Chapter 33- Nightmare
"Eh?" Asher's eyes widened as he blinked a few times. He never expected to hear such an offer from Rain in a million years.
"We have a spare room. You can use it. Or, if you don't want to stay here, you can rent a house in the settlement if you have the money for it."
"Wait, wait. Hold your horses! Why are you offering me this?" Asher asked.
"Hm? You seemed to be struggling and I wanted to help. You saved my and my father's lives, after all." Rain responded casually as if she saw nothing big in her idea.
"Huh? But, but, am I even trustworthy? I mean, we barely met a few days ago. I could be planning to harm you."
Although Asher wasn't intending to do any of that, he also felt quite perturbed. Mainly because the person that offered him this opportunity is Rain, an extremely beautiful girl.
"Are you planning to harm us?" The girl raised an eyebrow.
"No…"
"Then, why are you suggesting you could do that?"
"... Aren't you supposed to be wary of me? I mean, you barely even know my name."
"Sigh, well, I guess that makes sense. But, even though I don't know much about you. I'm almost certain that you aren't a bad person. I have a keen eye for bad people."
'Well, in the main story, Rain did have a sharp eye for people. She was a master at manipulation. But, is this Rain really the same one I know?'
"So, what's your choice?"
"Uh, well… I guess I will be in your care then?"
"Hmm, good."
After that, Rain walked back inside the house. She didn't seem the least bothered by the fact that she invited a stranger to live in her house.
"What kind of development is this… Hahaha!" Chuckling confusedly, Asher sat down on the grass.
'This world is already fucked and the timeline is all messed up. There is no point in trying to preserve the storyline anymore. Whatever happens, will happen.'
From the start, Asher had no intention of getting involved in the story nor to try and keep the story intact and canon. This resolution got more and more engraved in his heart the more he got to see the major changes in the story.
'So much changed to the point where it's pointless to try and preserve it. However, I could only imagine the chaos when the actual plot starts. Am I even going to be able to survive till the end? Well, my goal is to survive till I kill those bastards at least.'
As Asher's mind ran through all the possible events that could happen, he felt his eyes grow heavier and heavier until he could only lay down and succumb to sleep, letting the breeze caress his face like a loving mother, pampering her child.
***
"Hmm? Where am I?" Asher's eyes opened again.
But, the location he was in was completely different from the grassy plain he was resting at. Instead, he was floating in the darkness, completely detached from any form of reality.
"I can feel, think and control myself. Is this what they call a lucid dream?"
Looking around, the place was quite weird and cold as if it was winter.
"Asher…" Suddenly, a voice called for him. It was quite far away
"Hm?"
He turned around to where the voice came from only to see a person staring back at him. That person was very familiar to the boy.
"... S-Sali?" His eyes widened as he said her name in a hesitant tone. Even though he knows it was merely a dream, seeing his sister erased any thoughts from his head.
Then, without any second thoughts, he ran toward her and hugged her tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Sali… Sali… Sali…" He said her name again and again. He wanted a response from her, anything. He wanted to hear her call his name again, smile at him and show him that she was still alive.
However, none of that happened. Instead, Asher quickly noticed something very odd. His sister was cold, motionless, and very much unresponsive to his hug, just like a dead corpse. Pulling away slightly, he looked at her face and his breath immediately halted.
Instead of a smile, he saw her face completely distorted with blood covering it completely. His mind froze for a good moment from pure shock. At that moment, a black hand stretched from behind Sali and grabbed her by the shoulder before starting to pull her away.
"Huh? No!" Reflexively, Asher tried to grab Sali by the hand. But, the hand simply pulled stronger and got Sali detached from Asher.
"No! No!!" Running after his sister, the boy tried to grab her again. He knew for certain that if he didn't grab her now, he wouldn't be able to.
"Asher… Asher… Asher…" The more he ran after her, the more echoes of his name he could hear. Simultaneously, the more he ran after her, the more she got farther and farther away until he couldn't see her anymore.
"Asher… Asher… Asher!!"
At the last moment, a shout woke him up from the dream and made him look up. His face was covered in sweat, his breathing was ragged and his heart was beating loudly in his chest. The silhouette that stood above him was of Rain.
"Hah… Hah… Rain…" Grabbing his face, he murmured the name of the girl in a relieved tone mixed with some sadness.
"You were having a nightmare?" She asked.
"... You don't need to mind me." Saying that Asher stood up, intending to walk away.
"You kept calling a name for a while. Sali… Is she-"
"You don't need to bother with it," Asher replied as he gave her one last glance.
'I don't need to burden anyone with my own problems.' He thought as he sighed.
"Mmm, can I know where I can wash my face?"
"The bathroom is the third room on the left."
"Thank you."
After that, Asher walked inside the house, leaving Rain outside, staring at where he was a moment ago.
"I guess he didn't notice the tears in his eyes. Sali, huh?" Murmuring those words, a complicated gaze flashed across Rain's eyes for a second before it vanished quickly.
Whatever she thought of, no one would ever know. However, that small thought, as insignificant as it is, was the first small change that will hit Asher's journey. However, whether that change is for good or bad, only time will tell.