It has been 2 days since the incident happened and Vegis was covered in bandages in front of a line to a room. Vegis was first since he was the only one that was conscious throughout the entire event. The light above the door turned green and the door opened itself. Inside, there was Doel, a small dining room set with foods and snacks, and a box covered by a large cloth. Vegis walked in but didn’t know if he could take a seat until Doel told him to.
“Hi there, manager Doel. I didn’t think I would be seeing you so soon.” (Vegis) Doel did a small smirk at this comment and responded. “I understand, kid. Most people don’t see me outside of introductions and very important events. Hell, I would have been off-world last week if it weren’t for my ship needing some maintenance to be done.” Vegis gave a wry smile at this and then apologies for the problem that has been caused.
“Whoa kid, stop apologizing, it isn’t your fault. This could have happened to anyone. I just need you to tell what you saw in as many details as you can. Also, how are the cuts? I heard they couldn’t be fixed with magic.” (Doel) “Oh yeah, when I woke up, the doc said something like the mana in their spells being absorbed without making an effect. As for what happened, it started out as a routine sampling run. It was scheduled to be done on the 4 winged wyvern so we were heading to its cell. When we entered, it was in the middle of flying and when it spotted us, it crashed into our group.” (Vegis)
Vegis would continue to explain the event to the best of his abilities and was only occasionally stopped to explain certain things. Some of the things Vegis was told to elaborate on was the pressure he felt, what he got hit with, why he brought sedatives, and others that Vegis was vague about. As he got through with his explanations, the tarp covered box began to shake heavily which startled Vegis.
Doel clapped his hands and the box stopped but also glowed slightly. In the glow, Vegis could make out a bipedal figure in the box that was covered in chains. Vegis was about to question what was in the box but stopped himself. He took a drink and then asked “ Manager Doel, are we done or do I need to do something” Doel shook his head and spoke. “That is all for now, but I might need to have you examined more closely tomorrow. You can go now, I need to get more testimonies from the others.” Vegis then stood up and left the room. The next person in line was one of the security personnel that returned. Vegis waved at them and headed out of the building and to his dorm.
Vegis decided to take his time and walk to it. He passed some acquaintances he got to know like other clone managers and security guards. When he got near the building, he decided to take a detour for the forest. It was nice to walk around the lightly snow covered ground whilst being surrounded by the trees. He sat down on the bench near the frozen pond and just stared into nothing. Vegis spent 1 hour in that spot, just thinking of nothing as it started to snow and the sun started to set. Vegis created a small light in the air that hovered over his head.
Vegis then stopped thinking of nothing, and started to think of events that have transpired in the last few days. He had been in danger before this but never like this. It made him feel a type of dread that nothing in his life had ever come close to. He felt fear from his bones and when he closed his eyes, he could feel the pressure return and try to squash him. Every second, Vegis feels as though it was still watching him, needing something from him. That it will tear him cell by cell to get what it wants and it will chase him to the ends of the galaxy.
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Vegis got up and headed to the dorms since the snow started to pour down on them. Every now and then, Vegis heard whispering in the distance but they weren’t there. He entered the building and saw another group of people using the main screen. Vegis stopped and wondered if he should join but decided he needed to have some rest.
Vegis headed to the second floor and checked on how the clones were healing. They were almost completely healed and just needed another day to be done. Vegis left the floor and went up to the 3rd floor to go to his room. He opened the door and entered. The room was clean so Vegis just took a shower and cleaned his teeth. He then changed and went to his bed. He laid there and stared at the ceiling for almost an hour before feeling sleepy and then passed out.
Vegis began to dream. At first, it was a normal dream set when he was a kid. His family was part of a small clan that originated well before humans left the old world. Once and a while, the clan would plan a family get together which would help them plan out what to do for the future and help them stay together as a group. The family would pool money together to help all the kids get to college and pay for the start of businesses.
During one of these gatherings, Vegis was hanging out with the other children in an orchard. He climbed the trees and played tag. Children weren’t allowed to use mana in real life since their bodies were too fragile. They still had enhanced constitutions from gene editing, cybernetic implants, and incredible foods and nutrients. Vegis was in the middle of jumping off a tree to another one before he froze in the air and chains sprouted from the trees and bind him in the air.
In the air, mouths appeared and started to whisper things about mana. In the sky, she appeared by tearing the sun in half and descending from the sky. As soon as she touched the ground, a wave of flames blasted from where she stepped and annihilated everything except Vegis. The flames crawled up the chains that bind him and started to singe his flesh, digging deeper into him. The drakkin walked closer to him with one of her arms pointing at him.
As she got closer, Vegis felt a tugging from his forehead and chest. Each step closer made the pull stronger. The only thing that stopped Vegis from being dragged towards here were the burning chains that were digging their way to his bones. She unfurled her wings and shot lights towards Vegis hands. As soon as they touched, his hands disintegrated into ash and dust. A flap of the wings sent the ash away, leaving only an apparition of his hands. The light slowly traveled down the arms to his legs and up his torso which all turned to dust in the light and scattered by the flap of the wings.
Vegis was feeling excruciating pain but also nothing at the same time. When the light hit Vegis’s chest, a blinding light shot out into the sky. The same happened when it hit his head. Vegis’s physical form was scattered ash and dust but his spirit was still chained in the air and burning. One can see both his outsides and insides at once. The chains were attached to his bones and formed cuffs at his limbs.
The light came from 2 pieces that were sticking out of his sternum and just above his glabella. Large white fragments of the cocoon. She stood in front of Vegis and grabbed the 2 fragments. She pulled on them and all Vegis could feel was burning throughout his body as light flooded his spectral form. What she pulled out were portions of the 2 fragments which then turned into a portions of a sword and shield. Vegis was transforming, the remaining fragments and light left his body and started to form a cocoon too. As soon as it covered his eyes, Vegis woke up in his bed, covered in blood and sweat. The wounds on his forehead and chest started to bleed and the blood contained a light.
