Calypsis [2]

'Huh? What is this place?'

I thought I was in the hospital right now but this was most definitely not the hospital. There was no bed, no heart monitor, and no technology at all. I couldn't see anything as far as my eyes could see.

Just darkness.

Suddenly, the world had gone white for a split second, only to return to the void it was once before. Though this time it had been lit up ever so slightly, so I could make a picture of my surroundings.

My feet were wet.

I was standing within an endless shallow sea of black water, with only darkness surrounding me. The temperature was cold, chilling like a winter breeze, and so I shivered and chattered my teeth from the icy air.

Staring at my surroundings in awe, I looked towards the sky.

Nothing.

'Why is it so dark..'

I scanned all across the sky until I saw it. A faint ring of white light within the pitch-black sky.

An eclipse.

As I stared at it in awe, it grew brighter until eventually-

The world turned white.

****

After the surrounding scene flashed with intense luminosity, I found myself in a different situation. Instead of the world being a void of darkness, it was now a void of light. My body lay flat on the shallow sea of clear water until all the water suddenly disappeared, as if it were erased from existence entirely.

In a flash, I could see flames surrounding me but these flames were pitch black and purple. These flames moved more erratically than regular and formed a circle around my body trapping me inside a ring of fire. Another ring started to form with white energy and dark fire but this time it was in the sky. The movement was violent and chaotic, and the size of the ring was enough to fill up more than half of the white sky.

I was lost.

My eyes were in a daze, and my expression was blank. I just laid there within the ring of fire for who knows how long. It could've been minutes, hours, hell it could've even been days since I got here. I'm not sure when it happened or how it happened but a wave of energy filled my body and I sprouted up from my lying position after ages. I made a 360-degree survey of the place and couldn't find where the world begins or ends.

It was like a loop.

"What kind of godforsaken meds are they giving me up there?"

I brought my mental state back together over the course of several hours. At least I think it was several hours and not days I hope. I needed to figure out what I was supposed to do here. The world shifted its colors every so often, and as of now, the world was pitch black with storms of white lightning striking the shallow sea beneath my feet. Every time the lightning struck, the world would shake from the thunder, the loud booms of despair, and the lights that brought terror.

Out of nowhere, a tree could be seen manifesting in the far distance. It was radiating with a strong blue glow but it was covered with chains. Large, thick metal chains that seemed alive and writhed with movement. I approached the tree with wide eyes and was in awe of what I was looking at.

It was beautiful.

Its branches spread far into this world like a nervous system, touching everything in sight. Its ethereal luminosity was the brightest thing within this abyss. I walked closer and closer to observe it only to find it locked behind absurdly thick chains that constricted around the poor tree. As I reached for the chains, my hand was suddenly enveloped by something.

It was the artifact from before.

"The hell is this thing?"

It moved in the palm of my hands like it was alive until it took a shape. The artifact soon transformed itself into a weapon. It turned itself into a sword of onyx. It had an ominous white glow that contrasted the dark onyx-like blade, its shape was akin to a Japanese Chokuto sword. After looking at the chains for a moment, I looked back at the sword in my hand and had a thought.

"Guess I could try slashing it."

I raised my right hand upwards and swung downwards with a swift and clean motion. Initially, the chains didn't seem to be affected at all until a split second later.

BOOM-

A massive boom rang out, causing the water to ripple. It sent out a blast so powerful it knocked me back about 10 feet. Catching my breath, I looked up at the tree and saw the chains split into pieces. After regaining my footing, I slowly approached the ethereal tree once more.

"Let's see what happens, shall we?"

With a grin, I raised my hand and placed it on the base of the tree. As soon as this happened blue energy started to be emitted from the tree and was sent out in waves. Its branches started to grow larger and longer as it reached higher into the sky releasing more energy along with it. The waves of energy got more and more intense with every passing second until it all snapped.

A large blast rang out, and the world flashed blue.

****

"AHHHHH!"

I shot out of bed with insane speed. I was still located in the hospital room but I wasn't sure what just happened. The sun was barely starting to rise so I'm guessing it's been around 10 or 12 hours since I fell asleep. I reached for my phone and stretched until I noticed something was off.

I wasn't in pain anymore.

In fact, I felt stronger and better than ever currently. It was like a lot of weight was suddenly lifted from my body and mind. Was that really all from just sleeping? If so, I guess I should fix my sleeping schedule. I wouldn't mind going to bed a couple of hours earlier if I felt this amazing afterward.

****

11:00 AM: Aethra Medical Center

'No…no…I'll take this one.'

It's been about 3 hours since I woke up and my body is feeling amazing and the pain from last night is gone entirely. This vending machine in front of me also offered really nice snacks, so I was satisfied with my morning. I really needed to go and do something about my assignment, if not then it would disappoint Professor Naomi.

I wonder if there's any way I could do a bounty while being inside the hospital. My body felt well enough to leave the hospital as of now though. Maybe I should go check out instead of staying here any longer.

'I'll go see if Jonathan has anything for me.'

Going back into my medical room, I quickly changed into some casual clothing and checked out of the medical center. Walking through campus, I ran into crowds of students all doing their own assignments and going off to do whatever they wanted. I was going to head to my dormitory really quickly to get my uniform.

When I got to my room the door was covered in taped signs with multiple things berating me and trying to bring my morale down. Do the kids that did this think it was fun? I mean, I really saw no benefit in them doing it. So why?

"995."

"Weak."

"You don't belong here."

But I didn't care for this. I ripped the signs off of my door and walked in. As I walked in I got a notification from my status. I was hesitant to open it at first since I didn't enjoy looking at my poor stats but I clicked on it anyway.

===STATUS===

Name: Keir Licht

Overall Rank: F

CL: 10

RC Level: E (Increase)

Strength: F

Agility: F

Stamina: F

Charm: F

===SKILLS===

- Advanced Swordsmanship: Mastery of the blade

- Advanced Martial Arts: Make your body the weapon

- Free Running: Extreme affinity with running over obstacles and escape tactics

"Eh?"

My face froze and my lips were moving without any words forming. I tried to process things slowly, but the more I did, the more I couldn't believe myself.

I was speechless.

I could use RC now.