A kaleidoscope of shades of grey. Our first impression of the devastated landscape that stretched endlessly around us, both below us and... well, not really above us. Indeed, the ceiling, unchanging as ever, scanned us wickedly as if judging our lives or our usefulness in this World.

A blackness darker than obsidian, a darkness more sinister than anything else in this World. Such was the ceiling's actual anxiety-inducing presence. Such was the unmistakable hypnotizing darkness, the ultimate enigma of this World... What the hell was I talking about? I finally remembered why I'd never seen the ceiling again. The thoughts the roof gave me were strange and illogical.

What if, despite everything, the ceiling, in the delusions it sent me, wanted to inform me of one of the Truths of this World? What if all these dreams it was giving me had a meaning? They probably did. However, I was still on track since the meaning was hidden from me. I was sure of one thing: I didn't want to spend any more time contemplating it; otherwise, I might lose myself...

"My sister had called me," I thought curiously. At least, that was all I could conclude from the sight of her moving lips. Unfortunately, as always, it was in vain. No sound could exist in this place except that foul white noise. I cursed this particular sound, but I had to admit that it was bearable after the first few minutes.

In fact, white noise was on the verge of becoming my favorite sound. With this beautiful sound, I could feel the Void's influence on the environment. The lovely sound alone made me want to go back to sleep. Go back to sleep!? No !!! The situation was terrible. It wasn't just a feeling because this noise encouraged us to doze off for eternity.

It was decided: I had to warn my apostle of this fact at all costs. But how could I do that in a space where only white noise was allowed? For now, I couldn't communicate other than by word of mouth. Yet I had to find another way. Of course, it could lead to the same conclusion, but I wasn't about to trust our survival to luck alone.

So I thought fast, sweat beading on my etheric face. But no way revealed itself to me, and I had to resign myself to an uncertain procedure. I offered my last prayers to any entity that could hear me and cast my spell. A wake-up spell to combat drowsiness. Fortunately, Systalia was quickly intrigued by this spell that came out of nowhere.

She was undoubtedly thinking about the significance of my casting it. But for a brief moment, I could also see her eyes wide and her hands feeling her head. Indeed, she had already begun to drift off into a drowsiness. In any case, I could only be relieved that she was only slightly drowsy.

After all, my spell could only work if someone was in the grip of a gentle drowsiness. It was also inoperative if the fatigue stemmed from blood loss or limb loss, i.e., body damage. The spell was, therefore, very limited and could only be used to prevent exhaustion. Above all, it did not repair the cause of the fatigue. At best, it delayed our eternal sleep.

That's why, in particular, I didn't want to stick around any longer. This spell didn't consume much mana reserves, as I could cast about ten. Nevertheless, the spell's effect lasted only a few minutes at most. Even if this place didn't look all that vast, my mana reserve would be enough for this journey at the speed my apostle was limping along.

Of course, if my apostle understood the drowsiness caused by this place, she'd use this spell too. This would allow us to alternate and leave this singular landscape. Indeed, we both usually knew how to cast the same spells, with different facilities depending on the magic. But that was a story for another time.

To my delight, barely a minute later, my sister stood up and walked briskly to the back. Although the idea was far from stupid, we needed help to escape the ordeal of strolling through this esoteric landscape. Indeed, our fall had been halted by the wall behind us, meaning that it had not been corrupted by Void's energy. My apostle had confirmed this with her own eyes…

Just as she had noticed the lack of doors, much to our dismay. That left only one option. And so, my apostle wandered through the mysterious space of buggy textures and sounds. Indeed, it was in a random direction but even further from our original location. Or so we hoped, for spatial orientation was proving difficult in a place where all surfaces, apart from the ceiling, were alike.

So we walked for a good ten minutes before coming across something unusual. Although, was it really wise to discuss human corpses in this way? Although I wasn't sure if "corpse" was the right word to describe the state these people were in. After all, they appeared neither alive nor dead.

