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50% Shadow Slave | Sleepless Dreamer / Chapter 38: News (1)

章節 38: News (1)

Rrrrrrrrrr- Qlik-

The door closed behind them.

For the first few seconds, Hope could see a large empty circular room with mosaic floors and spined columns along the walls before darkness engulfed Hope's vision.

But another last thing he saw were stairs.

Silhouettes started to form from a dim blue light high above in the ceiling that opened to another room, the stairs leading and spiraling up like a coiled wire.

Master Leda didn't say much else as she led the way. And Hope followed her in silence. 

She held her head high as they climbed the tower's stairs, her gaze locked forward, unwavering, as the cold started to hug around them with each ascending step—their steps echoing against the stone walls.

Finally, they reached the top where the door was already opened. After she came through first, as Hope followed in after her, they entered into the great glass dome.

A large glass dome shelled over them was bathed in soft blue light from the night. Scratches between the dark clouds' slate revealed the hidden firmament in which tiny stars winked here and there that Hope had not seen in a long time. In the waking world that is. His Soul Sea-

'Nope. No. Forget about that.'

Hope quickly shook his head.

But what was the most surprising wasn't the view above, but what was inside the room.

A strong nature smell of greenery, pollen, and sweet fragrance hit his nose. It was still dark in the room, but more forms could be detailed out of shadowed leaves, walled flowers, and tall flower heads with unique petals sprouting in interesting shapes. 

Hope stopped in his tracks as he watched Master Leda continue towards the middle of the room.

Hope slightly frowned as it seemed it was just the two of them. "Are we early?"

'And why aren't we turning on any lights?' Hope thought.

"It'll take just a moment." Master Leda said with a hum as she paused in front of a tall, shadowed chair.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

And before Hope could call out again, motes of light suddenly appeared in front of her.

Small at first, then it clustered like a dust cloud. It grew in size till it slowly outlined a figure sitting before them.

As the figure was being created, it was as if nature had also awakened in the room. A strange false warm light lit all around them from the flowers as they bloomed and raised their heads as if answering a silent call. The pollen too started to gleam like sun dust and floated like lost particles all around them.

With that procession, more of the room unveiled its full candor. A whole garden was made inside the glass dome, revealing tall plants bearing leaves of vibrant green. Flower stalks entwined around thin spires and curled to display buds that flushed an orange glow from its center.

It happened all in mere seconds of this strange sight as more of the figure became flesh and grounded into this world, flowers turning to face the person as if they were the sun itself.

And there appeared another woman with a luxurious brown tunic dress that lengthened to her feet with a white short cloak hugging her shoulders, her hands gently resting on the wooden armchair. Her brown hair was cut short just above her chin and her bangs stopped just above her eyebrows, her locks framing her deep yellow eyes.

Hope paused.

This was his first time seeing a Master appearing back from the Dream Realm. He had heard they had to tether to one spot, and usually, it was made either in secret or in their quarters from any lurking danger. In other words, it was a weakness that wasn't easily shared.

'So that's Lady Mave...'

Lady Mave's, or Master Mave's, eyes fluttered open before she looked up to meet Leda's expectant gaze. She probably was the same age as Leda if not maybe a couple of years younger.

Mave smiled as if she were greeting a close friend.

"Leda? I know I said I'd come back but I didn't think you'd wait in earnest."

She paused before she tilted her head to see another figure standing far behind her.

"And you brought a guest...I guess it must be serious then."

Hope blinked at the interaction but remained silent.

Master Leda stepped aside and smirked as she followed her gaze.

"We have a situation of sorts." Master Leda then paced down till she reached Hope's side and clamped his shoulder. "Apparently this boy knows something about Operation 114. But of course, first introductions. Service number."

Hope eyed her grip on his shoulder then back at Mave who remained seated, almost as if the slightest movement was of nuisance to her.

Hope swallowed back an annoyed sigh—not necessarily thrilled being at the mercy of two Masters—before speaking. "4185113-H..."

Usually, service numbers nowadays followed a seven-digit format which was followed by two letters of the first and last initials of the person. Of course, the ones who came from the slums did not usually have last names. Last names were seen belonging to the said 'true citizens' of the fortified cities—the ones who deserved their place inside those safe walls.

"I am a soldier of the Army Reserve Force and one of the escorts of the convoy to Acheron."

"Really now...They didn't mention you of the sorts."

