- Nightmare -

"You want to stay with them? What right do you have for that?"

Charlotte realized that she was back again, back to the core of the motor engine of the Hell Train where she watched boiling acid being poured inside and exploded from all directions and began to devour and harm her friends.

Their cries for help and pain echoed on her ears. Her golden eyes watched them in horror and worry.

'I have to save them!'

She wanted to use shinsu but strangely, she couldn't use it at all. She can't use shinsu.

"Why?! Why it isn't working?!" She asked to herself.

"Why won't you save us?"

"Are you going to betray us?"

"Aren't we friends?"

"Let's die together then."

"You want to save them? How are you planning to do that?"

Charlotte turned around to see who was talking on her back.

Her golden eyes widened widely that they might fall from her eye sockets.

Behind her, there was a familiar figure who sat on the wheelchair. The familiar figure who was now looking at her as if she was judging her had an appearance that resembled her. If it wasn't for their hair color and eyes color that were different, one might thought that they were the same person.

She had long black hair tied into a messy bun and a pair of green forest eyes. She was wearing a black turtle-neck sweater with long soft yellow skirt that reached her ankles. She was wearing a pair of white socks and also a pair of white shoes.

Her hands were placed on the wheelchair and she looked at Charlotte while tilting her head a bit. Her green eyes were however cold.

"Don't forget--" she said to her, resting her cheek with her knuckles.

Charlotte gasped.

After she said the two words, half of her adorable face suddenly became disfigured. Half of her face was disfigured by fire that once devoured her and the sight was truly terrifying.

"--you can't even save yourself. Let alone others."

"AAHHH!!"

Charlotte opened her eyes again.

She was huffing and coldly sweating, her complexion was rather pale. Her breath was messy. There were dark circles under her eyes.

"You are awake" a male voice said.

Charlotte looked at the person next to her and was bewildered.

At the first glance, she thought that it was Altaira, her brother. But when she blinked once more, she realized that it wasn't Altaira at all.

"You?"

"It's me."

Charlotte let out a sigh of disappointment and held her head. She was expecting one of her brothers to show herself up, because right now she felt that she wanted to hug one of them. But the one who show up was Khun instead.

She looked at him for a moment before she asked him, "Why is it you?"

"Are you disappointed because the first person you see isn't Bam?" Khun asked her.

"A little bit" she said, resting her right arm on her forehead. "Where my brothers are?"

"Altaira is probably with Celeste or Noah while Bam is in the Rice Pot" Khun answered. "You are right, the princess will actually come and save us."

"You said that.....brother is in the Rice Pot?"

"Yes."

"Ah right....we promised to the Guardian that we will come back. But with my current condition, I'm not allowed to go right?"

"If you are sick of living then go ahead."

The God of Guardian must be waiting for her to come with Bam but after the third round, how could she possibly just go? That wouldn't be easy. She can't even walk right now, let alone enduring the "Revolution" that the God of Guardian wanted them to feel.

'What a loss....'

Charlotte felt her whole body was sore and heavy. It was hard for her just to sit down and leaned against the wall.

"You have just awake. Don't push yourself too hard."

"I'm fine. It's easier to talk like this" answered the girl who looked quite pale now. "It's just that my body is kind of sore...."

"I really want to punch you for what you did on the third round, but considering that you have yet wake up, I have to restrain myself" Khun said to her as he handed her a glass of water in which she really need. "Noah has told us everything about your ridiculous idea."

"Ridiculous idea?" Charlotte echoed while holding the glass of water with a weak smile. "That idea of mine saved all of us and even won the power of souls for brother. How could it be ridiculous?"

She drunk the water until there was nothing left.

"....It seems like you are having a nightmare."

Charlotte nodded her head and hummed.

"What nightmare?"

".....Nothing important" she answered. "It's not important and won't come true either."

Charlotte lifted her right hand and covered half of her right face. She closed her eyes.

'Right....it won't happen.....'

Since she didn't want to answer, he won't force her. Khun took the glass from her and put it back on the table.

"Thirty minutes" he said. "You risked your life for thirty minutes of fight. Is that really worth it?"

".....yes."

"Have you ever thought that you might not come back alive after using that kind of method? I know that you want to get strong as soon as possible, but forcing it won't be a good method. You are an irregular, you are stronger than most of the regulars."

Charlotte frowned when she heard that.

"But it isn't enough. I need more power. If I am indeed stronger than most of the regulars, then those people--!"

She turned her head to face Khun and pondered about her words before swallowing it back and looked away.

'If I am strong enough, then will those people dare to look down on us and capture us as hostages? Will those people dare to trample, humiliate and hurt us?'

"Those people what?"

