"Sorry for the absence of a platter, the cooks are experiencing a delay." A female servant bowed politely as she laid out napkins across the table.
"No, I got it." Ayumi rushed over to the table, snatching the napkins from the maid and disturbing them with a quickened pace. The woman with netted hair seemed taken aback at first, but her expression gradually softened as Ayumi worked.
"Thank you, dear." She nodded her head and turned around, addressing the group once more. "I anticipate your dinner will be completed in a few minutes."
"Aren't you a doll." Olivia chuckled, wrapping the napkin around her neck. Even if it wasn't a gesture she was accustomed to, she figured tarnishing her new outfit with the residue of a meal was a risk she didn't want to take. Additionally, everyone at the table not from where she came from had already done the same.
"Where's Catherine?" Shinso asked, scanning the table and the people sitting at it.
"Perparing for your first spirituality lessons." Carter said with a smile, leaning back in his chair.
"You look less bloated." Aaron remarked, eyeing Shinso's stomach.
"Earleir today Isaac decided to fetch me some more herbal stuff." Shinso sat down at the table and tidied himself up.
"The herbs are only a precaution, that means the pace of your digestion is quicker than predominantly perceived." Isaiah said, sitting in the armchair with his pipe in hand.
At that moment he reached down and clutched his bag, which clattered with sounds of glassware as he hung it around his shoulder. "Unfortunately outside is scheduled for barren-like temperatures, so I'll be heading back to my estate."
Oboro nodded with a smile, waving gently as Isaiah departed.
Aizawa, who sat across from Oboro, continued to look at him with a somewhat uneasy expression.
"You ok, Shouta?" Olivia asked, leaning ahead of the taller man, gazing up into him with parted lips.
"It's…just hunger." He replied.
As if on cue, the doors leading to the kitchen opened, and a stack of plates could be seen in the hands of a figure that was obscured by them. They let out low grunts of effort as they attempted to keep the stack balanced. After slowly making their way to the table, they began to slowly put the plates down.
When their face was within view, everyone saw a teenage boy of small stature, sunken brown eyes and a mop of greasy brown hair.
"Wilfred, nice to see you!" Ayumi smiled from across the table, waving. The boy's face flushed furiously as he looked down at the mahogany table, ignoring her presence as he slowly began to distribute the food with shaking hands. When he gazed back at the stack of plates, his eyes widened in terror when he noticed their sudden absence.
"What the…" Wilfred took a step back, his hands clutching his brown hair as he began to huff.
"Hey, hey." Ayumi walked over to him, pointing at the table. "I just helped you out, no biggie."
Seeing that, Wilfred slowly let out a sigh of relief, a reluctant smile forming on his face. "T-thank you."
He walked back to the table to help give out utensils, but he froze in his tracks and began to stare at the food that had been laid out. His sunken eyes bored into the potatoes, peas and chicken that had been given out, and a tiny amount of drool ran down his chin.
"Are you hungry?" Ayumi asked, raising her plate towards Wilfred. The servant tensed, his body flinching as he shook his head. "I'm fine, m-my boss will feed me."
"Oh, that's fine…" Ayumi said, her expression betraying her words. With the way Wilfred stared at the dishes, Ayumi questioned if this poor boy was being fed enough to begin with.
After a few seconds the boy turned away and shakily bowed at the table, wishing them a good meal.
…
"Sometimes I wish divine intervention was possible; I would have made you lock the door in secret," I said, standing in front of the bathroom mirror in the main hallway.
The glowing of the sigil had disappeared, making me wonder how long it's been in such a state considering neither Shinso nor Ayumi brought it up. My heart continued to pound, and I felt a continuous surge of nervousness and a fluster.
Shinso had almost kissed me in our apartment room, but Ayumi opened the door and stopped the scene. I pressed my hands on the counter and leaned forward, taking a deep breath.
"Though I'm confused as to why the Aura of Fear didn't trigger." Now that I was alone, I felt safe to ask The Umbridge such a question.
"I hid it away." They replied, their tone ethereal and calm.
"You…can do that? Why didn't you do that earlier?" My grip around the counter tightened, my knuckles turning white with frustration.
"I apologize for my inability to perform such an action. Unfortunately, the influence of a Spirit Creature using their abilities can be sensed by Seekers, or Meta's."
"But the maids and Isaiah weren't Meta's." I replied, feeling a surge of confusion.
"Looks and abilities can be deceiving. Why do you think Isaiah is so adept at toying with people's minds? He made you hallucinate."
"So…Aaron, Carter…even Catherine doesn't know?"
"His pathway is adept at concealment and fabrication." The Umbridge explained.
"What do you know about it? Is it information I can openly possess without risk of madness?" I asked.
"The Puppeteer pathway, the pathway of a deceiver, a coward, someone who bends the laws of others to their will."
"How…strong is he?" I looked into my reflection, feeling the sigil begin to simmer, causing the skin around it to heat up red.
"He's an Order 6, the highest among the group you've found yourself in. At such a level, he might as well be able to erase memories and toy with others until he gets what he desires."
"That's…terrifiying." I felt my heart tighten with terror as a small surge of dizziness overcame me. I stepped back from the bathroom mirror and sat on the toilet, clutching my head which had also begun to burn.
