Grey Nirmala
"Then tell me, boy. What business did you have inside the Forest of Sprits?"
Orinn asked me in a calm tone. I ignored him.
My eyes were on the outside. The carriage was moving fast, dragging us through the depths of the forest. Orinn let out a breath and narrowed his eyes at me.
"I hope you understand who's sitting across from you. I know you don't trust me. I know what that idiot hunter told you. But I am a king, Fates Masterpiece. I would appreciate it if you didn't forget that."
Orinn drew in a long breath and opened his arms, resting them along the back of the seat. This man wanted me dead or alive. I couldn't trust him. It was impossible not to see the savagery in those blue eyes. He was a real monster.
"Your fight with Gien… was magnificent."
Orinn said and turned to look through the carriage window out into the forest.
"You shattered the Crimson Leader's armor and drove your fist into his face. Yes, what happened to Cinder Akane was truly unfortunate, but they were only doing their job. You can think of him as a casualty of war."
I clenched my teeth.
Orinn paused and gave me this almost sympathetic look."If its gonna bury the wrath in your hearth, Ei buried Cinder's body with honor. He returned to the side of our High Pillar, Tarn."
"Tarn…"
I whispered to myself. I took a breath and turned back to Orinn.
"Cut the bullshit."
My voice rose, but Orinn only smiled.
"Of course," he said. Then he stopped. His smile began to change. It turned into something darker, sharper, more threatening.
"Grey Nirmala. 'Fates Masterpiece', 'The Chosen Flaw of Aether.'"
My eyes narrowed at the names he used.
"Titles I didn't even know I had."
Orinn nodded."Maybe you don't know them, but I do. I've been alive for one hundred and twenty-eight years. Did you think I wouldn't be able to decipher the secrets of aether?"
Orinn folded his arms and straightened his posture.
"I think we got off to a rather cold start. For that, I'd like to apologize."
He held a hand out to me, but I didn't take it.
"I don't care who you are. Just take me home."
Orinn shook his head."But we both know I won't be doing that, don't we, Grey?"
I frowned and rolled my eyes.
"Is your goal just to piss off this super powerful dude who's lived a century, or is there supposed to be some bigger plan behind this?"
Hachiko laughed in my head.
"Do I want to piss him off? Yes. Is there a bigger plan behind it? No. I just want to get out of this Dream Realm as fast as possible."
I answered Hachiko.
"Yes, but that's a little risky—"
Hachiko's voice went silent, and the voice of my loyal companion twisted into something alien, warped, and distorted.
"Do not run from your responsibilities, my masterpiece."
"What?
My voice trambled with confusion.
Who the hell are you?"
I shouted at the voice, but it didn't speak again. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Yeah, okay, that was creepy."
Hachiko's voice came back. Even in the incarnation of the Eye Of The Void`s voice, I could hear the unsettled fear.
"But do you think it was more or less scary than the Dream King sitting right in front of us? Personally, I vote more."
"I don't know, but it's not important right now. Whoever that voice belongs to, we can figure it out later. First we have to handle the problem sitting in front of our noses."
I could feel Hachiko rolling his nonexistent eyes. He was thinking. Turning something over. Trying to process something new.
"Why are you like this, Grey?"
Hachiko asked quietly.
"What do you mean, 'Why are you like this'?"
I shot back with a question. I didn't feel like listening to him babble.
"How do I even say this? I mean, you're, like…"
Hachiko stopped. He kept thinking, then after a few seconds, he continued.
"You're a little inconsistent. Your emotions don't line up. One second you're happy, the next you're cold. I can't neither define nor keep up with you."
I sighed and straightened up in my seat.
"I get what you're trying to say, and you're right. I can't control my emotions. Honestly, I don't know how to express them."
I drew in a long breath, then let it out slowly.
"There are times I don't even understand how I feel. I act cold toward people. But for most people, it's not because I'm inconsistent, it's because I just don't trust them."
My eyes slid to the window for a moment, to a soul mote floating beyond the glass. Inside the mote, a woman was screaming in agony. Behind her stood a little boy and a girl. The only thing in the children's eyes was fear. Then the woman's head was severed and her body hit the ground. The soul mote looped and played it again, and again, and again.
I frowned and pulled my gaze away from the little glass. I started to think about the life I was living. Was it the best one? No. But was it the worst one? Also no. Hachiko nudged me.
