They were alone in the safe-room.
The blood on their bodies had been cleaned off, but they entered holding hands just as they had been out of the dream.
River looked at the grandfather clock inside the room. It wasn’t moving right now.
He approached it slowly, noting the broken clockface. Almost he touched the unmoving hands, but pulled his fingers back at the last second.
It made him feel odd to see it broken.
“Well, I think something is different from usual for sure. Don’t think so much. Let’s go.” Aspen nuzzled against River’s shoulder. The taller man glanced down, relaxing at the sight of his companion at his side.
“Yes.”
He took a deep breath and went to open the door to the outside.
Unlike usual, he stepped into darkness rather than the setting. He noticed the feeling of Aspen’s hand vanishing, but before his thoughts could keep up with the sensation, light returned.
He was in a long hallway, Aspen to his left. Between them was a barrier that they both eyed curiously.
River experimentally knocked against the wall. It sounded and looked like glass, reflecting his image if he went close enough.
While River was frowning at the situation, wondering why this was here, Aspen was immediately ready to have fun. He went over to touch the glass, then squished his face against it. His lips moved, but no sound came through.
“What did you say? I can’t hear you”, River tried to shout. Aspen’s eyes widened, suggesting that he couldn’t hear it either.
Pointing to his lips, he slowly mouthed something.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
River stared – as weird as it felt to stare at Aspen’s lips – and tried to read the word.
“P…vl…ba.”
Lf mgfjrfv tlr fsfygbkr jcv rlutfv ja Crqfc, ktb nlrlyis ijeutfv jcv yfujc ab wbeat wbgf kbgvr atja ribkis vfgjlifv lcab yflcu megrfr.
Mlgra tf megrfv Elnfg obg yflcu raeqlv, atfc vfjo, atfc obg ufaalcu mjeuta yftlcv atf uijrr. Lf kjr ijeutlcu jii atf ktlif, tlr ygluta fsfr cjggbklcu klat tlr ygbjv uglc.
He stepped closer to the glass, mouthing another couple words with a wide smirk.
River’s fingers twitched and he turned away, his lips pursing. From the side, he could still see Aspen breaking out into laughter, his cheeks reddish.
As a response to River’s reaction, Aspen merely placed his hands against the glass and knocked with the other. The easterner looked back at the man.
“Go… along… the glass?”, he repeated the words that Aspen mouthed and the other nodded.
They walked forward, side by side despite being separated by the wall, and the floor under their feet shone in soft green light where they stepped.
Colors returned the longer they walked, their bodies resuming their usual hues.
The long hallway ended in two doors, perfectly mirrored down to the slightest detail. Aspen cocked his head and opened it without any regard as to what River was thinking. Either way, it wasn’t as if they had a choice.
To River’s relief, it led the two of them into the same room. It was unclear why they had started in the safe-room, only to be separated and connected again. The doors fell shut behind them, never to open again. Instead, there was a third door on the opposite wall.
Aspen whistled and looked around. “Amazing. Is this a warehouse? Look at all these clothes.”
He stroked along the fabrics of dozens of pieces of clothing. From jackets to coats, from shirts to pullovers, from pants to shorts and all kinds of shoes.
The room was filled to the brim with clothes.
“The game must be very different, with our colors returning and all”, River curiously guessed. He let his eyes slide over Aspen, whose clothes carried a name and number tag on the back of his collar. Maybe it would be good to change their clothes, not to mention that, finally lacking the shackles, Aspen didn’t need to wear the specially tailored clothes anymore.
“Ohh. That means I can freely choose? Nice, I don’t remember the last time I did that.” Aspen chuckled and started looking through the rows of clothes with open excitement.
River let his gaze slide over the various designs and hesitated. Finally, he too began to pick out his clothes.
There was no dressing room, so River changed at the side and brushed his hair out of his face. The clothes had been looking too large, hanging on the racks, but once he wore them they fit snuggly like a glove.
The fabric was soft but sturdy and felt tailored for his body. River sighed in comfort and looked down at himself.
