[Kodai]

Before Kaamil could begin swinging his scythe about randomly at the blackness, a small hole appeared in the air. The bright white of it was somewhat blinding after being in the dark for all that time, but he was extremely glad to see it, and to hear his companion's voice.

"....Drawser...! ...I'm in here...er, wherever here is.... ...Can you get through...?" The prospect of rescue dulled the pain in his eye a bit, and he almost forgot about the creature tormenting him. ...Almost. "...Be careful, Drawser -- there's something in here.... ...I don't know what or where it is, though..."

[Jaykobell]

As Kaamil replied to Drawser, the cracks in the wall (or simply the air itself) continued to grow wider and bigger, and pieces kept on falling down. But despite the big hole that was beginning to form, Kaamil was unable to see Drawser. It seemed like he could only hear her voice. What kind of place was this? It broke every law of physics and logic one knew. As the dimension seemed to break apart, the creature got more restless and even a bit more panicked; wherever it was.

Eek... Eek.... Interfere..... Interfere... Not... not getting away...

Obviously the creature didn't want to let Kaamil get away. As it braced itself, the wall slowly started to repair itself. The bits on the floor disappeared gradually as the white hole closed itself up, leaving only the cracks running back to an original point, and the white portion becoming smaller and smaller. But even so, it was taking its sweet time to close up (maybe it required a lot of power and focus from the creature), and so the hole was still big enough for Kaamil to pass through.

"Kaamil!" Drawser's voice echoed through the hole. "Get in the hole! Get in the hole! Go through it! You have to get through the hole!" Her voice was panicked as she instructed him to do that. She sounded on the verge of panic, most likely because Kaamil had gotten into such a mess and she had failed to protect him. So she had to help him now...

[Kodai]

Drawser didn't have to tell Kaamil twice to get through that hole. He realized it was his only way out from this accursed place. Letting the scythe in his hands disappear (so that he didn't accidentally hurt Drawser with it upon his entrance to the real world), Kaamil took a running start and leapt through the crack, intending to roll out the other side. However, the light was unbearably blinding, and he suddenly became aware of a dull, throbbing pain in his head, which made him somewhat... 'fall' into the area.

"....Ugh......Drawser.....? .....Where are you......?"

[Jaykobell]

The creature could be heard screeching in as Kaamil managed to escape this law-defying space. A blinding light flashed into Kaamil's eyes, blinding him as he passed through the hole. As he exited, all the pain he had experienced physically disappeared; even his eye went back to normal. Eventually he felt a pushing force crashing into him from above, and suddenly the pain came back, but this time it was coming from his head. It wasn't as intense, but it was still present and hurt fairly bad.

When he came back, Kaamil could find himself in a forest. If he took a quick look around, he would notice that he was still at the same place, though; he had apparently ended up in the small forest that was at the base of the volcano. The temperature was stable, although a bit high; but that was to be expected, what with being near a volcano.

And besides all the scenery, he would see Drawser kneeling right next to him, almost over him, even. Her eyes were slightly red, and she seemed on the verge of panic. She grabbed his shoulder and his arm when she saw he had came to, relieved that he was safe. "Y-you're okay! You're okay!" She breathed hard from the stress, and she tried to blink some tears away. "I-I thought..." Oh, all this he had gone through! It was all because she hadn't been able to protect him!

But beyond Drawser, there was another mysterious character...



Much taller than Drawser, there was this mysterious stranger standing nearby. He wore a weird attire, and he had characteristics unlike those of normal humans. His long hair, pitch-black with orange highlights, curled at the tip like a chameleon's tail. His eyes were a deep red color, and a yellow ring stuck out of the corner of each eye. He had a presence similar to that of the strange fox and the unknown creature, but it wasn't exactly as strong, or exactly the same kind of presence.

When he heard Drawser squealing over Kaamil, he looked around to face the two kids. He didn't say anything and instead simply looked down at the thing he was holding down under his foot: a strange, unusually-colored snake that had empty eyes. It had a white, snowy body, with a thick ring around its neck, colored in black and gold. A strange, powerful force came from that snake. The black emptiness of its eyes, ironically, could show just how twisted and wild the snake was, hissing madly at both Kaamil and the man holding it down.

