The barrage of images mercilessly assaulted my mind, and I was helpless to do anything to stop it, so I let the images flow through my mind and observed.

The images were like shattered mirrors, but I could still make out what was in the images fairly well.

In the first image, I had been ripped into multiple pieces and was being devoured by the undead in an unsavory, grotesque manner.

What made me sick to my stomach wasn't the getting devoured part, but the fact that I was unrecognizable due to my face having been torn to shreds and my eyes having been poked out.

I would have closed my eyes if I could have, but I couldn't feel my eyelids, and even if I could have, closing my eyes would have been useless, as the images existed inside my mind.

Finally, the image shifted into another one, and I didn't have to look at my corpse any longer. Or that is what I thought, but the next image was not any better.

It could even have been called worse because of the uncomfortable feeling of being stared at by your own corpse that seemed like it had been cut in half in one clean slash delivered with a large blade.

I could not look away from the motionless eyes of the corpse that had still retained some emotion. That emotion was hard to decipher, but it seemed like I had been furious before drawing my last breath.

Usually corpses were completely relaxed, and no emotion could be detected, but somehow my emotions could be seen even after death.

Dying angry certainly was a terrible thing. Never getting to resolve the anger within oneself before death was something no one wanted. Imagining floating in the darkness of death with nothing but resentment surely isn't a delightful thought.

While deep in my own thoughts, the image changed and a new sight greeted me.

By now I was used to seeing these types of images, so I didn't care much when I saw a corpse, that bared a striking resemblance to me, in a structure resembling a hallway, laying against a mossy, gray stone wall with a malnourished look, seemingly having starved to death.

This particular corpse, though, did not seem to have been angry. More like, the sorry thing had given up and miserably laid there until it suffered a slow death.

Then the image shifted once again, but this time the scenery was a little special.

What entered my sight could have truly been regarded as a masterpiece.

In the midst of utter darkness there were mirrors in different places and angles that formed a half sphere, and in the middle of that half sphere there was a man that had been impaled through the back by a something large that was in the form of an icicle, but reflected its surroundings just like a mirror.

I took in the sight for a while with my mind clear of any thoughts. The image was simply overwhelming, so I simply stared at it until it was gone.

But when the image left, I had no desire to celebrate, since I knew that there would come another to replace it.

As soon as the image entered into my mind, a shiver was sent down my spine as an overwhelming feeling of horror washed over me.

In the image, there were two people. A black haired man who was me, and a man with white hair whose face I couldn't see properly because of a dark shadow cast over it.

However, even though I couldn't see the man's face, I could feel the ruthlessness his aura exuded. But the thing that made me feel fear was not the white haired man. It was me.

My whole body was full of cuts, and I was laying on my stomach, apparently unable to stand because of some tendons of my legs having been cut. My right arm was being used to hold up my upper body, while my left arm was reached out as if I was asking for help, but I had seemingly been unsuccessful in doing so since my hand had been cut off.

In the end, I was left to die with tears of blood running down my cheeks and an expression of deep despair.

***

Suddenly, I jolted awake with my breathing uneven and my heart racing like it never had before.

"Relax, you're fine. Calm down. Breathe slowly." Amelia tried her best to calm me as I looked around frantically and hyperventilated.

The muscles in my upper body tensed as I slowed my breathing and did my best to relax.

It took a while, but eventually I was breathing at a normal pace and my body was completely relaxed.

"What was that? What did I touch?" I asked Amelia as I laid on the ground drenched in cold sweat.

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"You touched a predictor crystal. It shows you possible futures. And the one you touched just happens to be one that shows you the worst possible conclusions to your life." Amelia explained with a calm voice that didn't fit the words coming out of her mouth.

"Why the hell does something like that exist?"

"It's a torturing device that causes people to become paranoid and eventually leads to madness."

"A torturing device?" my face twisted in anger. "Why do you have a torturing device in your basement and why is it on display if it should not be touched?!"

"There were all kinds of things in the pocket dimension when we were transported here, and we know that we shouldn't touch it, so I thought it was harmless." Amelia explained, but even though her explanation made sense, she seemed to be very regretful for not warning me about the object.

Seeing Amelia's reaction, I sighed, trying my best to relax.

Then I stood up. "How much time passed while I was under the influence of the predictor crystal?"

"A few minutes."

After hearing Amelia's response, I turned and started heading towards the staircase I had come from.

"Wait, where are you going? Don't you want to stay the night in the pocket dimension?"

I stopped walking but didn't turn around, "No, I have to get stronger." I answered and walked out of the basement.

***

POV: Angus

I left the rabbit corpse outside and waltzed into my home as I cracked my neck.

"Grandma, I got a rabbit!" I yelled, not aware of her location.

"No need to yell. I'm here." grandma said, and she walked out of her room.

I looked into my room and then asked, "Where's the idiot?"

"His name is Akir and he's not an idiot. He's just a stubborn little child."

I waved my hand with an uninterested expression, "Blablabla, I don't care. The rabbit's outside. I'll go get some sleep. I hope there's some food ready once I wake up."

I turned and walked into my room, leaving grandma behind without even hearing the answer to my question. I was simply too tired, and grandma defending Akir was the last nail in the coffin.

I emptied my pockets onto the floor and laid down onto the platform I called my bed. It was uncomfortable, but I was used to it. And I barely slept 2 hours every day, so my bed made little difference.

It wasn't dark yet, but I never had any trouble sleeping, so I simply close my eyes, and soon I fell unconscious.

***

After I woke, the smell of rabbit stew blessed my nostrils. I stood up and started heading towards the dining table with only food on my mind, but then I remembered the materials. I turned around, held my hand out, focused, and the materials flew into my hand from the ground.

I shoved the materials into my pockets and sat at the dining table where a bowl full of steaming hot stew had been placed and started eating.

"Did you have a good dream?" grandma, who I hadn't paid attention to, asked me after I sat down.

"You know, I never do." I answered without lifting my gaze from the stew. "About Akir, where is he?"

"He went into the woods saying he needed to get stronger."

After hearing grandma's answer, I questioned why I had gone through the trouble of bringing him here to be treated.

"The guy almost died and wants to fight those things again, and you say he isn't an idiot."

"Isn't that what you do?"

"It's nothing like what I do. He's weak. As for me, I haven't received an injury in a hundred years."

"What about 17 years ago?"

"That doesn't count. I didn't even use a weapon that night."

"Tch, you should stop playing with your life like that."

"I'm not playing with my life. Those things wouldn't pose a threat to me even if I had no arms."

"You and Akir really are the same."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"You two even had the exact same reaction to the predictor crystal."

"Huh, Akir touched the crystal?"

"He did, and straight after he rushed out into the forest because he has to become stronger. Sound familiar?" grandma said, and after seeing my expression turn into a frown, a smirk appeared on her face.

I stood up, "Thank you for the food. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go. You see, it's becoming rather dark outside." I said in a gentlemanly manner and walked out.