Kevin opened his eyes, before him was an infinite galaxy, different-colored stars and planets on a background of varying purples and pinks.
He looked down to see that he was on some sort of platform. He could barely make out the edges and general shape, but its texture and color were similar to his surroundings. Suddenly, the still view of the galaxy in front of him was split in half, the two pieces moving to opposite sides, its fluidity similar to a curtain.
As the curtains pulled back, it revealed yet another galaxy. Kevin realized that everything inside this world was made out of the galaxy, even his own body. A towering presence loomed over him, Kevin wanted to turn and face it, but he was unable to, no matter how hard he struggled. His limbs jerked around in a frenzy, he was being controlled like a marionette. As his body danced around on the stage, a feminine voice spoke. It was a kind of voice that drove whoever heard it insane.
"Embrace your destiny, do not fight against it."
The voice was meant to be soothing, but came out harshly. Kevin thrashed wildly, his body convulsing as if he was drowning. He was quickly running out of energy, but before he gave in, Kevin tried to turn his head to view his puppeteer. With a violent lurch, his head popped off its socket.
The boy was greeted by a familiar white ceiling as he woke up with a gasp. Kevin rubbed his head as he sat up and looked around. He was lying on a bed in the school infirmary, but he had no idea what happened after he blacked out, or why he had the strange dream.
"Kevin! You're awake!"
The girl next to him leaped out of her chair and onto him, embracing him in a tight hug. The impact knocked Kevin over, and he was lying on his back with the girl still latched onto him. Her body was pressed firmly against his, and he felt his face heat up. Perhaps he imagined it, but the girl's face also seemed a little red.
"I…uh- you can get off me now Rubi."
"O-oh s-sorry…" Rubi stammered as she got off of him.
"I was really worried, okay? You were unscathed after your fight with Mei but you collapsed immediately. I tried to get Ciel to come but he just told me you'd be alright and that he had more classes to attend."
Kevin thought about what Rubi said.
I had no injuries but I fainted the moment I left the Battlefield. Come to think of it, that was when the Darkness stopped controlling me as well… "
"Speaking of classes, shouldn't you be in class too?"
Kevin asked, only to be replied with a confused look.
"Wait, what time is it?"
Rubi glanced at her phone and replied,
"It's 10:00 PM right now."
Kevin sighed, he had no idea he was unconscious for the entire day. Then, Kevin noticed there was a boy leaning on the wall next to the door, and since there was nobody else in the infirmary, it meant he had to be there for him.
"Liam… right?"
Kevin had seen the boy in the hallways before, Liam was one year older than him, making him 17, and ranked 5th in the school. He was fairly kind when compared to Mei and some of the other high-rankers
"Have you been waiting for me this whole time?" Kevin asked,
"Don't flatter yourself, I had other things to do but I decided to drop by since I had something I wanted to talk to you about." Liam replied. "I'm going out for some food, you coming?"
"I haven't eaten since breakfast… I guess it wouldn't hurt to go with him." Kevin thought.
Kevin got off the bed and put on his gray jacket which was draped on one of the nearby chairs.
"Wait! I'm coming with you guys." Rubi said, "Kevin was just unconscious for the whole day, I'll tag along in case anything happens."
"Relax, I'm nothing like Mei. But you can come if you want to." Liam reassured her.
Liam's car pulled out of the school's parking lot and onto the road leading to the city. The school was located on the outskirts of the city in a forest, but not too far away, it was a five-minute drive.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?"
Kevin was the one to begin the conversation. He and Rubi were sitting in the back seat, and Liam was driving.
"Tell me, how did you get so strong?" Liam asked, getting straight to the point.
"I'm curious too!" Rubi chimed in.
"Ah, so this is what it's about." Kevin thought. "It must be a shock to see a high-ranker like Mei get beaten by some nobody. The high-rankers are probably in shambles right now, wondering exactly what happened…"
The high-rankers or "elites" were supposed to keep tabs on all potential threats to their position and hierarchy, but then some random person beat one with ease.
Kevin had to answer soon, but he was debating whether or not to tell Liam and Rubi the truth.
"I don't know what they'll think of me if I tell them a voice in my head was controlling me, but it could also have something to do with my power, and since Liam is a high-ranker he might know something… " Kevin thought about his choices.
Finally, he decided he was just going to tell them the truth. He took a deep breath, and began talking.
"To be honest, I don't know how I got this strong either, but it probably has something to do with the voice in my head. I've been hearing it since I turned 10, and it started as inaudible whispering that became easier to decipher as I grew older. Whenever I got angry, it told me to do terrible things like to kill someone or torture them, but I've always ignored it…"
"...until today." Liam finished.
Kevin gave a solemn nod.
"I let it take over, and it absolutely destroyed Mei, but to be honest, it felt quite natural. I could still see from a first-person perspective, but my limbs and mouth moved on their own…"
He went on to describe the entire battle in detail, it turned out that when he deployed his Battlefield, the entire stadium was covered in a black fog. Because of this, nobody, except the two fighters, had any idea what happened after the Battlefield had been deployed.
"So that's what happened in the Battlefield…" Rubi said in awe. "If it was anyone else in Mei's position I would be concerned, but I don't feel bad about what you did to her."
"Neither do I, power is not meant to be abused. Many other high-rankers do not condone her actions as well." Said Liam.
"Then why don't you do something about it?" Kevin asked.
"It isn't that easy. All of our actions are monitored by the boy in number one, Renault, including our rankings. In order to rise to the top, you must have power and be accepted by him. Because of this, often our rankings do not determine our strength alone.
"I see…" Kevin thought about Liam's answer, before replying. "So he's allowing Mei's actions for some reason…"
"I thought what Mei was doing was bad, but it's some piece in Renault's master plan. I guess he's the one I should really be thinking of taking down." Kevin thought.
"Also, I almost forgot, but at the end of my fight, a blond boy appeared in my Battlefield and told me to stop, but I guess Darkness didn't like that so he terminated the Battlefield…"
Kevin stopped when he noticed Rubi staring at him. Liam also seemed a bit tense in the driver's seat.
"You're saying a blond boy managed to enter your Battlefield?"
"Yeah."
"And you're sure he wasn't some sort of illusion?"
"I'm positive he was real."
Rubi looked at the front seat where Liam was.
"Then it has to be…"
"The boy you saw was Renault." Liam said, his tone serious. "Not only did he bypass the energy barrier, but also entered your Battlefield.
Kevin already knew the barrier was nigh impenetrable, but he wondered what the Battlefield had to do with it.
"Was entering my Battlefield such an impressive feat?"
"Definitely, it takes a lot of strength and technique to break through a Battlefield, not to mention it was rank one… I'm going to be honest here, you were lucky Darkness decided not to engage him, you would have lost immediately. His power is equal to that of a god."
Their conversation was interrupted by a scream coming from outside the car.
"GET OFF ME!" A feminine voice screamed.