Ascension Of The Failed Mage

45 The Rebound Effect [Pt 1]

Noir used the last of his usable Mana to transport himself outside the Underground structure he had been in.

He heaved heavily, sweat dripping from his pale forehead, and his body shaking from the cold breeze brought about by the night.

The streets were deserted, just as he had expected. That didn't stop his unease though.

He walked slowly, his tired eyes were forced to remain open, since he was still not on safe grounds. He looked around, the streets were truly empty, no sound, no noise... no smell?

No! Something was wrong.

"Illusion?" Noir asked himself, suddenly flustered.

"Not quite." A voice answered him.

It was strange, and the sound came from around the vicinity, not merely a single location.

"Who's there?" Noir raised his voice in inquisition, glancing about.

"Who? Oh, come on, don't tell me you forgot all about me already." It answered, a cackle of laughter leaking out.

"You're... from before..." Noir answered with a surprised expression.

More confusion spread all over his face. Hadn't he just escaped the Arena? So why?

"... How?"

There was a short pause after Noir's statement—or rather, question.

Suddenly, echoes began ringing from across the streets, the alleys, the grounds, everywhere. Thick fog began to envelop the vicinity. A pungent odor was beginning to manifest itself.

Noir only had two hands, but both his ears, his mouth, and nose needed to be protected.

The ringing irritated his entire nerves, and the fog was so cold, affecting his bones, causing him to weaken.

The smell was the worst. It was like inhaling burning poison. His lungs were on fire, and his entire windpipe seemed damaged.

He wheezed in pain, trying to maintain his stance, but failing to do so. He fell on his knees, and then fell flat on the ground, still struggling to live.

"HeheheheheheHahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The voice yelled in laughter as Noir struggled in the deadly mist, twisting and turning.

After powerlessly resisting, he finally stopped moving. He simply lay on the ground, his back to the floor, and his head facing the sky.

His hands twitched a bit, then slowly moved to cover his eyes. His arm covered both eyes, his palm dangling at the other side of his head carefreely.

Suddenly, after a small pause...

... The seemingly hopeless creature began laughing.

"Wha—?!" The Voice responded in surprise.

"So that's how it is. It isn't a hallucination, neither is it an illusion. It also isn't real... at least, in actual concept..." Noir's voice was low and cool—unexpected, considering his predicament.

"What did you just say?" The Voice asked impatiently.

"I'm in a dream aren't I?"

"Y-You... how did you know?" The response contained surprise.

"Hmmn, who knows? Maybe I've always known. Subconsciously that is. But, it would be a pain to explain all that now, especially to drivel like you." Noir answered in a sigh.

He seemed tired, for some reason. Not because of exhaustion, though. No... it looked to be something else entirely.

"D-drivel...?!"

"Now then, it seems I've found myself in a bit of a bind. The conditions have been met." Noir calmly murmured, ignoring his host's words.

"Conditions? What are you up to now?"

Once again, the voice was ignored.

Suddenly, several Status Windows popped up in front of Noir. They had to be invisible to anyone else, but their mere manifestations created distortions around him.

[FINAL CODE: REBOUND ACTIVATED] [SEALS 1 & 2 REMOVED]

[TEMPORARY STATE OF RECOLLECTION ACHIEVED]

[PARTIAL RESTORATION OF LOST PROWESS]

[LIMIT WEAKENED]

Immediately these Status Notifications appeared one after another, there was an immense rush of power.

>SHWUUUUUUUUSSSHHHHH<

Suddenly, the fog and everything else around Noir cleared up. Even the buildings, structures, everything.

Noir stood up, looked around him, and smiled. There was nothing to be seen for miles but an empty space.

"For you to have recreated a Dream realm, and done it so poorly... Seems I overestimated you."

"You can talk big all you want, but you're still trapped in there. Your real body is here with me, so I can dissect it as I please." The voice shouted.

Even with this surprise, the malefactor—whoever he was—still appeared to be on the dominant side.

"Just what I wanted to hear. Now that I know that, I guess you haven't forgotten what I told you through that eyeball." Noir said with a smile.

Right before he left the underground Arena, he had looked straight into the eye of the devastated Doll. Certain words had been uttered too...

"See you soon."

Right in the shadows, the mysterious man was shaken by the news. His widened eyes expressed shock as he remembered Noir's exact words.

"Don't tell me... he meant... THIS SOON?"

Noir smiled, and then for the first time since his reawakening, he opened his eyes.

They were bright blue, as blue as the oceans, as blue as the skies, as blue as the farthest star in the cosmos.

The deep sapphire which was engraved within his eyes was without proper description.

He opened his mouth, letting out soft air from his lungs.

"[Bloodline Magic: Null]..."

"You can try that all you want, it won't work. I've already discovered the weaknesses of your nullification ability. It won't work on this—" The man in the shadows rambled in confidence.

Sure, he didn't understand everything about Noir, but he was confident he had caught the mysterious knight in black.

Unfortunately for mastermind, though, he was wrong about one thing.

Noir wasn't done yet.

"... [Stage 2: Break]"

>VWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOSHHHH<

Immediately, the entire dream shattered, like glass, and everything faded into non-existence.

[The Real World]

The man in the shadows was very flustered.

He had been very confident in his plan, he even prepared for every contingency. Yet... what the hell just happened?!

One second, the subject was in his dream, and the next, the entire thing broke... What was happening?

"You seem confused..." Noir's voice came from behind him.

In an instant, the man jumped, taking a defensive position in the darkness.