The Revelation... Or Something Like That [Pt 2]

Ever since he was little, Matt—previously Martin—had believed in the supernatural.

Even when he couldn't see the proof, he had always believed there was more to life than what he perceived with his ordinary senses. The world of the unknown, the realm beyond reason. He believed such a reality existed.

But, he woke up from his delusions.

There was no such thing as supernatural events or a world that couldn't be observed through reason, or explained through logic. Sure, humanity was yet to discover everything in the known universe—or the unknown—but they were advancing steadily each day.

Certain items, like his smartphone, didn't exist a hundred years ago. Science has evolved so far from what ancient history considered 'normal.'

Thus, Matt made up his mind. If there was something that appeared supernatural to him in any way, it was simply something science had yet to discover.

'Everything can be explained!' He thought to himself as a personal philosophy.

Who would have thought that he was going to end up eating his words.

*

*

*

"Right there! Do you see it?" Violet pointed excitedly to an empty space.

Well, it wasn't exactly empty.

There was a fountain situated there. The fountain gushed out its liquid contents from multiple openings, and the small pool of water was contained by a receptacle beneath the fountain. Stairs led up to the fountain's pool, but Matt and Violet simply watched from the ground beneath.

Other than this fountain, and the clean water that gushed all around, there was nothing else worthy of note.

"I see nothing but a fountain." Matt answered dryly.

"No! No! Not the fountain. Come on, you really can't see it? You have to open your mind's eye and—"

It was at this point that Matt realized something. He had always thought everything could be explained, but the girl beside him was living proof that he was wrong.

He had to eat his own words at this point.

'Her delusion is beyond me!' Matt thought to himself as he stared at Violet's crazed, amber eyes.

"I asked for proof, Violet! I didn't ask for a made-up fairytale." Matt could feel something rise beneath his chest.

Was it anger? Why was he angry? Ah, that's right. Violet had wasted his time.

Time that would have been better spent with his friends—living his life like the normie he was.

Instead, he had been dragged around by this weirdo, who claimed there was some sort of portal in this place. According to her explanation, 'Links' were tears in the fabric of reality called 'The Veil'.

Apparently, Links were also portals to another world. Her delusion knew no bounds.

'How could anyone buy this crap? It's beyond me. We're adults, for crying out loud.'

Matt was nineteen years old, and by his estimation, she had to be nineteen too. This foolishness made absolutely no sense.

'Maybe science can deduce what exactly is wrong with Chuunis, oh wait, they have!' It was called delusion, or even more appropriately, psychosis.

"I-I'm serious Marti—"

"My name is Matt! Matt Lewin!" He snapped at her.

Violet's eyes seemed to be tearing up at this point, and Matt felt like a huge jerk, but he was too convinced in the validity of his point, to take back his words. He was actually furious at Violet for doing something he couldn't believe she did.

"You actually made me believe you for a second… shit." He slowly began walking away.

After so many years, he couldn't believe it. He actually felt moved when she mentioned 'proof'. He actually thought there was a miniscule chance—something science was yet to figure out. For a split second, he actually believed it was well within reason.

Why did he put so much faith in an obviously stupid cause?

The reason was quite simple, actually. It was because the person who told him all of this nonsense was Violet.

'I didn't want to think you were crazy, but…' He stared at her one last time, sighing in disappointment. 'Turns out I was wrong after all.'

*

*

*

Violet stood still for a moment, looking completely devastated.

Matt was leaving, walking out on her and everything she told him. It stunned her to the point of disbelief.

'Does he really not believe?' She found herself wondering.

A few years ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to trust her words—no, to trust in the possibility of the supernatural. He would have appreciated this truth she was sharing with him. He would have seen it with his own eyes!

Now, he didn't seem to care.

That realization alone seemed to have sobered her previous excitement.

No, that wasn't quite it.

Her eyes were wide open, and her lips kept murmuring some words that were incoherent. Anyone looking at her would think she was crazy, that she was insane. However—

"W-wait! I can prove it. I can enter the Link right now and show you!"

—Violet was actually thinking really hard.

After racking her brain for the best possible course of action to make Matt believe, she finally came up with this answer. It was perfect! Matt would see it with his own eyes!

Sure, there were a few people around, but they were mostly far away or engrossed in their respective activities. No one paid any attention to them. If she plunged into the Link and showed him undeniable proof, he would definitely believe her, right?

However—

"I don't care. Do what you like." Matt simply waved her off like an annoying bug.

"Eh?" Violet's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm out of here." And with that, he walked away hurriedly.

Violet's eyes were still wide open—both in shock and disappointment. She was simply astounded by Matt's obstinance. It was really disappointing.

"It's getting unstable." She averted her gaze from the direction that Matt took and turned towards the fountain.

Sure enough, there was a spectacular phenomenon in sight.

