Ayen found himself standing on the rooftop. The wind brushed past his face as his long hair swayed. He frowned slightly, intending to tie his hair, but the hair tie was not on his wrist.

No, the bracelet. Previously, it was the bracelet that was given to him by the espers, so he could not be affected by the miasma in the forbidden zone.

Later, the two decided to make it a hair tie instead; after all, the bead was the most important part. Only that, Ayen had to adapt again to not wearing bracelets.

It just so happened that he already had the ring, and so his habit of caressing the bracelet shifted to the ring.

Where is it?

Ayen frowned heavily. The hair tie was gone, but also the ring? Just as he was about to take a step, he paused. He realized that he was still on the edge of the rooftop, and if he stepped forward, he would fall.

While he was thinking about it, a disgusting scent wafted into the air that almost made him gag. Ayen looked into the distance; a dark cloud was covering the city.

Below, there seemed to be chaos as the people started running away.

Ayen knitted his brows. What was going on? He could not understand.

The repulsive scent still lingered, but he managed to hold his intention to vomit. Instead, he became lost in thought. Ayen wanted to remember what he was doing or where he was before.

Slowly, Ayen realized... He was dreaming.

He was clearly with his two espers and sleeping with them. Then, how was he suddenly here? Of course, he was dreaming. His eyes swept the surroundings.

The dark cloud becoming darker with each passing second, showing signs of an impending storm.

As he looked at it, Ayen’s eyes darkened; the disgust in his gut surged. That... He hated it. Something within Ayen was incredibly repulsed by such a scent and sight.

Kill it. Purify it.

Ayen’s darkened pupils focused on the cloud. Before he managed to step forward, Ayen quickly pulled himself together. No, it was only a dream.

Perhaps the impact of that incomplete but somewhat concentrated curse was now messing with his mind, so he was dreaming about it.

Ayen bit his lower lip, clenching his hand, and the urge to come to that side and purify it and finally kill it.

Strictly speaking, curses did not have a form, but they lingered on anything with mana. So, they could be attached to anything. In his time with Devion and Khal, Ayen had also become more knowledgeable with curses.

It was not a popular topic, and most people might not be familiar with it. Unlike monsters and dungeons, whose terror everyone knew by hearing their names, curses were only known to those affected by them.

And these people were few and far between.

To those aware, curses were synonymous with terminal disease, or even worse, instant death. So, it was not that there were a few cases of curse victims, but they had already died before they actually reported it.

One thing was for sure: curses came from dungeons. Strangely enough, the monster seemed also afraid of it. At least, from what Devion and Khal said.

The monster was also afflicted by a curse and called it a malevolent being as if it were also a certain type of race. Or probably... they were?

They did not know a lot about curses.

Ayen sat at the edge. He tried to step back, but he found that he was blocked by some kind of barrier. Unless he moved forward, Ayen would not be able to leave the edge.

He could only wait for him to naturally wake up here or for someone to wake him up. As for stepping forward, despite his urge to do so, Ayen completely threw that idea to the side.

It was a trap. Ayen would not risk his life for anything that he was not sure of. Unless they were for those he cared about.

Ayen touched his chest and the warmth on it.

"It’s you again." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The realm core made him aware again. If not, maybe Ayen already fell from the building, or he already has that unknown but repulsive cloud.

He already guessed its identity. A curse. For some reason, this dream showed him a curse manifestation. It was probably something similar to a shadow that Devion often saw.

Was it just because of what he saw earlier? Or... Was this some kind of premonition?

Ayen could not tell. Yet, his gut told him, as the repulsive feeling was real... So, this might be real.

At least the curse manifestation was real.

Ayen sat at the edge of the rooftop, his feet dangling comfortably. He closed his eyes and ignored the noise and the urge.

Slowly, Ayen’s consciousness drifted, and when he opened his eyes, the somewhat familiar room greeted him. Ayen looked up slightly; while he was alone, his eyes landed on Devion’s coat at the side.

He was awake.

Ayen took a deep breath and brushed his face. That dream... was far too vivid.

While he was lost in thought, hushed conversations approached the bedroom, and soon two men entered. Ayen quickly met their eyes.

"Oh, finally awake, sleeping beauty?" Devion grinned; the gloom and exhaustion in his face were nowhere to be seen.

Ayen almost rolled his eyes, but he wanted to confirm.

"Did I sleep too long?"

Khal shook his head and brushed past Devion.

"It’s only been 12 hours."

12 hours! Longer than his usual sleep, but shorter than what he was expecting.

"Then, why Devion...?"

Khal gave an amused smile. "You know him."

Devion let out a light laugh, but did not continue playing a round.

"You must be hungry. Your food’s ready." Devion then put the outfit he was holding on the bed. "Wash up first, then change into this."

Ayen looked at the suit and fur coat.

"We’re going to the ice palace?" He immediately realized. The two nodded at him. Ayen did not ask any questions either, and without talking any more, he went to the bathroom to prepare.