{Eizkel's POV}
'W-Where am I?'
Darkness surrounded me. I looked around, but it was all I could see—and when I tried blinking, I couldn't.
Worry crept in as I tried moving other parts of my body, but nothing worked.
[It's best you calm down.]
The first source of light greeted me—a familiar voice, and an even more familiar form. The form looked exactly like Eizkel but with
You really love my old appearance.
[You gave me your old name and now get mad at me for this?]
Not mad one bit. If anything, you look handsome.
[Anyway. You're currently unconscious. I pulled you into my space.]
'Is this darkness something you see all the time? Wait, never mind—I know the answer to that.'
[Great, because I almost called you a stupid mortal.]
'I'll take the insult this time.'
Everything was starting to come back to me. That Alice woman had merely introduced herself, and my body reacted. The pain and suffering were vivid now, flooding back with brutal clarity. I really wished I could figure out what happened between Eizkel and her. This was starting to aggravate me beyond controllable levels.
[Unfortunately, that isn't possible. But the best part is—this won't happen again.]
'I doubt that.'
[That's up to you not to believe me. I'm just telling you after inspecting the body.] Ezryn shrugged which felt bizarre seeing "me" shrug at me. It was like watching a clone replicate my movements, but Ezryn was everything but a mere clone.
'And why won't this happen again?'
[Because of Katelyn. Your current feelings for her exceed the lingering feelings for that Alice woman.]
Really? It's clear how deeply he loved her.
[Don't you listen? I said "lingering."]
If I could've nodded, I would have. Hearing Ezryn's explanation, it was all starting to make sense—but that begged the question: why had I even reacted like that if the feelings were truly "lingering"? If they were small, insignificant, then this shouldn't have happened.
[Yeah. They rebounded way harder than they should have.]
I thought more about it. If even Ezryn agreed, then that meant this reaction wasn't supposed to happen.
[Tch. If only I had my omniscience, I wouldn't be a headless chicken. Damn mortal.]
'Haha~ Shut it, bastard.'
He looked at me—though I wasn't sure what he was actually looking at. I tried shifting my "sight" around, but all I saw was darkness and him. My form was nowhere to be found, and while that was unsettling, Ezryn being here was enough to keep me from losing my sanity.
"Hm?" A sudden tug—a sudden force—started pulling me. Anxiety was creeping in; this force was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It felt like I could be swept away into the wind if it so desired.
[Calm down, Mortal.] Ezryn paused, shifting to lie down as he gazed into the darkness. [Your mind's energy field is pulling you back into your physical form.]
'S-Simple terms?' My mind didn't really understand what the hell was explained.
[Aka, you're about to wake up.]
With that, I left the Darkness behind.
.
.
.
The first thing to greet me was bright lights. Annoyingly bright fucking lights.
"First it was this morning, and now it's just whenever I wake up." My eyes fluttered rapidly, trying to adjust to the blinding glow. The air was freezing, and the blanket covering me did a shit job of keeping me warm. Strangely, my right side was doing better than my left, but I didn't think much of it.
One thing I was starting to notice after waking up—I'm a lot more on edge.
[It's the aftereffects of your spiritual form being separated from your physical body without the regulation of your mind's energy field.]
'Motherfucker, didn't I just tell you two seconds ago to use simpler terms?'
[Pfft~ "Two seconds," he says.]
This bastard does it again. I was about to call him out, but—
"Eiz! Thank goodness you're awake!" Kate's voice cut through any plans I had. I looked to my right, and the warmth I felt finally made sense. Her hands were wrapped around mine. She looked rough. Her stress levels must've been through the roof.
Pulling myself up as best I could, I muttered, "Kate, didn't you have that party to attend?"
I didn't want her getting in trouble because of me. If she did, I'd feel awful knowing I was the reason.
"A-Are you serious? I couldn't give a damn about that party!" She squeezed my hand harder before continuing. "Besides, it's already Saturday, stupid."
"Say that again?" I asked, voice sharp—too loud for the quiet buzz of hospital machinery.
"It's Saturday," Kate said, slower this time. Her words hung in the air, thick and heavy, like the antiseptic stench clinging to the room.
"O-Oh shit." The ceiling spun just a little as the weight of that sunk in. My fingers curled tighter into the rough sheets, trying to ground myself.
"Don't worry," she added, her grip tightening around my hand. There was a flicker in her voice, something forced like she was trying to sound calm but barely holding it together. "School was taken care of."
"I don't care about that—our date is today, and we're in a hospital!" The words came out before I could stop them, like some desperate attempt to grab at normalcy.
Kate stared at me, lips slightly parted, brows twitching between disbelief and something softer. Her shoulders sagged, as if the weight of everything finally eased up just a little.
A pause. Then her breath hitched—
"Bhehehe~" The laugh came out light. "I'm happy that's the first thing you think of when you wake up."
Her body relaxed visibly, the tension and stress leaving her shoulders. This was the Kate I preferred most especially her little go-to word.
"Idiot," she said, staring at me with warm eyes.
"Of course it would be! I was really looking forward to today..." I slumped back onto the bed with a regretful sigh. There was nothing I could do but reschedule and seriously, I needed to get a damn haircut.
'God, I'm so pissed!' I really couldn't stand being stuck here any longer.
[It'll wear off soon and I'm no bastard.]
"We can have a date at your place tonight if the doctor lets you go."
"Oh? Finally opened up to staying over, I s—OW!" She pinched my hand, her fingernails like blades.
"S-Shut it, idiot!"
With that, Kate walked off, and I was left alone.
"Hah~"
'I really am fortunate to have her and to think it's only been a few days...' A smile tugged at my lips, and for the first time since waking up, comfort replaced all my discomfort. The world felt much brighter, and my aggravation didn't cloud my vision.