Nieves Anaxagoras... Itsuki was lost in thought.
Then a voice came from behind, it was Ryo's. "Naoya, thanks for opening the door, would you please step aside?"
Itsuki quickly snapped out and looked at his front again, it wasn't Nieves that sat there, it was a girl who just had similar features.
"Oh I'm sorry." Itsuki hastily cleared the way.
"How may I help you, Sensei Ryo?" The lady in the ward asked, putting down the book she was reading.
"He is unconscious and probably has a few fractured bones, would you mind taking a look at him?"
"Yeah, no problem, just place him down there." The lady pointed to a bed behind the curtains.
Ryo carefully placed Murai on the white sheets as he turned to the three students behind him.
"Stay with Murai until he wakes."
"Yes, Sensei!" They said in unison.
After Ryo left, Sayaka walked to the couch and sat with folded hands. Itsuki followed, dropping beside her.
Daimon on the other hand, flicked his hair and loosened his robe a bit, walking over to the healer lady who had already started picking the ingredients she needed from the shelf.
He stopped when he reached her and leaned on the wall, letting the sunlight stream down on his face.
The lady stretched toward a bottle on top of the shelf and was struggling to reach it.
"Hello there love... need a hand over there?"
She looked sideways at Daimon and just scoffed.
"You're a funny guy, yes please help me get the bottle of shiso up there." The lady pointed upwards.
Daimon moved closer and raised his hand without effort and picked the bottle. Bringing it down, he wore a cunning smile on his face.
"Here you go love."
The lady snatched it away from his hands and quickly went to start mixing them.
Argh! What's with his weird accent... Itsuki's face showed his irritation. He shook his head and leaned back on the couch while to his side Sayaka paid no attention to Daimon or anyone in the room. She found a book on the table nearby and started reading.
Yawn...!
A little nap won't hurt... Itsuki slowly closed his eyes as he dozed off to sleep, his consciousness leaving the real world behind.
...
The Dream-void.
Itsuki's consciousness spawned in the endless space, his body slowly materializing into the dream-void.
Once his body was fully transferred into the void, Itsuki looked around, seeking to find Nui.
Tap. Tap.
Itsuki felt a slight touch on his back as he turned to look.... BOO!
He stumbled back a few steps, gasping for air.
"Hehehe, I got you Master!" Nui giggled.
Itsuki let out a big sigh of relief.
"Good to see you too Nui, I'd like to ask a few questions, may I?"
"Sure, Master! Ask anything!" Nui bounced on her heels.
Itsuki gathered his thoughts. "When I used Edge of Order yesterday... I saw myself in two places. A white-haired version of me stood where I was going to end up after the strike. What was that?"
Nui tilted her head, for her it was a usual question.
"Ah... Master saw the Endpoint."
"End what?"
"Endpoint!" Nui floated closer. "When Master uses his ability, Master sees where his action will lead before it happens. The white-haired version of Master is the Endpoint, the result of the choice to strike."
"So it shows me the future?"
"Not exactly!" Nui shook her head. "It shows you the end result of your action. Master cancels the distance between start and finish. That's why the leaf split before your blade touched it. Master skipped everything in between and went straight to the Endpoint."
"So I'm not moving faster... I'm just removing the middle part?" Itsuki slowly started to understand.
"Mhm! Master erases the journey and keeps only the destination." Nui giggled. "It's like walking through a door, but instead of opening it and stepping through, you're suddenly on the other side!"
The hell is this ability, it's too overpowered... I technically just have to enter my stance and strike and the opponent is struck? Wow I have to test this out when I get to the dorms... Itsuki thought in excitement although he didn't show it through his face.
"But Master..." Nui's voice was low this time. "...Unlike other divine abilities that have a spirit linked to it, Edge of Order isn't linked to any spirit, instea-"
"What do you mean Nui, I have you." Itsuki stopped her mid-sentence.
Nui wanted to complete what she said but after hearing Itsuki, she couldn't say it. She smiled at him and floated around, going high above the pillars.
Itsuki let out a sigh and looked around the dream-void, the infinite night with stars all over calmed his heart, as he blinked, closing his eyes.
He opened them again in the real world, only this time he was standing and could watch everyone. Everywhere was gray and it felt like he was the only one who had color. He saw his body sleeping on the couch, Daimon still flirting with the healer lady and Sayaka still reading her book.
He turned to the bedside and saw Murai's hand shifting slightly, Murai was waking up.
Itsuki raised his hand, shocked by this phenomenon happening to him.
Then all of a sudden he was pulled back into the dream-void, his spirit body waking up on the fog below. Then his dream-body began to fade away.
...
He opened his eyes again but this time in the real world.
Itsuki slowly got up, cracking his back.
Crack! Crack!
Sayaka looked at him with one side eye. Itsuki turned to look back but she immediately turned back to her book.
Then he walked over to Murai to check on him and Murai opened his eyes slightly and smiled. "I'm ok," he said faintly.
Itsuki smiled back and let Murai rest, then he went over to the healer who Daimon was still flirting with. "Em, please where is the men's room?"
"Down the hallway to the left."
"Ok, thanks." Itsuki stepped out and walked down the narrow corridor until he reached the door.
He stepped in to handle his business and moments later stepped out, tucking his robe back.
As he was walking back to the healer ward, something didn't feel right. He felt like he was being followed. With insane speed he turned around, expecting something to be there, but nothing was.
He ignored it and continued walking, but then... everything stopped.
Then Itsuki heard it.
Cr-crack!
It was his own bones. He slowly looked to the side and saw a huge hand with claws piercing through his ribs. Before he could react, he was slammed into an iron pole that knocked him unconscious.
"Gugugu, wow, he has good instincts. Ah well." The beast-like being laughed as it carried Itsuki's body with one hand. With the other, it opened up a portal and walked in.