"Come on. Tell me why."
A small smile twitched on my lips, then it vanished.
"For example, I trust Sunny because in a way I managed to empathize with him. We were both lost teenagers drowning in our own lives. I trust Klein because… because he's just that kind of person. He's good at his core. I trust Raya because I love her. That's not something I can change. Raya reminded me of an absence but also filled it. She gave me fun and hope. That's why I owe her so much. And Opie… I trust Opie because she's my big sister. Protecting me and loving me is encoded into her DNA."
I stopped. I started to choose my next words carefully. After thinking a moment, I went on:
"And you, Hachiko, you're my companion. You were there with me in the moment I was most lost. And for that, I'm grateful to you."
Hachiko didn't say anything. He just thought, and thought…
"Grey."
He finally spoke.
"Do you know what sucks about being just a voice rattling around in your head? When I want to hug you, I can't."
Hachiko laughed.
I couldn't help it, I smiled. He made me happy, like a son.
"Sounds like a lovely conversation happening in there."
Orinn's voice cut through, thick with amusement.
"Two minds sharing one body. Truly fascinating."
"What did you say?"
I froze.
"How the hell did you—"
Orinn lifted a single finger and pointed, full of pride and superiority, to the rune in the center of his forehead.
"Because of my extraordinary bond with aether, and because of the properties of this rune, nothing escapes my eye. Never. Not ever."
A flat, detached expression settled on Orinn's face.
"In this universe, information is everything. Information is a grenade. You can't get results without pulling the pin, but the moment you pull the pin, you only have a limited time to create enormous results. Information is sacred to that degree. What matters is not how strong or fast you are, what matters is how you use that strength and speed."
Orinn drew his gaze away from me, up to the heel ceiling, then back out toward the forest beyond the carriage.
"I'm sure you understand that, Grey Nirmala."
I clicked my tongue and looked out the window the way he did.
"If you want to learn information about me, fine. But what happens to me once you've learned it? Are you going to throw me aside like a garbage bag?"
Orinn laughed at the comparison.
"Sometimes a garbage bag is more valuable than a diamond. But to answer your question…"
Orinn pulled his gaze from outside and looked at me. I looked back, directly into his eyes.
"I'm not entirely sure yet what I'm going to do with you, Grey Nirmala. My eyes can see many things. But they can't see the soul inside you. Why is that?"
What was I supposed to say to that? I was crushed under a mountain of questions I didn't have an answers to.
"I don't know."
I answered him evenly.
"You see me as an enemy, and I see you as one. It's a war of information. Whoever reaches the information they need first wins. And I have no intention of losing."
I said with genuine pride. Orinn grinned and shot me a sharp look. I continued.
"I was given a life, and I have no desire to lose it. I want to make use of it. I want to finally understand the things I haven't been able to understand."
"What a pathetic goal."
Orinn furrowed his brow.
"Do you know what two concept-runes you have in your palms? The Rune of Destruction and the Rune of Creation. With those two runes, you can make the impossible possible. You can control death and life, you can rewrite all fate from the beginning. But you're wasting them on idiotic purposes."
His blue eyes gleamed with hunger.
"So I'm offering you a deal, Grey Nirmala. Give me those runes, and I'll send you home. Or refuse, and face the consequences. Your choice."
I pulled my eyes from Orinn and looked down at my palms. Both runes were dim, but still alive. Destruction and Creation… Those were the names of the runes. The true names I had given them. Was that just a coincidence? Or something organized?
I closed my hands into fists. Tightened them.
I narrowed my gaze and lifted my golden eyes to lock them against the hungry blue of Orinn's.
"There's a reason you want these runes. Their full potential is sealed, they're waiting for me to unravel their secrets. And all of that is part of aether's dance. So no, Dream King. I'm not giving you these runes. And I'm ready to face the consequences. People died for my little life. And I swear to you I will not let those deaths be wasted."
A muted rage flickered through Orinn's eyes.
"I warned you, Fates Masterpiece. Blood will be spilled because of your choices, and when that happens, don't bother begging me. From this point on, everything that happens is on you."
Orinn drew in a breath. The air grew heavy. Slowed. And then, a death-soaked aetheric intent leaked out of Orinn.
