted and painful expression all over "...?" Viktor erupted his posture and met up with Naomi, now face to face "Something about this, just ending like this... I am not alright with it." Naomi gained a stern confident glare. She took a deep breath and spoke her thoughts to Viktor. "Viktor! Come with us!" She outright demanded. Volume 1 - Chapter 7.5: Nightmare #1 Viktor was in a bit of a pinch here. Facing the one that he thought had already made it to the other side, he had no specific words or a script prepared firsthand to deliver to her. Lazily, he slowly scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Naomi, do I have to tell you why that''s not an option?" He looked at Naomi and asked her "I think you do, Viktor. Explain to me why you can''t come with me. Because, remember, you owe me an explanation. You promised back then." Naomi pointed at Viktor with her right hand''s index finger. The moment that Naomi was talking about would be the one when Viktor would tell Naomi, at the end of all things, how he got himself killed and ended up here. "That''s fair... I didn''t mean to not tell you, but... Alright." A bit anxious about why he had to tell her the upcoming words, Viktor went on "Naomi, I killed myself in my previous life." Viktor told Naomi the core of it, which gave her a premature shock; her jaw opened as she didn''t know how to react yet Viktor continued "I did a lot of messed up shit. And remember, I was twenty-one years old when I did kill myself. I won''t tell you what I did because I don''t want to genuinely ruin the image that you have of me more." He looked at Naomi with serious searing eyes; demanding a certain level of emphasis "I hope you understand that." Though Naomi didn''t reply, she nevertheless told Viktor in a way that it was fine for him to go on. Deep down, Viktor verbally admitted that to a degree, Naomi''s thoughts about him did matter and for that reason, he refused to elaborate on his wrongdoings. Yet he would elaborate further on why he did commit suicide. "I didn''t just kill myself after committing those wrongdoings. I continued doing them. Again and again; with no remorse or a shred of empathy for whoever it was in my agenda''s way. But----it escalated into something of an impulse." Viktor began to shake crazily and looked down at his two trembling hands, which freaked Naomi out "The impulse demanded more! No matter what vicious cycle it went through, the demand rose higher every time. And before I knew it, I was someone who had become a monster. But the worst part of it all is that, regardless of how I was caught or how I had to pay for what I did, it never felt enough. There was always an endless bottomless inside of me that knew that no time in jail, no execution, no possible moral redemption, or any form of reform would ever erase what I did. It''s impossible to erase what I did, Naomi." Viktor explained his dilemma. To the sad Naomi who was feeling conflicted but affirmative in her inner feelings, Viktor simply smiled and said some words. "Hey, Naomi. That''s the real reason why I want to go to Hell. The weight of my sins is too much to carry. I believe Hell is the only way. I don''t know what awaits me, but the very fact that I dread it means that I am going in the right direction to atone for them." Viktor concluded "That..." Naomi looked hesitant but transformed her upcoming sentence with verbal stability present "That can''t be it, Viktor!" She argued back, not crying but very confident in her persuasion "I... don''t think that it has to be this way, Viktor! I might not know what you did and I''m not denying that you deserve Hell but... Just... Can''t you go to Hell another time?!" Naomi proposed. Conflicted about knowing that Viktor most surely deserves Hell and that she doesn''t want to necessarily go against his desire which would probably make him dislike her, Naomi tried a different approach. "Spend your life with me! Devote yourself to something great that might match the weight of the sins you carry! Isn''t that a valid way for atonement?!" Unlike her usual ashamed stance against Viktor when it came to speaking about passionate things, Naomi fully meant what she said, and even surprised Viktor with how serious she was "You''re saying that I should counter what I did with similar weight? So in other words, you want me to balance it out and that it would make up for it?" He asked Naomi with a monochrome voice "Don''t be ridiculous now, Naomi." He insulted her with a light laugh "I''m not being ridiculous! I''m being serious Viktor! It''s possible to achieve atonement through equivalence, no?!" She continued to make her point "It''s not about equivalence. It''s not about atonement. It''s about reaching a point of no return. To suffer endlessly in order to know for a fact that what I did was wrong. And by