A voice cut through the void.
"Matt!!"
A slender hand grabbed my shoulders.
"Matt!! Are you okay??"
I jolted awake with a strangled gasp, my heart pounding violently as I dragged air into my lungs with sweat still clinging to my skin
Someone was leaning over me, her face pale with worry.
"Matt!! Matt!! Are you okay??" Nagi asked, her voice trembling.
I brought both hands to my head.
The pain hit instantly.
A searing headache tore through my skull, sharp and blinding, forcing a groan out of my throat. It felt like something was clawing its way out from inside my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut, teeth clenched, waiting for it to pass.
And weirdly enough, it actually did, but what followed caught me off guard.
I could hear a familiar static soundin my head.
[Detecting a fragment of [#̶̛̛̛̬̣̟͎̦͉̣̦̗̬̣̬̲͎̮͙͖̙̣̣̝̜̗͔̘̼̭̼̹̭̭̝̲͎͖͖͍͕̄̂̊̒̿̃̏̇̈́͛̈̎̾̓̄́͌͒̉̿̀͐͑͛̑̈́̏̎͛̅͘̕̚͜ͅ#̷̡̨̱̬̘̟͇̖͙̺̀̊̓̈́̏̓̏̐̄͑́͛̀̈̈̎̈́͗̎̈́͂̎̓̀͆́̓͘͘̚̚͜͠͝͝͝ͅ#̴̧͎̜͇̹͇̬͈̟̱͉̠͎̳̩̝̣͖̰̭͕̯̗̞̠͉̮̜̘̣̮̝̺̘͉̟̝͊̈̈͒̽͑̅͂̓̋͝͠ͅͅ#̶̧̢̛͍̳̖̲̟̟͙͔̣̦̜͓̬̯̻̰͎̬͍̪̰̖͉͍͍̦̳̮̯̼̙̙̯̼̣̣͚̙̮̖͎̲͑̊̓̂̉̾͒͠#̵̡̢̗̞͚̫͖̠͕͔̳̙͇̍̿̋̇̈́̓̃̃̓̉͆͒̽̀̓́̆̐́͐͛̑̾͗͋̀̃̀͌͑͑̀͋͒͑̑̆̇͛́́̏͆̋̚͝͝͝ͅ#̷̡̢͙̱̯̖̟̼̺̖͇̭̫̣̲̫̥͍̥̫͕̥̞͙͙̹̬͎̹̯̺̻̘̗̩̫̜͎̐́̏͒̓̊͆̈́̈́̅̓͜ͅͅͅ#̸̧̨̨͕̳̙̪͍̬̹̲̺͉̠̳̬͚͇̳̯̳̱̱̠̱̭̠͕͛͊̓̈̈́̏̐̓̋̏̍̽͒̅́͌̆͛͆͘̕͝͝͠]
[ Initiating world line restoration]
[World line restoration in progress.]
The pain began to ease at an unnatural pace, draining away like water down a sink. Relief should have followed.
Instead, panic did.
As the pain faded, something else went with it.
The palace, the fire, the ice, the boy, the fight, and their scream. Everything I saw was being erased.
"No…" I whispered, my hands tightening in my hair.
The memories felt brittle, like glass on the edge of shattering. The less it hurt, the harder it became to hold on to them. Faces blurred. Details unraveled. The more my head cleared, the more the dream dissolved.
I did not want it to stop hurting.
I tried to sit up too quickly, and the room spun around me. My legs gave out as I stumbled off the bed, about to hit the floor.
"Matt!" Nagi cried, rushing to my side.
She caught me before I could fall completely, one arm wrapped around my shoulder, the other steadying my back.
The pain still kept getting lighter.
I had to do something.
My eyes darted around the room until they landed on my desk. Paper. A pen.
"I need to remember," I muttered.
Nagi hesitated but helped me over, guiding me into the chair.
My hands shook as I grabbed the pen, the headache fading with every second that passed. I pressed the tip to the paper, my thoughts scrambling, fragments slipping away faster than I could grasp them.
I wrote whatever came.
Just whatever remained.
The moment the pen left the paper, the pain vanished completely, as if it had never been there.
[World line restoration completed.]
I stared at the page, breathing hard.
Behind me, Nagi hovered, still worried. She placed a glass of water into my hands.
"Are you alright now?" she asked softly.
I did not answer right away. I did not know how.
I took the water, drank it slowly, then nodded. "Thank you."
She took the glass back but did not stop watching me. Her brows were still knit together.
"You were mumbling," she said. "And screaming. A lot."
I blinked. "Screaming?"
She nodded. "I thought you were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you, but you wouldn't wake up. I think it was sleep paralysis."
That surprised me. I knew I snored sometimes, but screaming? Really?
Nagi glanced at the desk. "What did you write?"
I followed her gaze.
The page held only four words.
"This is his story."
The handwriting was clean. Too clean. This is clearly not my handwriting.
Something cold settled in my chest.
