For the longest time, Cole had been surrounded by all kinds of people.
Cheerful, nice, aggressive, stoic, passive…
But he never really seemed to click with any of them.
It was as if his thought process was never as simple as theirs, or something like that.
It might have been due to the weird dreams he keeps having, no matter how many days pass or experiences he goes through.
The same, cold and ruthless dream invades his sleep, every time he gets whisked away into the sweet embrace of sleep.
He believed that for as long as he lived, things would stay this way.
He would never really find a place he fit in, due to how he acted.
Or how weird he had been.
Of course, that dream of his had seeped much of his sanity.
He never even knew why this dream existed, and why it haunted his dreams every damn night.
It had been such an arduous, maddening experience.
It hurt like hell, too. Why was he doomed to go through this for the rest of his life?
At this point in time, only the outer shell remained of his sanity, within it only remained the rotten chains and tether that once held it together…
He barely even remembered when these dreams even became a thing.
On his… on his 10th birthday. It had been a special day for him. Because it had been such a nice day, he had been so happy…
He thought it was ironic, to be crushed and to be shot down to the ground when he was at his happiest.
And ever since then, it had been so, so hard.
It had been so hard to not be consumed by the madness that he was subjected to, but he stubbornly pushed on.
The reason? He never thought there was one. At least that's what he thought at first.
He realized that nothing in this world happens without a reason. He realized that fate might have been a bit more real than he thought.
After six long years, he had received an invitation to attend this seemingly unrealistic academy.
Lannister Academy.
It sounded so stupid to him, supernatural abilities? Mystical powers like those did not exist.
They never should have.
But, lo and behold, they had been real.
And along with that, a new fire had been lit within his festering and maddening heart.
Maybe, somehow, he would be able to get rid of these shackles that held him down.
Maybe if he could awaken an ability of his own perhaps, he would be able to suppress his harsh reality.
But over time, he realized that these aspirations he had were simply too shallow.
When he entered this academy, he had heard all kinds of bizarre things.
Enigmas, avon, blessed, those things all so mysterious to him.
Amongst his dream of getting rid of these shackles of his, which kept reminding him of how cruel existence could truly be, piled up more ideas, more goals…
Before he realized it, he had become a completely new person… in a sense.
He had learned so much about so many things he didn't even know about.
There really existed people who could ride electric currents, people who could use their minds to move objects, people who could control the weather.
Amidst the grey and monotone world of Cole's, an entirely new mystical world had sprouted right under his feet.
But.
No matter what he did, no matter how much he learned… he could never find a point to kickstart his main, and oldest hope of his.
Although many other things have been underway, this goal of his remained untouched, ever since he swore on it.
He could learn a lot of new things, forget the pain, forget the memories… but it would all still be there.
No matter how much he forgot, it would always find him.
Cole let a sigh escape from his cracked, dry lips.
It was an odd thing, to reminisce such things.
I guess, this is what happens when I'm left alone with my mind for too long. I swear this used to be normal for me, at some point in time.
He swiftly went inside his dorm room and poured himself a cup of water.
Once he went back outside to his balcony, he straddled the cup in his hands, watching the water move in a spiral.
As he did so, he let his mind absentmindedly drift.
His somewhat long white hair was carried gently by the wind, and the dark circles under his eyes further accentuated his appearance, making it possible for someone to mistake him for some kind of elusive entity.
His dream of getting rid of his nightmares was nowhere near over, barely even started.
And it had only started because of… someone else.
Another person who to Cole, seemed just like him.
He had noticed him on the first day, no less.
At the start, he didn't quite realize it, but over time he knew that he must be connected to these nightmares of his.
And that was because just like Cole, that person acted like he never really fit in.
As if he also didn't have some kind of personality, per se.
While it was not exactly like Cole's situation, it had been similar.
He had realized that on numerous occasions.
But it became all the more apparent to him how alike they were during that dungeon incident.
When he first saw Yoel covered in blood, fighting those weird parasitic creatures.
That hazy look in his eyes, devoid of reason to keep going, but still fighting on for a reason unknown to him.
He believed that Yoel had been like himself when he was younger.
So he believed that the way to start his main goal was through Yoel.
…And he still thought that, but what had occurred during the duration he was in the dungeon, had thrown his thoughts into disarray.
He had not told anybody, but when he got injured back then, something bizarre had happened.
He remembered those moments quite vividly.
***
God damn it, it fucking hurts.
As Cole tightly wrapped his arms around his leg, he tried to keep himself from screaming.
The pain had been so strong, shattering Cole's previous beliefs of having some kind of resistance to pain due to being used to it through a dream.
After all, a dream was a dream, nothing else.
And it pained Cole's heart to believe that a dream such as that had turned his life upside down.
"Cole, let me see your leg."
Lilith's soft and worried voice pierced the monologue Cole had been having, and partially startling him.
"O-Okay.."
With that, a soft yellow glow erupted from her hands, and at the same time, her eyes shone separately.
"Mm. You should be fine if we just patch it up. Nothing important got damaged, so you should be fine if you just don't move the leg too much for the coming days."
Cole nodded fervently, trying to get Lilith to back away and to end the conversation.
Slowly, he let his hands drift away from his leg, and let Lilith patch it up.
Before she did, however…
Cole noticed an important detail about the wound on his leg.
What he saw seeping out of his wound, was not the familiar crimson-red color he saw most of the time in his dreams.
Instead, what had replaced the blood that had been a part of his body for as long as he knew, was mist.
A mix of white and grey mist.
Ahh. What… what in the damned world am I witnessing, right now?
The thick iron smell that blood carried with it still remained, however, what had come out of his wound was not blood.
The mist slowly oozed out of his being, spreading into the surroundings.
But for some strange reason, nobody paid attention to it.
It was then that Lilith spoke, and Cole came to a realization.
"Look at all that blood, oh my… let me patch this up for you really quickly. It won't hurt too much, I promise."
Cole's face had turned a shade paler.
What… what am I?
That was the last thing he remembered.
After that, a stifling and oppressive darkness surrounded him, overpowering his senses.
***
To this day, it brought Cole many complicated emotions, thoughts and theories.
But he had discovered one thing.
Yoel had to be connected to all of this.
It had been because of him that this mist oozed out of his body.
Because, back when he was fighting that ape monster…
The mist that seeped out of his leg that day, seeped out once more.
Through the bandages and through his skin.
In reality, it had caused Cole's movements to become sluggish and restrained, because he was not sure who could see the mist and who couldn't, and it was also the fact that for some reason, it weighed him down like some kind of anchor.
Cole also believed that this feather enigma that he had received after coming back to the real world, had to somehow be related to this entire situation.
…His awakening had also not been like the other Blessed. Instead, it was quiet and quite uninteresting. So much so that no one noticed.
In conclusion, Cole had decided on a single thing.
No matter what, I need to keep Yoel close to me.