doing so, the weight of my sins will decrease by then." Viktor gave his thorough reasoning. Seeing how she wasn''t making a breakthrough, instead of crying, Naomi took a very long deep breath and puffed into the air. Viktor admired her now new solid composure. "You''ve become someone I approve of, Naomi. Isn''t that enough?" Viktor didn''t lie "I''m thankful for what you''ve just said, but you must realize, Naomi. Even if what I did for you wasn''t with ill intent and I did my fair share to greatly manipulate your development, it was still more or less with the final purpose of obtaining my ticket for my journey. I sorta explained to you in the beginning but I think you didn''t listen to it that well, so I''ll go over it again." Viktor''s mind swam back to a distant time in the beginning "An angel of God with the power of condemning individuals that have earned the rightful qualification for Hell, that rules of Pandemonium, has put me through this trial and I''ve discovered that in order to become qualified to enter Pandemonium again, I would most likely need to topple this event as a whole. It said that I needed to save the trapped souls, but really, it''s just you and no one else as far as I''m concerned." Viktor decided to ignore several other factors. The eye underneath his blue kimono in the shape of a round skin necklace around his neck looked at Viktor with its retina. "Now that''s done, you must ultimately realize, Naomi, I have no need to hear what you have to say. Nor do I have some sort of obligation to necessarily respect how you feel in order to get to the higher zenith of the outcome." Viktor coldly told the truth as his eyes narrowed but even so, Naomi didn''t falter "Even so, you did all that. Put it however you like, Viktor, it doesn''t erase that you''ve helped me become a new person. But... Alas, I know I can''t change your mind. You''re too convinced in what you think, Viktor." She acknowledged. Transient gentle windows flew between the two; their hairs fluttering in the east direction. "Are you still alive in my time?" Once again changing the approach, Naomi asked "I don''t mind telling you that. But, only if, after it, you stop making your mother worried and go back to your reality." Viktor drew the line as he was getting tired of it "...Fine. I don''t think you''ll listen to what I say afterward anyway." Viktor chuckled as Naomi hit the curve precisely "Naomi, to tell you the truth, the "me" from that time, Damianov, or Damian, as you like to call it, is the sub-leader of a Russian terrorist group called "Gullag". I won''t go into details, but reasoning with him is out of the question. He is also in favor of the leader''s ideology which is to erase royalty from history''s books. In other words, you''ll be a constant target and soon enough, become an evident one. Do you realize how impossible and perilous the task you want to accomplish is?" Viktor asked though he could have not told any of this in the first place. Additionally, Viktor knowingly revealed that the past version of him in one of his prior lives was actively conspiring against her. This visibly upset her but Naomi had another saying in the matter. "It''s frustrating that it''s only now that I hear about this but... You once said that even though the versions of you differ that the soul is ultimately grounded." Viktor was surprised by how far she remembered it "Yes, Naomi. The soul is what most likely allows a carbon version of someone to always remain intact. No matter how the other copies develop and stray from it, there is always a grounding nature that will not change no matter what." Viktor spoke from his experience "I see. That means that deep down, Damian and you are essentially the same person; just different due to how the experiences of your lives have developed, correct?" Naomi attempted to reach the core of the truth. By now, Viktor truly realized what Naomi was implying. And even though he found it a completely idiotic and unrealistic endeavor, he nevertheless went on as a part of him seemed to support what she was doing despite its numerous aggravating potential consequences. "That is correct, yes. But, are you fine with it? Damian and I are somewhat different. You''ll never have "Viktor" but instead, someone that has a life experience that is partial to my prior one." Viktor gave her the hard truth, to which she sighed as she accepted the ground of truth in it "That''s true... I can''t have you, Viktor. You''ve made that clear. But-----I think I''ll settle for it. In my world, I will find you, and... I will change you, just like you''ve changed me." Naomi quickly rose her right index finger and pointed at Viktor''s face "Count on it!" Naomi did her best not to cry as she knew that her time with Viktor was running on thin sand "Then... Give it a shot. I can''t say