The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chapter 21: A Free Game

This illusion was too real.

That was the first thought that came to my mind as my eyes swept to each of the corners of the room. There was blood spilling on the clean floor of the room. At a glance, it was not as obvious since the floor has a red carpet laid on the surface of it. The colors of the carpet and the blood was mixed nicely. But as it continue to spill from the person that was lying on the carpet, blood has started to stain the parquetry of the floor.

I felt dizzy.

I felt as though someone has banged me on the head and when I touched it to straighten my hair, there was a noticeable bump on it. I frowned, but did not make any fuss about it because there was a certain coldness that engulfed my whole being.

It was this fear.

The instinctive mindset of a human that struggles to survive rather than succumb to such tragedy.

"I thought this is just an i-illusion!" the girl on the uniform whimpered, her words were a bit muffled, some were indiscernible though the expression on her face and the tremble on each of his syllables were enough to convey what she might mean by her statement.

After standing frozen for a while, there was an impulse that rammed straight to me. We have to help her. If there was a percent, even just a percent, that we might be able to revive her, then we all should do something.

And so, I get to work.

I knelt beside the victim, who was still swimming in her own blood, and felt for a pulse. I touched her wrist, seeking the familiar pounding. Though I cannot feel any of the beating thump of her heart, I brought my face to her nose, feeling if she was still breathing, but she was not.

I frowned again, staring at the wild-eyed victim still lying on the carpeted part of the floor— motionless and still. I slowly tried to put my hands on her bleeding wounds to put pressure, but Caspian's hand was already on my arm. As though Caspian has already sobered up, there was a look of seriousness on his expression that I have not seen since we were both sucked inside this temporal illusory.

He was kneeling beside me and shaking his head. I was still holding the victim's wrist on my hand, and I noticed how it was extremely cold, very similar to Deo's. But Deo's has been humming with life every single time I was able to make contact with their flesh. I looked down at the girl whose lips have turned into an ash blue hue.

"She's dead, Seraphim," he told me quietly and his eyes directed from me to the body.

Of course I knew that fact. My mind, despite seeing facts and the blood, had been quite stubborn to accept what Caspian had just said.

"We have to make sure that this one was not an illusion itself," I told him and glared at his hand that was holding my arm still. "Let me go."

"Even if it isn't," Caspian answered with all the air and gravity of seriousness. There was a deep frown on his handsome face, his eyes were also glaring with golden light, and his grip on my arm was firm and unmovable. "We can't be sure what else lies on her. Besides," Caspian's voice faded slightly, his hazel brown eyes were looking around the whole room, "what if it's a murder? Or if there's something else hidden by the owner of the TIF to lure us."

My brows furrowed with what he said, my expression turning into a grim one.

Why would he think that way? All the people inside the manor just barely knew each other. But then, I hesitated, my eyes looking back at the corpse of the girl that was wearing the academy's p.e uniform. This was something that cannot be done by just one's self.

It was quite a grotesque scene.

The neck of the girl was twisted in a way that it was now a hundred and eighty degree on its side. It was painful to even just stare at. Besides the placement of its head, there was a deep gash on the throat, and she was bleeding on the abdomen. Her eyes have been closed, and, if one would disregard how twisted and bloody her whole body was, one might mistake her as just a sleeping person.

It had been a murder, there was no doubt on that statement, but who was it?

Who would do this?

I did not even bother to know what her name was, I thought suddenly. There was sadness for her death. I may not have known her for that long, but a death was already sad in itself. Most of all, there was guilt. Where exactly was I when she was dying? What could I have done to prevent this, but did not do?

Besides that, Caspian had a point on what he stated aa suprising as that may have sounded. What if there was something else on her, a set up of sorts by the owner of this temporal illusory figment? It was better to be careful.

I pursed my lips and quickly rearranged my thoughts, what good would it be to just mourn her? Already my whole arm has became a visage of it once was, a translucent, almost useless extension of my body. It was paper light and however I try to move it, it would be limp.

I looked over at Caspian and saw that both of his ears were already fading.

And so, the thought of the girl's corpse did not lingered on my mind for long. We have to get out of this temporal illusory fragment before we truly vanish ourselves.

Either we die from murder or be absorbed by the magical force of the temporal illusory fragment.

I stood up from where I was kneeling after I gently laid her cold hand beside her. Another thing worried me, even if we did find a way out of this imaginary world, what if whoever killed this girl would do this kind of stunt again?

What if we were killed first before we get out of this?

I could hear Caspian, the other two remaining students, and Sir Apolloyon talking on the background. I pursed my lips, refusing to partake on their foolish babbling and started thinking what we actually have to do. We have to ask each one of us our alibi, and, if need be, we also have to explore the other parts of the manor if there were any more people inside we were not aware of. At the same time we also have to be wary about the key of getting out of this illusory fragment.

