It felt like waking from a nightmare, but it was all too real.
My eyes flew open, and I jolted upright on my bed. My breathing was heavy and rough, my skin drenched with sweat. Pressing a hand to my chest, I felt my heart race.
Fear. I was — for the first time in a while — truly afraid.
I was afraid before, but not like this.
I made the right choice, the best choice. That's what he said.
I chuckled, first subtly, then louder, almost maniacally.
Thank the Gods my room had good insulation; otherwise, I would have woken Mother up, that's for sure.
It was funny. I chose the Path of Control to finally have my life in my own hands, only to play right into his hands as it turns out.
A part of me wanted to think it through, to muse over every detail. Another wanted to rage, to do things I know I would regret, to just hit the closest wall and break whatever I could grab.
As my laughter faded, my shoulders still trembling, I lay back down on the bed, with resignation.
What was the point?
I've lived my life like this for as long as I can remember. Just because I found a line to grab onto, hoping things would change, didn't guarantee that they would.
I shook my head, a smile forming on my face.
Guess I'm back to doing what I'm best at.
Ignoring my problems.
Overthinking was pointless. Not like I can ask for help.
Just...Push all the thoughts I didn't want to deal with right now to the back of my mind. Put a lid on them, put on another mask.
A sharp eye and a sharper mind, that's my best tool. I will need to keep an eye out to see what changed, if anything did.
Though thinking about it, one thing did change.
Moving to the edge of my bed, I put my feet on the ground and slowly stood up. In the midst of my panic before, I didn't notice anything. But now that I could focus properly…
"So light."
Though I didn't exercise much, I was in decent shape. Not overly muscular, but lean and agile. Thanks to Mother's... "training regimen" as she likes to call it.
I personally liked to call it "weekly self-torture to-do list".
I stretched to feel every part of my body. From head to toe: each finger, joint, muscle. They all felt different. It was odd, but strangely comfortable.
Reaching to the nightstand next to my bed, I picked up the rubber ball that was on it.
I threw it forward, aiming at the edge of the bookcase's middle shelf on the other side of the room.
It hit the mark dead on, and the ball bounced back at me. It was quite fast, faster than it should have been. I didn't think I threw it that hard.
Reaching forward with my right hand, I caught the ball between my index and middle fingers.
I threw the ball repeatedly, not aiming at anything in particular. Each throw was harder and faster, the ball bouncing wildly. But I caught it every time.
"My reflexes are better and faster." I muttered with a grin.
I raised my right hand to my face, flexing my fingers.
Walking to my desk, I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper lying around. First, I wrote down my first name a few times with my left hand, then with my right.
All of them looked exactly the same.
I was left-handed, but it seemed my right hand was just as good now.
Nice. Now I can do nothing twice as efficiently.
I felt ecstatic, grinning like an idiot.
To feel so different so suddenly. To figure out what else was different. The wonder of discovery was like water to a parched throat.
Stepping out of the room, I realised it was the middle of the night. I walked to the railing, put my hand on it, and looked down at the living area.
How high could the drop be? 3 and a half metres? 4?
Lily always said I was a cat. Let's test it out.
I took a few steps back, took a few seconds to prepare myself, then dashed forward.
At first, I worried my legs might catch on the railing, but as I jumped, my body cleared it easily.
It felt like I was really flying for a few seconds. I don't think I ever felt so free before.
But like everything good, it didn't last long; soon I began to fall.
Twisting in the air, I landed feet-first on the back of the couch. Feeling my feet slip beneath me, I quickly pushed off again and backflipped to land safely on the floor.
Grinning like an idiot, I could resist the urge to spread my arms wide and bow forward like an acrobat after a performance.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of slow clapping snapped me out of my reverie. Looking up, I saw my mother standing before me.
She wore long, baggy white pyjama bottoms with a matching short-sleeved top. The former had a pattern of cute bunny faces, while the latter had a large one on the front.
The best gift Lily and I got her. Even more so after she told me how much she hated bunnies.
"Hello, Mother." I straightened up, dusting off my shoulders, even if there was nothing there.
"Hello, Alexander." There was a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips.
"You weren't here a few seconds."
"Well, if my son decides to jump off the second floor, I'd better come and watch, no?"
"That…doesn't explain much…"
Her room was on the second floor too. How did she get here so fast?
Another sleepless night? Or maybe she was just in the bathroom…
She looked me up and down slowly. I must have looked a mess. My clothes were sweaty and crumpled. My hair stuck together and in disarray.
She turned around and walked to the dining table. I followed after her and watched as she sat down. I leaned against the kitchen counter, folding my arms together.
"When did you wake up?" She asked with a faint smile.
"Uh...I don't know. Maybe an hour ago?"
"Did you do your laundry?"
Sure. That was the first thing I wanted to do after everything.
"Yes." I lied.
She hummed, her smile growing wider.
"Liar, huh?"
"Heh?" I tilted my head in confusion.
I mean, I did lie, but how did she know? Did she check my room or what? Am I being played?
"It should be soon now..." She mumbled.
"What?" My confusion only grew. Almost like the two of us were having entirely different conversations.
"Better sit down. Ah...Nevermind....Good luck."
My brows furrowed.
What the hell was she talking about?
Then it happened—sudden, without warning or sign.
Like getting kicked in my stomach with an iron boot. All the air leaving my lungs at once, my head feeling light, vision narrowing into a pinhole, a buzzing sound echoing in my ears.
I fell forward onto my knees. My entire body was shaking, a sudden weakness overtaking me. It felt like a bunch of bugs were crawling on my skin.
Eventually, I managed to breathe again. Each breath made my lungs burn and made me cough violently.
"Easy now." Mother's voice sounded distant and faint. I felt a gentle, soothing hand patting my back.
Looking up, my eyes met my mother's. Her ruby eyes showed concern, but with a hint of amusement mixed in.
She always had very expressive eyes. Even if she didn't say things out loud, if one knew what to look for, her eyes told everything.
"What..." The words left my mouth between two coughs. "What the fuck was that?"
I tried to get up, but I felt too weak. Almost ended up falling face-first to the ground.
Mother helped me up and onto one of the chairs. Then she sat down opposite me.
"Here." She pushed a glass towards me. It was filled with some deep, dark liquid. "Drink it."
My fingers were trembling and felt stiff. Grabbing the glass was hard. I held it with both hands — afraid it would slip my grasp. Slowly, I raised it to my mouth and took a sip.
Almost ended up spitting it out at the very same moment, too.
It tasted acrid and disgusting, burning my throat. It was worse than anything I had before. And this was coming from the guy who throws up daily.
"If you want to feel better anytime soon, then drink." Mother said firmly. "All of it."
I groaned, but did as I was told.
Just the usual. Whenever I'm having fun, something comes and messes it all up.
I downed every last drop and put the glass back on the table. I heard my mother hum in approval.
"Care to...give me an explanation?" I asked, trying to fight back the urge to gag.
"How are you feeling? Getting better?"
Whatever she had me drink worked. My nausea was fading, the crawling on my skin disappeared, and my vision was becoming clearer.
"Yeah...What was that drink?"
"My blood."
"..."
I looked at her blankly.
…and here I thought nothing would surprise me anymore…
"Tch." Mother clicked her tongue. "I thought that would make you freak out."
"So it was a joke?"
"Oh, no. It was my blood. Mixed with some herbs and common ingredients."
"...why?" I asked with a deadpan expression
Mother spread her arms wide.
"Remember where we are?"
"Veritas? Capital of Luminis?"
"Which is known for...?"
It took a few seconds, but I figured it out.
"Magic suppression..."