Chaos Cycle: The Eye of Genesis

Inari did not feel any disappointment in failing the quest. As a matter of fact, she could not even guess what the quest wanted her to do?

She looked at the silent figure of Elior, who was still unconscious on the boat. He probably woke up from the nightmare, but did not want to face her now, or he could just want to keep his mind empty for something and get his head around things.

Inari's mind worked while she kept her eyes on the youth. In the nightmare, she could not affect anything. She could not touch anything; anything but Elior, so her quest might be something to do with him. He was hammering all the time she saw him with those dark, distant eyes.

It was something he probably went through in the past, and still haunts him today, like her nightmare, though she at least could do other things than just doing one thing again and again. She wondered what it felt like to keep on doing that, while everyone dying before your eyes, and you can't do anything about it, as it all were some visions.

At least she could touch her nightmare. Then another question came into her head. If Elior could not touch anything, then why was he there? Was it just some kind of torment? She can't possibly know with all her guessing power, which is limited as she did not know much about Elior or the lower world he came from.

Elior opened his eyes just then, letting out a big sigh to sit upright. The eyes were not in the slightest distance or dark, it was the usual, eyes hiding something big.

Inari was fumbling with words on how to start the conversation when she heard his voice.

"You have no idea how you appear there, right?"

Inari was about to open her mouth, but nodded to answer. There was a brief silence flowing in the boat before she opened her lips. "What was that, though? Something you faced on the p. . ."

"Just some sick plan to remind me, I am not giving enough," he said, and Inari's eyes did not fail to notice his fist clenching.

"Why do you think I was there?" she asked again. She hesitated, but seeing no change in Elior's expression, she continued, "I mean, I don't know anything about it. Is it just because we are on the same quest together? Wait, will similar things happen next? Will you appear in my nightmare?"

She very much dreaded that thought. It was not that nobody knew about her past, but it was exactly opposite. Almost everyone in her clan knows about it, but that does not mean she was ready to open her secret to everyone. If she can, she would never let anyone see her nightmare, not Elior who she knew for only three days, not Leroy, who saved her life, not her Sister for whom she was still alive.

"That's very much a possibility," Elior said, and his face showed a somewhat interesting expression. "I am looking forward to it."

"NO," Inari said instantly and hid her face. "I mean, no. It's not something I would like others to watch."

"Well, that's why it makes me more interested," Elior chuckled, as if forgetting everything that happened five minutes ago, but Inari knew very well what those lively laughs hide. "Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of prying on someone else's privacy, but I don't see I have anything to say here. Things are pretty much random here, which is a kind of odd." A frown appeared in his brows as he looked at the starless empty sky.

Inari's fingers dug into her palm at his words. It seemed he was pretty much sure that it would happen. Is there something she could do to stop that? She wondered.

"Perhaps if we are in different layers, it is possible," Elior added, reading her mind, with a smug smile on his lips. "But I will not help you get away from this layer, nor will I leave this layer for you."

Inari glared at him. Even if that were true, she could never ask him to do any of that, but hearing it from his mouth, and making fun of it reduced some amount of goodwill she had of him.

"Why are you interested in someone else's private thing?" she asked with a glare.

"It's private things. How can I not," Elior chuckled, "though I would never do anything to break the line, if someone else did it for me, I will not mind keeping an eye on what was going on.

"Besides, it's your fear, your worst nightmares, so another perspective might help. You probably don't look the type to have any friend, nor do you have seem to have discussed or talked about it with someone else."

Inari snorted. "As if you are different?" she said.

"Oh, I have a friend." Elior smiled again and started counting. "I have two, three; no, four good friends, and will have a couple more at the end of this trial."

"And with how many of your friends you have talked about your fear, your nightmare?" she asked again and which made Elior entirely silent. "What? None?" she snorted again.

"You don't know anything about it," Elior said, gritting his teeth. Inari felt a little accomplished at least at making him grit his teeth. "You don't know how much I wanted to tell them all this, but I can't, I . . ."

"Protecting them?" Inari snorted. "Are you sure you are not just uncomfortable with discussing with them? Or what they will think about learning about your fear?"

Elior said nothing, but just stared at her with anger. But the anger did not affect her entirely, there was something more, from the looks of it.

Elior sucked in a deep breath. "I am sorry," he said, "I, of all people, should know how hard it is to talk about it."

Inari nodded slowly, lifting her head up. She thought about it and began hesitantly. "You are not ready to talk about what the nightmare is about, right?" she said and seeing him now, she continued. "I have the same intention as mine. So, if by happenstance, you find yourself in my nightmare . . ." she paused, looking at him.

"We will not ask or talk about it with anyone," he said slowly and got up, with his storage bag.

"Well, I would have wanted you not to pry on my privacy, but since I already been to your Nightmare," she gave him her most pitiful glance, which she was not good at. She sighed in frustration. "Let's just not tell anyone."

Elior nodded and jumped on the water, and like most of the time, he did not get into it but started walking.

"Where are you going?" She asked. It was two hours over midnight. Since the nightmare was over, they could rest in peace if they wanted.

"I need to empty my mind, going to hunt some sea monster to do that," he said, not looking back, "do you want to form a team?" 

- - - 

Renal's body jerked up as his chest heaved up and down as his breathing broke into a panting, as he woke up screaming, sweat dripping down on his face, as he tried to calm down.

Calming his mind or at least trying his hardest. He looked at his arms. They were there. Not gone like what happened in the nightmare. It was over two months since the incident when he lost almost everything, and he still can't beat that bastard who was responsible for it. 

He lost his standing in the house and his little brother, who was an actual nobody, rose to take his place like he was always waiting for that chance to appear. and Renal easily gave him that chance, failing to complete even a simple task.

He clenched his fist and saw the door of his cabin opening. 

"Not having a pleasant dream, good brother?" a voice said and then a youth appear into the room. He was nothing like Renal, who had a good height and handsome face, but there was some resemblance, faint, but not anything that stands out too much. Moreover, he was always sneaky like as much as Renal stand out, his little brother, Pith, stays as normal as possible. 

Well, all of that changed after his failure two months back. 

"Well, brother," Pith said, once again coming into the cabin, "Looks like we have to change the ship. those slavers aren't killable for now, and your tricks barely helpful against some dogs. Prepare yourself, we will leave in half an hour."

Pith did not give Renal a second glance to go back and only when Renal clenched his fist his head peeked through the door again to say: "Also, I would like to meet that person that came into your nightmare, If you can manage to arrange a meeting between us, this little brother will be immensely apprehensive of you."