'Not my problem…'
Hope thought as he looked away.
Hope didn't want to get involved in whatever conspiracy was hinted there. It didn't necessarily harm him in any way, at least not at the moment, so why burden himself with it?
"They're just lights." Hope said flatly.
"Now now there is beauty in everything."
'This is getting dragged out.' Hope fought back an annoyed sigh as he kept silent.
The husband gruffed. "Humph. The boy is right. Nothin fancy bout them but to scare the devil away."
'Is that…figure of speech…?'
"Oh do be happier, my dear. You have to set an example! Now, why don't you check on the other couple?"
"And leave you alone? I don't think-"
"Go." She said firmly.
The husband sighed, mumbling a 'fine' before he got up and walked down the flowered wall to another couple.
There, another woman was in deep sleep in her lover's arms. The lover too held her wrist in a shaky grasp, as if afraid she would slip away.
While that happened, the little girl picked another white flower from the wall and adorned it in her mother's hair, brushing aside the strands from her face revealing more of her features. The pale petals were stark against her mother's bagged eyes which looked like gray bruises against her complexion. Still she remained asleep in her deep slumber, her shoulders rising and falling gently as if the world around her didn't exist but her and her dreams alone.
'Not my problem…'
Hope thought again as he turned away and scanned the great hall.
From what he had learned throughout his whole time here, there was more of a system in Sector Two than he'd expected. There were hunting parties split into different groups that explored above ground in the ruined buildings and below ground in the dark tunnels. There were corners in this room where people repaired clothing, stitched patches, sewed blankets, and crafted weapons in similar style of what the posted guards were also using.
But the incident with the monster gate from a month ago had caused more harm than what was evident in this room.
Whatever Awakened they managed then were all but none now in Sector Two it seemed. Most likely because they all died defending against the waves of monsters.
Except maybe the Awakened who created the red flowers.
'Tsk. As if being an Awakened equates to victory.'
From what Hope observed, the several guards that were posted inside the building only held guns and hand-crafted weapons. Nothing that expressed a Memory of sorts.
Hope supposed it was unfortunate for an Awakened from the slums to fight without proper training in their life. No one to guide them in and out of the Dream Realm to hold a proper sword or bow as they face monsters. Being an Awakened in this abandoned city must've kindled their pride. It would happen to anyone really. But an Awakened from the slums? To be a symbol to their own people? To hold that kind of power? That would drive them to make rash decisions in battle.
Did it make a difference if they were properly trained?
Quite so.
Hope had seen Awakened die simply from Category Two gates. Raw strength could only take one so far. Especially with facing monsters on their own, it was blind faith and courage that would have preserved them for that long. But without the proper mindset, clarity, or strategy, to be able to calculate their battlefield, they set up their own failure in the future.
However, who knew how many Awakened they had originally in Sector Two? Maybe two. Five? Ten? One?
It wasn't like many of these people past their First Nightmares to see the light of day anyways. That sort of survival had to be innate for them.
Hope blinked.
'Wait…'
He paused at that thought.
He then looked around at the expressive faces in the crowd.
Laughter.
Smiles.
Smile smile smile.
Apologies here and there.
But anxieties too in hidden forms…
At that moment, Hope couldn't stop his mind from racing to answers and possibilities. Well, he'd already assumed a bit before, but he'd been trying to suppress them.
'Ah dammit...'
Because of that, all the sounds that buzzed in the air were losing their gleeful tune. Like the coming of the night, it unveiled itself.
Smiles here and there in the crowds twitched and stretched as if forgetting their shape for a moment.
Lips curved to tell an empty joke or gaped to let out hollow laughter. Their voices rang in the air yet sounded dragged like an echo in a dark cave. At certain points the emotions seemed genuine enough, but an unknown tension flickered across their faces.
Magic was one thing. Poison was another. But it seemed neither of those were in effect. Hope didn't feel particularly influenced himself. But Hope remembered thinking that if life thrived in this city, he doubted it would be with rejuvenating smiles and cheerful desires.
At first glance, that didn't seem to be the case here.
One would think everyone was happy and undisturbed by the chaos in this city.
Unless there was a hidden motivation behind it.
Behind those smiles and laughter no matter how genuine they may be, there were invisible strings that pulled on their faces.
Right. The Spell. There was more than one way the Spell could scare people without the use of gates or lurking monsters, without tooth or claw to wring in intimidation.