that you''ll be successful and if I''m honest, you probably won''t, but nothing''s impossible as long as you put your mind to it." Viktor said as he openly smiled while laughing "That''s right, you''ve taught me that. And..." Naomi turned around and faced Viktor no longer, so he couldn''t see the contents of her facial expression "I won''t give up on you, you''ll see!" Her voice showed obvious emotional cracks. Running through the stairs while weaving both of her arms to gain momentum, Viktor watched Naomi descend the numerous degrees ahead of her. Crystalized clear as day tears could be seen in the humming winds that passed through her as their final moment had reached. Watching Naomi and her mother from afar talk with joy and happiness, Viktor smiled as he tried to cry just a little bit. A certain feeling of sadness was stuck between its awakening and a part of him that didn''t allow him to give in to that emotional impulse. Across the astonishing cosmic stars and the ever-wondrous Rigel, Viktor looked up at the sky while fully knowing what would come next. "If I had known... Known all along that it would come down to this, then I would have paid more genuine care; maybe show a side of me that was more..." He had this incomplete thought when he saw Naomi and her mother Ina travel through the faraway mirage at the beach; leading up to their current reality. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Epilogue A glitter in that exact same place was visible to Viktor as the mirage disappeared; only alluding to a beach now. "And that''s my cue." All alone, Viktor rose to full height and ran through the myriads of degrees among the long downward staircase that had over two kilometers in length alone. Reaching the end of it and his feet bathing in cold passive water from small water waves, Viktor marked his footsteps on the wet sand as he walked towards a distant shining glitter buried in yellow drier sand on the northeast side. Closer to it now, in front of a valley with an extremely tight entrance midst of a rocky ravine of tall height, Viktor came across two particular objects that no longer emitted powerful radiance and were instead viewed with a normal shine to them. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Another one? What is this?" Viktor saw a buried naked eyeball with a light purple retina in the small dune of sand "It has the exact same shape as well..." In addition to the naked eyeball resembling the one he has wrapped around his neck, it also contained a skin essence as well as a thread of real skin to it, However, that wasn''t all there was to it. Barely next to it, as Viktor upheld the human-skinned necklace with the naked eyeball of a purple retina, there was a ring with a specific emblem to it. Thin in its back composure, the frontal side contrasted it heavily. Upholding a square shape with an antic eye craved in dark gold, the ring alluded to something that Viktor couldn''t possibly know of. Curious, Viktor picked it up whilst holding the skin necklace with his right hand, had a general look at it from front and behind; saw that the eye craved in the frontal side wasn''t alive like the two eyeballs he currently posses and attempted to put it in his right hand''s index finger with the help of his ring hand. "Too wide..." The fit was clearly not in that finger as it became obvious to Viktor that the ring belonged to a smaller finger, so he instantly skipped to his pinky finger, in which it had a perfect fit "There we go." It clicked immediately. Full of life and no longer sealed in its ancient scripture, the ring''s eye became lively; but more importantly, began to suck Viktor''s lifeforce as well as his body onto the ring. "H-Huh?! WAI---" Screamed as he might, it was to little avail as Viktor''s body became a vessel to the ring. Traveling to a familiar place, where he was once with myriads of other Hell convicts, Viktor found himself in pain all over the place. Mainly speaking, his intertwined ankles were profoundly stabbed with a brutal metal corkscrew of rustic times; additionally---his widespread two arms'' hands were pierced by the same gigantic corkscrews from a far, faraway time, that had longed since became a common event that shaped all worlds. Pitch-black stars and the shape of faraway galaxies became a sight that Viktor could transiently experience, which was a sight that arguably only a few could enjoy at the edge of all spaces. The very essence of cosmic horror was witnessed as Viktor slowly opened his eyes. Multi-galaxy-sized, this mysterious being entitled with divine providence going by its ancient identity of "Thrones", spoke to Viktor, who was barely able to digest the fact that he was now starring at something that had the size of at least one hundred million solar systems. "Endure it as you may have, it''s