Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Fast Asleep
Before my eyes, the rune diagram dissolved into a flash of dull light, vanishing off the paper into nothingness.
"What... just happened?" I mustered, my voice hoarse and shaky, struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
For hours, I had stared unwaveringly at the accursed rune. Then, in an instant, it disappeared, relieving the pressure that had weighed heavily on my mind. Yet, an unsettling sensation persisted, as if the pressure still lingered, akin to the feeling after holding a position for too long. My head throbbed with aftershocks, my vision tinged with redness, and my arms trembled visibly as I fought to maintain my grip on the paper.
Feeling a warm liquid slowly trickle down my nose, I wiped the trail of blood off with the back of my sleeve. I blinked my eyes, and before I could regret the very action, I felt my consciousness wane and I suddenly felt an irresistible pull to the ground.
"O-oops," I muttered, managing to stop myself from collapsing completely. I grabbed hold of my fleeting consciousness and forced my unsteady body to stand up. My vision blurred as I fought against the overwhelming urge to give in to the darkness.
"Ah~ I can't think of what happened right now. I have to, first of all, get back~ home..." I mumbled to myself, trying to focus on the immediate task of returning to safety.
Earlier, I had snuck out from home halfway through the afternoon to study the rune, seeking solitude in the embrace of the forest. Over the last few days and recent hours, I had overexerted myself to the point of exhaustion. When the rune vanished before my eyes, my body instinctively succumbed to the fatigue, threatening to pass out.
But I couldn't let myself do that here; it was too dangerous, and I had the faint inkling that I would be out for a long time. If I passed out here and took a nap for that long, Layla and everyone else would get worried about me. For now, I was just going to push the matter of the rune to the back of my mind and return home.
Every step felt like a monumental effort as I made my way back, hoping to find some semblance of rest and recovery.
****
Back at home, Reo fell into a deep slumber the very moment he touched his bed. The mental and physical exhaustion from studying the rune incessantly, coupled with the strain of overexerting himself for the past couple of months, all came rushing back at him now that his mind was weakened. Reo fell into the cold embrace of lethargy and exhaustion so deeply that nothing else in the world mattered.
He had somehow been able to drag his body from the forest and through the village, ignoring all the strange looks the villagers sent his way. He hadn't even alerted either Layla or Cliff that he had returned before heading straight for his room. His legs had moved on autopilot, driven by a singular need for rest. The moment his head hit the pillow, consciousness slipped away, leaving him to the mercy of his overdue slumber.
As Reo slept, the hours slowly passed into midnight. When Layla came to check on him, she found him organized and tucked him neatly into his bed. She had taken the liberty to get him out of his dirty clothes and slippers, noticing how exhausted he was—he didn't even flinch at her movements.
Reo was never much of a deep sleeper, but lately, he had become more prone to it. Even then, his nights typically lasted only a few hours before he would get up to continue training with magic or studying X'xebecc's rune. Layla, after ensuring he was comfortable, took care of the open windows in his room before leaving.
A few hours later, a strong draft blew open the window panes, filling his room with cool night air. Reo's soft black hair fluttered lightly, yet the young boy remained still and asleep. He almost looked dead, if it weren't for the periodic rise and fall of his chest and the rhythmic sound of his breathing. Despite the disturbance, Reo's exhaustion held him firmly in the depths of sleep, undisturbed by the world outside.
But internally, something else was happening.
***
...Reo opened his eyes and lingered. "Wh...what?" He blinked, slowly absorbing the strange sight of his surroundings. "Where am I?" He mouthed the words as his gaze drifted through the peculiar yet strangely familiar place.
There was an entire plain of still grey sky stretching as far as the horizon, lightless and empty. The entire space felt strange—still and unmoving, with no air currents or anything else to break the stagnation. Everything felt void and lifeless.
He cast his eyes around slowly and realized he was afloat. Below him, where the ground should have been, was another vast expanse of grey sky, just as limitless and empty as the one above. It appeared as a mirror, perfectly replicating the sky above. Or was it the sky mirroring the ground instead? Reo wasn't sure, but for someone in such an unfamiliar place, he felt strangely calm.
"This is it, isn't it? One of those weird dreams I had before." He withheld a sigh and decided to see how it would play out.
A couple of months ago, Reo had a strange and peculiar dream where he struggled to move even his gaze by his own will. But here, he could move his body and eyes as usual. It was then that he noticed he was naked.
"Ah."
No, not quite.