I could feel all my muscles tense. I lost my balance and fell from the seat. Even breathing had become something difficult.
"Wh… what did you do?"
I clawed at my throat, trying to drag air in, but it wouldn't come.
I was looking up at Orinn from the floor. The Dream King was smiling down at me with a hunger for blood. I could feel my lungs starving. My vision darkened. Andthe darkness swallowed me.
"Don't give up that fast, Grey."
A playful voice echoed in the dark.
I couldn't see anything. I was lost in the black.
"Come on."
The playful voice echoed again.
"The Grey I know never hesitates to stand up. Or are you not Grey?"
The voice sounded confused.
"What's wrong, my masterpiece? Don`t you hear the bells of fate?"
I heard that alien voice again. It sounded clearer this time. The distortion had thinned.
"Or did you forget the promise you made?"
The voice asked, and in that instant, I saw Raya and Maya before my eyes. Both of them were looking down at me with wicked smiles. I found myself falling between them. I was dropping into the darkness, but in this strange, unnatural slowness. Their gazes felt like they were holding me in place.
"Wake up and destroy."
They both said it in perfect unison from above me. Their voices rippled out into the endless black of the void and then—
I woke up.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a ceiling. The ceiling had this expensive, lavish-looking ambience to it. I slowly lifted my head from the soft pillow and looked around the room I was in.
Across from me stood a full-body mirror and a couple of paintings. To my left was a large balcony. To my right, a bathroom, a huge wardrobe, and a wooden door. I lifted the storm-patterned blanket off my legs and tossed it aside. With some effort, I pushed myself up from the bed and set my feet down on the floor. The floor looked like it was made from some kind of luxury material.
The sound of rain from outside drew my attention toward the balcony. The sky was dark and raining. The Crimson Moon hung in the sky, proudly showing itself. A warm wind drifted in through the balcony and brushed over me, and I breathed it in.
I started walking around the room. The room was twice the size of my bedroom back home. There were portraits all along the walls. But only one caught my eye.
"The Exalted Dream Queen Kimono Harper Legia."
The woman in the portrait had hair so long it nearly touched the floor. She looked young, and powerful. Her eyes were ruby red, and they were giving a soft look that didn't match the firmness of her face. She wore a white dress marked with red lightning patterns. It was beautiful.
"Wow! I feel like I'm looking at a goddess."
Hachiko's voice echoed in my head.
I didn't say it out loud, but hearing Hachiko again made me feel better. At least I knew someone was still with me.
"This woman is a queen. The Dream Queen," I muttered to myself. "The queen of this place."
All my attention shattered when I heard the sound of a door opening.
"Huh?"
I turned toward the door on my right.
A servant stood in the doorway, holding a golden tray. Her long black hair was tied back with a blue ribbon. Her eyes were a violet purple. Her face looked, at most, eighteen. Her expression had no emotion. On the golden tray in her hand was a glass of water.
"Grey Nirmala.
She began.
Now that you are awake, please come with me," Her voice, like her face, held no emotion.
She flicked her wrist and tossed the tray upward. Both the golden tray and the glass of water vanished.
"What a show-off move."
Hachiko said in a tone of amusement.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Who are you and where am I?"
My voice was sharp. I already knew where I was, and that fact alone made me deeply uneasy.
The servant said nothing and simply began walking.
I frowned and followed her. Her posture was straight, her chin lifted.
When I stepped out of the room, a glorious corridor greeted me. The corridor was wide. Its walls were white and traced with blue lightning designs. The ceiling had the same expensive ambience as my room. On the floor, a red, soft carpet had been laid out. It seemed to stretch all the way down the hall.
After walking a bit, the servant stopped in front of a wooden door.
"Please choose any outfit you like from this room," she said, gesturing toward the door.
I approached the door with uncertain steps. My hand reached toward the handle. Even the handle looked luxurious. I turned it and pushed the door open.
A wave of warm air greeted me.
The room wasn't that big, but it didn't have to be. It was a clothing room anyway. At the far end, there was a small window. Everywhere else there were wardrobes, and on top of them, length mirrors. Before stepping inside, I glanced back at the servant. She was watching me with serious eyes.
I sighed, shut the door, and started walking through the room.
"I hate picking clothes," I hissed into the empty air.
"Clothes…"
I repeated, then quickly planted myself in front of a mirror.
I started examining myself.