"I got separated early on along the way..."

Hope paused as he sensed a slight tension in the air.

'This is getting strange...'

Hope couldn't help but feel that something was off, not that they had dramatic expressions, but their silence was loud. It wasn't like Hope's side job was illegal of the sort. But Hope couldn't dismiss their sharp gaze which looked at him like some lost piece to a puzzle.

Hope continued as he eyed Leda this time. "I assume that you would know what became of the group?"

"Careful now, soldier. All in due time. You must answer us first-"

"They're my teammates. Their status involves me as much as it involves you, Master."

"..." Master Leda frowned.

Then she sighed before she walked away.

"Alright then. But. What I want to know is why a convoy felt the need to go through Mirror City to transport cargo." She said as she enunciated the last word.

Hope blinked.

"..."

'What?'

Master Leda walked over to a bush, but the instant she reached its edge the leaves immediately receded and revealed a wide wooden table underneath with a rough drawn map on its surface.

'That power...'

Hope looked at Mave who...remained motionless in her chair, the only slightest movement being her eyes and head as she returned Hope's gaze. 

'I'm...not going to question it.'

"Well?" Leda asked again.

Hope frowned. "We've been taking that route for the past eight months. Twice in each month. If you're concerned of us smuggling stimulants or whatever uncertified artillery, I can assure you that we-"

"Of course, that's not what you've transported." She tapped on the map. "But convoys tend to follow a limited selection of routes. Especially with the heavy loads you so claimed to have carried."

'The hell...'

Hope narrowed his eyes. "You can't accuse me of following orders."

"No. But I do question your motives."

She leaned back and crossed her arms.

"What do you plan to do once you find the rest of your group? Do you intend to get compensated? To be greatly rewarded? I'm sure your goal to Acheron doesn't stop there."

'Tsk. What the hell does she think I am?'

But Hope couldn't think of a way to respond either.

His goal was ultimately to get to Acheron...but he didn't have a plan after that.

Was it too small of a goal in the grand scheme of things?

Hope had been avoiding the problem for some time now, but he should question what the hell he was going to do for the rest of his life.

Was he not 'dreaming big enough' as they would say?

Was he even going to survive properly on his own?

There were a few fleeting thoughts that crossed his mind concerning his Flaw. With the world forgetting him, he could easily partake in assassination, espionage, or theft. But those fields didn't exactly pique anything of interest, and not that he had many either.

Hope looked down at the map and could see a rough drawing of the city and the wasteland—squiggly and humped lines representing ridges, and a few circles spreading throughout the region which represented craters.

The terrain was rough. But the route Hope had taken was even more unbearable. Hope could see partially why she would question such direction, but it wasn't in his knowledge of why command did what they did and said what they said.

"My teammates and I were ordered to report to command and return to base." Hope said as he met her gaze again. "Nothing more. Nothing less. If anything, why is your cohort here in the first place?"

"..."

Master Leda's lips were sealed after that question, and this time avoided his gaze as if she'd been put in a corner. A strange pace of her usual confident self.

Was it a big secret then...?

"Pft!"

A chuckle disturbed the silence.

"Oh, Red Queen," Mave said almost tauntingly. "Cat got your tongue? It's your responsibility to inform your subjects of the truth. Well, at least some of it anyway. If you change your mind, you can simply swing your sword as you wish. No? Then I shall break the news to him-"

"No-" Master Leda sighed. "I will."

But here Leda paused again.

She looked down at the map and a shade of reluctance crossed her face.

"I can't tell you why we're here, soldier. But. Let me ask you one more time...As your teammates have also proclaimed when I've asked them...Are you not involved in any further network of Operation 114?"

"..."

'What the fucking hell-'

"Yes," Hope said flatly.

'It couldn't be that bad, could it?'

But Hope did remember that night something off had happened.

Just before he'd entered his slumber, after he ordered his teammates to check on the cargo, they started shouting something as if in surprise at what they'd found. Hope had only wondered at that time if it was because of the damage the monsters had inflicted. But was it something more...insidious...?

'Don't tell me it's some sort of damn nuclear bomb...'

But what Master Leda would say was beyond what Hope imagined.

She straightened herself and stared Hope into his eyes before breaking the truth.

"Soldier, you've been involved in smuggling civilians from West Base to Acheron," she said. "Perhaps the entire eight months you've been assigned along with your teammates."

