[The one who watches you greedily will not stop.]
Jack woke up abruptly and groped the air around him, trying to hold his axe. But he only felt the soft touch of Laria's body. She lay next to him as always.
"Have you had another bad dream?" His girlfriend's voice broke the strangeness that always enveloped people when they first woke up. Warm hands wrapped around his waist, reminding him where he was.
He wasn't in an expensive hotel or a luxurious room but out in the open under a sky full of stars and a red moon that shed its crimson light every night without fail.
"I... yeah. I had a nightmare again. This is the third night in a row," Jack growled under his breath. He didn't want to disturb his sleeping companions, who were gathered around a dim campfire several yards away.
"Ever since we left that city, you've been like this. This is no longer a normal symptom of stress. Do you think your sixth sense is warning you?" Knowing many of her boyfriend's quirks, Laria had a hypothesis. Asking Jack that question made him focus on the ethereal sense he was born with.
Since he was a little boy, he had known that he was different from other children, not only because he was an Operator but also because he could sense things that others could not. Although he was initially glad to have a specialty, just like the heroes in the stories he read as a child, he quickly realized that his so-called sixth sense was neither an ultimate trick nor a tool that would make him super-powerful in a few months.
It was a key to another world, to another layer of reality, but it was also a weapon that could be used against him. That was why he had trained himself to overcome his dependence on it, so he could fight even when it was circumvented or blocked, which had happened frequently recently.
However, he could not disregard the advantages of his sixth sense. It made him a skilled fighter and had saved his and his companions' lives numerous times. Therefore, he never rejected it.
"Now, it's warning me in cryptic dreams that I don't understand," Jack muttered, touching his head with both hands and trying to calm his headache.
He didn't remember the dreams, but he knew they were bad. His agitated breathing, the sweat on his forehead, and his racing heart every time he woke up startled in the early morning hours indicated as much.
Now awake, he could not sense any source of danger, nothing out of the ordinary. During the three days they had traveled through the Federation, he had felt a slight tingling warning only a few hours ago.
This was caused by a snake that appeared in the camp, but her friend Lisa quickly caught it to play with. Everything had been going normally except for that, but every time he tried to relax, the warning in that song came to mind.
[The one who watches you greedily will not stop.]
This message cut deep into Jack's psyche and was probably the root of all his stress and nightmares. It made him aware of a danger he had long suspected, but for which he had no real evidence, dismissing it as an illusion.
Yet, those moments kept coming back to him. So many times, he felt someone watching him in the distance, only to turn around and realize there was no one in sight. He felt a glimpse of danger when he was vulnerable after fighting and assumed it was because of defeated enemies whose bodies could still be dangerous.
There were moments when he felt a greedy line of sight or confused intentions. There were moments when he encountered an enemy unexpectedly, when, at first, there was no trace of the enemy at all.
"Laria... I'm scared," Jack whispered. He realized that he had gotten caught up in something he could neither understand nor discern. Though he was a hardened warrior with an iron will, he was still human.
The unknown will always be the primal source of human fear. Now that he had received this warning, he had a vague sense that the mission he was about to undertake with his companions would be a turning point, which terrified him.
"We'll be fine, Jack. You're a man who has come out of worse situations. You've faced death and lived to tell the tale. Besides, I'll be right there behind you, ready to heal you when you get hurt." Laria sat up and rested her chin on Jack's shoulder before starting to play with his hair.
"I understand how you feel. It's okay to feel scared, but..." She placed one of her hands on the left side of his chest and felt his strong heartbeat.
"Have confidence in your strength and the strength of your team." Ended Laria and Jack released the air he had subconsciously held, and his body softened in his Girlfriend's embrace. He rested his head on her broad chest.
"Well, I trust you guys. After all, we've seen some messed-up stuff and gotten out of there," Jack murmured. From the softness of Laria's breasts, he had fallen back asleep and yawned.
"Yeah..." Laria murmured. She noticed that Jack had closed his eyes and fallen asleep. With a smile on his face, it was clear that he was much more relaxed now.
She settled onto the blanket they were resting on, lying down and letting Jack use her as a pillow. With a simple motion, she tucked them in and stared up at the starry sky.
"Sweet dreams."
...
"We're still three days away. Can't something happen in a closer, busier place?" Irina complained. She was assigned to drive the steam car, and her tired expression and tone showed her annoyance with the location of the mission.
