The scent of burnt sugar and wet earth flooded my senses before the pain did. When I peeled my eyes open, cracked lips parting in a gasp, the world resolved into blurred impressions—a face haloed in firelight, fingers gripping my wrist hard enough to bruise, and the rhythmic *drip-drip* of water hitting stone somewhere beyond us.

  "He is awake!"

  A voice yelled as the figure holding my wrist stood up.

  My senses soon found the figure belonged to Anny before my mind could register.

  "Agh"

  I let out a groan as my head suddenly started to pound louder than ever. My hands shot to grab my head and stop the throbbing pain in between. Eyes clenched shut, my body trembled violently.

  I heard footsteps as people gathered around me, their voices dissolving into whispers that crawled into my ears.

  I could feel the room around me—the walls heavy with moss and webs. The floor seemed to stretch beyond the chamber, flowing through the castle corridors and bleeding into whatever was unfolding outside. Information flooded my mind, as if I were trapped inside a bubble, my eyes watching everywhere at once.

  Anny was leaning over me, her fingers tight around my wrist—but at the same time, I could see her from above, from angles I didn’t even know were possible to perceive. She stood among several familiar figures.

  One was a man with black hair, a sword hanging at his waist. Another wore a black scarf wrapped around his neck. To his right stood a man and a woman, both sharing the same striking features, unmistakably related.

  'Where was I standing?'

  I thought so at first but soon realized my vision had deceived me. I was lying on the ground, helpless even from my own perspective. My hands, still clutching my head, slowly loosened as I forced my focus inward.

  “…Hey.”

  “…Hey, can you hear us?”

  Gradually, as my awareness narrowed and the strange bubble through which I viewed myself shrank, the pounding in my head began to ease. One by one, the voices of my companions finally registered. Their worry seeped into me, striking somewhere deep in my chest—yet I felt nothing. Or perhaps I felt too much.

  I couldn’t grasp my own heart, my breath coming out rough and uneven.

  "I... I am."

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  I tried to speak, but my focus was entirely on keeping my mind intact.

  They listened carefully, seeing my lips quiver and eyes lose their shine; a gasp was let out.

  "Hey, what's happening?!"

  Liber spoke, his hand pressing on my forehead.

  It was burning with fever as I felt his cold skin.

  For a moment I found myself drowning in my own sea of consciousness.

  Yes, this was drowning.

  The moment when the human has stepped over the line of divinity.

  This was transcendence!

  With the new thoughts pouring in, I finally grabbed hold of my will. The waves roared loudly inside me, but my will remained strong, and a crushing ring echoed in my mind.

  My breathing started to calm down as my face flushed with the sudden rush of blood. It was a warm feeling that I welcomed with open arms.

  Blink.

  Blink.

  I looked around me. The stares boring holes in my forehead from the presence around me were obvious.

  Everything felt so eerily strange.

  It felt like I was a stranger in my own skin.

  "Haa..."

  I took a long breath and squeezed my hands a couple of times. The cold floor beneath suddenly felt comforting as I tried to stand up.

  "Hey, are you okay? What happened?"

  Liber asked before grabbing my arm.

  I turned my gaze lazily at him and replied with an even voice.

  "I am... okay. Um, give me some time."

  Without my knowledge, I swatted his hand away and walked to the corner of the room. They stared at me in stunned silence, but I had no control over the situation. They stared at my back as I moved quietly.

  My fingers traced the damp stone wall, searching for something I couldn't identify. My fingers traced the damp stone wall, searching for something I couldn't identify.

  With a soft thud, I fell to the ground, my back leaning over the walls.

  'What happened just now?'

  I asked myself the question.

  I wasn't sure what was happening to me right now.

  My fingers tingled with an unnatural warmth, as if molten silver flowed beneath my skin. Every breath tasted like blood, metallic and thick with flesh. The stone wall behind me crumbled faintly, or perhaps it was my own heartbeat echoing through the castle's bones.

  The only thing I was certain of was that I had achieved transcendence.

  "I'm transcendent now." I muttered, completely aware of how heavy it felt. I wasn't stable enough to speak, as I relied solely on my will to maintain my sanity. If I let it go now, I wasn't sure I'd be the same.

  Even now there was a lot to think about. The man with the same face as mine had told a lot.

  I raised my hand to stroke my chin.

  The key words I remember and that were of utmost importance were 'resonance', 'ring', and 'they'.

  I wasn't sure until now, but now I can guess who 'they' are. And why I momentarily was unable to think of 'them'. 'He' was protecting my soul from corrupting.

  It was also worth noting that 'He' also spoke about the door.

  The only door I could think of was that 'door' in my soul I had last seen. Does it hold some secrets that I can't find now?

  The longer I thought, the more confusion erupted in my mind.

  ‘What is the door?’

  ‘Who truly are they?’

  ‘Is ‘he’ stopping me from thinking about things other than just that?’

  One after another, several thoughts came through my mind. All tinged without any emotions except for the ones thinking about our next course of action.

  My eyes, through the gap of my hands, looked at my companions, watching me from afar. They all had worried looks, just like before. I pulled my knees closer to my chest and lowered my head.

  As my thoughts tangled after connecting with each other over similarity, I realized something more.

  Unlike before, I had more than two threads of thoughts now.