If we fail either way, then we might as well give our lives to either this hateful figment of imagination, fading until we were nothing but supplements to make this temporal illusory fragment be powerful and more vibrant, or to that murderer that was amidst in our crowd.

"Can we really go back?" the girl asked us, there was an imploring glint on her eyes, daring anyone of us to tell a negative response to her question.

"Of course!" Caspian answered jovially. "We will go back, yeah? Just be calm and tell us how you guys find her..." Caspian's voice faded away and there was also a look of guilt that I was certain also flashed on my face earlier when I tried to plan to revive the girl. "What was her name again?"

"W-we don't really know, Caspian," the boy told us in a trembling voice that he pretended he does not have. He shouldered on, putting on a mask of bravery, which would have been effective if his hands were not just trembling too much from fright.

I could see that his hands were also turned translucent.

"I... uh, it's the first time that we actually saw her," the boy added with anxiety, "Hannah and I were just going to fetch our artworks for the class from the storage room. When we opened the door, we were already here."

"And then Sir Apollyon arrived," the girl whose name was actually Hannah continued for her classmate, "and then... that... that..." Hannah tightly closed her eyes, even her hands aided her to cover them as though shrouding her eyes would make the corpse of the girl disappear. "Maybe... maybe I'm just dreaming! None of these could've been true!"

Even the boy averted the corpse's sight, but a word that had been uttered has already entered my mind.

Did that girl, Hannah, just told us they came from the storage room? As far as I remember, Caspian and I entered a gallery room. Could that be considered as a storage room?

"What floor were you when you entered the storage room?" I asked them both.

"Can't we take this conversation elsewhere?" Sir Apollyon suggested amicably. "Perhaps to another room?"he suggested further. "Hannah and Roi are upset with the body. Let me just perform a small burial rights on her."

Sir Apollyon then walked over to where the corpse was lying, as he walked he even snatched tablecloth and then Sir Apollyon knelt beside the corpse. He covered it with the tablecloth he just snatched from one of the tables. He placed his right hand on his forehead as though he was distress and murmured some words under his breath.

"As I stand beside

Of what had been

And what was once

A sanctuary of life.

The night would pass

And a dawn would come.

A farewell to thee

Not cries of weeping

Would thee leave behind

But the memory thou hath known."

As though on cue, both Caspian and Sir Apollyon bow their heads on the corpse simultaneously, their palm was placed squarely on their forehead and their eyes closed. I did not know what they were both doing so I remained quiet. The other people beside me also took the initiative to pay a small prayer for the corpse.

After we were done paying our respects to the dead, we filed out of the room and onto the room we first met then the interrogations begun.

I stood at the very back of the room, my hands touching the books on the shelves. I may not like to read as I originally thought, but, as of the moment, I may not have any real choice else I might just die out of boredom. I opened it and staring at the content of the book, I belched internally and put it back to get another on. Just a couple a mystery books from the looks of it.

I was not going to read them anyways since on my second paragraph, the words have started flying.

Meanwhile Caspian sat on the arm of one of the furniture. Hannah and Rio, or I think it was Roi, both sat on the setee quietly. Lastly, Sir Apollyon was in front of the center table, seriously regarding us with his eyes.

"Okay, students," Sir Apollyon took the initiative, aware that there were still problems to be dealt with and what implications it would create to actually deal with the murder.

We were all of his students and even if he was not our teacher, the responsibility to take the lead has also befallen to him since he was the only one inside this manor who was of age.

"I hope you all don't mind the things that I'm about to ask you," he said rather gently, there was a discomfort and self-consciousness on his tone, "but as you all saw, it isn't a simple death that happened back there. Someone killed that girl and we need to make sure that it isn't one of us."

To think that one of us killed the girl was horrifying, but if it was not one of us then it would only mean one thing— someone was here with us.

We all gave Sir Apollyon our alibi. Hannah, the girl who was wearing the same style of uniform as I did, was with the boy whose name was Roi. They were both exploring the first floor when they walked towards the same hallway where we all first gathered and saw that the only door the end of the hall was askew. When they got closer, they realized what had happened and it was already too late.

Caspian never left the drawing room or the parlour or what ever the room we first gathered was called, either way, he never left and sat still on the same room. When it was my turn, I gave them a brief account of what had happened in my side.

I was only exploring the second floor of the manor when I heard the scream. It was piercing and alarming so I decided to inspect the cause of the scream. And that was when we circled back together, suspicions and tension were both hanging heavily on the air.

"What about you, Sir?" I asked Sir Apollyon, my eyes were squinting slightly. The acid on my tone was not enough to smother him, but there was enough of an implication that I was suspicious. "What were you doing?"

"Well, I'm also exploring the house, but I was on the eastern side of the manor," Sir Apollyon said, "I was inspecting if there is a visible way for us to get out of this illusion. But I saw no doors and the windows are locked tight. I tried to punch through one, but they're quite the sturdy ones."

I nodded, and then repeated the question I have asked to them earlier, but never got any answers.

