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Chapter 6: Reflection

When I felt something chilly and pleasant protruding from my back, I jolted up. After a few blinks of my eyelids, I was able to see my brother standing at the corner facing against my view. I looked up and saw the ceiling of my room, so it was a bit suspicious to conclude that I was back in our home.

“I-I… at home?”

“Big sister…” Yvar rose up and approached the bed from the nearby counter, muttering something into the air as he brought a pill bottle and a glass of water. "Praise the Lord, you've woken up! You've been in bed for over three days!" Yvar nearly dropped everything after slipping against his feet.

T-Three days?!

I was about to speak to him but suddenly just as I was about to open my mouth, it felt like my jaw was cemented. My fingertips were a bit shaky and my spine felt like it had been recently overcome by being submerged into the ice.

Suddenly, a flash of my memory from the WDC Building came into my mind. That old janitor appeared in my thoughts. Blinking my eyes thrice in a row, I glanced at him, asking, “H-How’s the old m-man?”

“He’s fine…”

After that, Yvar proceeded as he assisted me in getting up from my pillows. “Big sister… You need to focus on yourself more than anybody else at the moment.” Yvar commented, eyebrows curved in despair, "I cried in a river when the WDC staff brought you here after administering medications."

“You are making me frightened by that stare…”

“Huh?!”

After gazing into space for what seemed like an eternity, I finally looked up at my brother with a quizzical expression on my face and a raised eyebrow. After getting out of the pool, all I could think was that I was in another dimension and that I was in a highly sophisticated place that was extremely remote from where I normally lived.

I made sure I was still at our house by glancing away from the windows. My brother wondered as to my whereabouts, and I enthusiastically detailed all I had seen to his attentive face. I didn't ask him what he thought till I ended almost storytelling him for an hour.

“Hahaha!”

My sibling let out a belly chuckle.

What’s funny about it, huh?

In front of his writhing, laughing face, I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. Almost immediately, he flipped over onto his back. “Maybe you're having hallucinations in your sleep because of the medication!” He joked.

“A what? A nut home also constructed with bamboo and no other kind of wood? This kind of home is today quite rare.”

“Then they dress up like their historical counterparts from novels and films?”

“Unbelievable!”

“Hmp—” I made a motion, getting ready to hit him on the shoulder, but then I heard a cracking noise coming from my side, indicating that I had been injured.

Wait… I have injuries?!

My brother shook his head and teased me through laughter.. He released his grip on his stomach and got to his feet, although he still had to suppress a guffaw. “Anyway, I’ll go prepare my stuff and get you some food to eat until dinner. I might arrive later than 6 PM—”

My mood suddenly switched.

“You have a class today?”

Yvar nodded while preparing for school.

Then, I remembered… I also have a class now!

When I checked the date on my phone's calendar, I was disappointed to see that I had already missed practically three days. It's possible I might lose my scholarship if I fail to keep up with the required coursework during this time. My brother could have told my professors about my condition, but I wasn't sure—

“I already finished your assignments, and I will assume that you have answered those questions.”

I lobbed a cushion in his direction. He gently stroked the back of his head as I struck him in that area by mistake forty percent. "Why did you do that?"

“Don’t worry about it, big sister,” he chortled. “Your professors won’t notice it anyway,” he assured while lifting up his chin.

“How sure are you with that?”

He finished arranging his stuff first and the uniform, and walked out of the room before answering me in a haughty tone.

“Because we have the same brain!”

Despite my best efforts to persuade Yvar that I am well, he would not let me attend my afternoon lesson. Unlike the past injuries, which I suppressed tears over, I now feel nothing at all from my body. To keep him at bay till he went, I feigned to be asleep. Since Celeste was now taking swimming lessons with her instructor Nera, he decided to bring her along.

I sprang out of bed as soon as they departed. I was in the bathroom washing up when I saw the ring on my finger. I had almost forgotten about that goddam ring, and after a time I almost leaped out of my spot as the thought occurred to me.

With a gasp, I clutched it to my chest.

“I thought Sylvester had stolen you from me!” I exclaimed.

This sudden realization that I am still in the present world with my ring despite the strange and inexplicable encounters I had at the WDC Building caused me to question whether or not I had visited that commercial space in reality. If I recall correctly, the CEO and I were nearly placed in a life-threatening situation due to this ring. In addition, he forbade me from reading that book, which, again, I found more fascinating to read.

The fact that it can be worn on my finger is another aspect of this that has left me dumbfounded. How is that even possible? Since I picked it from the werewolf I came across all those years ago, this ring has a size that is suitable for a werewolf claw.

But… What if this ring is counterfeit?

I gave the ring a cursory inspection, focusing on the gem in its center. There was only one thing I could test right now to see whether it was real or not, and that was the sound of waves crashing on the stone. I held it up to my ear, and all I could hear were water splashes, bringing back memories of the day I rescued an elderly guy by jumping from a pool.

Curiosity having led me to examine the stone, I saw a swirling waters of recollections from that encounter. My eyes were a strange tint, and I imagined myself coming to rescue the old man. This prompted me to look at the color of my eyes in the mirror; to my relief, they seemed to be the same color as my natural human eyes.

After peering at my reflection for a few minutes, I saw a woman's picture whose face was totally identical to mine, except that she had a commanding female presence. She was standing with her arms crossed, a sword in her hand; the blade's point was in her lips.

I came to my senses when the faucet started running on its own, at which point I couldn't recall if I had merely forgotten to turn it off or the faucet started running on its own. And as quickly as I had it turned off, the girl in the mirror vanished.

The ring's waters had stopped churning, and it once again resembled an ordinary rock. Really, what was that? There's no way this is a joke or hoax. I need information on this ring immediately, but it appears like I'll have much more luck if I seek the CEO for assistance instead… which would be impossible for now. I suppose I could figure things out on my own.

I must first speak with Miss Vanilla. I need to persuade her to lend me that book! Now, I have even more reason to attend my classes.

“You are alright, Amilita. Yes, you are—”

I was mind-conditioning myself by talking to myself in front of the mirror, when all of a sudden, the light on my phone flashed on from the side of the sink.

It’s Dwayne… again… I had almost forgotten about our group assignment!

I have no doubt that your scholarship means a lot to you. But I think you want to give it up right now.

I sighed.

Always, he uses my scholarship to blackmail me into doing whatever tasks he desires, even when I refuse.

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