Daniel lied down, cacooned in a warm blanket on the bed nearest to the window, the sound of people playing soccer can be heard from inside of the clinic.
He sunk into a sea of thoughts, brainstorming ideas to put into usage with his ability. His eyes gazed to the ceiling, wandering in his own world.
What in the world is happening? How is he is he doing all those strange things? and more importantly, where the heck did this odd ability come from?
Then the door squeaked open. Ken peeked into the room before walking in. He stood beside Daniel. He had a short curtain fringe haircut. His skin was slightly tan.
"Eat up, I told the others to go ahead to the canteen without me," Ken said, throwing a wrapped sandwich on the side of bed.
"Nah im good, I went inside Jung Mo," he replied, still looking up the ceiling.
Ken's neck protruded back in confusion, "What?"
"Yeah.." Daniel said before realizing what he just said, "It was... amazing-"
"Wa-wait thats not what i meant," He said again, "I gotta tell you something,"
He got into a seating position, his hand touching his lips as he stared into void, thinking about the best way to explain the situation to his friend.
"Alright, so.." He began, "I can get into people's heads."
Ken didnt respond with anything. The look on his face was enough to clarify that he thought Daniel had gone insane. Even as an Otaku, Ken himself find it hard to believe such bullsh*t. Among the five, Ken was the most likeable at school, respected by boys and idolized by girls. He always seemed humble and mature. Ken wasn't two-faced nor a backstabbing bastard, but he does have layers of masks that only the five had broken through.
"You got fever?" Ken grabbed his forehead.
"I'm being serious," Daniel exclaimed, getting Ken's hand off,"sit down, sit down."
Ken sat on the chair next to the bed as he unwrapped his sandwich.
"It started this morning.
Actually, im not sure when it started.
It's a bit complicated so listen up.
Since this morning, I've been seeing these strange lights everytime I close my eyes."
Daniel continued explaining everything to Ken to the roots of its details. Ken could only listen quietly as he enjoyed his meal.
"So, basically... You're saying that those light orbs that you see are like the "souls" of people?" Ken said, "And when you focus on a specific one, you can somehow enter it?"
Daniel nodded with a stern expression.
"I think you're actually sick, mentally," Ken replied.
Daniel sighed.
"I guess I'll have to just show it to you," He asked.
Without even waiting for Ken's response, he closed his eyes and saw Ken's soul, a mild blue blaze.
Daniel blinked into Ken's mind. In an instant, he was somewhere else. He can hear chatters of people.
As he opened his eyes. The scorching sun flashed into his pupils. He shaded his eyes with his arm. Everything surrounding him was something that came straight out of a fantasy manga.
He was in a middle of a passing crowd. Merchants advertising their products in stalls, women in Victorian dresses and drunk soldiers jabbering amongst themselves in a middle of the day.
Daniel, with confusion and admiration, gazed up to the towering castles residing on mountains and the Scandinavian architectures all around him.
Strong wind blew down at the market. A silhouette of a horse-sized flying creature flashed through roofs.
Dragons. Knights rode on these creatures as they glided the blue sky. Daniel's eyes enlarged in disbelief. He felt goosebumps on his skin.
"Whoah," Daniel muttered, his eyes almost brimming with tears.
"I was expecting something else inside an otaku's mind,"
Daniel strolled through the busy kingdom as he followed the mossy cobbled path in attempt to search for Ken.
"Well, that was easy," Daniel said when he saw Ken walking just ahead of him.
As Daniel observed him, he noticed Ken's appearence. His clothes were in leather and chainmail. He had a metal chestplate and shoulderpads strapped onto his body. On his back was a plain looking crusader sword.
Then Daniel ran after him, pushing his way through the crowd.
"Look! I'm here in your head," Daniel shouted, grabbing onto Ken's shoulder.
Ken got startled. He turned back with annoyance, thinking Daniel was someone else. Even with his mind concious that everything is made up, there he was, still not breaking off his role in his "story" as the "hero".
