"Everyone please file orderly, while you were on the main deck getting your room numbers the fainted students were dealt with and sent to the infirmary. You may go to your rooms at this time, there will be four smartwatches in each room for every four people who share the room. The male and female sides will become obvious once you go to your rooms, other than that, feel free to roam campus wherever your keycard allows." A female instructor quickly explained, looking stoic much like Bael while speaking her words.
Bael was currently being carried by Ophelia, who was seemingly about to be approached by an instructor, most likely about Bael. Ophelia shook her head before the instructor could come near, and the instructor didn't budge from then on, as a student bringing another to the infirmary isn't against the rules. Ophelia simply looked at the sky, absent-mindedly while waiting for everything to settle down so they could leave the ship.
"He was weaker than I thought... but I wonder who he was talking to half the time? Was it a skill?" Ophelia muttered aloud, wondering if she should tell him she knows, as it seemed he tried to hide it.
"Fufu, I'll tell him when he wakes up, he was quite an enjoyable partner to have." She started walking with the others off the ship and began looking for the infirmary.
***
Currently, in the depths of Bael's mind, a scene was being played, his very EGO being intertwined with another.
"You have to help us! Archmage, please! We can't hold out much longer, the beasts are out of control, and we don't have the power to stop them... Please we all have something we want to protect, you have to understand! We'll never bother you again... please..." A man was on his knees, looking to be of some royal descent, saying these words while on the verge of sobbing.
He wasn't old, possibly the prince, but that didn't seem to be the case at the moment.
"Young king, as you have said, we all have something we want to protect. So protect it. I have more important things to do than to answer the pleas of every small kingdom and not even the empire." The old archmage replied.
"Unc- No... Have you really betrayed the place where you lived your life? Is this... really who you are now? JUST BECAUSE SHE DIED DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST THROW A TANTRUM!!" The young king had hit the ground with his fist, tears dropping to the floor.
"... Get out."
"You really... you've changed."
"I SAID GET OUT!" The archmage emitted a deathly aura, showing his firm will in removing him.
"... I will." The king wiped his tears, walking to the dark future with a serious face.
A turmoil of emotions was being felt in Bael's heart, he couldn't tell if this was him or not anymore. 'Why am I doing this? Why did I say that?' Bael didn't know what to think when the wave of emotions hit him, contrary to that, the old archmage was quite calm in his mannerisms despite Bael feeling his great emotion.
"They don't know anything, tsk, this new generation can't even fend for themselves." The archmage said, his voice filled with rage. But the emotions conveyed that Bael felt contradicted that, he felt disappointment and regret.
It seemed he wanted to go, but like a confused child didn't know what to do anymore. 'Let's go help them! He knows our pain, he is the king because his father died!' 'Why should we help a childish brat who only knows how to anger those he needs help from? So what if is your friend's son, he is a king and needs to learn responsibility!'
Bael writhed in pain, his EGO fading within the wave that only grew as time went on. He couldn't get a grip on his reality, living by the archmage's point of view within this time.
But like with darkness, seemingly light came through. Quite touching.
'Bael! Wake up you brat! This is one of my memories!' Astram quickly explained, sounding like a broken-up radio.
[The synchro rate has been lowered greatly! EGO pressuring is lowering... Synchro simulation is ending soon. Playing final scene.]
The scenery changed, flames and darkness danced around Bael, or Astram as this was who he was seeing his point of view from. A penetrating cold emotion could be felt, it had no name that was known to Bael, but it felt cold. It didn't matter if this didn't affect his EGO, but it definitely scared him to know that someone could even feel this.
'I... couldn't... No, I didn't even dare to try to protect something. Something that I COULD have protected?! It could have been different... why, why did I do this?' Words like these were repeated over and over, the real Astram never coming back once to talk or get Bael to snap out of it. It felt like an eternity to Bael who took the brunt of these emotions and thoughts.
And suddenly it ended.
[Synchro simulation ended... Deep sleep state nullified.]
'Kid? Brat? Annoying demon child? Are you there now?' Astram said jokingly, with a hint of somberness.
Due to Bael waking up, the chaotic emotions that he felt from that moment cooled down and bottled up, blocked by his numbness. Bael stayed silent, thinking...
"Was that your world, Astram?" Bael blankly asked, like nothing ever happened.
'Uh, that's it? No other questions?' Astram was confused, he had no questions after that ordeal he had to face. It took him 30 years to get over that!
"I've learned to not ask people about a deep scar, at least without it opening once again." Bael simply answered.
'Kehum! It seems you have some morals, hm? Maybe you're not as bad as I thought!' Astram kept dramatically coughing to cover up his shame, 'Tsundere.' Bael had made a face while thinking these thoughts.
'I know what you're thinking you brat!' If Astram could stomp in protest he would, could think of an old as a tsundere? Apparently, Bael could.
"Fufu, so who are you talking to, Bael?" As if appearing from thin air, Ophelia quickly asked this question.
"Hm? Oh, you were there." Bael looked at the curtain that the voice came from, as his bed in the infirmary was separated from the rest of the room this way.
"Tsk, you didn't get scared... But! You know~, I knew for a while that you were talking to someone, so who is it? Is it a skill?! I just have to know!" Ophelia opened the curtain, showing her much-pleasing beauty to the thankful Bael.
"You don't need to know." Bael blankly said, showing a faint smile.
"You won't get a girlfriend if you keep shooting girls down you know?" She sighed and didn't pressure him any further, sitting on the bed that Bael was on.
"I've analyzed that... I shouldn't respond to that. It doesn't matter." Bael looked away, staring at her blankly from the side of his eyes, while puffing his cheeks. It was a funny scene to see as the numb Bael tried to make an expression.
"You look ugly when you do that, fufu!" Ophelia laughed at Bael's display.
"Yeah..." He soon drifted off into his own thoughts, thinking about some things he wanted to figure out. After this, he knew that it would be better to learn swordsmanship than to rely on magic constantly.
If the recoil to push such a low mana rank to its limit is like this, imagine the higher ranks! Would he truly be Bael anymore, once he became fully numb or lost his EGO to the old Astram? He didn't think so, at least.
Ophelia joined him in this silence, blankly staring at the window in the room, Bael also stared at it, as it wasn't there until Ophelia opened the curtains. In the span of a few hours, he found out about Angels, and Archmages, and Elf's past, became friends with one of the most gifted individuals in the world... and so on.
But right now, he felt tired and in need of a real nap this time, unlike the nightmare that had occurred before.
"Ophelia, do you have my keycard?" Bael asked, looking her straight in the eyes.
"No fun, really... I was hoping you would forget, fufu." Ophelia gave him his keycard and went on her way, waving goodbye.
Bael sat for a little, going over his thoughts while Astram kept his silence.
***
"Haha! Told you I was the best poker player!" A male voice could be heard, muffled behind a door.
"That's bullcrap?! How do you win five times in a row, you're cheating! Even having a high luck rank can't give you this much bullcrap luck!" Another boy could be heard yelling, with a subtle snoring sound heard in the background.
'It seems even your dorm room will be interesting, don't you think, Bael?' Bael once again gave a soft smile.
"I think so too."