" Wake up, Wander."
A strange voice disrupted Wander's sleep. For a moment, he thought the voice was from his dream and tried to ignore it. He closed his eyes to bring himself back to sleep.
" Open your eyes, idiot. I'm talking to you. It will take just a few minutes"
Wander fell off his bed in panic. He realized the voice was coming from his head.
"Who are you?"He asked, knocking on his head.
"It won't work, silly. Don't talk out loud. Just think, it's enough"
"Okay, I'm thinking. Who are you?"
"If you like, you can call me Doom Mark, like those before you did. "
" That's not terrifying at all. Those before me? You mean the other Exsomnises?"
" Who else? Seriously, I have never awakened this late. Usually it would take just 1 week, at most 2 weeks. For you it took a month"
Wander remembered Nito had warn him about this. He felt sick that he had to deal with this problem without Nito's help.
" You must be the annoying friend Nito mentioned. What exactly are you and why are you talking in my head? And how did you even get there? More..."
" Slow down, brainiac! You are overwhelming me with those thoughts. Okay, let's me explain. You can say that I'm your personal tour guide- here to make your Exsomnis experience as pleasant as possible, and as least deadly as possible."
" Where do you come from?"
" The medal, you see, it's like a server. All Exsomnis is connected to it, across time and space."
" So I can talk to people from the past?"
" No, you can't. They're dead already. What remains is just a bunch of battle experience and jumbled...personalities. I am a manifestation of the server, created through combining the personalities and experiences of the previous Exsomnises"
"I see. You are a mess of information."
" Rude! I am an aggregation of information, you hear? Better be nice to me, or else I will mess you up with bad advices"
"How great.Being a demon is bad enough, now I'm also schizophrenic. Can I get rid of you? You must be why I am forgetting things!"
"Hold your horse there, Herr Shlock. I have nothing to do with your amnesia. You heard Nito? He suffers no such thing even though I'm in his head, too. Well, another me."
"You are in the head of each and every Exsomnis? I see, an effective way to pass on knowledge and power. The Exsomnis cannot have offsprings, so another way to pass down genetic information You are the language of us Exsomnis."
" You graps things fast, eh? Nerd alert."
" Can I hurt you by overwhelming you with a stream of thoughts?"
" Uhm...no. Wow wow! Stop! Darn you. Yes, you can! You can hurt me!"
" You will be a good toy. I can hurt you while I'm bored"
" I know if you're joking or not, you know?"
"Just want to test if you can read my subliminal thoughts. Seemingly you can"
" Stop with all the hypotheses. They're hurting me. You know what, I'm turning myself off. I just want to let you know about me. Now that's done, goodbye. I'm going to sleep."
" Wait, what, you can sleep? Doom Mark? Hey?"
Wander could hear a buzz, then Doom Mark could no longer be heard. He knocked his head for several times. Seeing that his new friend had no intention of waking up, he climbed back into his bed. It irked him that Doom Mark's existance did not bother or frighten him much. Shortly after, he fell back to his sleep.
______________________________________________________________________________
Next morning, Wander returned to the ruin in hope that Nito would be there waiting for him with an apology. As he expected, no one was present. The ruin had reclaimed the silence that Nito once broke. He left the place with something stuck in his throat.
Wander decided to visit Maria when he heard the waves again. It was the second time he caught her filtering the pond. This time she did so while reading a book.
" So you're really not mad at me" said she without looking up, smiling.
" I have no such intention. What are you reading?" Wander asked
" The Art of Mind-Bending"
" Haruki version?"
"Yes."
Wander stared at the girl. He liked her when she was like this, with her half-closed eyes, her chin against her fingers, her lips curved into the faintest smile. He always found her presence tranquil, blending in with the scenery; as if she was just another stroke of brush on a painting filled with vivid colors and shapes.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"I like your existence, Maria." Wander blurted out.
She looked up at him, eyebrows raised.
"Did I just say that out loud?" he said, closing his eyes.
"Yes, you did," she smirked " Don't apologize. It's been a while since I heard a compliment. A refreshing one, even rarer"
"I had no such intention," Wander smiled " I don't apologize for speaking the truth"
Maria stood up. She walked to Wander and looked him into the eyes.
"You make me curious. I can't see you through," she pushed the book's spine against his chest. " I hurt you back there with what I said. I will let myself believe that this is the real you and take the risk of trusting you."
Wander could see the sun reflected upon Maria's eyes. He fancied himself thinking it was a sign the star was validating her remark. Her irises seemed to change color.
"Now, about your blood infection." Maria turned away from him.
"Maria," Wander clenched his fists " I turned. I am not a demon, but I am similar to them. Biologically. It's really not a blood infection."
Wander held back his breath. He stared at Maria's back, guessing her expression. He glanced at the pond, fidgeting.
"You are one of them."Maria said without looking back.
"What?" Wander's heart sank.
"No, my mistake. You're not. Can you tell me how you turned?"
Wander hesitated. He wanted to keep the existence of Exsomnis a secret. However, with the disappearance of Nito, Maria might be the only one that could help him. Keeping her in the dark could work against him.
"Wander, don't do it. Don't tell her. If you tell her, you will put our whole species in danger." the voice of Doom Mark echoed in his head
"I need to survive. She may be the only one that can help me."
"Help you? You've known her for a month only right? Do you think she will risk herself helping a demonic being? Would you if you were her?"
Wander's mouth went dry.
"Wander, can you?" Maria asked
"I'm sorry. I can't."
"It's okay. Self-revelation is a choice. Don't be sorry about that," Maria stopped the filtering work " Now, if I were you, I would get out this city as soon as possible. You have any plan for your escape?"
" I do. Not a good one though. I'm leaving here right after I say goodbye to Hiatus and Aria. Maybe spend one last day at school" Wander shrugged .
"You leave before me then. I'm still investigating my twin."
Wander was about to leave when he remembered what Maria said just a minute ago.
"You said I was one of them. Who were you referring to?"
"The Singulus Digiti"
"They are not demonic. How can I-"
"I know, that's why I said my mistake."
"Why did you even think I was one of them in the first place?"
Maria looked back at Wander.
"Revelation is a choice." She smiled.
______________________________________________________________________________
Wander was on his way back home when Doom Mark struck another conversation with him.
" Going back to school? Are you a fool? Why don't you show your friends your blood while you're at it?"
" It'll be fine. I will be careful. Besides, with my instinct, I can evade attack."
" One slip-up and you are dead meat. Avoid conflict, you hear?"
" Geez, why so up-tight? I just want to see my friends before I leave. I miss them. It's not like I'm going there for a fight."
" The fight will come for you."
" Like that's gonna happen. Don't worry, it will be fine. No one will find out. I'm sure of it."