Nourishing One’s Brain

Chapter 44: Nourishing One's Brain

Amidst an abyssal sea of infinite depths, Gray fought desperately to not drown. The waves crashed against him continuously, every single hit causing him to fall deeper inside the ocean of shadows.

From its gorge, he knew something would come. It was something ineffable, something inevitable. Whether he was willing or not, it would come.

He could only stall for time.

So he fought and fought, fiercely trying to escape from his fate. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to break through the surface of the water, the pull from the shadowy depths growing stronger.

As he finally arrived towards his only safe haven, a wave smashed against him, drops of shadows spilling across the boundless ocean. This lead Gray to fall from his only state of grace, his body sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.

A voice then resounded from its gorge.

It sounded like the call of a gargantuan whale, like the echoes of a immense leviathan, like the foreboding of a natural disaster.

It belonged to 'Him.'

He had no names, nor had He ever needed one. He had no face, for nobody could gaze unto it; Death could not claim Him, for He was eternal, older than Death itself.

As Gray waved and flayed his arms around the water, desperately trying to return to his safe heaven, His chilling hand clamped around his heel…!

…

Just as his wounds began to regenerate, Gray's pitch-black eyes shot open. With an instant flick of his wrist, he swung his sword at Ophelia, the blade tearing and lacerating against human flesh immediately after.

However, the one he had slashed wasn't Ophelia; it was Franz—he had thrown his arm into the blade's path, protecting her at the last moment!

The fountain of blood that came from the Nephilim's arm, his half-golden, half-black blade stuck between his flesh, his visible tendons, muscles and slashed arteries…

Seeing his own gruesome work, the acts he would've never done lest he was inside a deadly situation, Gray's blood-shot gaze turned softer.

"Franz…?"

As the reality of the situation set in, Ophelia's face darkened. She instantly rushed towards the pale Franz, placing her hands over his injury, the purplish glow brightening the room, the skin on his arm squirming violently.

"A-Are you alright…?!" Gray was shaken.

The bizarre, cluttered space, the unfamiliar, green haired person in front of him, and the horrors he had just escaped were just too much to bear.

"Yes…" Franz winced from the pain brought by both Gray and Ophelia's regeneration. "After putting you inside that situation…" he half-chuckled, "…I should've expected karma to strike me sooner of later."

Gray clenched his fists, dismayed by his present and past actions.

Was this too, an act caused by the 'urge' he felt?

Did he fail to control it, this time?

Would he become unwillingly subjected to such will?

Would even his closest people be threatened by it?

Was this the sign of his own humanity becoming harder to grasp?

Just as he was about to apologize, Franz Kaldiri interrupted him.

Smiling, he reassured him, "Don't worry about it, Gray." he pointed his finger at the blade he was holding. "You seem close to that sword. You can take it—keep it as a token of my apology."

"But…" Gray was immediately worried.

How could he accept something that might've been unfathomably pricy?

Franz shook his head again, chuckling lightly.

"It's all good, believe me."

As Gray inspected his half-golden, half-black, blood-stained sword, he noticed that he lacked any clothes! More importantly, his wounds had healed!

"What…?" he mumbled under his breath, amazed.

As he glanced at the pale, green-haired Ophelia, he noticed that Franz's wound was healing slowly.

"E-Excuse me, are you the one who healed me?"

Ophelia glanced at him and smiled softly.

"Yep."

Gray looked around and saw many old medical book and ancient manuscripts cluttered inside her room. "I see…So the place I'm inside should be your ho—"

As he noticed the presence of the unconscious Selene next to his hospital bed, his pupils narrowed. An immense influx of information then shot from the pits of his brain.

'What is she doing here?'

'She's unconscious," his gaze then darted on the room,

'the multi-faced being isn't here too.'

'If I strike her quickly, she won't be able to defend herself.'

'If I finish the job quickly, the threat she poses will come to an end, bringing peace to me and Kathy.'

His brows furrowed as he tightly held his blade.

'Just like Mother would have wanted.'

"Gray…?" Franz called out, a drop of sweat dripping from his forehead.

