Photophobia

"Dan" I heard a voice call. I instinctively laid up within the second.

"Seamus?" I asked with a bit of confusion. I couldn't see him and to top it off I had a pinging headache.

"Yeah, It's me. By the way, great job dude. I could not have alerted the wastes any better than you had" Seamus said in compliment his voice sounding unbelievably genuine. But I wasn't blind to the sarcasm, Seamus was a top-tier actor.

The situation with the wastes was a big mess so I couldn't blame him. Wait did I pass out, why was I here? Speaking of the situation...

"What about the attack on the library?!" I shouted remembering the information I gathered previously.

"Hm? That? We already took care of it" Seamus told me nonchalantly causing my face to scrunch up.

"Wait… how long did I sleep? Why is it so dark?" I asked evidently concerned. I needed to know everything going on in Termina at all times, it was my only way to plan ahead. At the moment, I was oblivious of much of this world but that didn't mean I wasn't trying to fix that.

"One" Seamus said with a solemn tone of voice. The seriousness made me uneasy.

"One week…?" I asked with a nervous gulp.

"Tsk, I'm afraid not" Seamus replied likely shaking his head.

"On- One month?!" Of course, the operation was over if it took me a month to wake up, f*ck! What was I some sort of protagonist?!? Who the hell sleeps for that long?!

"No! One day, why are you going upwards?!" Seamus said exasperated leaving me stunned. I quickly understood that the b*stard was messing with me.

"You- So there was no attack on the library?" I was initially left speechless but there was a pressing matter that had to be clarified.

"Not yet, we are waiting for you" Seamus responded. It was true that the plan required my help to go smoothly.

"So the operation was moved up?" I asked still bugged by the darkness in the area.

"Yeah… The library was to be busier than we anticipated…" Seamus said helplessly.

I knew what exactly he was referring to. Usually, that would be something to rejoice about but… how did they get that information? Did I almost die for nothing?

"Ah, you don't remember?" Seamus asked in realization. His basis likely being my befuddled expression.

"It was true that you were quite miserable when I found you... " Seamus muttered before starting to recount the sequence of events that led to our encounter.

When I first parted from Seamus, he decided to go further away to talk to some locals. It was necessary to move away since he wasn't speaking to any of the members of the wastes. They would become suspicious if he probed too much.

After snooping around for information through the method of innocent chatter, Seamus found out that the wastes were planning to do something soon. But that was nothing substantial, he had to dig deeper.

He started making his way closer and closer to the headquarters until he finally came across some of his "friends" playing cards. It just so happened that some of the ones accompanying his friends were part of the wastes so Seamus joined in on the fun.

Unfortunately, the fun didn't last. Some other gang members took away the ones playing cards mid-game claiming it was an emergency just as Seamus was going to claim victory. Seamus put on a wronged expression and left with some irritation.

Realistically it was all an act. The activity was suspicious so it had to be investigated.

What he did from there was pick up some information from the gang members scouting around to find out my whereabouts. After nearly half an hour of fruitless search, the wastes were starting to get restless.

That was also when I fell from above onto Seamus and quickly briefed him on the matter.

"Seamus, you handsome b*stard, the wastes are planning to raid the library-" Seamus said before intending to continue his tale.

"That didn't actually happen, right? What did I actually say?" I interrupted Seamus before he could carry on, however.

"...Seamus, you b*stard, they are going to attack the library. Ah, my eyes f*cking burn, was more or less what you said before fainting." Seamus said rewording 'my' previous words.

Apart from the fact that I cursed profusely when on the verge of death, I also learned that my eyes hurt before my fainting.

"I- I'm I blind?" I asked Seamus who had no doubt made someone check up on me.

After feeling a soft rustle, clarity returned to my surroundings.

"I had a sleep mask on?" I asked in disbelief noticing that everything near me was perfectly clear.

"Lytton said your eyes have developed photophobia" Seamus said. Quite honestly I didn't exactly know what he meant but I could infer that my eyes were sensitive to light.

"The lights are off here?" I asked after looking around and noticing no discomfort in my eyes.

"This is one of the small side rooms, you can stay here while the normal people go about their business" Seamus rudely explained. Causing me to make a troubled expression.

If light pained my eyes I was practically sentenced to live in Termina forever. At least until I could get my hands on some sunglasses.

"You don't happen to own any sunglasses, right?" I had to ask someone and Seamus was a master of disguise.

"Sunglasses?" Seamus said confused.

I suddenly noticed the problem with sunglasses. There was no sun down here! Of course, that wasn't to say that sunglasses were only made because of the sun. My own situation meant that some others could have certain medical conditions.

But it wasn't like I had seen any optometrist here in Termina. At the same time, I hadn't checked every nook and cranny of the place so it was impossible to guarantee there was none.

"Never mind, I'll ask Kaiser" If anyone knew it was him.

Seamus shrugged as if saying suit yourself before heading towards the door. He opened it allowing some light to seep in and causing me to wince.

"Right, before I forget Dan, go visit Kaiser when you are ready to go" Seamus informed me before closing the door and leaving me alone in the dark. Though it was clear as day to me.

I supposed my mutation this time was too severe giving me photophobia. Still, I had no plans to let that bother me. It just meant that I had to act in the shadows for the time being.

To be honest, it suited me quite well.