His mind became lighter, as though impurities had been sucked out by some ethereal force. Emotions flooded back like water. Clarity became clear as he started to see the colors for what they were.
Micchan's face and her nightmares returned to normal too. The flame's soft glow became visible.
If this were an anime with exaggeration as its style, then Shun would probably melt like a candle as he collapsed immediately. His skin became fragile and soft.
"Are… you okay?" Akira's gaze was filled with caution. She seemed unsure how to proceed with Shun.
"Sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to."
Akira's eyes stirred slightly. She was bewildered. "Shun, what is going on?"
"The side effects. Sometimes my emotions become unstable, and what appeared just now—my personality changed to be colder and more calculative."
"That's a first." He chuckled bitterly.
"That's not something to laugh at." Her words were sharp, not taking his playfulness.
"Sorry."
"It's okay." She paused for a moment, observing Shun. "So are you like normal now?"
"More or less, yeah." Shun moved his head up and down.
"How?"
When looking at it from Akira's lense of view, Shun's cold and calculative demeanour, also that putrid evil vanished in an instant. It happened so fast she missed something.
Shun fell silent, looking for the right words. "Let's just say something calmed me down in exchange for skin and a body softer and more fragile than a baby's."
Akira let out a slow grunt of acknowledgement. "I see." She then crouched and tried to lift Shun.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"Getting you to the bed." She successfully carried him princess style.
"You could've used a better pose." He commented dryly.
"I can't. You're just so light I might forget I'm carrying you." She then put him in his bed, but before she did, she added, "How is this even possible? You're as light as a balloon. Will a strong wind carry you away?"
"Hopefully not."
From the fight with the Shepherd, immense changes to the terrain had occurred, and the bed ended up at the very edge of the fire's reach.
After putting Shun down, she dragged the bed as if nothing next to the fire.
"Thank you, and besides, while I was asleep, you took care of me."
Shun put on a confused face, as if asking how she knew.
"I noticed I'm not that thirsty despite sleeping for a whole day, and I also felt moisture on my cheek."
His expression turned to enlightenment.
"Shun, what happened to you?" Micchan approached with curious eyes. "Are you going to die? Can I feed your corpse into my nightmares?"
"First, I am okay, and second, please don't ever think of doing that. It's immoral."
"Okay." She simply nodded. "So what do you want to ask me?"
Shun indeed wanted to ask her something before everything returned to the way it was.
"You don't have any memories of her?" Shun pointed at Akira.
"Nope." She shook her head and began explaining, "Different nightmares have different things to support them and cater to their missions."
My nightmare needs my memories to defeat me? Why? Shun asked himself, puzzled. He could only put the thought in the corner of his mind.
"How come you understand our language then? Matter of fact, how is it possible for you to even speak fluently?" Shun continued asking.
She had no memories of anything and everything, after all.
She let out a sigh. "One, I don't. This 'System' thingy translated what you're saying into a language I knew. Perhaps it did the same thing when I spoke.
"Two, just because I lost my memories doesn't mean I'm like a newborn child. I still retain the most basic things," she replied. "Any more questions?"
Akira raised her hand.
Micchan smiled faintly. "Yes, you over there."
"If I met another Nightmare in the Dream Realm, what would happen to you?"
"I'd still be alive, but that nightmare might be more determined to kill you than me.
"And a second nightmare…" she showed a smile that made people uneasy, "…is akin to the grim reaper."
"How do you know all of this if your memories got wiped?"
She gave him a playful smile. "Now then, how do I?"
Shun contemplated for a moment and attributed it to the thing a nightmare received to help it complete its mission. If his nightmare got his memories, then Akira's nightmare got something that allowed her to know certain things.
"Losing your trust? Seeing me as a danger?" Micchan's smile turned sly.
"Are you planning to kill us?" Shun abruptly asked.
"Of course not." She scoffed. "Like I said, my sole existence is to stop her from leaving the Tower."
"You will not hurt us in any way or form?"
"Yup."
Shun glanced at Akira. She kept quiet and didn't show any signs. He then returned his gaze to Micchan.
