...
The world returned in fragments.
Warm.
Then cold.
A pulse in my ears. A weight on my chest. The distant scent of herbs, and something faintly metallic—like dried blood.
I opened my eyes slowly.
Above me, the ceiling was old stone, lined with thin cracks and soft glowing strips of healing runes.
"You're lucky you're even alive" A soft whisper rang out next to my ear.
A woman with Flame-red hair, short and tousled, with eyes like molten copper stood there.
She wore greyish robes, signifying that she was a medicae, a healing mage with attributes and affinity centred around wood.
Ignoring her for the time being I decided to get my thoughts together.
Then it happened.
I remembered that face… and that voice. I felt like I was back at the Forgotten Tower.
I could feel myself being crushed from just remembering it's existence.
'I… my mana is lowering?! What?! Something is using my mana as a medium to connect to me?!'
[Alert!]
[User in Danger!]
[Safety Protocol activating fiercely!]
The system acted on its own again and it's annoying voice rang out in my head, but this time I felt a bit of relief in my heart.
[Failure!]
[...]
[Restarting Protocol]
[...]
[Error 9291 thiwndkw…]
[Critical condition detected!!!]
[Connecting to the Fold]
[Danger! Connecting to the Fold can result in Mana Burn…]
[Error 01]
[User safety in imminent danger]
[Re-accessing]
[No safe option detected…]
[...]
'What the f-'
"AHHHH"
"what- what happened?? He was just fine" The medicae started to panic seeing me scream from pain, she tried to use healing magic but nothing worked.
"What is this?! Why Can't I heal him?!"
[...]
[Connect to the Fold?]
'Ugh- yes do anything' H
Having spent all my life in pain I was no stranger to it but pain of this magnitude was something I had never felt. Even the pain of impelled by flaming spears felt ticklish from to this.
[Connecting to the Fold]
[Starting connection]
...
[Connection to the Fold: 3%… 12%… 34%…]
My vision blurred.
Everything—the ceiling, the light, even the voice of the medicae—began to wash away like ink in water.
The Fold.
I didn't know what it was, but the moment the system said the word, my body remembered. As if the bones in my arm, the blood in my veins, and the magic in my core had already been there.
And feared it.
[Warning: Mana pathways destabilizing. Sync required.]
I felt it all at once—the plunge into somewhere beneath reality, a place twisted like a spiral staircase that folded in on itself over and over. The laws of nature flickered, and the world I knew lost definition.
There were voices here.
Nothing.
Pure emptiness.
Then I heard something— some people… no— some things.
Some cried.
Some laughed.
Others whispered in languages no mind should ever comprehend.
A thousand eyes watched me from beyond the curtain of sanity.
And yet…
Something reached back.
I saw a hand—long, feminine, shrouded in gold-tinted shadow—touch my chest in that vast void.
The system's voice returned, but quieter now, like a hush at the edge of a tomb.
[The Fold has responded.]
[You are seen.]
[Connection: Stabilized (Temporary)]
[Warning: Residual contamination unavoidable.]
"Arthur!"
Her voice, the medicae's voice, pulled me back.
My lungs gasped like a drowning man breaking the surface. My eyes opened again.
Stone ceiling.
Runes.
Her worried face hovering over me.
My body trembled. Sweat clung to my skin, steaming slightly. My heart pounded with such force I thought it might rupture.
But I was alive.
Barely.
"You… your heart stopped for eight seconds," the medicae whispered, her eyes wide. "What the hell happened?!"
I didn't answer. My gaze was locked on the faint black mark pulsing over my chest—the place where the Fold had touched me.
It shimmered like an inverted rune, etched into flesh and soul.
'That thing… it wasn't just a memory. It tried to pull me back. And the system... it barely held on.'
I sat up slowly, ignoring the medicae's protest.
My mana was drained. My body felt like it had been carved hollow. But my mind—my mind was sharp again.
And angry.
I remembered the trial. My father. The false accusation.
Alvin.
That… thing in his skin.
I clenched my teeth.
This wasn't just politics. This wasn't just bullying or noble pride…
It was something scarier… somthing more ominous.
And I'd been marked by it.
I had to move.
I had to know more.
I had to fight back.
But first—
"…Where am I?"
The medicae blinked. "The infirmary, west wing of the Central Tower. You collapsed in the hall after the trial—"
"How long was I unconscious?"
She hesitated. "…Four days."
I exhaled. Then stood, stumbling slightly before finding my balance.
I looked at her. Really looked.
"Thank you… for trying."
She nodded, stunned.
I stepped past her toward the mirror on the far wall.
My body looked fine. Mostly.
It was covered by herbs.
"Although magic treats external injuries the fastest in your condition there were no external injuries. Your mana pathways were twisting, Healing magic couldn't do much in that situation. These herbs helped in guiding the mana properly."
I nodded.
"...Though, injuries were imminent. Some of your mana pathways were torn when we got to you… I couldn't fix them. I'm sorry"
"No, thank you. Thank you for treating me, I wouldn't be alive without you"
It was the truth.
Silence.
None of us said anything for the next few minutes.
We both knew what was next.
I had to ask it.
"What… what happened to my teammates?..."
"They… when we found them they were already dead…"
"I see…"
"And what happened to Lira?"
"We couldn't find her. Nothing was there. Not even her body, we hoped to ask you when you woke up…"
At that moment, a middle aged man with curly brown hair and blue entered the room and spoke out: "Arthur Valen, I'm the head of security council of the University of Mana Arts. I'm glad that you've woken up."
"Yes, I'm glad as well…" I said softly
"Now, I know you've just woken up but I need you to follow me. It's procedure to ask questions in a situation such as this and would appreciate your cooperation"
I nodded.
And followed him out of the infirmary.
…
After a dozen minutes of walking we finally reached the building of the security council, located on the eastern side of the island. It was the second biggest structure on the island after the main building where the lectures took place.
And with that, the questions began pouring in.
To Be Continued...