"I should tell you," Ken lashed off Daniel's hand off his shoulder without looking, "I'm fairly stro-"
Ken went silent when his eyes met Daniel. There was a brief moment of stillness as tension built up between the two.
Ken fell on his ass, his face radiating with fear as cold sweat rolled down his chin, quite of a phenomenal sight for Daniel to be able to witness Ken actually in a state of shock and horror.
"Wh-what is this?" Ken stuttered.
"Chill.." Daniel attempted to calm him down as he walked closer, "I can explain."
Some time later...
"So yeah, what I said about Jung Mo," Daniel recalled, "You know how much of a pig he is right?"
Daniel gave a look that implies that Ken knew what he was talking about without even saying it.
They both were sitting on the tallest point of the castle, on the cone shaped roofing of a tower. It was the golden hour, when the blue sky blended in with yellow hues of the sinking sun and the evening light passed through the waving clouds.
"What did you see there?" Ken asked.
"Oho, a food paradise. That sums it up," He replied," I'm mentally full from eating."
"Anyway, you should know that it's been 2 hours since I got to the clinic, and our classroom is directly above me," Daniel smirked.
Ken was intrigued, "How many did you get into?"
"Almost the whole class," Daniel shrugged, "I'm not sure, I cant even see who's "soul" I got into,"
Ken's shoulder dropped in disappointment and his face lost its thrill.
"But I did find interesting stuff,"
"Im starting to understand how to use this thing."
"By the way, this-" Daniel spread his arms up to the sky, "this is amazing."
Ken chuckled, "Of course it is. But. You havent exactly seen the real paradise."
Daniel raised an eyebrow and looked at Ken with skeptical eyes.
Ken burst into laughters.
"Relax," he smiled mischievously, "Im just joking."
With his squinted eyes, Daniel still looked unconvinced.
"Sure.. sure," He replied with a slow nod.
"Oh and how long has it been by the way?" Daniel asked.
"Around.... 10 minutes," Ken answered.
"Wait what? Then why is the sun already setting?"
"Oh I just thought it looks nicer, so it just happened, haha," Ken said, "I'm just sitting quietly next to your unconscious body the whole time man, spinning around the chair while everything happens inside my head. I thought you passed out again when suddenly I felt something not in my control happening in my head."
"Ow.." Daniel responded, "I'll pretend you never said that. That just ruined the mood of this whole thing."
"Anyway, how are you going to get out of here?" Ken wondered.
"At first, it was either to get shocked or knocked out inside someone's head," Daniel explained,
"but then after going from one head to another, turns out all I need to do is to focus on my own soul,
which I started to notice when the same strange soul can only be seen when I'm in someone's head.
And mine is white, by the way."
"Oh, what color is mine then?" Ken asked, getting enthusiastic.
"Blue."
Ken smiled to himself out of nowhere, "Cool..."
Meanwhile...
It was break and most students were in the canteen, a huge area filled with chairs and tables. Every side were covered with varities of food stalls.
Four girls were having snacks. Just like the other tables with a group of friends, it was, indeed the perfect time. To. Gossip.
"Really?!" A girl asked, her face coming closer to her friend.
All attention was focused on one of them, a girl with a brown, wavy short hair that looked as if caramel was poured on her head. Her brows were hidden under her curly bangs and her light skinned, round face was nodding in reassurance.
"I'm not joking," She said, widening her eyes, "a boy in our class passed out this morning!"
The rest were listening to her as if other noises were suddenly muted. It was like a bunch of children listening to a thrilling fairy tale with great curiosity. Ye-rin was the only one showing no interest. She just sat on the side as she fished her hand deep into a bag of chips. Her mind was somewhere else.
"Just ask Ye-rin," She said with confidence. All eyes suddenly moved to Ye-rin, "she was there in the classroom when it happened."
She was startled like a kitten. Her eyes darted around between her three friends as her mouth stopped crunching on to the chips in her mouth.