still a passage. Through that realm''s abolition, a divine property has been restored to its former glory. The experiment has gone around successfully." In an ethereal mystical voice echoing throughout time and space, Thrones was able to deliver a speech that, Viktor couldn''t perceive in its primordial form, however, it was instantly transformed into a pattern of speech that he could. Mildly stunned by the encompassing abysmally large-sized skin rings with countless eyes to each, Viktor saw Thrones'' entire form. With an all-seeing eye at the very center, rotated ninety degrees to the west, a powerful dark blue retina menacingly stared at whoever dared to cross eye contact with it. Not only was the size of it bigger than the majority of galaxies, but it also had a certain uncanny creepy sensation to it as it was clearly alive. Its endlessly rotational rings that circled the central eye filled with smaller eyes in horizontal/vertical rows added up on the terror layer. Viktor was not an exception to this feeling of dread yet he couldn''t help himself while feeling abundantly nervous in the face of such a divine presence to speak his mind about what Thrones had just said. "Experiment?! Oh yeah, so damn great. Hey, I fulfilled the deal! I destroyed the nightmare and that was what you wanted, right?! Send me to Hell, right now! There''s no reason to not send me there anymore!" Viktor became desperate "Deal? There was never such a thing." Thrones reminded Viktor, and the receiver gritted his teeth in sheer rage "Why you...!!" His hands became in rising pain once Viktor tried to release his body from the corkscrews, even at the cost of his physical turmoil. However, despite clearly going over them and reaching the end of the metal screws, there was a massive force not allowing Viktor to leave the initial position, which he took notice of. "It''s useless. His pain must be shared; eternally." Thrones adhered "What do you want from me?! This makes no sense at all! You''re telling me you needed me to complete something so simple like that?! Don''t give me that shit! Anyone could''ve done that!" Viktor became rageful and furious "Precisely." Thrones limited itself to that single word "Then why?!" But Viktor demanded to know "You''re not special, Viktor Von Einradhyunda. A small speck of dust amidst the dunes of time and space. Yet such a speck once served his side, faithfully, for a great deal of time. His might and mercy know no boundaries. To serve its grace; one must be satisfied and feel blessed. To tear that bliss is all-sinful." Thrones engaged in vague dialogue though Viktor understood what Thrones was actually saying. Nonetheless, Thrones was quick to address where the momentum of Viktor''s existence would accelerate toward. "Your innermost deep desire to go to Elysium is possible and as the sanctuary holder to the entrance to that place; I can guarantee that you have a reserved place there." Finally, Thrones updated Viktor''s situation "Then...!!" Smiling like a madman; exhibiting his teeth from all sides with a savage expression, Viktor became ecstatic with adrenaline as his promised land was a place where he could finally enter "Your existence has, however, already became intertwined with it partially." Viktor became confused and nervous "What...? My exi---No, that can''t be..." Viktor realized what that meant "You''re no longer as qualified as you believed to be. As a matter of fact, they are deeming you as a threat, Viktor Von Einradhyunda." Thrones alluded to the two encounters he had with two Elysium-originated demons. Trembling while feeling incredibly manipulated by Thrones, Viktor lashed out again. "Why?! Why would you go ahead and make my existence a subject to their realms?! That''s not how it works and you know it too! If I have any influence on their realms, then my existence will become perpetuated in an evolutionary cycle! I can no longer enter Hell like this!" Viktor cried while laughing like a lunatic "That''s not necessarily true, Viktor Von Einradhyunda." Thrones began to clarify "Long ago, at the brick of all creation, before Elysium and Heaven''s division, twelve divine lands rich with God''s love spread throughout his body. Over time, as the events unfold, those lands were stripped of their original providence and placed under Elysium''s possession. God can no longer be whole----its body lays dormant and undergoes a never-awakening slumber." Viktor was shocked to absorb this information as he thought he knew more about the matter already. Thrones ceased the explanation and instead, spearheaded Viktor with his upcoming objective. "Many times did I try, however, none were able to undergo the trials successfully. Their cryptic and underlying nature had the best of them, always. The theory of letting someone who is uniquely qualified for Elysium