"Cases in cities are solved but not announced. Only out-of-the-way places like this need us," Alexis replied, already accustomed to giving Irina this information, knowing she would complain the same way again in two hours.
"At least we can relax on the way," said Lisa, wearing black glasses as she looked out the window and watched the vast fields of crops alongside the road pass by.
"Hey, Jack, are you feeling better?" Irina asked, causing her partner, who had his eyes closed and his head resting on Laria's shoulder, to let out a short sound in reply.
"At least say something. Don't act like a dead man," Lisa muttered. Jack raised his hand and gave her an obscene gesture. The girl lowered her glasses with the same gesture.
"Let me rest, okay? I only slept for a few hours," Jack answered softly. He settled his head on his girlfriend's shoulder. She glanced at him before focusing her gray eyes on Lisa's purple ones.
"How about we go over the mission briefing?" Laria asked, causing the mood in the steam car to become much more serious.
"Way to kill the mood," Irina complained under her breath, resisting the urge to shrink her neck, knowing Laria was watching her, possibly picking a spot to stick a scalpel in.
"Our mission is in the town of Suri, in the northern coastal area of the country. It was not developed into a city because of the lack of a harbor. There are too many icebergs in the nearby sea, and the temperature is low most of the year," Alexis began, blurting out information about the mission they were about to undertake, starting with the location.
"The city of Alba is close to this town, but a particularly troublesome anomaly ravaged the city, injuring many UNMSO members, so we were tasked with going," Lisa added, feeling uncomfortable sharing this information.
After all, the fact that they were called upon to take on this task was a sign that UNMSO forces throughout the Federation were busy. If a problem arose during their mission, they likely wouldn't receive support from the nearest city. That's why they had extra equipment.
They had sealing equipment to deal with anomalies so that Jack wouldn't have to slit his wrists again. It was honorable that his partner could hurt himself to stop the spread of something harmful, but they wanted to avoid it if possible.
"We must take care of a rather particular anomaly because it makes people burst into non-stop laughter." Still with his eyes closed and in a lethargic voice, Jack continued the conversation with Alexis and Lisa, explaining the key objective of their mission.
"First, they thought it was mass hysteria. It had happened before where some boarding school students suddenly started meowing until they were calmed down.
But this time, it could be confirmed that it was an anomaly because anyone who didn't laugh would be chased by those who did, as if they were undead. After someone normal is contacted by someone who laughs, they will be infected." Laria continued, talking about what interested her most about this mission: the anomaly itself.
After all, she was a researcher who focused on biological sciences, but any phenomena, supernatural or not, that affected living things held her attention.
She could learn from them, so she studied the musical anomaly that she and Jack were dealing with quite intensely, especially because it affected the soul, a difficult subject to touch on regularly.
How could she resist exploring something as fundamental as the soul? She would never pass up that opportunity! Although anomalies are dangerous, this one nearly killed her and her boyfriend; she wouldn't let that limit her desires.
"There is also a report that, days before this incident, a fisherman found a strange object in the belly of a fish while gutting it after returning from a fishing trip. Shortly thereafter, the anomaly was unleashed," Laria continued, absentmindedly playing with Jack's hair as he kept yawning.
"Finding and sealing the source of the anomaly is what we must do. We can follow that lead to make our duty a little easier," Alexis finished. Although this conversation had been repeated several times, the security of knowing his companions were aware of everything necessary for the mission reassured him.
They weren't rookies, but dealing with anomalies or contamination zones was different from killing enemies like oddities. Anything could go wrong and kill them all, so information was always vital. After all, Alexis didn't want to lose any teammates.
"Now that we have everything clear... Jack, do you have any stories you can tell us?" Lisa asked, ignoring the fact that her friend was tired. They all knew he was still awake; they could easily feel it.
"Hm... Did I tell you about the strange adventure of one of my ancestors?" asked Jack. He was still with his eyes closed and quite relaxed due to his posture during the trip. What better way to spend it than lying on his girlfriend? It was heaven!
"How strange could she be?" asked Irina, adjusting her ears so she wouldn't miss her companion's voice. Due to her sleepiness, it sounded quite low.
"He traveled to another world and came back. He was one of the first in the Federation to board the train-shaped anomaly we talked about the other time. This information is not public; it's not properly recorded in the UNMSO database," Jack answered, making his friends more interested in the story he was about to tell.
