POV: RENATA SILVEIRA.
I didn't have enough time to react. I jumped out of the way of the attack by instinct.
"Let the power of dreams strengthen what is within me!" I said as I felt my back hurt with the extra tension caused by the mark's connection.
I activated my enchantment: Oneiric Reservoir.
Now, with more energy in my disposal. I got up as early as possible and I took a combat stance.
"Let the darkness, that surrounds the dreams of the men, become tangible as the fears hide within it"
As in a classic movement of tango, I opened my arms on a V-shape to the sky and brought them down.
That was one of the instances necessary for activation of the powers inside the enchantment.
A long curtain of shadows involved the surroundings.
The sight becomes darker and darker as the time passes. The thermal sensation became colder and the cloudy sky disappeared amidst the darker smoke.
It looked like the sun had temporarily been turned off in that hell of place. The sounds of horror were starting to appear. The chaos was spreading throughout the entire yard of the school.
The mana signatures were skyrocketing in some places, at the same time, there were others barely capable of feeling its existence because of how weak it was.
'I've to find my way outta he…'
"HA-HA-H… cough. cough." The cracked voice of a girl echoed throughout the smoke. As my senses guaranteed me the understanding of her position.
She was lying down on her stomach close to the exploded door of the class.
There was not just her voice echoing in the halls…
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, is there anyone with more problems than I?" said another girl, who started to run out from a strange mass of energy with wings and extra limbs.
"All of us, should praise The Fool, that doesn't belong to this e…" proclaimed a guy that was upon his friend's body, who was unconscious.
'Are some still luci…'
"SUBJUGATE THE UNBLESSED BY MY SIR!"
A strong voice proclaimed and the atmosphere became more palpable.
The gravity was strengthening itself quickly. I started to have difficulties moving my body.
Four strong signatures appeared out of nowhere, which made the school security sensors activate the suppression shields.
The suppressors were activated throughout the yard, it created a lot of pain grunts, but it didn't end the chaos.
"I think I can…"
My vision started to blur itself. Already expanding my QP barrier around me. I felt the eminence of an attack.
"Dreams, make it as lucid as it could be!
As I've put more energy into the mark. From one moment to another. I felt that my attention had been diverged to the details around me instead of the girl behind me.
Is it the effect of her power?
Without a key-word or an instance trigger?
What is happening here?
'Focus on the problem, Renata!'
She was running around the pillar in the middle of the smoke and the sea of people fighting each other.
She was looking for me after the unsuccessful assault.
Turning myself to the girl.
Without time to think. I focused my energy on my feet to prepare an impulse.
As soon as her stare caught my eyes. I crossed my hands and jumped up as fast as I could.
It was the moment to finish that chase.
"Let the dream begin!"
I convoked as I merged my energy into the darkness of the smoke around.
My vision started to become blurrier and blurrier as I fell asleep.
Then… A strange sound of wind became comprehensible as my body became lighter and lighter.
Then, I looked around.
In the midst of clouds…
A bird appeared and started to fly higher in the sky. Its speed was unbelievable. I started to chase it.
There was no hesitation. No fear. Just a brave feeling of freedom in that movement. As I went behind it.
I saw the details as it turned out to be evident to me.
We were in a dense forest with a lot of water mist surrounding everything visible.
As I perceived closely, I observed the bird, it was purple in its flur.
The wings had dark stains of blood around it.
And the skin was shining strongly on that part. As it was fighting against the river of blood getting out of the stains.
We started to fly faster in a forest with the crown so dense that barely was possible to differentiate in the middle of it.
The comprehension of time becomes stranger.
At the edge of a cliff, beneath the vast sky, the bloodstains deepened into a darker crimson.
Violent energy fluctuations began to emerge from the wounds.
Then, in a moment of confusion, the bird abruptly changed direction.
It charged directly toward me.
Without hesitation, I extended my control throughout the dreamscape and altered the illusion.
My form dissolved into drifting clouds.
A mirage.
An untouchable phantom.
As the bird passed through where I had been moments before, I seized control of the dream and tightened my hold over the illusion.
The girl attacking me suddenly lost all sense of direction.
In reality, she staggered through the smoke, swinging wildly at enemies that weren't there.
'The illusion worked!'
That was the chance I was looking for. An opportunity.
I condensed a sphere of energy into my hand. As I moved through the smoke, getting closer to her.
As I got closer, I perceived that she was looking for my signature through her senses.
She was looking like a random beast caged for a long time. Waiting to be released.
I circled around as I focused the condensed sphere into her head to make her lose consciousness.
The last second before I launched the attack. Her eyes focused entirely on me.
As we gaze into each other. For a second, I could see myself into her iris. But…
There was something… With me?
My vision for a moment totally blurted out. I was looking into myself from above, as I was a spectator.
'What the hell? I'm de…'
I looked below and saw myself advancing against the girl. As I looked around. A strange voice echoed throughout the space.
"The energy of the beholder is within limit." The voice proclaimed strongly, with elegance in its tone.
"This is great news. It means That Thing was assimilated without problems. Keep up, Mr. O." said another voice, that looked…
Robotic? Without interruptions, the other concluded the brief exchange.
"As is your will, Mr. C."
My vision fastly lowered back to where I was moments ago.
But the scenario now was different. The girl was ahead of me.
Collapsed on the ground.
The attack struck the side of her head before she could react.
The girl collapsed immediately after the attack.
I could still sense her energy. Barely, but it was still there.
'Thanks God…'
I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
One down.
Too many left.
***
I pushed through the smoke and found Professor Andressa in the middle of the courtyard.
She was coordinating multiple constructs in an attempt to restrain the frenzied students.
Several other students had gathered around her.
They were together, forming a defensive group, protecting those who couldn't fight and preventing them from getting caught in the violence.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though the things were regaining control.
The change happened so quickly that none of us could react.
A fast shadow appeared out of the… Câmera? A devastating blow erupted from that position.
And, a… Professor Francisco?
The shadow was from the Professor. He entirely emerged into a cloudy-gray type of mass around his body. It looked liquid and massive at the same time.
He was infected too?
The impact shattered the formation and scattered everyone in different directions.
Professor Andressa immediately engaged him, desperately trying to hold him back.
The rest of us attempted to regroup.
But there were simply too many infected students.
Everywhere I looked, more appeared from the smoke.
Their mana signatures twisted into something unstable and wrong.
I found myself standing before several of them.
There was no longer any room for caution.
I activated my curtain of shadows once more.
Dark smoke spread across the battlefield, swallowing sight and disorienting everyone caught within it.
The infected students stumbled blindly through the darkness.
For a moment, the strategy worked.
The idea was to buy enough time for Professor Andressa to immobilize whatever the hell that thing had become.
But then...
The mana surrounding it...
My instincts screamed.
A gigantic sphere of energy formed above the battlefield.
"STAND DOWN!" I heard Professor Andressa shout.
"Wha—?"
The explosion swallowed my words.
A colossal shockwave tore through the courtyard.
Students, debris, and shattered pieces of the school were hurled in every direction.
I felt myself thrown through the air.
The world spun.
A bench rushed toward me.
Pure adrenaline allowed me to raise a barrier and twist my body at the last second.
The impact was softened.
But not enough.
A sickening pain exploded through my right shoulder.
I crashed onto the ground and screamed.
My shoulder had been dislocated.
For several seconds, I could barely breathe.
Eventually, I forced myself upright.
Every movement hurt.
"I... I..."
My vision blurred.
The screams around me grew distant.
The courtyard twisted before my eyes.
Then everything went black.