True Apathy

Tiffania steps out of the room and almost falls against the wall as she rests her weight against it... She'd left Michael sitting on the couch in the other room with the T.V on, hoping that they'd bring any sort of reaction out of him. Unfortunately, it was as if his face was frozen, the only movement they'd seen on it being the small smirk he'd given while watching Megumin and Saya argue.

"How'd it go?" Saya asks with Megumin and Saeko listening next to her.

"I don't know... It depends what you're asking..." she sighs. "Physically, aside from the horns he's fine, better actually, he's more powerful than I've ever seen him..."

"What'd the spells say? Did Clavicus Vile curse him or something?" Saya inquires, Michael's horns indicative of some rather major changes, not accounting his personality shift.

...

"They all say the same thing, is Clavicus Vile-no, well... He says he's 'Mikhail Vile'... All I can tell is that he's now a Daedric Prince with heavy links to Oblivion. Whatever that means..." she trails off.

"I don't understand. Is he Michael or not?" Saeko questions, not getting this techno-babble.

Tiffania helplessly shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know. He knows everything Michael does but doesn't react how he would. It's like someone erased all his emotions and throw him at our doorstep... What happened to him..." she tearfully mutters.

"He said he needed your help earlier, Tiff. He reacted to me and big-head-" "Board!" "-So maybe he just needs some time to get better?" Megumin says, ignoring Saya.

"To me it sounds like he already knows the problem..." Saya states, "He came looking for you by himself so maybe just asking him will help?"

"We've already asked him though..." Tiffania quietly says.

"And he answered what we asked, we just need to be more specific. Asking him 'What's wrong' won't do anything if he can't tell what's wrong in the first place... That's probably why he came here, to figure out what's wrong in the first place." Saya explains.

...

Tiffania stands back up and enters the living room again, sitting herself closely beside Michael, their shoulders touching. She glances at the T.V, noticing that someone had started playing One-Punch-Man on it. "Like the show?" she asks, knowing what his answer used to be.

...

"I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if I enjoy it or not. I feel nothing when I watch it." he states, still watching the show.

She hurries to hide her frown at this, "What happened to you Michael? After you left to rescue Charlotte?"

...

"I Mantled."

"Mantled?"

"Usurpation, Subsumption, Culmination, Consummation." he emotionlessly states.

...

She makes an internal note to ask the others about it, if nothing comes from that then she'd have to do her own research. "Why did you ask for my help?"

"To not lose myself. To feel something."

"You can't feel anything?"

"I feel nothing." his body shudders as if struggling against something, "The act of conversing itself is... Bothersome..."

She wets her lips in thought, "Is there anything you want to do?"

...

"No..."

"Then you'll be fine staying here since you have nothing else to do, right?"

...

"Yes...?"

She nods and stands, relaying the information to the others who all have similar reactions to herself.

-----------------------------------------------------------

A day passes and Michael remained, sitting in front of the T.V watching various shows for no real reason. He wasn't even watching them, simply sitting in the vicinity of them while still going through the many aeons worth of Clavicus' memories.

He'd been struggling to talk, as if speaking every word was a monumental effort. His original personality remained, but he felt as if he was in a permanent state of exhaustion and a drunk-induced state of apathy... He couldn't 'want' to act like himself again, even the thought of expending so much energy to care as he used to made his mind buzz in irritation... Maybe everything would be better off... Ending...

*Click*

The door to the room opens and Tiffania walks in while holding a younger girl's hand...

He turns his head and pauses, Lillith... She should have died when that Truck struck him, back in his original world. Something prevented it... Should it be rectified?

"Hey big bro... Tiffania says that something happened to you. A-are you okay?" the younger girl tentatively asks, slightly unnerved by his response or lack thereof.

...

Lillith chewed her lip, she'd been thrilled to get the opportunity to visit this world, but Tiffania's explanation had rapidly dimmed her excitement... Seeing her brother now made her want to cry...

"Sorry... I thought you might be able to do something." Tiffania sadly admits.

...

"Why'd this happen?"

"He says he Mantled, but Clavicus Vile never acted like this, so we don't know what's happened..."

Lillith nods, not really understanding by getting the idea, "M-Maybe it's that creepy book he has, I always got a weird feeling whenever he brought it out..."

Tiffania crooks a brow, sure she knew it was strange but always thought it a harmless artifact of Michael's. He only really used it to write notes or store things, but... "Michael, what happened to that book of yours?"

...

The book appears directly in front of Michael, its pages opening right before his eyes as it rapidly transforms. Previously it looked like an incredibly luxurious magical tome, but now it just looked like a book completely wreathed in shadows that sucked up all light like a black hole...

Its presence floods the room, creating a powerful chill in the air despite the temperature not changing at all. Even in Michael's current state, he focuses on the book with what could only be called interest...

With his new senses, he could detect a presence living within the book... No, not living, the antithesis of living. Regardless of what you'd call it, it existed within the pages, watching with even more apathetic eyes than his own...