August sunk, and though he felt himself drown, he felt no pain, and he had no regrets. He’d allow himself to be swallowed by the void, closing his eyes, and soon two eyes replaced his in the void, pure white, glowing.

The familiar thing, Death, took hold of him, and by request of a Sin, she brought him down into the deepest depths of humanity’s subconscious. She brought him to still darkness, and leaving him there in the absence of that which it meant to be human, he became something else, something more in retaliation.

He no longer needed love, nor did hate interest him, he wanted not pleasure, neither pain, he did not seek happiness, but wanted not melancholy, he wanted not touch, nor did he want embrace. In that void, the mind of August was reborn to be more than it was when he was human, for if he were ever to traverse the Abstract, a human mind wouldn’t do.

The process was only one of many though, and where he had been left, while still tainted black by humanity, there was still further down to go. He was at the surface of true humanity, and he needed to go deeper, but that was good enough for then.

He’d be plucked from the Abstract as quick as he had entered and as he came back to the world of the living, he wasn’t him. He was trapped in his mind, his body pulling and pushing, clawing and screaming, something had possessed his human body in his absence.

As he thought to control his body though, the thing had no choice but to flee. It had no control over his emotions, nor could it twist his mind, thus, it had to retreat back into the immaterial world.

All that were present were a distance away from the table he was on, as if afraid, even the giant woman. As he calmed down though, they’d release him, starting with the muzzle. Though, even then, they were being careful not to get bitten by him, or anything of the sort.

As they realized that he was really back—or rather, what they had made him—they’d release him from the chains. He’d sit there, mind empty, looking at the ground, trying to reorient himself. That was when he noticed it, blood coming from his head, as if the thing was trying to escape through him.

They wouldn’t leave him hurt though, as one of the giant’s lackeys would attend to his wound. The person was gentle, even if a bit reluctant. It was understandable though, August wasn’t necessarily the smallest of people, even compared to the giant woman.

As such, the person’s reluctance was understandable, especially seeing how much smaller they were when compared to him. They used a device shaped like a glove, the silver palm infected with a chromatic aberration. They’d place it atop his head, stood atop their toes, they’d be forced to use nanbots to make up the distance.

Then, he’d feel a chill pass through him and he was fine after that, the wound was all but gone. The woman would not stay much longer after that seeing as her mission for the day was complete.

She was content, as she smiled the whole time she was still there, twitching in excitement. It was unsettling really, but no one was allowed to say anything, for all they were concerned, she was as normal as people from the council could have been. She wasn’t making a great case for herself talking to Roman still.

“He’s the one… most definitely. He wasn’t rejected by any of it. You saw it, he was so close to entering that place all on his own that his body almost became a gateway… A second anomaly… you did good Mr. Rosavault… you did good… I’ll be seeing you again in a few days.” The woman awaited no response she was so excited, she left immediately.

Then, to the surprise of no one, she left one of her servants to ‘care for’ August, the smaller one. They would also have to care for the person for the entire duration of August’s service, and that was nonnegotiable.

It was an amicable split though, seeing as they were a specialist in the doctrine of the Abstract. There most important task was still caretaker though, as August couldn’t even walk on his own after what he had experienced.

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He did try though, he launched off the table with his hands, but his legs provided no stability, and he fell atop the person. They were stronger than they looked and they held August by the waist, keeping him from falling. It was then that August realized something though, many things, but mainly, he realized that it was actually a ‘person’.

“Don’t do anything like that again… Please…” It was a woman, and her voice was soft, yet stern.

“I’ll try…” August would slowly find his feet, held up by the woman. “Can you let me go now?” He tried to pull away from the woman.

“No…” She pulled him back to her. “What do you want…?”

“A shower… sleep…?” August rediscovered a bit of his humanity as he continued the conversation, annoyed.

“I’ll take you back to your room.” The woman did as she said without fail, refusing to leave him alone.

As for August’s father, he said nothing, because there was nothing to say, as for August, the connection they had, it was gone, or at least, it had become strained. Thus, he didn’t say anything either, he just watched. The woman brought August to his room and gave him no privacy, even as he showered, she did not even turn her back. She was at his bedside, watching him, even as he attempted to sleep.

“Don’t you have anything better to do…?” August could feel her looking at him, in fact, he could just feel her presence in general.

“No. I’m doing my part. I suggest you don’t complain.” The woman shuffled closer.

“Is it ‘your part’ to annoy me…?” August opened his eyes, looking at the woman.

“…Yes… actually…” She almost laughed as he spoke.

“What…?” August sat up, or tried to anyway, he didn’t have enough strength, and thus he fell back down.

“It is. I’m here to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible, and a part of that is to ensure that you can still access your emotions, and as you may know, negative emotions are easiest to draw upon, alongside love of course, but the dive stretches love thin so… here I am, annoying you. Pff…” The woman tried her best to maintain her professionalism.

“And how long will this last…?” August felt himself get even weaker.

“Until… you can control your emotions on a whim. The point of the exercise… this one, is not to make you numb, it’s just controlled exposure so that you’ll be able to handle the temptations of the Abstract because you’ll understand the state you should be in.” The woman was an expert.

“Oh… and what after this exercise… how many…?” August was already planning to rush them all so that he could get rid of the woman.

“It’s not a matter of how many. It’s a matter of how much… how much can you handle before you break and we have to put you back together again… that’s what you should have asked. Though I am sure you don’t truly grasp the magnitude of what you have been asked to do. If you become numb… we will kill you… if you become unstable… we will kill you… if you become unresponsive… we will kill you… the margin that they’re asking you to exist within… it’s… it’s insanity…” Her voice faltered for but a moment.

“And you’re here to keep me grounded…? Ha… Am I actually supposed to believe that you really care about me…? How naïve do you think I am….? I know exactly where I stand and I know exactly what they’re asking me to do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have accepted… though they still didn’t tell me everything… and that’s why you’re here… you don’t have to pretend to care about me… I’m fine… May will keep me grounded…” August would smile, but it wasn’t quite the same, he was forcing it.

“I really do—” The woman would be interrupted.

The door opened, and there was his little sister, she saw the woman, but she pretended as if she wasn’t there. She walked to her brother’s bed side, not sure of what she should have done. She was told he’d need some space after all. To the surprise of both women, August got up, and leaving his bed he picked his sister up with a smile.

“Don’t worry… I’m fine.” He’d give his sister a hug.

“You’re—…” The caretaker stumbled still in her tracks looking up into August’s glowing red eyes staring at her. She’d sit back down, looking straight ahead and away from his eyes.

He’d walk past her, and at that point in his life, his room was yet to be emptied, though the destined day was close. He had a wall of paintings, shelves filled with books and old dark aged weapons he remade in the name of preservation. He also had a desk and chair, all his tools and sculptures neatly packed atop it.

He walked over to the desk, sitting in the chair with his sister in his lap. He’d help her to sculpt, it was their favorite hobby after all. They’d try to recreate one of August’s best creations, a figure of himself sat, smiling.

As for the caretaker, her heart was still in her mouth, she wasn’t sure of his mental state, and especially not after what he had just done. He was supposed to bedridden, and yet, he was walking around with a whole other person in his hands.

She was also sure that if he wasn’t confident in his own strength, he wouldn’t have picked up his sister, as he’d never hurt her.