"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.
"...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."