"Why isn't the charm working?" I grumbled out, my voice hoarse and strained. At that moment, I heard an illusory voice ring out in my mind.
"I commend you, Isaac. You're smarter than the others." It was Isaiah's dark and cynical voice.
"What do you want?" I asked, my body beginning to tremble.
Isaiah fell silent for a few moments, before scoffing. "Did Ayumi ever tell me what I thought about you?"
At that moment, a deafening, high pitched sound that resembled a scream sounded in my mind, causing me to fall to the floor and cover my ears. Tears were streaming down my face as I felt like I was on the verge of passing out again.
"Make it stop! Make it stop!" I gritted my teeth, biting into my cravat in an attempt to stifle a scream.
Suddenly, everything fell silent.
I opened my eyes, feeling my unfamiliar surroundings. Below my feet, I saw a wooden floor, and a long black carpet extended down the length of the corridor, extending to a throne made of black stone. On either side of the throne, along with the rest of the corridor, black marble pillars erected from the wooden floors, stretching to an infinite height.
When I looked up, the ceiling was consumed in a viscous, ink-black fog. Within the fog, I saw a pair of eyes emerge, glowing with a maleficent, crimson red hue.
I froze, my body paralyzed as they gazed down at me. My heart tightened, and I felt a habitual urge to defend myself.
"Calm down, Isaiek. It's me." The Umbridge's familiar voice sounded, but this time it wasn't in my mind. It was as if they were speaking to me directly through a megaphone. I heaved a sigh of relief and scanned my new surroundings, feeling a surge of trepidation.
"What is this place?" I asked in a low voice. "Can…Isaiah…sense me here?"
"No." The calm voice sounded again. At that moment, an illusory portal composed of shadows opened in front of me. I instinctively took a step back, raising my arms as the portal expanded. I saw The Umbridge step through the portal, their form now extending over ten feet in height.
"I'm relieved. Now I can freely embrace my true height without repercussions."
"Ok…" I stood, too shocked to speak. I continued. "You never elaborated what this place is."
"Your mind, Isaeik." They replied, their voice now less layered, now sounding like it emanated from a single mouth.
"My mind? I already…have a place in my mind. That theater, you've visited it before; you inquired about my taste in movies." I looked around this ethereal room, it didn't resemble the theater in the slightest.
"Well, once you consumed the potion, your mindscape changed to accommodate it."
They pointed behind me, revealing a large oriel window that showcased a sea of crimson stars against a backdrop of ink-black sky.
"Your Apocalypse potion digestion is now officially in the works." They said, approaching the window and peering outwards into the sea of stars. After a few seconds of silence, they turned to me.
"Come and look."
Feeling a surge of curiosity, I followed the illusory figure to the edge of the window, peering outwards. Outside, I saw a massive swirling vortex of crimson and black, the stars and the night slowly gravitating towards it.
"What is that?..." I asked, looking towards the figure.
"Your mind." They simply replied, leaning a little closer towards the glass like a curious animal.
Hearing that, I felt a surge of confusion. "That's…my mind?"
They nodded their head. "In a way, it's the symbolic form of your mind."
"Well…" I crossed my arms over my chest. "It doesn't look that good."
The Umbridge fell silent, after a few short moments they nodded their head. "It's the way you're feeling, Isaeik. Think back to what you saw when Isaiah plagued your thoughts."
At that moment, the vortex of crimson energy seemed to intensify, illusory images and scenes flashed by. I saw my father in the kitchen, his muscles bulging and his form inhuman. I saw my illusory form composed of shadows clutching a knife in-hand. But strangely, I saw another scene.
I was dressed in a white collared shirt. My eyes were red and bloodshot around the edges, with dark circles around them, making me look like a racoon. Tears streamed down my face as I bashed my head against a brick wall.
Seeing this, I took a step back in confusion. I had never experienced that! My gaze quickly fell onto The Umbridge, and I asked a question.
"What is that? Is that a memory or something?"
They shook their head silently. "No. You know the mind can play tricks on you, making you perceive images you've never had or memories you've never experienced."
"Then…why isn't every weird thought of mine showing up here?" I felt perplexed as I stared into the intense vortex of crimson and black energy.
"Not everything is destined to surface. Some thoughts remain hidden, deep down where they refuse to resurface."
I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine when I heard that. The vortex continued to play that scene of me bashing my head against the wall. I was screaming, babbling incoherently like a rabid dog. Copious amounts of drool and foam poured from my mouth, soiling my outfit.
"I…" I turned away from the scene. "Does…the window have curtains?" I asked.
"I don't think so." The Umbridge replied.
Suddenly, I heard an illusory pounding sound across the entire throne room. My gaze darted upwards, looking around the room in confusion. "What's that noise?"
"I think someone wants to see you." The Umbridge said, disappearing through their illusory portal.
I felt my heart tighten. "Can Isaiah r-reach me here?" I asked, looking up into the expanse of black fog. The pair of crimson eyes emerged, blinking slowly.
"No. It's spiritually protected."
"O-ok…how do I leave now?" I looked down at the floor, heaving a sigh of relief.
"Just leave."
At that moment I blinked, and I was back in the bathroom. The door was being knocked on, and I heard Shinso's voice call from behind. "Isaac, are you in there?"
"What the?..." I took a step back, landing on the toilet with a thud.