Moral Obligation

My head throbbed, gradually pulling me out of my sleep. Though rather than being greeted by any source of light, I woke up in total darkness, my arms dangling into empty space.

Slowly, my groggy mind began to clear up, making room for muffled footsteps above me.

A pair of hands grabbed my legs and swiftly pulled me out of the darkness, and for a moment, the bright sconces flashed around me, wiping away the remaining drowsiness I had.

“Uuergh…” I rubbed my eyes and blinked up at Dahlian. “Huh? Why am I on the floor? Did I… phase under again?”

“Hehe, sure did,” he said, his hands on his hips. “Your ass was sticking right out of the floor this time.”

I frowned and looked down at my hands. “Oh, right. I forgot I broke my ring back then.”

“Yep.”

“I guess I should get another one…” I looked out at the night sky through the windows. “Wait, what time is it?”

“It’s still the middle of the night.”

Damn. That means the alchemy shops aren’t open yet. I sighed and stood up. “Never mind then. Thanks for pulling me back up.”

“No problem.” He stretched his arms and walked away. “What’re you going to do now then?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go get some fresh air. I think I’d breathed in too much dust under the floor.”

“You can breathe under all that?”

I shrugged. “Apparently, I can. Don’t ask how.”

“Right, that curse really is weird.” Dahlian plopped back on his couch and picked up a book. “Anyway, I'll be here if you need me. I’m in energy-saving mode, so I won’t be going anywhere.”

“Noted.” I waved and left through the front entrance, taking in the cool midnight breeze barely a few steps out.

“Haruma?” a familiar, soft voice called from above.

I glanced up and met a pair of soft azure eyes. “Oh, Lora? What are you doing up there?”

“I couldn’t sleep, and I wanted some fresh air.” She dangled her legs over the roof’s edge. “But since I’m still not allowed to leave, hanging out on the roof’s the only way I could get some without technically stepping out of the base. Hehe.”

“You can’t sleep either, huh?”

“You as well?”

“Yeah, I phased into the floor again.”

“Again?! Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m all good, thanks. I came out for some fresh air too.”

“I see…” She spaced out for a brief moment and pondered before tossing a smile. “Then do you want to join me? The view isn’t so bad from up here.”

“Oh, well…” I timidly scratched the back of my neck. “I guess if you’re okay with me…”

“Of course I am! You’ve saved me three times already! This is the least I can offer.” She pointed at the stack of crates piled at the corner of the warehouse. “Just climb up from over there.”

I followed her guide and swiftly climbed my way up with ease. With timid steps, I sat beside her and stared into the dark blue horizon, where a few clouds covered the moon.

Although the warehouse wasn’t that tall, the slope of this street made it possible to see the queen’s castle in the distance and a bit of the ocean extending over the city borders.

“The view… isn’t so great after all, is it?” asked Lora.

“No, I think it’s fine,” I said. “It’s much better than the view I had in my old home…” Where I saw nothing but the narrow streets of Tokyo and the tempting sight of the convenience store.

“I see…” Lora hugged her knees. “I also think it’s not that bad either. I’m kind of used to this sight.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She curiously peered at me. “That reminds me, how much did you learn about me in your visions?”

“Ah, right, well…” I rubbed my chin and stared into space. “You told me you came from Phlovery Village, the one that was really dedicated to Florathea. You found their obsession really weird and creepy, so when the War of Florathea began, the village had a whole civil war about where their loyalty is. You saw an opportunity to escape from the chaos and fled to this city, right?”

Lora widened her eyes. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. I really shared all that?”

“You did.”

She twiddled her fingers. “What about the constant pain from overusing my magic?”

“I… never found out. Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Then, what about my nightmares?”

I tilted my head. “Nightmares?”

“I guess not either, huh?” She stretched a small smile and cast her gaze down. “For the longest time, I’ve been dreaming of… getting chained up, locked away in the darkest corner of the world. And something from above would keep tugging at my chains, forcing me to dance.”

I curled my fists.

Without meaning to, my mind immediately drifted to my first encounter with Entrophys, when he chained her up like a puppet. That demon was infamous for peeking into people’s nightmares and tormenting them with their fears. What a scummy bastard.

“Do you know what’s been causing those nightmares?” I asked.

“I… think so. Sometimes, whenever I miss my parents, I’d also remember the scary memories I had in that village. The village priests would sometimes chain us kids and lock us up in a shed whenever we broke a rule.”

I shot a bewildered look. “S-seriously?!”

She shrugged. “Yeah, they were pretty harsh.”

“That’s beyond harsh! That’s messed up! No wonder you have nightmares about it!”

She giggled. “Yeah, but it’s okay. Whenever I get them, I’d get some fresh air, like tonight. Looking at the sky would always calm me down.”

“I see…” I leaned back and stared at the clouds. “Too bad it’s kind of cloudy today to stargaze.”

She shrugged. “It’s the peaceful scenery that counts.”

“You’re pretty optimistic, huh?”

“Hehe, so are you! I’m amazed you can stay so calm with that crazy curse!”

“Well…” That’s because I’m used to dealing with bugs and glitches in my old job. “Let’s just say, Wymond gave me some hope that there’s a chance I can control it.” I shuddered and rubbed my arms. “By beating me over, and over, and over…”

“W-wow, what a guy…” She stared down at her hands. “Hope, huh? That does sound nice…” She massaged her palms and drooped her shoulders. “Say, Haruma? What makes you want to save the city?”

“Huh? Where’d that come from?”

“Just a curious thought. I always had this strong urge to help people in need. I was wondering if you’re also like that.”

I scratched my head. “Now that I think about it, maybe I am. I’m the only one who had those visions, so I had a moral obligation to do something.”

She nodded. “Moral obligation… I see.”

“Then we must be living in the worst possible scenario.”

Sloane’s cold glare crossed my mind, making me frown. “But sometimes I wonder if things would turn out better if I hadn’t said anything at all.”

Lora tapped her chin. “If you want my opinion, I think it’s a good thing you did. Thanks to you, I’m mentally prepared for The Laughing Pestilence to show up at any moment now. Hehe.”

“Please don’t jinx it, Lora. I’m not ready to see him so soon.”

She giggled. “In all seriousness, I’m really grateful you told us. If it’s inevitable, at least we can be a little more prepared for it, but you said things are going way differently now, right?”

“Definitely. Things are changing way beyond what I expected."

Lora looked away and gazed into the horizon. “If that’s the case, I hope… I can finally find a way to get rid of these pain spikes and the nightmares.”

“Yeah, I’ll let you know if I find any leads.”

“Hehe, you really are so kind, Haruma.”

I timidly looked away and scratched my head. “I mean, we’re supposed to help each other out, right? We’re a team.”

“Right, we are…” Her smile grew warmer by the second. “I truly am grateful to meet you guys…”

I tilted my head.

Despite smiling so brightly, there was a subtle hint of sadness leaking out of her voice. I wanted to ask her about it, but before I could, she pointed at the sky. “Hey, look! The sky’s clearing up!”

“Hm?” I glanced in her direction, where the clouds began to unveil the moon. “Oh, cool… huh?”

I squinted and leaned forward. “Wait, is it just me, or did the crescent become much wider than I last remember?”

She blinked at me and back at the moon. “Huh, wait, you’re right. It’s… really close to a full moon. Wait, what day are we on?”

“I-isn’t it still the middle of the week? We should have about three or four more days until the full moon, right?”

We gawked at each other, silenced by a rising dread.

“Right?”