BOOM!
A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the area. Amid the thick smoke, a lone young woman stood tall. Ether stared suspiciously at the school gate before her. Confusion clouded her mind more than anything else.
"What even is this stupid gate... and this invisible wall? I know for sure the scene outside is fake, just some illusion beyond this barrier. So why can't I break it!?"
Frustrated, she threw a punch with her full strength—a blow powerful enough to shatter a skyscraper.
BOOM!
"What the hell?! Why is it still intact—not even a scratch!? Aaaargh!!!"
Ether unleashed a flurry of punches against the invisible barrier. In just five seconds, she had struck it hundreds of times. But the only thing that shattered… was her own gem-like body.
"Ggh… damn it!!"
Her final punch landed against the wall, and again, nothing happened. Even though over 25 square meters of the area around her were torn apart, it all restored itself perfectly within seconds.
Ether continued attacking the barrier relentlessly, from sunrise until now. More than eight hours had passed—eight wasted hours of effort.
Her cracked body, soaked in a liquid resembling blood, finally collapsed to the ground. She wasn't tired. She wasn't in pain. She was… ashamed. Ashamed of her own stupidity. Her pointless rampage.
Moments later, her body regenerated completely, as if nothing had happened.
"…Hahaha. God, I'm such an idiot. Alright. That's enough of that. Since I'm stuck here anyway, I might as well explore a bit… I did want to study human life from the start. I just got a little… hot-headed, that's all."
And with that, she flattened into the air and vanished.
—
Main Building
"Um—Miss Ether? Are you alright? I saw you trying to break the school gate since morning! You're not hurt, are you?"
A boy—part human, part dog, it seemed—approached her with concern. His name was Sof, probably some kind of non-human being.
"Yo... Sof, right? I'm fine. Even if I were crushed to dust, I'd still be fine. You worry too much—it's none of your business anyway, you dumb mutt."
Ether replied with a cold indifference, though Sof could tell she was just acting tough.
"I thought you'd still be at the gate. When did you get here?"
"Ahaha! Well, everyone over there was trying to eat me, so I ran for my life and came here!"
He actually seemed proud of escaping from being eaten.
"So, uh... why were you trying so hard to break the wall?"
"Don't you find it frustrating? Having to stare at that fake scenery every damn day? An illusion projected by that damn wall! Do you even know where we really are? We're floating aimlessly in a void without end!"
Ether snapped, her voice tinged with irritation.
"Oh—yeah, everyone knows. The chairman said so during the opening ceremony. She said that when we first arrived, the school was still on Earth. But while the chairman was talking to the principal, some weird creature appeared behind the principal and attacked. They fought to buy time for Riddle to activate the barrier… but since that thing came from another dimension, no one knows whether it got away or not. We still haven't found it…"
Yeah, that was the current situation. Over 50 students[1] were trapped inside the barrier. But still, it was for their own safety. Perhaps finding a way to disable the barrier, rather than destroy it, would be the wiser option.
"Hey, aren't you... like, tired? Or hurt? You've been punching that wall like crazy..."
"Oh~ thanks for asking! In that case, allow me to formally introduce myself using this fine moment!Now then—let's answer your question first. No, I'm not hurt, and no, I'm not tired.Because, you see, I'm not a living being to begin with. I am a condensed cluster of pure cosmic energy — crystallized into Etherium! And I... am Ether — the first and only surviving being of the Etherium race in existence! Technically speaking, I'm sentient energy. I never get tired. I don't need rest, I don't need food, or any of the life-sustaining stuff mortals rely on. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Well... yeah, that's pretty amazing...Anyway, it's getting kind of late.I think I'll head to bed. Good night, Ether!"
[1] Yep there are over 50 character in this novel