Gray glanced at Franz and asked, his abyssal-like eyes absorbing the light of the room, causing them to become darker than the darkness itself, even darker than the absence of color.

"What is she doing here?" he simply asked.

His voice was hoarse, more beastly than human.

At the sight of this, just as soon as he heard this impassive voice, Franz Kaldiri immediately understood that something was terribly wrong.

While Gray's earlier behavior had been typical for to a newly turned Nephilim—one who gazed at the world like a child, overwhelmed and amazed by its unique knowledge—after seeing Selene it was as if a 'switch' had flipped.

It was as if a lightning had struck him, transforming him into something ineffable, into someone worse than an experienced Nephilim, into someone who had no qualms about eradicating the other, doing so without batting an eye!

Franz Kaldiri only had two questions.

What horrors had he faced within the Eternal Landscape of the Begotten Self? What horrid experience could have molded him in such a violent manner?

He was tempted to gaze upon his secondary Mercurial Fragment, to attempt and comprehend if this change had been brought by Him, but it was utterly impossible to do such a thing.

If this theory was correct, it meant that this was the beginning towards his ascendance towards something 'else,' something incomprehensibly alien, completely different than just a Nephilim who could manipulate and transmute quintessence.

Verily, it could be an apotheosis.

But if this was the case, he had to be killed.

Deities cannot roam the land unbounded, for since time immemorial, they have always been the Omens of Chaos.

"…She is my student. Her name is Selene." Franz carefully said, hoping to not irk the anger from this seemingly unstable version of Gray.

Ophelia too, had noticed the change in Franz's usual behavior.

If even he—an experienced, combat focused Nephilim—had such a violent change in his mannerism, it could mean only one thing:

Gray was a threat!

Gray tilted his head, confused. "Student…?"

This situation didn't make any sense!

If she was Franz Kaldiri's student, what reasons would she have had to go through such lengths?

"Why did she try to kill me, then?" he asked.

Ophelia opened her mouth to speak. "It's because of…"

Franz interrupted her instantly. "We aren't in the position to tell him," he firmly said, shaking his head.

In turn, Ophelia furrowed her brows.

"Selene has tried to kill him. The kid deserves to know."

"He does deserve to know—it just isn't our place to do so." Franz replied before going towards him. He put one hand on Gray's shoulder and sighed,

"To talk about what happened that's Casanova's place."

Gray's eyes widened.

What did Franz mean?

What did Casanova had to do with his situation?

Although his mouth was slightly agape, no words came out.

"While I know this isn't the best time nor place to reminisce about the 'things' you've just experienced, can you explain what happened to you?"

Franz's eyes narrowed as he had to stifle a smile forming on his lips.

This situation, although horrific, was awfully interesting!

So interesting that the flames inside his heart shone brighter, burning with an intense sense of intrigue!

'Especially…' he thought, not daring to voice his thoughts out. 'How did you survive?'

Gray looked at the unconscious girl.

Since Selene was lulled by a thick cloud of dense sleep, she couldn't overhear anything. While he normally wouldn't speak about his abilities—as they were his trump-cards—he felt that Franz Kaldiri was someone he could fully trust.

Had it not been for him, he would've died.

The only issue was…

Ophelia.

While it was true that she had saved his life as well, it may have just been because of his connection with Franz. Therefore, since she had no personal ties with Gray, having her hear his innermost secrets wouldn't be a good idea for his future.

Franz Kaldiri glanced at Ophelia, and not even a second later, she nodded.

"Making me leave my own house…" she sighed. "Because of this, you will have to treat me dinner." she stuck her tongue out.

As she was about to leave her house, she suddenly stopped.

Silently, she checked her pockets hurriedly, and after a few seconds, she produced a lollipop. She then turned around and threw it towards Gray, who soon caught it.

"Don't forget to eat." she explained. "Healing can be overly taxing to the body. Especially for serious injuries."

"Thanks." Gray smiled. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

As he glanced towards Franz, he spoke about his entrails, not bothering to hide details, as Selene herself may tell him in the future.

…

When he spoke about Genesis, Franz was dumbfounded, amazed, and almost shaken.

'This…!'

"So, if you are about to pursue ends with death or a serious injury, your ability—Genesis as you called it—showcases it to you, effectively revealing the future?"

