Illusion(End)

A teary-eyed Dev opened his eyes and was stunned to see the scene on the platform.

He was the only one standing on the platform. His shoulder fell because he knew what standing alone on the circular platform implied. While he was crestfallen about failing the test, he was suddenly pushed out of the circular platform by a sudden foreign power.

He couldn't stand steady on the ground due to the forceful push, so he fell. Then, suddenly a hand appeared in front of him to help. It was Rose's hand. She helped him stand up.

Many started laughing seeing him taking her help, but he didn't care. He was still feeling shocked due to his last scene in the illusion. He could've started wailing if he was alone. He suddenly felt a pat on his back. He turned around to see Rose patting his back.

She could understand Dev's illusion by seeing his eyes. He nodded toward her and said, "Thanks."

Before Rose could speak anything, suddenly Jacob appeared in front of everybody and started announcing, "All the test has ended. Those who've passed all three tests will start getting their academy invites from next month. Those who failed can still participate in the next test 3 years later."

"I must say, I'm very disappointed with this year's batch. Only 17 passed the tests. But we got a star student this year," said Jacob, then his eyes went toward Rose. Her cheeks got red when everybody stared at her. She could feel envy and jealousy for her in the eyes staring at her.

Jacob then appeared in front of Rose. He took out a pouch from his pocket, gave it to Rose, and said, "This is your gift for topping this year's exam." While smiling, He left after giving her a gift.

Everybody started leaving after that. Serena was waiting for Dev and Rose outside the examination center.

A few hours earlier, She was very nervous about Rose's result. After waiting for some time outside the center, she noticed a batch of participants coming out. She didn't want to see Rose or Dev in this batch. Her face was sweating until the whole lot got out, and she didn't see Rose or Dev. She sighed in relief after that. Her situation was the same for the next batch too.

She finally noticed Dev and Rose coming out of the center. Rose looked happy, whereas Dev had no expression on his face.

She rushed toward them. She grabbed Rose's hand when she reached them. She looked at Rose nervously and asked, "So, what happened? Did you pass?"

Rose nodded her head excitedly. Seeing Rose's acknowledgment, her nerves finally relaxed and a smile appeared on her face.

She then looked at Dev with a questioning look. Dev shook his head with a fake smile on his face. She patted his shoulders and said, "Don't worry, you can try for the entrance next time. You'll get your revenge someday."

He sighed after hearing Serena. He then said, "You guys go and celebrate. Don't let my failure stop you from celebrating. I need to have some alone time to think about my next step." He then walked away without waiting for a response from Serena or Rose.

They both sighed after seeing Dev leaving. Serena couldn't overlook Rose just because Dev failed, so she took Rose and proceeded toward the market.

Dev started walking in a direction unknown to him. Reality and Illusion started affecting his mind. The last moments in both the illusion and real-life were combining.

He didn't know what should he do, so he started running toward the jungle outside the city.

He ran straight for an hour. He finally stopped as he couldn't run anymore, he was panting. He leaned against the nearest tree and started gasping loudly.

He finally felt better after some time. Both the illusions he faced today passed through his mind. He knew his weakness, he couldn't stop himself from experiencing the illusion. He only came out of the illusion when it ended for both times.

The second illusion was the best thing that could've happened to Dev if he ever wanted to grow to become the [ETERNAL]. Somewhere in his heart, he always had a feeling, if he would've stayed there with his family. Maybe the events would've been different.

The Illusion broke his delusion, and also removed the regret he had when he wasn't there with his family's last moment. He wanted to vent out his emotions, but he couldn't.

He was feeling like someone was choking him, he wanted to scream to release his frustration, but he wasn't able to. He was feeling very uncomfortable. His face was white. He tried to speak something, but his voice came out squeaky.

He didn't stop and started repeating, "Wait for me!" As time passed, his voice started coming out clear and loud. He finally screamed, "Wait for me!"

He felt relief from the feeling of choking. Colour returned to his face. He looked up at the sky and yelled, "Just wait, you bastard. I'll find you and then hunt you down. I'll make you wish for your death."

He took out her family's picture from his Pocket Space, touched Tara's face, and tears started pouring out. He cried for some time while looking at the picture.

After calming down, his eyes were red while his nose was running because of crying, no one would believe him to be an old man if they saw him like this.

He wiped his nose and eyes. A serious look appeared on his face, he looked at the picture and vowed, "From this day, I'll never let a teardrop fall from my eyes. Instead of crying for losing you, I'll work hard to bring you back. I'll hunt that bastard down and will kill everybody related to him. I'll do anything to bring you back to me, no matter how cruel my deed will be to others," to himself.

His face became ruthless when he vowed about the killing. He then started noticing his surroundings, he was alone in the jungle. As the jungles near the city were safe, Dev didn't have to worry about his life. He could get injured though if any big animal arrives.

He decided to make his way toward the city and then try to find Rose and Serena.

Rose wasn't in the mood for celebration after seeing Dev's situation, but to not dampen the mood of her mother, They only had lunch outside. After having lunch they left for their Inn, as they couldn't leave right away for their house.

While Rose was resting in her room, she suddenly got a call.

The calling device was different from Earth in Nehan. Here, a ring was used for making calls. It was the technology of Dwarves. The ring was called 'Denwa'. This world wasn't very different from Earth if it came to technology from what Dev has heard from Rose. It was just that the Elves hate technology because it destroys nature, and they were fanatics about nature.

Denwa was different from mobile phones from Earth in a way that you need to have an audio source for hearing, but in Denwa the voice will directly appear in your mind, like your thoughts. When Dev heard about Denwa, he tried opening the device for a week to see its functioning, alas he wasn't able to. It was made of a material unknown to Earth called copon.

Copon was one of the most common minerals in Nehan. It was just a mineral until a Dwarf called Newton discovered its use. Its overabundance in Nehan is the reason Denwa can never fail while you're in Nehan. It does what phone towers used to do till the 2040s on Earth. Denwa also doesn't need a manual charge because it charges itself from energy present in the atmosphere.

There wasn't a concept of Solar Energy in Nehan, despite its Sun being several times bigger than The Sun in Earth's solar system.

Rose thought of accepting the call and it got accepted.

Dev asked from the other side, "Where are you guys?"

"We are at the Inn," answered Rose.

He was startled, he asked, "Weren't you celebrating? Don't tell me it's because I wasn't there?"

Rose responded, "No, it wasn't because of you. It was just that, I was feeling low, that's why we came early?"

Dev answered from the other side, "Don't lie to me? I am coming then we'll celebrate your topping the exam."

During this conversation, When Dev spoke Rose heard that in her mind, and when she spoke he heard her voice in his mind. Denwa could only transmit talks into the mind, it wasn't able to receive the thoughts, so you'll have to speak like a normal user talks through his phone.

Dev has just faced a tragedy, and he didn't in any way want to celebrate. Rose and Serena have done so much for him, they didn't even celebrate the biggest day in their life because he failed, so he decided to celebrate her day with her. He couldn't continue being upset about the fact that his family is no more. He's just a human, he has a limited lifespan.

He has to get over it if he ever wants to bring them back. Today is the day for a new start for Rose and Him, so why not from today?

What Dev's next step is gonna be?

We'll find out next time...