"Holy cow! I'm translucent!" His body was intangible and lucid in this unmoving, lightless world. He also progressively realized that his sense of touch offered no solace here.
Reo wasn't sure how to feel about being see-through and intangible. "Kinda feels empty," he said, curiously studying his strange form.
Yes, for someone waking up in an unfamiliar place, he was really being pretty casual about all of it.
Reo raised his eyes and caught sight of a large spherical mass floating higher up above him. Lingering for a few seconds, he redirected his body and floated towards the sphere. "What is that?" he wondered aloud, extending a hand toward the equally translucent, membranous wall. As soon as he touched it, he was sucked in through to the other side.
"Woah." Regaining his balance after suddenly passing through the sphere's wall, Reo looked around the internal structure. The sphere was sky blue and transparent, and inside it, taking up half of the space, was what resembled a small lake.
No, it was more like a pond given its size. The sphere seemed large only in comparison to his small form, and the pond inside occupied about one-third of its volume. Reo floated closer, observing the still, clear water of the pond, the tranquil surface undisturbed in this surreal environment.
The pond was still and unmoving, just like everything else in this place. Its surface blended seamlessly with the overall color and membrane of the sphere's wall. It was barely noticeable that there was actually a mass of what looked like water there, but somehow, Reo could see it and tell. The pond looked clear, as he could see through to the very base of the sphere, but at the same time, it felt murky and unclear. It was just a feeling he got when he looked at it.
As he observed, he noticed strange, dull markings all over the walls of the sphere. He approached the wall again to study the barely noticeable designs. They were numerous and lightless, each one faint and transparent. Upon closer inspection, Reo slowly recognized the markings, and his eyes closely studied them in realization as he wistfully uttered,
"X'xebecc's rune."
The recognition brought a sense of understanding, if not clarity, to his surreal surroundings.
He was beginning to have an inkling of what might be happening and where he was. Reaching out, he extended an arm toward the familiar runes imprinted on the wall.
As soon as he did, the first rune lit up and shimmered with rising intensity. Then the second, the third, and the one next to it followed suit. Simultaneously, every other marking—each previously lightless rune imprinted on the internal walls of the sphere—lit up and shimmered with a dull golden hue. Reo felt the walls of the sphere tremble.
No, it was the entire world that shook.
The once still grey world was no longer unmoving and began to tremble, the shaking slowly intensifying. More runes appeared, covering the lightless sky above and the sky below. Each was a glowing golden X'xebecc's rune, as far as Reo's eyes could see.
They were everywhere.
Feeling the unsettling tremble of the sphere and the world outside it, a first string of concern rose inside Reo's mind, the pervasive stillness was replaced by an ominous energy.
"What's happening?" Reo quickly backed away from the wall when he heard a loud gurgling sound and looked below him at the translucent pond. The still and lightless surface was surging violently, rapidly decreasing as the runes surrounding him glowed more intensely until they became blinding, consuming his entire vision.
Then strange things happened in quick succession.
Reo saw 'things.' Various images rapidly flashed before his eyes, searing his mind with blinding pain. He saw galaxies and universes woven together with incomprehensible tapestries of shimmering threads and many more indescribable—no, unfathomable—scenes that laid siege to his human mind.
Countless pieces of information overwhelmed him. For a moment, Reo knew what was after "Death," then he forgot.
Then he was there at the "Beginning," and then he forgot.
He was "Beyond," and then he forgot.
He experienced countless feelings, lifetimes, existences... *Laws*. And then, he forgot.
The pain, however, remained forever.
***
In the real world, something reflected as well. Reo's sleeping body sprang to life, his eyes opening in a blinding flash of pale silvery-grey light. Heavy gales and torrents formed and clashed against each other inside his little bedroom, threatening to summon storms under the simple roof.
Eerily, Reo's body levitated off his bed, ruffling his sheets. His arms were spread wide, and his eyes were consumed by the bright light. The winds howled and cried in a raging storm, making the young boy the center of their fury. They coalesced around him, forming a violent, spiraling sphere of stormy weather.
Reo was wrapped in a spiral cocoon of wind, with bolts of flames and springs of water spiraling around him like planetary rings, alongside materialized earth.
The space crackled like a clap of thunder, and just as quickly as it all happened, it was immediately over.
The storm raging in Reo's room ceased immediately, rendering his world still once more. The whips of flames were extinguished, the stream of water vaporized, and the trail of earth turned to dust.
Amongst them, Reo's body fell back to his bed.
Fast asleep.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone