Chapter 69: The Fog Island [9] Cedric’s POV [2].

After our first day at the academy, I had a lot to take in. We had been introduced to Sir Ludwig, the principal, and Miss Leona, our combat teacher. Later that same day, Ren and I parted ways since we both had our own stuff to deal with, and it wasn’t like we wouldn’t be seeing each other often.

The academy... it left a strong impression on me, almost as if I knew for certain that it would become somewhat of a second home to me, eventually. I couldn’t think of many things in my life that’d made me feel quite like it, if anything at all.

The introductory period had soon ended, and with it, the day. I got instructed to settle into one of the many bedrooms from the dormitory complex down the stairs. It was a larger place than what I had imagined, even taking the absurd expectations of a nobleman into consideration.

"Room 647. Your roommate’s already moved in."

"Thank you... Wait, ’roommate’?"

"Yes, you’ll be sharing the room. That’s how it works." The man in front of me sighed. "Jeez, why do I keep getting asked that?"

I couldn’t quite hear the last thing he said, but it seemed like the poor soul was tired of dealing with people like me. Sure, it caught me by surprise—having to share a room and all—but those were the academy rules; I didn’t have a say in it, so I just gave up and left.

Not much happened after that; I met my roommate, a quiet fellow named Oriel. He was a big guy. I appreciated his lack of interest in me, and thus I answered in the exact same way. However, if I had to mention something slightly strange that occurred that night, it would be that, around bedtime, half of the guys I saw in the bathroom looked uneasy for some reason, as they frenetically washed their faces at the sinks. The other half, like me, were confused, bored, or just tired.

I also cannot say I had the best night’s sleep, since Oriel snored so much I had to [Freeze] my pillow just so it covered my ears as hard as possible. I was about to pick a quarrel with him by morning, but the bastard had already left for training when I woke up. And speaking of training, that same morning I had my very first class.

It was an introduction to the hand-to-hand combat program imparted by Miss Leona. She was a beautiful woman and seemed nice to everyone—except for Sir Ludwig—so I thought it would be a great opportunity to stand out and start forming a good impression with the teachers. I thought I had an edge there, considering my background and the combat foundations I’d been taught since I was little. I could not have been more wrong.

From the moment I stepped inside the training facility, I had this strange feeling that, from that day onward, my life would never be the same. It was too strong of a gut feeling to be just that, a hunch; it almost felt like a one-way path, as if something greater were giving me a choice—"Stop right there or walk inside; the outcome shall not weigh solely on your shoulders," or something like that. Regardless, I was in no position to throw my whole future off the board just because I felt a little nervous. This was the dream of my life, and I had decided to follow it until the very end.

Soon, I joined the line of students who were waiting for the instructor, and not long after that, she strode in. Miss Leona had arrived; her semblance was a little brighter than how it had been the day before, but still not quite to the point of what I’d call a flashy lady.

She stood quietly in front of us and darted a glance at each of our faces. I suddenly became conscious of my posture, fixed it, and internally thanked Emma and Mom for being so persistent with me about the way I handled myself in public. It might’ve sounded like an absurd concern for others if I told them; after all, this was still just an academy, and one or two loose buttons wouldn’t get you straight up expelled. However, those same people would grow quiet if they witnessed the situation that played out at the next moment.

"Dagon!"

Miss Leona suddenly shouted at a student. Considering how unenergetic she seemed the previous day, I hadn’t expected her to raise her voice like that. I wondered what on earth the poor guy had done to deserve her fury.

"Student Dagon, I just got here. Is my class really that boring to you?"

Ah, so he was slacking off, huh?

"N-No! Miss Leona, this is a misunderstanding, you see—

"It’s okay; I understand now. It seems like my class isn’t the problem, since I haven’t even started yet. In that case, I suppose it is me who’s boring to you."

"Y-You’re wrong! Miss L—

"Hmph, I see. So you’re not only dissing me but also my class."

He never said that, though...

I tried stealing a glance at the guy, who, judging by his voice, was standing far to the left side of the line. He immediately stood out to me; pale skin and jet-black hair. Nothing out of the ordinary... except for his eyes. He had white eyes, like the type you’d see on an old, blind man. However, his lacked the sickness that strain carries and the yellowness that comes with age. His eyes were a pure, ethereal white. They didn’t shine or sparkle either; they were a perfectly smooth surface with no pupil—just a plain, bleak-white iris.

I didn’t know why, but once again I grew extremely uneasy. I felt an unexplainable connection, as if I had seen those eyes before, somewhere. I was terrified, then calm, then angry, then sad. The infinite was looking at me, and I knew it owed me something valuable. It’s one of the reasons I became interested in Aldrus, and the reason I deliberately went out of my way to fight him in the woods that day, seeking him and no one else despite having my brother captive by those fuckers. Like the void, he dragged me into a rabbithole I knew no way out of.

I had seen enough. The rest was meaningless: Aldrus’ match against Miss Leona, the reason why she’d acted rude, the following days, the training camp... The island.

Why am I here? Remembering this? What has happened to us? Am I dying?

Something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know why. I didn’t want to know; I just wanted to sleep and see them again, at home. And I was about to do so before I heard strange noises all around me. It all came back, little by little, and first was the rain. It was raining.

That’s right, it’s always raining.

Then a whistle, sharp. A breeze, a gale. A storm. Then, the cold. I was so cold, freezing, soaked.

Shut up...

Then, the scent of mud. The earth, the leaves, the moist air.

Shut up!

Then, a groan. Distant and hurt. Hearing it hurt me even more. It was coming closer; I heard it approaching me. A soft rustle of leaves and branches.

Please, shut the hell up!

But it wouldn’t; it wouldn’t shut up. It wouldn’t leave me; I had to come back. I had to see them again, at home, awake.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up!!!

I jolted to my feet, and a terrible sleepiness fell on me as if it wanted to claim me and drag me back. The pain of my wounds, the cold on my body—none of it made it any easier to bear. I needed to escape whatever it was that had its grasp on me.

Stumbling, I snapped my head left and right trying to stay awake, in search of anything that’d help me. I was growing desperate; I was going back to sleep. If that happened...

There!

I fell to my knees near a rock on the ground and fixed my gaze on it as I felt my heart rush with the familiar sense of fear—the closest thing I had to home.

I took a deep breath and then let my head fall on the rock as hard as I could.

Ugggghhh!

By then I had successfully felt the rain on my skin again, and so I could distinguish the heat on my forehead from the cold raindrops.

Huff... uffff...

I was waking up, but it wasn’t enough.

Again.

I bashed my head again against the rock, and then again, and again. By the fifth time I heard a slight crack from inside my skull, and my vision flashed white with pain. I looked up to the sky, ears buzzing, and focused on everything around me until I tasted iron and heard it dripping out of my head into the mud. I slowly regained my vision’s sharpness, my thirst, and my senses. I was awake.

What the fuck was that? Hahh... Hahh...

I was alone on the island surrounded by dead shrubbery and mist.

"A-Aldrus?! Ugh, w-where are you?! Aiden? Alice?!"

I looked in every direction, still dizzy, but there was nobody there. However, before I went out looking for them, the rustle in the vegetation became louder and closer.

"Who’s there?!"

Nobody answered, but I heard again the groan from earlier, followed by a dull sound and the splatter of mud right in front of me. With caution, I advanced and slowly cleared the leaves off of the path. My chest tightened the moment I saw Alice lying on the ground, bleeding terribly.

"Blondie?! Hey! Alice, it’s me; come on! Wake up! Hey!"

I had found one of them, and she was alive.