Interrogation

Atsuo was motionless. He was hoping it was just a dream.

But it was too realistic to be true...

He wished he couldn't feel the freezing wind and the numbing rain, but deep down, he knew.

All he could do was move his eyes as he stood motionless. He was still wearing his gown from the infirmary, which was now soaking wet.

The puddles around him glowed red as he tried to discern whether it was the blood from his stinging feet, which bore no shoes, or the reflection of the scarlet moon.

Oddly enough, he wished but one person to be there with him, and he wasn’t even his friend.

Atsuo heard rustling noises all around him. As if hearing his pleas for help, he saw multiple Dreigs surround him from all directions.

He could do nothing but accept his fate, as he stood there helplessly.

Suddenly, his heart sank. He saw one of the Dreigs dragging corpses behind itself.

Among those corpses he saw a face he would never mistake for any other.

Overwhelmed with emotion Atsuo started running at the Dreig.

"YOU FUCKING B-" he bellowed as he got swarmed by countless Dreigs.

"NNNN-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he cried as he could feel them tearing his flesh.

His body was being ripped apart. Enraged and in pain, he could feel his consciousness fade...

Again, he found himself in the middle of the classroom.

As soon as the chair fell, everybody jumped. The monotonous lecture that was putting students to sleep didn't prepare them for this incident.

Their eyes on Atsuo, they observed him relive the last few seconds of his hellish experience right before he died.

They stared in fear, as he screamed and grasped his hemorrhaging wounds that sullied his clothes.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU" he cried.

He collapsed.

Everyone in the classroom thought he was dead.

The scene that unfolded before them left them stunned. It wasn't until the teacher regained his senses and ran up to Atsuo that they started to act.

They found that he was still breathing. In fact, he was in perfect health.

This was unprecedented. Even Professor Kousei was seeing something like this for the first time.

They were debating whether what they had observed was a new phenomenon.

If that was the case, then it was clearly a curse.

Phenomena can occur naturally or artificially; the latter being called “man-made”. The grounds on which an artificial phenomenon is considered a curse is its ability to harm someone. At that point it becomes illegal and its misuse will have you sentenced to spend most, if not all, of your life in prison.

The only dilemma was understanding whether Atsuo was the one behind it. To some it seemed far-fetched to be a prank, while others thought it’s just what you’d expect from a Fortunatus student.

The incident that day would later be known as “the Woundless Conundrum.”

He was rushed to the infirmary for medical testing and was immediately questioned directly after.

Before him sat Razos, the headmaster of Brimor Academy himself, and Veto, the Chief of Phenomena Misuse Prevention Society.

They sat in front of Atsuo in what looked like some faction's dormitory. The dimmed lights and fireplace made it feel welcoming and relaxing. Atsuo felt like he could sleep there forever.

They wore hand-knit sweaters with cozy blankets on their laps, making their presence unassuming despite their stern and serious faces.

The unsuspecting Atsuo however, felt as if he was right at home in this halcyon atmosphere, looking back at them with his mellow stare. He was ready to tell them anything.

"Ok" began Veto, "Atsuo, do you remember what happened today?"

"Yes, sir" Atsuo answered calmly, "I caused the incident from earlier."

"Do you remember what happened leading up to the incident?" Veto asked, following up on the previous question.

"Yes, sir" Atsuo answered.

Razos and Veto exchanged glances.

"Go on," said Veto.

"I was spending the night at the infirmary when I woke up in the middle of the Boundless Forest. I then got surrounded and torn apart by countless Dreigs. The next thing I knew, I appeared at Professor Kousei's lecture on phenomena" Atsuo recalled the events.

"...Dreigs?" Veto muttered to himself.

"Could be just a bad dream" Razos said nonchalantly, looking at Veto.

It was a duplicitous remark that served no other purpose than to save the face of the Academy.

If word got out that one of the Brimor students was involved in phenomena misuse, it would significantly damage the school's reputation. At least in Razos’ eyes.

"Atsuo, what were you doing in the infirmary prior to waking up in the middle of the Boundless Forest?" Veto asked while eyeing Razos, making him break eye contact.

"I was told to spend the night at the infirmary, recovering from an earlier incident," Atsuo answered.

"Told to spend the night..." Veto muttered as he stared at the floor.

"You said there was an earlier incident?" Veto looked up at Atsuo, and then glanced at Razos, who shrugged like it was his first time hearing about it too.

"Yes, sir. I was initially brought to the infirmary because of a similar incident where I appeared in the middle of Professor Kousei's class on phenomena after being beheaded, I think. Likely by a Dreig. I then passed out and was brought to the infirmary, where I remained until I somehow woke up at the forest" Atsuo recalled in order.

"Huh? Kousei's class on phenomena? Again?" Veto asked in confusion.

"Yes, sir"

"Same day, same lecture?" Veto asked looking startled.

"Yes, sir. Though I don't recall much from the lecture. I wasn't paying attention" Atsuo said.

Veto slightly exhaled, yet some uneasiness remained.

"You mentioned being beheaded... by a Dreig?" continued Veto.

"Yes, sir"

No hesitation in Atsuo's reply left him stunned and alarmed. He didn't know how else to proceed but remove any uncertainties.

"Are you sure what you saw was a Dreig?" Veto asked Atsuo to ascertain the severity of the situation.

"Yes, sir. Clad in black cloth on two feet, they are nothing but bones with sheep's skulls" Atsuo said with visible hints of frustration.

Veto's eyes widened.

From the beginning they made sure that Atsuo was devoid of emotion, and yet here he was, visibly distressed.

Veto speculated that Atsuo went through severe emotional and psychological trauma for him to be breaking character.

Atsuo's description of the Dreig was accurate in contrast with the legend, but it wasn't enough due to the possibility of him being aware of it beforehand.

"Back when you encountered the Dreigs - might there have been other eyewitnesses?" Veto asked.

"Yes, sir. Kaiser, another student whom I met at the Boundless Forest, was there with me during the first encounter where we took one down."

"You managed to take it down? How?" Veto asked in disbelief.

"Yes sir. We caught it by surprise from above when it was following our scent and footprints. After knocking it off balance, Kaiser quickly snapped its neck" Atsuo replied.

"Who is this Kaiser?" Veto turned to Razos.

"He's a student at the Externus faction. Royalty from overseas." said Razos.

"Can you arrange for a time with him?" asked Veto, "I'd like to question him as well."

"Uuuuh... Of course," Razos hesitated.

Veto turned back to Atsuo.

"You said you met Kaiser at the Boundless Forest? What were you guys doing there?"

"Yes, sir. There was a courage test at the Boundless Forest at 10pm. I don’t recall much before I met Kaiser, I think I was staring at the sky. I seemed to be in a stupor and didn't even notice that everyone had gone in–”

“Staring at the sky? Why?” Veto interrupted, scratching his head.

“Yes, sir. I was observing the black and white clouds before the second storm” Atsuo replied.

“Black and white… Are you referring to the all-black phenomenon?” Veto asked pinching his left hand.

“Yes, sir. I get them quite often” Atsuo said.

Veto looked at him with great sadness and sympathy.

“I’m sorry to hear that…” he muttered looking down at the floor.

“Did you meet Kaiser shortly after, or…?” Veto continued.

“Yes, sir. He was the one to break me from my stupor” Atsuo confirmed.

“Hmmm….” Veto was getting progressively more curious about Lord Kaiser.

“So, what did the two of you do after that?”

“After I got out of my stupor my all-black phenomenon vanished, and we observed the total lunar eclipse. Shortly after, we felt a strange sensation and scent from the woods, where we observed a Dreig.” Atsuo recalled his first encounter.

“We were planning to run away, but the moment we turned around, we appeared deep within the forest, surrounded by trees” Atsuo remembered darkly.

Veto was speechless.

"Do you..." Veto paused, thinking about the best way to word his question.

"Do you know what's happening to you?" he asked sorrowfully, glancing at Atsuo.

His eyes reflected a look of concern and pity.

"I suspect I'm experiencing a new phenomenon. Likely a curse" Atsuo answered.

Veto looked down at the ground in shock. Hearing it from Atsuo himself left him stunned. He didn’t think the day would come where students would need to be careful of getting cursed, let alone by an undiscovered phenomenon.

“Atsuo, can I rely on you to meet me if this ever happens again?” Veto asked, getting up from his seat and getting his coat, “If it does, use the phrase ‘EX–BOUND’.”

“And let me know if something like the courage test ever happens again” he added.

“Yes, sir. As a matter of fact, there’s one happening today” Atsuo remarked.

Veto turned around looking alarmed.

“Where?” he inquired anxiously.

“The Boundless Forest at 10pm” Atsuo replied.

“Again?” Veto started looking pale.

“Again for me. Not for you” said the beheaded Atsuo, covered in blood.

Veto was hallucinating.

He looked away in a panic and started walking towards the exit.

“Atsuo, thank you for your time. You’re free to leave” he said in a hurry as he left the dorm.

Atsuo bowed to the headmaster and was escorted back to the infirmary.

Later that evening, Veto requested the association to bring along Deimos, a wielder of ancient magic with vast knowledge on phenomena, to conduct a deep search of the forest whilst preventing students from entering it.