Chapter Thirteen

It was like I got rammed by a truck after the day I had, and my hands felt like it was hit by a hammer.

I was still able to get a bath in before I finally got to bed, I could feel my eyelids closing.

It all went black immediately after I hit the bed, and when it opened again I was in the black again. After the first time I was here I kept wondering if everybody else's subconscious looked like mine or if mine was a special case because of my situation.

"Hey, Strig!", I called into the black.

"Sorry for pulling you in Casto, but I felt it's something you should know", He replied. It's still weird how you can hear his voice but can't see him.

"What's something I should know?", I asked.

"I once told you that I feel a presence in your subconscious. It has been running around ever since then, at first I thought it couldn't get out, but it's creating cracks in your subconscious, you need to find it and subdue it".

I could feel my heart beating faster in my sleeping body. "How am I supposed to find this thing?, what does it even look like?", I asked.

"I don't know...it doesn't have a shape... it's like a veil of darkness covering a bright light, that's the best I can do. You can try to feel for something out of place, it's your subconscious after all", he replied.

My first instinct was to close my eyes, from my attempts at doing magic I learned something useful. I could feel the deep ends of the darkness like a sonar, I felt something but what was it?

"I can feel something but I don't know where it is", I asked Strig.

"your subconscious has not felt that you want to find it, it should have taken us out of the darkness and shown you a path to it, unless you don't want to find it".

"After what I felt, no I don't think I want to, but it's not like I have much of a choice", I replied.

I closed my eyes again to focus, and I found it again, this time I held on to it. The darkness changed and my bare feet could feel the leaves underneath and through the trees, I could see it. Just like Strig had said, a bright light covered with a veil of darkness, behind it was a wall, well more like a barrier with a huge crack on it, just one more strike would make it crumble.

I had to act fast, I didn't know what would happen if that barrier collapsed. I started walking closer to the entity, each step I took made my body shiver. When I was five feet close to it spoke.

"Are you our master?", it asked in a voice that was filled with confusion.

Trying to avoid giving any answer that would make it see me as a threat, "yes I am your master", I replied.

"Then what is our name".

"Your name? okay, your name....umm...

"You are not my master you do not know our name. I need to find my master", just as the last words fell out of his mouth gave the barrier the final blow.

I was sent flying and crashed into a tree, a bluish light leaked through the opening in the barrier.

"Casto don't let it get through that crack, even I have never been on that side of the barrier, who knows what damage it could cause", I heard Strig say for the first time since I entered these woods.

"Wait!", I said to get it to listen to me once again.

"No!, you do not know our name you are not our master".

Before I could even get another word out it went through the open barrier, and the barrier folded in on itself and closed.

Now it was out of reach and I didn't know how it was going to affect me.

"Strig? Do you still feel anything?", I asked.

"No...no I don't", he answered.

Cold sweats ran down my cheeks, and all I could ask inside my head were questions. What's going to happen now, what will it try to do next?

My eyes shot open, I wiped the sweat off my forehead, I checked the time and it was barely past four, I tried to see if I could get back to sleep but my brain just refused to shut off the thoughts.

I don't remember how long I just sat there looking into space. I could only imagine what could happen if it took control again.

The sun finally came up, I didn't think it was a good idea to go to school, anything could trigger it to act on its own. But it was just my second day at the academy way too early to start with excuses. I walked into the bathroom and took the slowest bath I could take I came out and got dressed.

I had to eat something because hadn't eaten anything since last night. I got downstairs and for the first time in an enter month Axy and Rickhel were eating at the dining table, and my food was also on the table waiting for me. I sat in front of my food and ate as fast as I could, I didn't need any conversation to start between me and Rick. Even I was surprised by how fast I gulped down the meal.

I moved away from the table and started toward the door.

"Are you okay Casto?", I was surprised was Axy asking me if I was okay, the same Axy that hadn't even looked at me all month.

The question made me pause, but I didn't reply. I just walked out the door, I could still hear their voices faintly as I stood the stairs away from the door.

"You told me to try, I did", Axy said.

"Of course, he would find it strange, you haven't talked to him for a month after all", Rick stated.

I walked away from the door and headed toward the road to the academy.

From the time I stepped into the academy grounds, all I kept telling myself was don't talk to anybody don't let anyone get you angry. I sat through the first class without attracting attention, the second class was the same but the third class was going to be tricky, it was a practical battle class.

Each student in the academy was provided with a locker and a set of battle gear. So we were instructed to put on our battle gear and head to the training field.

After a few minutes of walking around, I finally found the locker room for the boys in my department, I made sure I took my time so I would be the only one there.

I went to the locker that had my name on it, it popped open without me even touching it, I grabbed the battle gear. It was the same black clothing Rhyo had worn on the day we fought, I put on the black shirt and leather pants, and black boots, all that was left was the jacket, I looked at it closely and I saw the logo of the book of curses and others department on the left chest area, it looked cool with the redness of the entire jacket. I put it on and left the locker room.

Walking onto the field all I kept telling myself was 'Casto don't let the rage win'.