"He said that the Ghost Train, as it is now named, was strangely stranded on a peculiar world. Its place of... Landing? Stopover? It was a strange country called Shattercrown. If it weren't for family records, you'd think that ancestor was crazy because he described that world as being similar to the fantasy books we read.
It had fairies, magical creatures, mages, and witches, but not like Laria. They used magic capable of spells. They don't use Pneuma, but rather a strange energy called Aether." Jack's narration surprised the rest. Was there a world similar to those fictional tales and stories? Now, that was interesting!
"Did your ancestor have an amazing adventure? Did he hunt a dragon? Did he bathe in fairy dust and float?" Irina asked, her eyes shining because of the Pneuma stirring inside her due to her excitement.
"No! The important thing is how that man knew about the supposed ether. Did he meet a witch?" Lisa's question and the subtle look she gave Jack and Laria indicated everything.
Jack's possible liking for witches was inherited! This subtext caused Alexis and Irina to burst out laughing, while Laria narrowed her eyes and stared at her boyfriend's face, looking for a reaction.
"I guess so. That ancestor of mine recorded that 'The taste of a Witch is really good,' and that he had to marry one when he returned to our world. He recorded many of his adventures in various journals.
Yes, he was in a relationship with a pirate witch from that other world. How can you mix those things? I don't know. Fantasy stuff, I guess.
He made it clear that when he returned, the woman was pregnant. So, yes, I have possible relatives in the multiple worlds connected to that train," he finished, telling Jack with boredom. This made Laria pinch his cheeks.
"Why so reluctant!? Don't you know how awesome that is!?" Laria exclaimed, asking both questions and showing emotion in her tone of voice and on her face.
She was rarely so expressive, but when something appealed to her, she let her emotions out freely. What Jack had just told her genuinely interested her, and she wanted to hear more about this ancestor.
"Huh? But you can't expect me to side with that old man! He abandoned his family, and who knows if that bloodline is still around. After all, many things can happen.
But if by chance we end up boarding the Ghost Train and get to that world, we can look for anyone with the surname Rohan. Probably my distant cousins from that world have that surname." At Laria's insistence, Jack promised. Deep down, he was also interested in his ancestor's adventures.
So, Jack went on to tell of the adventures of his ancestor in the new world, from fighting cultists, something his companions and he could understand quite well, to having classic adventures visiting the ruins of an extinct species called 'Elves,' similar to the creatures in fantasy books.
...
The rest of the trip was much more pleasant and peaceful. Jack's fatigue gradually subsided, and his condition improved completely. He continued to have confusing dreams, but he was no longer as stressed as he had been at the beginning. After all, he knew he was in danger.
Now it was time to face it when it arose! He was a warrior, not a coward who would back down. Whatever threat loomed over him, Jack was willing to wield his axe and consume his Pneuma to eradicate it.
Fortunately, his companions were not clueless. Knowing Jack was in such a situation, they did their best to make the journey relaxed enough for him. However, they also made their preparations.
If something threatened Jack, it could also threaten them. So, every night, each member of the group could be seen cleaning and maintaining their gear in front of the campfire while telling each other whatever came to mind.
Soon, they arrived near the village of Suri, the objective of their mission. However, the group decided not to enter because matters involving anomalies were serious, and a small contingent of soldiers was blocking the road to the village.
When the group's steam car arrived, two armed soldiers approached. Laria was behind the wheel this time, and when a soldier touched her seat glass, she simply raised her UNMSO badge before lowering the glass.
"Are you the ones who stopped the anomalous effect from spreading further?" asked the brunette to the soldier. The soldier nodded, looking nervous.
"Whew, good thing you guys are here, you know? We've had to shoot several people who tried to escape. The laughter is terrible; they're still laughing even though they're covered in blood from bullet holes," the soldier commented, making Laria focus her gray eyes on him.
"Are you afraid, soldier?" the medic asked, causing the soldier to tighten his grip on his weapon and take two steps back. He was overwhelmed by the white-haired woman's look.
"Don't worry. The cavalry has arrived to support you." Laria gave a somewhat stiff smile and looked toward the town in the distance.
They had arrived early in the morning, but despite the brightness of the sun, everything around Suri's village looked rather gloomy. If you listened closely, you could hear a noise coming from a distance.
It was the uncontrollable laughter caused by the anomaly.
-----------
AN: 25 chapters! Wooooo!!!