Their grotesque expressions were still evident on their faces while their bodies were jumbled on the floor. This disturbing sight made me uneasy, and my sister seemed to agree. Especially as all their body parts above the ground were covered in the same buggy texture as the ground. Was this what it meant to be "one with Nature"?

I didn't know the answer and had no desire to find out. Strangely enough, after this disconcerting sight, Systalia tried in vain to increase the pace of her steps. Unfortunately, we were condemned to witness the consequences of our actions. If that was the intended effect, then it was working rudely well.

Indeed, while I was relatively indifferent to scenes of massacre where blood lined the walls, this kind of landscape offered a slightly different type of horror. A horror that would continually haunt me with almost as much intensity as the first scene of my awakening. I could only clutch my imaginary stomach with my etheric hands at the sight of this absurd scene.

But even this was not enough to alleviate the nausea and suffocation I felt, for it was coming from the very depths of my being. So far away, in fact, that I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of their origin or even what had caused them in the first place. Just as I couldn't stop my tears, not knowing what feelings they came from.

In fact, the more time we spent in this place, the more our feelings seemed to mix, to bugger up. As if everything here was destined for the ultimate equalization. I said "we" because it was clear that this place affected my apostle. However, a thought disturbed the doldrums into which my mind had been plunged until then.

Why had we resisted this equalization? I see only one possibility: our link to the Void. My direct connection to it and my apostle's link to the Void's energy that had once reconstituted most of her being. But who could claim that we could strut around unaffected in such a place for eternity? Did we have absolute immunity or just a heightened resistance?

To this question, I leaned towards the latter. Of course, in all this, I wasn't counting drowsiness, which was an effect peculiar to us. In any case, we had to get out of there fast before all our thoughts got mixed up and we were eaten up by bugs. I really didn't want to meet the same fate as those humans.

Especially as the landscape reminded us more and more of this fact. Indeed, if at first, we had only found a few people partially melted into the ground, now it was hundreds, if not thousands, at least, facing us with their tearful expressions. I felt as if I were being judged and scorned by them. "I hope vengeful spirits don't exist," I thought nervously.

Once again, guilt managed to seep into me before I buried it fully within myself, not yet ready to confront this unpleasant feeling. Apart from that, there were other oddities to be found with pseudo-cavers. Not least, their locations varied from ground to sky.

Indeed, some were half-diluted in the air, making the landscape even more macabre and uncomfortable. I found it hard to believe we were still in the same world as before. Were we sure we hadn't been deported to another world? What was I even talking about?

Minute by minute, I lost my sanity and could do nothing about it, fueling my fear that I'd never get out of there alive. Fortunately, this fear ended when we finally escaped from this place. I definitely wasn't the only one, as my sister burst into tears and hurriedly called me until my voice reassured her.

Everything was perfect again. Or at least, it was supposed to be, for two incongruous elements brought us back to the irreversibility of our choices and actions. First of all, as lucidity returned to my mind, a questioning idea became more and more apparent. It was an absolutely unpleasant idea because it had implications for my Identity and my relationship with this World and the System.

In this strange place, I had tried several times in vain to evaluate beings. Each time, my skill refused to respond to my orders. Or rather, I sensed that it was trying to comply with my command but that some external force was hastily preventing it from doing so. Worse, my Status was in "Offline mode" as if the System refused to interfere with such a place. As if it was terrifying... But that was impossible, wasn't it?

While I was deep in thought, I was roused by distant cries. Such a noise level seemed unusual, and I felt awful about it. I took one last look at the place we'd left behind. Seen from the outside, it appeared standard, as its texture was not buggy. This phenomenon amazed me.

But I didn't have time to go into raptures for formidable theories. After all, I had data to gather on how I could get into the Academy and, above all, on the identity of the Academicians who wanted to capture me and their purpose. For the time being, however, this investigation proved fruitless.

But I didn't despair. After all, I had just returned to the city and still had time to complete my research. Or so I thought, for an unforeseen event was soon to upset my plans. To my great regret, I had to rush back to the Refuge, entirely overwhelmed by the threat the city was facing... and with a foretaste of what my madness was forcing me to fight.

