A wide empty desert; a bustling city turned barren in a flicker; a flat field riddled with corpses; a dense vegetated forest filled with bloodthirsty monsters I could not recognize; a single makeshift house in the middle of a wasteland. These images continued to flash in front of me until it suddenly stopped on one particular scenery: a black abyss.
The abyss was vast yet compact at the same time. You could traverse through its entirety and not find a single wall, yet the similarities of the surroundings would almost make it seem like a small box.
When I looked down I had no legs. When I looked left and right I had no arms. I was nothing, yet that nothingness had a consciousness. My being was like the abyss in that aspect: not alive yet seemingly having a mind of its own.
A part of the abyss started to rise up in front of me until the dark matter formed a face. The face then opened its mouth and started to spew out words of hatred.
'Why do you exist?'
'You're a specter, you don't belong in this world.'
'Earth Zero has nothing to do with you, so why interfere?'
'Justice? Cut the bullshit.'
'You just want to be useful.'
'No matter how much stronger you are now, you'll always be the same.'
'You're a coward. That's all you are.'
The abyss then washed over me, enveloping my consciousness entirely.
"Ngh."
My eyes fluttered open as I awoke from my slumber.
"Another nightmare huh." I muttered to myself.
The last thing I remember was going over tomorrow's lesson plans, so I must have fallen asleep after that. Those two 250mg caffeine pills I took this morning must have worn off, inducing the drowsiness that caused me to fall asleep. I rubbed my eyes and stood up from my desk chair.
"I should probably take some more tonight."
I picked up the Class Omnisphere from its slot and threw it in my backpack. The classroom lights then turned off, leaving the classroom in almost complete darkness. Only the small beams of light that came from the setting sun illuminated the vast classroom.
'Hmm, guess it's time to head over to the dormitory.'
While classes were separated by Domestic and International, dorms were only separated by gender. That means that boys and girls from both factions would be staying together. The teachers would also be staying in those dorms, though with Katalina's help I managed to get a room to myself. If I wasn't able to be alone then I would've pestered her to death.
I walked out of the room and started walking towards the dormitory. I stuck my hand into my pockets and ruffled through them to look for my caffeine pills as I made strides down the hallway.
'Damn, where did I put them?'
"Stop right there young man." A voice called out to me.
I stopped walking and looked up to see a girl walking up to me. She had bright orange hair, soft light beige skin, and sea blue eyes that were currently plastered onto me. She was also wearing a white uniform rather than the traditional dark blue one, so it meant that she wasn't just an ordinary student. To confirm my deductions, her nametag read, 'Jean Hall: New Ragna Student Officer.'
"Did you already forget rule number fourteen from the handbook?" She asked as she got right up in my face. She was slightly shorter than me so she had to get on the tips of her toes to match my height.
I only read up to rule five until I got bored of the manual, but maybe there was a reason why Katalina was so adamant on me memorizing it. She's just such a boring teacher that I could only listen to her for about an hour before completely losing my mind. After that I just started teaching myself, which just meant copious amounts of skimming. Even though I thought I had the gist of every single rule, what if I misread or even missed something very important. Sweat beads started to form on my face. What if rule fourteen was a curfew notice, or a no staying in the classroom past class hours kind of rule? Would I get banned? Was I going to die this very moment?
"Rule fourteen," she boomed. "Students must keep their uniforms on while outside their dormitories," she then looked me up and down. "Your shirt and shorts are in violation of this rule."
Silence prevailed for a couple moments as I stood there in shock. This was what I was getting stopped for? I mean to be fair to her, she said it in such a straightforward and resolute tone that I was almost tricked into reaching in my bag for my non-existent uniform, but I quickly came back to my senses.
"Now I'll just warn you just this once because its the first day, but in the future if I see you like this again I'm afraid I'll have to report you-"
"But, I'm a teacher." I said with a blank face.
"Hah! As if such a blatant lie would sway me," she flipped back her hair. "Your baby face is all the proof I need to know-"
I grabbed the teacher badge I was given upon entering the building and shoved it in her face.
When her eyes scanned the badge, the look on her face switched from a look of confidence to embarrassment in a matter of moments.
"Oh my, I-I'm so sorry about that." She quickly backed up as her cheeks flushed red. "You just look so young for ."
I chuckled dryly. "Well you're not wrong. I'm actually eighteen, so I guess I'm a bit young for this job."
"Wait, you're eighteen? I'm 2 years older than you."
The look on her face quickly switched from embarrassment to a look I couldn't quite put my finger on. Pity? Compassion? She was looking down on me and I didn't like it.
"Are you lost, do you need help finding you around the school?"
She reached out her hand but I shook my head.
"I'm fine, thank you." I said as I hurriedly walked past her.
"Tch, baby face. I don't have a baby face." I retorted under my breath.
For the rest of my walk towards the dorm, all I could think about were those two words repeating in my head. I was so fixated on them that only when I reached the doorway of my room did I snap out of my delusions.
'Baby face? What's a baby face? How can a eighteen year old have a baby face? If I have a baby face, you have a baby face. Baby-faced bit- oh, I'm here.'
Sitting in front of me was a door with the name 'Grayson' embedded on the front of it. It was located near the back of the dormitory, so I could enjoy the peace and quiet that I longed for. Constantly overhearing whatever goes on in an adolescent teenager's room when they are alone is something I can live without. Excited to see what the room I would be spending the next 4 years living in, I hastily unlocked the door with the key Katalina gave me and walked inside.