The earlier revelation about Claire was concerning. If she had known about the time regression, why wasn't she worried?
If a human stayed in the dream realm too long, they would eventually reach the date they were born. When time went back before their birth, they would fade.
Usually, this wouldn't be a problem if the amount of time lost was the same, but it almost seemed to double each day. If they didn't make it out of this world soon, they might all die.
These problems were obviously things to ask her about, but every time he attempted to ask, Elias thought back to the night they first officially met. Were all those tears an act?
If the answer to that question was yes, did that mean everything said around him was an act? If so, nothing she said could really be trusted, regardless of his feelings toward her.
But every single time—
A finger touched his chin, lifting it.
[Claire] "Keep your chin up, you don't look nearly as good with it down."
Claire would do things like this.
The amount of contradictions in her behavior was utterly maddening. After a few minutes of walking with her, Elias concluded that trying to see what was in her head was useless.
[Elias] "Then there's that."
The "that" Elias was referring to was actually two things. The door that led him in and out of the world in between. With the reforming, it was misplaced, and he had to find it fast.
The second was the man tailing him and Claire.
He was clearly keeping his distance; it was a smart tactic. Elias was smarter, though, so first, he had to make sure they were being followed.
This may be a dream world, but right now, they were in the alleys. No matter how clean it was or how luxurious it was, the layout remained the same.
Actually, that was one of the first things Elias noticed during the reforming: many pieces of Earth looked familiar.
No matter how much he wanted to leave his past as a dealer, as an alley rat, Elias would never limit himself so much as to deny his experience.
So he found himself walking toward the middle of the alleys, which was a spot known for an abandoned church.
[Claire] "Are you sure we're going the right way? This place feels creepy."
The complaint came out as a whisper; she was clearly on guard around this place.
If Claire was, why wouldn't their chaser be?
Again though, he stared at the pin in Claire's hair; the material was highly reflective. It acted as a way for Elias to look at their chaser without letting him know, and the chaser was still pursuing them.
[Elias] "Claire… I want you to walk in front of me."
Claire paused, then narrowed her eyes.
[Claire] "Are you thinking of anything weird right now?"
The obliviousness in that comment was almost palpable. To those words, Elias quite literally face-palmed.
[Elias] "Just do as I say."
Claire laughed, then something happened.
Her expression gradually lost its brightness, being replaced with an almost serious face.
Watching that drastic change occur, Elias thought it was like slipping on a mask. The way it changed was simply not natural.
[Claire] "He's been following us, hasn't he?"
[Elias] "Yeah."
They continued walking for a while. It was starting to get late. The sun was beginning to fall; according to Elias's guess, they had about four hours before the next reformation.
Four hours to deal with their stalker and to find that damn door.
[Elias] "Do you know who he is?"
To that, Claire shook her head.
[Claire] "I thought you did."
Her words provoked a sigh from Elias; he had to think of a plan to get rid of this guy, and fast as well. Their time frame wasn't looking too good right now.
If he were to confuse their stalker or even trap him, the fight would be over without loss of time or health.
So Elias decided to put a worm on his hook. Even the most cunning fish needed to eat.
[Elias] "Claire, I want you to listen very carefully."
Claire and Elias were standing outside a grocery store.
[Elias] "Wait outside here for me and stay put. I know the owner here; he can help us out."
Now, only Claire was standing outside the grocery store.
One thing about her was the fact that she got bored easily—very easily. There was only one person she had fun around.
So by extension, when she wasn't holding onto the fantasy that his memories would come back, or when Elias wasn't actually around, she was very bored.
When bored, Claire did whatever she felt like doing. Sometimes she slacked off; other times, she worked. Right now, Claire felt like exploring.
She ignored Elias's request and began walking around. He assured her that she was safe from the stalker, so she believed she was fine.
Despite living here, Claire knew little about the alleyways, so she wanted to learn.
That want was the reason why she ended up in the back of an alley, and also the reason why she heard that terrible voice.
[???] "What's a pretty lady like you doing alone here? Where's that boy you were walking with?"
The noise came out high-pitched; it was uncomfortable, and heavy breathing accompanied every syllable.
Soon, that voice turned into a silhouette, and that silhouette began walking toward her.
[Claire] "Stay back!"
She was clearly disturbed by the man; her voice was laced with fear.
That didn't stop him, though.
Now, his features were displayed clearly due to the distance between him and Claire.
His nails looked bitten off, and he was dressed in a black hoodie; his hands were shaking, and his face was less than pleasant to look at.
[Claire] "Please just go!"
The words caused a slight pause in the man's movement, which lasted a lot longer than normal words would have done.
Suddenly, air whistled from above the man, jolting him back awake.
It was too late.
He reached out to grab Claire—
[???] "ARGH!"
A pained grunt escaped his mouth before he was able to attempt anything, because a man was standing over his now-unconscious body.
[???] "Sorry for being late, Claire. I brought you a gift, though."
A yellow crystal was suddenly thrown in Claire's direction, and she reflexively caught it.
Claire's pupils dilated in shock.
[Claire] "This is…"
The boy smirked.
'I guess belongings are retained in this world, too.'
Regardless of whether the boy was the dealer or not at the moment, he was Elias. Elias was formerly the dealer, and as such had the experience of him.
Elias looked down, analyzing the unconscious body.
[Elias] "Just as I thought…"
Suddenly, he looked up at the sky.
[Elias] "This may be your world, but this is my turf. You can throw anything at me in here, and I won't even struggle."
The proclamation was really to empower himself and Claire. If something truly terrible was thrown at him, like Ardent, for example, his knowledge of the alley would be futile.
What he didn't expect to come out of this proclamation, though, was for the sky to answer back.
[???] "Your turf?"