Keon furrowed his brows, tapping his fingers against his arm. "If we're going with this crazy shadow theory, then… wouldn't that mean my real body is still in the world where I first woke up?"
Adan and Mike exchanged glances.
"That would make sense," Adan admitted, adjusting his book. "If your presence here is like an Eclipse, then the origin of that presence—the 'Sun' in Mike's analogy—must be in the place where everything started for you."
Keon frowned. "That underground place… the sewers. And that door that wasn't a door."
Mike's tail flicked. "A rift, right?"
"Yeah." Keon nodded slowly. "A rift appeared before me. And when I stepped through it… I ended up in that dungeon."
Adan's quill hovered above the page, unmoving. "A rift. That changes things."
Keon raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Adan's expression turned unreadable. "Because rifts aren't natural occurrences. They are either created or forced open by something—or someone."
Keon's stomach dropped. "So you're saying… someone threw me into that place?"
Mike purred thoughtfully. "Maybe. Or maybe you weren't thrown in. Maybe you were trying to get out."
Keon blinked. "Out of where?"
Adan closed his book with a snap and stood up. "That's what we need to figure out."
Adan sighed, rubbing his temple. "There aren't many clues to work with. But if a rift was involved, then there are only a few possibilities."
Keon leaned in. "Go on."
Adan tapped his book. "It could have been caused by a divine being from the world you first woke up in—the one with the sewers and the rift. Maybe something there was trying to send you away or… pull you somewhere else."
Keon narrowed his eyes. "And the other possibility?"
Adan met his gaze. "It could be the work of a divine being from your soul's original world."
Silence.
Keon felt a chill run down his spine. "So you're saying… something from my past life, my actual world before all of this, might have interfered?"
Adan nodded. "It's possible."
Mike stretched lazily. "That or you just stepped into something you really weren't supposed to."
Keon groaned. "Great. So either some god tossed me in here, or I wandered into a cosmic accident. Love that for me."
Adan smirked. "You do seem to have a habit of getting into impossible situations."
Keon crossed his arms. "Yeah, well, I'd like to know why this keeps happening."
Mike's tail flicked. "Then we need more information."
Adan nodded. "And that means finding out more about the world you first arrived in."
Keon snapped his fingers. "Wait a second—Espria!"
Adan raised an eyebrow. "Espria?"
"Yeah, the abilities people have in the world I first woke up in." Keon ran a hand through his hair. "I completely forgot to mention it. Almost everyone there had some kind of supernatural power, but I didn't—at least, not in the way they did."
Mike tilted his head. "Interesting… Were these abilities connected to the world's laws?"
Keon nodded. "Yeah, I think so. It was like a system of its own, but not like mine."
Adan stroked his chin. "That could mean the laws of that world were already unique… which might explain why a rift appeared there in the first place."
Keon groaned. "And speaking of things I forgot—my pending task."
Adan and Mike both turned to him at once.
"You had a pending system task, and you just now remembered?" Adan asked, looking exasperated.
Keon scratched his cheek. "In my defense, I've been dealing with a lot." He opened his system interface and scanned the task. "It's called 'Rift Leap through Worlds 20 times.'"
Adan's expression sharpened. "And how many times have you leaped so far?"
Keon counted on his fingers. "Twice."
Mike flicked his tail. "So you have eighteen more to go? That's… quite a lot."
Adan narrowed his eyes. "Is the leap within your control? Can you do it whenever you want?"
Keon nodded. "Yeah, I can choose when to use it. But there's a cooldown, so I can't spam it or anything."
Adan crossed his arms. "And what's the reward for completing it?"
Keon grinned. "Something called the Void Gazer Mask. Sounds cool, right?"
Mike's ears perked up. "Void Gazer… That sounds ominous."
Keon thought for a moment before speaking up again. "Oh, there's one more thing I almost forgot to mention."
Adan and Mike both looked at him expectantly.
"I can see everyone's stats," Keon said, sounding a little casual about it, as if it was just another normal thing.
Adan blinked in surprise. "You can… see their stats?"
"Yeah. I get to see their name, abilities, and all that good stuff." Keon shrugged. "But there's one thing that stands out in my stats. While everyone else seems to have Mana Affinity, I have something different—Mystic Affinity."
Adan raised an eyebrow. "Mystic Affinity? That's new. Is it related to any specific kind of power source?"
Keon shook his head. "I have no idea. I've never seen anyone with that before. Not sure what it means yet."
Mike, curious, tilted his head. "Wait, everyone else has Mana Affinity… and you don't? How does that even work?"
Adan thought for a moment, tapping his chin. "You mentioned the Esperia world. I'm guessing that in the world you came from, magic or abilities were tied to Esperia. Each world probably has its own specific source of power, something that's attuned to the world's laws and natural structure."
Keon frowned, not entirely understanding. "So, what are you getting at?"
Adan continued. "I'd theorize that every being in any world is born with an affinity to the law of their world, or at least the source of power that governs it. For people of the Esperia world, it's Esperia, a source tied to their world's magic system. For you, Keon, with Mystic Affinity, it's possible that you're attuned to a more universal or mystic energy that transcends worlds. It could be a bridge between the laws of different worlds, which might allow you to tap into the magic or power systems of other realms."
Keon scratched his head. "So, it's like I could use the magic from other worlds… somehow?"
Adan nodded thoughtfully. "Exactly. It might give you an advantage, as you wouldn't just be bound to the laws of one world or system. Mystic Affinity could be the key to using powers or abilities that don't even belong to your original world."
Mike blinked, impressed. "That's... pretty intense, Keon."
Keon gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."
Adan sighed. "You really do have the strangest system I've ever heard of."
Keon smirked. "You mean the only system you've ever heard of."
Adan rolled his eyes. "Semantics."
Mike suddenly rolled over on the ground, stretching lazily before flipping onto his back with a playful grin. His orange-and-white fur fluffed up as he lazily waved a paw.
"Well, well," he purred, "if you really want to figure out more about your weird, mysterious, totally overpowered system, maybe you should focus on completing that task first?"
Keon narrowed his eyes at the cat. "You just want me to keep jumping through worlds so you get more entertainment, don't you?"
Mike let out an exaggerated gasp. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I am merely suggesting a logical course of action!" He rolled back onto his feet, tail flicking. "Besides, completing that Rift Leap task might give us more clues, right?"
Adan tapped his book, considering. "He's not wrong. Your system is clearly rewarding you with powerful items, and if it's connected to your Eclipse State, then the Void Gazer Mask might reveal something important about your condition."
Keon sighed, crossing his arms. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. So basically, 'hurry up and finish your homework, Keon.'"
Mike smirked. "Exactly! Now, get to work, you little anomaly."