Ender was staring at the red elixir concealed in the glass bottle in his hand. He was sitting on a chair, still in the same room as before. Tucker was here by his side, observing him.
"Don't think much about it and let it happen."
Ender hissed before plucking out the cap before drinking it in one go. Quite astonished, Tucker moved his lips to say something.
"You know the effects are different for every person."
Ender nodded, who hadn't got any effects yet. Until...
He started feeling dizzy, Tucker didn't react, his expression remained neutral.
In no time Ender went to slumber, sitting on a chair. Tucker sighed, well kinda expected of him. He sat down on the nearby chair, waiting.
Moments Later...
After thirty minutes of waiting, he still didn't wake up. Tucker went puzzled, it was taking longer than usual, he got up and exited the room.
"What happened?"
Sara asked, her hastily eyes can't wait anymore.
"He hasn't woken up yet. This is taking longer than expected."
With Tucker's answer, Misha questioned another one.
"What could this mean?"
Azon explained this time.
"Either he's having trouble persuading his unconscious, or he's being stuck deep down to darkness."
Listening quietly, Zack, who was by Ruis's side snorted. His tone was solemnly sober.
"So what could be done for this?"
"Either someone should go to raise him from his darkness or wait."
Silence shrouded the room when everyone went quiet. Until someone spoke with clarity.
"I'm going!"
It was Sara who had raised her arm up.
"...Count me as well then."
Zack mumbled, a bit perplexed.
"I think we all should go, because..."
Lisa couldn't finish her sentence because someone else continued.
"He's kinda unpredictable."
Misha brushed her hair forth over her shoulder.
"Well... A ritual can be done for all of you to go, but are you sure you all need to go?"
Callista's expression looked bothered. Her arms crossed. Ruis cleared up his throat, and to clear something.
"If this was any other one of us, only one would be enough... but that's him..."
"You guys are acting like he's a mathematical equation."
Well that wasn't far from the truth. She said in a flat tone as her eyelids were shrinking down.
"Fine.. Anything that could work, follow me."
Tucker made the air around them lighter, as he opened the door along with them following him. Azon and Callista who were by side couldn't believe it. She gritted her teeth before murmuring.
"This reminds me about Leon."
"He was worse."
Azon corrected.
On the other side, seeing Ender unconsciously resting on a chair, everyone didn't know what to do except stare at him.
"AHEM! So Lisa, can you do it by yourself?"
Only when getting distracted by Tucker, their attention diverted. Lisa pondered for a moment before declaring.
"I'm not sure, I have never tried it, but I guess I can do it."
Uncertainty was in her tone.
"Well, I would leave this to you."
Misha who was being quiet asked to clear her doubts.
"But then will she come with us if she's managing it?"
Tucker's eyes went startled.
"Ohhh..."
He swallowed before continuing.
"Don't worry then... I'll do it."
Though it could be instant if she had done it, and a ritual wouldn't be needed because of her trame speciality.
On Tucker's hands, things began spawning out of nowhere, well not from nowhere as he was using crafting for it.
He drew a circle of chalk around the chair where Ender was sitting, then 5 single beds spawned out of nowhere, three to one side and two to another.
He drew a chalk line connecting the beds to the chair.
"Alright now lay on them, and don't try to drift away on your own."
Everyone did as he ordered, next when everyone had laid down. He began chanting some words.
"Mists of the mind, part and unfold, reveal the truths the deep silences hold. Beyond the veil of the heavy eye, where quiet thoughts and shadows lie."
Everyone who was lying on bed, their ears started ringing as they felt a tingling sensation in their chest.
As their eyes felt very heavy like they were gonna sleep in the next second. Still, they tried to hold themselves.
"Thread to thread and soul to soul, make the fractured pathway whole. Through the fog and through sleep. Into the mind, they venture deep!"
As Tucker extended his arms wide, the chalk who was connected became black. Emitting a magical aura. Instantly, everyone went to oblivion.
Tucker sighed, looking at the situation, the door creaked open.
"Succeeded?"
"All good, now let's wait."
Callista scanned around before exhaling.
"Welp, I ain't staying here, good luck babysitting them you two."
She teased them with her smirk before leaving, while they both watched her go. Dumbfounded.
***
It was darkness, intense darkness like in the middle of void.
"...As expected."
Ruis whispered, not surprised. He used his body as a lighter to see what was around him. His body leaking a faint blue aura. But then, it suddenly got deactivated on its own.
"Wha—"
But before he could speak, someone else already did.
"You know this is his space so he has the authority over it."
He turned around, surprisingly in this intense darkness he could see Lisa by his side, there was another girl by her side too.
He squinted his eyes to see properly. But suddenly someone bumps into him.
"Ahh! Damnit, how can someone live here?"
Guessing by the tone, he turned around to see a flaxen-haired boy scrubbing his forehead. When he saw him, he was amazed as well.
Then Lisa who was behind him along with Misha. As soon as he was about to say something.
"Hey! You punks!"
They look to their side to see Sara coming towards them.
"What the hell is this?"
No one reacted, how would they know... Staring at her with no reaction made her uneasy.