No. It was a darkness that lurked in the corners of their thoughts no matter how they tried to forget. A darkness that didn't need to bend shadow to place fear or to pierce light to smother hopes.
Maybe it wasn't poison that soured their bodies or foamed their mouths, that either paralyzed their limbs or ran their blood cold. But it was still something they could be possessed and succumbed to whenever they are touched by it.
So, what was another infection people feared the most nowadays?
"Hill Glory Bower, Lilah."
The lady gave a wrinkly smile at the little girl while pointing her finger at the flower she put in her mother's hair.
"And those other ones are peonies. That one's…."
Hope gazed down at the flower the little girl had given him earlier, the star white petal resting on his hand. Its light weight like that of air.
'Glory Bower huh.'
'For the glory of humanity…' His memory voices whispered from the tangent thought.
Then suddenly, as if telling a secret, the old lady bent and whispered to the little girl.
"Why don't you give it to that lonely man over there? I'm sure he'll be happy since you both came together."
The little girl's eyes followed to where her finger pointed.
"But what if momma-"
"I'll always be here. And take your time."
Climbing off of her sleeping mother's lap, she then shuffled her way past the pillars and into the lively stuffed crowd towards a man who looked grim with distant eyes that were detached from reality. But he had company. There was someone else beside him who had a very animated expression, almost forced even. But it was as if despair had ensnared the grim man, its grasp threateningly around his throat as he kept solemnly quiet to himself.
"She always keeps coming back…" The old lady whispered again as her eyes followed the girl's movements.
Perhaps if Hope wasn't in his Dreamer's body, he wouldn't have heard her mumbling. But he did.
Almost unfortunately so because he didn't want to hear her monologues.
"Children bring such life into the world, yes?" The old lady said aloud now to Hope.
Hope internally sighed as he didn't respond. 'Not my problem.'
"I do pray that the rest of her friends are alright. All in the Lord's plan. Blessed be His name."
'Not my problem.'
"You should pray too, dear." She smiled. At the corner of Hope's eye, he could see her gaze flit to his face then hands. Almost as if disappointed with his reaction to the little girl's gift. "It…would be very helpful."
"Your faith is enough compared to mine." Hope said flatly.
The old lady chuckled. "Oh…it only takes a little you know. A little goes a long way."
'Alright rest time is over.'
Hope thought as he stood up.
"Oh where are you going-"
"To grab something really quick."
Before she could say anything else, he walked away and stopped near one of the pillars to hide in her blind spot, counting the seconds until she forgot him.
Hope's body felt better, hunger satisfied, and arm and back weren't so sore anymore from the fight with the damn behemoth. It seemed an appropriate time to call for an audience with Master Leda then.
At that moment, the old lady breathed out a weary sigh, and she began muttering to herself as if reciting a prayer. Hope didn't know why, but he lingered a bit before he left his spot.
"Lord be willing…" She said softly, speaking to herself again. "Those people who crossed the road escaped the Devil…But I'm glad. I must be glad…Lady Leda was…right in saving those people. Everyone deserves a second chance…"
Her tone seemed to betray her own words. As if she didn't believe in her prayer. As if she were bottling her true feelings of the matter.
'Not my proble-'
Hope paused.
'Huh…?'
"What road?" Hope found himself saying as he walked out behind the pillar.
The old lady's eyes widened then quickly shook her head, her face wincing as if regretting her loss of composure. "Oh...don't worry about that. Did you just arrive today? Do you need anything from us? Anything that could make you more comfortable-"
"Is it the main road?"
The old lady waved her hand in the air in dismissal.
"We shouldn't speak of it, you know. Bad omen. There should be no talk of it here. Only of miracles and-"
The old lady froze as Hope gazed at her.
Maybe it was a bit of curiosity. Maybe it was the word 'road' that triggered it. The mention of Lady Leda saving people didn't sound out of the blue.
But no one in their right mind would cross the main road besides the convoys. Attacks happened before on the main road, but Hope heard it was from settlements near the city's center unless they were mad enough to attack even closer. Hell, who knew how the settlements acted now after the monster gate appeared—it was a city of lawlessness.
But at that moment, selective voices in his head from earlier whispered clearly in his ear like messengers of the wind.
'We've been taking newcomers as of late.'
'Oh, not that many. But I pity them. Haven't you heard what happened to them-'
Hope felt his instinct darkly humming ever so loudly now.
"I-I…umm…" The old lady mumbled as she shakily held her gaze with Hope.