"......Nothing" she answered. "Anyway, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with brother or something?"

"...I just thought that it might be better to look for you" he answered. "I thought that you will be excited to hear our next destination but since you aren't interested, then I'll just--"

"Hey, wait up!" Charlotte said.

He stood up and was about to leave if Charlotte didn't catch or hold his wrist.

"Our next destination? Where our next destination will be? You have to finish your words before leaving" Charlotte said to him. "Don't leave me hanging okay?"

There was a moment of silence.

Khun's cobalt blue eyes stared at her hand that caught his wrist.

Realizing that, Charlotte immediately pulled her hand back. Uncomfortably, she looked away and held her own wrist.

"Sorry" she said.

"What for?"

"Just in case I made you feel uncomfortable."

".........."

He sat down again on the chair and then told everything about their next destination to Charlotte.

Their next destination was just like what she expected, the Station Name Hunt. It was a station where people kept trying to steal each other's name and their reason of going there was because it was the challenge from Yuri Zahard and Evan.

If they could defeat the lord that stayed and lived on the Station Name Hunt and steal his name within two days, then Yuri and Evan will allow them to go to the Floor of Death. But the lord of the Station Name Hunt wasn't someone weak for he was one of the strongest D- rank regulars (Charlotte disagreed since they haven't counted her brother yet) and that he had stayed in the Station Name Hunt for more than a thousand years.

The two of them won't force anyone to come or to accept the challenges. It was up to the regulars to agree with that challenge or not.

"Let me guess, most of them agree right?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah" Khun answered.

"We really have lots of good friends" said Charlotte. "Ah, anyway, I feel that I am forgetting something......"

"You mean your fan?"

"Ah-- yes. Where is it?"

"Lost it."

"Lost it?!" Charlotte's eyes widened immediately when she heard that. "That thing is more important than my life! Where is it?! How could it be lose?!"

"Just kidding" he answered and then pulled out her fan from his lighthouse and handed it to her.

"Your joke isn't funny. You really scared me there."

Charlotte opened her fan to see whether it was damaged or not before she sighed.

"Gosh....if this thing is hurt even the slightest....then....."

"Then what? You will jump from a cliff?"

Charlotte shook her head, "Still thinking what I will do if that happens."

"So far I have already understood about your hourglass and the Thirteen Chains that sealed it. But this fan....how did it transform into a sword?" Khun asked her out of curiosity.

"To be honest, I don't know" Charlotte earnestly answered. "The old woman gave it to me and said that this weapon will be my loyalest companion or something." Her lips curled into a smile as she added, "And I think that she isn't wrong."

"You trust people easily."

"And you find it hard to trust someone."

"Have you ever thought that the old woman might come up with an ulterior motive?"

"I think we have talked about this matter before" Charlotte said and cleared her throat.

"It's because I can't understand your reason and how you could believe in someone easily."

"That old woman lives in an isolated place without anything left for her" Charlotte said and opened her fan to fan herself. "She didn't show any will of greed or ambition. I guess she was sincere when she gave it to me."

"You are the only one who thinks like that. I still found that old woman suspicious."

"Hm....speaking about that old woman...I'm also curious, how she is doing right now" Charlotte said. "She couldn't be bullied by those gangsters again right? Sometimes I always want to return to check on her, but I still can't leave you guys. I'm worried of her and also worried of you."

"You should be worried to yourself. According to Noah, your body is very weak right now. Judging from your condition, it seems like you won't be allowed to go to the Station Name Hunt or the Floor of Death until you have recovered."

Charlotte froze like a statue when she heard that.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, why am I not allowed to go? I'm safe and sound, fine and energetic! There is nothing wrong with me!"

"You have just put yourself in a risk. You need to rest more than the others."

"But no matter what I should also follow you guys to the Station Name Hunt and the Floor of Death! I don't want to stay on the train like a cripple or something!"

"But what could I possibly do? This is the others' idea. Even my voice alone won't be able to change the outcome."

"You are a schemer right? You are very smart, you must have your own ways to change their minds" Charlotte said to him.

"Hm.....I'm not sure of it. What benefit will I gain from helping you? Personally I also thought that leaving you in the train would be a good idea.....since I still can't forgive you for coming up with such an idea...."

"Ugh......"

Charlotte began to ponder about it. What could she possibly give to this blue haired male so that he will agree of helping her? She can't miss the chance of going to the Station Name Hunt or going to the Floor of Death.

'Ah, why should I think that far? Don't I have something useful with me?'

"Do you forget that I could read the future? I could also tell you everything that I know about Kaiser and the Ten Bosses" Charlotte answered. "This information will be helpful if brother is going to fight against Kaiser right?"