"It seems I'm overthinking it. My apologies."
"No biggie, no biggie." She returned to her nightmares, stretched her arms, and then fell asleep. The canine snuggled beside her.
"Sorry, Akira."
"For what?"
"I asked her to help us, even though it's clear she wants you dead and we should keep our guard."
"It's okay."
"Truly?"
"Yes, though I must say the way you convince me leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"I'm truly sorry. I meant that." His words were genuine.
Akira showed a faint smile as she asked, "Then tell me what's going on with that Shepherd's head? Why did it turn into a dried plum? If you don't answer truthfully, I'll never forgive you."
"... That's dirty." Shun entered a daze for a moment.
"So?"
Shun frowned slightly. It might not be a bad idea, though a line of thought appeared, hesitating him. But if such an event truly occurred, he simply had to be stronger.
"It's a special grade item. It unlocks one's full potential."
"That's it?"
"What do you mean that's it? It's a powerful item."
"Keyword, unlocking. So if your potential is, in truth, not as big as you imagined, you'd get nowhere."
Makes sense, he commented as doubt crept in.
With every bad luck that seemed determined to stay with him until he died like a loving, loyal wife, he got a bad premonition.
"You're not interested then?"
"No. I don't want to be disappointed." She turned around and walked away.
Shun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Are you certain?"
Akira halted her steps.
He continued, "Your potential might be bigger than you thought. How can a butterfly see its own beautiful wings?"
She glanced back and showed him a bitter smile. "Yes, I am certain."
She continued her pace and slept on her bed. "Goodnight, Shun."
"Night." Shun's expression was complicated before fading out slowly.
Although he didn't expect that Akira would refuse just like that, he soon learn to accept it due to the fact that she has her own circumstances.
He shifted his eyes to the sky and watched the stars glittering like gems.
From the injuries, pain, and exhaustion, he was forced to close his eyes tight.
Before he fell into a deep slumber, however.
[The Constellation Monarch God expressed that he has made a miscalculation.]
Miscalculation? Shun thought to himself and he felt an immense presence in the sky.
Shun wanted to peer his eyes open but it was too late
When he realized it, he was in the middle of an empty field, chewing grass.
Shun spat out and extended his tongue in disgust.
Why am I eating grass? It tastes… good actually, Shun said inwardly in disgust, but the grass lingered as sweet and fresh. He chewed the grass once more.
His mind wandered as he satisfied himself with grass.
What was that notification from Him about? Shun contemplated in his heart and grew uneasy, he has to return as quickly as possible.
But to be frank, he didn't know where to start and his gut told him to stay here, just eat grass.
Before he knew it, the sun was about to descend.
"Flocky!" A little girl shouted from a distance.
Flocky? Shun asked himself and turned to the source. A girl was waving her hand at him.
It's probably me, Shun figured and kept eating. As he ate, a lot of questions flashed through his mind.
Why is he here? Why is he a sheep? Why does grass taste so delicious?
Scratch that last question and replace it with: What is this place? Shun couldn't find an answer but attributed it to the Tower's doing.
He had a few lines of thought about what was going on, but the most possible answer was that this place might be some kind of alternate version of the Dream Realm where hunters are observers, not active players.
And Shun gladly accepted it. He'd treat this as watching a movie.
At some point, the girl had already reached him and hugged him.
Woah, easy where you're touching, little girl, it's tickling.
"I miss you, Flocky."
Missy, I'm sorry, but Flocky is probably dead and its soul is replaced by me.
But of course, his voice didn't come out and instead was replaced by, "Baa!"
"I know, I know. You must've missed me too." She embraced Shun a bit tighter.
Missy, you're suffocating me!
"Baa! Baa!"
Then a presence stood next to her. Shun scrutinized him.
A man in the middle of his thirties. He looked handsome with his black hair slicked back and a well-kept beard. He wore a black vest with white shirt underneath.
And the only thing that Shun got from this person is that, something about him is wrong.
He couldn't find the reason so rather than wasting his already little brain RAM, Shun drifted his gaze to where they had just come from and saw a car that looked like it was from the 1920s.