"Can you explain to me what happened in detail?"
The young prince asked, as he stood in the center of the room.
WIth Reynold at his front, his hand in his head as though he had seen a ghost. He stared at the young prince, his eyes quivering as he said:
"It was worse than we expected."
"What do you mean?"
"The Echoes. There were more than we anticipated. When we got there, we noticed that the school had already been pervaded with echoes. Some of the students had already turned into echoes, and that wasn't even the most terror."
The prince switched to an even more curious expression as the word terror came out of Reynold's lips.
"At first, when we got there we thought we could just wait it out, as planned. To see if any of them will awaken during the chaos. And for the meantime, it was going as anticipated, most of them were able to Awaken."
He used his chin to gesture towards the students who were with Sinon, and then continued:
"However, when they awakened, something suddenly happened."
"Something, What was it?"
The prince asked.
"It was like a quake. You know, how it usually happens in Luminastra, Lumi-quake."
The young prince nodded in understanding.
"Exactly, just like that. But this time it was different. It wasn't the usual quake that we used to experience at Luminastra, it was completely different. Both the ground and air were affected. And after that, we felt a negative Othir Essence. And that was when they showed."
"What do you mean?" the young prince asked.
As Elysia, one of the knights that went with Reynold jumped it, her voice, urgent.
"It was the sky. It opened, just like how Alon opens his portal. But different, it was like reality itself was split into… two. And after it opened, they descended. Echoes. More than we expected."
"Did you get a number?" Alex asked.
"Number?" Elysia scoffed like she had just heard a joke, then she turned to him.
"What number? There was no way we could have counted. We were lucky that we carried Alon for his barrier ability. If not, we would have had to fight all those echoes, before coming back.
"That is if we could have survived." Alon added.
"Hmph… you guys are weak. I should have gone. I would have destroyed those monsters and turned them into dust, where they belong."
Alex said this with a fierce expression, making it sound like the rest were weak compared to him.
"You think you could... Huh?" Reynold lashed with an even more fierce expression, making Alex close his mouth instantly.
The young prince was about to say something, but stopped when Reynold spoke. With the expression Reynold carried, the young prince was sure that whatever they were about to say was more serious than what they have said so far, making him more curious. Then he asked:
"So, what do you mean by; if you could have survived?"
The four knights beside Reynold all took a quick gulp, while Reynold released a heavy sigh and said:
"They were there. A higher Echo, I mean."
"What, a Converter?!" Alex exclaimed.
"Yes."
Hearing this statement from Reynold's lips, the young prince fell to his knees. His eyes widened as his grimoire fell from his hand. His body shivered as though he had seen a ghost. And at this point, a series of memories coursed through his head.
"Impossible!!"
Alex exclaimed.
The sound of his voice caught the attention of the others, even Sinon who was healing the rest. Her gaze landed on the young prince; on the ground. She wanted to make a move, but was stopped by Reynold with his hand.
Reynold shook his head, telling her to not go to the young prince. She knew exactly what was going through his head, since she had been listening. And with the mention of a Converter, it was bound for him to react as he did, as she could also relate to it.
However, for the young prince, it was a moment that he had to overcome by himself,
Alex, who was feeling agile and ready to fight an echo earlier, was now calm and silent. Even he knew what his own limit was, and what he couldn't face.
It didn't take too long for the prince to get back up to his feet. He picked up his grimoire with a determined expression on his face. He might be young 14 years old, but he wasn't native, he wasn't the one to lay in the past.
"So, What happened next?" he asked.
"Right." Reynold, said with a slight smile on his face as he saw his young prince toughing it out.
"Go on, what happened after that." the prince urged, and Reynold responded.
"After we saw it, it appeared when we wanted to save one of them."
Reynold turned, and made a gesture to Hitori, who at the moment was engrossed in how weak he was unable to save his friend. How did the others get abilities and he didn't?.
What was the logic behind it?
"While we were about to save him," Reynold continued. "...the Converter interrupted. Its speed was so fast, I couldn't even track its movement. And while it intervened, it released its negative Othir Essence, and those who weren't awakened… died."
This time, he gestured to where Jenna and the other students were. They seemed to be listening, but didn't utter a word. However, Jenna's eyes were on Hitori, as she watched him at the corner.
"And as that happened, one of them rushed in rage to attack it, but he…"
Reynold didn't say another word, as his expression alone could say it all.
The room fell silent.
The young prince stared at Jenna and the rest of the students. He saw their faces. They were filled with fear, engrossed in despair. He saw it all, and could relate.
The young prince could tell that they were all awakened. Afterwards, he turned to Hitori; he was the only one isolated from the rest. As the young prince was staring at him he squinted as though trying to make out something. However there was nothing.
"But with all that, there was one thing that bothered me the most." Reynold said, breaking the silence, and the young prince turned to him.
"What was it?"
And Reynold replied.
"The rate at which they were turning into Echoes… was strange."
"Strange how?"
"With my own two eyes, I saw it. Those who were bitten by an Echo were turned immediately, not even following the usual two minutes range. It was something that we have never seen before."
It was at this moment that Hitori's eyes widened in shock. The information he had just heard played repeatedly in his head, as he thought of what that meant for him.