Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 269  Megrail [2]

"...." I woke up with a start. My eyes flared open, and the moment I regained consciousness, I felt my entire body drenched in what appeared to be my own sweat.

It soaked the bedsheets beneath and made me feel incredibly sticky. Despite that, I couldn't find it within me to care about it I felt my heart race through my mind. 'What was that...?' It felt like a dream, and yet... Everything felt so vivid. Was this a vision? But since when did vision show the past? This didn't make sense at all. "Ukh...!" I held my head as I felt my head throb massively. The pain was so intense that I found myself groaning from it. Even when I was all battered up from the Vice-Chancellor I didn't feel this much pain. What in the world was happening? "You're awake." A soft voice jolted me out of that state. When I turned my head, my entire body froze. It suddenly felt as if the very air had been sucked out of the room, and every single hair on my body stood. My breathing quickened slightly, and it took every part of me to stop myself from showing the changes that were occurring to me. Had it been the past, I would've struggled to do so, but right now? "...." In a few seconds, I was back to normal. With two familiar yellow pupils and golden hair, Atlas sat on the seat opposite my bed. His expression was warm as he looked at me. "....How are you feeling?" "I'm fine." I forced myself to say with an even face. "That's good to know. You've been sweating quite a bit in your sleep. You sustained quite a heavy injury, but it's good that you are fine." He almost seemed proud as he addressed me. ".....It's a pity that I wasn't able to see it for myself, but I've heard all about it. To be able to withstand five strikes from the Vice-Chancellor of the Bremmer Central Academy... I'm impressed. Not many people can do what you've done." Lifting himself up from his seat, he walked over to me. I raised my head to look at him. Every part of my body screamed as he approached me, but I remained put. "You did good." He pressed his hand against my shoulder. "....You did very good. You've improved since the last time that I saw you. It's nice to see that. Continue this way, and you will be rewarded." Those were the last words he said before leaving. Even as he left, I remained on my spot and stared in the direction of where he left. Memories of the vision continued to replay in my mind. Thousand of questions flooded my mind, but those questions only led to more questions. Especially since Atlas's age suddenly became a mystery to me.

'If what I saw is real, then he's at least a thousand years old...' My mind throbbed with even more intensity, and just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I felt something tug at the back of my shirt. It was a familiar sensation that I had once felt before, and when I turned my head, I caught sight of a long thread that connected all the way up to the sky. "Ah." Yet again, I felt myself lose my breath. Staring up, I was yet again reminded of the large hand that loomed over the sky. I knew it had all been an illusion back then, and I didn't quite understand why I had seen it back then, but now I knew... Bremmer. No, the Megrail Estate. All of it was nothing but a puppet. A puppet for the faceless man. We...