"Did it really happen?" one of the girls asked. "I don't think I can trust Eun-hee," her pupils went to the edge of her eyes, staring at Eun-hee with a pouting mouth.
With crumbs all over her glossy pink lips, Ye-rin just nodded slowly without a word.
"Whaat?" Eun-hee asked, "why would I lie about that?"
"It's alright!" said the girl between the two, grabbing their shoulders and hugging them both tightly together, "Sarah's just teasing you."
"Aah!" Eun-hee complained, "Kim Ji-soo! I can't bre-breath.."
Ye-rin smiled, watching her three friends squeezed together.
"A cloaked owl creature," Ye-rin thought, "would that make an interesting character?"
A few tables across Eun-hee and her friends, were the three other boys.
"Students from the other class were talking about Daniel fainting today," Nathan said, "is he alright?"
"Oh yeah," Philip mumbled, his mouth stuffed, "Ken told me to go ahead to the canteen, but lets just ask how he's doing."
They all fished into their pockets and took out their phones. Suddenly they all went quiet. They let their tapping thumbs speak for them as their eyes were nailed to their screens.
LÉ GROØP CHÆŤ:
Phillip: herro
Phillip: Danny boy, r u still alive?
Nathaniel: Should we go to the clinic?
Daniel: I'm ok
Daniel: and yes im alive
James: we are still waiting in the canteen
James: come come come
Ken: otw down
Philip: Hayaku
Ken: zip it u fkin weeb
Philip: :v
Philip: thats funny coming from u..
Philip: No reply... rude.
Daniel giggled, looking at his phone as they were stepping down the stairs.
"Oh, by the way," he stopped midway on the stairs, "make sure the others dont know about this yet. We should do some more exploring with this."
Later that night...
They were both in Daniel's room. Daniel closed his eyes and moved his head around his room.
"Who's room is over there again?" he asked, pointing to the left wall of his room.
"That's" Ken thought for a second, "Phil's"
Daniel put a notebook on his lap as he sat down on the floor, leaning on the side of his bed.
"So that is, red," he muttered quietly to himself, writing something on his notebook.
"What's that for?" Ken asked.
"I wrote the colors of their souls just in case I might want to go there so I don't need to see them to know which is which," Daniel explained.
"Ah," Ken nodded,"I see what you're doing."
"Alright. Lets do start," Daniel stood up and tidied up his things.
"Ok, I'll go back to my room then," Ken walked out.
"We wouldn't want them to think we are up to some sword fighting for here," he chuckled before shutting the door behind him.
Daniel looked at the shut door, shaking his head.
"Ok, lets start," he said to himself and laid down on the bed before shutting his eyes, "blue, blue, ah there you are."
He zoomed into another world in a blink of an eye.
It was a different sight than before. It was. More calm. The sound of crickets echoed into his ears. His skin crawled as the gentle wind passed through. He was on a cliff, on the edge of a mountain.
Looking up, the frozen moon stared down at him like the watcher of the night. The sparkling stars were sprinkled all over the black sky like its minions.
Far, down below, through the puffy clouds, was a barren expanse of grassland. A slithering river cut through like a colossal snake, stretching and twisting its way into hiding under the overgrowing forests far away.
"Hey, I'm right here," Ken called from behind.
Daniel snapped back to reality.
"Oh there you are," he turned back, looking at Ken in the same clothes he was wearing back in reality.
"What happened to the roleplay?" Daniel teased him as he walked closer.
"Shut it," he replied,"anyway, follow me."
Not far from the cliff was a campfire by the side of a huge boulder. Its blazing flame provided warmth in the cold night.
They both sat on fallen logs. Ken opened his palm and particles above began glowing like white sparks. A glass bottle emerged into existence.
"Here you go," Ken offered,
"have you tasted whiskey before?
I once took a sip from my dad's liquor collection and this is how it tasted like based on my memory.
and all I can do is remember the taste, but maybe, you can literally taste it."
