'What's going on...'
Surprised by the sudden barrage of system notifications, Isaac montarily flinched and looked at the direction of the system window.
It had to be said that, although missions never allude him thus far, they don't necessarily appear all at once, and so many too.
'One, two... Five?'
He counted, and indeed, there were five new missions assigned to him all at the sa ti.
Curious, he commanded the system to open them up and briefly gloss over the nas of the objectives, and to his intrigue, the nas themselves looked quite interesting.
[Mission: The Knight of Witches]
[Mission: Lightning, Eternal]
[Mission: The Oasis You Gardened]
[Mission: The Peng Bird's Lord]
[Mission: Hruodlandus Maledictus Chapter: Act 1]
'What the...'
Having briefly looked at the titles of the new missions, Isaac couldn't help but beco startled internally.
Not only did all of them rank quite high, but all of them were interlinked!
He wasn't even given the choice of which quest to do first. They were listed in a way that they should be done in the following order, culminating in the last mission which was...
'This is... a Traveler's Story Quest, isn't it?' He thought he read the final quest from the quest line. He couldn't be more sure about it. 'It follows the sa chanic as in the ga, being that it displays the character's constellation na... My na.'
He then looked at the na more and noticed sothing interesting. 'Maledictus... Maled... Cursed?'
Translating the constellation in his mind, he naturally arrived at a conclusion. 'Is that supposed to be my constellation na?'
He had to admit, it was a rather grim na. Yet, at the sa ti, he also couldn't help but agree to it.
With all things considered, he was indeed quite a cursed fellow. Not only from his own system that pushes him to do quests, albeit with no punishnts, but also because of his own convictions.
In a way, his own conviction to bring peace to those close to him is also a self-imposed curse.
He then looked at the other part of his constellation na that left his mind boggled for a bit. 'Hruodlandus... What does that even an?'
Was that even a proper word? It might be, but he just doesn't if it is.
But seeing how he won't be able to decipher it anyti soon, he decided to leave it be for now.
At that mont, Furina, who was still clinging on behind him, noticed his troubled expression and leaned in near him.
She observed his expression silently, and through them, she saw his eyes move as if he was reading sothing in mid air, stirring so form of suspicion in her heart.
Then, she asked, "Isaac? What's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing." Realizing that he was zoning out, Isaac commanded the system to disappear and focus back at Furina. "I was just thinking of... so unimportant things at the mont."
"So you say, but you looked like you were pretty engrossed in those thoughts." She continued to probe as she teased him. "What are you really thinking of, hm? Hm? Is there sothing you're not telling ?"
"..." He remained silent for a while, with a wry smile plastered on his face. "Well, continue asking, and I might just tell you. But who knows?"
"Anywho," before she could ask further, Isaac imdiately began changing the subject. "Do you have any plans for today? I don't have anything on my plate for the ti being, so I'm thinking of spending the day with you."
"Actually..."
Furina was just about to propose an idea for the two of them now that he brought up the matter, but before she could do so, she suddenly stopped herself.
She seed to ponder sothing for a mont, her expression changing to a small frown for a bit, before returning to her usual self.
"Actually, I do have plans for today... I'm sorry. I do want to spend the ti with you, but I rembered sothing urgent that I need to tend to."
"Oh... That's alright." Seeing that she seed to be quite reluctant about the idea, but also quite resolute about it, Isaac decided to not force her. "You go do what you have to do, and if you need any help, please let know. I'll help you to the best of my abilities."
Whatever it was that Furina wanted to do, it seed to have been a sudden matter for her to be quite hesitant about it.
As such, Isaac thought that perhaps it was also a sensitive matter, perhaps one concerning the nation itself.
"But..." He then gave her a small peck on the cheek. "Once you're done, let's have so ti together. Perhaps a walk or even watch a theater play. Well?"
Furina lingered for a mont before a warm smile blossod on her face as she hugged him fondly once more. "I'd love that."
"I'd love that very much..." She repeated in a faint murmur, this ti in his ears.
Feeling her tender warmth envelop him in her embrace, Isaac humd softly as he nodded lightly. "Then... I'll wait for you."
There was a mont of silence between the two, and soon they parted.