What seemed like a blue Magic Circle floated in the air. It kept whirring and warping, displaying strange symbols as it hummed. This Magic Circle buzzed, and cackles of what seemed like electrical discharges were emitted.

This was the Link!

She could see a timer at the top of the floating Link. It told her just how dire the situation was.

"I don't know if I can do this alone. I've never tried." She whispered.

However, she was running out of time.

"I'll try one more time. If it doesn't work then…" Violet whispered to herself.

She knew the mission—what she needed to do.

It was her reason for existence, her purpose. There was no way she could ignore such a spectacular event occurring right in front of her.

Clutching her pink teddy bear tight, she kept her gaze on the Link. The soft touch of her stuffed animal gave her assurance, and she felt strength course through her. Violet was uncertain of the outcome, but she knew one thing.

"I have to try!"

Yes, she had to do her best. Her face was grim with resolve and determination, causing the people around the fountain to stare at her with pitted sighs, worried faces or creeped-out expressions.

To them, Violet was nothing more than a weirdo who enjoyed staring at an empty space and talking to herself.

*

*

*

"Damnit, Matt. I can't believe you let her talk you into that shit!" Matt angrily stormed into his room.

Fortunately, his roommate was yet to move-in, making him extra grateful. He was totally not in the mood for any form of interaction. After draining himself by dealing with Violet's crazy obsession, he was too worn out to even hang with his friends.

He decided to lay on his bed and simply relax.

'Let's not think about what just happened.'

He didn't know what exactly was wrong with Violet, but she wasn't thinking properly. Sure, he felt bad about the whole thing. He also sort of regretted snapping at Violet and walking out on her.

He was being a jerk there.

"But what should I have done? She kept spouting crazy things!"

He was justified in his actions, wasn't he? Any reasonable person would do the same, right? Yeah, that's right. He wasn't wrong.

She was the one who pushed too far.

"Let's just forget about it." Matt heaved a sigh and closed his eyes.

Just a few minutes of clearing his mind would do the trick. He enjoyed the serenity of his room, the comfort of his bed, and the absolute silence around him.

Matt enjoyed this so much, in fact, that he fell asleep without realizing it. A deep sleep that sent him into the land of darkness and dreams, making him oblivious to everything around him…

>DING!<

>DING!<

>DING!<

Not even the message alerts on his phone.

*

*

*

"Guh. How long have I been asleep?"

After several hours of much needed sleep, Matt woke up late in the evening.

It was already past 7:00 PM according to his smartphone, and he could see a few missed calls and some messages.

The calls were from his friends, and he could see their messages telling him how sorry they were for ditching him, and how they had the most interesting time in his absence.

"They even took pictures… those guys are so—" Matt gritted his teeth in jealousy.

He should have been there, having fun with his friends. Instead, he had been stuck with a weirdo Chuuni who wouldn't stop talking about Links, Veils and such crazy stuff.

"A-ah…" Matt scrolled through his texts, and sure enough, there were lots of messages waiting for him from her.

99+ to be exact.

"Dman, I actually feel really shitty right now." Matt sighed.

Even though he had been quelling his feelings of guilt with anger, he no longer felt the rage he did at the time. After a rejuvenating sleep and some peace and quiet, Matt reflected on his actions—as well as the girl he had wronged.

'I shouldn't have ignored her or walked out on her.' He recalled how insufferable he had been when he was younger.

'Violet still accepted me back then. She still approached me and talked to me despite the weird way I spoke and the things I said.'

Now that he thought of it, after he and Violet parted ways on the day he confessed, he never saw her again. If he had gone to school the following day, would she have talked to him, or would she have ignored him instead?

Matt was willing to bet on the former.

"That's just the kind of girl she is." He smiled softly to himself.

Violet was so nice that she was willing to give him a chance. The only reason she ran back then was because of how stupid he was and how he kept pushing something as embarrassing as a confession in front of the whole class.

'She even tried to talk me out of it, but…' Yeah, Matt was sure of it now. He had been a jerk to Violet.

Even if she was maniacal and delusional, it wouldn't hurt to be nice to her. Rather than speak from his high horse—the same way everyone around him did when he was still a Chuunibyou—he should have been kinder.

'I could even manage to convince her that those things aren't real, if I say it nicely.' Matt sighed, finally deciding to wade through the 99+ messages Violet left for him.

He knew he would regret it, but he did it anyway.

"A-ah… what in the… world…?" Matt was reading so many messages that he felt like his brain would implode.

~I really need your help, Martin!~

~There's no time left!~

~A couple more hours and it'll be too late!~

~The Link must not be allowed to grant them access to this world~

~I'll be waiting by the waterfall for you. If you see this message, please come over. I'll wait till 7:00~

~Please come fast.~

~Please hurry~

~Martin, I'm really serious!~

~PLEASE!~

~I… I'm going in now.~

~I'll do my best, Martin.~

~In case I don't return, please don't stop believing. It's real. It's all real!~

~I have to go now.~

~Bye!!~

"Oh shit."

