Chapter 16: Dream

"Ahahah! This body is so spry and flexible!" Gilsong launched a volley of attacks at Mosong with verocity and bloodlust. He used his divine polearm, "Kaladanda", in a manner completely unlike Pam. The elegance found in Pam's precise movements were replaced by the ugly destruction of the King of Hell.

Malery and Gilsong pushed the Great Ape back with a solid punch. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was well more than enough to stall for time.

"Make it quick, Cassia!" Malery shouted.

"Alright! I extend the authority of the contract!" Her body glew a bright blue as a wave of Magical energy poured out like a flood. "Illuminate the 4 fold path, Sinelo!" Cassia jumped into the air, evading the blades of black mist jutting out of Noah's body. With Cassia's ability, [4 Fold Path], she could "skip" 4 movements in the future to arrive at her destination in a fraction of the time.

She saw the future tragectory of Noah's sweeping attacks and followed up accordingly, countering with efficiency and focus.

"AAAARGH!" Noah converged the black smog around Cassia, it condensed into 10 sharp tails that dove down at the young woman. The only path left for her was forward.

"If you won't listen to my from out here, then I'll force my way in here!" Cassia shot a glance at Noah's chest and narrowly dodged the descending tails by a hair. Her body was scowered with cuts and lacerations, yet she would not slow down.

The gap between the two narrowed and narrowed and narrowed. Her body was nearly crushed to a paste by the pressure. However, Cassia reached out her fragile right hand to Noah's chest and pressed it. It sank directly through like a thick syrup.

"I'll be right back everyone!" Cassia's voice rung throughout the battlefield, lifting the hope of Squad 12. Perhaps they truly had a chance of winning.

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'I'm falling...but where?'

'Which way is up? Which way is down?'

'Dark...'

'The space is like water, yet I can breath in it freely.'

Cassia's thoughts were a bit scattered among the black liquid. In a world devoid of concepts, her very existence was in danger of being lostxdrew

'That light...?!'

Cassia fell towards a beacon of light head first, her senses gradually returning to her. The young lady emerging from the black liquid as the summer warmth danced along her face. The transition from the "fake" to the "real" was something she couldn't quite handle, so her body was more sluggish than usual.

"Where...am I?" The surroundings regained it's natural definition. There were sparse houses and venders without clearly defined roads. The windows, walls, and roofs were covered with a thin layer of moss and vines. A small sign rested beside Cassia's leg.

[Welcome to Kukri Village]

'Kukri Village? Never heard of it...'

'I literally phased through Noah, so this is probably a distant memory.'

'That can't be right...Noah is only around 20, so theres no way this place is outside of the Allied Forces territory!'

'Just who are you Noah?'

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Cassia walked down the road with a careful pace. She didn't know how interfering with another person's inner world could affect her soul, so it was best to tread casually. She quietly observed her surroundings in an alley.

The common folk bought dried goods off of local venders. Kids ran in zigzags in the bazaar without a care in the world. Farmers peacefully cultivated the crops with their metal hoes and removed the weeds.

The sublime peace brought a smile to Cassia's dirty and scarred face. It was as though her soul was surrounded in a path of light and purity.

Across the street was a happy family as ordinary as they come. A strong, tall father with pronounced laugh line and a hardy smile. A mother with long, volumous hair holding the hands of her two children. The first child shared his mother's golden hair and eyes that resembled the sun. His hands were clean and soft, as if he had never known hate or strife.

The second child was the anomolous factor in the family. Unlike the other members, his hair and eyes were a deep black. He was unusually thin, as though he had gone long periods of time without food. His cadence, his peculiar habit of playing with his hair, his small ears that she would often pinch as a playful tease.

It was a man she had known all her life.

"Noah!" She called out instinctively. She ran out of the decadent alleyway and made her way towards the town center. Her body slipped through the crowd as though they hadn't existed at all. She stopped suddenly and reached out towards a man's face.

She swiped her hand back and forth, yet it phased through the man's head.

'Projections...none if this is real!' She thought. 'If I get can to his main body, then I can bring an end to the dream.'

The young Noah looked back at Cassia briefly.

"What's wrong Noah?"

"It's nothing mother."

He turned away his gaze and walked away with a gentle smile on his face.

Cassia ran and ran, yet the distance felt far too great. It was as though she was repeating the same steps over and over again; time itself was repeating. The buildings morphed and contorted around the family. The world itself kept the foreign force away him the ruler of the dream.

'Damn, I can't get close at all. I don't know what will happen if I use Sinelo while inside of the dream, so I can't risk it. My contract is the only thing keeping my ego intact.'

Noah looked behind him with a strange glance once again. His eyes contained a glimmer of sadness and longing as he tried to remember who the strange lady in black was, but the thin echos of the truth slipped through his hands.

The buildings collapsed one by one as the dream unravelled.

"Noah!" Cassia screamed

There was no response.

"I know you hear me! I know when you're lying better than anyone!"

There was no response yet again.

Noah's breathing became unstable as he knew the looming threat was drawing near. He let go of his parents' hands and ran away with all his might.

"Leave me alone! Who are you?!" The boundaries of the world broke apart like glass as Noah instinctively defended himself against Cassia. The small homes and street vendors flew at Cassia, yet she dodged them all the same. Her experience would always outmatch the witt of a child.

The floor itself was torn asunder as well, the terrified child sitting in a fetal position with his hands covering his ears. "My name...stop talking! It hurts!"

"I won't stop." She marched forward among the rubble, the instability increased in verocity. The wounds on her body were torn open again and again, however, pain was not enough to stop Cassia. "I'll never stop, even if you tear off all my arms."

"Just leave me alone!"

"You can't change anything by running away."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

The dark haze returned and trapped Noah in a thick barrier.

-Bang!-

She hit it once, causing the entire structure to shake. "I dunno what you've been through, or what you've seen to make act like this, but I won't tolerate your crybaby attitude!"

She slammed her fist into the barrier. It splintered apart like glass.

She reached out her hand. "That's why I'm here to help you, Noah!"