Although I had initially cursed my bad luck, in retrospect, it was no bad thing that I had returned to Refuge. Indeed, The Book's modification during the previous event later appeared like a key that unlocked a new path. In fact, had I observed the Status immediately after exiting the bugged space, I would have witnessed a prodigious change.

Unfortunately, I'd been too focused on the distant howling that foreshadowed the imminent danger I was trying to protect myself from. Indeed, my apostle and I had promptly activated a camouflage spell. It concealed our presence even if we needed to figure out its range or the detection skills of other humans. That's why we have yet to test it.

But now we had no choice. So we donned the mana modified by the spell, wishing to be sufficiently hidden from prying eyes. Fortunately, in such an environment of terror and distress, we soon noticed that the inhabitants were too busy running to pay attention to us. Just as we couldn't help but be stunned by this unheard-of sight.

No words could have described the apocalypse that was befalling this land. Indeed, the only question worth mentioning was simply: why? Why such a massacre? Whose wrath had we incurred? And why? Why? Had we done something wrong? Why then? Why then? Was this massacre my fault?

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Although I should have rejected such a hypothesis as unfounded, part of me accepted it as Truth. I knew that such firepower could only belong to an Academician and that they'd come looking for me independently. They were undoubtedly tired of playing games and wanted to get to business. But why go to such extremes?

Shouldn't my enemies have ordered several mercenary organizations first, forcing them to do a gigantic search together? It wasn't as if they were running out of time– Time! They must have been in a hurry for some reason. They were in enough of a hurry to go to such extremes. Indeed, even for them, such an action was not trivial.

The mercenary we spoke to ten years ago told us so. By organizing a general purge, our enemies would incur the wrath of the other groups of Academicians. Of course, it wasn't precisely a purge since those who died were indiscriminately exterminated. However, this action killed many mercenaries on a mission for other Academicians.

This carnage would definitely provoke rival groups to react to our enemies. I didn't want to find myself here when several Academicians were fighting each other personally. I didn't know if there was a System's law that forbade it, but if in doubt, it was wise to cut short our visit here.

Only the sound of the desperate moans of a few natives, the clamor of those bowing down, and the shrill cries of those being annihilated by spells I could never hope to match accompanied my sister's laborious walk. One step. Then another. Yet another. Each step seemed more painful than the last as my apostle threatened to faint.

We had long since abandoned our camouflage spell, which was unnecessary here. After all, we needed to conserve our strength just in case. Although we could see the slaughter, we were too far away to see our enemy's face. The converse was true, for he hadn't seen us.

Either we weren't the reason he'd come, or, more likely, the sheer density of people in the corridors needed to be improved on his perception of us. In itself, this was no bad thing, for who would want to confront a being who could kill thousands of humans with a single spell. Or aided by a magical weapon. Actually, I needed clarification. But even if he did have a magical weapon, it only made him more dangerous.

Indeed, such a weapon would require a great deal of mana to use. Unless it had been pre-filled with mana to last long enough. In any case, the adequate power, as was its endurance, was monstrous. Even after hours, we could make it out barely four rooms from our position.

Until now, we'd always managed to veer off in a different direction from the Academician while keeping as close as possible to the Refuge. It had been perilous, but we were about to enter the zone we'd hoped for. At last, we could leave those countless disfigured corpses and their faces filled with incomprehension at their fate.

We could get rid of the smell of death that dotted the battlefield and the blood-tinged water that poured over us as if to remind us of our guilt. Soon, the immense waterspouts, the columns of flame dozens of meters high, the earthquakes, and the wind that tore apart every dwelling would be just a bad memory. Yes, of course, it would have been if...

If my apostle hadn't fallen from exhaustion a few meters from the Refuge area. If only we'd been faster. Just a little. Then we'd never have had this disappointment, this hopeless battle. On the other hand, it had undoubtedly been a blessing in disguise since this event had enabled us to affirm Our Will.

