"Is that what you wish me to do?"
Cosmoti leaned against a small, cushioned couch, sighing deeply while looking at the man adjacent to him.
"Don't act like I'm asking something crazy here, Orion, but it needs to be done sooner or later."
The man speaking wore a thin gray suit that complemented his matching hair, which reflected his older age through his brown eyes.
Engraved deep into his face was a scar that he had received in the war six years ago as he fought a high-level terror.
He held a small cane in his hand as he rolled his eyes at Cosmoti, who showed a lackluster attempt at following his request.
"You know that I gave you quite a lot of freedom during the war, which contributed to you obtaining that Ghostship you so proudly sail on, so you could show even the slightest bit of appreciation by completing this."
The green-haired Sea King reclined on the sofa, staring at the ceiling with a dejected look.
"Of course I remember what you did for me, but this is completely different and you know it. Shouldn't you be sending that old gravekeeper instead?"
After speaking, he rolled to the side, turning his gaze back to the gray-haired old man in front of him.
"I wanted to send you and Quinn together; however, it seems a disastrous turn of events has occurred in Sea Fallen."
Cosmoti furrowed his brow slightly, sitting up and listening intently to the scarred man.
"The Great Sea Wall was destroyed, obliterating half the city in an instant."
He spoke with a serious tone that even Orion noted as different from his usual way of speaking.
"Do we have any other information about the disaster yet?"
The Sea King sighed as he uttered a response, carefully reading Marshal Twynam's expression, hearing him speak again.
"I just received a letter containing the specifics, and one thing stood out among others."
Cosmoti frowned, waiting for him to explain with complete focus on the man.
"It seems that the Mausoleum of Dreams has begun to collapse, which means…"
He was interrupted as the Sea Kings' presence dominated the room, cracking the walls and floor.
"Do please control yourself, Orion… I don't want to test if this room is curse-resistant today."
Across from him, Cosmoti seethed with rage, shattering his playful demeanor, instantly replacing it with a hardened captain who had seen and fought many things.
"You do understand what this means, don't you, William? If that core isn't stabilized soon, the whole Sea of Dreams could crumble!"
He stood up, grabbed his cloak, and rushed to the door, disregarding the convenor of the Conference of the Seas.
"You might want to let me finish before you do something rash."
Cosmoti whipped around with anger still warping his expression, yet as he looked at the unusually calm old man ahead of him, he grew confused.
"Speak quickly, I don't have time to waste here."
William sighed in response to the King's remark; however, he continued anyway without a shred of annoyance in his voice.
"The 'gravekeeper' you mentioned gave me a small update on the situation only moments before you entered, which greatly surprised me. I never expected him to personally visit me, but here we are…"
Cosmoti furrowed his brow as he grew more and more impatient.
"Hurry your ramblings up."
Tywnam rolled his eyes once again, nearly laughing at the annoyed Sea King, but continuing his story anyway.
"To make matters short, the core has entered a state of slumber."
He spoke in a flat tone, awaiting the green-haired man's reaction.
"Y-You don't mean…"
For the first time in six years, the fifth strongest Sea King in the world was in total shock at the words he was hearing.
The older gentleman spoke calmly, finishing Cosmoti's thought.
"Someone has synced with the core."
…
Am I drowning? No falling? Could I be burning?
Aaron's consciousness waned in and out as flashes of bright colors struck through his head, causing blistering pain that rocked his body.
Throughout the agony, one thing was drilled deep into his mind, sticking at the front of his vision throughout everything.
Yellow Eyes…
He had never before experienced something that terrified him as much as a single pair of yellow eyes.
Whenever he dared to pry deeper into their image, brilliant bursts of color would spray through his mind, distorting his thoughts and driving him further and further into the space he was in.
T-The door… It was similar to the one I went through to enter Eleanor's mind, yet this one had my name on it, which means…
His thought was cut short as an invisible force slammed into him, pushing him against a hard surface that stopped his descent.
Aaron rolled for a moment before coming to a sudden stop, feeling a heavy weight on top of him.
Ouch… What the hell was that?
The 'thing' on top of him groaned loudly, with Aaron quickly realizing that it was the childlike Eleanor who had accompanied him into the doorway.
"Are you okay…?"
He stood up, helping the girl to her feet, where she patted her clothing down and looked around.
"I'm not certain, but I have a pretty good guess where we are."
Eleanor tilted her head curiously as if waiting for a response, yet not a word slipped from her lips.
Aaron shifted his weight slightly before clearing his throat loudly and answering in a way that he assumed she would understand.
"I would assume we are inside my mind…"
As he spoke, the childlike Eleanor blinked before laughing a little for the first time.
S-She laughed at that?
She pointed at the multicolored space, then at Aaron, and spoke quietly.
"It is a mess in here."
I-It's a mess…?
Aaron's cheeks blushed red suddenly in embarrassment, realizing that if this was truly the inside of his mind, then Eleanor would see him in a completely different light from before.
"U-uh, I guess you're right, but this is strange… It's not the same as when I entered your memories or when I chose the memory with the ring."
He turned around, observing the brightly colored space with a furrowed brow, carefully examining every nook and cranny that he could see.
This is probably because my mind was altered by something…
Eleanor stared at him before walking straight in the opposite direction from him.
"W-Wait!"
Rushing behind her, he quickly caught up, hearing another whisper from her lips.
"Find exit."
With those words, she turned her focus back ahead of her and continued her walk.
Aaron sighed, scratching the back of his head, thinking carefully to himself while trailing behind slowly.
…
"Haven't we walked far enough?"
He panted out a response, pausing to catch his breath while the childlike Eleanor turned around and looked at him with disgust.
"Weak."
Aaron blinked at her, not knowing how to respond, before she turned around and kept walking.
W-Was she always this mean?
He stepped forward, continuing to follow her; however, after a moment, she stopped and faced him suddenly.
"Something is ahead."
Sure enough, not even a few meters away was an aquamarine colored pathway that graced the multi-colored space gently while warping the colors into a more solid hue.
The two explorers kept walking with caution, avoiding the odd stepping stones that coated the area.
This is weird…
Aaron followed behind Eleanor, carefully making sure to avoid the blue tiles while also paying attention to the changing colors around them.
"They are blurring together to form a rainbow…"
Eleanor turned to face him, seemingly annoyed at his comment, but she quickly turned around and stepped forward.
Yep… Definitely meaner…
As he sighed, he noticed something poking out from the walls that surrounded them.
"Wait… There's something in the walls…"
He heard the girl ahead of him groan before turning around, yet the moment she saw what he was staring at, her expression betrayed her curiosity faster than he could even mention what he saw.
The object was rectangular, like a doorway; however, its surface was the strangest part, being similar to a portrait with a grassland drawn perfectly inside.
"Why would such a painting be inside my mind?"
Aaron squinted, carefully observing the painting but finding nothing.
He turned to face Eleanor; however, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another portrait hanging on the opposite side.
Huh? How didn't I notice that before…
The one across the walkway was of a tiny shack that rested on the coast with a damaged roof, caved in by trees felled by a storm.
Each window was intricately placed to form a stained glass mural that remained unbroken ever with the destruction around it.
Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat with his chest tightening, like he'd seen that shack before in a forgotten dream.
This feeling…
Behind him, Eleanor was still studying the original portrait, moving her right hand to feel the brush patterns.
Is she into art?
He watched with curiosity; however, that curiosity quickly changed into surprise when her entire hand disappeared into the picture frame.