Chapter 197 - Threading Fate

Rynold had difficulty breathing.

Hell, now that he was awake, Rynold might have been better off being unconscious. At the very least, he didn't have to go through this trouble of simply breathing in and out.

But he was now awake, albeit in a half-asleep manner. Still, Rynold now had a firmer grasp of the situation he had woken up to and what he had to do. However, it was another question altogether if he could actually do something about it.

Which, judging by the look of things, there wasn't in any place he would be able to help.

For some unfathomable reason, though, Rynold's heart held out hope. It was inexplicable for Rynold to feel something like that amidst his somewhat dazed state of mind.

Coincidentally, he felt as though something inside him had changed. Getting thrown out for a loop like that seemed to have reset his system; it was as if something holding him back was now gone. As things were, it was not only inexplicable but also somewhat confusing all the same.

Regardless, it was there. The power Rynold needed was there. All Rynold had to do now was to access it. As vague as that sounds, however, he had no idea how to do that.

With Rynold's injured body facing upwards, he struggled to move any part of his body. What use was power to him when his body was too damaged to move? All Rynold could do now was to look directly in front of him, but, even then, it was difficult.

Rynold could barely see what was in front of him. His vision was red and blurry, and he could only make out very abstract and vague-looking objects. But, for some bizarre reason, Rynold saw Neana right in front of him.

'When did she get here?' Rynold thought to himself as his brain ached as soon as he tried pushing it. He still couldn't think clearly, but Rynold had this odd feeling of warmth just by looking at the person who watched over him. Neana, who had her eyes closed, didn't even notice Rynold had woken up.

That said, Rynold tried to call out to her. But, with his current condition, Rynold could only mumble one-syllable words. And, the worst part of it was that his words weren't coherent in the slightest. The string of words Rynold let out didn't mean anything in particular. Those words alone or combined meant nothing substantial.

Worst of all, Neana didn't hear it. All she did then was close her eyes, completely still and unmoving. For whatever reason that Rynold didn't know, Neana didn't seem to care about anything anymore. She sat over him, not moving a single muscle and eyes shut.

"N...," Rynold mumbled as his sounds could only fall on deaf ears. He felt his strength waning. Rynold couldn't do anything either. Even if Neana were willing to sit idly by, Rynold wasn't.

"N..., Ne..."

Cursing himself for being weak, Rynold pushed himself to do something, anything at all. He willed himself until he could move an inch of his body. He forced himself until his words came out clear. Even if his body was screaming, his head pounding, his heart breaking, all of it in an attempt to make Rynold stop, he didn't care anymore.

The sad, defeated expression Neana carried was more than enough reason for him to push past his limits then and there.

It was then that the power within him bloomed as if reacting to Rynold's strong will. As crazy as it sounds, Rynold felt a strange, indescribable feeling. For some reason, this feeling was something Rynold could only describe oddly.

It was a feeling akin to enlightenment and divination. And, it was a painful feeling at that.

If Rynold hadn't coughed up enough blood before, he was about to do so now. Thanks to this odd sensation, Rynold felt pain shoot up from inside him, making him gush out blood more so than before.

Then, if that weren't enough, the strange feeling of that same blood entering his body eased the pain slightly. It entered his body in such an unnatural manner, at that. Regardless, the sense of relief made him calm down for a brief moment.

Unfortunately, that didn't last long as blood gushed out once more.

The cycle repeated multiple times and made Rynold feel his mind separate from his body. Pain and relief made him lose his sense of reality. His blood kept going in and out of his body as it jumped from nearly dying to barely surviving. This damned cycle didn't stop until he started seeing lines.

It was the oddest thing out of all of this. Well, not that Rynold could actually pay any attention to it. Regardless, his vision would, on occasion, fill with these lines. As Rynold jumped from pain to calm in such a repeated manner, the cycle didn't stop until all he could see were these things.

These lines were bright and pristinely white. Although these lines were complex and went off in separate directions, these lines didn't seem to interject with one another.

At the very least, Rynold was free from the cycle. No more feelings of pain and any sense of relief. It was then that he realized that he couldn't feel anything at all. Or move. Rynold was in suspended animation as he stared at the beautiful white threads in front of him.

With his mind now clear from distractions, Rynold could think clearly. But, even with that ability in hand, there was nothing he could do about it.

All of this was unfamiliar to him. The lines. The strange cycle of pain and relief. The series of events led to this point. Rynold's mind only had questions in them. There was nothing about this that made sense to him, nothing that would've given him answers.

So, what the hell does he do now?

