34 Chapter Thirty-Four: Repetitive Dreams

Strange occurrences happen during Kai's sleep nowadays. It's not something that involves his physical body, but rather, his dreams.

He'd faintly see some figures here and there. Some faint images of unfamiliar places. What's weird is that all those that he saw, looked very real and looked like it was from somebody's point of view.

There were unfamiliar voices, as well as familiar ones that he couldn't even discern. Whose voice belonged to whom and who spoke up with that voice… 

Kai would always be unable to recognize and answer that question. 

Yes, unfortunately for Kai, last night and during this small nap of his in the library, he had the same exact dream. 

When Kai woke up, he was drenched in sweat and like he just run a marathon, he was breathing heavily. His gaze unfocused while his hand clenched tightly on his white tunic like he was desperately gasping for air. 'Again?'

His eyes narrowed dangerously and he grumbled, "Is this a coincidence or not? This is the second time."

Then he calmed down.

"... And here I thought I would be able to get a proper rest back here…"

And he was wrong.

Kai controlled his breathing, closing his eyes as he breathed deeply. He slowly brought his hand upwards and ran his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair as he furrowed his eyebrows with a hint of dissatisfaction.

'Was it the demon beast after all?'

But it's too early to say that it's the demon beast's doing. It happened twice, but that's all. It still can be ruled out as a coincidence. 

But why that kind of dream?

Kai closed his eyes and ruffled his hair out of frustration. 'I feel so drained.' He simply wished for nothing else, but for that dream to not repeat again for the third time. 

But when nighttime came and Kai fell asleep in his bedroom this time, the same dream occurred yet again. However this time, the details of some parts of the dream were vivid and clear. 

Like the unknown figure from the previous dreams, this time, Kai saw a pair of green eyes, similar to his. Another figure had black hair. 

Then there were some sceneries that were clear but unfamiliar. There was a lush green forest, with a large lake that held crystal clear water in the center. There's also the scenery of a vast and desolate desert. 

Sure, things are clearer in the dreams now compared to the previous ones. But Kai and his faint eyebags are clearly not pleased at all. 'Third time's a charm, they said.' There was a visible frown on Kai's face.

Now Kai's grumpier than he'd ever been. 

Kai closed his eyes tiredly and carefully scanned the room for any traces of foreign magic. And sure enough, he felt unfamiliar magic traces all over his room. It's only in small amounts but it's really everywhere. Kai opened his eyes and frowned with a hint of worry and confusion in his expressive face.

'The magic reaching this castle is already odd enough but, to even reach the library…'

Just how far did the demon beast's magic infiltrate the castle?

Kai looked outside the window. The scenery is just the same as always, the white snow covering everything as far as the eyes can see. 

His eyes narrowed slightly and then he finally left his bed, leaving his blankets and pillows just like that messily. Kai didn't even bother changing his clothes and walked around the castle with his sleepwear.

Walking through the long and straight hallways of this large and desolate castle, Kai instantly felt that something was off. Just like inside his room, there are magic traces scattered all over the place. Whether this was intentional or not, Kai really didn't know. And as for the reason why the demon beast's doing this in the first place… How was he even supposed to know?

Kai stopped in front of Helix's door and raised his hand to knock. For a while, there was no response from the other person. There was a visible frown on Kai's face for the longest time. After a few minutes of consideration, Kai decided to open the door and peek through the small gap. There were no lights inside the room, only the lighting from the candles embedded in the hallway walls, entering through the door Kai opened. With this light, Kai could faintly see Helix's figure.

The mage was sitting with his legs crossed on the bed. His eyes are closed and even when Kai opened the door and broke the darkness inside, he still didn't have any reaction.

Moreover, the room is overflowing with magic. Not of the scattered magic from the demon beast but Helix's familiar magic which had been suppressed by the barrier in the capital.

It seems like now that they're both back here, both Helix's and Kai's, the castle with no boundaries or limitations, Helix could now let his magic go rampant.

Rather than forcibly keeping his magic suppressed inside him, letting it all out in the open would make it easier for him to control his overwhelming magic, which is clearly incomparable to other people's magic. 

The intense concentration of magic muddled Kai's mind in the short exposure to it. 

This feeling is worse compared to every time he wakes up from the repetitive dreams… 

Kai shook his head to try to resist the overwhelming magic inside this room. He then immediately shut the door as soon as he made sure that Helix was safe.

Unlike Kai's bedroom, Helix's room is currently filled with his own magic. For a mere faint demon beast's magic to enter that room is surely impossible. Only the pure-blooded demon beasts or a demon beast stronger than Helix could do so. 

This level of demon beast won't be able to squeeze in his magic in that room.

While that itself is good news, Kai doesn't know whether to feel relieved or jealous.

'If only I'm also that powerful…'

To be able to exude such magic at a constant rate for a long time, only mages like Seth, Helix, and a few other mages could do it. Kai's sigh didn't even make it up to his throat as he simply hung his head low. 

"I'm really weak the way I am right now. I certainly need Helix's help to deal with the demon beast."

Even though Seth did say that the demon beast is pretty much harmless unless it's provoked, that demon beast's magic infiltrated the castle for reasons that are unknown to Kai. Moreover, it's not only psychological harm that it is causing. Every time Kai wakes up from those repetitive dreams, he subtly experiences weariness, stress, and also drained magic. There's no doubt that if this goes on, Kai will fall sooner or later.

It's better to end this earlier than Kai had originally planned.

Kai wanted to learn casting arrays and formations under the guidance of Helix and with the help of that notebook first. But now that the demon beast started to move first, risking Kai's safety, Kai also has to make a move.

Kai unhurriedly went back to his room. When he passed by the windows of the hallways, he'd noticed how the sun was already starting to rise. 

Watching the orange hues and the calm silence of the surroundings at the break of the dawn is such a peaceful experience. But Kai really has no time to enjoy, in addition, he'd seen this scenery countless times already during the months he spent in this castle. 

Kai changed into a set of thicker winter clothes, preparing to leave the castle in search of the cause of all these troubles. Though it is now thicker in order to protect Kai from the teeth-clenching coldness of this neverending winter territory, Kai can still move just fine.

Mobility is no problem and the weight of the clothes poses no problem at all. Seemingly satisfied with this arrangement, Kai set off with nothing but a small bag containing water and a few pieces of bread. 

Kai thought after realizing something a few moments ago, 'Deja vu…'

Exactly how many times has Kai prepared for a trip outside the castle already? And how many times has he failed in his every attempt of exploration and had to be taken back by Helix to the castle?

It can be counted with Kai's own hands but each of those attempts really ended very quickly… 

Kai sighed helplessly and with a small but tired smile, he went outside the barrier made by Helix that surrounded the entirety of the castle. From the castle itself to the large walls which are, like, a kilometer long apart from each other. 

The long white sky which showed no end and no marks of it ever changing, as well as the vast forest of the northern territory, covers at least a million kilometers. Exploring all these in one day is obviously impossible. And it's not that he had any clues regarding the exact location of the demon beast.

This left Kai with no real other choice but to aimlessly explore the whole northwest territory.

But is that… something he really needs to do though? 

Then Kai suddenly thought of an idea.