The Deceitful One



"Aaaaahhhhh!!!" Celine jolted awake from her sleep, her back drenched in a cold sweat as she looked around in terror.

"Celine, what happened?" Ron woke up, alarmed by her sudden screech. He tried to comfort her but found that her body was trembling and she even seemed to be scared of him.

"NO!" Celine distanced herself from Ron. "Don't come near me."

Ron got up from the bed and walked toward her slowly, his expression that of panic. "Celine, it's me. What happened? Tell me, please."

Celine crouched down on the floor, her back against the wall. She clutched at her hair and shook her head intensely. "No! No! No, stay away from me! You're not Ron! Get away from me!"

Ron's eyebrows creased into a frown. By now, he had realized that Celine must have had a terrible nightmare. But how bad could a nightmare be for a Rank 1 Transcendent to behave in such a way? Celine was almost on the verge of breaking down.

Without caring for her words, Ron rushed toward her and quickly hugged her tightly, "Hush, it's me, it's me! Everything's going to be all right. I'm here for you."

Celine tried to get away from Ron, she continuously punched his chest, however, Ron didn't let her go. She kept muttering incoherently, "No, no! Get away from me! D-Don't eat my brain…. P-Please, I beg you."

Ron's eyes narrowed in confusion as he asked, "Eat your brain? Celine, what're you talking about? It's me, look! You're no longer dreaming."

Celine raised her head and looked into Ron's eyes, "Y-You're Ron? Promise me you're not the old beggar…. No, no, you must be him." She began to beat on his chest once again. "Let me go! I said, let me go!"

'Old beggar?' Ron thought in his mind. 'Is she talking about the one she met earlier? But…. Why would she dream of him?'

He was now extremely confused. He didn't know whether this was a supernatural occurrence or not. However, he decided to first calm Celine down and then tomorrow take her to an apothecary from the Holy Blood Sect.

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After about fifteen minutes, Celine finally calmed down after Ron persuaded her that she was not dreaming anymore and that she was awake. But Ron could still see the hint of doubt and fear flash in Celine's eyes every time she looked at him.

For the first time, Ron truly felt afraid. Not for himself, but for Celine. Hence, he gave her a warm hug and spoke softly, "My love, we'll go to that apothecary in the outskirts tomorrow. he'll give you some potions, okay?"

Celine hugged him back and asked meekly, "You're really Ron, right?"

Ron nodded. "Of course it's me. Who else would I be?"

However, Celine's body suddenly began trembling in fear. "In the dream, y-you… you weren't Ron. You were h-him."

"Who him?" Ron inquired, feeling a little apprehensive. "Can you tell me more about this dream?"

Celine was reluctant to recall the nightmare she had. However, after much insistence from Ron, she finally recounted everything. "I had a dream about the first time we met at my friend's place in Damascus. The dream was more like a memory and everything felt so real.

"In the beginning, everything was fine. Then I met you…. We talked for a long time and then we entered an empty room. And t-that's when it h-happened." Her eyes trembled in horror.

"What happened?" Ron inquired, his arms around Celine tightening a little.

Celine looked him in the eyes and began to sob, "Y-You turned into the old homeless man I met today. A-And then… tendrils grew from your back and pinned me down. After that, the tramp b-began to eat my brains…."

Towards the end, Celine started to wail as she hugged Ron tightly. "Ron… you promise you're not h-him, right?"

Ron gently stroked her head and replied softly, "I promise you, Celine. I'm me and I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to you."

At the same time, he thought in his mind, 'I've never heard of anyone being attacked or cursed through dreams. Is this the work of a Transcendent… or something else?'

He thought for a very long time, however, he couldn't come up with anything. He couldn't be blamed for not knowing. After all, in the history of the Western Continent, no, in the history of this world, the dominion of dreams had never been explored before.

In the end, all Ron could do was hope that the apothecary could help Celine in some way. If not, he didn't know what to do. And he didn't wish to take this matter to his master, Sean. Because the latter had bigger things to worry about.

Ron gently hummed a tune into Celine's ears and hoped that she could soon fall asleep and rest. After all, it was still the middle of the night. But for some reason, Celine was truly scared of falling asleep.

