24 Chapter 23

With our little marathon done. Nephis weakly got up on shaky legs, intending to light a fire to life.

Sunny was still out for the count, His breathing was calm and sedated, signaling that he was in a deep sleep or just unconscious.

As for Cassie. She was holding onto me with a death grip. Her eyes closed shut, as from time to time her body would periodically tremble and thrash around. Which made me narrow my eyes when I thought of a particular reason as to why she's acting like that.

And there was only one possible explanation for this….

It was her aspect in the working.

Her aspect has a strong connection to fate. So strong that in the later stages of the story, it was revealed that she had already seen her own destiny and all her family's destinies. Although she hinted that her family would die in the future, it was never confirmed nor was it denied.

But….

There is one thing different about her this time or rather there's one thing leading her into a different direction this time.

It was me.

Me existing probably was the foundation for a change that even I would have trouble controlling.

There was this sense of urgency spreading through my body every time I thought about such things, as if just the mention of these type of thoughts caused my mind to become a bit blurry and fuzzy.

That's why I was so intent on getting stronger and expanding my assets, because I know damn well that I'm not invincible.

At least not yet…..

But that's beside the point. It is better for me as well as everyone else to do my best and get more powerful as much as I can.

I don't know when shit will hit the fan, but I'm willing to do everything to be ready for it.

While I was having a very inspirational inner monologue. Sunny seems to have woken up as he stared around for a few seconds before standing up, walking right towards Nephis. With the intention of helping prepare our food.

Both of them didn't say a word as time went on, clearly fixed on doing their best to not bother me, showing a sign of gratitude for once.

'Finally some honest feelings around here, I was really close to running out of breath the first time we grouped up because of the awkward and guarded nature of these two.'

I never knew a person can be this awkward...

What am I talking about? I couldn't even talk to people properly in my first life without making it turn into something uncomfortable.

Hell, it was way worse for women. I can't even remember the amount of times I've simply ran away from a conversation with one.

If you're asking. Then yeah I was that socially inept.

But I guess having your body dragged around like a doll, or having it melt like a candle, and most importantly and horrifyingly. Getting your dick cut off. Will do a very good number on a normal person's fragile mentality.

Now that I think about it, I've gotten a little insane. Just a little bit.

A tremendous shaking stirred me out of my yapping session, the shaking-more precisely Cassie opened her eyes before screaming in a loud tone. Alerting all of us to awareness as I grabbed her shoulders to stop her constant trembling. Feeling more than a little surprised when I felt her rapidly freezing body.

I instantly hugged her tightly. Hoping I could warm her up a bit with my body, which at a glance seemed to work. However it was a slow work in the process, meaning Nephis and Sunny had to stand in a battle ready-stance for quite a while, both of them sending towards us measured glances from time to time.

A few minutes passed by with Cassie's shaking body slowly ceasing its movement. Her body beginning to warm up. But as a result of the warmth, she began sniffling loudly into my chest, with silent tears streaking down her eyes.

Sunny and Nephis were already sitting on the ground, both silent and calm. Not willing to disturb Cassie's breakdown as all the three of us had the same thought.

She needs to let it all out, though she could act tough on the outside. In front of people like me, Sunny, and to a certain degree Nephis. She was like a walking open book that we could read whenever we want to. And that was no good.

Don't get me wrong, I love teasing the shit out of her whenever the opportunity presents itself, however that doesn't mean it will be beneficial for the group if she has the same mentality forever. We need to toughen her up and make her be a bit more stoic around strangers.

It's like raising a child into becoming a fine specimen among his or her peers. By shaping and developing his or her mindset in the right way. Which will eventually happen because of the living hell that we are in right now.

As a wise person once said 'What truly stalls a person's success isn't talent but mindset.'

As long as you have your mind in the right place. Then no matter what happens to you, you will never stop trying to achieve the goals you've set for yourself.

However in the case of me, I have already lost a part of my mind due to the torture I had to go through. Which only made my determination that much more firm. Now, not even pain can restrain my growth anymore.

After exactly seven minutes, Cassie abruptly stopped her crying, backing off and untangling her body from mine with a good amount of hesitation before she coughed into her hand with a slightly embarrassed face….

"Sorry for surprising you guys. I had a dream, a scary one. So excuse me for behaving in such a way."

All of us set our full focus on her when she mentioned the part about having a dream. Well not me, I just went along to not raise any suspicion from the two geniuses.

And yes, 'We' are surprised. Because no one has ever dreamt in the dream realm before. Not in the past, nor will it be so in the future.

Why?

Don't ask me. I don't fucking know.

Anyway, the one who spoke up was no one else than Sunny who, asked with a suspicious tone "Cassie we all know that isn't possible, so….. Maybe the cause is your aspect? Can you tell us what you saw?"

Cassie stared at me for confirmation, and I nodded with a light smile on my face "indeed I was thinking the same thing. So if you don't mind. Please do tell."

Cassie nodded hesitantly. A terrified light shining in her eyes, as she began speaking-no more accurately. It sounded like she was reciting something that shouldn't have been known.

"At first, I saw a boundless darkness. It was sealed behind seven seals, There was something churning within it. Something that I was sure would make me lose my mind once I get a clear look at it…."

"After that, the seals began breaking one by one hurriedly until there was only one seal left. Eventually that seal broke too. And as a result the darkness surged out like a tide of water, its intention was to submerge and swallow all the eye could see. My mind that was already strained, shattered into a thousand pieces once it got a clear view of the darkness."

Cassie trembled before taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Each piece of my mind formed an image, some dark, some scary, and some happy. But mostly dark and terrifying images. I…. I don't remember much of them, instead of special

Ones."

The three of us stayed silent, letting Cassie continue.

"I saw the human castle again, the one that I previously visioned about. Only this time it was at night, there was a lonely, white star burning in the black skies above it. And under its radiance, the castle was suddenly lit on fire, its halls dripping with rivers of blood. I saw a corpse clad in golden armor sitting upon a throne, a tall woman wielding a bronze spear battling against countless nightmare creatures, an archer attempting to pierce the skies with his arrows."

Cassie took another breath in order to get some air into her lungs as a result of talking continuously.

"The last thing I saw was a colossal, gargantuan crimson spire that pierced the sky with its tip. At its entrance, seven severed heads were guarding seven locks. And at the very top of the spire, a… a dying angel was being consumed by hungry shadows. When the angle began to bleed. It felt as if something precious and so, so important was taken away from me."

"After that, I felt a myriad of emotions that I can not even in my dreams describe before darkness overtook my vision and I woke up."

Cassie looked between us nervously, when she was suddenly brought out of her stupor by my loud tone "That was….. interesting to be honest, I'm glad you had the courage to tell us."

Yeah no shit, it was fucking ominous. If I didn't know of this before. I would've already pissed my pants. I don't know how, but she raised so many flags that I lost count of them.

Anyway, a good amount of discussion later. We decided that it was just a side-effect of her aspect, but neither of us believed it to be so. Because nothing can be certain in the dream realm. You have to take all your chances of survival carefully. There was no place for carelessness. And having someone like Cassie was like a land mine in this shithole.

So I did what I do best and just ignored it and went on to feast on my dinner like a monster with the others joining in.

A/N: As I said I was busy because of the damn mid terms, so I took of a few days to rest. But thank you for your patience and support guys. Also Send power stones if you like it!!!.