"Yeah." Gray nodded.

'Only Patron Bearers and Onironauts can effectively gain access through the future. Since he had gained his prophecies whilst still residing inside the physical plane, it rules out the possibility of him being an Onironaut. But because of this… Could 'He' be Gray's Patron? Could his prophecies be sent by Him?' Franz thought silently.

"I…" Franz stammered. "I didn't know you were a Patron Bearer."

"A what?" Gray asked, completely unaware of what Franz was talking about.

Franz eyes twitched. 'I thought Casanova would have informed him about the 'Root' he belongs to…'

Franz then continued, "Patron Bearers are Nephilim who have been chosen by a Patron. Patrons are intelligent beings who are of an higher dimensionality than ours, beings who can effectively be considered as angels and deities."

Gray nodded his head slowly, aware that the world had many secrets in need of unraveling.

"Take a 2d space for example. From the perspective of a square—one who resides inside a piece of paper, it can only see and move along two axes: length and width."

"Because of this, it can only perceive things as a series of lines and spaces, but has no concept of depth or height."

"Let's say that a triangle with a treasure inside magically enters inside this 2d world. To the square's perspective, the triangle only appears as a closed space."

"It cannot see what's inside the triangle, as it simply does not perceive other dimensions than its two. To look inside, it would need to physically pry open the triangle."

"But you, as a 3d being who can move and see across three different axes—length, width, and height, you naturally will retain an higher degree if perspective that'll allow you to perceive the entire world at once."

"Unlike the tiny square—thanks to your perception, you can to see everything that is inside the triangle from above, a dimension that the square cannot perceive in any way or form."

"Compared to these Patrons, we are the square I was talking about."

"Thanks to their higher dimensionality, they can 'perceive' time itself, allowing them to see the past, the present, and the future. Yet…," he exhaled. "They are not omniscient. What they see is only 'seeds' of time, for time is something immense, something that nobody can see all at once."

"Thanks to this heightened level of perspective, they can willingly send their chosen Nephilim messages and visions that depict the future."

Gray was initially thinking of telling Franz about his identity as a Nephilim—his identity as an Onironaut—but held this thought down, as faking into being one of these so-called Patron Bearers would allow him to increase his knowledge about the Nephilim.

"Fascinating…" Gray nodded after listening attentively.

In turn, Franz Kaldiri's heart sank.

This acknowledgment of his words might mean that Gray's Patron truly was an 'Him!'

This meant that Gray was dangerous, awfully so!

"But what do these 'Patrons' gain from choosing the Nephilim?" he was confused about this.

What could a human offer to a divinity, after all?

"Some are bored, so bored that they willingly choose to aid an avatar as a means of escape. Some employ mortals for seemingly senseless acts, things They only know the meaning."

"Others, however, need a Nephilim to employ their 'will.'"

"I see…" Gray was amazed.

"So if a Patron demands sacrifice, the chosen Nephilim would have no choice but pursue it—as the Patron is their only means of an ability?"

Franz's eyes narrowed.

This overly specific question might've been the answer he was looking for!

"Have you ever received these kinds of 'demands'?" he asked, folding his arms together.

"No way." Gray chuckled. "While these Patron Bearers are incredibly interesting, even more for their Patrons, I'm not one of them."

"I'm sorry?" Franz questioned.

"I'm an Onironaut."

Franz's mouth was now agape.

"That is…That is not possible."

'While the Heralds of Sin can bring forth the Eternal Landscape of the Begotten Self, they can only make it overlap with reality. The only way it would 'switch' would be at the end of the Third Descent, following His arrival. Since Gray's soul wouldn't be fully connected to the Eternal Landscape, there simply cannot be any way for him to gain prophecies from there!' he thought, glancing at the boy before him.

Gray then scratched his hair, once more being confused. "I've heard that it was unusual from Casanova, not impossible…"

"He lied."

Franz's bangs covered his bandaged eyes, casting a deep shadow over his face.

"S-Such a thing…" his lips almost curved upwards.

'Not now…' he whispered to himself. 'I cannot smile here…'

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"Such thing has never happened."