Act 3: Path of the stars - Chapter 1

It was almost night when they returned home, the red of the setting sun dyeing the sky out the carriage window. The elf couldn't take his eyes away from the myriad of colors bouncing off the clouds, though in truth he wasn't really looking at them. His mind was elsewhere entirely, unable to forget that spirit's lonely end.
As if Miyaji could tell exactly what was troubling him – and he probably could, actually – he placed a hand on his shoulder, dragging him out of his thoughts. Startled, he looked at his partner for a second before turning back to watch the sunset with a heavy sigh.

"Miyaji, is it our fault?"

"What is?"

"Are we the ones who killed this world?"

Miyaji fell silent, taking his time to consider his words. Truthfully, this world had been declining for centuries, maybe even longer. What Kyusaku was wondering about was the cause of this slow demise. Was it the natural course of the world? Was it always going to end like this? Or did something trigger it?

"To be fair, this world has been dying for a long time," Miyaji finally said after a while. "In the present, it would be hard to say what exactly caused this."

So we think the same, Kyusaku thought, turning back to him again.

"But in any case, you did the right thing today," his partner comforted him. "At least that spirit didn't die alone."

That made him feel a bit better and he let out a yawn, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. That job was quite an exhausting one after all, and now that he was finally able to rest, it hit him all at once.

When he opened his eyes again, stars shone under the elf's feet, scattered under a thin layer of water that felt both cold and warm at the same time. Kyusaku raised his head but all he could see was a dark and empty sky. A chill ran down his spine as he suddenly felt a strange presence behind him. He slowly turned around only to find himself face to face with a giant humanoid figure towering over him, with no face and skin duller than the dead.

Kyusaku felt incredibly sick as soon as he woke up and rushed to the bathroom. What was that... What the fuck was that?! He felt like something extremely dangerous had laid its eyes on him. He felt like prey.

It was only when he came out of the bathroom and saw his own room, with Miyaji waiting for him with a concerned expression, that he realized he must have fallen asleep on the way home, and his partner carried him to bed like he used to when he slept in places he shouldn't.

"Are you alright?"

"… I'm fine. Probably just ate something bad," he lied, not wanting to alarm him.

The elf woke up that morning just as exhausted as when he went to sleep. He hadn't had any other dream that night, and he still couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched from that first one. He barely touched his food, still feeling unwell.

"Are you still feeling sick? Should I go get some medicine?" Miyaji offered.

"I'll be fine with some rest. I just hope Tsubari doesn't dump more work on me."

These past few days had been rather hectic for the Archives. On orders of the King, they were preparing an exhibition on the kingdom's history. Not only that, but the King offered a reward to any scholar who presented something that caught his eye, so everyone was working hard not only to prepare the exhibition, but also to write the most interesting scientific paper, or to discover something new.
Kyusaku couldn't say he was interested in all of this; he had already received awards for various discoveries he made in the past and he was too old to be interested in competitions. He just wanted to quietly research things that he was curious about, at his own pace, with Miyaji by his side.

Come to think of it, it's a little too quiet today... He thought, hands pausing midway through his meal as he raised his head to take a look around the mostly empty cafeteria.

"Miyaji, don't you think it's a little too quiet?"

"Now that you mention it... Everyone should be running around. Where did they all go?"

The elf shrugged and quietly forced himself to finish his plate before returning to his room. Since they didn't have any other work to do and weren't participating in that exhibition, he could take all the time he needed to rest. Miyaji decided to use this rare break to do some shopping, not wanting to bother him. I'm sure he's gonna buy more of his romance novels... Kyusaku thought to himself.

On his way back, Kyusaku ran into a few other Archivists whom he thought were acting strange. One of them almost collided with him; she had dark circles under her eyes, her skin was pale, and she completely ignored his calls.
All the other Archivists he saw were the same. It wasn't uncommon to find sleep-deprived colleagues once in a while, but all of them? He couldn't help but think it was a little weird, but honestly didn't have the energy to think about it for now, and promptly went back to sleep. This is a problem for future me, he told himself as he closed his eyes and slipped into a deep slumber.

The sky, empty as if all the stars had fallen into the ocean below him, stretched over his head like an abyss ready to swallow him. However, the water at his feet, despite only reaching his ankles, didn't feel any safer. It felt like the stars, which seemed to float in a place much, much deeper than the water, were trying to swallow him too.
He could feel the pull of an invisible force, and just as he thought this, his feet suddenly sank and he fell face first into the water; he gasped for air, and quickly realized he couldn't breathe. The stars were gone and there was nothing around him but pitch darkness.

Kyusaku woke up gasping for air and clawing at his throat, and it took him a while to realize he was not drowning in nothingness anymore. His heart still racing, he put on his glasses and made his way to his bathroom, deciding that a bath would be good. He was once again drenched in sweat, and he couldn't relax after that dream. What the fuck is wrong with these dreams. I've never had two of them in a row, in the same day! And it was about the same place...

"Kyusaku?"