She kept mumbling that the old tramp would come for her and eat her brains. In the end, the couple ended up staying awake for the entire night. In the morning, they finally departed for the outskirts, to meet the apothecary.

Meanwhile, Bryan who was still under the disguise of a homeless old beggar, was sitting across from their apartment building. As he saw the couple exit the building, he smiled faintly and mumbled, "This is just the beginning of your nightmare."

When he saw Ron's departing back, unprecedented anger and hatred welled up in his heart. He still remembered how Ron had stabbed him with a knife in his back—literally—on that fateful day.

He could have directly killed Ron and Celine now if he wanted to. Although he would suffer from grievous injuries, he was confident that he could take them both down.

However, Bryan wouldn't do that. Death would be an easy judgment for him. Bryan would make sure to properly toy with him first, snatch everything he held dear, and then make him wish he'd died.

Memories of Henry, Emma, and his teacher flashed in his mind as he muttered coldly, "I'll avenge you guys, don't worry." A ruthless glint gleamed in his eyes. "Even if it means my death!"

"Meow!!" Benny, who was peacefully sleeping on the ground beside Bryan, suddenly opened his eyes, jumped in the air, and smacked Bryan on the cheeks.

Bryan was taken aback. He looked at Benny and complained, "What was that for?"

Benny replied mentally, 'As long as I'm alive, I will not let you die. Never!' With that, he lay down on the ground and went back to sleep once again.

Bryan couldn't help but smile faintly. He patted Benny's head and replied, "I'm sorry, Benny. I won't say such things again." His heart was warmed when he saw Benny purr. He couldn't help but think, 'For you, Benny, I'll try my best to live.'

…

It was already past sunset by the time Ron and Celine came back from the apothecary. They entered their apartment and sat down in the living room.

Ron hugged her warmly and smiled. "See, there's nothing to worry about. With the potions that he gave you, you'll be able to sleep perfectly."

Celine, however, was still feeling a little hesitant. "Ron, are you sure? I don't know why but I have a feeling that the tramp will appear again." Towards the end of her sentence, she looked around the room in fear, as if the tramp was hiding somewhere in her apartment.

Ron shook his head and replied, "Don't worry. That apothecary is a Mid-String Transcendent. Naturally, he knows what he's talking about. Just take the potion he gave you and sleep. Trust me, you'll be fine."

In the end, Celine nodded her head. She couldn't help but wonder, 'Maybe, I'm just being too paranoid….'

Once she had this thought, she suddenly started to feel a little better. She really hoped that maybe all of this was indeed her paranoia. She looked at Ron and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry to put you through all this."

Ron kissed her on the lips and then replied warmly, "Don't say such things. If I don't look after you, then who will?

Celine's eyes began to redden as she hugged him tightly, "I love you, Ron"

Ron hugged her back and smiled. "I love you more."

The couple then spent the rest of the evening together. When it was finally time to sleep, Celine's mentality had improved quite a lot compared to earlier. She looked at the red liquid inside the vial—this was the potion given to her by the apothecary.

Unhesitatingly, she drank the entire thing in one go. Not even a few moments had passed, she felt a calm and soothing sensation course through all parts of her body. She felt at peace.

Her eyelids began to feel heavier and drowsiness came over her. She looked at Ron who was lying on the bed beside her and smiling at him, she muttered, "I'm… sleepy… Ron."

"I know, honey." Ron kissed her on the forehead and spoke softly, "Good night."

Celine finally closed her eyes and drifted into the Dreamworld. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a vast countryside ranch. There were cattle roaming around in the distance. And behind her was a house right beside a tall windmill.

This was the place where she grew up as a child, a place close to Damascus. With a faint smile adorning her lips, she walked toward her house.

She knocked on the main door, hoping for her mother or father to welcome her in. The door finally opened, but when Celine saw who was inside, her body began to tremble in fear.

The old tramp opened the door and stood right in front of Celine. He began to grin from ear to ear, displaying his sharp and jagged teeth. "Welcome home, honey."