Thanks to this, our beginnings towards an obsession with power and prudence were about to take shape. And our first steps towards asserting our existence to the World, whether it liked it... or not. As I realized our powerlessness, I could only let out a nervous laugh that even challenged my apostle. She must have sensed my dismay because her eyes immediately widened.

But that didn't stop me from laughing, having lost all hope in our situation. Indeed, out of the corner of our eye, we could only see our assailant coming towards us. It could have been chance, or it could have been a sign that he'd finally spotted us. Of course, he continued to cast his cataclysmic spells, creating a zone of ruin all around him.

"An angel of death" I caught myself thinking. As he inevitably approached, my apostle, too, became distressed. His eyes could only expel tears to chase away the stress. But that wasn't enough in such a terrible situation. How could it? We had to face the truth: we were doomed. Systalia was bound to agree with my deduction... Or not.

Indeed, there was no doubt about it. From the contractions of her muscles, my sister appeared... determined!? Hadn't she, like me, lost all hope for the future? I thought I'd finally figured out what kind of person she was, but I was inevitably wrong. Faced with this incontrovertible fact, only a bitter smile graced my etheric face. How could she be so fearless in this context?

No... The right question was: why had I lost this bravery if I had ever possessed it? Why had I lost it? I was asking a lot of "why" these days, wasn't I? Strangely enough, the revelation of this state of affairs did nothing to cheer me. Nothing at all. Although, on reflection, one thing amused me: the inherent weakness of my existence.

Until recently, I'd been full of confidence. However, all it took was one minor event for doubts to creep in. On the outside, I was optimistic, even convinced myself I was positive. Yet I was a defeatist and nihilist at heart. However, I needed clarification about the latter. In any case, my mind was much more fragile than I cared to admit.

So many contradictory desires were expressed within me, and I couldn't grasp them, even to glimpse my Ideal. However, I did have a question. Until now, my mask of confidence had never been so shaken. So why was it different this time?

Finding no answer, I could only gaze up at a sky momentarily ablaze with explosions that swept through every dwelling and its inhabitants. As if to respond to my sister's fearful expression, the Academician, who was less than five meters away from us, flashed a victorious smile. My thinking stopped, and my memory of what happened next was blurred.

All I could remember was Systalia's tenacity in the face of the insurmountable obstacle represented by this all-powerful human. Obviously, the loser's perseverance could never be enough in a too-disadvantageous battle. Stubbornness was, after all, a chimera that gave us hopes that reality took a malicious pleasure in dashing. At that very moment, I was convinced.

Neither the spells Systalia failed to cast nor her pleas for help could change my mind. Even when that being with the contemptuous smile undeniably took his anger out on my sister, probably for the same reason he had come to capture us personally, I remained deaf to her pleas. So, I took no counter-measures even when this disdainful being captured my apostle. In short, I did absolutely nothing.

Still nothing, despite the danger. Always reprehensible cowardice. As always. As always. As always. What a despicable being I was... As always. As always. As always. The end was hardly surprising then. As always. As always. As always. Yes, it had to be my personality! As always. As always. As always. Until eternity!

I laughed compulsively as I uttered such thoughts. After all, they were the only ones I could conceptualize. The only ones that held the Truth? It had to be. It was, wasn't it? What would you have thought if you had witnessed my thoughts back then? Would you have thought I was beyond hope that madness had got too far?

Or would you have believed that I could still be saved from my torments? Later, in a more advanced phase of my life, would your opinion on these questions remain the same? Who knows, even you might be surprised by your answers. In any case, one question remained. It wasn't whether I'd ever come out of my current state because we both knew that would be the case. No, it was as always: why?

The answer came not from myself but from my favorite entity, my Void. Through our connection, more vital than ever before, I could feel its conviction that I would triumph if I used a little of its energy. To fill this World with its energy was its only desire. The only one that made sense, both to it and to me at that moment. As I felt its desire seeping into me.