"Where were you in the academy when you entered this temporal illusory?" I asked all of them curiously.

It was a brief moment, but I saw Sir Apollyon's eyes flicked towards the other students who confidently and hastily answered my question. I could not be sure what was that about, but if I dare name it, I would say that it was hesitation.

"At the storage room, fourth floor of the western building of the classroom wing," the girl answered.

"Beside Miss Reymond's office's storage room," the boy responded almost as soon as the girl spoke.

Both of them have a different way of wording the location, but both was true to the other. I looked at Sir Apollyon, expecting him to answer.

"The art gallery near the administration office," he answered.

My hunch was right then.

Caspian and I entered the temporal illusory fragment to escaped from Headmistress Amitiel's sight and we were on the second floor of the eastern classroom wing. There were different entrances to this one temporal illusory fragment. While Caspian told them where we were when we entered the illusion, I kept on thinking about this all. Was it all just a coincidence?

"Why was there even a temporal illusory fragment inside this partciular academy?" I muttered out loud, just like the question I have earlier when I first entered in this illusion.

Sir Apollyon, thinking it was not a rhetorical question, actually answered me.

"You don't know, Miss Griyego?" he asked me incredulously.

I shook my head.

"Know about what exactly, Sir Apollyon?" I asked him, but it was Caspian who intervened at the middle in a panicked tone when Sir Apollyon has started to speak.

"The academy has always been a good—" Sir Apollyon was cut off abruptly

Caspian eyes were bulging as he gestured at us both to stop. My eyes coldy swept on his image, and my brows automatically raised.

"Wait!" he said and held out his hands in front of himself. "S-sir Apollyon!" he stuttered, there was a gleam of desperation on his eyes that was discernible though he was not looking at me.

It was as though he was dubious that Sir Apollyon would tell me something so casually as that. My eyes that was sizing Caspian from up to down, squinted with suspicion.

"Go on, Sir Apollyon," I urged at the teacher who looked quizzically at his student, "you were saying? I beg you to continue, else would it not be rude not to let you do so?"

Caspian, however, was staring back at him with that same expression on his eyes that was definitely telling him something. When he heard me saying that, he visibly flinched; the hair on his arms were standing upright. My words may have addressed the older person, but my eyes was kept by him, daring him to go against me.

I want to squash Caspian flat right there and then.

"Sir Apollyon, she doesn't know!" Caspian exploded, his face almost bursting with a contained emotion that was, based on what I was currently seeing, not contained well at all.

I pursed my lips.

So manners be damned then, Caspian? I chuckled under my breath, my lashes falling to touch the barest skin under my eyes. In reality, I was looking down at Caspian, who was a good few inches shorter than I was and who has the audacity to act this way right in front of me. With that, I saw Caspian flinched again and clasped his shaking hands together in front of him. He also finally sat down properly. Hannah and Roi initiated a talk with Caspian which, I guess, took Caspian's mind off the matters.

I pursed my lips and quietly started to walk out of the room. Sir Apollyon noticed my intent and followed me out. I knelt in front of the door knob, inspecting the way it was bent violently.

It was broken.

I squinted, thinking hard and remarking every scratch on it. It was not broken, but it was destroyed. I placed my face closer to it, frowning on the golden door knob that was slightly reflecting my face. I felt a presence hovered just behind me. I glared at the presence, but that glare, in all actuality, was directed at the door knob I was examining.

"Are you proving I'm the murderer, Miss Griyego?" Sir Apollyon asked me, though his voice was actually serious, there was still that hint of casualness as though he thought me as a silly little kitten. "If I kill you now, of course that would be a bit problematic."

"Then what did Caspian yelled about?" I demanded then thought that I forgot something so I added, "sir."

Sir Apollyon chuckled lightly, but I continued on just looking at the harshly destroyed door knob that was at my face's level now that I was kneeling.

"What was it that I did not know?" I asked again, rather rhetorically.

With the way Sir Apollyon remained silent, it was clearky stated that he knew I need not any answers for my question.

"Someone made it looked like it was destroyed," I concluded and stood up. Sir Apollyon stepped back a few feet away from me. Maybe it was to give me space though the hallway was rather large. "Most probably, the murderer must have the key to open it, otherwise the victim would be surprised. Furthermore—"

Sir Apollyon has already cut me, immediately catching up to what I wanted to convey.

"She knew them," he finished, "because if she didn't then it would be so easy to shout for help. Then the murderer..." Sir Apollyon paused for a second, he looked as though he was strucked by lightning. "The murderer was amongst us."

I nodded with grim.

I thought that it would be as easy as finding the culprit, but what truly shook my mind was that a mere thirty minutes later, we already found out who was the murderer of the unknown girl.

My eyes widened as I looked at the blood pouring down me and to that girl who poured at me a bucket of water that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. The blackness of my skirt hid a truth and the throb on my head has finally became extremely clear.