He blinked after a few seconds, and his eyes became normal.
He returned to dining as if nothing had happened.
Elizabeth looked at Neo with a questioning gaze.
'His subconscious mind forgot everything I just told him.'
'This will keep happening. He won't understand he is in a nightmare.'
'If it was his conscious mind that was trapped here, we might've been able to make him aware of the nightmare.'
'However, that is impossible with his subconscious mind.'
While Neo explained things to Elizabeth, a doubt arose in his mind.
Tartarus had trapped him in an individual nightmare too.
But Neo had been conscious back there.
Did Tartarus do it purposefully so as to torture Neo mentally?
There were more inconsistencies when Neo thought about the events that occurred back then.
He had believed he was able to escape the nightmare as he had awakened the Nightmare element, and because he was a Heavenbreaker—thus, his mind was too powerful to be tricked.
But now he doubted such a thing.
He had trained in the Nightmare element for over a year and understood how powerful it was.
Moreover, Tartarus was a Stage-3 world.
Neo, at that time, was only as strong as a Stage-2 World. He shouldn't have been able to escape the Nightmare on his own.
After eating the food, Tyr left for training.
"What should we do now?" Ava questioned.
"We search for the World Core. For now, let's check this place in groups of two. If you find something suspicious, don't engage. Return to this room," Neo said.
He left an Intent Clone with Zera and Ava's group before he looked through the place with Elizabeth. The clone would allow the two groups to alert each other in case of emergencies.
"It's quite big," Elizabeth muttered as the two walked throught he corridor.
He nodded. The large statues lined along the corridors, and the opulent decorations were somewhat familiar to Neo.
He couldn't remember where he had seen them before, though.
"Is this the palace of the Weapon Dragon Clan?" she asked.
"It could be, and it could be not. The Nightmare is often a mix of reality and imagination.
"Sometimes it is created from the caster's past, and sometimes from the memories of the target caught in the nightmare."
The only thing that would remain constant in the nightmare was the 'nightmare' part.
Other than that, everything could be changed when the nightmare world was created.
Elizabeth continued to bring up topics for conversation.
She usually remained silent. Neo wondered if she was doing it so she could talk more with him, as this was one of the rare moments when they were alone.
'I'm being self-conscious because of that deal with Artemis.'
Neo was drowned in thoughts, wondering if his thoughts were true or not.
He almost wanted to peek into her mind.
His thoughts were put on a break when Elizabeth's feet suddenly came to halt.
Neo turned back to look at her.
"Did you notice it?" she asked.
"We have been walking for an hour in a loop."
"An hour?" Neo asked.
He was busy with his thoughts for an hour? He groaned. His sense of time was getting worse with each passing day.
"Neo?" Elizabeth looked at him worriedly, noticing his mind seemed to be somewhere else.
"It's nothing," Neo shook his head. "What did you mean we were walking in a loop?"
Elizabeth pointed at the door next to her.
"It's the door of the dining hall where we ate along with Tyr."
He opened the doors and saw the dining hall beyond it.
"How many times did we pass this door?"
Neo frowned. They came back to where they had started from.
He grabbed the air next to him. The space twisted as if he was holding an invisible blade, and he slashed.
A dark arc of energy shot out.
It clashed against the walls and dissipated harmlessly.
"We are in an Infinite Castle," Neo muttered. "This must be the stage for the Nightmare. We can't leave it—not by force, at least."
Neo erased the unnecessary thoughts and looked at the castle properly for the first time.
A chill crawled up his spine when he realized why the castle looked familiar.
"Did you notice something?" Zera asked as she and Ava returned.
"Before I tell you that, can you answer me one thing? Is this the castle of the Weapon Dragon Clan?"
"No, their estate doesn't have a place ."
Neo turned around and faced them.
"This castle is a replica of my dad's palace."
"What?" Ava muttered, stunned. "You mean your father is…."
Her words hung in the air.
She recalled Neo had told her something. He came to Tartarus to find his father.
"No," Neo said, knowing what she was thinking. "Tartarus isn't my dad. My dad is… his situation is complicated.
"My point is, I have heard Tartarus' voice and felt its presence. Its Intent is completely different from my dad's. So I'm sure it isn't my father."
Neo kept his next words to himself.
'But Tartarus is definitely related to Dad.'
'It was angry when it realized I had given up on Impartial Death, and it now created a world that is the exact replica of Dad's palace.'
"Neo, you talked to Tartarus?" Ava almost grabbed his shoulders and shook the answer out of him.
"Yes? Is that something rare?"
"No one has talked to Tartarus or ever sensed its presence. This is the first in history!"
"Wait," Zera suddenly spoke up. "How did you escape the Nightmare, Neo?"
"I conquered the Nightmares it showed me. Then I used the Nightmare element with the Void element and tore open that Nightmare world."
"I see. I always thought something was weird about the way you escaped. You were conscious in an individual nightmare.
"Even without that, a world as powerful as Tartarus shouldn't have any trouble keeping you trapped in a Nightmare forcefully.
"It was weird how you escaped easily. Now, I know how you could do that."