Before we expound on the topic of the latest odd case, let me give you a rough outline of the existence and importance of the campus fountain. Let the scent of cinnamon and dry twine bring you to a history regression.
The quality of a certain Naks campus is measured based on the student's competency rate and oddly enough, the beauty of the school fountain. In fact, competency would almost be irrelevant when the fountain is unattractive- it is given that the campus' advancement should be parallel to the attractiveness of the fountain.
Though it is implied that way, the school fountain of this campus in far Mindanao, is quite- uh, how can we say this in a much light-hearted manner? Horrible. The algae among the cracked tiles screamed with a treacherous blow. The horrid smell of the hollow tubes which the rusty water flows through like winter ice. Anthropods and creepy crawlies seep through every brick which forms the pathway of the mossy post. The school's logo, once in high definition, now exists merely with holes- bit by bit bitten by harsh winds and strange bugs. This is enough to tell the status of the campus. It's horrendous.
Honestly, other than being a status symbol and setting the overall vibe of the school, there really isn't another use for the fountain. Well, that is the logical explanation for those who have objective eyes. However, there is another explanation for this as coined by the former president, Lenard Choi.
As per a recent discovery, it turns out that all campuses are experiencing the odd phenomena- leading to making the fountain the stronghold of oddness. Though Lenard cannot lay a finger on any information regarding many ancient matters regarding anomalies from other schools- they are quite tight on their own personal information.
With these being said, Odd Case #12: Fountain at Night summarizes all cases and focuses them on one single point- which makes the concept much easier. The format, however, resembles much more of my predecessor's diary than a normal report. Personally, I would say upperclassman Lenard was one feisty and adventurous senior. He never went against any opportunity to venture through what's more. Therefore, the personality he showed in diving deeper into supernatural existence was not a surprise. He loved danger incarnate. Henceforth, it went;
The document was given with a header, "Always bring a watch"- which highlights something he usually once told me. "Time is, to be abrupt, irrelevant. However, in times when you need it, it is much more relevant than how Einstein would describe it."- this thought circulated around the tribunal's mind as we read through the biography-like document...
The dark night clouded Lenard's sight as the midnight fog eloped the sight of the school fountain. The mossy bricks which formed the complex pathway hibernated, thus, slips were not a common danger. The chills were prominent for the luke cold breeze blew like a ghoul was following anyone it encounters. Lenard halted and glanced at the humungous logo of the school which was in any way, tattered. He held his breath and with his trusty electronic torch, resumed walking inside. As he ventured thoroughly, he waited for his broken clock to tick. There are some details here that quite is hard to understand, yet I could guess. Once the second hand moved clockwise, it was time for him to seep through his reflection in the school fountain. Though infested with dirt enough to work as a mirror, not a single reflection can be seen. No light nor color can be seen in the pitch-brown fountain pond.
Lenard reached down his hand unto the water and felt its temperature through his fingertips, yet the water was, in fact, not wet. Not a floating moss or mosquito hatchlings rendered unto his rough palms, rather, it was nothing. As crazy as he may seem, he submerged his head into the deepest parts of the fountain. Fruitfully, oddly it may seem, he was brought to an alternate side of the fountain, filled with white powders- the tiles were intact, but other features were mirrored. The sky was consistently light aquamarine, with no clouds, and everything was identical. Reflection, copies, all features were similar to reality, all were perfect reflections.
And it was so that the curious human resumed his journey inside it. He traveled through what he called the "Ytilear"- a distinct dimension that is based on our material reality where humanity currently stands. In his own description, he mentions that every single thing that is forged in reality is forged in Ytilear. Every brick that is built on reality is rendered on it, and so is every paper that the wind blows- copied. The main difference is that not a single living creature is present. He left and resumed the following day which he tested the testimonies of Odd Case #8. He touched quite specific places throughout the school campus of the Ytilear, in turn, he observed that those places left mirror fingerprints of him but implanted by a white flour-like powder which later is identified as phosphorus.
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With that, for another day, he formulated three hypotheses. One, Odd Case #9's testament was triggered by a sudden tug by the Ytilear- which resulted in its effects. Two, Once you die in the Ytilear, you are forgotten completely in the real world which is expressed in Odd Cases #1, #2, and #4. And lastly, he desperately wanted to try his third hypothesis. Like derivatives, a function can have a prime, but it can also have a second derivative. This sparked Lenard's wish to identify whether or not the fountain can trigger another entrance to a much further plane of existence. However, it was a decision he would soon regret.
His third hypothesis remarked that there should be another entrance when the ticking broken clock ticks counter-clockwise in Ytilear's version of the fountain. With that being said, he waited for 3 days- which marked his long academic absence and the start of his lunatic status. In the documents, he agreed, his hyper fixation and obsession with this new set of supernatural concepts broke his sense of sanity. During this time, the police and his guardians went looking for him- not knowing he had already tried something odder than ever before. The school was alerted, yet the administrator remained calm. According to him, the admin knew that he had been stirring something inside the Ytilear, yet they just let him cook the abomination he had put himself through.
In the third hour of the third day, barely surviving with only a gallon of water and some tasteless snacks, the clock ticked reverse and the water of the Ytilear's fountain turned dark maroon. Like a mindless hermit finding a new shell, he instantly submerged his head in the dry maroon liquid, and there is where he found the root cause of all anomalies.
He described it as an empty place with a breeze of dry sulfur. With that vision, he saw a black object tied in chains made out of light. It had three diamond eyes which were as clear as glass. One look and his life instantly flashed. He could feel his soul being brought closer to the entity with his sanity on the line. He had thought he has been crazy just by investigating the alternate dimension alone, but he never thought there would be a chance that his existence would be brought further into the nutsy spectrum. He was going mad. I could agree, by the time he returned from his 3-day disappearance, he wasn't the same he was before. He was as mad as a hatter.
It was then that a certain person pulled him out of the fountain, though he can't remember the face as the light of the diamond-eye-bearing creature had almost blinded him, he was sure it was a campus staff- could be a janitor, a teacher, or even the campus director. Though there were only three descriptions he could describe the hand that grabbed him. In his words, it was rough, bulky, and shaky.
The moment he woke up, he was already in the school clinic, not in the hospital. And everything felt like it was normal when it was not. His parents were told that he got lost in the nearby forest, and they actually believed that even though it was hard to believe because one, the forest was half a kilometer far, and two, the forest is small- who would get lost for three days? Moreover, after that incident, everything just went back to normal. No questions asked? How odd...
He noted in this document that after seeing the creature, he had started seeing premonitions and some synapses of the future. A pinch of pictures from a distant occurring phenomenon flooded Lenard's mind which caused him to prepare for this moment. And in the last pages of the document, written in the smallest font possible. I oversaw this, I didn't see this before when I have been reading all the cases.
He expressed in a small Times New Roman font, "The clock had struck eight thirty by the time you are reading this."
And it was... You damned former president, how far into the future have you saw?
"If you wish to explore the place I have explored, you may. Just don't bring them with you. Be alone. Bring a broken clock, it's right under your vice president's desk. She broke her watch a couple of hours far back in the afternoon. You need not wait for three days inside. The moon is perfect. You can explore the fountain at night.", it stated.
"We'll resume tomorrow," I yelled with haste as I looked through the statement. "It's late."
"But-", Ezekiel tried to appeal my statement.
"It's dismissed." my ambitious self was showered with excitement as I swiftly sweep the table from the mess we'd made the past hour. "For now."
Something sparked inside me. I couldn't pinpoint what it is. Whether it is the moth in our door, the snake hisses outside the campus, or the leech feeding on a dead rat's body- I could feel a part of me in distant horror.