Kellen squinted as he opened his eyes after feeling a burning sensation from his sensitivity to the bright light.
He looked down and discovered that his body was covered with a white blanket. The soft sensation that nuzzled his neck and body as he twisted indicated the pillow and bed he was currently resting on was comfortable.
"Where am I?" He muttered while stretching out his limbs and gazing around as his eyes adjusted to the light.
The odd memories of the previous battle and encounter surged from within his thoughts. Groaning, he raised his hands to clasp and support his head as he remembered the incident.
"What happened to me?" He mumbled through his hands.
"You seemed to have lost control over that weird power of yours."
A voice answered from the other side of his bed.
Lowering his right hand slightly to reveal his right eye, Kellen glanced over to where the familiar voice emerged.
"Ceric... Where are we right now? What happened to that woman? Wait... Are we dead?"
Ceric laughed with a smile.
"No, no, we aren't dead... Well at least not yet... We are currently in Rome! The sparkly clean capital of the Roman Empire!" He said with a happy expression as he stood up from the chair beside the bed and opened up the shades to the nearby window.
Warm light flooded the already brightly lit room causing Kellen to squint once again.
"I don't understand... Where's Strom? I thought we were just in the Glacial Kingdom." Spoke Kellen in confusion.
"Ah, the captain recovered a few days ago. He had to file reports on the mission and take care of the... Aftermath..."
Ceric somberly looked back towards Kellen before changing his expression to a more cheerful one.
"Oh! But don't worry! The captain already sent your recommendation in to the Roman Military Academy. Actually, I have your acceptance papers right here." Ceric said with a cheery smile while raising a few papers up with his hand near Kellen's face.
"Uh, that's great? So where is this academy then? I remember Strom told me it was somewhere here in the capital..." Kellen asked while sitting up on the bed and accepting the papers.
Suddenly, a realization hit him as he abruptly put the papers down.
"Wait! Before that, how long was I out for? Did you say a few days ago?"
"Ahaha, you've been asleep for about a week and a half now... Legionnaire Axus said you would be fine if you just had some rest, but wow! I can't believe you were actually out for more than a week!" Ceric said with surprise.
"A week! Wait the Legionnaire? Hold on, you never explained what happened back there!" Complained Kellen as his headache resurfaced.
"Oh right... Well shortly after your whole battle with Amira you passed out. You were about to be cut down but luckily Legionnaire Axus arrived and his appearance chased her off. The cunning bitch... Anyways, you and Strom needed medical attention asap so I found the medics and called them over to help you guys while I dealt with the officials." Explained Ceric while clutching his head.
"It was a real hassle... You have to explain things like three times when dealing with those annoying officials. That bastard captain of mine always manages to dump that burden onto me when we're out in the field." He ranted.
"So did you figure out who those weird people were?" Kellen interrupted to conclude Ceric's venting.
"Unfortunately, no... But I think the Legionnaire might've known them. I overheard him mumbling something about the filth when he identified them."
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. He was too quiet... But that doesn't matter right now! What you need to worry about now is the academy. Let us deal with the cult, you focus on your upcoming studies!" Urged Ceric.
"Wait, a cult?" Kellen interjected.
"Hey! What did I just say? Don't worry about it. If you're really that concerned then focus on passing the academy's exams so you can get back out in the field! Who knows, maybe you can get a higher ranking than our captain at some point."
Kellen nodded his head reluctantly. Looking back at the acceptance papers in his hands, he remembered Osiris's words.
"Hey Ceric, this academy has a library right. Where can I find it?"
"pffff... You wake up and the first place you wanna go is a library? Well I guess the academy does house the largest hub of knowledge in the continent. Lucky for you, guess where we currently are! The academy's medical wing. The library shouldn't be too far from here..." Ceric said while rubbing his chin.
"Alright, I'll talk to one of the nurses to see if we can get you discharged since you finally woke up. But don't go wandering anywhere without me!" He yelled as he ran out the door of the small hospital like room.
'Finally, I can get some answers!' Kellen thought while laying back down on the bed and skimming through the rest of the papers he held above his face.
'Old man! Where the fuck did you run off to?' He yelled after remembering the long silence he and Osiris had held.
Even while he was unconscious, he had still not heard from Osiris.
