Perched atop a jagged, mist-shrouded crag, an ancient castle loomed like a sentinel of forgotten realms, its towering spires piercing the heavens with an eerie grace.
The structure, a labyrinth of weathered stone and Gothic arches, exuded a dark, ominous aura that seemed to pulse with the weight of centuries old secrets. Its battlements, cracked and shadowed, stood resolute against the tempestuous night, while a thick, dark grey moon hung low, casting an unearthly glow that bathed the scene in a spectral light.
Around the castle, shadowy creatures, winged and sinister, wheeled through the air their cries echoing like the wails of lost souls. Blow, a turbulent stream wound through the rocky ravine, its waters glinting with an otherworldly sheen, as if reflecting the castle's malevolent heart.
"W–What is that?" Alon uttered, as he couldn't believe what he was staring at.
And then Erza added: "It's massive."
At the moment everyone was on guard. While they all stared at the massive castle before them, a cold chill ran down their spine.
The structure carried an ominous aura that was both intimidating and daunting. One without Othir Essence was surely not going to survive the sight of it, let alone breath the air around it.
"So much Negative Othir Essence." The young prince uttered.
"Huh? Can you sense something?" Sinon asked.
"Yes I can. And it's massive, almost as if every inch of the castle is wrapped with the Negative Othir Essence. Whatever evil lurks within, is definitely powerful, and we have to be very careful as we move forward."
Hearing this; a boy among the students howled:
"What, do we have to go in there?!"
He had pale blue eyes and dark hair. Not much to say about his dressing, but it was decent in some way.
"Hmph. Isn't it obvious?" Alex jumped in.
"I'm afraid that is the only option. It's not as if we can just wait out here for the next twenty one days."
As the young prince said this, he looked at their surroundings. There was nothing else around. It was as though they were in a desert alone, with nothing but a strange and ominous castle before them.
While staring, his pupils shrank as he noticed something.
"What is it?" Sinon asked, seeing the disturbed expression on his face.
"Someone is missing." the young prince uttered while taking out his grimoire.
"What?!" Sinon exclaimed.
The young prince opened his grimoire and stared at the glowing dots on the pages before him.
"As I expected…"
Just before he could continue, Jenna had already scanned through and concluded.
"Hitori?"
"It would seem that's the one." The young prince confirmed.
Jenna's heart sank as she heard his confirmation, then spoke:
"Why isn't he here? Didn't you say that the shift covers everyone in a one mile radius?*
The young prince stared at her.
"Correct. However it is not applicable to normal humans, only Transcendents."
Hearing this, Jenna's face turned pale, bewildered.
"What do you mean? He is an awakened like us."
However…
"Not exactly. You are wrong."
As the young prince said this a spark of curiosity struck within everyone.
"What do you mean I'm wrong?" Jenna asked, puzzled.
"Sigh… How do I explain this now." The young prince uttered. At this moment, everyone had already locked eyes with him.
And then he began:
"When you guys were brought by Reynold and the rest of the team, I knew something was off."
He turned to Sinon and Alex gesturing that they would understand what he was talking about since they were there when he noticed it, and then he continued:
"When you guys arrived, I was stunned to see the number of glowing dots in my grimoire didn't match what I was counting while you guys walked out of the portal."
"And what does it have to do with anything?" Jenna asked, looking more curious than ever.
"I am saying that in my grimoire, the dots that I could see were everyone's Othir Core. It's something that every Transcendent has. And when I made the calculations, and saw that the numbers didn't add up I knew it could only mean one thing. One of you hadn't had an awakening yet."
As the words left the young prince's lips, everywhere became silent, his words hung in the air.
"No, that's not possible!"Jenna proclaimed, disagreeing on what she had just heard.
"It might not. But I believe that's the only logical explanation." The young prince added. "Back when we were in your world, I took a look at him and found out that something wasn't right. I couldn't explain it, and I was unable to tell if he had awakened or not. It was complicated, but now it would seem that he was indeed not awakened."
"And if that's the case, that can only mean one thing."
"He never shifted."
Sinon and the rest all turned to Jenna as the words left the young prince's lips.
Looking at her, they saw how her expression changed. She went into a daze.
"It can't be."
Jenna fell to the ground, her heart sinking into the void. There were many things she could deal with, and many things she could handle. But when it comes to the person who meant the world to her, there was no way she could deal with not having him around.
And to sum it up, they were worlds apart.
"I'm afraid his highness is right." Echidna confirmed, as everyone's eyes landed on her.
"I myself noticed something also." She began:
"When I saw him for the first time, I couldn't help but think that something was not right with him. However, because we were in a tight situation at that time, I never really thought deeply of it. But it would seem I wasn't wrong. Perhaps, do you know if anything happened to him before meeting with us?"
Jenna looked perplexed as the words entered her ears.
Something? Happened?
"I don't think so, it's just that when we first got separated, he was fighting with an Echo at the time, but he survived."
"What? Fighting an Echo? When he hadn't Awakened?"
"Yes. At that time Phillip and I thought that he wasn't going to make it out alive, but somehow he was able to."
"And… How did that happen?"
"I don't really know, I never asked."
As soon as Jenna said this, a thought came to her in an instant.
'Hitori was injured when we met afterwards? He said it was only a scratch, and never accepted to get healed. Don't tell me, was he? No no no. It can't be. Even though he was, he wouldn't be… '
"Jenna?!"
Echidna called out.
"Uh-huh?!"
"You were deep within your thoughts. Is there something else you want to tell us?"
Jenna gazed at everyone, at their eyes. This wasn't the time to be thinking about the abnormal. And she definitely wouldn't tell them that he was injured and refused to get treated.
"No, there isn't."
"Then that sums it. He's definitely still in your world. Although, he wouldn't have much time to live in that place with all those Echoes around. It's only a matter of time before they get to where he is. The only thing that can save him… is if he gets an awakening."
As the young prince said this, he felt a bit of doubt in his words. He couldn't take off the fact that Hitori was able to survive fighting an Echo without going through an awakening.
"I guess that sums it. It looks like we have to go into that castle and kill some Echoes, if we want to move forward and get stronger."
As the young prince spoke, Jenna was trapped deep within her thoughts while she stood to her feet with Echidna's assistance.
Jenna couldn't forget the expression Hitori had on his face at the time she approached him back in their hideout. It was impossible to guess that he didn't get an awakening, and he knew all along that he didn't. And also knew he wasn't going to get Shifted along with the others.
'Oh, Hitori.'
"-"
Meanwhile…
In a lost forgotten ruin, loomed an old tower out in the shadowy wilds, its massive door was in a dark ivy-tangles archway.
A grey moon bathed a faint spooky light over everything, and down below where dead bones, skulls, and ribs of fallen humans littered in the ground.
On a broken and old pavement, a figure stood in this dark and chill scene. This was Hitori. He was bewildered, unable to comprehend anything in his sight, and at the same moment a faint and dry voice left his lips.
"Where am I?"