Since this morning, I've been feeling some sort of eyes watching over me. It was quite an eerie feeling, I get chills. It made me quite wary of my surroundings while in the academy, at first I thought that there was just teachers monitoring us, but that was not the case.
If they were, the others would've felt their presence too, especially Remus— he even knew something ominous was about to happen to Rei earlier at lunch. This made my assumption true that someone was indeed watching only me. Even after taking off the earplugs, I can't hear them, only their uncomfortable gazes. Their movement, voices, breathing— I can't hear any of it.
I thought it'll go away after attending the party but seems like I was wrong. The previous man who tried to save me from dying on my first attempt suddenly burst in firmly holding my shoulders as I stare right through the two hole of his white silvery mask. His two front hair framing his defined face sways a bit with the wind together with his tied hair at the back.
Even after hearing what he had said in repeat, I still couldn't get a hold of it. I was still in denial onto what he had just remarked.
"If you're thinking to go to the forest, forget it! You'll meet your demise in there!" He exclaimed, his sharp golden gaze seeping through the two eye hole of his mask, sent chills down to my spine. His voice was sincere and serious, even his eyes seems to tell the truth.
But still, how?
How in the world did he knew that? That I'll die once I step inside the forest? Was it a coincidence? Could he have a foresight ability?
I was about to speak up when Shiki interrupted.
"Can you let go of her?" He stated as he pushed the man in front of me with great force but not enough to make him fall. Shiki then guarded me from behind. "Who are you exactly?"
The man winced as heaved a sigh.
On the other hand, I was too baffled by the situation I was in. Seriously, how in world would he know that?
Well, I guess there's only one way to find out.
I pat Shiki's shoulder as I step out from behind approaching the pink haired man.
"It's fine, I know him." I said reassuring Shiki, although it was lie, but it's the only way I can find the truth about this man's words.
Shiki seems to believed me fortunately. I then stared up to the man in front of me, heaving a sigh before I speak.
"You," I proclaimed "follow me." Walking pass by him as I just let him follow me from behind.
Should I inform this to agapius? Yeah, I think I should, if it's a system error I'm sure he can fix it and perhaps may erase this boy's memory of that particular foresight.
"Where are we going exactly?" I jolted when he suddenly spoke and just noticed that he's already right by my side.
Ah.
I did tell him to follow me, but I have no f*cking idea where we should go. Furthermore, I don't know sh*t about this place. Why the f*ck am I suddenly cursing, godd*mmit.
We walked and walked for about— maybe twenty minutes until we reached the garden.
The cold breeze made the bushes and trees rustling and the bright moonlight sky was the only source of light we have on this area. There were lanterns, but they weren't torched.
Even after arriving here, we still walked some more. A clip clop noise plummeted the unusually quiet garden as our shoes collapsed one after another on the cobblestone road.
None of us dared to talk, making the atmosphere rather awkward. And may I say, this current situation is quite, I don't know how to describe it but there was quite a tension building up which I obviously starting to hate.
"So," I started "care to explain the things you uttered earlier, mister?"
Our feet eventually stop momentarily as I waited for an answer. There was a brief silence before he eventually looked at me, taking his silvery mask off.
I was awestruck, his eyes were just, beautiful— no majestic. It was unique but weird, in fact he has a very unusual pupil on his right eye. A cresent moon.
He has a golden yellow shade of eyes, unlike mine that was a golden wheat color, his was vibrantly golden, it was as if they were glowing the more I stare at them.
The moment of admiration got interrupted when he suddenly answered my question.
"I can Leap through time."
....
Hmm?
Leap? As in time travel? Wait, is he saying that he leaped back with me in the past, is that why he knows that incident?!
I stood there frozen with a mouth agape. Seems like my brain couldn't process the information I just obtained.
Ah!
That's right, the status, surely I can find something from his status.
[ERROR CHARACTER CANNOT BE DETERMINED]
Huh?
What do you mean cannot be determined you sh*tty system?! He's a character from this game and you can't identify him? What, is he like an intruder or something? Ha!
...
No way right?
"Then, are you saying that you leaped back?" Ignoring the complicated thoughts aside, I continued to interrogate him further.
He then nodded "But somehow, I have no recollection of me using my ability to leap back through time. After the banquet ends, I found myself suddenly lying in bed, exactly two days before this party begin." He explained.
"And all of a sudden, my right eye became like this." He added, closing his eyes as he reach his hand up to caress it.
I blink and opened my mouth repeatedly, but I was lost for words, I don't exactly know how to response. This was just too sudden.
In addition, he returned exactly at the day of the checkpoint started. Then, does this really mean I took him with me? Impossible. Also, the symbol on his eyes appeared after he leaped back?
This needs to be discussed with agapius ASAP.
Ah.
"This may sound rude, but" I hesitated biting my finger tip as I glance up at him "were you perhaps the one that has been watching me since morning?"
The man winced as he avoided my gaze. So it was really him. That's just creepy.
"Creep." I muttered which made him to immediately look at me as he started to wave his hand stuttering.
"N-no! I just..I just happened to spy— I mean watched you— no! Anyway, I don't mean no harm believe me!" he stammered, well I do believe him but still that was just a creepy thing to do and to think he had been watching me since afternoon.
But then again, that just mean that he's a student on the Academy.
"You're one of the students in SMA?"
The man aggressively nodded. Man, calm down, I don't even care, I'm just creeped out. "Then, are you a Senior 1 as well? Or perhaps a Senior 2?"
His face became serious as he immediately answered, "We've met once."
Shock must be written all over my face for he again spoke before I could even comment.
"Well I guess you won't recognize me. Remember that guy you helped picking up some papers? That was me."
Oh.