'Hey! Hey! Hey! No need to shout, your shaking your whole mind up here. You want to get Nergal all pissy with me!' Responded Osiris in his usual complaining manner.
'I don't care, where were you? I thought I was your inheritor or disciple or something! Were you just gonna let me die back there?' Kellen quickly countered.
His lonesome feelings had also resurfaced after the flood of memories from that time.
'Well what choice did I have? None to be exact! That old geezer back there wouldn't let me help you after you went all haywire and ape shit crazy! He said something along the lines of "Let him go it builds character; You've been a shitty teacher anyways. If you mess this up I'll just kill all of us." What was I supposed to do kid?' Complained Osiris with exasperation.
'What do you mean he said that? I thought he was in a deep sleep or something?' Confusedly asked Kellen.
'No, no, no, that lazy sack of shit who's full of himself just said that so we wouldn't bother him apparently. I don't know what he's thinking besides plotting his revenge constantly and apparently suicide... That, I know for sure.' Continued Osiris.
'He's gonna kill all of us?' Kellen worriedly voiced.
'No! Well, yes, but no... He thinks we're too weak. So unless you were planning for us to have an early funeral, I suggest we start moving up our schedule and get you stronger!' He explained hurriedly.
'Hm... Well I got into the academy already and will have access to the library. Hopefully we can get some answers and information for moving forward from there.' Said Kellen thoughtfully.
'Good idea kid! Once we know what we are dealing with and what has happened to the world it will be a lot easier for us to proceed.'
Kellen nodded his head in agreement as he clutched the papers in his hand and stood up from the sickbed.
'I need answers more than anything!' He resolutely affirmed with himself.
The white covers wrapped around his body fell to the floor as he moved away from the bed, revealing his half-naked body.
'Maybe I should find my clothes before heading over there...' He embarrassedly thought.
He could only imagine the harrowed look in the librarians' eyes if he suddenly waltzed into the library in his current state. Not to mention the annoying stares he would receive on his way there.
Finding his clothes on a chair back beside his bed, he quickly fitted himself before noticing something strange.
'How did that get there? I thought it was lost or destroyed...'
A familiar black leather lab jacket hung on the back of the chair, with the white embroidered number zero brightly reflecting the rays of light shining through the room's window.
A series of complex emotions boiled inside Kellen. The question of how it now ended up here with him was besides the point. The dark jacket and eerie zero that was made more distinct by its bold contrast represented something much deeper.
Although he had only been in this world for a short amount of time, minus the hundreds of years spent with Osiris in the mindspace, the tragic times he had spent in his old world still followed him here.
They haunted him along with his fallen friends and this cursed jacket was the crux of those memories.
Kellen stood frozen, trapped in what felt like a never-ending deadlock, staring at the symbol of his isolation and loneliness.
The feelings of rage for the unfairness he had constantly experienced did not dwindle. However, a new feeling that he could not identify was beginning to overlap it.
The residual thoughts and emotions that had surged due to him losing control over the demonic energy were strong reminders.
Not of his revenge like before, but of his loss. Humanity's and the gods' sick and twisted manipulation had led him to this path. He realized his loneliness and pain was never from the results of his own actions; he was never given a choice to begin with. To Kellen, revenge now felt like the only path, the one decision he could finally make for himself.
His frozen stature melted as he slowly reached out his arm and grabbed the cursed jacket.
'So what if I'm cursed or condemned! I'm sick of just being a part of some ridiculous game and power struggle! The Laboratory Romans will receive my vengeance and I'll make those stupid gods repent for their sins and crimes against me! Starting with that goddess bitch!' Kellen internally swore.
A slight change in his demonic energy created a small tremor in the hospital room, that was barely noticeable, as the dark jacket rustled on his body from the dark waves.
However, unlike the fiery rage the energy had exhibited before, it was now a burning frost fueled by his cold intent.
The fiery red and orange flames surrounding Nergal in his celestial cage froze for a moment, before changing in color to white and azure. Its heat had also changed but did not lessen. In fact, the cold flames felt even fiercer when compared to their original state.
"Interesting..." Laughed Nergal with a devilish smirk as he felt the devastating change that had taken place within the demonic energy.
"The perfect vessel is emerging!"