'Should we just leave his body like this?'
I was kind of reluctant to leave the fish I caught.
'There's nothing else we can do, Ray. The other Guardians will take care of it.'
Seeing Lianne talk made me relieved.
"Whew, eating that heart was worth it."
'Eating what?', Lianne asked me.
"Astracus' heart. I was kinda skeptical about it but it all worked out, so I guess it's fine."
Lianne immediately materialized outside and held me by the collar of my jacket.
"You did what?!", she looked outraged.
I scratched my head.
"Was I not supposed to?"
She didn't let go of my collar.
"Hey, I had to do it. I was dying. And technically, you were too."
She swiftly re entered my body.
'Oh no! No wonder there's all this excess divine energy in your soulframe!'
"Come on, it's not that serious."
Just then, my body began to glow like a vibrant glow torch.
'You have no idea what you have done! What should I do? I don't have the means to control the flow right now!'
"That reminds me, your upgrade came."
'I'll temporarily store the divine energy in your limbo and create an access point.'
"I wonder what the upgrade will let you do?"
'This is blasphemy! Eating an angel? A Fallen Angel at that? Oh my Lord! I am sorry for his actions! I am sorry!'
"Let me check the upgrade."
'What? Why is the limbo space so rapidly absorbing all of it?'
"Oh here it is"
[Assistant system: Sys D 3.0
Codename: Lianne
Attached to user: Ray
Current lvl:1
Would you like to upgrade?
Yes/No]
'Ray listen, there's something odd about your soulframe..'
I accepted and started the upgrade.
My body which had become a gold bar suddenly turned back to normalcy. I looked down at my chest. On the right side, there was a golden tattoo which appeared similar to the inscriptions I saw on Astracus' leg.
The tattoo then changed colour and shape.
It was now black and resembled a crown standing on two crossed sceptres.
"Pretty sure this wasn't here before. Did you do this Lianne?"
No one replied.
"Lianne?"
Silence.
I opened my screen again.
[System upgrading.
Estimated time till completion: 24 hours.
Time corresponds to the flow of the base world.]
Base world? Did it mean the actual physical world and not this dream space?
I sighed... Well, guess it's time to go back. I had spent about 8 hours here resting and repaying my unique skill.
My arms had regenerated and my health was full again.
I was tired but I felt satisfied.
Lianne will come back a day later. I had to finish any leftover business and look for a place to stay.
I exited the dream world by ejecting my consciousness like Lianne had taught me.
...
..
.
"..."
I woke up on the same roof.
"Ugh, it smells. Why did I come here?"
Carefully, I stood up.
Growlll
My stomach growled.
"I guess eating in my dreams doesn't fill my real tummy."
Extending my neck, I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy and the sun was hidden but it didn't feel weird like the grey I saw back there.
'Time to move down...'
I walked down the staircase slowly as I finally found time to be alone with my thoughts.
'Will the police have come and sealed the place?'
It was then, that it dawned on me, what I had done.
Gritting my teeth, I thought about all the possibilities of being caught and imprisoned.
Grrrrrowl
My tummy wanted food.
"Ugh."
I kept walking through the same route I had used earlier to come here.
And there I saw...
The short guy who died from overdosing was still there, dead like before.
'What? Did nobody come here all this time?'
Then I realized something.
'Time flows differently in that world?'
Assuming there were no other variables, time seemed to flow slower in the Dream land.
I looked at the puddle of vomit on which he was lying.
An idea struck me.
Nimbly, I ran back to where I had killed Hiratsu.
The paper I had used to grab the syringe wasn't there. I tried looking for it but it wasn't anywhere near.
Did the paper magically disappear or something?
Then, a gust of wind hit my face.
"Wind? In an alley?"
I looked up again. It looked like it was about to rain.
"Hm...I think I know what I should do."
I took off the black shirt which I was using as a mask and wore it back.
Then I picked up another dirty paper from the dumpster nearby and used it like a glove to take out Hiratsu's phone. He wasn't wearing any smart watches or other devices.
I had no idea if there were any hidden cameras near me but since Hiratsu conducted his business here, I could safely assume that even if there were any, they wouldn't belong to any lawful agency. Plus Lianne hadn't said anything when I used the Assistant's advice.
I also took his wallet and the paper bag he had received. I opened it and inside, I saw a stack of cash.
For a moment, I thought about my actions and then ran to the previous spot.
"Don't mind me if I take this too."
I also stole the short guy's phone and smart watch. He had a luxurious platinum chain, embedded with diamonds, around his collar. I had no interest in it, however, if the police investigated and found that someone stole all his belongings but left out this extravagant chain, it would look suspicious.
These devices most likely had tracking mechanisms. I had to keep them switched off till I figured out how to use them without getting caught.
'Sorry Lianne, but I have to make their deaths look homicidal on purpose.'
The way I had initially done this was to make it look like an accident where Hiratsu died by overdosing, but my plans had changed now.
If Enna's life was truly going to be threatened by the gangs, then I had to destroy them before they could make their first step.
Why did I care about Enna?
Because when I close my eyes, I can see...
That gentle smile of the person I want to meet.
I couldn't explain it, but I felt like I could never show my face to her if I abandoned Enna.
I reiterated my resolve.
"A new villain is in town."
[Lianne's POV]
Darkness was all around me.
It felt empty.
The atmosphere of this null and void was grim and ghostly.
I could see a bright white light approaching me.
"Is this inside Ray's soulframe?"
I moved towards the white light at the end of the tunnel.
Shinee
I reached a brightly lit white world.
There was nothing but white here.
It felt endless.
And in front of me, there stood someone.
I couldn't recognize them properly.
So I moved closer to get a better look at their face.
"Hello, Lianne", she softly spoke my name.
Her face had a gentle smile.