The guy squeezed the snake down some more, raising an eyebrow at the thing. He stuck his tongue out, and... as another weird characteristic to add on the list, his tongue simply rolled out of his mouth until it had almost reached his stomach. What an unusually long tongue! "I squish little ones like you for breakfast now," he told the snake in a flat tone, with confidence underneath it. "Ones like you are kinda not worth the bother anymore."

Could that snake be...?

[Kodai]

Oh, wow... Drawser looked really upset. Sure, some sort of concern for his well-being was expected, but... had she actually been crying? Sitting up slowly, Kaamil blinked in confusion and rubbed his aching head while looking at Drawser.

"...Ah....I'm fine, really.....I've been worse, trust me......"

Quite suddenly, he noticed the unusual figure standing a little way behind Drawser. It wasn't so much the person's attire, or even his aura, but the creature he was stepping on. A large, white snake with a banded marking around its neck, and empty black eyes... Wait... Could that be...?

".....Drawser.....What sort of a snake is that....?"

[Jaykobell]

Well, he could move and stuff! Thank God he could do that... Apparently only his head hurt, and he seemed fine beyond that. But even so, Drawser had an idea about the kind of experience he had probably gone through before waking up. Even if he claimed he was fine, she still felt extremely bad for what had happened. Her job was to protect him, and... if she hadn't gotten unexpected help, well... Well...

She blinked when Kaamil asked about the snake. She turned around to take a look at it. Ah... of course, the snake. "It's... not any typical type of snake," she replied simply, clearly not as hyper and passionate as she had been earlier. She paused for a moment. "We.... we call them... Spiders," he added to her explanation, facing the snake as well. "They're elemental spirits who are much, much stronger than regular spirits... They usually go for power and attack people if they feel like it..."

"They can also kill you," the stranger added, almost in an amused tone, or maybe more as matter-of-factly. He was staring at the two kids now, still stepping on that snake. "They use mental torture to create realistic situations... If you don't die from mental strain or mental breakdown, you'll either become insane from the experience, or you'll just commit suicide. Or any other nice possibility you might wanna try." He seemed to know much more about this subject than Drawser did. Then again, he was also older and felt more powerful than Drawser, so perhaps it was simply all in the years of experience. "Luckily for you, I was passing by. Only Radars can break the hold Spiders have on their... friends, as they call them." He squeezed the snake against the ground some more. "I sure wouldn't be friends with you...."

[Kodai]

...Spider? An odd name for something that didn't resemble an arachnid in any way. Ah, well, the naming of things wasn't up to his discretion. Shifting onto his feet so that he was in a crouching position, Kaamil sat and stared at the conniving reptile spirit. That unwavering stare would have made any regular human flinch and look away, but of course, his subject of interest wasn't a human at all.

".....How very interesting......I wonder how it is they do that.....and why....." Kaamil murmured softly, not taking his eyes from the snake. "....I wonder why it chose to attack me over you, Drawser.......and just how far I could have gone....heh.....from the perspective of simple curiosity....." He stretched a hand out towards the snake, though he was still a good yard or so away.

What a strange boy.

[Jaykobell]

Really, Drawser figured she wasn't the right person to talk about this. While she had learned about the Spiders in class, she had never seen one before. The empty eyes set it apart from all the other spirits she had seen in the last years. She stayed near the spot where Kaamil used to be, watching as he stood up and crouched. His words were also fairly strange, and Drawser only blinked at what Kaamil said.

The stranger looked up from looking at the snake to look at Kaamil. Hmm? What was that kid saying now? "Spiders are technically normal spirits which have become corrupted from power. Sometimes because they ate a coin, or sometimes it's just out of pure malice. Spirits eat each other constantly, like a normal food chain. Some of them eat more than others, and the strength of those eaten might drive a spirit to corruption." He squeezed the snake some more. "Like this one. Why he attacked you instead of that girl, well... I'm assuming it was attracted to your power more. Usually they target powerful people, or those who emanate a strange presence." He was obviously someone who knew his subject. Specialized in that particular job, maybe? He did mention a "Radar"; maybe those were special workers from the Academy?

