She had to stop him. She did not know what she could do, but Maereth had to stop Ashar.
"We are now stopping at the Rainbow Settlement." a voice called.
One week had now passed on the boat, and Ashar had not made any moves. Maereth studied him the entire time. He was always walking, always assessing the surroundings, who was on the boat, what was hidden, what energies moved beneath the surface. She already understood what he was planning to do. But what could she do to stop him?
Maereth needed Ashar to return to the Base Dimension. And even if she did not, she could see it in his eyes, this was not someone she could face alone. For most of her adult life, she had played the role of the strong woman. It was how she carried herself when she first met Bethryl, even in her confusion. But in the face of Ashar and his uncompromising hatred, she felt something she had long denied, which was her weakness. It hurt to admit that this was who she was, and not the person she had wanted to become, the person that all those who once loved her had wanted her to become.
And yet, she did not want him to kill these people.
"What's wrong?" the passenger asked.
Maereth sat frozen.
"Is it him?" the passenger motioned his head toward Ashar. "Are you scared of him?"
"Everything is fine."
"I noticed something was strange when the two of you came in. If you need help, I can let the guards know."
She wanted to speak. She almost did.
Then a red surge tore through her mind, Ashar slaughtering the people in the desert. She remained still.
"No. Everything is fine," she said.
They rode on in silence.
There had been moments like this before, when something so shocking happened that it trapped her mind in place. She would move forward, pretend nothing had happened, and yet in quiet moments, she would return to that instant again and again, seized by it.
It was shame that held her there, sealing her within herself. She could not fight back, because something within told her that to do so would be a disgrace, that she herself would be the one defiled.
Maereth sat in silence while Ashar continued to build his scheme.
"We are now stopping at the Rainbow Staircase."
The passenger behind Maereth rose and began to walk around the boat. As he passed Ashar, he pretended not to notice him. Ashar did the same. Both, however, had already fixed their attention on one another.
The passenger saw nothing remarkable in Ashar's energy. At most, he was a skilled First Tier being. If he attempted anything, the guards would deal with him easily. And yet, why was Maereth so afraid of him?
Ashar, in turn, saw that the man observing him was also First Tier. When the time came, he would use the Pendulum Blade. His current body allowed for three more strikes.
But if this man alerted the guards…
Ashar's plan shifted. He would wait until the ship reached the Cosmic Sea. There, he would act, sinking the vessel along with all its passengers. From there, he would continue on foot to the Abrahamic Temple.
As for Maereth—
Ashar glanced back at her.
In the chaos to come, there was no guarantee she would remain at his side. She needed him to return to the Base Dimension. He needed her ability to remain hidden. And yet, in her eyes, he saw the same desperation he had seen in Issen.
That was why he had forced Issen to leave.
So what was he to do with her?
Ashar stared at Maereth and activated the Eye of Sophia, looking into the structure of her Axiom energy. He saw her current abilities, and the ones yet to come.
He grinned.
Yes. There was a plan.
"We will soon be stopping at the Cosmic Sea."
Ashar took a seat beside Maereth and placed a hand on her shoulder. A spark of Axiom energy passed between them, something the observing passenger noticed immediately.
Ashar turned toward him and smiled. There was nothing reassuring in it.
"What is your name, sir?" Ashar asked.
"Edrin."
"I don't think we've spoken yet, Edrin. I am Shenric."
"Nice to meet you."
Both men felt it, the quiet tightening of the air, the sense that something was about to unfold. It was a fear one could devote a lifetime to, because only in such moments did life feel truly alive.
"You're from the Base Dimension, aren't you, Shenric?" Edrin asked.
"Oh? Did my friend here tell you that?"
"Yes. I've spoken to Maereth quite a bit during the journey."
"That's good. It's always nice to meet new people in new places."
Edrin studied him carefully, watching every movement, every subtle shift.
"And how are you finding the Dream Dimension, Shenric?"
"It's… different."
"Oh? In what way?"
"I've never experienced anything like it."
"If you've come from the Base Dimension, that makes sense. It's likely you've never known what true freedom feels like."
"Yes… I suppose so."
"Then it's good that you're here. Because it is our right to be free."
"Ah," Ashar laughed softly. "I see. You're one of those."
"What types?"
"The kind who speak of freedom, brotherhood, justice. The kind who would burn a man alive in the name of those ideas. I've always admired their ferocity. But it seems then you're not as free as you imagine."
"We are now stopping at the Cosmic Sea."
Maereth looked up, panic rising in her chest. Once more, she was trapped in position, and the shame hung over, making every movement an impossiblity.
"That's our stop," she said.
Ashar leaned slightly toward Edrin.
"Let me tell you something, Edrin, man of freedom. There is only one right that all things share. One freedom that binds plant, beast, and star alike."
"And that is?"
Ashar's red eyes glowed.
"The right to die."
"No!" Maereth screamed.
But before she could rise, a dark red Axiom blade had already formed in Ashar's hand. Edrin's blade was already prepared.
Maereth moved from her place.