Chapter 257 - The Hard Decision

'I need to get to the bottom of this...'

Amidst helping the injured, Athan ought to ask the question, thinking about it enough to stop the lingering silence that surrounded them. The tension had yet to set loose, and it was getting uncomfortable than it was then.

"What did you mean by that?" 

With Arnold's queries and the grim spread throughout his face, Athan knew that his sanity already was at the edge, and a slight mishap would've blown everything out of proportion.

Literally…

Keith, however, was no fool and no stranger with the deep tone he had put up, and he couldn't help but tuck his tail between his legs out of horror. When he somehow got to a point his words left unspoken, Nathan chimed.

"Recently we've found out that he had the same experience, and before it got worse, Ashtra came up with an idea to solve the issue."

The two of them snapped back their heads at him, who also had scrunched his face for what awaited them at this point.

Arnold looked at her beloved daughter once more, pressing his lips thin for a long time.

'Perhaps he knew about this mythical curse, so they spoke of?'

Nathan went on with what happened during their stay in the bed-chamber within the palace they resided, quite sophisticated for being taken as hostages.

But then, he also couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows as he thought that there were several parts of it— about chunks of the story— that didn't connect well. Moreover, it didn't help that a tinge of hesitation left his lips moments ago.

Arnold raised his eyebrow to dangerous heights, not letting go of his staring daggers at Nathan. "So, you're telling me that she's fine in this state, then?"

"Indeed."

"Then, why have you called me in such a hurry and for Keith to ask for help?"

When he darted at Keith, he couldn't help but flinch and averted his gaze at Mystique with deep concern etched on his face.

Although the two were caught in surprise when Nathan had great desperation was found in his eyes.

"If it isn't too much to ask, I need your help to take me where Mystique would've gone inside her dreams."

Even though he already knew it was a bold request, he still went on with it. Of course, it incurred wrath with his clenched teeth and jaws upon looking at him dead in the eyes.

If looks could kill, then he might as well turn out overkill.

Two Grand Dukes were at it once again, while it happened every so often since forever, as well as against Sylvester, it still gave him goosebumps every time.

But Nathan didn't get the best of him and resisted whatever threw his way. He still held to his idea, and it left a bad taste for Arnold.

'What is he so desperate for? I thought we had to hurry, and—' 

Then, his aquamarine eyes watched sideways, aiming at him and cutting off his train of thoughts.

Nathan behaved and became too polite in front of Arnold, despite the aggression between them.

All the more, he became mysterious as he was then ever since.

'Perhaps there's really more to Nathan and Mystique than I've known and that I'm missing elsewhere… This might be it.'

Like he had to make a tough decision, he deemed to let it all out the moment he opened his mouth.

"Then, would you rather for all of us to enter her dreams, if that makes you comfortable?"

Athan kept a straight face; meanwhile, he tried to read their reactions— aside from Mystique and the twins that were no different from the unconscious— only astonishment was found on Keith and Arnold.

"Fool! By then, we're too vulnerable— Isn't that why Mysti let you and him stay here while she had to do it?!" 

"True. However, reinforcements are on their way, is it not?"

With that, it got the two of them, who rushed their way here without knowing the severity ahead of them. 

"Right," Arnold concurred, but his face and hands went stiff, never to let go of his hold on her. "Only when they've arrived here… But for now, I'd have to send His Highness there."

Somehow, not one of them expected his replies to be that way, and other than it was odd news for Athan, Nathan didn't receive it well enough.

He looked as though he saw the personification of his worst nightmare before him.

"Me alone?" Athan stared in disbelief, unsure if he heard it right instead of him. 

"Yes, I'll create a portal so until they've arrived here, I shall be the last one to enter into her dreams."

He didn't wait for his answer as he placed her back in the knights' arms, and stood upright.

Withal, Arnold didn't waste any more time as he opened his grimoire; this time, he punched the nearby block of ice into a shard on his hand— gripped hard and tight— enough an ounce of blood to trickle. Meanwhile, ripping a handful of pages and sprawling it around them, he started to draw other complex layers of magic circles.

"This will be painful, as I have never perfected this throughout my life as a reputable wizard— a prohibited one. So, I'm counting on you for this..."

Arnold squinted his eyes, and beads of sweat now drenched his face as he panted often.

From it, his nose scrunched from the putrid smell of his blood, lush smell of herbs to put it out, but it was the least of his concerns as his eyes traced onto the diagram before them.

Soon as he chanted, it started to gleam to a bright glow, full of warmth, but he remained apprehensive when the sheets started to burn from end to end.

Alas, no portal seen, as he assumed, but he was well aware that his surroundings seemed to sway to and fro, almost everything danced around him.

Sudden onset of pain surged through his head, almost wringing him tight, which he grunted aloud. The pain continued until his senses dwindled alongside his consciousness that slipped into the darkness.