"I've given her first aid, but still…" light dissipated from Mira's body as a bandage was then wrapped around her wound.
"Exactly what are you planning, old man?" asked Isabella, staying by Mira's side as she looked over the bodies of four of her students laid out on the ground.
Two were unconscious, one was injured and the other was dead.
"This is madness," she said with a mix of disgust and anger on her face.
"Madness or not, we have only one option. To push onward with the plan," Hugo stated as he then tapped his cane on the ground.
The next moment, magic circles appeared under his feet as well as Ace's and Emilia's bodies.
"We now need to report what has happened here," Hugo glanced at Isabella with a serious gaze. "I hope you know what should and should not be said, professor?"
"You don't need to tell me twice," Isabella retorted, still uncomfortable about the entire situation as Hugo, Ace and Emilia disappeared with the wind.
"But I still don't approve of what you're doing, old man," Isabella muttered as she clutching her face, her mind completely overwhelmed.
---
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Within a giant and mystic hallway where only footsteps echoed, an ethereal atmosphere surrounded and overwhelmed Emilia's body as she glanced around, noticing no other sign of life beside the blue-eyed, white-haired man walking in front of her.
"Excuse me?" Emilia began. "Exactly what is this place?"
"I suppose it's only normal for a Lesser such as you to ask that question," the mysterious entity replied. "Though I'm surprised you humans still know nothing of this realm. But reflecting on it, it's not that surprising either."
"If I were to give you an explanation, then the simplest way to say it would be that you should already know what this place is," he cryptically answered.
"What do you mean?" Emilia became more confused
"You humans found a way to address the unnatural portals that appear within the mortal realm, didn't you?" he hinted Emilia at the answer.
"Don't tell me…" Emilia stopped in her tracks, the realization assembling itself like a puzzle in her mind. "Do you mean to say… we're inside a Vanishing Point right now?"
The white-haired man glanced back at her with his piercing blue gaze that seemed to answer Emilia's question.
"H-how…?" Emilia became even more confused.
"That is of no importance as you humans are the ones to have brought that Cataclysm onto yourselves by manipulating powers beyond your understanding."
"Huh?" Emilia's eyes widened as his words caught her attention. "The Great Cataclysm of 300 years ago was caused by humans?"
The being that stood in front of Emilia smirked, visibly pleased by Emilia's inquiry. "What an intriguing child you are."
He walked towards her, closing the distance between them.
"You have grown far more than I initially expected," he stood before her before leaning forward with his hands still clasped behind his back. "For a hollow vessel with an ego but no soul, I never expected contact with it would bear such results."
'Eh? Hollow vessel? Ego? No soul?' Emilia became intrigued by the words she was hearing. "Do you mean Ace?"
"Ace?" the white-haired man straightened up his posture, showing his back to Emilia as he resumed to walk forward. "Is that the name that vessel has been going by? If that's the case, then yes."
After getting confirmation, Emilia followed after him, her mind full of questions. "What do you mean by he has an ego but no soul?"
"That I cannot say. It is not my place to inquire about such things, nor do I care to know. I simply found it interesting as I observed him through your eyes after I granted you a portion of my power," he nonchalantly replied, his tone distant.
Emilia wanted to push the matter further, but her instincts continued to tell her that she should keep a low profile and mind her manners around the mysterious being in front of her.
"Here we are," the white-haired man stated as they arrived at a terrace with a fully set table.
The view was breathtaking. The sky was an ocean of stars that shined brighter than the greatest metropolitan states. The cool breeze wasn't freezing as the first time she was within this realm, but instead it was soothing and refreshing.
"Sit down," the white-haired man invited as he sat down cross-legged with his right leg above his left one.
Two cups of warm tea were placed on both sides of the table and Emilia didn't refuse the invitation.
As they were now face-to-face…
"If you wish to learn more about that vessel, you'll need to ask the being that resides within him," the white-haired man re-engaged the conversation as he then sipped on his cup.
"The being that resides within him?" Emilia pondered for a short while as she also sipped on her cup, finding the tea particularly delicious. "Is it the same as you?"
"No," he answered, his confident gaze fixed on Emilia. "I am an Astral being of Akasha, and the reason you're in my territory to begin with is because of the powers I granted you. Through them, your soul is linked to me."
Emilia remembered her first meeting with the man sitting in front of her. And after contemplation, she shook off any remaining hesitation or fear in her albeit some.
"What is Akasha?" she asked, her gaze steady and unwavering.
"I suppose you did earn the right to ask that question," he sat his cup down as he then clasped his hands on his knee, leaning comfortably on his seat.
He then started to explain.
"As you have presumed, what you call Vanishing Points are fractures that link to this realm… Akasha. And Akasha, in the broadest terms, is a realm within what you humans call the collective subconscious where concepts are given form."
Emilia listened intently without interrupting which didn't go unnoticed to the white-haired man who simply continued his explanation.
"I myself am one of such concepts. One who represents the cold, winter and frost. Same goes for what you call monsters. As we Concepts are born from humans' fears, doubts, desires and beliefs."
His gaze became sharper as he continued.
"That is the reality by which you Realizers are up against. An eternal nightmare of battles and deaths induced by your own souls."
Emilia took the information like a hard pill to swallow.
After sipping on his tea once again…
"Even if I'm going out-of-topic with all of this, do you still wish for me to continue?" the white-haired man wanted to reaffirm Emilia's resolve.
Emilia held her head down, her thoughts heavy as she then clenched her jaw. She then raised her head and locked eyes with interlocutor.
"I see it was a foolish question to ask. In that case, for the remaining time we have before you go back to reality, I'll tell you what I can," he clasped his hands together, head rested upon them and elbows rested on the table.
"Please do," Emilia couldn't fully hide her anxiety, but still, she pushed through the truth.
And so began her insightful session with the ethereal white being that sat in front of her.