to attempt the restoration of God through its realms is something that is inconceivable because Heaven''s powers though absolute, have no place there. The very essence of it rejects and demolishes our upbringing. That''s why it was necessary to conduct trials to ensure there was a possibility. A small chance." Thrones allowed Viktor to understand the core of the situation at hand "So what?! I pass the test and what do I get as my reward?! At least grant me my wish to go to Hell, damn it! I don''t wanna do this shit again and again! I don''t care about restoring God''s body or the twelve divine lands shit! I just want to go to HELL DAMN IT!!" Viktor shouted as loud as he could. However, slowly but surely, Viktor knew, that he wasn''t having his way. To oppress such an entity, who had a seemingly infinite power over his reality, is but a mere jest of atrocity. "It cannot be done. It cannot be altered; the fact that you have restored the portion of a divine land through your actions though lacking in moral dignity and primordial meaning; nevertheless they became the cocoon of a future. By abolishing the usurpers that have the audacity to plunder his lands!" Thrones spoke with loud enthusiasm "I wasn''t able to defeat them! They were far too strong... Plus, one of them told me that their souls are stored in Elysium and so, no matter what I did, they couldn''t die. You have to take that into consideration if you actually think you can just throw me inside one of their realms again! I am bound to die eventually at their hands, damn it!!" Viktor brought fair points to the table "Certainly, you''ve learned. By becoming knowledgeable about what you have at hand and how the existence of the Hyperbolas have their undeniable benefits, you brought forth decisive results to show. And as such, it''s evident that you alone; will become their eradicator!" Thrones declared. Realizing where the conversation was going, Viktor adopted a portion of fear that he didn''t know he could have. "No, no, no, no, no...!!" Repetitively, Viktor squealed those negative words over and over "Restore glory to the first land; your progress has already been established. Do not smite it." Thrones issued its first order "Wait, wait, wait! Just wait, you can''t! I won''t allow it!" Viktor trembled in his primal fear while crying "Your newfound power should have an edge over them though its allusive nature may drive you off course in the long run." Thrones further stated, but Viktor couldn''t accept it "Piece of shit, I''ll kill myself over and over! Your objective will not be realized, you hear me?! I will have my place in Hell, whether you like it or not, I am not your puppet, damn it...!!" Viktor''s body reached a level of turbulence that was unbeknownst to him "You will fulfill your mission, Viktor Von Einradhyunda. But---that is something you will realize shortly." Thrones concluded. Turning to ashes, Viktor witnessed the tips of his feet dispersing into the air around him as the ashes continued to spread upwards. "Don''t let him down again, please." Viktor''s agonizing screams as his crucified body beneath infinite skulls laid under his cross were the last sound to echo throughout that edge of space in that specific time. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Absolute darkness. No conceivable light in sight. A feeling of sensation now alive yet undisclosed. A heartbeat no longer present which would make a viable tool to draw noise from. Lingering body movements though meek at first; with no concentration backing it up. But more importantly, a constant suffocating feeling of not being able to inhale oxygen, and instead of achieving such, unrequited impeding earth was introduced. ":...?!" Unconsciously, Viktor tried to blink, but his eyes were covered immediately with the earth; his nostrils were filled with mud as he tried to inhale something. With all of his strength, unwilling to form a thought, Viktor used all of his physical strength to destroy the upper earth and caved an upward tunnel that lead him above just as he was about to give out. "AHHHH!! Ahhhh...!! Ahhh...!!" Midst pure pitch-black nothingness, Viktor was able to inhale and exhale freely though he had to expel the prior earth that was stuck in his nostrils; as well as clear his eyes with his muddied hands. It was beyond clear that whoever Viktor was, he was buried underneath a great quantity of earth. Still, the very fact that he could inhale oxygen though humid and cold at the same time meant that he had reached the surface of something. His legs were still buried in earth below and he couldn''t sense anything clothing in him with his hands. Therefore, Viktor prioritized finding something around him that could lead him elsewhere. Going left and right, Viktor could not grasp anything. "?!" However, this changed when