Rynold was staring at these things for a couple of moments. He hadn't even thought about moving as his body floated off on its own. Rynold was at the whims of this place, even though he didn't know anything about it.

But then again, why would he fight back?

Nothing was stopping him here. There was nothing here that would've inflicted him any harm. If anything, this place was safe, safer than any place he's been.

However, even if this place had no dangers whatsoever, there was nothing for him here. This place had nothing but these white lines. The rest were an empty space filled with nothing but darkness.

There was arguably a part of him that wanted to stay here. In this silent yet peaceful place, Rynold wished he could deny the desire to stay here. But, as Rynold vividly remembered, there were some things he had to do outside this bare place.

That said, the first thing he had to do was to leave. With the trigger conditions for entering this place hazy, Rynold had to come up with a solution. Whatever that may be, it depended on what he could do now.

'So, that's not an option, then.'

Without prompt, Rynold did what was most natural of him. He tried to manifest his will and control his Mana, but there was no response. He then looked at his hand in a somewhat frustrated fashion, only to realize that his hand was fading in and out of existence.

His physical form, something he had so relied on, wasn't in this plane of existence. Anything from his senses to his Mana wasn't with him right now, but at the very least, he could move his abstract form. It was a lot better than nothing.

With that, Rynold reached out to the space in front of him. There was nothing there, as so visibly indicated. However, there was a sense of warmth coming from his hand that had reached out.

It was unnatural to feel something there, especially considering that he had no physical form. But, with his hand reaching out, Rynold felt warmth — a feeling that only a body with the sense of touch could feel.

'Okay.'

Rynold's mouth turned up to a smile. Or, at least, he imagined it so. With that, he drifted forward to the direction from where the warmth came. For the first time in this place, Rynold had a lead.

As he got closer to the source, Rynold eventually developed an idea as to what this was. Although there was no way to confirm it, Rynold had at least created a theory. A theory in which revolved around the source of warmth he was soon reaching.

'Huh,' Rynold slightly scoffed as he stopped before the source — a white line. It didn't answer any of his questions.

Well, not yet anyway.

Watching the white line flow endlessly in one direction, Rynold wondered why it was only this particular one giving off heat. There were thousands, if not millions, of lines around him, each one no different from the other. But why was it only this one that called out to him?

Naturally, no one could have answered his question. There was no other person here aside from Rynold. So, seeing as how he was alone, Rynold had to answer the white line's call.

'This better not screw me over,' Rynold thought as he reached out and grabbed the white line with a firm grip. And, upon contact, he got the answers that he was looking for and, coincidentally, so much more.

As soon as Rynold touched the line, it shone with an extremely bright light. Without thinking, Rynold instinctively closed his eyes and opened them not long after.

'Woah.'

Rynold's entire surroundings seemed to have changed. He was in the clearing of the battle. But, instead of being on the ground where he should be, Rynold was floating up in the air. And, if that weren't weird enough, Rynold could see himself in the middle of battle.

The other Rynold was fighting against the brain creature. As Rynold watched from a different viewpoint, he could see his moves as to how he executed them. From the punches he threw to the bullets he shot, Rynold saw it all.

And, Rynold even saw how he messed up.

He continued watching the following events in order: the bullet explosions that he fired. Then, the follow-up fight. After that, it was when he got caught and got screwed over. Following which, Neana's arrival. Next, it was her fight. Lastly, when Neana blasted a beam full of pure Mana.

Then, it stopped.

'Wow.'

Amazed at how Rynold fought, he ignored the fact that the visions had stopped at this point. It wasn't until a few moments later that he realized it had.

Lowering his head and descending, Rynold approached the creature. For some reason, the vision stopped at the exact moment when Neana's spell landed on the brain creature. And, from where Rynold was standing, the beam landed a direct hit on it.

'What do you want me to do from here, then?'

Baffled as to what he needed to do next, Rynold examined things closely. Time was frozen, after all, so there wasn't a need to rush.

Rynold looked around for a couple more minutes. Then, he moved closer to the creature without any fear and examined its condition. There wasn't anything different on the brain creature from the first time Rynold came across it. That is, until, Rynold noticed something minuscule.

'Hm? What's that?'

A small white thread was on the brain creature's neck. Rynold found it odd that such a thing was there. Regardless, something inside him urged him to pull on it like some kind of kid joke. However, seeing as he had nothing to lose, Rynold quickly gave it a shot.

In doing so, the creature's body turned to cloth and fell to the ground.

It was as if that single thread were holding it together. And, with Rynold's light pull, it came unraveling into cloth that plopped on the ground.

Then, almost directly after, a bright light where the creature's body should be suddenly flashed Rynold and rendered him blind for a split second.