Rest

"So, you mentioned a base. Where is it?"

"Oh, about the base? I was about to ask you to follow us if that's alright with you."

Eve thought in silence.

'After seeing that humanoid 9-headed monster, I don't think anything right now can threaten me.

Charlotte is going to be very happy today.'

Eve shrugged. "I don't see why not. I want to be able to do stuff like you."

Melina smiled and got up, or tried to as she collapsed on the couch not even a second later.

"That's good. We can leave after I have recovered a bit. Expending soul power is one arduous activity."

With that, she calmly lay on the couch and closed her eyes.

Eve didn't think she was sleeping but rather meditating or some sort.

'I need some break as well. Hopefully, the big guy will be a good bodyguard and stay put.'

He got up and headed towards his room to get some quick shut-eye.

In his room, Jonathan was crouching, busy making some adjustments to the monitor. The TV itself was perfectly fine but he was connecting the necessary cables to it and adjusting the settings to Eve's preference.

Jonathan noticed Eve and momentarily stopped tinkering with the TV.

 He stood up and leaned on the wall with his hands in his pockets. "Well isn't that the popular boy who attracted a girl even though he never stepped outside his house? Tell me, what did she talk about?" 

If Eve was not mistaken, he detected slight excitement in his voice much to his confusion.

"Uhh, let's see, upcoming universe-scale omnicide and who will commit it in the future, I guess."

Jonathan's smiling expression froze, but he laughed it out. 

'I see. She was out of conversation starters. Honestly, talking about stuff like that was probably the right choice for her. Eve tends to lean towards that side when playing games.

There was a time that I wished he would play more peaceful games like digcraft but now, with his circumstances and with Charlotte's shenanigans, it's the best for him to be able to vent his frustration out on something.

Melina… Don't give up yet! You still got chances with my grandson.'

"Well, I will go and prepare some drinks for our guests. Don't stay too long in your room."

He walked outside the room with a slight spring in his steps, something was definitely wrong with him today.

'Is this Melina's doing? Did she do some stuff to Jonathan?

Jonathan I know won't let suspicious people enter the house if they claim to talk to me. He definitely won't.'

Mentally worn out, he laid on his comfortable bed and sank into its softness.

He wanted to sleep, but the events of the future still haunted his mind. The memory was like a part of his very being now. 

Although it was slightly blurry and not as clear as when he had experienced it, it refused to be absorbed into his brain and remained unforgotten.

The texture of the suit he had worn that day, the voices of his co-workers, the documents he had read, the stench of blood, the horror of the visage of the stairs, and the sensation of being burned.

All of it felt all too real and recent when it hadn't even happened yet.

Eve's expression remained neutral but he was unsatisfied.

'I can't remember the last part.'

He was sure that he had engaged in combat with the 9-headed monster and killed it but he didn't remember the last part.

'It makes sense. They wouldn't want me to get a taste of murder this soon. Melina either didn't awaken his memory to that extent or she did and then erased it when she healed me.'

He mentally sighed. 'It's been a tiring day.'

A rest was a necessity. This single day had brought more action to his life than what he had experienced in games.

And so, he slept.

Unaware that something else was waking up.