This was true pain.

  This was true agony.

  Somnu could grit his teeth through most of the physical torment he had to endure until now.

  All the torture he was constantly reminded of by his crown Memento.

  The piercing feeling of losing his arm, the burning sensation of gauging his own eyes out.

  None of it compared to his current pain.

  The loss of someone he had wanted to protect more than anything in the world.

  And the worst of it all was knowing it had all been his fault.

  If he hadn’t worried them, his siblings wouldn’t have told everyone in the fort to keep an eye out for him.

  That put a target on their back, John Doe realized who they were, and how important they had been to the one he was after.

  He timed it, making his move the moment Somnu entered the fort

  Even if he had rushed their faster, even if he had pushed the Luscairna to be more serious, Somnu’s enemy was already a step ahead of him.

  He was stuck chasing scattered stars, crumbling beneath the slightest touch of his fingers.

  It had all been his fault, yet again.

  The scarecrow who couldn’t protect.

  ‘Master!’

  “...”

  ‘Master, I think she’s still alive!’

  “?!”

  Somnu raised his head, but his sightless eyes still showed nothing but the void. Having unintentionally broken the connection with his serpent familiar, he immediately resonated with her again.

  His fingers trembled as he dragged his feet forward. The thermal vision clearly showed him the fighting heat source still within his sister’s body.

  There was no time to think of why or how that could have been possible, he simply rushed forward.

  ‘Naga, split up and search for all possible wounds!’

  Without wasting time for a response, the serpent did as she was told, gently slithering around Leyna’s body.

  ‘Master, there is only one wound between her big bosoms!’

  Crow-Shit! Her heart!

  Somnu had naturally noticed the blood in that area, and momentarily relieved there were no other wounds, but the human heart was the most important organ for survival.

  The scarecrow could stitch wounds, and even bandage them with his skills, but he had nothing that could repair any inner injuries.

  Are the boosted General Abilities healing her? Is that why she’s alive? No… He’s killed so many, he wouldn’t make such a sloppy mistake. Somnu suddenly turned to the other person with him in the small room. “Aurora! Do you have any healing skills?!”

  “... I tried, she’s already-”

  “It’s very brief, but her heart is beating! Use them again!” He shouted, snapping the girl out of her momentary shock and confusion.

  In a split second, she had adapted a sharp expression and sprang forward, both of her palms emitting a myriad of different colors.

  Then, an ethereal thread that shifted between the visible and invisible, connected both her heart and Leyna’s.

  She didn’t even question how Somnu would have known that, especially with the blindfold covering his vision.

  “...” Somnu supported his sister’s body, holding her close to his chest so that nothing could pull her away from him again, not even himself. Especially not himself.

  The misguided, weak punk who was responsible for their separation in the first place.

  Don’t die… Leyna. He begged, tightening his grip on her shoulder, allowing her head to rest on his forearm. Please… Don’t die on me… Not before I…

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  His dry blindfold stretched into a slight frown, his eyes weeping without tears.

  THUD!

  “!”

  Somnu turned his head to the side, making Naga’s follow along. Aurora had fallen to one knee, her entire body enveloped by a visible flame that constantly melded into different colors.

  She was gritting her teeth, ignoring the nosebleed running down to her lips.

  Somnu recognized the symptoms, Aurora was on the verge of skill overload. Whether those skills were too tasking, or she had already used her powers far too much, he couldn’t know.

  The only thing that mattered now…

  “The wound is closing…!” He called out, hoping to encourage her to last a bit longer. Although he couldn’t see it, Somnu guessed the inner injuries must have healed too if the outer ones were closing.

  “I’m… glad…” Aurora muttered before her eyes rolled back and she fell face first.

  “?!”

  [Straw Storm!]

  [Stuffed Resilience!]

  Immediately, Somnu used his powers to create half a straw pillow, just in time to ensure Aurora’s head landed upon it and not on the hard brick ground.

  “...” Looking back with Naga’s vision, he could see his sister regain her steady pulse, and feel her stable, soft breathing return.

  ‘Master, has she recovered now?’ The serpent familiar asked, slithering up and taking her place at his shoulder.

  “Her body seems fine, but her mind…” The scarecrow muttered out loud, his lips quickly pursing at the new thoughts stabbing his anxiety.

