As I lay on the bed, completely burnt out from everything that had happened—the fights, the training, the insanity of it all—my body ached for rest. But even as exhaustion weighed down my limbs, my mind refused to quiet down. Every moment from the past few days played on a loop in my head like a relentless film reel.
I thought back to Kail, to Cherry, to DJ... all of them stronger than me in ways I hadn't even imagined. Despite everything I had learned and gained, there was still this gnawing feeling of inadequacy in my gut. What was the point of all this? What was the point of fighting, of growing stronger, if I didn't have something bigger to aim for?
I realized, in that moment, that I needed a goal—something ultimate to strive for. If I was going to put my life on the line, it needed to mean something. And then it came to me: I wanted to be able to stand toe-to-toe with one of the strongest magicians alive. A crazy goal, maybe. But it felt right. It was noble, and more than that, it gave me a reason to keep pushing forward. With that thought burning in my chest, I finally drifted off to sleep.But when I opened my eyes again, I wasn't in the apartment.
I was standing in a white void—no walls, no floor, just endless nothing. I tried to move, but I felt disoriented, like I was floating in mid-air, standing on nothing. Panic bubbled up in my chest as I turned around, trying to make sense of it. My heart raced.
And then I saw him. DJ, standing across from me, looking just as confused as I was."What the hell is going on?" I asked, taking a step toward him, though I wasn't sure if I was even moving.
DJ blinked, his expression mirroring my confusion. "I was about to ask you the same thing."For a moment, we just stared at each other, both of us trying to grasp what was happening. Then it hit me—this wasn't a dream, and this wasn't some illusion. This was the real DJ, not some figment of my mind.
It was a strange feeling, seeing him like this, without the tension of a fight or the looming threat of YUGEN hanging over us. He looked more human here, less like the guy I had fought before. Less like a threat.
"So... you're really here," I said, breaking the silence. "This isn't some weird projection or something?"
DJ nodded. "Seems like it. And this... this isn't normal."
I swallowed, my throat dry. "DJ, there's something I need to talk to you about. That thing inside you—the parasite. It's destroying your magic, turning you into something... something you're not. I'm worried for you, man. I don't think you realize what's happening."
DJ's eyes narrowed, and he let out a bitter laugh. "Worried? You sound just like everyone else in my life. Always telling me what's best for me, always trying to steer me away from what I want. I don't need your sympathy, JLC."
I felt my frustration rising. "This isn't about sympathy, DJ! This is about you losing yourself. That thing inside you, it's taking away your humanity! Do you really want to be some emotionless monster, serving whatever higher-up is pulling your strings?"
There was a pause, a long silence that stretched between us. DJ's face softened, and for the first time, I saw something real in his eyes—something more than just the mask of indifference he usually wore.