One went off to ensure the future in her dreams, and the other stayed behind, waiting for their promise.
One could only wish for their roles to never one day be reversed.
---
The day went on as the café finally opened, and pretty soon, the custors ca flooding in.
It has to be said that, at this point, Isaac's little café's na had already spread far and wide as a top-notch establishnt where people from all walks of life can enter.
And as such, the custors of the café always saw those from the bottom, who are the hard working citizens of Fontaine, all up to prestigious individuals like the Duke of ropide himself.
This ti, it was no different from usual.
...well, perhaps the only difference was that Isaac himself, the owner, wasn't behind the counter.
He was, in fact, sitting on one of the reserved seats in the café, together with Nahida and Klee, who were each both playing with materials he had given them.
Klee was doodling on a large canvas Isaac had given her, while he and Nahida were playing chess.
So people who saw them might think that he was playing with a child, but only he knew that the child in front of him was one whose wisdom cannot be beat. Even so, he challenged her.
Of course, this wasn't just only to entertain them, but also a way for Isaac to talk to Nahida about his recent nightmares.
"So you want to talk about this... unsettling feeling in your heart?" Nahida asked as she moved a pawn. She then smiled at him. "I'm flattered that you think I can help."
"Well, there's really no one else I can better confide in, you know?" Isaac replied as he moved his knight out. "I an, who else knows more about dreams than the Dendro Archon, right?"
"I won't deny that." Nahida lightly nodded as she watched the board. "But it also has to be said that, just because a tree in a forest is filled with leaves, does not an that it bears the sa fruits as them."
"Aha, I do like your analogies." Isaac chuckled. He then relaxed a bit and said in a more comber tone, "But this ti... I really do need help. I fear that this dream may be more than it lets on."
Nahida regarded him for a mont before nodding to herself. Then, placing her hand on a piece, she spoke as she carefully moved it across the board. "I cannot make promises, but I can also try. Dreams are like bodies of water similar to the ocean. It cannot be tad nor can it be fully known. You can only tread its waters if you know how to properly sail it."
After saying yet another analogy, Nahida gestured at him to speak. "Alright, let's start."
Isaac nodded and thought for a mont, carefully deciding what to tell her, while also recalling as much as possible from the dream he had.
Then, using the appropriate words to depict what he could vaguely feel at that mont before waking up, he began to describe his dream to her piece by piece, as if solving a vague puzzle with no picture whatsoever, yet still connecting each piece to the other.
Nahida listened patiently, never distracting nor interrupting him, while looking at the chessboard.
Finally, after he had given her all the details he could muster, Isaac sighed. "...and that's pretty much it."
"I see..." Nahida humd as she digested the information she had just gotten. "At first glance, it does seem like one of those prophetic dreams often told in Suru, of how the Dendro Archon entered the dream of the First Sage and guided him through his dreams."
"But, upon hearing more of your story, it turned out to be a more grim tone." She said in a hushed voice, as if telling it much louder would only invite trouble. "Listening to it feels ominous, but the way you have circled around the idea of the main subject of your dreams reminds of sothing far sinister that I am familiar with."
"Sinister?" Isaac repeated.
Nahida nodded as she continued. "Indeed, it is a vile thing that seeks to corrupt those that chanced upon it: Forbidden Knowledge."
Isaac didn't say anything, but he did feel troubled upon hearing her interpretation. He didn't say anything and let her continue.
"Although you don't possess any symptoms related to the consumption of Forbidden Knowledge, your dream itself feels like one such recollection of it." She explained with a troubled expression. "It's similar to the mad ramblings of those who had fallen victim to its insanity, of a dark and insidious being eating away at their minds."
"This is just my initial theory, but..."
Nahida then looked at him with worry. "I believe that you are tainted or at least exposed to so sort of Abyssal influence."
"What? ?" Isaac pointed at himself in disbelief. "That can't be possible, I've never even..."
He stopped.
Because at that mont, he rembered sothing close to what Nahida had been describing.
It was his system.
'No, it can't be...'
...But it did make reasonable sense. What else was capable of giving him this much power, let alone skills like [Evernight] that feels as if it had been forged in the depths of the Abyss itself?
At that mont, he montarily felt fear towards his own system that had been with him since he had arrived in this world.
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