As he strips, ready to get into the communal shower, Ashley feels a strange, yet familiar pang of pain, deep in the back of his skull. With his hands against the locker, he leans against it, struggling. Taking deep breaths, his eyes become half-lidded in this spontaneous bout of agony, and his mind races, with memories that belong to countless other people that he does not know. Memories of different eras, different countries, memories of women, men, and children… memories that aren't his.
"…Dude, you alright? Are you getting those memories that you keep talking about or whatever, again…?"
Grunting, Ashley ignores Brynn's concerns for him. He furls his fingers, clenching them into fists, while his light pink eyes flicker like a candle with an unstable flame. Countless voices echo in his head through the connection, calling for him.
"…You can hear-"
"You! Listen to-"
"-Hear me…"
Doing his best to ignore the countless whisper and calls for him, Ashley slows his breathing, then straightens his posture, pretending he was fine, when he was anything but.
But something was different this time… the abyss of memories that swarmed him had become quiet, then parted, to show him glimpses of something else.
There was the planet with the big red spot, Jupiter.
The worlds, converging at their horizons.
Countless withered and thin corpses, walking endlessly without goal or direction.
A race of people, each and every one of them, marked with a strange symbol across their foreheads and adorned with strange tribal garments.
While Ashley walked to the communal showers with a towel slung over his shoulder, Brynn was close behind, still visibly concerned for him.
As he set down his body wash and conditioner on the tiled floor, and turned on the hot water, Ashley quietly whispered to himself:*
"…The power… of the king… Geass…"
Brynn raised an eyebrow, only hearing scraps of Ashley's mumbling.
"You say something?"
Ashley looks to his right to meet Brynn's gaze, his light pink eyes back to being alert and normal now.
After a second of contemplation, Ashley realized that the glimpses he saw, was something that he shouldn't speak of… to anyone.
Ashley puts a dallop of conditioner into his hair, running his fingers through his long locks, then quietly speaks, his voice just louder than the falling water:
"Not really... I was just… thinking about this war game I have for my computer… it's pretty fun."