Having experienced countless loops within this dream, Ulrich had never imagined that someone could discern his abnormality in such an apparent manner. Cygnus was the first, yet in that moment, he subconsciously turned to face Ma’am Felanor. Recalling her unusual reaction upon seeing him on each loop he summoned her, he can’t help but whispered.

  “You… noticed?”

  The surrounding space was strange, and even without his full sense of sight, he could only make out the black and white. The overwhelming darkness was probably Ma’am Felanor, her spells, as well as ‘veil’. As for the light, it was small, yet bright like a living sun flashing through his eyelids, most likely the physical manifestation of ‘Cygnus’.

  In that moment, Ulrich could sense movement in the shadow, and her words swiftly came. “Yes. I noticed your body was strange.” She admitted, to which Cygnus quickly interjected, much to Felanor’s displeasure.

  “Even a dead person have spirit body. A cursed item will have a soul. You have neither a soul, spirit, or astral body. What are you? You shouldn’t even exist!”

  Just from that voice, Ulrich could tell that she was extremely curious, and not the good kind, but a more menacing, ominous one. Like a white coat scientist holding a syringe while staring at a lab rat. And to that, he shuddered in fear at the implication.

  If she noticed the abnormality of my conditions… Would she be able to inflict damage on me that would follow to the real world?

  He didn’t believe that he had no soul, spirit, or astral body. If that was the case, then his previous divinations in the dream itself made no sense, as divination relies on the three-body interaction with the metaphysical and physical realms.

  It could be that he does possess one of those bodies, but the power that facilitated the dream and projected his body was well beyond Ma’am Felanor as well as Cygnus’s grasp; thus, they cannot detect it. Just as that mysterious white room could cleanse the effect of the Great Leviathan in the dream ocean; if this dream and that space were connected, then it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that it involved matters beyond ordinary means. And Ulrich could not imagine the two ladies to be as terrifying as that Leviathan.

  Yet, if it was true that he possessed one of the three bodies, then there was no way of being certain that a single attack from one of them would not cause him harm in the real world, intentional or not. That uncertainty frightened him, leaving the dreamer drenched in sweat for the first time in countless loops. For fear that he would not escape this loop unscathed.

  “This person is under my protection and blessing. Even you, Cygnus, cannot get away with harming him in my presence.”

  “Really?” Said Cygnus, the light growing brighter, and with that, the air began to heat up to the point that the remaining moisture within the air molecules heated to the point of producing mist.

  Ulrich’s face blushed, growing red as blood as he struggled to breathe. Whatever Cygnus did had not just pulled the moisture out of the air molecules, but also the oxygen in the surrounding space as well. And in that moment, his throat began to burn; each breath became sharp blades that dug into his throat.

  “I’m very curious. How far will you go to protect him?” Cygnus said with great amusement, and looking at Felanor’s expression, her smile only grew wider. As for Ulrich’s current state, she was not interested in the slightest. The only person that can garner her attention was evidently the Servant of Night shielding Ulrich.

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  “I won’t repeat myself twice,” Felanor warned.

  Cygnus couldn't care less for her change in attitude or threatening tone of voice. Quite honestly, the more Felanor became agitated, the more excited Cygnus became. Having met this person hundreds of years ago, she never imagined that Felanor was capable of displaying such a range of emotions. And the source of all this was this strange human who was equally perplexing.

  “I admit,” Cygnus pointed out, “Fighting between members is forbidden by our Great Leader. The instigator will face the most consequences. But this person…” She paused, the searing heat growing by another degree. Immediately, Ulrich's skin began to scorched with sharp hisses, revealing red gashes that were his flesh as the surface produced dense steam. At this rate, the pain would overwhelm his nerves; if it hadn’t already, leading him to burn shock.

  “Don’t think I didn’t warn you.” Ma’am Felanor's voice came, chilling and deadly, and he could sense an aura of death looming right in front of him; the same kind of sensation he felt when looking at the great ruins in the Shadow Realm.

  Through his eyelid, the dark colors began to grow, forming tendrils that wrapped over the sun, wanting to swallow it whole. Cygnus, perhaps noticing her intent, let out a low chuckle, the temperature in the room rose by another degree, and Ulrich's flesh charred off, revealing a hint of white beneath the exposed areas.

  In the midst of the clash which involved two beings beyond ordinary, two demigods, the little watchman was caught in the crossfire, struggling to maintain his sanity while the pain continued to knock his brain off his skull. He imagined that his appearance right now was no different from a fleshy ghoul, though there was no way to check that. And no doubt, he does look like a ghoul.

  As Felanor and Cygnus attempt to seemingly devour one another, the wind stirred, producing a chilling breeze. It should have been comforting and pleasant, the breeze that is. However, to Ulrich, each breath of breeze was a thousand dull blades digging into his exposed flesh, which was already peeled away by the scorching heat. And if not for the shades of shadows that attempted to block the damage indirectly caused by Cygnus, he’d be a pile of ashes by now!

  In the end, he really couldn’t bear it anymore.

  His willpower might be marvelous beyond ordinary means, having been tempered by a thousand loops and deaths, but the pain was no longer physical to him via nociceptors. And scream as he might, the sound would not come; even attempting to command the muscles of his jawline was excruciatingly painful. What was worse was the head-pounding pain, presumably from just looking at the shades of color in front of him and being within their vicinity.

  It was incomprehensible, the countless whispers and voices that pierced his already damaged ear canal. Yet, he knew, the clarity of these voices went beyond that; it crept directly into his mind in ways he could not imagine. If Cygnus ‘attacks’ could not leave an aftereffect on him upon returning to the real world, then the assault and loads of knowledge injected from the voices could certainly affect him!

  Unless there was someone who could erase his memories, its imprint will linger no matter space and time, such was information, as information can be carried over beyond spacetime via his consciousness!

  In that moment, his survival instinct flared just as bright as the living sun. His adrenaline placed him within a state of numbness where physical pain no longer screeched his skin and flesh, leaving behind the Psionic pain to his mind. And there, he moved, slowly but steadily forward, like a walking corpse of mangled flesh searching for an oasis in the desert.

  Ma’am Felanor, sensing his approach, saw his grotesque appearance and frowned. However, she did not stop him; her anger rose as she began bombarding Cygnus with a flurry of giant inked-colored spears.

  “I’m sorry, it had to end like this…” She murmured, and Ulrich could detect a trace of regret in her voice. But he was too focused on walking forward to respond. All he wanted was death. To end this loop, to avoid bearing the prices of being corrupted by his own psyche.

  Perhaps heaven had listened to his prayer, as Cygnus didn’t care about the little watchman in the slightest, pointing at Felanor with a shrill laugh. “Don’t blame me since you attacked first!”

  Immediately, the sun expanded twice its size, and the radiant warmth of its rays swallowed Ulrich's entire body whole like a gluttonous beast. As much as he’d like to see the outcome of the battle between these two demigods, he was more glad that death had come again, and it came in peace.

  ...