C19 Headache
Egil ran in every direction, the pitch-black surroundings seemingly endless, with no end in sight. Glancing back, the Anchor Tree, still crowned with glaciers, remained in the same spot, maintaining the same distance from Egil. It was clear it had been following him all along.
Egil stopped running and stood still, waiting.
As panic set in, as fear crept up, time became a blur. Eventually, Egil couldn't take it anymore. With a loud cry, he abandoned the idea of escaping the Anchor Tree and instead charged toward it.
The tree seemed immense, deceptively close, but as he ran towards it, there was no sign of getting any nearer. It was like chasing a mirage.
But this was a dream, the realm of Egil's mind, and his thoughts had power here. His desire to reach the tree was now influencing it!
The Anchor Tree began to wriggle as if in the throes of an earthquake. Then, countless roots emerged from beneath it, writhing like a hydra's many heads.
Two roots latched onto the dark backdrop and yanked it down forcefully! The darkness dropped away like a falling curtain, revealing a myriad of illuminated squares on all sides!
Each square was a portal to different images and sounds, reminiscent of television screens. On closer inspection, each screen played a unique scene from Egil's life at various times.
The dreamscape had transformed into a television station's control room, with innumerable channels and screens simultaneously broadcasting Egil's past.
"Mom!" Egil's gaze landed on one screen, filled with longing. It was the moment his mother had seen him off to join the military.
*Crack!* The screen shattered abruptly! A root thrust violently into the farewell scene!
"No!" Egil clutched his head and howled.
Amidst the agony, a scene forced its way into Egil's memory.
It was a vast spectacle, with countless parents and children lining both sides of a grand avenue. They wept and called out, bidding farewell to the warriors riding off to battle.
Their attire was peculiar, unlike anything from historical dramas. Yet the buildings around them were strangely familiar. If the ruins around the Pure White Pyramid were restored and repainted, they would likely resemble this scene, resplendent and imbued with an exotic flair.
The scene faded, and the throbbing in his head subsided slightly. Egil lifted his gaze.
Mother... What did she look like when she saw me off?
Did she come to send me off when I enlisted?
Damn it! My memories have been tampered with! The roots of the Anchor Tree erased one of Egil's memories, replacing it with one from ancient times!
With a crack, while Egil was still reeling from the shock, another root surged up and pierced into a different direction, targeting another memory screen!
The headache intensified!
No, this can't continue! If the Anchor Tree keeps this up, it will replace all my memories!
If Egil's entire life is overwritten with ancient memories, would he still be himself?
Yet another root loomed overhead, charging towards a memory screen above Egil's head!
Swoosh! The memory screen vibrated and parted slightly, creating an opening!
The root missed its mark!
Yes! Egil was ecstatic. He could actually control it!
Swoosh! A fourth root lunged at him!
Egil tensed, his focus unwavering! The targeted memory screen evaded once more!
Swoosh! A fifth root!
Dodge!
The sixth root...
By the time Egil maneuvered the memory screen to avoid the tenth root, the Anchor Tree trembled. Then, all its roots extended!
This wasn't the head of a multi-headed serpent anymore; it was a swarm of pythons.
A legion of serpents emerged! Countless roots thrust simultaneously towards Egil's memory screens!
Egil's eyes blazed with fury. Those memory screens held the bitter struggles of his parents during his childhood, the shared moments with her desk mate in his teenage years, and the vivid smiles of his comrades-in-arms... Just as he had feared, without these memories, wouldn't he be as good as dead?
Bring it on! Egil gritted his teeth.
I'm not scared of you!
Even in death, I'll go down with clarity!
Enhanced Perception!
The roots moved at a snail's pace within Egil's heightened senses!
It worked! Egil's psionic power was effective even here, within the realm of Awareness!
As the roots of the Anchor Tree surged forth in unison, Egil unleashed his psionic power, manipulating the memory screens within the Awareness to respond with superhuman agility. Each memory screen seemed to spring to life, autonomously dodging the attacks, yet they remained part of the whole, never becoming isolated fragments outside of the Awareness.
The scene unfolding before us resembled a titanic octopus locked in a strategic battle with a school of sardines in the ocean. No matter how swiftly the tree roots moved, the school of fish depicted on the memory screen always managed to morph and evade capture!
After a tumultuous effort, the tree roots had all moved in vain, capturing nothing.
Egil's face was bloodied, his eyes sunken, a testament to the tremendous drain on his psychic force. The Anchor Tree wasn't faring much better, having shrunk considerably. It once towered like a glacier with roots deep in the ocean floor, but now it was no larger than a skyscraper. Still, should it topple, it could crush Egil beneath its weight.
Wiping the blood from his nose, Egil thought, 'Since your strength isn't infinite, I still have a chance!'
"What's the matter with you? Headache? Did the holy beast damage your brain?" Martina's voice broke through Egil's reverie.
Holding his head, Egil looked up to see Martina's genuinely concerned expression. "No... If I'd injured my brain, wouldn't I be an idiot by now?" he said, managing a strained smile.
"Hehe, you becoming a fool? Impossible."
But inwardly, Egil mused, 'Perhaps I am a fool, but not one tricked by a monster flower. It's in the presence of Martina, the Willoughby prodigy, that I feel utterly outclassed. I had planned to join forces with the Azure Dragon Garden reinforcements and engage in a slow, strategic game with the various factions.'
Suddenly, it all became clear. As reinforcements converged, rather than expanding, my space had shrunk under the formidable presence of Azure Dragon Garden, Willoughby University, Augustus Academy, and the Military Academy. Like a tiny ant, I'm at risk of being crushed by their overwhelming might!
Looking again at Martina's youthful face, Egil saw a hint of weariness in her eyes.
"I dreamed I turned into an ant last night," Egil confessed.
"And then?" Martina asked.
"I was crushed to death."
Martina burst into laughter. "You? An ant? Impossible! Hahaha..." She shook her twin ponytails, laughing without restraint.
Egil narrowed his eyes at her reaction. Could she have guessed something? Was that why she orchestrated this Four Directions Gathering—to force the secret of the Anchor Tree into the open?
"Ha, you're certainly no ant," Martina said with a chuckle. "Anyone who mistakes you for one will soon find out what it's like to step on an ant only to realize they've provoked a tyrannosaurus."
Egil felt a chill in his heart. She had come for him, after all.
Martina's tone shifted, "But, at the moment, you're not much different from an ant. You need a breakthrough! The seed from this ruin is exactly that—a chance for you!"
"A breakthrough? For me?"
"Exactly. Had we not come back empty-handed from the holy beast, I wouldn't have wanted to draw attention from all those teams! Alas! Now that they're here, the stakes are much higher for us."
