After sipping the last bit of tea, he dropped the cup and at that exact moment, Nuriel heard the door creak open.
Vivienne returned home. He saw her carrying a small bag, which immediately carried a scent of fresh food into Nuriel's nose.
Nuriel had planned on eating out that night. Because if he was lucky and encountered a sleep-deprived Edward, he might've gotten another free meal.
He turned back to watching the view outside the balcony. He heard her rustling the bag, then a thud on the table, and... another?
"Have you eaten yet? I've bought us something," she said, as she placed some plates on the table.
A rush of thoughts flooded Nuriel's mind. He was sure that if he didn't know Vivienne's secret, he might've developed a crush for her on the spot. Great figure and looks, an enchanting voice.
'I probably shouldn't make assumptions just yet.'
It was a given that she would've trained for situations like these, as undercover missions were always unpredictable.
Since Nuriel was that unpredictable variable of her mission, her top priority should be to reduce suspicions coming from her roommate.
Nuriel thought about acting head over heels for her, since that was an easy ticket to earn her trust.
However, his dignity was more important.
Saying his thanks, the two ate together peacefully. Nuriel tried asking about her past, but Vivienne didn't show any notable reactions to each of his questions, answering everything with prepared responses.
"So... why a librarian?" Nuriel asked, slowly putting food inside his mouth with a spoon.
"... I like reading."
'You could've at least tried!' he screamed inside.
Middle-class background and an unremarkable history. Although he could've asked more, Nuriel didn't press her further to avoid looking like an interrogator.
After the meal, Nuriel was the one to wash the dishes.
Washing up one last time, only then they went to their separate rooms.
In his bed, Nuriel huddled himself in the confines of his blanket. After emptying his mind of thoughts, he arrived at the throne room.
Nuriel was hesitant at first, but calling it the throne room was an apt description. He was the sole resident and its sole owner.
He saw the throne not too far away from him. But instead of walking, he tried something different. If he could manipulate the space as he did with the chair, then he should also be capable of manipulating his body.
Copying what Sayla did back then, he leaped into the air while imagining that gravity was nonexistent. However, he did not stick the landing, slamming face-first into the nonexistent ground. But he didn't feel any pain, since he simply imagined there wasn't.
Next, he imagined a different scene instead of the starry emptiness that surrounded him. However, he was only met with a blurry diffusion in the distance before everything returned to how it was.
'it didn't work...'
He tried summoning an object other than a chair. Closing his eyes, he opened his palm, imagining something complex like a monocle. When he opened his eyes, the monocle appeared, its design close to what he imagined it to be.
Wearing it in his right eye, he found that the lens was indeed working as intended. After that, he tried summoning a rifle similar to the one he used. A fog appeared from thin air and drenched his arms. After a second, it dispersed into nothingness, leaving behind the gun.
Aiming and pulling the trigger, he heard a metallic click. He imagined the rifle but not the bullets.
He threw the gun and monocle away. Before hitting the ground, they turned into smoke before disappearing completely.
Nuriel leaped again, this time a little more graceful, but nothing compared to the one he tried mimicking.
The soft leather cushion hugged his back as he sat down. He felt that he was getting more and more used to the feeling of sitting on a throne.
He looked at the scepter floating right next to him, then tapped it. White strings streaked from beyond the stars, surrounding him like a web. However, there was no golden string present.
'I guess Vivienne is still awake.'
He thought about the possibility of Vivienne sneaking out to investigate the artifact, but it was unlikely at this time. She didn't have enough information just yet.
Nuriel quietly waited for the golden string to appear. But for now, he started playing with the other strings, and his eyes focused on something in particular. Just exactly within his range of reach, he saw an unusually bright string.
Strumming the string, he was met with a tune reverberating throughout the space. His mind was being pulled in, and so he entered the dream realm.
He was met with an empty classroom. Standing in the center stage, Nuriel turned around to see a man frantically writing equations.
'Yes, yes! I've found it, I'm a genius!' the frantic man screamed at the top of his lungs. Throwing his chalk, he started jumping around manically.
The man turned to the classroom, which was suddenly filled to the brim with cheering students and professors. The room literally shaking despite the fact that it would've been impossible in real life.
He looked at the frantic man's face. It resembled that of a tenant in the faculty dorm room he once saw. This fact alone reaffirmed that the scepter worked under the condition of proximity to him.
But the sudden appearance of the crowd shocked Nuriel. Although they were directed at the frantic man, he still stepped away from the podium and into a corner.
This was the perfect time to test some theories he had.
He opened his palm, carrying them up. First, he tried imagining an apple. However, nothing happened.
He couldn't summon objects in the dream realm.
Next, he tried imagining the feeling of weightlessness.
Nuriel leaped, and leap he did, almost bumping his head on the ceiling.
'So only my body is affected'
After leaping a few more times, he imagined something more out of this world—the feeling of a ghost, phasing through walls and such.
He faced the door of the classroom, then slowly moved his head toward it.
It was painless, but his head was now outside the classroom.
Looking around the empty hallway, he recognized that this was one of the buildings inside Owhen University. After that, he dragged his head back into the classroom.
'With that… I wouldn't be accidentally turned into human mist…' he thought. Just the reminder made his body ache from a stinging pain.
But he wasn't done just yet. There was another thing he wanted to know.
He extended his right arm forward. Closing his eyes, he imagined them gone, and that he was an amputee.
To his shock, when he opened his eyes, they were indeed gone. It was an odd feeling. He felt his arm was still there, but it wasn't.
'I could even feel some sort of phantom pain'
After a while of modifying his body in all sorts of ways, he finally returned to his normal self.
Nuriel watched the cheering. It was still going that the sounds actually began annoying him a little.
. . .
At that moment, he had an idea.
He covered his face with his hands, imagining a horrific monster-like appearance that resembled the uncanny valley. His mouth was replaced with skin, milky white eyes, no hair, and a mangled texture that resembled rotting flesh.
However, he didn't feel any different, as he found out that if he only imagined the appearance aspect of his body, he wouldn't feel things such as phantom pain.
'Perfect… now let's see what happens
He approached the frantic man, who was bowing and waving towards his fake audience. Quietly, he made his way behind him, if he had a mouth, you could see Nuriel grinning.
If the dreamer sees me…'
Nuriel tapped on the man's shoulder.
The frantic man shook from the touch. He turned around to face Nuriel, who was staring back at him.
The man screamed as if he'd just seen death.
Shortly after, Nuriel found himself back in the throne room with a message in front of him.
[Disconnected]
Nuriel noticed the screen and the missing white string that was near him before. He laid back, chuckling from the prank he just pulled off on the innocent man.
'If I'm not mistaken, he probably woke up from the nightmare I caused'
For now, he stopped playing around with people's dreams and waited.
A minute passed.
Then a brilliant light broke through the dark void and a golden string unfurled across the space, radiant and unmistakable.
Nuriel sat forward.
It was time.