his hands suddenly encountered a stern chilly structure above "What the...!!" Viktor struggled to elevate the structure as he tried to get out of the unknown area he was in "So heavy, damn it!" Viktor summoned all of his strength once again, halted his breath, and pushed it as he formed one final push. Weighting close to forty kilograms, Viktor was successful in driving the coffin''s shell out of the way though it barely fell over to the right side. Still relatively dark but with a distant blue on the north side ahead of his vision, Viktor was able to finally take a grasp of what was around him. "A coffin... But there is no one buried now... Lovely." He made that comment as he looked at the now-open coffin in the very center of the area. This particular chamber encapsulated an ancient coffin with dirty silver coloring to it, held five meters in width as well as five meters also in height. On each corner of the ceiling; horizontally----there were small rectangle-shaped windows that allowed vagrant night light to pierce through the veiling atmosphere with dust all over. The ground was built on a stable structure but the walls were old and rustic; lacking any caring. Furthermore, insects like cockroaches and ants practically habituated them constantly. If there was a signifying aspect present, it would be the tall three-metered clay statue that represented a crowded warrior holding a round shield in his left hand whilst holding high a tall sword that was far too large and big for his own height. Dressed in adequate silver armor and a helmet that covered most of the head; leaving only the frontal face to show, Viktor took note of his existence. "So this is your grave." He realized who it most likely belonged to "But, this ends here. No more..." Viktor sought to end things just like he had said back to Thrones. Grabbing a nearby rock amongst many others in the dusty ground, Viktor drove it to his cortex with killing intent. "AGH!!" Viktor shouted in agony yet kept on plumbing himself with the rock despite the pain "W-Why...?!" Viktor began to realize something. Though by now, after a whole minute of hitting himself with a rock that was sure to kill anyone, especially after a minute, Viktor was not dying. Sure, he was bleeding from the top of his head and felt physical pain---very strong physical pain it----but he was not dying. Viktor tried a different approach. He walked to the statue and broke the clay right arm of the honored man just so he could have the stone sword at his disposal. Aiming to pierce his heart with the tip of the sword''s edge, Viktor navigated the sword backward and without a shred of hesitation, drove it to his heart. "...WHAT?!" Viktor shouted in the midst of disbelief "THAT CAN''T BE! IT''S NOT POSSIBLE, HOW?!" He continued. By now, the sword has traveled to the other side of his body and was now completely stuck over his left lung. Letting go of the sword, Viktor witnessed the ridiculous sight of the sword stuck to his body as he took a few steps back. Yet the bigger question remained. "Why?! Why?!" Viktor completely withdrew his entire sword and pierced his throat frontally this time, trying to kill himself "........!!" He could not talk because his trachea had been sliced but he was able to witness the fast reconstruction of his body tissues and organs in his right lung; completely nullifying the prior damage done. Naturally, this also meant that his throat was back to normal after a while and he had regained his ability to talk. He dropped the sword on the ground in the middle of the shock and fell back on the ground with his butt as he pondered extremely hard why he was still alive despite inflicting vastly lethal wounds onto himself. Brutal pain though present throughout his vessel was all there was to it. If the pain doesn''t have its final blow as the grand consequence, it''s just pain in the end. Viktor realized that. But what he didn''t realize was that something crucial was missing. Something so crucial, that it supports the life he has experienced over and over throughout all of his prior lives but this one marked a new complete experience. Shaking his right hand while driving his eyes albeit reluctantly to the left side of his chest, Viktor sought after a pulse. "No..." Viktor focused his hearing as much as he could just to make sure that he wasn''t mistaken "That---No... NO!" Viktor, still in denial, refused to believe the new truth "My heart----it''s gone! I can''t die now! My existence is no longer bound to the law of causality! God damn it, not like this! If I can''t kill myself, then..." Viktor now ultimately realized. He realized that all along, his entire trip to the realm where his existence would become a part of Elysium partially due to his influence in the realm, was not a coincidence. "But... Where is my heart then?"