'We must not talk of it. It won't do us any good, you know.'
'…the hunting party had to avoid the southeast tunnel because of some monsters…'
The light in the great hall seemed to have lost its warmth as the old lady saw something pass in Hope's eyes. He could hear her gulping to moisten the dryness in her throat as if she were in the attention of a predator's sight.
Hope quickly turned to scan the great hall scene.
Besides the activity that thrived in the night, he realized that the slumbering people all had a companion of their own.
Hope didn't think much of it before, but the companions too touched their wrists as if pressing a delicate button.
Didn't the old man Jeevan try to do something similar?
Hope kept 'waking up' from his pretend slumber to eat, but that one moment when he saw the old man's hands rear back, face flushed in embarrassment, was he too trying to do the same?
Maybe it wasn't Hope that was paranoid.
But the people were.
Right…There was a presumed reason on how the Spell chooses its victims, from a level of despair that infested people's hearts that would overflow and ensnare their bodies.
"I have some questions for you." Hope said nonchalantly as he continued to scan the crowd.
"And it would be sufficient for you to answer them."
The old lady licked her lips nervously. "I don't understand…"
Hope walked towards her, his steps slow as he watched how she held the sleeping mother's wrist. How that lover further down also held the woman's wrist.
Hope crouched in front of the old lady.
"How long has she been asleep for?"
The old lady avoided his gaze. "I misspoke…She's just tired…we don't want to startle anyone."
'Should we move the boy to the wall?' His memory whispered.
"How long."
Maybe she'd thought he was a fool. Someone who would sympathize with someone else. Someone who would be swayed by charitable actions.
But her observation was flawed.
He didn't feel sympathy for any of them.
"…" Her old hand fidgeted on the mother's wrist. "We don't speak of it…We can't…It'll scare their smiles away…"
Hope blinked.
No wonder this side of the great hall between the flowers and pillars was less condensed.
Hope nonchalantly tilted his head.
Her avoidance was enough of an answer. "A day or two then." He paused. "You seem bold to take up this task yourself."
"Of course I can." She rasped under her breath, narrowing her eyes. "I may be old, but we all have to do our part don't we?"
'Do your part huh.'
"These people." Hope gestured to the sleeping mother. "Did they perhaps mention seeing a convoy?"
The old lady blinked. "A convoy…?"
"What did they see out there."
"We can't speak of-"
"Answer my question."
"…" Her lips pressed down tightly. "We only heard a little…"
'You mean you couldn't break enough questions out of her.' Just how the old man tried to get him to talk.
Hope looked down at the sleeping mother's wrist.
Hope remembered that when one experiences their First Nightmare, their pulse changes slightly. It was the beat of a heart dying they would say. Slow and soft as if on the verge of collapse. It would beat that way till it was completely off of the line between life and death; until they return to the waking world.
Of course, there would be a long flat pause in between if, and before, they mutated into something more blasphemous.
Hope frowned. 'What if what they saw or experienced was what my teammates also had to deal with?'
Hope paused.
'What if I have to deal with it myself?'
"All I know is that a new wave of monsters came earlier this week…maybe something else happened I'm not sure…They just said they separated from each other. It was fortunate for Lady Leda to be there to save them…"
"You don't seem convinced."
Her brows furrowed together. Whether it was because of his Attribute, the lady seeing him as an obstacle gave him a glimpse into her true colors. "We've done our best to preserve happiness in this settlement. Not a show of brute strength. But our compassion is what saved us. And it took a long time to achieve that. To seal that. But these people-" She glanced at the sleeping mother. "They don't follow the Light path. They bring too much despair of their own…"
'Ah an inconvenience for them.' Hope hummed in thought.
That husband of hers seemed like it was too much of an obligation to check on the other couple as well.
Maybe that Marcus guy was right. They probably reached a point where they accepted too many people and had to result in different methods. And one of their methods was to conjure a fantasy.
No wonder they seemed too charitable. Or how even the old lady was likely using the little girl to hit a soft spot in people with her ridiculous flower giveaway. They were afraid any of the newcomers would be subjected to the Spell and bring harm to their people.
But was that all they did to preserve that security?
No one was innocent no matter how much they proclaimed to be.
'So a new wave of monsters earlier this week…and whatever else.'
Hope stood up.
He supposed he had to make a move now. It was going to be harder than he thought to get out of Mirror City to reach Acheron. Maybe he could have sneaked a ride on the cohort's vehicle…but why did they leave that behind?