The world he had been used to was gray and so was he now, his thin sweater was in a darker gray than the long coat he wore on the outside. Coupled with high, sturdy boots and simple pants, he truly felt comfortable wearing them. His eyes were a bit irritated seeing his skin have color in the mirror, but then again, he was pretty pale anyway.
Hearing the rustling of clothes, he threw a glance over to Aspen, who had made his choice as well. The man was undressing, pulling his top over his head.
The muscles of his back flexed, displaying his shoulder blades and the pitch black tattoo running down his spine.
River watched openly as Aspen unbuckled his pants and slid them over his narrow hips and slender legs. A streamlined pattern of scars was drawn up his calf, both cruel and beautiful to look at.
“I do hope you like what you see”, Aspen joked, maybe sensing the eyes on his body. He looked over his shoulder, then froze in surprise. It took a moment for the daze in his eyes to disappear. “You’re… much more handsome than five minutes ago.”
Aspen showed an avid interest in River even with his usual looks, but River did feel a slight sense of satisfaction at the positive surprise in Aspen’s tone.
He walked closer, checking out the tattoo and the scars from close-up.
The marks followed every single of Aspen’s movements like living beings, delicately wrapped around his skin. He could see the work and thought that must have been put into their design and placing.
“Creepy?”, Aspen asked, lifting his leg and angling it a bit so that the other could get a clearer look.
“Beautiful”, River complimented without a hint of hesitance. He stroked a finger along the line of the scars and Aspen shivered softly.
“Don’t seduce me. I’m wearing almost nothing, this is inconvenient for my self control.” Aspen’s voice sounded teasing, but River saw the complicated look in his eyes when he took a step away from River.
The eastern man wasn’t going to tease him. He picked up the clothes on the ground, folded them neatly and placed them next to his own while Aspen dressed quickly.
With an oversized hoodie that hid his damaged wrists, tight pants and sneakers, Aspen looked smaller than he was. He clasped his hands together and turned his eyes up, blinking them innocently confused at River. His voice was soft like honey and slightly hesitant. “Do you think anyone would suspect me as being dangerous like this?”
River pursed his lips at the sight. “No. I don’t believe anyone would.”
Aspen looked neither like a murderer nor a genius at this moment. He looked like a cute little idiot and he played the role well enough that even River could be fooled.
The smirk returned to Aspen’s face. He strutted over and wrapped his arms around River’s neck, tugging him down a bit. “Good.”
River looked at the familiar face and found himself softly sighing before embracing the other as well. The slender waist was easy to hold and so thin, he almost thought he could break it in two.
Aspen placed several smaller but equally gentle kisses on the side of River’s lips, then whispered something while making their foreheads touch.
“We will make you healthy. We will get you out of there. Everything will be fine.”
River closed his eyes and hummed in reply. His heart was aching.
The truth was, it was impossible.
They would never let him go. He would have to flee forever, never truly settle down. But he would not be able to hold on without Aspen, and if Aspen came along, they would have it even harder to hide.
Even if the Gamblers saved him from his current situation… That did not mean he was fixed. That did not mean the world would suddenly welcome him.
He had a feeling that Aspen knew, but it did not matter. Even if only for a while, it would be nice to have a rest. To feel at ease.
I’m very much in love with this novel. Thank you for the chapter. Im excited to see where they go. Where exactly are they? Did the paper people Open up a space similar to the games or are they in a dream game?
I’m sorry bcs my comment is quite pessimistic. 😌
Thank you for the chapters. Your story is so great because it makes me thinking hard, feeling sad, angry, and happy. I will stockpiling chapters again. See you later.
👋
The ending of the story – and whether it is bittersweet or maybe happy – very much depends on the view of the reader. It’s nice to hear that this story makes you think though~
I love it, as always! Thanks for the chapter~
Thanks for the chapter! ^^
I’m really excited for the last dream ! I hope it will goes well for them !
I feel like they will probably replace a shadow in the dream… 🤔