I wasn't wearing the black and gold uniform of Legacy`s Academy anymore. Instead, I had on a looser, more comfortable-looking blue set of pajamas. My blond hair was a mess, and there were white bandages on my cheeks. Curious, I touched one of the bandages, but I didn't feel any pain. With that same curiosity, I lifted the pajama top, and what I saw wasn't something I expected.
"Abs?"
I asked.
"Since when did I have abs?"
I could hear Hachiko giggling in my head.
"Idiot, aether tries to shape your body to its best form. The more aether you absorb, the more your body develops. Also, not just that. Look, even the sword wounds you got in your fight with Gien are gone."
"Yeah…"
I agreed.
"I completely forgot that aether could do that."
Hachiko giggled again, then went quiet.
I looked at my golden eyes in the mirror.
"The reason everything started."
I muttered to myself.
I sighed and pulled my gaze from the mirror, looking instead over the wardrobes full of different outfits.
So now what?
I could try to run. But I didn't even know where I was, exactly. That didn't seem like a good plan.
"So I just have to do what they say, huh," I grumbled. "Fine. Guess we're doing a fashion test."
I started trying clothes on, one after another.
Most of the clothes here looked old, more like medieval or early-era style. Compared to earths... the Green Realm's clothes, I corrected myself. Compared to the Green Realm, this place was way less modern.
After a long round of trying on outfit after outfit, I finally found one I liked.
I pulled my blond hair back and tied it behind me with a small, almost invisible clip I'd found in one of the drawers. Then I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself.
On top, I had a long-sleeved leather piece in a shade of yellow. On the bottom, a comfortable pair of loose black shalwar patterned with yellow lightning.
"I didn't know men wore shalwar."
Hachiko said, amused.
"Though honestly, since you look more like a girl than a boy, I don't think it'll be a problem. And don`t be mad but the one you wore does look like a womans shalwar."
"Shut your damn mouth."
I hissed at him.
"Anyway."
I sighed. "Anyway..."
I made a few final adjustments to myself, then headed for the door. Next to it, there was a pair of black boots. I grabbed them and put them on. I bounced on my heels to test them. Perfect fit.
"Alright. These'll work."
My hand went to the handle, but I paused before turning it.
I wondered what Raya and the others were doing right now.
I'd been trapped in the Dream Realm for days. If time was passing the same way for them, then from their perspective, I'd been missing for days.
"Damn it. This is all that stupid Organizer`s fault," I muttered, and finally turned the handle.
When I opened the door, the sullen servant was waiting for me. She didn't say anything, just dipped her head and gestured for me to follow her with a flick of her hand.
We started walking again down the luxurious corridor.
With every step, I started seeing more faces. More servants. But none of them looked as young as the sullen one guiding me. Most of the servants stared at me in awe when I passed. A few more minutes like that, and after dozens of strange faces giving me strange looks, we finally stopped in front of a massive door.
Like the others, it was wooden. But carved into it were the same blue lightning motifs as the walls.
The sullen servant turned both handles. The door opened outward, the two halves splitting and swinging forward. Heavy air rolled out to meet me.
In front of me was a throne room.
Servants lined the edges of the room. The floor was covered in a red carpet that looked even softer and more luxurious than the one in the hall. The walls were filled with paintings, and in those paintings were dozens of different figures. On both sides of the room, enormous windows let in the light of the Crimson Moon.
But the most important thing was at the end.
At the end of the room, where the red carpet stopped, there was a golden throne streaked with lightning patterns. And seated on that throne, his hand in his cheek, looking bored, was the Dream King.
"Please proceed," the sullen servant said, motioning me forward with her hand.
I nodded and stepped into the throne room. The moment I did, a crushing pressure greeted me.
It was hard to walk.
Each step was slower than it should've been, but I refused to give in.
At least, until I saw the sullen servant, who I now knew still hadn't told me her name walking toward Orinn with no trouble at all.
"Show-off," I muttered through clenched teeth, and forced myself to keep walking toward Orinn.
Every step felt like an eternity. Long, dragging steps. But eventually I managed to stop a few paces away from him. A few beads of sweat rolled down my face.
"You see?" I said. "Even your little 'intentional intent' can't stop me."
Orinn's mouth curved into a grin.
"Is that a woman's shalwar you're wearing?"
