Had there ever been a case where there were two entrances to one subspace?
Absolutely not; that would go against the whole reason subspaces were created, as they were made specifically to give the main cast a private space to plan things and hang out.
How would it be a private space if some random person could just enter from another entrance?
So... did Ruby have access to my subspace this entire time?
No... Ruby and I had found this painting way before I even stole my subspace from the museum.
Then, was the apple painting the original entrance to my subspace, and the painting from the museum the second one?
...Wasn't this subspace technically Ruby's and not mine, then?
Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a growl echo throughout the gigantic room. Turning my head, I saw the black cat sitting on one of the pedestals.
Having nothing better to do as I already knew this place perfectly, I walked towards the pedestal before extending my hand to the cat.
This entire thing was a mystery, but it was a mystery that could wait.
The most important thing right now was stalling the teacher until everyone was evacuated or when Irene's reinforcements arrived.
However, the cat refused to get back on my hand as it adamantly stood on the pedestal, just staring at me.
Did it want to be left behind?
*meowww*
Throwing its paw out as it meowed, the cat slapped away my hand while still intently staring at me as if it was expecting me to do something.
Following the cat's stare down to my waist, I was surprised to see that the night-black corrupted sheath now had some red to it.
When did that start?
Holding the sheath in my hands, I curiously examined the corrupted sheath as it glowed blood-red.
This was the first time my corruption had not been pitch-black.
Dispersing the sheath, I let the blood-red sword fall to the ground, not daring to pick it up, and watched it grow brighter and brighter with every passing second.
Since this was a subspace, the sword's tracking device wouldn't work, so I wasn't scared of the teacher suddenly appearing and attacking me.
Looking back up the cat, I asked.
"Happy now?"
*meowww*
Am I really talking to a cat right now...?
Staring intently at the sword, the cat gracefully jumped down from the pedestal and circled the sword a few times before staring at me once again.
Did it want me to do something?
"You know, I'm the owner, and you're the pet, right?"
*MEOWWW*
Doing my best to suppress the attraction force between me and the sword, I stared at my cat's eyes as it threw its paw at the sword before looking back at me.
Well, this cat was the only thing sent back in time with me, so maybe I should trust it? ...but aren't black cats bad luck?
Realizing that the 5-minute time limit I had set myself was drawing closer, I stopped suppressing my body and let natural instinct take control as my hand reached for the sword without me even doing anything.
Feeling the cold metal of the sword's hilt, I gripped the sword before lifting it up like a torch and using it to illuminate the dark room.
Feeling the same sense of fatigue and exhaustion seeping into me, I stared at the cat, awaiting its further instructions... but it just stood there.
Ignoring me while licking its fur with its tongue, the cat seemed to tell me, "What? Do you want me to tell you how to do everything? Aren't you my owner?"
Recalling how my corrupted sheath had suppressed the side effects of the blood-red sword, I mustered the last of the remaining energy, and instead of manifesting something, I sent all the corruption within my body to my right hand, which was holding the sword.
Feeling a sharp pain in my palm as my corruption fought with the blood-red sword to gain control, I dropped to the floor, clenching my right arm.
Slowly but surely, the room was getting darker, and the light of the blood-red sword was diminishing...
As the room descended back into full darkness, I was about to relax when the room suddenly lit up again.
Looking down at the source of the light, I was almost blinded as I stared at my hand, which was glowing a blood-red, and next to it, the sword had lost all its light.
"... that is NOT normal."
Turning to my cat, I watched as he scurried away, seemingly saying, "Don't you dare fucking pet me with that crazy red hand."
Wait... am I really trying to assume what the cat is saying? Have I gone insane?
Waving my blood-red glowing hand up and down, I was surprised to see that my hand was functioning normally, and I didn't feel any pain or exhaustion.
Attempting to control the glowing red substance, I moved it towards my stomach. My arm began shining a blood red, and the substance traveled through my blood veins.
As the substance reached my shoulders, my shoulder shined a blood-red, even illuminating my pitch-black cloak, making it partially red.
Moving the substance down to my stomach, I realized that it was just about to hit the area where my mana was stored before I would stab my hands to gather it.
As the blood-red glowing substance moved downwards, touching the mana particles, I immediately dropped to the ground in pain. It felt like a shockwave had just been sent through my entire body.
As I uncontrollably began coughing, the floor below me began to be stained red with my blood.
Looking down at the puddle of blood below, I saw my reflection...
My body was completely devoid of the blood-red substance, and none of it was glowing, but on my back, there was one wing on my right shoulder.
Opposite an Angel's pure white and divine wing, my wing was a combination of dark red and pitch black, and I only had one wing.
Staring at me, the cat simply nodded its head before sitting back down as if saying, "I told you to listen to me!"
Regaining control over my body, I tried to control my wing, and as my wing flapped once, my surroundings distorted for a moment before stabilizing and revealing that my position had changed 10 meters.
It wasn't teleportation, but like dash, an increase in speed... but the speed boost was instantaneous, and it could be used infinitely as long I had mana.
The blood-red and pitch-black wing stretched all the way from the top of my head to my feet, so I stood back up; I had to be careful not to scratch my wing on the floor.
Recovering from the surging pain, I looked at my smartwatch and immediately realized I had lost track of time.
It had been more than double 5 minutes...
Grabbing my cat, who happily jumped onto my shoulder before climbing onto my wing, I rushed back to the painting and jumped through.
As my wing didn't fit, I was forced to turn horizontally when I jumped through, causing me to land face-first on the ground of Ruby's dorm.
Standing back up, I decided to check something really quick as I stretched out my hand back into the painting, but instead of my hand disappearing, it was met with the hard surface of the canvas.
...What did it all mean?
Despite the fact that my subspace and that room were identical in every aspect, my suspicions started to grow when I saw my reflection in the blood puddle.
My reflection was off. My eyes didn't recognize myself; there was no sense of familiarity with myself.
However, when I looked in a mirror or my reflection in a window, it was the opposite, as my eyes immediately recognized me.
The time-traveling cat, wherever I just was, the blood-red sword's relationship to dragons and that teacher, and finally, the teacher's plan to attack the Celestial Festival, which was not mentioned in the book.
What did all of these things mean?
Hearing the sound of swords clashing and spells being cast, I didn't waste any time as I rushed out of Ruby's room... only not to fit through the door due to my wing.
Turning vertically, I sidestepped out of the door before pulling the cat under my cloak and completely concealing my face with the hood.
Imagine the rumors that would spread if Ren had a goddamn wing on his back.
Opening my system menu, a smile unconsciously slipped onto my face as I realized those goddamn words "[1 / ?]" were finally gone.
===Menu===
User : Ren Montclair
[Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 2%) ]
-> Stealth : C
-> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 7%
-> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]
[Stats]
-> Rating : D+ {Dream not yet completed}
-> Strength : E+
-> Agility : D+
-> Stamina : D-
-> Magic Power : D+
-> Luck: G-S {Conditional}
-> Intelligence : E
-> Charm : F-
[Traits]
-> Passive: Dragon's Will [2 / ?]
---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.
---> Dragon's Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.
[Skills]
-> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user's speed until they move 10 meters.
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