Arcane Era-Chapter 71: Nightmare’s Return

Darkness crept in every corner of the city.

Despite the luminous crystals that hummed gently, providing the comfort of light in the domain of night, the shadows of the world seemed to reign supreme. The villa of a certain rich merchant could not escape its inevitable embrace.

The guards were occupied with their shifts, conversing very casually with one another... unaware of the five figures that lurked in the darkness.

—Not even when the five invaded the well-reinforced premises.

"Success!"

Theo smiled, turning to his four friends as his eyes gleamed with confidence.

Edward still had a nervous look on his face, but the others: Leroy, Rash, and Cherry, all shared Theo’s expression. They had successfully invaded their target’s residence without much problems.

"Next, we proceed with the next plan." Theo conveyed the details very briefly, reminding everyone of their roles.

Edward was to stand watch, just in case his calculations were off or something outside his expectations occurred. The remaining four would go to separate wings of the vast compound to search for treasure—with Theo entering the main building. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

It was a dangerous task, but Theo’s plans always worked. Plus, he was the one with the most perilous role, so the group was largely at ease.

They trusted him... and he trusted them.

But it was all for nothing.

"THEY’RE HERE! THE GUARDS ARE HEREEE!!!"

In an instant, heralded by Edward’s loud voice, the plan that Theo had painstakingly crafted, was shattered. There was very little time to escape, but it wasn’t impossible. In fact, Theo had actually planned for a situation like this, so they quickly implemented their escape plan.

Everyone rendezvoused and quickly got on Theo, who easily carried all of them thanks to his freakish strength. The only one left was Edward, but he was the quickest among the group besides Theo, so there was very little reason to worry about him. Besides, it was an emergency, and with guards closing in at every corner, this was the best way to escape.

As a result, Theo took Cherry, Rash, and Leroy... scaling over the fence and racing into the night.

His incredible hearing guided him, allowing him to avoid areas with too many guards, while navigating through the empty streets of the silent capital. He made sure that, other than the serene gaze of Grand Moon and the silent Divine Ones, no one laid eyes on him.

However, even after doing everything he could to escape, something kept gnawing at him.

"Edward! He still isn’t here, and I can’t sense him anywhere nearby!"

"Damnit!" Cherry sighed, his his face turning redder than normal. He had the least amount of stamina, and whenever his stress accumulated, his skin would change complexion.

"What in the world could have happened?" Rash mumbled. "It almost seemed like they knew exactly where we would be going and blocked the exits we would have taken..."

"Did Edward rat us out?"

Theo instantly glared at Leroy the moment he dared to question the loyalty of their friend. All of them had been together for years now, so they trusted each other immensely. The mere fact that Leroy could think of one of their comrades like that made Theo very upset.

Still, he decided not to chastise the boy.

After all, he couldn’t completely blame Leroy for his line of thought.

’How did this happen? They didn’t follow their usual patterns, and were even waiting for us at the designated exit point...’ If Theo didn’t have his incredible senses guiding him, they would have already been caught.

Still—

"I have to go back for Edward. I’m worried!"

"But Theo... the Guards are still out there looking for us. Once they make a report, the streets will be crawling with Military Police in no time." Leroy tried to object, but his weakly quaked, unable to muster any strength to completely oppose Theo.

He—just like everyone in the group—knew that Theo already understood the dangers that accompanied his actions, yet he wasn’t going to stop.

Why? Because Edward was in danger.

"He was my first friend... I can’t just abandon him." Theo mumbled, the flicker of hesitation in his eyes quickly snuffed out as he made his move.

"You people should stay here and only move once the coast is clear."

He didn’t wait to hear a response, and he certainly didn’t look back before running off.

"Theo, wait! Ed—!"

He shut off his extraordinary senses, blocking off the words his friend tried to pass on to him. He could sense the concern and fear in Leroy’s tone especially, but he couldn’t let that deter him from what he had to do.

Unwavering stubbornness... that was his specialty.

If only he knew that those would be the last words he would ever hear from his friends.

He did find Edward after navigating through the night, but was quickly ambushed after realizing that the Guards had used Edward as bait. He tried to fight back, but the Military Police was involved at that point, and even he—despite his incredible might—was no match for their numbers and the weapons in their arsenal.

In the end, he was overwhelmed... knocked out before he was able to reach the powerless Edward.

Even as his vision blurred, unable to make out the face of his friend, he stretched his hand—desperately trying to reach him despite all of the obstacles in his path.

Ultimately, he failed.

Then, he heard a voice:

"So even you couldn’t do anything this time, could you, Theo? In the end, you’re nothing!"

Buried in darkness, more fragments of memories collided in his mind at the same time. Memories of his friends being captured as he watched their unconscious bodies being husked away, unable to say or do anything himself... his sentencing at the local court, and the disdain he received from the many eyes that looked down on him... the ’Re-assessment’ and his transfer to the Fortress...

... All of this emergent darkness coalesced into a voice.

It echoed at the depths of Theo’s heart.

"You are nothing."

At that point, Theo awoke.

***********

"Haa! Haaa..." Turbid air flowed out of Theo’s lips as he quickly opened his eyes.

His body was covered in sweat, and despite how much he trembled, his body remained fixed in place, unable to move an inch from where he slept. His bed-sheet was soaked with sweat, and his panting voice echoed within his room.

The sweet smell that flowed in the space was accompanied by an acrid stench of sweat.

Only after staying in that uncomfortable state for a few minutes could Theo finally move, his body heavy like lead as his heart continuously raced.

"That dream..." Theo whispered, his voice shaky. "... It’s a lot more vivid than before."

He slowly rose, dragging his feet to the bathroom to wash his face with cool water and calm his nerves. Once he returned to his bed, he sat upright and entered deep contemplation.

’It’s been so long since I had that nightmare...’

When he was still a prisoner in the fortress, he had that dream almost every night. However, ever since he arrived in the Ak’ashi Guild, he had only dreamt about his past a few times... and it was almost never about his old friends.

The details of the dream shook Theo, but it didn’t surprise him.

’We begin our journey to Sarvos tomorrow... so that must be why I suddenly had this dream.’

No, it was a nightmare.

Theo sighed, shaking his head as he tried to shake off his thoughts. He then tried to sleep, but failed. His body still hadn’t forgotten the sensation of despair, and he found himself unable to relax.

After struggling and failing at every turn, Theo gave up.

’I’m supposed to rest in preparation for the task, but there’s no helping it if I can’t sleep.’

He decided to take a walk out of his room to the parlor. His mind automatically contrasted the space he occupied with the streets which he called his home in the past. A sad, almost guilty expression formed on his face.

However, it quickly vanished.

Once he arrived in the living room, his eyes spotted a large book on the center table.

"That is..." He drew closer to the book, observing it carefully.

It had a black surface, with gold designs wrapped around its hard cover. The image of a bright sun right beside a grand moon, surrounded by stars was plastered on the front cover of the book. It also illustrated a vast field below these celestial bodies, depicting things like flowers, trees, wild animals, shadow-like figures, all sorts of weird-looking creatures... and finally... a Mortal kneeling and bowing before the celestial figures.

At the top of the book was its name, and Theo read it out loud.

"Divine Chronicles of Antiquity."

It was a sacred book made by the Ancient Divine Temple and it contained the tales of the Divine Era up to the Times Unknown, and even accounts of the events that took place during the Days of the Scourge.

Most importantly, it held legends of the ones who once occupied the world before Mortals.

—The Divine Ones.