His voice carried amusement.
I frowed and glanced down at the shalwar.
"Told you."
Hachiko said with a little giggle.
The sullen servant stood beside me, laced her hands behind her back, and bowed.
"My deepest apologies, Dream King. It won't happen again."
Orinn waved a hand, uninterested.
"It's fine, Ayame. This little performance is our dear guest's own clownery. I could replace the clown in the circus with him and no one would notice."
Ayame nodded.
"Yes, Dream King."
She straightened again and took one respectful step back.
Orinn's face grew serious once more.
"Yes, Grey Nirmala. Welcome to Magna Tempestas. Now we will discuss what we're going to do with you."
"We?"
I raised an eyebrow at Orinn.
Orinn straightened his posture and rose from the throne.
At the same moment, six different figures entered through the door.
Three women. three men.
They all bowed, then began walking forward. They stopped in front of me and stared.
One of the woman with orange hair, scars across her face. Another woman with purple hair and turquoise-glowing eyes. The last woman stood a little closer to me in age than the others. Her hair was white, her eyes ruby red. Her eyes were dead. Empty of life.
The men couldn't have looked more different from one another. One had white hair and hungry blue eyes like Orinn's. He also looked close to my age. One had red hair and orange eyes; his expression was calm, but who knew what kind of violence slept behind it. The last had black hair, deep violet eyes, was tall, and broad in the shoulders.
The white-haired boy stepped forward with a smug grin on his face. At the same time, the white-haired girl took one empty-eyed step forward.
"What's a outskirt rat like you doing here?" the boy asked.
His voice carried mockery and contempt.
"I want to rip that bastard grin off his face," I muttered inside my own head.
"Calm down, Arinn."
Orinn started walking toward us.
"Grey, the one who defeated Hunter Gien Husk. Don`t be too harsh on him."
Arinn rolled his eyes.
"Yes, father…"
Arinn folded his arms and furrowed his brow.
"So the Bastard King also has a bastard son. How lovely."
Hachiko's voice rippled in my head with disgust.
The girl, the one with the dead eyes, looked straight into mine.
"It's disappointing to think the one who beat Gien Husk is just a child."
Her voice was as dead as her eyes.
"Don't be sad, Lilith. We know Fates Masterpiece isn't an ordinary child," the orange-haired woman said with support to me. I guess.
Lilith only nodded.
At that moment Orinn placed a hand on Arinn's shoulder.
"Don't worry, my son. You'll be spending plenty of time with Grey."
Orinn shot me an irritating look. Then he turned his gaze to Lilith.
"But first, I want to send him to train with Lilith for a long session."
Lilith rolled her ruby eyes. Her eyes were dead, but still alive somehow.
"Is knowing everyone's names by conversation smart or just stupid? I honestly can't tell," Hachiko snickered.
"Ayame, please return Grey to his room," Arinn said, the arrogance returning to his voice..
Ayame bowed her head.
"As you command, Prince Arinn."
Arinn smirked and shot me another arrogant look. Orinn's face grew serious again. He walked back to his throne and sat upright upon it.
"Mass," Orinn began, calling them one by one.
"Yes, my lord," said the black-haired man, bowing.
"Dina."
"Yes, sir," said the orange-haired woman, bowing.
"Rika."
"Yes, my king," said the purple-haired woman, bowing like the others.
"Ark."
"Yes, my sovereign," said the last man with the red hair, bowing.
"Search the entire Dream Realm. Find every trace Grey Nirmala has left behind. From the Mountain of Fate to the Sea of Time. Everywhere."
Orinn's eyes narrowed. His gaze sharpened, hardened.
At that moment, Ayame looked at me and told me with her eyes: "Come."
I sighed and began following the sullen servant.
We left the throne room. Behind us, the colorful-haired people trailed in our wake. My eyes stayed on them.
"Find every trace Grey Nirmala has left behind."What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"Do not even attempt to look at the Marshals," Ayame warned me in a quiet voice.
I turned my eyes to her. For some reason she reminded me Maya. Even if her eyes looked dead, I could still see immense loyalty behind them.
"Why did you keep me alive?" I asked to Ayame.
"According to what Gien said, whether I was dead or alive didn't matter to Orinn. So why keep me alive?"
A faint grin appeared on Ayame's face.
"Because your fate is not yet complete."