As the chameleon-themed stranger listened to Kaamil, he also wondered just... what the kid was doing now. At the sight of Kaamil's hand reaching forward towards the snake (even if it was still far away), the reptile started to hiss irritably, struggling madly to get away from under the foot of the older guy. The guy blinked when he heard Kaamil's last comment. "How... far you could have gone." He echoed the words, watching the kid stretch that hand towards the snake. He didn't seem to be affected by whatever he had gone through from the snake's spell, and he even seemed... interested at getting another go at it. "Who are you? Any kid who hears about the Spiders usually stays away from the marked areas. Whether you stumbled on it by coincidence or not, it doesn't matter... but why are you even wondering that?" He crossed his arms. He didn't seem all that surprised, but his voice had this hint that he thought Kaamil to be currently out of it slightly. "In this form, Spiders are weak. But since casting a rune to break their mental spell is more complicated than one would think, only Radars are taught how to use it. The other students have to play it safe. When they're attacking you psychologically, there's basically nothing to stop them. If you have a strong mental, you might be able to keep them out of your head — another thing Radars are usually taught —, or if you can figure out its personality quickly enough, you might be able to break its concentration. And then that would open a portal — like what happened earlier." Why explain this? Because this kid seemed to have an idea, and it was most likely one the guy couldn't agree to.

[Kodai]

"....Those who emanate a strange presence.... ...I see...." He kept his hand outstretched to the snake, but finally turned his gaze to the stranger. "....Who am I....? .....My name is Kaamil.....Who I am is probably not of great importance to you.... ....And I am wondering such a thing simply out of curiosity.......It is good to know one's limits, is it not....?" Kaamil turned back to the snake. ".....You.....I wish to know......What is your purpose....? ......Your own purpose.....? .......Do not let others put words on your forked tongue..........What is it you exist for.....?" Turning his hand so his palm faced upward, Kaamil shifted forward an inch or two towards the snake.

[Jaykobell]

He had a feeling nothing had gone through that kid's head. While Kaamil had answered him, he still felt like this kid wasn't interested in listening. And quite honestly, he hated kids who didn't want to listen to his warnings. To test one's limits... with something like a Spider? Was this kid really so willing to die that he'd try something like that? And not only was Kaamil seemingly uninterested in listening to his warnings, but he was now... talking... to the snake. And coming forward. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "You're talking to a brick wall, kid. I just told you those spirits aren't sane anymore. This is why their speech is so broken when they're inside your head. They don't even know what they're saying. Very few Spiders are sane enough to communicate."

Apparently that was right, for the snake didn't do much of anything different when Kaamil tried to approach it and talk to it. It just hissed madly, wiggling under the stranger's foot, sometimes giving Kaamil an empty corrupted look, but that was really it. It didn't seem to have heard Kaamil's questions at all, and its only focus was to get away from this hold. More victims to play with... more... That's really all it wanted.

[Kodai]

Dropping his hand, Kaamil sighed in irritation, staring at the snake again with that creepy stare. "....Well, you can't say I didn't try to communicate with you, Snake.....I suppose my brother's methods are best left to him...." Slowly, he stood, the ache in his head starting to subside, and focused on the strange man. ".....So....who exactly are you, that knows so much of these 'Spiders'....? ....I would assume you're one of these 'Radars' you mentioned....?" Kaamil turned back to Drawser. "...Do you know this man....?"

[Jaykobell]

This is why he didn't like kids. They just don't listen and then they get upset. A sigh.

He crossed his arms as he waited for Kaamil to realize it was pointless, which happened fairly quickly. But he continued to talk to the snake, although not as deeply as he had earlier. Well, he figured maybe everyone had tried, at least once, to rationalize with Spiders. Only this kid seemed to have understood it was futile more quickly than those other people. Good for him.