Matt strangely didn't feel repulsed by Violet's insistence on the whole Link and Veil situation. He was instead worried—worried about her safety.

'I have no idea what she's up to. Could it be something dangerous?' He had heard of certain Chuunis who ended up harming themselves—some even killing themselves—because of this crazy delusion.

It was nuts!

What if Violet was in a similar situation? How could he stand by and allow that to happen? The answer was simple. He couldn't!

"Shit! You better be safe, Violet!"

Quickly throwing on his hoodie jacket and T-shirt, he left his room and dashed for the fountain.

On his way, he called Violet's number repeatedly, but it wasn't going through. As he ran, he texted. Unfortunately, he received no reply.

His heart raced uncontrollably, as he felt a sense of dread overwhelm him.

'Why am I so worried? It could be nothing. Maybe she's just joking around. She could be playing in the fountain or something.'

Despite telling himself this several times, he didn't feel reassured. His heart kept beating faster and faster, as though the organ wanted to escape its confines. He pushed his body as a result, running with all his might, all to get to his destination.

*

*

*

Matt arrived to find no one by the fountain.

"Haa… haaa…" His breath was ragged, and sweat was all over his face—no, his entire body.

He looked around, seeing no one. The silence was merely punctuated by the gushing of the fountain and his heavy breathing.

The trees danced in the chill of the evening wind, and the lonely, ominous darkness of the park made Matt's currently unstable mind give in to a hint of paranoia.

'She's not here. Is she safe? Ah, please tell me she returned to her dorms. But if she did so, why isn't she picking? Why?!'

Perhaps Violet was asleep, like he had been, moments earlier. Or maybe, just like he did, she blocked calls from specific numbers.

'But she wouldn't do that to me, right?'

Considering how he had walked out on her earlier today, and also stood her up, there was a high likelihood that was the case. He had messed up, after all.

"But… these messages…" Matt went through his chat with Violet.

The tone of those messages seemed so urgent. It felt like she was in real danger. Like the stakes were real. He knew the imagination of Chuunis was on another level, but for some reason, he couldn't shake off his doubts.

In his desperation, he texted.

~I'm at the fountain. I am near the Link. I really need to know if you're fine. Please say something.~

But what if she was somewhere where she couldn't say anything even if she wanted? You know, somewhere beyond the Veil.

"The Link?" He stared emptily into space.

Like earlier, there was nothing there.

It was just the fountain gushing out water. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

"Damn. I must be losing my mind." Matt sighed, collapsing on one of the few chairs that were provided for those who wanted to enjoy the view.

The evening breeze tousled his hair, and he couldn't help but inhale deeply. He closed his eyes and tried his best to calm his mind.

He allowed himself to feel the crisp evening air. The soft flapping of the leaves around. The gush of water. The sound of his breathing.

He allowed himself to remember his past—his Chuunibyou days.

He would always chant to himself, stocking up on anime merchandise. He liked cosplaying a lot since the costumes made him feel powerful. He remembered his signature look, and how he had often spouted nonsense about darkness.

The pictures Violet had sent to him earlier in the week allowed him to remember how he looked back then. The garish black eyeliner, the fake earrings, and finally…

'The Eyepatch.' Matt grinned stupidly.

He found himself smiling more and more as he allowed those memories to flow through his mind.

Why did he keep wearing that Eyepatch, even though his eyesight had gotten better? Matt knew the answer. How could he forget his strongest belief back then?

'The power of dar—'

>VWUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!<

Suddenly, a violet wind blew past Matt, forcing his eyes to spread wide open.

The wind felt unbelievably warm, and he could feel his body suddenly enveloped in the strange warmth.

Suddenly, a brilliant glow of light emerged from the very fountain in front of him, and volts of electricity were shot here and there.

"O-oh shit…" Matt's eyes expanded to their limits as his jaws dropped wide open.

A massive circle suddenly appeared before the fountain. It was blue, turning purple. Lightning sparks of both colors danced around it, and many runes and ancient-looking letters floated in the air around the circle.

A timer was set above the circle, and Matt could instantly read it.

"F-fifty-three minutes left?!" He gasped as he stared at the unbelievable phenomenon before his eyes.

Matt's mind was wide awake.

He was certain he wasn't dreaming. Everything felt perfectly real—and yes, he pinched himself several times to confirm.

"N-no way. She…she was right?"

Why and how wasn't important right now. The most important thing at the moment was the Magic Circle in front of him.

Matt knew full well what it was. He had been told about it, after all.

This was the tear in the Veil that Violet wouldn't shut up about—the very thing he dismissed as nonsense.

"The… Link?!"