"...What?"

"You heard me."


章節 39: News (2)

Of course he heard her correctly. Her voice was replaying in his mind like a glitched tape.

But still...

"..."

"..."

'Hold on...'

Hope's hands twitched as he stared blankly at her.

'This just got dark...'

And Hope didn't necessarily mean the room, although the shadows do seem to have grown thicker as the conversation took a different turn.

The past eight months, Hope was a part of...what?

Hope blinked before speaking.

"I can assure you...that my teammates and I have not been involved in some trafficking-"

Master Leda raised her hand.

"No...That's not what I meant."

"..."

'Then fucking explain...' Hope silently thought.

"Sigh...When my cohort reached your group, what they found in the cargo were people. People who proclaimed to have VIP tickets to board the Arks in Acheron in which were predestined to sail to Quadrant III."

'Quadrant III?'

'I was supposed to be on the ship. On that damn ship!'

'Take me. Please. Take me to the ships. I'll pay you anything! Anything!'

'When I get to the port! I can pay you!'

The voices spiraled in his head from the man earlier in the great hall. Even the image sneaked into his mind: desperate eyes, distraught face.

Acheron was an exclusive society with its strict entry and identification process, so already the concept of smuggling citizens through was a big crime. Even if people throughout Quadrant I had enough currency to access the Arks, it usually applied to the Acheron citizens as the ocean was just outside their window. Escorting groups of citizens from city to city was difficult as it was. If one place was enough to satisfactorily dwell in, then there was no reason to move to another location.

But even so, tickets to board the Arks were expensive that not many had the luxury of buying. That was because shipments were usually exclusive in transporting cargo of ammunition, artillery vehicle operators, armored suits, food supplies, clothes, etc.

But to smuggle civilians to another continent? What the hell was the government thinking?

'Although he said he bought his own ticket, the question is how or why...'

Was there a hurry to move these people that the government knew but Hope didn't?

Or did they simply feel entitled to start fresh somewhere else?

No. Hope thought he shouldn't get ahead of himself. Maybe the government just started branching to the rest of the cities for that offer.

Hope began to speak again, although cautiously. "There's already a public queue for boarding...although small as it is-"

"And yet your convoy took a route through Mirror City that avoided the main checkpoint." Master Leda said as she slid a finger on the map from the city down further south to an open land. "Great lengths to take if it was a public queue."

"..."

'Alright...so I guess I was involved in some black market deal or whatever...'

Hope blinked as he looked down at the map.

That would make sense as to why they crossed the rocky terrain...

Although, even so, the convoy still had taken a slightly different route than from what Hope had originally taken on. But that was another question for another day.

Either way, it was not a normal route that a normal convoy would have used.

'Tsk...Not my fault. I just took on a damn job.'

Even if he participated in this operation willingly, Hope didn't receive any benefits from it. He couldn't recall his life becoming any easier after completing these operations. Food didn't taste colorful. His room remained plain. Treatment was the same.

So, Hope thought he was probably, in a way, a victim of their schemes.

'That doesn't sound any better...'

In the silence of the room, as the glowing pollen floated around and the flowers opened their petals like ears to listen, the world suddenly felt bigger and more ominous at that moment.

Leda's eyes studied Hope's expression, and as if resolving any of her doubts, she frowned and looked away.

"An Army Reserve soldier you said...I guess we had high expectations of you for this sort of knowledge."

Hope brushed off her words as he looked back at Mave who still smiled and sat in the tall wooden chair observing quietly their conversation.

'Might as well be a throne with the way she's been acting.'

But if what Master Leda was saying were true, and those rescued people inside this building were once a part of his group, then where were the rest of them?

"So?" Hope asked. "What's become the rest of the group?"

Mave stretched her lips into a mocking smile.

"Does it not concern you of the crime you've partaken in?"

"No," Hope answered nonchalantly. "That's not my problem. And you can put me in chains later if that puts your conscience at ease. But I've told you what I know. So, what happened to the rest of the group?"

So what if Hope was involved in a crime?

With his Flaw, Hope could easily disappear just by stepping out of the room as if he were the wind itself or the shadow of the night: indistinguishable.

Maybe the people in that group captured too had kids of their own like the sleeping mother downstairs or had lovers or siblings instead. But Hope felt no attachment towards them. He only knew of their proper existence at this moment and that didn't kindle any moral obligation either.