I did have my suspicion, but I was too distracted about your eyes that I totally forgot about your whole face. Still, I'm quite shock. And I may have said he looks similar to that guy agapius turned into, looking at him again I could tell he looks far different from him. It was probably because of the hair, since they do have a similar hair styles.
Tilting my head as I observed him from head to toe, "Were you using magic to change your appearance since for sure you had muddy colored hair and eyes."
"Ah, no" He denied.
"Then, which one is your real appearance?" I'm quite curious into why he does not wear this appearance in school.
Instead of answering, he stayed quiet. Just looking at me with those golden irises. Was that a topic he does not want to be known?
Well, I guess there's information they cannot talk about with others. Now that I think about it, I don't know his name.
All I know was that we're on the same class, but since I don't exactly care about the others I can't really remember his name. Although, if I recall he sit right next to the window across the corridor.
"By the way, if you don't mind" we once again began walking down the cobblestone street "may I know your name?"
The man didn't respond, instead he only looked ahead with an expressionless face. Though not a minute pass he glanced down at me. For some reason him looking down at me kinda pisses me off.
"Ezryn, my name is ezryn." He briefly introduced as he gaze at me tilting his head as if he was bowing then glanced back up.
"I see, nice to meet you then... Ezryn. I'm sure you already know my name."
Considering that he's been watching me all day, surely he knows my name even the people with me. Speaking of being watched, he didn't saw me talking to agapius didn't he? I am more worried that I might have left an impression of me talking to myself than being discovered that I have a soul of a teenage boy.
Fortunately, he nodded.
"You're quite famous around the academy. Probably only the freshman doesn't know you." He replied.
After that, the conversation ended as we continued to awkwardly walk side by side wherever our feet take us.
The singing of cicadas and chattering noises inside the banquet that echoes through outside was the only source of noise keeping us sane in this awkwardly tense situation.
Suddenly, the bushes next to me made a rustling noise that made us stop walking and stare immensely onto it. I automatically moved back a bit making me now be next to Ezryn.
The rustling noise became more intense. Although, the situation isn't really tense, or creepy to me rather. I seem to actually know who is behind the bush. Its noisy, very noisy.
'Ah dammit! There are thorns in this bush, they're poking the sh*t out of me!'
As you might've guessed, It was none other than agapius. Furthermore, despite being a Deity he's cursing, I thought Gods are holy and has no dirty mouths. They're all lies I see. Also, he's in a trial, now I'm sure he'll fail this one.
Glancing to my side, I can tell Ezryn becoming uneasy and tense while looking at the rustling bush in front. His right arm eventually guarding me from whatever he expect that would come out from that bushy grass.
As for me, I just let it be. I'm quite surprised even, to think he has the time to be guarding me despite knowing me so little. He has quite a large back, quite perfect to be a shield, kidding.
Ezryn then became stiff when the thing making all the rustling came out limping with a thorn on its front right feet. After that he then lowered his arm.
"Oh, it's your beast." He implied glancing back at me. Right, since he's been spying on me all day there's no doubt he also know Agapius's beast form. This Deity was, after all, like a glue stuck to me all the time. Monitoring me and his children—characters.
I then step in front crouching down casually picking up agapius and slowly took out the medium length thorn buried on his feet. He whimpered in pain but without even a second, his wound healed.
'Phew, I though I was gonna die.'
Not gonna happen, with that quick healing it's quite possible for him to be reborn or regenerate again. Beside he's a Deity, perhaps only the highest ranking can make him vanish in existence.
Also, it's only a thorn half the size of my thumb c'mon. He's overreacting.
With agapius being on my arm, I could feel his flinching. He was looking at Ezryn with a baffled and shock expression. It was as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Right, since Ezryn took his mask off and never put it back on, his mark on his vibrant golden eyes was literally visible. Is that why agapius is reacting that way? Does he know something about it?
'This...Who is this and why does he have that mark on his eyes?!' I heard him utter in disbelief, I'm not sure why but his voice was rather scowl.
'That's what I wanted to ask you,' Ezryn and I began to walk once again in silence 'also remember when I told you that I felt like being watched?' I mentioned telepathically.
'Oh that? Yeah, wait don't tell me it's him? Wow, what a creep.' Agapius remarked as he snorted.
Indeed. 'Anyway, I have something important to tell you' Well, I think it's better for him to know this situation, and I'm sure he'll be surprised. 'That guy, Ezryn, he looped back with me, he traveled along with me going back 2 days ago.' I proclaimed.
There was brief silence before his response, it's probably haven't sink in yet.
'WHAT?!' There we go.
'I know right? Pretty surprising.' I said dully jesting.
'This is no time to be joking, Dizian! This is serious!'
What do you want me to do then? Run while screaming on top of my lungs. Yes, quite a helpful reaction indeed. I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh, closing my eyes as I massaged my temple letting agapius down still being wary towards Ezryn.
All of a sudden, a screeching yell of countless people can be heard from inside of the banquet hall. Both Ezryn and I looked at each other with furrowing expressions as we then glance back as we started to dash Inside.
However, before we could even step inside we were suddenly blown by a great force. It was all too sudden, I didn't have time to be able to create a barrier because of that I got flown to the forest making my body crashed into a tree trunk as I fall into the solid ground.
My body hurts— ugh...
While on the ground wincing in pain, I squinted my eyes for there had been dirt flew into ito it then looked in front of me in between the spaces of the trees, there I saw an obnoxious sight.
A blocks of hallow falling as it crumble into pieces together with an oozing gray smoke. Injured people rising one by one from the fallen blocks bleeding and bruises was visible in their body. Throbbing screams can be heard from people as they search for others.
It was an awful sight of the aftermath of that sudden explosion.