Were all puppets. *

Things were quiet for the next few days. I took my time to rest and recover from my injuries while also focusing on preparing for the upcoming play. There were many things that I wanted to do, but had no choice to set aside for later due to my current state. For now, my current priority was the play. "What is wrong with you?" Or at least, that was how things were supposed to go. Staring at Aoife who was sitting on the seat opposite me, I could feel the frustration on her face. "Is that really the best that you can do? Why is it so difficult for you to do this part?" She was currently lecturing me. Yes, I was currently being lectured. "...." The worst part? There was only one day until the main play, and we were currently practicing one of the most important scenes of the play. There was only one problem... ....I couldn't argue back at all. "Even I can do this. How is it so difficult for you?" There was only one day until the main play, and we were currently practicing one of the most important scenes of the play. There was only one problem... "You nailed every single part, but can't do this one? Aren't you an Emotive Mage? Can't you try to at least make yourself look like you fell in love with me? Your face is as flat as a cardboard." Indeed, my current struggles were all due to the fact that I couldn't make a face that made it seem as though I was in love. Everything else was easy. .....It was just that part that I wasn't capable of achieving. "Give me some time. I'll figure it out." "We don't have time!" Aoife ruffled her hair in frustration. "We've been trying for the past three days. There's been little to no improvement! You keep saying the same thing over and over again, and yet, you don't improve at all!" I could understand her frustration. She had been trying her best to help me. The same was true for the others, but I simply couldn't do it. I simply just... didn't know anything about love. 'Right, it's the only emotion that I've yet to unlock.' Just like with my spells. In order for me to use them, I needed to unlock them. The process of unlocking my first two [Curse] spells was extremely long and arduous. ....I could still remember just how much I struggled just to learn those two spells. It was for that reason that I never bothered to do the same for the [Love] emotion. I never once thought it would come to use for me, and even then, I thought I'd eventually figure it out, but even as more than half a year had passed since I had been stuck in this world, I still hadn't unlocked it yet. For that reason, even as the wheel paused on [Love] several times in the past, I received nothing. Without unlocking the spell, it was impossible for me to learn anything related to it. 'This sucks.' Especially since I now only had one day left. How was I going to figure this out? 'Should I do like I did last time...?' I lowered my head to stare at my forearm where a certain tattoo appeared. The idea was pretty straightforward. Use it on someone who was madly in love and replicate what they felt. ....It probably had the highest chance of getting me there. With that being said, 'I feel like I'll throw up.' Especially since there was the very real possibility I might fall in love with the person in the memories I'm reading. The thought made my stomach churn, but turning my head and seeing Aoife's frown, I found myself scratching the side of my face. '....If it comes down to it, then I'll do it.' The play was something that I couldn't afford to half-ass.

Especially since what happened a few days back. Though we had some faults in the situation, I wouldn't say I liked the words that Olga had said to me. This was something that I needed to do to prove her wrong, and at the same time, push myself to learn the last remaining emotion that I had held back. "Get up." Feeling a tug on my arm, I looked up to see Aoife pulling me up with her arms. "What are you doing?" "....We have to go." "Where?" "Did you already forget? Today is the day the Four Empire Summit starts. We have to head over for the formal greeting." "Ah." There was indeed such a thing. Stretching my arms, I moved out of the bed and followed Aoife out of the room. "....." Coming out of the room and into the main streets of Bremmer, I lost my breath at the sight that greeted me.

A large shadow cast over the area, plunging everything into an eerie darkness. In the sky, an enormous wooden ship hovered, its massive bulk obscuring the sun and casting a dark pall over the city. The ship's side bore the unmistakable insignia of a large half-moon as it moved slowly toward the Megrail Estate. "It's those from the Verdant Empire. They're here." Aoife's tone lowered as she gazed at the ship in the air before nudging me with her head. "Let's go. We need to hurry up." As Aoife beckoned me with her hand, I stared at the ship with narrowed eyes. A thought suddenly crossed my mind as I stared at it. 'That Empire...' I licked my lips which had suddenly gone dry as I was reminded of a certain scene. '....It's not like this Empire, right?' *** "The city looks quite nice from here. It isn't too different from Carbinga." Several youths stood by the deck of the ship, overlooking the land beneath. Judging from their demenour, they all seemed relaxed as the ship approached the imposing structure that belonged to the Megrail Estate. "....It's alright, I guess." With his body leaned over the side of the ship, a young man with long black hair and gray eyes stared at the scene beneath with a lazy look. His appearance could hardly be described with words. Just one glance, and he'd attract the attention of anyone that was looking. It wasn't strange for him to be stopped in the middle of the street by women who wanted to get to know him, but he was indifferent to all of this. There were very few things that could excite him. His world was a boring one, and the reason he had come to the Summit was to see if there was anything worth entertaining him. "Why do you always act like this?" Approaching him from behind was a young girl with platinum hair and blue eyes. She had a gentle look on her face as she looked at the young man in front of her. "....You weren't like this in the past, Amell." "People change." The young man lazily replied as he looked at the city beneath. His eyes were squinted, and he seemed to be looking for something. Too bad he couldn't find it from where he was. "Are you still hung up about that?" Amell blinked slowly before turning his head to stare at the girl. "....I'm not." He quietly mumbled, lazily stretching his neck in the process. "He's dead..." Amell repeated, his voice barely a whisper, as his eyelids grew heavy.

"My brother is dead."  Nôv(el)B\\jnn

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