I stared at the words and knew, instantly and without doubt, that something was wrong with me.
I left the paper on the shelf without another word and stretched my stiff limbs, forcing my body to act normal. I turned back to Nagi and bowed my head slightly.
"Sorry for worrying you," I said. "I will get ready for school."
She hesitated, then nodded, though her eyes never left me.
I took a bath, letting warm water run over my skin until the last traces of sweat were gone. I changed into a fresh uniform. When I stepped back into the room, Nagi was standing quietly, watching me with an unreadable expression.
Neither of us spoke.
We left together.
The classroom buzzed with low conversation as students filtered in, settling into their seats. I took my place, my thoughts drifting back to the paper I had left behind, to the words I could no longer explain and remember.
The door opened.
The room fell silent.
An old man stepped inside, posture straight despite his age. He wore a neatly pressed coat and leaned lightly on a fashionable cane, its polished surface catching the light. His eyes were sharp, observant, sweeping across the room.
"Good morning," he said calmly.
"I am Medley. Medley Ocypete. I will be your new Magic Weaving professor."
A few murmurs rippled through the room.
"Ocypete? You mean that Ocypete?"
"I heard they led an apparent raid last week and killed dozens of them."
He tapped his cane gently against the floor and smiled at us, warm and unassuming, though something about it felt practiced.
"As much as I would like to begin immediately," he continued, "it seems the vice head has already reprimanded us all because of that hot-headed, lizard-blood barbarian for pushing you all far too hard."
The class went still.
A hand rose hesitantly near the seat of the Finster group.
"Yes, young lady?" Medley said, turning toward her. "And what might your name be?"
"Waffel, Mr. Ocypete," she replied. "I was just wondering, when you say lizard-blooded barbarian, are you referring to Professor Zmey Drakemont?"
For a heartbeat, Medley stared at her.
Then laughter burst from him.
"Ku- Kuku-kuhahahahahaha!"
He stomped his cane against the floor, the sound ringing sharply through the room.
"A good guess. Yes, you are absolutely correct."
He straightened, his smile widening.
"Well, there is no use hiding it. As a member of the Ocypete family, we are in direct competition with the Drakemonts. Though the Three Pillars of Salem, Drakemont, Blume, and Ocypete, all serve the royal family as dukes, our bloodlines could not be more different."
He gestured casually with his cane.
"The Drakemonts claim descent from flying lizards, while the Ocypetes are proud descendants of sylphs."
A scoff escaped him.
"Those creatures are called the absolute guardians of Salem? What a joke. They do nothing but sleep and hoard resources. Meanwhile, it is the Ocypetes who are sent out to clean up after their laziness."
"Tsk."
A quiet disturbance came from the desks near the windows. I glanced over and caught sight of Kenth shifting uncomfortably in his seat. As timid as he usually was, he still cared deeply about his family. Being referred to as descendants of lizards, when they were in truth descendants of dragons, must have struck a nerve.
Not to mention, Drakemonts by nature were proud, sometimes unbearably so. Their lineage was treated as a sacred thing, something to be displayed and defended at all costs. Strength, dominance, and reputation were drilled into them from birth, and any insult, no matter how small, was usually met with open hostility. To be a Drakemont was to stand tall and demand recognition.
That was why Kenth was such an oddity. He carried the same blood, but none of the usual aggression. Instead, he was timid and would rather keep his thoughts to himself.
Medley waved a dismissive hand.
"But enough ranting. I was instructed to take it easy on you all this week, so I will show some mercy."
He lifted his cane slightly.
With a subtle motion of his hand, the stack of papers on his desk lifted into the air. They floated neatly across the room, landing gently on each of our desks without a sound.
"Please write down your core color and your weaver type," he said. "Do not worry. This information is private and will not be disclosed. I will only use it to calibrate my lessons accordingly."
Pens scratched against paper as the room filled with quiet concentration.
Once everyone finished, Medley nodded in satisfaction.
"That will be all for today. The rest of the day is yours."
Just like that, class was dismissed.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at my desk for a moment longer than necessary. When I pulled out my phone and inspected my student information, my eyes lingered on the Student Points listed beneath my name.
It might be a good idea to start using them.
"How are you doing?" Nagi asked softly from the seat to my left. Her voice was quieter than usual, almost careful.
I glanced at her. "I am doing fine."
"Oh. That's good." She nodded, then fidgeted slightly with her fingers before speaking again. "Um… do you have any plans for today?"
I looked down at my phone once more, then back at her. "Not really. Why do you ask?"
She drew in a small breath, hesitating. Her gaze drifted away for a moment before returning to me, eyes resolute as she forced the words out.
"Well… I was just wondering if…" She paused, then squared her shoulders. "Do you want to go out with me?"
Tasora, who was seated beside me, leaned over with an exaggerated grin."Congratulations," she said cheerfully. "I already knew from your weirdly high-pitched voice, but I didn't realize you were actually gay."
I let out a long, defeated sigh.