His open eyes reflected the darkness looming over him.
He was lying once again in the field of flowers. The sky was still as dark and gloomy as ever, yet the sweet aroma of the flowers contrasted sharply with that ominous firmament.
He calmly sat up while touching his head to make sure there was no blood. When he saw that his hand wasn't stained crimson, he realized this wasn't real.
"Oh, man… this place again?" he said calmly.
Once again in the beautiful, mysterious, and even ominous field of flowers that stretched endlessly toward the horizon.
'How does this really work? I mean, every time I'm dying or lose consciousness, does my mind just magically show me this place?' He shook his head. 'I don't think that's the case. Still… why?'
There was something eerie that wrapped this field of flowers in mystery—from its origin to its very composition. This place felt far too realistic to be a projection of his imagination. Though he had thought about it many times whenever he could, he never found an explanation beyond the idea that this was his Spectrum of Anticipation showing him the nature of his power.
Either way, what had happened before arriving here was more important. As he brushed the flowers with his fingertips, he frowned.
"That guy came out of nowhere and knocked me out."
The Danger Omen hadn't activated because Nova wasn't in mortal danger. The heightened senses that suddenly appeared in his system hadn't helped much either. Was this the weakness of a Support who didn't possess a strong Spectrum of Anticipation? If it had been Miyu, she would've easily dodged those Aberrations—but Nova wasn't Miyu.
'Damn it. I still have a long way to go before I can make this Spectrum work properly.'
Mastery over a Spectrum came from experience. Not much time had passed since he obtained the Spectrum of Anticipation, so as expected, he didn't have the skills someone like Miyu had. She had trained her Spectrum for most of her life—that was the difference.
Disappointed, he lay back down among the flowers once more. He gazed at the dark purple sky and closed his eyes. However, the soft fluttering of something forced him to open them.
Above his head, a beautiful butterfly was flying. Its body was made of translucent blue crystal, faintly glowing along the edges like a ghost. The butterfly circled Nova's head a couple of times until its body underwent a drastic change. Its wings glitched, appearing and disappearing.
Confused, Nova extended his hand, and the butterfly landed on his index finger. An instant later, the insect transformed into a black window floating in front of him.
Nova raised his eyebrows, confused yet curious. Strange things had been happening ever since he crossed the portal. It seemed something else was about to be added to the list.
"What is this?"
The window was showing something. Words.
[The passage of time is fun, don't you think?]
"Time?" Nova whispered, connecting this to what happened after the serpent's death.
Unlike that moment, something else happened. The window changed its letters with a soft, corrupted sound. Now it displayed:
[Yes, time. The best part has already begun. You are invited.]
Nova's eyes widened in shock. The damn window had responded to him! Immediately afterward, he sat up, staring fixedly at it. Desperate, he said:
"You! Who are you? What is all this? Why?!"
The window showed…
[ :3 ]
Nova frowned.
"Is this some kind of stupid joke?!"
The window blinked. The words appeared one after another, in Terra's language.
[I am no one, and all of this is something you yourself—just like your entire species—have achieved. Well, many species have done the same, so don't think you're special. It's just that it's interesting to occasionally watch those who live good lives.]
Nova crossed his arms. Angry, he replied:
"You think this is a good life? I'm running all the time. That's not living! I just want to go back home!"
The window twisted, displaying another glitch. The words appeared, forming a new message.
[Hm… You speak of life, and that's interesting because—aren't you the one who doesn't know what it means to live? Aren't you the one who doesn't know how to LET live?]
Nova fell silent after reading the message. His gaze darkened, and his breathing caught like a knot in his throat. There was something in those words that froze him in place.
The window glitched again—the next message appeared:
[Hahahahahahahaha.]
Nova clenched his fist and teeth, irritated. He stood up, and the window followed him. As his emotions threatened to spiral out of control, the aura of Serenity enveloped him. That budding anger faded away alongside the flower petals beneath his feet.
He sighed, returning to normal. Then, casually, he asked:
"Do you know how I can get back home?"
The window replied:
[... … … Hm… … …]
"Do you know or not?"
[I do. It's simple: cross the portals and pray that one of them takes you home!]
Nova sighed once more. He sat back down among the flowers and looked up at the sky. The window floated over and positioned itself in front of his eyes.
[You've always been the quiet, calm kid :D,] the window displayed. [And it seems you'll keep being that way for the rest of your life. Am I wrong?]
Nova looked to the side, avoiding the words appearing in the window. Even so, he replied in a hollow, lifeless tone, his eyes turning dull under the effect of Serenity.
"I think you know too much about me. Who the hell are you, really? Why did you erase my name from my Personal Information? If you're some kind of higher being or something, why are you wasting your time here—with me?"
The window took time to process the information. It displayed three dots for several seconds until it finally found a way to communicate what it wanted to say.
[I didn't erase anything—you did. I simply asked who you think you are, but you didn't answer. That made it clear to me that you don't know who you are. Identity is a very important thing, you know? If you don't know who you are or your place in the universe, it will be very hard for you to ever reach the end of the path.]