Just as Blaine entered again, the invisible white light above his head flickered. If Gali had been present, she would have been shocked by what she saw.
Blaine's head was tightly wrapped in the milky-white glow emitted by the soul pendant. The dense light had nearly condensed into something solid, obscuring his face entirely. Not even his expression was visible from the outside. And all of this happened without Blaine's awareness.
The network reconnected—like a TV regaining its signal. Simultaneously, Blaine returned to the battleship's control room.
But this time, the scene was far more dramatic. A human face had appeared on the otherwise ordinary fish-scale wall. Yes—a face, pushed outward from the inside, like pieces of Lego rising into shape.
Blaine tried hard to see what it looked like. A tall nose, large eyes, a normal face shape. For some reason, Blaine felt it resembled his own. But whenever he tried to concentrate and remember its features, he couldn't. It was just like the trick he once used on Tony and Natasha—letting them see his face, but the moment their gaze shifted even slightly, everything blurred in their perception. No matter how Blaine tried, he couldn't recall this face.
Suddenly, a voice pierced into his mind. The face spoke.
"You came."
"You—you—you know me…"
Nothing could be more terrifying than being in an unfamiliar place and having a wall suddenly greet you in a familiar tone.
"You came too early. Now is not the time…"
"…?"
Just as Blaine was about to ask something, a flash of light exploded inside his mind.
In the villa, Blaine jolted awake and sat straight up. His eyes snapped open like copper bells.
For a moment, he felt like his head was about to blow apart. Pain wasn't even the right word. It felt like having a toothpick jammed under a toenail and kicking it against a wall—but multiplied across every nerve and every cell in his body.
Only that overwhelming agony proved to Blaine that none of this was a dream. Everything he saw was a memory forcibly erased from the depths of his mind. He realized that if he tried to awaken it this way again, he might never succeed.
The soul pendant on his chest flickered once, then went dark. It was over.
In the bathtub, Blaine filled it with cold water, trying to suppress the indescribable pain.
"Who was that man? What did he mean? What does 'too early' mean?"
Dizzy as he was, Blaine still tried desperately to recall the voice and the face. The face was impossible—completely without clues. As for the voice, whatever processed it made it just as hard to remember.
For several days, Blaine was trapped in those thoughts. The more he tried to remember, the more everything faded, until he couldn't even recall a blur of it. Only those few words lingered in his ears.
It was unlikely Blaine would return to that place anytime soon. Since someone didn't want him to know certain things, he wouldn't force it. Not now. But when he became stronger, he would follow the thread back and uncover the truth.
Blaine felt as though he had rested half a month. After that incident, he focused entirely on strengthening himself.
The trees and flowerbeds in the backyard of the villa had witnessed magic circle after magic circle over these days. Taking advantage of the time off, Blaine barely went out—only to buy food. He hadn't visited the golf course or done anything recreational. Even Blaine, who loved roasted horse meat, hadn't gone for it.
Recently, the backyard had become Blaine's most frequent destination. Not only did he add new runic arrows to his magic arrays, he also carved circles into his Trident. With so much free time, he even engraved magic circles onto stones and all sorts of odd little things.
It had been a sudden idea—but it felt like saving money. A powerful magic circle was basically the equivalent of a TNT burst, and TNT cost a hundred million. With so many circles carved, Blaine figured he'd saved countless billions.
Just imagine—two people fighting, and suddenly a tiny stone is tossed over. The enemy would never expect it. The stone itself didn't matter; the magic circle was the true killer. Blaine wondered if the ensuing explosion would give them a big surprise. But since the stones were fragile, maybe two out of ten could withstand the energy.
Aside from stockpiling magic circles, Blaine also practiced every newly copied spell. Maybe not to perfection, but enough to use them smoothly. And strangely, after that mysterious incident, he found his mental strength had significantly improved.
He didn't know how mental strength increased, so he had relied on skills and equipment. But this time, he had grown by accident—and by a lot.
"The weather's warm today. I wonder how things are at the school."
After so many days of recovery, Blaine had nearly climbed out of the shadows and become fearless again.
Today, he planned to visit the school. He still had the status of a student, after all. Skipping class for months wasn't exactly normal.
Besides, schools were full of young energy—something that could help reinvigorate him. Though Blaine tended to forget he was also young. Having lived two lives, his mindset was far more mature than his peers.
"Hello, viewers."
"You're now watching coverage of another explosion in Queens."
"The location is the same as the previous blast."
"It's said the original building was funded and built by Stark Industries."
"The former homeowner has been identified as a student of Midtown High School…"
"So, who exactly is repeatedly attacking a high school student…?"
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