When Kaamil dropped talking with the snake, he seemed to become interested in the stranger. "Theron," he answered simply, his hair uncurling and curling. It seemed to be just like a chameleon's tail. "You don't sound like you come from the Academy. Or else you would already know all of this." Without saying any more, he bent down on a knee and picked the struggling snake in his hair-tail, the snake getting squished in the curling hair. That didn't stop it from hissing and struggling, however. "If you really want to know things, I suggest you inform yourself at the proper institution." He looked over his shoulder at the snake. "And you're coming with me."

Drawser had gotten back on her feet since then, and she didn't look as shaken anymore. She blinked when Kaamil turned to ask her a question. "Ah, no... I think I've heard of him, but I don't... know him," she replied with a tilt of her head. Many Radars were unknown to the younger students, especially younger ones. "He's a Radar... he's in charge of keeping the students aware of the Spiders' locations and to eradicate those who are considered dangerous..." Well, obviously Theron didn't want to answer Kaamil's question, so... Drawser figured he probably had his reasons, so she answered instead.

While the two seemed to be talking together, Theron headed off, the snake tightly wrapped into his hair. But as he headed off, the hissing snake got its way, wriggling about madly until it could bite into Theron's hair. The bite made him shriek and lose the grip he had on the snake, accidentally letting it loose. He immediately turned around to see that the snake was heading for the first person it could attack without too much of a struggle: Drawser.

Theron quickly reacted and positioned his hand, quickly trying to draw a pattern. "Stop it!"

[Kodai]

"....The Academy is having an open house today, and that is why I am here with Drawser......I'm certain that Spiders were not among the planned activities, and so I was not told about them...." Kaamil watched silently as Theron more or less entangled the snake in his hair (such odd hair! It was almost like a separate limb) and began to leave. He was about to turn back to Drawser, in order to ask where the two of them were going to go from here, when suddenly he heard Theron shout. Almost reflexively Kaamil summoned the scythe again, whirling around just in time to see the serpent lunging for Drawser. Striking out swiftly, the Spider was in two halves right before it reached her.

".....Are you all right, Drawser....?"

[Jaykobell]

Theron had already started tracing symbols in the air. Unlike Drawser, however, he traced them without the help of a pen. The "ink" seemed to be flowing out of his very fingers. He seemed ready to cast something when he noticed Kaamil turning around and summoning... his own weapon? Theron blinked and paused momentarily in his casting, only to completely stop and cancel his spell when Kaamil sliced the Spider in half. What... a spontaneous reaction. Well-performed, as if he were used to such pressure... The runes besides Theron disappeared as he cancelled the spell, simply looking at Kaamil now.

Drawser didn't have that much time to react to anything, really. Between when the snake got loose and Kaamil sliced it in half, all she did was to step back, completely dumbfounded by the situation. She fell to her knees after Kaamil had sliced the snake, seemingly shaken up. So much had happened, she seemed completely out of it now. "A-ah.... Th... Thank you... K-Kaamil..." Goodness, what did she look like? She was supposed to protect Kaamil, not the other way around!

"You," Theron called as he took a few steps towards Kaamil and Drawser. "You said you were doing this from the Open House... If you... are wondering all those things still, then I'd propose for you to join the Academy. That, and..." He crossed his arms, taking a quick look at Kaamil, scanning him from head to toes. "The way you reacted just now, you seem used to this kind of wild situation. I think you'd ace a good couple of ranks easily." This kid had the kind of ability the Academy needed. Looking at Drawser, well... while he had no idea what rank she was, Theron still figured she wasn't suitable to be a guide. "And looking at this, your guide is completely out of order. But I'm going back to the Academy right now to report this incident to the Director. If you're interested at all in going back to talk with him..."

[Kodai]

Poor Drawser. She seemed really shocked at the moment. Considering what had just happened, of course, it wasn't unexpected. Crouching down to Drawser's level, Kaamil gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"....Truly, are you all right, Drawser....? .....Everything is fine now...." Helping the shaken girl to her feet, Kaamil turned back to Theron. "....I think that we should return with you.......The Director may want more information, and...I would like to speak with him, yes..." Focusing on Drawser again, he asked her, "...Is that okay with you...? ...To return...?"