The two exchanged glances, as though out of their words. Judging by Ayen's reaction, he was not convinced. Or more accurately, he did not want to believe.
"Uh," he rubbed the back of his head, unable to answer. He kicked Khal's leg subtly, which was not so subtle, as Ayen noticed, but he pretended he did not.
Khal did not react to the kick. He stared at Ayen for a few seconds and then sighed, looking a bit regretful.
"We only want you to know." Khal's calm tone permeated the whole room, and he gave a weak smile before standing up. "That's all. Don't worry."
Confused, Devion grabbed his wrist. "Hey, what are you saying?"
Khal glanced at him, narrowing his eyes, and spoke. "Let's talk."
"Huh? We're talking..."
Khal's brow furrowed, and he withdrew his hand from Devion's grip. He merely glanced again at Ayen before gesturing for Devion to follow and soon resumed leaving.
Devion looked at Ayen, who was watching, but still reluctantly got up and followed Khal. Soon, the two left the living room.
Ayen stared at the door for a few minutes in silence, and seeing them not return, he got up and decided to return to his room. His movements were particularly sluggish for some reason.
His mind was preoccupied by what had happened, and also trying to guess what the two were talking about.
A big sigh left Ayen's mouth as he curled up like a ball in the bed, shutting his eyes. He always felt tired, something he grew accustomed to.
Yet, he was particularly exhausted, although he had only talked about something with Khal and Devion. Maybe, because it was shocking enough that his mind kept replaying them, making him unable to fall asleep for a while.
His state was probably too restless that he had a nightmare again. This time, it was not from his memory.
He found himself standing at the foot of the cliff, looking up. The space seemed small, only accommodating the area around him. Ayen stood frozen like a statue, gazing above without any reason.
If this were only a dream, it could hardly be called a nightmare. However, the scene changed abruptly. Suddenly, snow appeared and fell on him.
It was slow at first, but then it became a hailstorm; chunks of ice ran down, but they did not fall on his body. Ayen did not feel the chill either.
In a second, the scene shifted again, then thunder was heard, followed by horrifying lightning. It made the whole place light up. Ayen blinked, unsure of what was going on.
The lightning appeared in the sky once more, before it created an almost cracking motion in the sky, triggering another phenomenon. The hailstorm and the thunderstorm appeared to have come in tandem to show their wrath.
Ayen soon realized that the cliff he was looking at was the one being bombarded by the two storms, and he, at the bottom, was merely the audience.
He could not move and even appeared imprisoned under it, and all he could do was look up.
Suddenly, the destructive lightning struck the cliff as though the god had brought his punishment. The hailstorm blew fiercely, and the ground showed signs of being frozen.
Why did they look enraged?
It was like the end of the world.
And as soon as he thought of that, the cliff, which he had only been looking up at, fell, dropping from where he stood.
Should he leave? But he could not move. Yet, it seemed that was unnecessary as his body suddenly flew with the scene shifting.
Wails and desperate roars for help reached his ears. Ayen's eyes were now looking directly at the cliff that was dropping, but the inside of it was...
a city.
It was like a manifestation of a city, a green zone. Then...
His gaze swept and immediately landed on two figures.
Sure enough, Khal and Devion were standing there unleashing their fury. Ayen did not need to guess for long on why they did it.
Their bodies had cracks all over, their pupils were clouded, and their expressions were terrifying. They were surrounded by dark mana from accumulated toxins, such as obvious signs of losing control. After so many years, the two finally succumb to the inevitable fate.
To be SS-class Calamities themselves.
Ayen stared at the two; gone were the expressions he usually saw on their faces. They only had thoughts to destroy, nothing else.
Heh...
Ayen knew this was all not real. This was all a nightmare. His mind was so chaotic that it manifested a future in which the two did not receive proper guiding.
Did this dream show him a possible future? His guilt and restlessness are probably the reasons he had this dream. This also had something to do with the compatibility pull, urging him to guide the two.
He could not believe he would have this point when even his own self was his enemy.
Ayen did not once look at the civilians desperately running away from the two espers; he was only looking at the two of them.
He did not know Khal and Devion for long; hell, he did not even trust them that much. However, the two helped them, and Ayen admitted that they were good people.
Khal was calm, but Ayen knew he only pretended to be one and was secretly an asshole, while Devion was an arrogant, loud fool who was openly a bastard.
They complement each other in a way that they even fuck each other in this dangerous hell without any shame. Yeah, Ayen agreed, the world was a fucked-up place, and the two showed him how to still have fun while surviving in one.
Ayen was not like them. He did not know how to have fun or want to either. He wanted his quiet and comfortable safe space. Being involved with the two would only bring him endless trouble.
They were crazy, and Ayen should be running away from them. Even more so, as they found out it was possible to guide them. Espers were obsessive creatures; that was universal knowledge, and everyone agreed with it.
And, he was no hero.
Who cares if two calamities end the world, which was on the verge of being so?
Yet, he thought of Khal's calm eyes as he left and Devion being silly, but, despite excitement, did not push him and followed. Ayen became even more conflicted.
This nightmare only cemented that.
Berserk Espers were no different from rabid monsters.
Did Khal and Devion deserve that?
Ayen watched the scene until he gradually woke up. After opening his eyes, he did not get up and only stared at the ceiling.
Perhaps, he should try?
And then maybe, he was their guide and merely a real E-class guide, after all.
For that, it was worth a try.
Ayen sighed and closed his eyes.
He wished... He could not guide them. But a tiny part of him wished he could. Surely, a trouble to his comfortable life.