Chapter 1461 Welcome
The days continued to pa.s.s.
The young Varian and Sia continued on with their daily lives.
Everyday, Enigma would try to break out of the prison she woke up in and fail. But she would keep trying.
Unsurprisingly, there"s not much she could do from the inside to break the prison.
Due to Isadora"s unconscious will that dominated this place, Enigma couldn"t break free. It"s not that Isadora wanted anything bad against Enigma but when she fell into a coma, the external environment was very hostile.
Isadora must"ve been trying to prevent Enigma from getting into any danger.
This would change as Sia grew stronger and her unconscious will eventually recognizing the world as safe.
Of course, the critical part of brekathrough was Sia"s mental defense which would crumble on Varian"s birthday.
Initially, Varian stayed with her thinking the young Enigma held the key for getting out of the formation. But it dawned on him that it"s not it.
"Where is Enigma?"
He a.s.sumed she was in a different dream altogether but after a.n.a.lyzing this dreamscape down to its roots, he understood that there"s a good chance she might be in the same dream.
Then came the question, if Enigma didn"t hold the key to getting out of this dream, then who did?
As he ruminated over the problem, the "real" world continued.
For inexplicable reasons, the timeline distorted and fast forwarded, jumping months at times.
A lot changed.
Sia awakened. So did many of their peers at school.
Varian did not.
It was still in the early stages but people were pointing fingers at the hardworking boy who everyone thought would be a talented awakener.
As days pa.s.sed and 90% of the students awakened, a noticable shift had already occured.
Varian and a few unlucky students were branded as outcasts. The unawakened weren"t mistreated on their face. After all, some people did awaken late. But they were seen as defective.
A few newly awakened tried to bully Varian. He dealt with them swiftly thanks to his strength but getting into fights wasn"t a pleasant matter. Especially not with those you thought were your friends just weeks ago.
Still, Varian continued to be optimistic. Hope, after all, was abundant in this young boy who carried great dreams on his shoulders.
Even though they were grandiose to the point of absurdity, if a man couldn"t even dream, then what could he even achieve?
And then, even the last member of the cla.s.s awakened.
Except Varian.
A few more weeks pa.s.sed.
And people"s patience…seemed to have run out.
Varian became the target of bullying. From the corridors to playgrounds, in the cla.s.ses to meals, the boys who envied his popularity at school started their revenge.
They weren"t adults yet but they were no children. The teenagers grouped together and tried to bully the boy who was beyond their reach not too long ago.
Since they were still newbies, Varian was winning most fights. But when they grouped together, all he could do was flee.
The "pride" which stemmed from devoting years to practice prevented him from seeking help, even from Sia.
As a result, he had more bruises and cuts. A few fractures and ligament tears were common.
When questioned about his sudden increase in injuries, he"d answer with the one answer that"d never go wrong.
Training.
Sia was growing suspicious. She had already warned a few who were talking ill of Varian. But she didn"t know the extent of what he was facing.
And then one day, she witnessed him fighting four boys in the alley behind the school.
She didn"t yell them to stop or ask why they were fighting. The first thing she did was beat them all up and then bring Varian to the infirmary.
"I know, bu—"
"What if there are more people…inside you?"
"Are you crazy?"
Puff!
Varian caught the pillow she threw at him and raised his hands.
"Just think for a moment. There are people with multiple personalities. It"s not so out of possibility if there are people with multiple souls."
"But souls, are they even a thing?" Sia tilted her head.
Ah, right. Human Federation was against such concepts, calling them outdated. That"s also the education they recieved.
"Then how about different senses of self? Different minds?" Varian continued to press on.
Sia looked him in the eye. "What are you trying to say?"
"If you have two paths than one, then you must also have two souls than one."
"Are you reading some strange stuff again?"
"Please."
"Even if you say that, I can"t see this anything more than a prank."
Varian thought for a moment before holding her hands. "Close your eyes, meditate on your self."
"Myself?" Sia closed her eyes and mumbled.
"Yes. The focus of your mediation isn"t a flame or darkness but yourself. Use your mind powers, try to dig in deep. What do you see?"
"…Darkness. But it"s moving…?"
"Dive deeper. Go into the darkness."
"It"s scary, I can"t."
Varian tightly held Sia"s trembling hands and urged. "You can do it. I am with you."
"I am going deeper."
"Dive in more. What do you see?"
"Darkness."
"More."
"More."
"More."
"…I feel like I"m hitting something. Eeh, have I gone mad?" Sia almost opened her eyes but thankfully, Varian managed to prevent her.
"That barrier. Yes, strike it with your power."
"Wh-What? But I have no power."
"Your mind is the power. Imagine it cracking."
"Okay."
Kacha! "Eh? Ah? Eeeh?"
A light enveloped the young Sia and her body proportions changed.
Varian gave a tired smile to the bewildered young lady.
"Welcome to the world, Enigma."
Crack!
The dream broke.