"Uhh... shouldn't we move from here?"
She tried to divert the attention somewhere else, smirking innocently.
"Good choice, everyone stay along. And don't get lost."
Ruis declared, turning around. They gradually began walking. The floor beneath them seemed like it was well polished.
Until Misha started feeling something, someone who was watching them. Before she could tell this to Lisa who was by her side.
The floor beneath her opened as she was falling down in the next second.
Her mind couldn't even process when to scream, as when she tried. Darkness already swallowed her.
"Huh?"
Lisa stopped, she noticed it now, Misha wasn't with them.
"What the!"
Her panic caught the attention of others, as soon as Zack tilted his face there. The darkness by his side sucked him to the abyss.
This time Ruis noticed it as well.
"Pull closer!"
But when he looked around, Lisa had disappeared along with Sara as well.
Sweat began dripping from his forehead.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
He screamed at the endless void, this time. It answered.
The void shattered as intense light started coming out from the cracks, soon it filled the endless void with light.
Yet it was so blazing Ruis covered his eyes. After a while, he felt the light's intensity around him decrease. Slowly opening them, he was left dazed.
In front of him was darkness, surrounded by the light standing in the middle was darkness.
He was wearing a white coat with black shirt underneath, his face was covered by the abyss as it was leaking from there.
The darkness slowly marched his steps towards him. Ruis swallowed before speaking.
"Why are you doing this?"
While locking his gaze at him. The darkness stopped, it was a few steps away from him now.
Then it spoke, in a gentle, soft tone of voice.
"Do you want to know the truth?"
Ruis replied without hesitation, like it was rooted deep in his depths.
"Truth is meaningless, it brings only misery."
This time, the darkness speaks in a sharp tone.
"Do you want to know our truth?"
Ruis's eyes widened. What could he possibly know? He wondered.
"They all are good, though right now they are watching us. So tell me.. Ruis, do you want to know our truth?"
Ruis wondered for a while before making his response.
"Why would I need to know when it brings misery everywhere?"
Seeing his decision so firm, the darkness sighed before adding.
"You don't have a choice, if you deny then he will become a rabocescous who'll get killed later."
"Then what about you?"
Hearing his question, the darkness paused. Ruis couldn't see its face as it was covered by an abyss. At last it speaks in a grumpy tone.
"I don't exist. I'm just an illusion you're seeing."
Seeing he had no choice against it. Ruis gritted his teeth.
~ I can't leave unless I wake him up...
He asked cautiously.
"Then what is our truth?"
The darkness's abyss twitched, as if it had smirked.
"That's something you'll find out."
"What?"
"Well, where do I start? You know about reincarnation and past lives so simply. I want you to be someone who can dictate the story about our past lives."
"And how would I do that?"
"You'll go into your past life, and through you. Everyone who is watching us right now. Will watch your and their story unfold."
Ruis inhaled, the sudden bump of information seemed like it was making him crazy.
"How are you so sure we all are connected?"
He said in a dry tone, the darkness simply said.
"Because it's the truth."
"Wait... You're telling me that I'll be the one who'll dictate the tale. Just like a..."
"Just like a protagonist."
The abyss surrounding the lip area of the darkness twitched, as if it was smiling.
~ Gosh.. I hate that term...
Ruis sucked some air before muttering.
"What if I tell someone I'm not from there, what if I failed..."
"Well, if you tried telling you're from beyond. You'll regret it instantly. For your failure, I'll make sure you'll not fail even if you fail."
Ruis placed his palm over his forehead, he was perplexed, stunned, all kinds of emotions could be seen swirling around his face. At last, he let out a whisper.
"Why are you doing this when you don't exist?"
The abyss covering its face twitched.
"I'm not doing this. He wants this to happen."
Silence shrouded them for a couple of seconds, then the darkness spoke again.
"Remember, as you know one of us isn't from here or there. So their role will be just an observer, kind of like yours."
A thought flashed in his mind, it was essential to this topic, Ruis composed himself before speaking.
"That novel... Is it because of that novel?"
"He's grateful that he came to know about that novel, because through it. He gets to know an ounce of truth and now through you. Not just him but everyone will come to know it all."
The darkness stunned him again, Ruis bit his lips. Nor dazed, nor occupied. Still trying to strike it with his words.
"How can you create a world when you don't remember our lives?"
The darkness grumbled.
"I'm not creating a world Ruis."
It continues its abyss.
"I'm simply showing you all a forgotten past, with you being the storyteller. Forgotten past of the world where you all had once lived."
Ruis finally understood it now, it wasn't creating a world. It was recalling it, but the one who'll dictate the story of their tale, will be none other than him.
Feeling an intense burden being bestowed to his shoulders, he started falling down.
Neither toward the darkness nor toward the light, his consciousness slowly being drifted away. Somewhere he didn't know, but he could see it, if not clearly.
He blended neither with light or darkness.
Before his consciousness fully dispersed away, a thought popped up in his mind.
~ I get it now, light and darkness never had any meaning…
He couldn't dictate his thoughts fully, because his consciousness passed away mid thought.