For the next few hours, the two of us simply walked through the city aimlessly.
I didn't say a word, but I was starting to get pretty drowsy.
And before I knew it, my legs suddenly buckled as my vision soon faded.
The next few minutes passed swiftly.
I felt like I was being carried, then tossed through the sky, and eventually, all those sensations stopped.
For a moment, I was reminded of the darkness I had spent 100 years in.
But unlike the darkness, this sensation didn't last for long.
I soon regained control of my body.
My vision started coming back too.
However, only then did I realize I was inside some completely white room.
My clothes changed too, and now I was wearing full white.
There was also a bed, a table, a toilet, and lastly, a toothbrush.
It's basically the type of room I'd expect to see in an asylum.
Still, I didn't panic or try to break out.
Instead, I focused on the reinforced white door, and soon enough, it opened.
A kind-looking woman wearing a lab coat stepped inside, and after smiling at me, she sat down by the table and gestured for me to sit opposite her.
I did just that.
"Hello Amon Everness. You are surprisingly the first subject to wake up."
"..."
"I assume you have a lot of questions. Unluckily, I don't have a high enough authority to answer them. All you must know is that I am on your side, and I wish to help you survive through this project and achieve the most optimal results."
Yeah, I don't give a shit, woman.
I wasn't a genius, but her posture and warm expression alone were enough to tell me she was bad news.
And I was already determined to not trust a single person in this project.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." Her smile widened. "My name is Emma. I truly hope the two of us can get along, Amon Everness."
I rolled my eyes at her behavior.
"Where is the headmaster?"
"He will be observing this project from the side to ensure nothing goes wrong," she replied.
That made sense.
"So what now, Emma?"
She crossed her legs.
"What do you picture whenever you activate your Gifts?"
Gifts, huh.
A questionnaire then.
"I don't picture anything. I just imagine something, and it gets done."
Emma tilted her head slightly.
"You can utilize your Gifts at such a high level without picturization?"
I had no clue what that even was.
I just copied whatever the main character did.
"So you skip picturization... In that case, have you ever tried imagining an impossible concept? Something like your Telekinesis tearing open space itself, or your lightning freezing something on impact?"
"I haven't."
The technique Mastery of Telekinesis had the tearing of space as one of its lessons, but that was way too advanced for me.
As for lightning, I didn't have enough of a grasp on it to try anything yet.
Emma paused for a moment, then said, "Could you try ripping open space?"
I frowned slightly.
Did she think a Grade 13 could rip open space?
Still, as I glanced at her serious expression, I couldn't help but roll my eyes and try it regardless.
I extended my hand and then channeled a lot of energy into thin air.
Twisting, turning, and attempting to tear the space open, I did nothing but waste my energy.
But even then, Emma's eyes sparkled.
"Now with lightning."
I repeated the process.
Instead, a spark of lightning hung on the ceiling, and by infusing a lot of my energy into it, I tried to imagine it turning cold.
Then, I brought it down onto the ground.
Just as it was about to hit, the lightning strike dissipated, causing a cold fog to take its place.
As the cold fog washed over me, I sighed and turned to Emma.
"See? I can't do it."
But for some reason, her amazed expression didn't fade.
A few minutes passed with her just staring aimlessly, but finally, she snapped out of it.
"That's... It's my first time seeing something like this."
Okay...?
"Everyone uses picturization, since otherwise, activating your Gift is impossible."
But it was so much easier?
Was she just trying to inflate my ego?
No... I can tell from her expression that wasn't the case.
I should listen more.
"If someone tried to picture an impossible concept, then their Gift wouldn't respond. That's how picturization works. You can never picture the impossible unless you somehow experience it."
Hearing that, my eyes widened slightly.
This reminded me of what I asked Isabelle to do.
I hadn't realized it at first, but the only reason she couldn't just make her ice colder was because she couldn't picture it colder unless she froze herself.
I was also reminded of the explanation I gave her, and only now do I realize it probably sounded like a bunch of bullshit.
How interesting...
Emma put a finger on her chin in thought.
"But using your imagination, you're not met with the same limits. You can imagine the impossible, and with enough practice, you can actually make that impossible come to life..."
She finally glanced at me.
"Amon Everness, I will mark you as our top priority."
Standing up, she quickly tiptoed over to the door, and with it slightly opened, she looked back at me again.
"Food will be here shortly. Please eat everything that is given to you. When the others wake up, we will tell you all that you need to know."
With that, she finally left and closed the door tightly.
Honestly...
So far, it didn't look so bad.
I couldn't see how Amon had it so rough in here.
And the thing she mentioned about imagination...
How does that make sense?
The Mastery of Telekinesis is a book that just focused on concepts, and I would never be able to actually picture them clearly, especially the space rupturing later on.
Was this technique written by someone who could do the same thing as me and Kevin?
That was the only conclusion I could come to.
Nonetheless, while I sat by the table in thought, my door opened once again.
Someone wearing a hazmat suit walked in, carrying a tray of food.
They placed the tray of food on the table in front of me, and without saying a word, left the room.
"..."
I got mashed potatoes.
Sighing to myself at how depressing the food was, I decided to suck it up, since I was sure the moment the 'others' woke up, I wouldn't be able to relax anymore.
***
Hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Finally, I heard a knock on my door.
It soon opened, and then, I heard Emma's voice.
"Amon Everness, it's time. Come with me to the main hall."