'Ah Dammit. Questions questions questions.'
Hope frowned as he ignored the old lady's followed gaze.
'Tsk. Now where the hell is Master Leda-'
"Get off of me!"
A shout pierced the air.
All the hums from the crowds ceased as heads turned to follow the source of the noise.
The grim man from before stood up with a fuming expression. In front of him was the little girl Lilah who was on the floor, cradling a stomped flower in her hands.
"The hell you guys are on huh?! They're out there! Those monsters are out there! And you're all wasting away as if it's not big deal?!"
'Well look at that. Someone finally snapped.'
The old lady's brows furrowed. "I knew it…enemy of the Light…"
Hope blinked.
'Huh…?'
"Hey calm down! You don't have to worry about that. You're here now. There's no need to-"
"Shut up!" The man shoved someone away who tried to approach. "I don't need any fucking hoaxing. I was supposed to be on the ship. On that damn ship!"
Guards of course had their weapons ready. But at this distance, Hope could see cold sweat from their brow. As if debating if blood was worth spilling here. A dark memory that would forever be burned in people's minds.
'What the hell is this guy talking about.'
Hope hesitated, then he walked forwards and helped the little girl up. She sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes as there were scrapes on her knees and elbows.
"He didn't take the flower…" She mumbled.
Hope blinked. 'I don't think that's the main concern right now.'
"You!"
Everyone turned their eyes on Hope.
'Huh.'
"Me…?" Hope answered.
The grim man glared at him.
"You're an Awakened aren't you?"
Hope paused for a few silent moments. Those moments felt forever as Hope tried to process his words, the voice replaying over and over in his mind if he'd heard it right. And of course he did.
But still…
"…what?"
'Do I look like an Awakened…?'
The grim man stomped forwards and grabbed Hope by his chest rig.
But instead of an insult, he started speaking beggar words.
"Take me. Please. Take me to the ships. I'll pay you anything! Anything!"
"If you haven't noticed, you seem broke at the moment."
The man shook his head. "When I get to the port! I can pay you! I'll give you a check or whatever you need! Please just take me!"
The man quickly turned his head towards the crowd.
"You! And you! Don't you want to leave? We paid for our ticket. We shouldn't be here!"
Someone shook their head. "I can't go back out there…I can't…"
The grim man gritted his teeth as he turned to other people.
"What about you! And you?! Doesn't this feel unjustified!"
The little girl Lilah ran back to her sleeping mother. "Momma!" She hugged her lap. "Please wake up. Please. Please!"
"See?! Even that damn girl wants to leave! They've been cheated- We've been cheated! And none of you are doing a damn anything about it!"
Everyone muttered under their breath, their glee facade far gone as trouble sprang in their midst. They glanced back at the guards in an effort to find assurance, but they too seemed affected by the man's words. Or at least puzzled on what to do.
The grim man and some others seemed to be the people Master Leda saved.
Who would kill the people under the Master's care?
The grim man's eyes widened in a craze as he backed away and clutched his face, dragging his nails down his cheeks as if the pain would wake him from this prison.
The people separated, giving an empty circled space from the man as if his insanity would explode and reach them.
He then chuckled. A desperate, sorrowful chuckle bellowed out of him.
"Those bastards…Those useless bastard soldiers couldn't even protect us. Leda can! But that bitch isn't even willing to-"
Hope felt something snap inside of him.
Before he knew it, he felt his body pull forward.
He lunged. The ground gone beneath his feet.
Grab!
"Kueeok!"
The man choked, clawing the hand that seized his throat.
Everyone gasped at the sight. A couple of guards ran out the room, probably to announce the situation to Master Leda or whatever Awakened of hers who would listen.
But Hope didn't care about that.
He didn't care even if the Master was called a 'bitch.'
'I may be overreacting…' Hope faintly thought.
But he couldn't let go of the man's other words.
Soldiers.
Useless bastard soldiers.
"K-kueeok!"
Why was the timing fitting for it?
"Tell me." Hope said in a flat voice. He remained perfectly still as he met the man's panicked eyes. Hope thought he could hear the people shouting now, people jerking in the crowd, heads whipping to each other if they should intervene or not.
But that didn't matter either.
"What do you know about those soldiers?" Hope asked, his fingers bruising the man's throat, feeling his pulse beat vibrantly against Hope's palm.
As if he were in death's grasp.