"Oh, thats not a bad idea," Daniel said.
With a smile on his face he opened the bottle, "Alright then, cheers."
He took a sip. He had a quick reaction and coughed like an old engine.
"Damn, why do fancy people in movies enjoy these?" Daniel's face wrinkled in disgust.
"Hm, yeah I agree," Ken replied.
"How about this?" Ken raised up his hand and another bottle emerged.
This bottle looked a bit different. Its glass was patterned as if it was made of gem and it was sealed with gold.
"Oo.. What is that?" Daniel asked, intrigued.
"Have a taste," Ken smiled.
Daniel gave out both his hands to receive the majestic bottle as if he was given a sacred object.
He bit onto the cork and wrenched it off the bottle. As he raised it up, he chugged onto the drink. Suddenly, a strong salty flavor stung his tongue.
In an instant, he puked out the liquor.
"WHAT THE HEK IS THAT?" Daniel panicked, scraping his tongue on his sleeve.
Ken bursted into a laughters. Meanwhile in reality, everyone were asleep when suddenly Ken laughed like a lunatic in the middle of the night.
"SHUT the F*K up!" Phillip's muffled voice shouted across the room.
"Sorry." a stern voice replied back.
"Man! what the hell was that?" Daniel asked.
"That. Is piss," Ken giggled.
"Wait what?" Daniel asked, "you've tasted piss before?"
Suddenly Ken stopped giggling. His smile disappeared into a blank face. Daniel looked at him with a puzzled face.
"Anyway...." Ken broke the silence, "watch this."
He snapped his finger and the moon flashed with a blinding light, turning everything shining white. The light calmed down and it was suddenly day. Up there was no longer the moon. It was the sun, beaming its scorching daylight like a massive spotlight.
"Alright alright, cool," Daniel admitted, his eyes squinting, "switch it back to night mode please."
Ken snapped his finger once again and the sun dimmed down, transitioning back into the moon as the sky darkened.
"There's other cool things too," Ken stated, "I can even do this."
Ken's arms bulked up into solid muscles and soon the rest of his body grew larger by several centimeters as his skin turned pale green, slowly ripping his shirt apart. Daniel's head slowly titled up with his dropped jaw as Ken kept growing. His face grew fangs and sharp ears as his hair shed off, blown away by the wind.
"Haha, cool right?" his deep monstrous voice boomed.
"You're a frickin Orc," Daniel said, amazed.
"Yep," Ken replied proudly.
"Wait a minute," Daniel said,
"so in your mind, im technically some sort of foreign object that exists against your will right?
does that mean I can change the physical properties of myself the way you did?"
"That's not a bad idea, it might work," Ken wondered, grabbing his green square chin.
Daniel closed his eyes, imagining the changes he desired. He raised up his arm and it suddenly burst into flames, burning off his flesh and tissues, leaving a blazing skeleton arm.
"Whoah!" they both reacted in the same time.
Daniel turned his arm around as he observed it, his eyes shining from the dancing fire of his arm. His white skinny fingers moved as if it was a puppet's arm.
He clenched his hand into a fist and the flames went off. His arm returned back with its flesh just as it was before.
Soon after, they both started doing weird silly stuff with their new discovery. They turned into dragons, monsters and any creature that one can possibly imagine.
In the same night, somewhere in Seoul, Ye-rin was still awake in her apartment. She was typing on her desk with her laptop. The bright screen was the only source of light in the gloomy room.
She let down her short hair. Her oversized sweater covered down to her shorts, making her look as if she was wearing a dress. Her baggy eyes were teary from staring at her blinding screen for too long.
On the screen were paragraphs of thousands of words. "Chapter 4" it says.
It was already quite some time. She finally turned off her laptop. She sighed and stretched her arms in the air.
On her desk was a mess of crumpled papers. She took a piece of paper and she smiled as she gazed it, a sketch of an owl headed man, cowering under a hooded cloak.