“Is that what you wish me to do?”

  Cosmoti leaned against a small, cushioned couch, sighing deeply while looking at the man seated in the armchair beside him.

  “Don’t act like I’m asking something crazy here, Orion. It needs to be done sooner or later.”

  The man speaking wore a thin suit that matched his gray hair, and his deep brown eyes reflected his advanced age.

  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 tapped the floor with the small cane in his hand, rolling his eyes at Cosmoti’s lackluster attitude.

  “You know that I gave you quite a lot of freedom during the war, which helped you obtain that Ghostship you so proudly sail, so the least you could do is show a bit of appreciation and do me this favour.”

  The green-haired Sea King reclined on the sofa, staring at the ceiling with a dejected expression.

  “Of course, I remember what you did for me, but this is a completely different thing, and you know it. Shouldn’t you be sending that old gravekeeper instead?”

  After speaking, he rolled his head to the side, turning his gaze back to the gray-haired man next to 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.

  The Sea King sighed as he uttered a question.

  “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 as the old man spoke again.

  “I just received a letter containing the specifics, and one thing stood out among others.”

  Cosmoti frowned, waiting for him to explain, completely focused on the man.

  “It seems that the Mausoleum of Dreams has begun to collapse, which means–”

  He was interrupted as the Sea King’s 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, his playful demeanor vanishing in an instant, replaced by the hardened appearance of a 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 old man, still sitting calmly in the armchair, he grew confused.

  “Speak quickly, I don’t have time to waste here.”

  William sighed in response to his remark before 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, and it was quite surprising news, to say the least. I never expected him to visit me personally, but here we are…”

  Cosmoti furrowed his brow as he grew more and more impatient.

  “Spare me your ramblings, William.”

  Twynam rolled his eyes once again, a wry smile tugging at his lips as he caught the Sea King’s growing irritation, but he obliged and continued.

  “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.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “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 evenly, 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 this 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, and Aaron quickly realized 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, after which she patted her clothes down and looked around.

  As he watched the girl scrutinize the strange place, Aaron decided to share his thoughts.

  “I’m not certain, but I have a pretty good guess where we are.”

  Eleanor tilted her head curiously and looked at him with expectant eyes, yet not a word slipped from her lips.

  Aaron shifted his weight slightly before clearing his throat and answering in a way that he assumed she would understand.

  “I would assume we are inside my mind…”

  As he spoke, little Eleanor blinked, then let out a small laugh for the first time.

  S-She laughed at that?

  She pointed at the multicolored space, then at Aaron, and spoke in a quiet voice.

  “It is a mess in here.”

  I-It’s a mess…?

  Aaron’s cheeks suddenly blushed red in embarrassment, realizing that if this was truly the inside of his mind, then Eleanor would see him in a completely different light than 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 summoned the memory with the ring.”

  He turned around, observing the bright colors all around them with a furrowed brow, carefully examining every nook and cranny within sight.

  This is probably because my mind was altered by something…

  Eleanor stared at him for a moment before turning away and walking straight in the opposite direction from him.

  “W-Wait!”

  Rushing after her, he quickly caught up, hearing another whisper slip from her lips.

  “Find exit.”

  With those words, she turned her focus ahead of her again and strided forward.

  Aaron sighed, scratching the back of his head, trying to make sense of the situation while trailing behind slowly.

  …

  “Haven’t… 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 away and picked up the pace again.

  Ouch… Was she always this mean?

  He stepped forward, continuing to follow her; however, after a moment, she suddenly stopped and faced him directly.

  “Something is ahead.”

  Sure enough, not even a few meters away, an aquamarine-colored pathway wound gracefully through the multicolored space, warping the shifting hues into something more solid.

  The two explorers kept walking with caution, avoiding the odd aquamarine stones that coated the path.

  This is weird…

  Aaron carefully followed behind Eleanor, while observing the changing colors around them.

  “They are blurring together to form a rainbow…”

  Eleanor turned to face him, seemingly annoyed by his comment, but she quickly calmed down and went back to ignoring him.

  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 as she turned around, yet the moment she saw what he was staring at, her expression shifted, and curiosity flashed across her face.

  The object was rectangular, like a doorway; however, its surface was the strangest part, 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, but 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 showed a tiny shack that rested on the coast, its roof caved in by trees felled by a storm.

  Each window was intricately placed to form a stained glass mural that remained unbroken even 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 brushstrokes.

  Is she into art?

  He watched with curiosity, yet that curiosity quickly changed into shock when her entire hand disappeared into the picture frame.