The people weren't his responsibility.

But his teammates were.

Forgotten or not. He was still their team leader.

Of course, he did not need to explain that to the Masters. Him being involved and knowing bits of this situation were enough of his credentials to even stand in this room.

But clearly, they wanted more information from him.

And he couldn't provide it it seemed...

Mave continued to smile before signaling her eyes to Leda.

Leda let out a small scoff. "Alright then, soldier."

Master Leda walked past him and then pointed southwest out the glass dome.

The glowing pollen dimmed slightly as if hushed by an inaudible command, and Hope could see tall black shadows leaning against each other in the distance like drawn inked lines next to a larger shadow—most likely the city's center tower.

"Sector Five. When my cohort and the convoy were near reaching the city's center, chaos unfurled itself." Leda's red locks fell against her face as she turned to Hope, her brows furrowed. "Regrettably, soldier, at the same time a new wave of monsters hit us, there was also an ambush attack from that Sector. Practically bombing the freeway that separated us in action."

Hope paused as he absorbed her words.

Ambushed.

Attacked.

Bombed.

'They're hostages...?' 

Suddenly, images of his teammates raced across his eyes like a montage film. Then their voices. Then the memories: Their comic grins; their ridiculous questions they'd entertained themselves with; their shared training; the battles they've endured; the stretched hours of guarding together.

He could see their faces almost clearly now...

The memory of them might feel real as he recalled and relived it, but their absence could also be felt.

Silently, he had...high expectations for their safety. Even if it meant for him to be fallen behind, if it were them then there should've been no problem. So, the constant thought of them did not impede his mind as it probably should.

Should he have rushed here faster?

Hope felt his reality dissolving from his memory's control until he started to feel his hands clenching into tight fists, his nails digging into his palms as he met Leda's gaze.

There was a new spike of coldness hitting his core that he didn't know how to describe...

"Master Leda." Hope said in a flat voice, yet Leda's eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Are you saying you've failed to protect the group?"

A shadow crossed her eyes. "Careful, soldier. They're lucky I was even there in the first place. I did not fail my duty."

"No. You're human." Hope said, almost in dismissal.

He supposed he wasn't any better since he too failed to be there. Not that he was elevating his level of dignity. But he did not need to hear excuses from her. The fact was. She too failed.

"You're not at all a demigod or a hero as people proclaim you all to be."

Wait for the Awakened they said.

The Awakened will come and clean up the mess they said.

'The Awakened picks up the slack and buy you damn comrades some time.'

An officer's voice echoed in his mind as if to solidify Hope's insignificant self.

All these expectations from the Awakened were stuffed in people's throats when they too had damn limits of their own.

Hope had seen it. And heard it.

There were rumors of Awakened increasingly dying in the past couple of years or so. Of course, the government hid the real numbers from the public eye so their faith wouldn't sour. But Hope remembered a glimpse of their bodies being carried away. They looked no different than a mundane human with all the false glamour sucked from their faces.

Gray skin rotted just the same.

Lifeless eyes.

Pale lips.

They died the same. And they bled the same.

An annoyed expression filled Leda's face.

"Now how could y-"

But Hope turned away. If she wasn't going to properly cooperate then maybe Mave will. "Where's the path to reach Sector Five-"

Woosh-

Hope stopped speaking.

Suddenly, Mave stood threateningly close to him.

Maybe standing wasn't the right word...

At the moment, she could pass for a puppet with the support she was given.

Whether it was the cause of his Attribute or not, there she was inches away from his face, eyes staring intently into his own. At the edges of his vision, Hope could see vines had wounded their way around her arms and torso as if to entrap her in their limbs. Vines came from the ground and pushed her up to stand while others came from above and held her in their supporting strings as if there was an invisible puppeteer.

But who else could be behind all of these tricks?

Obviously, from the flowers at the border to the garmented walls in the great hall, to the thriving bloom of nature in the glass dome like some otherworldly garden.

It was her.

And whatever weakness she had was sealed away with her hubris.

"Soldier."

She spoke with an empty smile, and yet her yellow eyes brimmed with such regard at his. As if he were an item, a prey, a prospect that finally piqued her interest.

"If what you desire is beyond those walls, to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, breaking tooth and nail for them, then you must answer this question."

Hope narrowed his eyes.

"Are you truly willing to sacrifice yourself for your people?"


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