  Just then…

  “Aurora! Leyna!”

  ‘Master!”

  ‘I know.’

  While Somnu slightly tilted his head toward the entrance, Naga acted as his eyes to reveal a new figure at the door.

  For a brief moment, Somnu’s heart skipped a beat, believing it could be his brother Mo. While he wanted to see him too and make sure he was safe, he didn’t want him to see the bloodied state his sister was in.

  Especially not the grinning skull symbol still dripping on the wall with Leyna’s blood.

  That scenery, that feeling, that trauma… Somnu knew it all too well.

  Instead…

  “...Somnu? That’s you, right? What happened here?!” The man with the disheveled gray hair and lab coat stepped in, his eyes jumping from Somnu to the two sleeping girls. Then, his gaze landed on the bloodied symbol on the wall and his brows immediately furrowed. “I see…”

  Somnu recognized him from a vision he had after first falling into the cursed lake of Lethe, but at the moment, he was more concerned with this man’s reaction.

  Normally, one would assume both unmoving bodies would be dead after seeing the symbol, and fear the worst, especially since he knew the victims personally. However, the man remained calm as he approached.

  “...” The scarecrow kept Naga’s gaze on the man, studying his every move.

  Either he was sick in the head, or …

  “I’m a doctor…” The man slowly crouched down and put his hand on Aurora’s back. A pink outline quickly enveloped her. “I mean, a doctor here and in the waking world. I was responsible for looking after your physical body too.” He paused for a moment, then gave the blind Somnu a faint smile. “You can call me Arman.”

  Arman didn’t look too different from the last time Somnu saw the head doctor in that vision. Underneath the white lab coat, he casually wore a suit with a loose tie. On his face, hanging on the bridge of his nose under his eyes, there was now a pair of sunglasses with a pink filter over them.

  “... Can you help them?” Somnu relaxed his posture slightly, confirming that the head doctor likely could tell both girls were alive at a glance, and therefore did not panic.

  Not to mention the fact Arman had smiled at Somnu, despite likely believing the blind Sleeper couldn’t see him. Whether he was playing it safe or was genuinely a good person still remained to be seen, so the scarecrow remained on alert.

  “Yes, of course.” Arman picked up Aurora’s body in his arms as he stood up. “Let’s move them to somewhere more comfortable first, both their conditions seem to be steady.”

  Finally able to take a proper look around the room, Somnu realized he was in a small living room, not much bigger than his own living room back home. He had pushed Aurora into the wall next to the coat rack shelf hanging over the shoes close to the inner doorstep. His focus had remained on Leyna and the grinning skull at the time, both on the wall directly opposite to the entrance.

  However, there were couches and a dining table on the other side of the room, as well as another two doors leading further in. It was almost identical to a human’s humble apartment.

  Does every room match the origin of the one living in it, or are all rooms based on human apartments? Somnu questioned, but soon abandoned the thought.

  He picked up Leyna’s resting body and stood in place. He watched Arman lay Aurora on the couch, then turn to him.

  “?” The head doctor’s eyebrow slightly perked up before curling up a corner of his lips. “I see, you’re being careful. Perhaps, that is not too bad a thing in our current situation.”

  “...” Somnu stayed silent for a moment, then took a step forward without stumbling.

  He realized Arman had already seen through his act, and knew Somnu was fully capable of seeing through his familiar serpent.

  “You can stay close, I’ll check on your body in a bit after I make sure they’re both okay.” Arman sat on the ground between two couches, watching Somnu lower Leyna’s body into the second couch.

  “I’m fine, just heal them-”

  “No! Stop it!”

  “?!”

  Both humans suddenly turned their heads at the new commotion coming from the still open door.

  “Somnu friend didn’t do anything wrong!”

  Bro’Ski? Somnu recognized the voice, realizing he had completely forgotten about his guide since entering the room.

  “You!” One of the new arriving Luscairna puffed up his armor-covered chest and pointed directly at Somnu. “You will be detained under suspicion of committing murder! Do not resist or else!”

  … I don’t have time for this.

  Somnu momentarily considered letting Naga loose on them, confident it wouldn’t take her long to eradicate the silly race entirely.