Episode 4-□. Dreaming for Three Long Years
For three years straight, I dreamed. Or at least, I think I did. It was a horrific nightmare where everyone met their end at the hands of ancient mages. But just as that dream was about to conclude, right at the very edge, it yielded what I desired and erased the final few lines, rewriting them.
Asha. The beautiful, mysterious woman of gray. Her image in that moment before death—holding me close, tears mingled with ash falling in heavy drops—was dreamlike in itself. Tearing through the sealed space-time to rush to my side, facing an ancient mage we had no way to handle... it had to be something like that.
So I have no idea. I'm pretty damn stupid and foolish, unable to tell if it was real or not. That final glimpse of Asha before I blacked out was so utterly unbelievable, even more implausible than the dream itself.
Which is why, even unconscious, I had to keep picturing it: the hazy vision filled with drifting ash particles, her face creased with heartbreaking worry.
And then... there was a gentle hand stroking my forehead tenderly. A hand that slipped out from under the blanket and clasped mine softly, fiddling with each finger. Steady breaths brushed my face, warm and disheveled, while strangely excited exhales clung stickily.
In my delirium, the only presence I felt was brimming with all sorts of emotions. No matter how much I puzzled over it, only one person came to mind who would show me this side of herself.
I spoke without opening my eyes.
"Asha."
Even with my eyes still closed, I was certain.
"It's been a while."
She flinched at my words, gripping my hand tighter. No one else would do that.
And then... the reply came.
"Yes. It's been a long time, Ain."
The voice was familiar yet strangely awkward, calm and thick as it flowed into my ears. Only then did I open my eyes and look up at her.
There she was, gazing down at me—a woman even more feminine after three years apart. Gray hair, gray eyes. Snow-white skin, delicate features. But then, a slender hand reached out and gently covered my eyes.
As if to block my view, she spoke again.
"You took so long to wake up... so I came to find you myself. Did you... come to hate me for leaving the Empire...?"
"... "
Maybe she'd been thinking about it the whole time I was out. She asked so cautiously, her voice trembling bit by bit, overflowing with emotions. It was probably fear. Fear that I might hate her, or terror that she'd be abandoned again.
"Was it wrong for someone gray like me to leave the Empire...?"
That was the deep emotion she'd always harbored, even back in the Empire. She'd smile brightly at me, but her true feelings seeped through her tightly gripped fingertips. I'd always pretended not to notice as she hid it away and pulled me along. Now, those words spilled softly from her lips.
"Even if there was a reason, I still killed people... Am I not a good girl anymore...?"
"... "
Good girl. Good person. Those were words I'd drilled into her as a child because she was gray. Worried her emotions might boil over into bad decisions, I'd repeated them like brainwashing. A normal person would've forgotten them long ago and lived carefree, but for her, they were etched deep, surfacing with every word and action.
"Please... don't hate me. I'll be a good person... "
Unlike her childhood self, who hid everything tightly, the Asha I met again after three years laid her heart bare first. Even after saving me from the brink of death, she was desperate for me not to hate her.
So I grabbed the hand covering my eyes and pulled her close.
To shake off her needless worries and anxiety, I hugged her gently like I did when she was little and spoke.
"It's been a while, Asha. Thanks for saving me."
"Ah... "
"Besides, I told you that when the bracelet breaks, you can do whatever you want."
"... "
"So it's fine. I don't hate you at all."
I kept patting her back until her trembling body calmed.
And when time passed and she'd settled...
"Ain, I missed you."
"Yeah, me too...? Wait—no! Stop that right now!"
Like when she was little, she bit my neck, leaving a mark. She bound my flailing body with mana to stop me resisting, looked at me with crescent-moon eyes, and chomped down with a crack.
"Hee hee."
"... "
This is... a bit scary.
Anyway. Following Asha's guidance, I started meeting the others as they slowly woke in another room.
"Uh, well... thanks for saving us, anyway."
"No, no. You're Ain's companions, so it was only natural."
"W-Well... still, thanks are thanks."
Horn, uncharacteristically awkward, glanced at Asha and bowed his head. After that clumsy thanks, he sidled up to me, sneaking peeks at her and whispering cautiously.
"Kid, in the meantime, you two got that intense... uh. Yeah. Well, if it's human culture, I won't interfere. But with kids around, show some restraint... "
"... It was just a bite."
"Sure, we'll call it that. Saved or not, if you say so."
"No, really."
As expected, he nodded at the marks all over my neck.
And the kids came running thud-thud-thud, looking back and forth between me and Asha before deciding.
"Pretty big sis!"
