"Mmm..." Moaning under his breath, Talon slowly opened his eyes as he looked up dazedly. The sun's rays penetrated through the curtains and hit him in the face, making him frown visibly before he wiped his eyes.
"It's already morning?" He murmured as he tried to rise up, only to realize that some kind of weight was pressing on him. Looking down, Talon was shocked to see Acrypha lying on top of him with her hand wrapped around his neck. Her eyes were closed as she breathed quietly and rhythmically.
Her amazingly soft body pressed against him in many areas. Even in his numb state, Talon felt as if he was wrapped in a heavenly blanket. Acrypha's soft embrace was addicting, to say the least.
"..."
Talon silently looked at her, trying to understand what was happening. However, he quickly realized that he had a completely different problem to think about. Between his legs, something has awoken along with him. His eyes were slowly drawn to the twin peeks pressing against his chest carefreely. Their shape was completely distorted under pressure and it made Talon sense far more than he could see.
Feeling it poking Acrypha, Talon's flinched before he quickly moved away.
"Mmm..." That sudden movement made Acrypha slowly open her eyes.
"Did you fall asleep?" Talon asked her as he put his hand over his groin to hide the weird feeling he had. 'That was so close, holy shit!'
"... Yeah, I weirdly dozed off some time. I can't remember." Acrypha slowly lifted her head up as she stared at Talon with a sleepy look. Seeing her mesmerizing beauty in such a defenseless state, with disheveled hair and disheveled clothes made Talon's heart skip a beat.
Something about the current Acrypha had a completely different charm than usual. He could see far more erotic details about her than before and it garnered a very strong reaction from him.
Usually, Talon can somehow manage to deal with Acrypha's charm with not much of a problem. However, at this moment, there was simply no way for him to handle it.
So, to calm his boiling mind, he turned around and stood up. "Well, ehem, this is certainly a first. Didn't you say that you don't need sleep?"
"I don't. But, I felt like sleeping for the first time in a long while." She said as she blinked.
'I haven't had the urge to sleep in decades... This is certainly weird.' She thought to herself.
"How was it?" Talon asked curiously.
"... Quite pleasant, actually."
"Haha, it is! I don't think I will ever stop sleeping even if I don't need it anymore. It's just the best."
With that, Talon walked to the other side of the room where he entered a bathroom, and washed his face.
*Knock* *Knock*
A few minutes later, the door knocked. "Hm? I wonder who is it?" Talon murmured as he opened the door.
Outside, he found Hyun-Jae waiting. She had a subtly excited look on her face.
"Good morning." She said in a slightly higher-pitched tone than usual.
"Good morning... What brought you here this early?" Talon asked as he let Hyun-Jae inside and closed the door.
The girl walked inside looking around silently. She seemed quite curious as if she had never been inside this room before.
What Talon didn't realize at that moment was that his hands were subtly shaking. It wasn't something easily noticeable but Hyun-Jae noticed it. A hint of understanding flashed through her eyes before vanishing.
"I understand. But, can I say one thing?"
"...Of course." Talon smiled confusedly.
***
*Two Hours Later*
Talon notified everyone about his small trip. Naturally, many of them were worried about leaving the base alone. But, Talon didn't want to hinder the progress of the work for this as he believed he was more than enough.
He also had to somehow convince Sophie to stay since she was adamant about going with him. She was also worried about his parents since she had known them for years and even kept in contact with them throughout the years even when she and Talon weren't together anymore.
But, Talon was able to make her stay with the simple promise that he wouldn't be taking more than a few hours at most. If he would be late, she was going to leave to search for him.
With that, Talon bid them farewell and left the base through the gates. Then, he got in one of the cars he borrowed.
Acrypha sat next to him in the passenger seat.
"Do you know where to go?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah, I know this area." Turning the car on, Talon drove it into the main street and continued moving south.
"How is your hometown, by the way? You've never told me about it." On the road, Acrypha asked curiously.
"Hmm... My hometown? It's pretty nice. We're a very small community. Everyone knows each other. I love how familiar it feels even when I come back to visit every few months." Talon said as he reminisced about the past.
He had many memories, good and bad in that town so it had a special place in his heart. Everything about it felt like home. Especially the people that lived in it. Then, Talon remembered what kind of place this world had turned into and his expression soured. As far as he knew, no one from his hometown came to the human society which put a bad omen on his mind.
'I wonder if anyone survived...' He thought to himself.
He knew that it was almost impossible for the entire town to survive the integration and that fact ached his heart greatly. But, he didn't let himself think much about it. He simply hoped that many of them miraculously survived and were waiting for him there.
Instinctively, Talon increased the speed of the car a little as it stormed through the highway, moving toward its destination. Time passed rather slowly as the duo talked about different topics to pass the time.
Eventually, they passed next to a sign that said 'Welcome to Yeongam'. The sign had been torn to pieces and yet still somehow didn't fall to the ground.
"Hmm, it's getting a little cloudy," Talon murmured as he looked through the window.
Naturally, Talon started decreasing the speed of the car as he saw the town in the distance. The all-too-familiar scene gave Talon a strong hit of nostalgia. The image of the town he grew up in overlapped with the present picture.
However, that memory slowly vanished as Talon realized that his hometown was completely wrecked. Apart from a few details that were left intact, the entire town had changed completely. It was a ghost of its former shade.
Reaching the entrance to the town, Talon opened the door as he left the car. His expression was stoic.
"... I'm back..."
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading :D