"Gasp…!" Opening my eyes in panic, I sucked in deep breath as I continued to heave and inhale large amounts of air. W-What exactly happened?
I clenched my chest, which for some reason, was aching as it felt like it was clenching itself.
It felt crushing… my heart was…
"Glenn, what's wrong?" a soft voice suddenly called out worriedly to me. I turned to where it came from as I still panted, "Rayne…" I muttered her name.
"What's wrong, Glenn?" she asked again, "And why are you crying?"
"Me?" I rhetorically asked but I felt hot liquid streak down through my cheeks, "Oh yeah…why am I crying?"
Rayne looked at me worriedly as she asked once again, "Glenn, are you really alright? Do you need me to carry you?"
"No need, I can walk on my own. It's just…" I tried to find the words to explain what I currently felt, "It's just…somehow, I felt like I was in a long dream. And I feel so relieved for some reason."
Rayne came closer and touched my forehead, "Hm… you don't seem to have a fever. Maybe you should take a rest?"
"No, I'm fine," I told her, "I can move without issues."
She narrowed her eyes as she seemed doubtful, but I stood to prove I was alright. I began to walk ahead as I called her, "Let's go back, Rayne."
Rayne only nodded, as she overtook my walking place in no time. As usual, she hated being left behind.
We walked together side by side, however, I suddenly paused in my steps as I turned around, and gazed at the far horizons. There was no reason for me to do so, but for some reason, I just felt compelled to.
Rayne who was walking next to me, also stopped as she turned to me, "Glenn, what's wrong?" she asked, "Why are you looking at the Great Divide?"
I turned to her a bit embarrassed, "You knew?"
"Your gaze," she said, looking directly into my eyes, "It was too high to be focused in the forest. And there's nothing to see above the forest than the Great Divide."
"Well," I made an embarrassed laughter, "You got me."
"So? Is anything wrong?"
"No, it's nothing." I told her as I shook my head, "I thought I heard something—it must be my imagination."
She nodded at my statement, "I have sharper hearing than you, but I didn't hear anything."
"Then that basically confirms it then." I said with a wry smile.
And so, confirming that there was no reason to stay here, we headed back to town.
* * *
If there was a question that lingered inside my mind for a long time, it was the question about why the town would have walls and gates into it? And why indeed? As far as I knew, there was no need for such thing to exist.
There were no other towns in this entire Sphere, and there were also nothing it was needed to defend against. I'd even heard 'they' could fly with their wings. And there was also those who flew without wings, so what was the point of it being there?
'Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever asked Rayne about this question…'
Realizing that, I turned to Rayne and asked, "Hey, Rayne. Why do you think the walls and the gates exist?"
Rayne didn't answer as she seemed to be immersed in her thoughts. I called out once again, "Rayne?"
Still no response.
I felt my brows twitch, as I called out to her again. This time, louder.
"Rayne!"
"H-Huh?" Rayne snapped out of her daze, "G-Glenn? What is it?"
I sighed, but still asked anyway. "Why do you think the walls and the gates exist?"
Rayne pondered upon my question and answered, "Well, I heard it was protection against the dragons?"
"But if that's the case, isn't the Great Divide enough?" I told her, "Besides, I heard dragons can fly. They would be able to go above a mere dozen meter walls without effort."
"Hm," Rayne seemed to take my question seriously as she once again pondered, looking for an answer.
"Then, what about a false sense of security?"
"Huh? What is that suppose to mean?" I asked, unsure about what she was talking about.
"It means even if the Great Divide can protect us from the dragons, it can't dispel the fear we have of them. Hence, the purpose of the walls and gates. It might be the reason why everyone can live their live without constant fear."
I went silent at her conjecture. It indeed made sense, but something just didn't sit well with me. I don't know why, but I felt something was really wrong.
'I wonder why I feel this way?.. It's weird. Everything feels weird today…'
However, as I immersed myself in my thoughts, Rayne called out, "Glenn,"
I turned to her, "We're here." she said.
I looked forward and saw a large drawbridge, and walls. Over ten meters tall, it surrounded the entirety of Dalkian Town, as if protecting it from external dangers. Even so…
'As expected, something doesn't feel right…'
"You know, Glenn," Rayne suddenly spoke next to me, "You've been constantly distracted since a while ago. Are you really sure you're not feeling unwell?"
I wanted to say I was alright, but her words made me reconsider. Was I really alright indeed? Sure, I wasn't feeling anything out of place, but that wasn't enough to guarantee I wasn't sick.
Maybe she was right. What if there was something wrong with me?
After a while of thinking, I finally made a sigh, "Yeah, you may be right. There might be something wrong with me, so I'll visit Dr. Himmel's lab after this."
Rayne nodded, "Alright, I'll go with you."
"Are you sure?" I asked her. "Don't you have things to do?"
Raising her shoulder to a shrug, she spoke with a worried face, "It's fine. I'm free most of the day."
I smiled at her thoughtfulness, and entered town side by side. We then bid each other temporary farewell as we went our separate ways home.