9:00 A.M.
When Michael woke up the next day, Rebecca wasn't in the room anymore.
He got up from the floor, yawning and stretching his back.
Shit, it was a bad idea to sleep on the floor...
As he complained in his mind about his decisions, he suddenly chuckled and smiled.
But it was worth it. At least Becca is a little better now...
He took a deep breath as he looked out the window.
It was a sunny morning. The wind was quite cold, but not enough to wear a coat or a sweater.
This won't be easy, but if necessary, I'll run with Becca to some faraway place and advance the Sequences to protect her. After all, she's my sister...
Michael chuckled as he began speaking an unknown language that no one in the Northern Continent could decipher.
"I finally have a family... This sure is a nice feeling..."
He left Rebecca's room and walked toward his own room.
He took off his clothes and picked a light purple suit from his closet.
He put the suit on before picking a book from his bookshelf.
....
12:00 P.M.
Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Becca all day... I should check how she's doing...
Michael left his room and started looking for Rebecca all around the house.
After almost half an hour, Michael still hadn't found her. He entered the main hall of the mansion.
He saw a servant cleaning the chandeliers.
The servant was wearing a cheap all-black suit. His hair was combed to the right and looked greasy.
Michael walked over to the servant and asked, "Have you seen Rebecca today?"
The servant stopped cleaning the chandelier and bowed to Michael.
"Mr. Michael, Lady Rebecca ate breakfast in the morning and went to the attic. I think she's still there since I haven't seen her."
Michael looked the man up and down. "Thank you, and stop calling Rebecca 'Lady.' It sounds like you're flirting with her."
The servant's eyes widened as he apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Michael. I forgot that I could be misunderstood with that."
"Don't worry, just be more careful," Michael said as he walked away.
That's weird. I know the name of every servant in the house, but I don't even recognize that man's face...
Michael had a feeling that something was wrong, but he decided to ignore it.
As Michael walked away, the servant let out a chuckle as he went back to cleaning the chandeliers.
....
Michael climbed the stairs to the attic. As he entered, he yelled for Rebecca.
"Becca, are you here?!" he said cheerfully.
As he entered, he felt the sunlight streaming through the window. The whole room was bright except for one corner near Rebecca's painting materials, but Michael didn't pay attention to it.
As he looked at the place where Rebecca usually sat during her painting time, he noticed two pieces of paper but ignored them.
Uh, Becca isn't here? Where did she go then...?
Michael was confused since the servant had confidently said that Rebecca was in the attic.
As Michael was about to leave to look for her in other places, he turned back and looked toward the other side of the attic.
Michael's eyes widened as his hands started to shake uncontrollably.
"B–Becca!?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
He saw Rebecca hanging in the ceiling with a rope in her neck.
She was wearing a simple light purple dress. Her green eyes were now lifeless, and her skin looked pale.
As Michael noticed that her left eye was swirling, he immediately realized.
That's her... Beyonder Characteristic...
Michael fell to his knees as he looked at her.
N–No, this can't be...
Michael pinched himself with all his strength, trying to wake up.
As Michael grieved and denied Rebecca's death, someone walked out of the dark corner close to Rebecca's painting materials.
When Michael heard the footsteps, he immediately realized he had made a big mistake.
Psychological Invisibility...
How didn't I notice it? The dark corners that defied logic, even when the whole room was lit by chandeliers... there was always a dark corner.
During my conversations with Becca, during my walks in the garden, in my room, even when I threatened the viscount yesterday...
"Ha... haha... hahaha..." Michael suddenly laughed in despair. "I let my guard down..." he murmured under his breath.
A man wearing an all-black cheap suit with greasy short hair stood behind Michael.
"Oh my, Lady—no, I can't call her Lady. Ms. Rebecca, what happened to her?" the man said, his voice exuding irony and disdain.
Without taking his eyes off Rebecca's body, Michael finally spoke to the man behind him.
"Why today?" Michael's voice showed no emotion, just immense regret.
"I don't know, Mr. Michael. Maybe she was too tired..." the man mocked.
Even while being mocked and having his grief disrespected by the man, Michael kept staring at Rebecca's swirling eye.
He felt like some external force was pulling him towards it.
So this is what convergence feels like? It's very different from what I imagined in the novel...
"Did she suffer before parting from this world, Mr. Servant?" Michael asked as he finally stood up.
The servant chuckled as he answered, "I don't believe it was painless."
Michael slowly walked toward Rebecca's body.
He caressed her cheek as his tears fell uncontrollably to the ground.
Rebecca's body was already cold. Michael's body shivered when he touched her face.
The servant kept laughing.
"Mr. Michael, do you want to know something interesting about the Delusional Pathway?"
Michael turned back as he finally looked at the servant's face.
"Yes, I'd love to," Michael said as he wiped his tears.
"Unlike most Pathways, the Delusional Pathway doesn't just give powers and abilities—it also curses the Beyonder. Since you're a Half-Delusional, you've probably noticed it."
"The main ability of Sequence 9, those swirling eyes, is much more powerful than most other Sequence 9 abilities, but it also has a huge drawback."
"They might go insane because of their visions. They might see what they aren't supposed to and lose control over the characteristic. They might go insane from overusing it and lose grip on what's reality and what's a vision."
"And they might even see a fake vision given by a powerful Beyonder, especially from the Spectator Pathway."
The servant took one of the papers that were on Rebecca's chair.
"Why don't you take a guess at what happened, Mr. Michael?"
"What did you make her see?" Michael said in a quiet tone. His face didn't show any expression.
The servant looked deep into Michael's eyes as he said,
"She saw you getting expelled from the family for meddling in her arranged marriage. In the vision, you became a homeless man begging for pennies to buy alcohol. In the vision, she also got married to Mallory and gave birth to two children."
"I thought I would have to make some other arrangements before she got to the point of doing this, but it looks like she was already mad enough."
Michael kept trying not to show any emotions.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
The servant smiled. "Today, Count Erin came to the mansion with his son Mallory to discuss the marriage proposal. They came about 30 minutes ago. The Count Erin and your father will probably want to discuss some things alone, so Mallory will probably look for Rebecca. It won't take long before he enters the attic."
Michael closed his eyes and laughed quietly.
"Motherfucker, you're trying to set me up for her death..."
The servant shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess you can consider that if you want. It's not like they'd catch me anyway."
The servant threw the paper he was holding to Michael.
Michael looked at the paper, which read: "Delusional Pathway, Sequence 9 formula..."
"Who should I blame for this?" Michael said as he put the formula in the inside pocket of his suit.
"You can blame me, Robert Norarta," the servant said as he left the attic.
After Robert left the room, Michael took a deep breath as he approached Rebecca's body.
I have no time to grieve right now. I need to get out of here first...
"Becca, I promise your death won't be in vain..." he murmured under his breath.
He touched her face and removed her Beyonder Characteristic.