A deep red wave radiated outwards, spreading throughout the space, completely engulfing the darkness. Simultaneously, an intense, deafening scream rocked the whole space.
It sounded like the screech of a parasite that had just been caught and attacked with a lethal weapon.
It was piercing.
Everything shook; the darkness, which had seemed never ending and eternal before, trembled as snake like cracks started appearing all over its form.
Atticus swept his gaze around him, watching the unfolding events with shocking calmness.
'I was right,' he pondered.
As soon as he got to this space, the first thing that came to his mind was "mindscape."
It had felt familiar, as though he had been there once before. It didn't take long for him to reach a conclusion.
During his battle with the Psysquillian youth, Emeric, when the boy had been trying to take control over him, although it felt tiny to him, as though an ant had collided with it, Atticus had a clash of will with Emeric in a similar space.
For him to be here again meant only one thing: someone or something was trying to take control over his body.
So Atticus had unleashed the only thing he knew was powerful enough and able to fight against occurrences like this: his oppressive and brutal will.
And the result was as expected.
The deafening screeches kept on resounding throughout the area as the snake like cracks increased in size and numbers, and then in the next instance, it was as though the world shattered.
The darkness seemed to break like fragile glass as the whole scenery transformed into a dark red landscape in an instant.
Atticus looked all around him, and all he could see was red. It was everywhere, stretching out in every direction.
"I'm in my will?" Atticus deduced.
He had long since known the deep red color of his will, and considering the fact that everywhere was red, he didn't have to be a genius to figure it out.
"It feels… calm,"
Atticus felt a profound level of peace standing inside his will. It felt comfortable, safe. It was as though it understood who he was on the deepest level, as though he didn't have to pretend or hide anything; he was free.
Atticus closed his eyes and took in a large breath, reveling in the feeling, and then opened his eyes in the next second.
Just as he was about to repeat this action, Atticus suddenly saw something at the corner of his eyes.
Atticus snapped his head towards his right, his gaze landing on the form of a… blob?
'What the hell is that?' Atticus's thoughts raced. It was a round, definitely gelatinous blob akin to a slime.
'Why didn't I see it before?' He found it odd that he hadn't noticed it before, given its completely black form coupled with the light blue markings around its body. Against the backdrop of the red space, it painfully stood out.
'So this is the cause of everything?' Atticus deduced. The blob seemed so harmless that it was shocking to think it could be the cause of so much pain.
'Is this part of the process?' Atticus thought skeptically. He wasn't trying to boast.
He had only been able to withstand the pain because of his high will, and well, he had been the one.
He might have believed it if it was only the Tiered Family youth receiving the suits, but it was everyone, every single student in the academy.
Atticus seriously doubted if a bunch of 16 year olds would be able to withstand the pain he had just gone through.
Aside from that, none of them even had half as much will as he did. If it had been them in his shoes, wouldn't their bodies be taken over already? It was hard to believe everyone was going through the same situation he was currently in.
Ever since he saw the pod he was assigned, Atticus had felt like everything had been completely odd, and the unfolding events were starting to prove that he had been right.
Just as he was about to continue this line of thought, Atticus's body tensed abruptly as his eyes fixated on the black blob, now showing signs of movement.
It started slowly, at first, the blob gradually increased its pace, its whole form started writhing and morphing, growing in mass and height until it took on the silhouette of a fully black humanoid figure.
With each passing second, Atticus watched with a mix of shock and intrigue as the figure's features sharpened and clarified, becoming more distinct and recognizable.
In the next instant, a spectrum of colors began coursing through the previously uniform blackness of the figure.
It didn't take long for it to finish, and long before it even did, Atticus's eyes had already widened.
'What the hell is happening?' Atticus was shocked beyond words. He had absolutely no idea why this was happening.
The thing, which had earlier been just a blob, had suddenly transformed into… him?
It was the perfect identical copy of him, down to the last and distinct details.
It even had his clothes and the same identical Katana strapped to his left waist. It was as though he was gazing at his reflection through a mirror.
Then suddenly, it locked its piercing blue eyes on Atticus and smiled, startling him.
The smile was completely creepy in its entirety, the kind of smile only a possessed individual could give.
Atticus's reaction was weird. His face contorted into a baffled expression.
'Is that really how I look when I smile?' Despite the weird situation, he couldn't help but wonder.
If that was really how he looked to other people, he couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't run far away from him already. That smile was a sin.
The figure's hands suddenly moved as he raised both his palms up, looking at them with intrigue.
Then Atticus watched, his core once again shaken as fire suddenly flickered into life on his hand.