I found myself in an empty void, like dozens of other times. During my stay at Lannister Academy, I considered this a safe zone.
But now, not so much.
What are you doing in my damned dreams, Devil?
The lightless expanse was how it always had been, not a single detail had been changed, it was just as Yoel remembered it.
Except now, every time he thought something, a raspy, old voice commented on each of his thoughts.
'Not like I want to be here either.'
So.. why are you here, then?
'Well, how do I say this..'
A long pause took place as the Devil spoke those words, it worried Yoel a bit, but he believed he had been mentally prepared to accept anything the Devil threw at him.
'I had to forcefully awaken your core, with my own energy.. and I don't know if you know, but my energy is nothing like Avon.'
'So now.. you have a core of not only Avon but the mystical power only powerful deities such as I may wield..'
That's good then, no?
Yoel questioned the Devil, wasn't he a special case, technically? His core did not only possess Avon but also whatever that energy was that his odd companion wielded.
'Well.. yes and no. Yes, it's good because if you can use it, it'll be one of your most powerful weapons in the future, and no because if you try to use it, you will die.'
…
'Oh, and also! You will kind of have to subconsciously use it every time you use Avon, so.. good luck!'
No way..
Yoel had finally attained his own Enigma core, and it was going to ultimately be the tool that kills him?
This was way too cruel of a joke.
Noticing Yoel's befallen expression, or rather.. there was nothing else to notice, except Yoel himself in this lonesome and grey world.
'But.. that's why I can suppress it for a while! But only for a while.. not forever… Of course, you will.. probably be able to use your powers and not die in the future!'
That was a rather incredible remark that only a Devil could make.. he spoke of death so lightly.. did he not take it seriously, or was death really such a small thing to a being such as itself?
Yoel didn't know.
'Don't look at me like that! Anyways.. we can't communicate outside of this dream world for now, since you're even weaker than before.. so let me get you up to speed.'
You never fail to insult me, don't you?
'After you went batshit crazy on that big monkey.. you fainted due to Avon exhaustion. Not only that.. you didn't have enough Avon to use even a single attack out of those countless savage barrages you performed.'
'Simply put.. you borrowed Avon from the environment itself. You know, those motes that float around everywhere.. I'm sure you've seen them once or twice. As weak as you are.'
The Devil sounded as if it was contemplating something, and then began speaking once again.
'To be more precise, you forced it to obey you.'
Forced..?
Yoel had never even heard of utilizing Avon that wasn't his own, let alone forcing it to obey them..
'Yes, forced. This has caused not only fatal damage to your soul but also to the singular Avon pathway you possess as of right now, which connects your core to your brain, allowing you to interact with the supernatural world more easily.'
'If you had stayed conscious in that form for even a second longer, that pretty lady you tried to speak to would have witnessed you explode into bloody innards and intestines, with a front-view seat.'
'Thankfully, the ape that you killed possessed a portal crown, so by defeating it, you let it run rampant.. and activated a portal to the outside world. After that, that girl picked you up and threw you into the portal, pretty brutal of her, wasn't it?'
Yoel couldn't see it, but he was sure that the Devil was snickering at him.
'And so, that brings us to right now. I froze the condition of your body until you gained consciousness once more, so when you wake up.. you won't be able to move for a while, and you will be feeling terrible pain.'
A lot has happened in such a short amount of time, huh…
Yoel was bewildered by every single explanation the Devil had presented him, it was hard to believe, but then again... it was hard to not believe it when it came out of the lips of a deity.
'There are a lot more things for us to discuss, and many more things happened while you were asleep. You will have to ask your team members for more details, human affairs are so boring I almost fell asleep, and I can't even sleep!'
Alright. I understand. But if I may ask.. when are we going to speak again, like this?
Yoel had clearly heard that he was going to be meeting with this Devil every time he slept, but after listening to the mysterious deity a bit more.. he was not sure if that statement still stood true.
'Oh, that. No clue.'
Huh..?
'Anyways, that's about as much time as we have. Good luck in the real world, Yoel!'
Huh?!
With that, the grey and empty world Yoel had found himself floating in, came to an abrupt end.
The comfort he was feeling soon vanished too, replaced by a cold and sickening feeling.
His entire body hurt, and he could barely open his eyes.
As he regained his senses one by one, he could hear faint voices to the right of the bed he was in.
The voices were at first very distant, but then slowly grew closer. At some point, they grew so close that they were almost too loud.
Yoel winced and tried to move his hands to cover his ears, but when he did so, terrible pain assaulted his senses.
A scream followed, causing the voices to stop and eyes to turn to him.
It was a weird feeling… before, he could barely feel people's gazes on him. Now, it was almost as if their gazes burnt holes through his body.
And his hearing… it was either incredibly messed up, or it had become incredibly sensitive.
By the time he had fully opened his eyes and adjusted his eyesight, which once again, was completely different from before, possessing a depth he never thought it would.. he witnessed a few figures entering the room in the periphery of his sight.
"Hero's finally awake it seems? You've been out like a log for at least 2 days now!"
Cole was the first to speak to him, wearing a carefree expression.
"Man.. you were kind of cool back then, you know?"
Loki followed after Cole, an expression of admiration creeping up his face.
"Explaining the situation in your place was a pain, you know? Those professors were like leeches!"
Lilith spoke next, interrupting what Cole had wanted to say. She seemed to be extremely angry over this matter.
Someone was missing, however.
"Where's Vasil?"
It was Cole who answered him, his tone carrying a bit of confusion and something similar to sadness.
"Ever since we came out of the portal, it's been quite hard to reach him. He hasn't spoken a single word to us after we were told to rest in our dorms."
"Oh, I see."
"It's almost like he's avoiding us, don't you guys think?"
Lilith decided to continue the topic at hand, proposing quite a far-stretched idea.
But even if he was, they were strangers. He was not obliged to talk with them, or hang around them.
"I'm sure he's got his own circumstances, besides… its not nice to assume stuff like that behind someone's back, Lilith. Anyway, I've got to get going. I still need to practice, so I can reach your level.. Yoel!"
Loki decided to end the conversation on a positive note.
It seems that he had only come to check up on his former companion, so he could calm down his conscience.
It was natural, these people were still strangers to each other.
When it almost felt like awkward silence would take over the hospital room, Cole spoke.
"Ah, that reminds me. Later this evening.. there's going to be an announcement about things going forward. Apparently stuff has been happening on the outside too, stuff so important that the staff here deemed it acceptable to announce to us."
There has been a strict media ban on anything related to the outside world ever since they entered this academy, so it was kind of strange to be suddenly bringing up such a subject.
Yoel's smile cracked slightly at the mention of the announcement being today, because his muscles had been aching like crazy. He was hoping that whatever it was, he would be able to be there for it.
Push through the pain, Yoel..!
After they spoke for a bit longer and exchanged a few laughs, they each said their goodbyes to Yoel and began to leave the room.
That was until Yoel remembered one important thing.
Didn't the Devil say that Lilith had carried him all the way to the portal? He had to thank her if that was truly the case.
As Lilith was about to leave, he called out to her.
"Thank you for carrying me to the portal, Lilith."
…
"Huh? ..I never mentioned carrying you to the portal, though?"