Under the impulse, I could only break the silence of that etheric space and cry out: "Yes, my Void! Your desires are orders!"

I obviously hadn't regained my optimism about the situation, but something was blocking the path of inaction. An intense desire to eradicate the existence that had caused me so much harm just by showing up. A being that had dared to show itself before me, an entity infinitely superior to anything that could be conceived in this World.

"Soon, he would pay with his life" was my only aspiration. The only soothing outcome I could foresee in the immediate future. My Magic... No, it would be useless," was what my intuition whispered.

Indeed, against an Academician, if I diluted the Void's energy, my Will would not be powerful enough to pierce the System's automatic defenses. With Our Will at full power, I'd already had trouble during our first fight in this city, so with an Academician...

Even so, the serenity of my Void led me to believe that all would be well, that Our Will could triumph over the System's protective barrier. And so, an indomitable force appeared from the depths of our being. Yes, it was Our Will, the ultimate embodiment of the harmony of me and the Void.

Our final weapon against the human who had dared to rise to our level. Or at least those who thought he could match or even surpass us. However, this was a vain illusion, for no one could claim supremacy over us. Even if our adversary had captured us in his arms and pulled out a parchment. "What could this scroll possibly be for?" I mused, intrigued.

It didn't take me long to discover the answer. Indeed, I could feel my apostle's body floating, moving further away from the city. He was not floating, but it was as if he was becoming less accurate in this space. I was curious about the little-known effect of this spell. Even though I knew I had to act fast before it took full effect.

In fact, I was relaxed about the meager time remaining because Our Will had formed much faster than any previous time. It was finally ready to be deployed. Now, we'll take back our stolen sovereignty from this arrogant World. Moreover, I could only feel satisfaction as I watched the Academician's face decompose.

No doubt he'd sensed something was wrong, for his face now showed apparent confusion. A few beads of sweat had even begun to appear on his body. What's more, wasn't his face becoming more livid as Our Will annihilated the World's Will for a time?

His fear was justified, for as Our Will expanded into the surrounding space, his spell was interrupted, removing the unpleasant floating sensation. No, it would be more accurate to say that he was shattered into a thousand pieces. It was not just his spell, but the System's thin barrier had erected between him and Us. Although we felt resistance, it lasted only briefly before We overwhelmed it.

"So even he was like the others after all," I thought dismissively. Indeed, even the Academician who had previously looked down on me seemed perfectly horrified by the sight. In fact, he seemed torn between disbelief and evident disgust at our existence. Were we so undesirable in this World? Why was that? I didn't want to be born like this!

That's what I wanted to retort before sadly remembering that my sister was the only one I could converse with. I got on pretty well with her... However, I couldn't help wanting to chat with other people. As it was, this dream proved impossible.

As I pondered this strange feeling, our pitiful enemy was swallowed up by Our Will while his eyes took on a crazed gleam. In the midst of this kaleidoscope of black and white, only his macabre laughter accompanied the end of his incarnation in this World. Then, the surroundings returned to a peaceful ambiance, as if horrific events had never occurred.

This gave me time to reflect on today's exciting finds. Our Will had a wider reach and formed more quickly than before. I could definitely draw more Void's energy than before. Overall, I felt closer to the Void than ever before. This was clearly the fault of the runic-language book The Book had absorbed into its bosom.

In short, the only unknown was the cost of this rapprochement. In any case, I was about to find out, as my apostle and I fell asleep. In fact, my last sensation was of my sister's relaxed muscles, as if she'd been shocked by what had just happened. I could only conclude that she hadn't expected me to act.

"I can't blame her." were my last thoughts before sinking into the sea of unconsciousness. Of course, my apostle had taken refuge entirely in the Refuge area of her previous strength before she sank into a well-deserved sleep.

And so ended our short expedition into the city before we spent fifteen years significantly leveling up. This was the only possible course of action if we were to survive future confrontations with Academicians of unsuspected strength...

This Academician would later be one of the Academy's weakest and thus be seen as a "failure" by his fellow students...