Rayne

**Rayne POV**

I peered down at Sora, his body lay still as Scarlett tended to him. It had been nearly two days since he'd fallen into this state of limbo. The once violet-black aura that had engulfed him had started to dissipate, but it was still present, sapping his mana.

"How is he?" I asked Scarlett, my eyes fixed on Sora.

"He has started to gain stability," she said, her brow furrowing as she looked at him. "But I would say that it would be another week before he regains consciousness."

I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over me. What could have caused this? Was there any way to help him recover?

"Do you know what could be the possible occurrence for this state of limbo?" I asked Scarlett, hoping she might have some insight.

She thought for a moment, her gaze fixed on Sora. "There is no answer to your question. This is something far beyond my knowledge. I've checked every book, every manual, and there is nothing about these symptoms that I have read."

I mulled it over in my mind, searching for some clue as to what could have caused Sora's condition. But I came up empty. Maybe there was another way to find out. I turned to Scarlett.

"Scarlett, I'm going to use Authority Enchantment. I can tap into his mind and see what's going on."

She nodded her approval. "Alright, if there are no drawbacks, then I see no reason why not."

I placed my hand on Sora's head and began to chant the enchantment. Suddenly, I was transported into what seemed to be Sora's inner conscious. It was a terrifying sight - violet infernos raging all around me and the sounds of gut-wrenching screams echoing in my ears.

As I turned to look at Sora, a chill ran down my spine. He looked the same, but something was off. His voice was different, his eyes were filled with a cold glare, and his body language was unfamiliar. Everything about him was different, except for his face. It was like looking at a stranger in a familiar body.

"What do we have here?" The mysterious figure asked, his voice low and menacing.

My heart skipped a beat as I realized that the person in front of me was not my friend Sora. This was something else entirely. "WHO ARE YOU?!" I exclaimed, my voice shaking with fear.

"Rayne... it's me! Your best friend, Sora!" The figure replied, his voice softening slightly.

But I wasn't convinced. This couldn't be Sora. The place we were in was like nothing I had ever seen before. The air was thick with a black, choking mist, and the ground was covered in a layer of thick, black sludge. The walls were made of jagged, black rock, and they seemed to pulsate with a sickly, purple light.

"Cut the bullshit, you aren't Sora. What is this place, it's the definition of a hell." I said, my voice shaking with anger.

"You see, this is Sora's inner conscious, his thoughts, his feelings, his pain is all here. This is all the pain that Sora has suffered over the course of his entire life and those memories are sealed within him." The figure explained.

"That doesn't explain who you are." I replied, my eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"I can assure that I am Sora, just a version of him that would exist in the real world if these memories were unsealed." The figure said, his voice filled with a cold, unfeeling tone.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was not the Sora I knew. "You are Sora without his memories sealed?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around what was happening.

"I was a problematic child when I was younger, the world government had to give me some... readjustment classes that made me learn my place. Oh heavens, the things they did to me are unspeakable." The figure said, his voice filled with a hint of sadness.

My mind was racing as I tried to understand what was happening. What did they do to Sora? What were these unspeakable things that he spoke of?

"Let's say your memories were unsealed, what is the first thing that you would do?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"The world would cease to exist. This world hated me for what I brought into it, they want to take what is mine." The figure replied, his voice filled with a chilling menace.

"What do they want to take from-" I started to ask, but before I could finish my sentence, the figure cut me off.

"That's all the time we have today, I will be kicking you out now!" The figure said, placing his hand on my face.

I gasped for air as I was jolted back into reality, my mind reeling from the harrowing experience I had just witnessed. It was as if I had been plunged into a dark and twisted nightmare, the likes of which I had never seen before. The pain and anguish that Sora must have endured were beyond my comprehension, and it left me feeling shaken and terrified.

"WHAT HAPPENED RAYNE?! WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE?" Scarlett's voice was trembling with panic and fear, her eyes wide with concern.

"There's more to Sora than we ever knew, Scarlett. I saw him in his awakened state, and what I saw was pure malice and hatred. The violet aura emanating from him was a manifestation of all the pain and suffering he has endured." My voice was shaking with emotion as I tried to make sense of what I had just witnessed.

"But what did they do to him? Who did this to him?" Scarlett's eyes were filled with anxiety and worry, as she struggled to understand.

"He mentioned something about the world government, not the federal government. They put him through unspeakable things in his readjustment classes... It just doesn't make sense." My mind was racing, trying to piece together the fragments of information that Sora had revealed to me.

"Rayne, what happened in there?" Scarlett's voice was urgent, and I could see the fear in her eyes.

I put my hand to my face, trying to steady myself. "Sora... he's a monster waiting to be unleashed. We have to be careful, Scarlett."

"Rayne, that doesn't make any sense. Sora would never do something like that." Scarlett's voice was filled with disbelief, as she tried to reassure me.

"I promise you, Scarlett, Sora is more than we can comprehend on the surface level."

Suddenly, I heard breathing behind me. "Sora?" Scarlett's voice was barely a whisper as she looked at the figure standing behind me.

"Scarlett, get out of here now!" I yelled, my voice filled with urgency and fear.

As I turned around, I saw Sora's lifeless body frothing at the mouth, trying to articulate words that his unconscious mind couldn't understand. His arm pulsed with the same violet hue that I had seen earlier, a testament to the darkness that lay within him.

"K... i... l... l..." Sora's voice was barely audible as he spoke, his inner consciousness taking over.

"Scarlett, I need you to get out of here now!" I shouted, my heart pounding with fear and anxiety. We had to leave, and fast, before Sora's inner demon was unleashed upon us.