The elf's ears twitched as he finished washing his face and he opened the door to see Miyaji standing in the middle of his room with two shopping bags.
The elf's ears twitched as he finished washing his face and he opened the door to see Miyaji standing in the middle of his room with two shopping bags.

"There you are! I brought some stuff to make you feel better," He declared, handing him one of the bags.

Kyusaku quickly looked through it. "Medicinal herbs for sleep, incense, herbs for a bath..." A smile came to his face. "You're always so thoughtful."

"Only for you," his partner replied with a wink.

"Well, perfect timing," he said as he grabbed the herbs. "I was just about to take a bath. Hopefully these will help me relax."

The elf left the bag on his bed and went back into the bathroom, Miyaji right behind him. He stopped in his tracks when he realized his partner had followed him, and turned around to give him an inquisitive look.

A smirk appeared on the redhead's face. "Didn't I say I'd follow you even in the bath?"

"Now that you mention it, you did say you would... as long as it doesn't bother me."

"And? Does it bother you?"

"Well, no, I mean, it's not like we've never had to be in very close proximity while traveling, but I just don't think there's a need for it here? I mean, I'm perfectly capable of taking a bath on my own, and while it's true that the bathtubs here can easily accommodate two people, that doesn't mean it's an invitation for you to bathe with me..." Kyusaku's face reddened as he realized he was rambling for no reason. "Anyway, you don't need to do that."

"It doesn't matter if I need to do it or not, I just want to. I want to take care of you. You look exhausted, I know you're just going to fall asleep there anyway."

"Oh, come on, I still slept for... around two hours. Not consecutively, but still. I used to be able to go two days without sleeping!" He bragged. "Until you forced me to have a decent sleep schedule."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Miyaji replied. "And now your body's not used to it anymore. You're also 100 years old already!"

"Did you really need to mention my age?"

Miyaji just replied by sticking out his tongue, and the elf rolled his eyes, not sure how to deal with him; though he did enjoy these interactions with him. Miyaji always made him laugh.

"So you just... want to take a bath with me?" The elf summarized, a little dumbfounded. "Just like that? For no reason?" He added, unsure if he had been clear enough – his own mind wasn't the clearest at the moment.

"Please, let me take care of you. Just once."

"'Just once' you say, but aren't you always taking care of me?"

"So what's one more time then?"

"But we're talking about bathing together here," he pointed out, averting his eyes. "It's a little different."

When he looked at his partner again, Miyaji had a big smile on his face. He couldn't help but think he kind of looked like a god for a moment. A dog. A dog, as in the animal. Not a god. Definitely not a god. Fuck, I'm really tired if I'm starting to make typos in my head.

"Is this something that friends normally do?" He asked, a bit confused. "I'm not really sure what normal friends do, I've never had friends who were normal before."

Miyaji thought for a moment before replying. "Does it matter? We're far being normal friends, anyway."

"You have a point. Well, I don't really mind, so sure..."

I fell asleep... was the first thing the elf thought after waking up in his bed, realizing Miyaji's prediction was correct. I'm starting to think Miya knows me better than I do... All he could remember before he fell asleep was how warm and relaxing the water was, and Miyaji helping him. He could still feel the sensation of his partner's fingers combing his hair as he hummed a certain melody. That must have been when I dozed off.
As he took his time to stretch, he noticed he felt well rested for once. His slumber hadn't been disturbed by creepy dreams either, and he guessed it was thanks to the incense brought by Miyaji. The smoke still filled his room long after it stopped burning.

Finally getting out of bed, he realized the clothes he was wearing weren't his, and he fiddled with them for a bit, confused and trying to remember where they came from. They were made of an incredibly soft material and he knew he didn't own such comfortable and high-quality sleepwear. Thinking about it, Miyaji did have a second shopping bag with him.

Miyaji really is too good... I'm almost jealous of the person who will marry him in the future. Wait, if I'm wearing these clothes, that means Miya – nevermind, let's not think about that.

He shook his head, stopping that train of thought before it went any further and got dressed. When he finally left his room, he realized it was... morning again? How long did I sleep, exactly? He wondered as he walked around, looking for his partner. It should have been quite a busy time but the Archives were completely quiet, and now that he was awake enough, he found it even stranger.

It was starting to worry him, so he hurried to the library where he should have found the most people actively working, but once again it was completely silent, and dark, with only a few lamps lit here and there, giving it an incredibly eerie atmosphere.
His footsteps slowed, and he made his way through the rows of bookshelves, looking carefully for anyone he might find. When he finally ran into someone, he hurried towards them, only to find them sprawled over on their desk, face pale and barely reacting to him. They wouldn't talk, only giving him him a blank stare, like they were looking at something he couldn't see.

Creeped out, he left them there and looked everywhere in the library, only to find more people in the same state. And Miya's nowhere to be seen... this is concerning. Not seeing his partner anywhere, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. If he's not here, maybe that means he's alright? He tried to convince himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that came over him.
He could still remember the creature from his dream, and something told him the two cases were related. Since he was clearly targeted by that thing, it was possible that it went after his partner as well.

What the fuck is going on here... First these weird dreams, and now this...?