"Pretty sis!"
They sparkled with excitement and threw themselves at Asha instead of me, hugging tight.
"... Traitors."
They must've heard my mutter, but the two ignored it, clinging to her legs and speaking up.
"Thanks for saving us, pretty big sis!"
"Thank you, pretty sis!"
"... No, no. I just did what I had to."
Asha seemed flustered by the kids' words and actions, glancing shyly at me. But...
"Whoa! Looking up, I can't even see her face! She's super tall!"
"... "
"... You two are being blatantly rude."
I stared at the kids in disbelief too, but followed their gaze upward. There, hidden by her robe, were watermelons.
"Ain, that's a lecherous look."
"No... sorry."
Asha fixed me with a steady gaze, then lifted the corners of her mouth in a strange smile.
Finally, Aberly.
"Ooh... Mind if I just draw a little blood? Might make progress in my research, haha... "
Just... let that slide. He's impressive in his own messed-up ways.
With that, we exchanged introductions. Horn and Aberly, seeing Asha for the first time, kept stealing glances at her in fascination, while the twins plopped down on her thighs, gray or not.
"So, bit late to ask, but where the hell are we?"
"Hearing you use polite speech is hilarious."
"What, kid? She's our lifesaver. Save my life and I'll polite you up too."
"I'll make sure to save you."
We bickered a bit, but like Horn said, I was curious too and looked to Asha.
"A different space-time. I don't know the era or place, but it seemed the most restful, so I brought us here."
Asha answered our questions nonchalantly.
"Uh...?"
"Yes...?"
"Ehhh?"
"It's been way more than an hour, right...?"
Unlike her, we froze, our casual demeanor shattered by that one line. If we'd been asleep that long like she said, the door back to our space-time was probably gone.
We all turned to her with clunking jaws, but she tilted her head, then nodded as if realizing and continued.
"Time limit's fine. I can open the door again."
She chanted an incantation we couldn't understand. Gray ash began to swirl gently. A glowing key made of mana appeared in her hand. She casually inserted it into the air and turned it, and the vanished door reappeared, just like she said.
"We can leave anytime, so don't worry."
"Whoa..."
We could only gape in awe.
Finally reassured, we started wondering about our surroundings.
"Ain, where is this place?"
"Hm, doesn't seem like distant past or future. The architecture looks like the Empire's. Multiple rooms suggest a wealthy household or noble's home."
Horn, Aberly, and the twins had tactfully split off to explore as a group, leaving knowing expressions behind in the peaceful setting.
"Hmm... The view from the window definitely looks like the Empire. Ah, it's the capital. I see the market street far off. Shall we check it out?"
"Probably not allowed that far. Our permitted space-time is likely just this mansion."
Asha and I wandered the vast mansion, checking for owners or servants.
"Hm, I think I can extend the range."
"Really...?"
"Yes, I can widen the limit."
"Then maybe we could go and—"
Clack. Heeled footsteps echoed from behind mid-conversation.
And then.
"Hm? Ain, what are you doing there? Who's the woman next to you...?"
The voice rang clearly in my ears—familiar, much like ones spoken right beside me.
"Hmmm... Ah, I see. Hee hee, this is fun."
Despite the similarity, it giggled playfully now, unlike before.
Asha and I whipped around, eyes wide.
What we saw was a woman in a neat, elegant dress. Intellectual glasses, a book in one hand, grinning cheekily. Older than now, more refined and graceful—perhaps even more beautiful—a gray woman stood before us.
Clack—
"Ahh, Versio Ruins... Memories. You must be hurt bad—rest here as long as you like."
Clack—
She approached with echoing heels, smiling differently now as she looked up at me. Her slender hand waved lightly, booping my nose.
"So, Ain, did you get the letter I sent?"
"Y-You... No way you're... "
"Hee hee, pretty name, right? Seems I name things better than you, Ain."
Her eyes curved seductively. The finger on my nose trailed to my lips, then to my marked neck.
"What a mess, and you're no beast."
With a flick, the deep red marks vanished.
Maybe that's why. The Asha beside me scowled fiercely at her other self.
"Don't touch Ain."
She slapped away the finger still on my neck.
But.
"Oh dear, Ain doesn't like aggressive girls."
"... Shut up and be on your way. I warned you."
"Hee hee, what if I do this?"
She grinned at scowling Asha and hugged me lightly anyway.
So.
Gray ash swirled, and more gray ash whipped up.
"... I'll kill you."
"Over something like that?"
Grinning Asha and scowling Asha bickered with me in the middle.
No, fuck. At this rate, I'm actually gonna die.