"Why do you want it? Arsh, you know a second siuni can be dangerous. Especially if they are of different types."
"Don't worry..." Arsh began, preparing the explanation he had already worked out in his head. However, Professor Reiner kept speaking.
A moment later, he asked in a tone mixed with anxiety and a hint of suspicion, "Is this... another intuition your siuni has given you?"
The meaning behind his gaze was unmistakable.
'I know you are hiding something. I don't want to make things difficult for you by asking what it is, but I hope you aren't doing something dangerous.'
"Don't worry," Arsh said again. "Like you said, it would be a problem if they conflicted with each other. But there's no reason they should. Besides, look, it's a fairly simple siuni. If it works the way I think it will, I'd even say the two are more compatible rather than conflicting."
As he spoke, Professor Reiner had already begun flipping through the pages of the book adorned with precious gemstones. When his eyes caught a specific page, he stopped flipping through it.
"I suppose this is the one you are talking about. It allows them to gain control over their dreams. One of the least dangerous siunis... And its shape is quite small and simple. Whatever your plan is, are you sure it will work?" he asked one last time.
"...It will," Arsh said after a short pause.
"Alright then," Professor Reiner said. Standing up, he approached Arsh with a scalpel he had taken from a cabinet. "Let's begin."
Professor Reiner carved the siuni into Arsh's right wrist. Although they had no clear knowledge about it, he instinctively felt that siuni of different types should be carved as far apart from one another as possible.
When he was finished, he pulled back slightly and looked over his work one last time. Then he picked up a clean cloth and gently wiped away the thin line of blood seeping from the newly carved symbol.
"Now all that's left is to trust your siuni and understand it. It shouldn't be too difficult. After all, everything you need is written here..." But before he could even finish his sentence, the symbol vanished along with a golden light emanating from Arsh's wrist. All that remained on the wrist was a faint redness left from the blood that had flowed earlier.
"Done," Arsh said, looking at Professor Reiner.
"Hmm... it was faster than I expected. I guess you really believe that this siuni is going to be useful for you. Do you mind explaining your plan clearly now?"
"You know, sometimes I have problems with sleeping. The nightmares... they just don't stop."
"I told you I would help you with that."
"It is not possible all the time, right? I just want to give it a try... And while I'm at it, I want to try something else. As I said, my siuni tells me this is a good way."
"A good way for what?"
"For taking revenge on Millway, and the others as well... Don't ask me how right now. And don't ask me how. If what I have in mind works, I'll explain everything afterward."
Professor Reiner paused for a moment, rubbing his temples.
"Fine. If you feel anything strange in your body, let me know immediately. Also, as I said, you are free to take your revenge. But the moment I think you are in danger, we won't hesitate to stop you," he said, standing up and patting Arsh on the shoulder.
...
That night, Arsh retreated to his room, leaving behind Haru, who was throwing a tantrum because he refused to sleep away from him again.
"Every night, it's the same thing," Walter said, ruffling the hair of the child in Bera's arms.
It was obvious that Haru was no longer afraid of the others the way he had been before. Even so, he still spent almost the entire day glued to Arsh's side. By now, Arsh had grown so used to his presence that he no longer minded.
"He feels an emotional attachment to Arsh. He sees him as someone close to his family... He's not afraid of me anymore, but he's still hesitant around me. There's no sense of closeness between us." Bera said.
After that, they left the room, leaving Arsh alone.
Once they left, Arsh lay down on his bed. Then, he focused on using his new siuni. By now, using the golden threads had become as easy as breathing. But when he tried to use this new siuni as well, he felt himself falter for a moment.
'Okay, let's do this. Take a deep breath and focus on entering a dream.'
After lying there with his eyes closed for a while, he was gradually pulled into the embrace of sleep.
...
"Dad, Dad, please wake up. Dad..."
His father lay before him, covered in blood. No matter how much Arsh shook him, he was already gone. Even though he was aware of this, he couldn't stop shaking him, couldn't stop calling out to him; he felt that if he stopped, he would have to say goodbye to him forever.
Then, suddenly, a realization hit him. 'Didn't I stop calling for you already?'
Lifting his head from his father's bloody body, he looked around. He was in the village square where he had spent his entire life. There were corpses everywhere, and the blood was flowing like a river.
'Yes, that happened,' he thought. Then, covering his face with his bloodstained hands, he let out a deep breath.
"This is a dream," he muttered to himself.
Right after, a familiar pain began to wrap around his heart. It intensified so rapidly that he felt as though his heart was about to be torn out. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the darkness, watching the lights in the air glow and merge with one another.
He had attuned to his siuni. Now he was inside his own dream, completely in control of it.
"Now let's find that bastard." He focused on Millway's face. Soon, golden threads appeared. He followed them until he reached a vast space filled with tiny specks of light, like stars. After traveling through the endless void for a while, they came to a stop before one of them.
He knew exactly what to do. The moment he touched the light with the tip of his finger, he found himself in a place he had never been before.
There were books and papers scattered everywhere. He heard the sound of a man speaking, his voice laced with anger and anxiety.
As he approached the direction of the voice, he saw Millway kneeling on the floor, reading a piece of paper.
"The key... The key... Everything was supposed to go right. Where did we go wrong?" Millway was muttering to himself. Hearing Arsh's footsteps, he turned toward him.
He stared at him with a blank gaze for a moment.
"Who are you?"
Arsh didn't answer.
Millway got up from the floor and approached him, tripping over the books scattered on the ground.
"I think I remember... You were the one who found the sarcophagus..."
Then, a strange light flickered in his eyes. He grabbed Arsh by the collar with both hands. Millway was a short, stout man, so he couldn't bring himself to eye level with Arsh.
"You... you did something before I arrived, didn't you? Because of you, I couldn't open the sarcophagus. It must be it! You did something. How could I forget that? You were the first one to arrive there. Tell me, what did you do?!"
Arsh thought for a second. This man already looked like he had lost his mind. What could he do to break him even further?
While Millway was still shaking him, Arsh looked around.
"Should we go somewhere else? What scares you the most? Let's try and find out," he muttered. Then, the books, the shelves, and the entire room around them began to dissolve into the air.
"What is going on?!" Millway shouted.
"Let's start with the basics."
Right after that, they were suddenly standing on the edge of a cliff. Millway let go of Arsh's collar, staring around in sheer panic.
Arsh looked down from the edge of the cliff. Giant waves were crashing against the rocks below.
"This isn't high enough," Arsh said. Then, grabbing Millway by the collar, he flung him over the edge.
Millway fell, screaming at the top of his lungs. Yet, no matter how long he fell, he never hit the water, continuing to plummet endlessly. Arsh watched him from above. He looked on with a faint sense of pleasure as Millway kept falling, never reaching the sea.
But all of a sudden, darkness enveloped everything once more. Now, he was back in that space filled with stars.
There was no sign of Millway anywhere.