Dead weight.
That was the only thing Elias felt as he hoisted Arthur onto his shoulder.
An adult officer who spent his days pounding the pavement, solid with muscle—once unconscious, he was about as heavy as a prize-winning hog.
This sacrilegious thought bubbled up in Elias's chaotic mind.
He hauled the big lug into the bedroom and unceremoniously dumped him onto the bed.
“You’re something else.”
“First you drug your sister, then you hit your brother with a 【Sleep Spell】.”
Old Ed tsk-tsked. “You really are wicked.”
“You tell me what else I was supposed to do,” Elias retorted weakly. “Did I have a choice?”
He suddenly remembered something. “And you! You old geezer didn't even bother to warn me when I was heading back!”
“I forgot!” The words were spoken with resounding confidence.
“You...”
Elias nearly choked on his indignation.
“Forget it.”
He waved a hand tiredly. The combined spiritual and mental exhaustion left him with no energy to bicker with the shameless old spirit.
He looked at the dead-to-the-world Arthur and sighed inwardly.
“It’s fine. Lottie’s pranked me plenty of times.” He began to rationalize. “This is just one back at her. Call it sibling reciprocity.”
Besides, he was confident. Even if Lottie woke up and chose to forget last night's madness, the Seventh Agency would be there to handle the fallout. Ms. Cecil had promised him as much. Official cleanup crews were top-tier.
After a moment's rest, Elias forced his aching legs to stand. Time was short; he couldn't linger.
He dragged his heavy steps to his room and started packing with practiced efficiency. Everything essential went into the Gluttonous Stomach.
Then, he went to the living room and found a pen and paper on the tombstone-turned-coffee-table.
“Dear Arthur and Lottie, I'm sorry to leave a note like this again. The Spark Festival was wonderful, and I wish I could have stayed home longer. However, a letter arrived from the post office yesterday; the company needs me back immediately. My apologies once again.”
Elias paused. The capitalists wouldn't mind taking the blame for one more thing.
He continued, his handwriting a bit messy from fatigue.
“Arthur, you were already asleep from exhaustion when I got home, so we didn't get to talk much. Work is important, but your health is more so.”
He felt a twinge of guilt writing that. He'd been the one to knock him out with a 【Sleep Spell】, yet here he was acting like the caring, sweet little brother.
“As for the marriage talk, I'm afraid I can't be so hasty. Of course, if you get ahead of me, I'd be delighted to attend your wedding.”
That covered the lie he'd told on the stairs, so Arthur wouldn't be confused when he woke up.
“As for Lottie, please explain last night to Arthur for me. Take care of yourself, and I look forward to our next meeting!”
He dropped the pen with a sigh of relief. He placed the note in a prominent spot where Arthur would see it the moment he woke.
He took one last look around the tomb-styled home. He didn't know when he'd be back.
He turned and stepped out into the night. Destination: Golden Rose Hotel.
As he moved further from Ash Street and closer to the hotel, the distortion at the edge of his senses began to recede like a tide. The side effects of the dream demon curse were fading.
The twisted buildings regained their straight lines. The faint scent of rot in the air turned back into the usual industrial smog.
But the mental fatigue remained.
When he pushed through the hotel's luxurious revolving doors, the waiter on duty looked at him as if he'd seen a ghost. A man covered in stains, smelling foul, and paler than a corpse didn't exactly look like the typical guest.
Elias ignored the look, showed his key, and returned to his room.
The moment the door closed, he slumped onto the carpet, drained.
But he knew tonight wasn't over. It was just beginning.
John. Luke. The Seventh Agency. The pendulum. The Fifth Element in Moon Bay.
These clues were tangled like a knotted ball of yarn in his head, refusing to let him rest.
Since he'd been pulled into this bottomless vortex, he probably couldn't hide. Playing the ostrich wouldn't solve anything. He had to untangle the threads and dig up what lay beneath the surface if he wanted to survive in this hellish world.
“I think you should start with a divination,” Old Ed suggested. “That pendulum is of unknown origin and function. You should at least try to divine its purpose.”
His tone was unusually serious. “And the bone flute. Ask about that while you're at it. You're tight with that horse anyway.”
Elias froze at the last part. He blinked blankly.
Tight with a horse?! What was the old ghost rambling about?
“What divination?” Elias frowned, genuinely confused.
The air went still.
“?”
Old Ed fell into a long silence.
“Are you playing dumb with me? This kid finally broke his brain...”
Old Ed grumbled inwardly, his voice laced with exasperated disappointment. “The Dream Prayer Ritual!” he barked.
Elias's gaze remained perfectly clear.
“I remember a horse,” Elias said, frowning. “A pretty flashy-looking horse. Did I see it in this ritual?”
He scratched his head, his confusion seemingly genuine. “Also, how do I do the ritual? What materials do I need?”
Stunned! Old Ed's spiritual form nearly coughed up spiritual blood.
The kid hadn't just forgotten how he'd summoned the horse; he'd forgotten the entire ritual process!
Wait. Old Ed sensed something was wrong. Elias was usually flaky, but his memory was fine. He wouldn't forget something this important so completely.
This specific cognitive deficit, this precise memory erasure...
Old Ed remembered seeing that investigator, Cecil, give the kid a gun while he was observing from the spirit world.
That was it! The containment object! This was definitely a side effect of that gun!
“Fine!” Old Ed sighed, resigning himself. Why argue with a patient with nerve damage?
“I'll tell you what to do. One step at a time. Don't mess this up!”
Fortunately, the side effect seemed limited to specific memories. It didn't turn Elias into an idiot who couldn't recognize supernatural materials.
With Old Ed's live coaching, he managed to salvage the situation.
Once the Dream Prayer Ritual array was set, Elias sat cross-legged in the center. He lit the dreamlily powder and closed his eyes.
Back into the dream.
When the darkness vanished, the familiar scene reappeared: the night sky and the sea of grass. At least the side effects hadn't made him forget the steps inside the dream.
After completing the necessary steps and confirming the blue moon pattern, before he could even marvel at the scenery, a massive creature abruptly appeared before him.
The Peak Horse.
It immediately launched into a harsh scolding.
“Didn't I tell you not to do this so often?!”
“Do you think this is a public carriage you can just hop on whenever you want?”
“What?”
The Peak Horse snorted two plumes of white mist, looking down from on high at the reckless human. “Are my words a joke to you?”
“I forgot!”
It was the truth, not a shameless tactic learned from Old Ed.
“...”
The horse tilted its massive head, staring at Elias for a long moment. Finally, it seemed to see through the tattered state of Elias's soul.
It snorted impatiently.
“Say what you have to say and get out!” it snapped, clearly not wanting to spend another second with this simpleton. “You'll be meeting the Moon Lord if you stay any longer.”
Rate on N.U.
