The world, nothing but darkness.
Like an Abyss.
It was silent and dark.
All Brandon could see was nothing but an empty world.
Vast darkness.
Silence.
It was peaceful.
Then suddenly, a figure emerged.
Pale white hair, ice-blue eyes looking back at him.
'Brandon... Locke?'
It was him, yet at the same time it wasn't.
Suddenly, the figure blurred out. The scene abruptly changed.
"?"
Brandon couldn't comprehend what was happening.
He was just in the Academy, supposedly taking History class. But the next second he was...
In a room.
A room he was quite familiar with.
No, it was the same room that he had from the previous apartment.
But...
'How am I there...?'
A figure that looked identical to Brandon Locke laid on the bed.
Yet Brandon was standing on the corner of the bed, looking down at the figure.
A vision?
"This doesn't make any sense...'
This was the first time it had happened to him.
Creak-
The door creaked open and another figure emerged. A figure that was quite blurry to him.
The figure entered the room as Brandon just stood still, looking at the figure.
""
He couldn't make out who the person that entered the room was.
But he was certain about one thing...
'So it can't see me...'
He was intangible.
The figure just phased through him. It stood up, peering down at the other Brandon that seemed to be sleeping.
-Brandon?
A muffled voice, yet Brandon wasn't sure where it was coming from.
Suddenly, the figure lifted its hand. Its palms facing down at the other Brandon.
-Brandon? Hey...?
The muffled voice rang again, but Brandon's attention was solely focused on the figure.
With the figure's hand lifted, it seemed to be chanting something.
Yet Brandon couldn't hear what it was saying.
-Brandon?
Still muffled. Brandon paid no heed to it, trying to read the figure's lips to make out what it was saying.
He couldn't tell.
He could deduce that it wasn't English.
But suddenly, the figure's hands started to glow.
Marks that seemed to be runic symbols etched on the figure's arms gradually glowed.
-Oy, Brandon, wake up!
The glow started getting brighter, and at the same time, the other Brandon started glowing as well.
A magic circle materialized, hovering above the other sleeping Brandon.
One layer... Two layers... Three layers... Five... Eight...
Ten.
A total of ten magic circle layers materialized, hovering above the other Brandon.
-What's wrong with him?
-I don't know
More muffled voices.
But Brandon couldn't discern them anymore as his attention was fixated at the sight before
him.
'What the fuck is going on?'
Rumble... Rumble...
The entire room started to shake. But due to Brandon's intangibility, he couldn't feel the vibrations.
Suddenly, the other Brandon's eyes started to glow a pure white hue.
"..."
Creak-
The door behind him creaked open again. It seemed like another figure entered the room.
Realizing, Brandon abruptly turned around.
But just as the figure started to enter his peripheral view...
"Huaak...!"
He was jolted awake.
"Brandon?"
The voice reached his ears. But his thoughts were too occupied with the vision.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
He could feel his heartbeat quicken.
"Haa... Haa..."
Taking deep heavy breaths, Brandon tried to calm down.
The vision was etched in his memory.
Everything felt vivid.
He was unsure about what he just saw.
He knew it wasn't a memory.
But could it have been the original Brandon Locke's memory?
No, that didn't seem to be the case.
After all, he saw the other Brandon Locke laying down on the bed with his eyes closed.
Then...
Whose memory was it.
Or was it...
A vision?
A hallucination?
"Наа... Наа..."
He took deep heavy breaths again, as his heart rate started to stabilize.
Drip. Drip...!
A wet sensation dripped down from his nose.
Realizing, he touched it.
As he removed his hand from his nose, he looked at his fingers.
His eyes shot wide open when he realized his fingers were stained red.
"Brandon?"
In a daze, Brandon looked up to find Raven, tilting his head at him.
Beside Raven was Reinhard and Rachel, looking at him with a worried expression.
"Brandon, your nose-"
"It's bleeding."
Before Raven could finish, Rachel leaned forward and wiped Brandon's nose with a handkerchief.
Brandon didn't respond. His eyes were wide open as he looked down at his fingers.
Wiping his bloody nose, Rachel's worried voice reached his ears.
"What happened?"
"...I don't know."
There was something clearly wrong with him.
Looking up, he could see Rachel's face up close, and before he could react she pressed her
hand against his head.
"!"
"You're burning up..."
|| ||
"...Your complexions are quite pale as well."
After her assessment, she took both of her hands away and took another handkerchief to wipe
the other hand.
After wiping her hand, Brandon glanced down at her handkerchief, only to find that there was
a wet stain on it.
Realizing, he pressed his hand on the side of his head and felt a wet sensation.
He was sweating. A cold sweat.
Pinching his forehead, he tried to calm down.
'What the hell is going on with me?'
As his senses gradually returned, Brandon began to feel the onset of fatigue.
His insides started heating up and his stomach started churning.
His entire body was soaked in sweat. He could feel his shirt sticking to his body.
'Could it have been because of [Mana Burst]?'
It was a plausible theory.
But he instantly dismissed it.
It had already been a week since his fight with Jin. It wouldn't make sense if he was still
suffering the backlash from the overuse of his skills.
But he was unsure.
If he wanted answers, there was only one person he could ask.
Jin.
Abruptly standing up, Brandon immediately headed for the exit. Rachel was surprised and tried to follow him as Raven and Reinhard did so as well.
From behind him, Rachel, Raven, and Reinhard's voice reached his ears.
"Brandon? Where are you going?"
"Slow down!"
"Oy!"
But Brandon paid no heed to their worries and tried to retrieve his phone.
After he did, he turned around to meet their gazes.
With a phone in his hand, he pursed his lips.
"I'm fine, I'll go to the nurse's office. You guys don't need to follow me."
The three seemed hesitant to believe him, but eventually nodded with a worried expression,
and did not press further.
As Brandon was about to leave, he turned around once again.
"Ah, and Rachel."
At his call, Rachel turned around and met his gaze.
"?"
"Thanks."
Rachel seemed taken aback, but eventually nodded with a smile plastered on her face.
Turning around, Brandon beckoned for the nurse's office. But instantly took a detour after
their figures were nowhere to be seen.
"H-haa... Haa..."
With each step he took, he felt his breath grow heavier.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
The sound of his heartbeat rang in his head.
Looking down, his legs started to shake.
Because of that he decided to pause, using the wall to support himself.
"Fuck is going on..."
Glancing around, it seemed like no one was around.
Realizing that the coast was clear, Brandon scrolled his contact list and immediately clicked
on 'Alpha'.
Ring... Ring... Click-
"Jin!"
-I thought I told you to wait for three yea—
"There's something wrong with me."
-Hm? That's not my problem.
"You're the only one I can ask." -I'll hear you out then.
Brandon decided to tell him about his symptoms.
From his pale complexions, the nose bleeding, the fatigue, the stomach churning, to how his
body felt weak.
The only part he omitted was about the vision that he had.
He was quite unsure if it had any connections to his current predicament.
And in the first place, Jin wouldn't understand anyway.
After he finished explaining, Jin's voice rang.
-Ah, that.
"Do you know what it is?"
-Yeah, but Evelyn can probably explain it better.
"I'm too light headed to find her, just tell me."
—Just tell her these exact two words. But after this, don't call me again unless it's about 'that'.
"H-haa... Yeah, now tell me."
-Mana Poisoning.
Click-