’...What?’

The surrounding scenery had completely changed. The slums were gone, the towering cylindrical factories had disappeared, and even Evangeline was nowhere to be seen.

Adrian was standing in a somewhat large room with white walls and a ceiling. There was a rectangular table in front of him with a chair on both sides. On one side of the table sat a man wearing a long white coat and square-framed glasses.

The room itself was filled with a lot of frames hung on the walls or displays. On ‌a closer look, all those frames contained certificates for a mental clinic.

But more than anything, the room’s architecture was not that of Adrian’s new world. It was from his previous world, Earth.

’It’s just like back then.’

When Adrian had first awakened his Origin ability, it was as though he had been suddenly transported to Earth. It was a completely different feeling from what he experienced every day after falling asleep. He remembered feeling as though he was really back on Earth. It was a feeling he never got while being inside that mindscape during his sleep.

...And Adrian was getting the same feeling once again.

’Why did this happen again? No, it’s all so strange.’

Things were happening too fast, moments ago. He needed time to process everything.

As his confusion cleared, he noticed that the uncontrollable irritation he had been feeling moments ago was completely gone, and his mind was now as calm as a lake.

’Come to think of it, that’s also strange.’

Adrian never remembered feeling that irritated in both his lifetimes; he didn’t think he was a person capable of feeling something that intense. He also didn’t know why that girl’s words had triggered him like that.

And disregarding everything else, wasn’t his Origin Ability supposed to suppress his intense emotions to ensure that his mental state remained unchanged?

After combining all these facts, that irritation—which was intense enough to make him nearly lose his reason—was entirely irrational.

After taking note of these points, Adrian looked around to assess his situation.

Just then, the door behind him opened, and a young man stepped inside, causing his eyes to slightly widen.

The young man had messy hair reaching almost to his eyes, and big, round glasses rested on his nose. The man’s face was entirely expressionless as his dull gaze slowly scanned the room.

It took no time for Adrian to recognize the man. After all, it was Adrian’s own past self. This young man was the twenty-five-year-old Daniel.

This scene, this place, this sequence of events—it was all present in Adrian’s memory. It had happened about nine or ten months before his abrupt reincarnation.

As the young man’s gaze settled on the man wearing the white coat, he spoke in an even tone.

"I had made an appointment with you at this time, doctor. The name’s Daniel."

The man in the white coat—the doctor—raised his head and smiled politely.

"Oh, of course, Mr. Daniel! I had been waiting for you. Please take a seat."

The young man stepped forward, causing Adrian to instinctively step aside and make way. As his past self sat across from the doctor, the doctor met his gaze and asked in a kind and polite tone.

"Mr. Daniel, I am rather curious to know why you would make an appointment with a psychiatrist like me. Hmm... seeing those dark circles under your eyes, do you have trouble sleeping? Or are you suffering from extreme stress, maybe?"

His past self calmly shook his head and replied flatly.

"I have not suffered from either of those things."

The doctor tilted his head.

"Then?"

But the reply from his past self caused the doctor’s expression to twist strangely.

"Doctor, I believe I am mentally ill."

The doctor coughed and quickly fixed his expression. Then he picked up a notebook and began to jot something down. Moments later, the doctor finished and asked in the same polite tone as before.

"Why do you believe that to be the case. It would be helpful if you explained in detail."

Adrian spoke after a brief pause.

"It seems that I am apathetic to a very extreme degree. Doctor, I don’t think I will be affected too much if you were to drop dead in front of me at this very moment. I... am not too sure when it started, but I’ve been this way for several years at the very least."

A flicker of disturbance briefly flashed in the doctor’s eyes, but his polite smile remained as he continued jotting something down while listening to Adrian’s past self.

After finishing, the doctor locked eyes with the young man.

"Mr. Daniel, you say that you have been this way for several years, yet only now did you come here for a diagnosis. There must’ve been some incident recently that made you think this way, am I right? If so, I would like to know the details of this incident."

His previous self paused and stared at the doctor. Although his face remained expressionless, the look in his eyes had changed. It was a detail that the doctor seemed to have noticed as well.

’I still vividly remember how I ‌felt at this moment back then.’

He remembered feeling as though the doctor had read his mind. Even though he had come here for a diagnosis, he didn’t expect much to come of it. But this was the moment his thoughts had changed slightly.

His previous self began speaking.

"It was past twelve in the night three days ago, and I was returning home from work. On my way, I witnessed what seemed like a fight between two local gangs. They were blocking the way, so I waited for them to finish. But the fight got more and more intense until two people were shot dead, and cops arrived at the scene."

He paused, then continued after letting out a sigh.

"The cops questioned me, and I recounted everything I had witnessed. But then they suddenly locked me up, charging me with being a false witness. They were saying that I was too calm for someone who had witnessed two people murdered right in front of him. I was only released after they checked the camera footage of the area."

For a moment, the doctor didn’t speak. No, it was as though he couldn’t speak, seeming lost for words. But he composed himself soon after.

"Mr. Daniel, you seem to have gone through... quite a lot. If you don’t mind, would you be willing to tell me what you do for a living?"

His past self replied evenly.

"I work as a human resource manager at a private firm."

After that, the doctor proceeded to ask a lot of questions. Questions like family condition, social circles, usual routine, and a lot of other things.

This was when Adrian’s focus shifted to the room instead. More specifically, his focus shifted to the door and window of the room.

The door was closed, but he could see the outside through the window. It was a busy street with people walking by in clusters. There were no cars since the road was rather narrow, but a few bikes did pass by from time to time.

’I wonder if I can go outside right now.’

The first time was too abrupt and too short for Adrian to have done anything meaningful. But this supposed ’Earth transportation’ hadn’t ended so quickly as before, which gave Adrian room for some experimentation.

Could he walk out through the door? If so, how far could he go? How large was the map of this fake conjuration of Earth?

Adrian approached the door and opened it, seeing the clinic’s outside view in its entirety.

After having lived in the new world for ten years, Adrian had gotten used to its fresh and clean air, so when he breathed in the dirty and polluted air of Earth once again, it caused him to scrunch his nose.

His own reaction was far stronger than he had expected, considering he had breathed in this air for twenty-five years.

Shaking his head to clear away the unnecessary thoughts, Adrian decided to walk out as he took a step forward.

...or tried to, at least. Because no matter how much he tried, he was unable to take that step.

It was as though some strange magnetic force was pulling him from behind, refusing to let him go any further. It was a pull so tyrannical that the thought of struggling to break free didn’t even cross his mind.

So after a few more tries, Adrian sighed and chose to give up.

’It all seems stranger the more I try to understand things. Well, I can only try.’

Seeing that there was no point in continuing his fruitless experiments, Adrian shifted his focus to something else. He focused on the force that was pulling him from behind.

It seemed to have only appeared after he crossed a certain distance. But if this force was a pull, what was it pulling him toward? 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Adrian closed his eyes and sharpened his senses to the very maximum, just like Sir Joran had taught him a few years ago, and focused everything on the pulling force, trying to trace it back to its other end.

Soon, he was able to sense the other end of the pull. He slowly opened his eyes, curious to see what it was.

And in front of his gaze was... Adrian’s previous self.