Chapter 451: The Fool
The world Kir woke up to was white.
And the moment he sat up, he realized exactly where he was.
"Why am I in my mindscape?" he asked out loud. The white void did not respond.
Looking down at himself, he realized both that he was extremely naked, and that something felt strange. Like his whole body was leaking something viscous. Yet nothing seemed to be visually wrong with him.
He tried to think back on what he’d seen the last time he visited his inner world, and instantly he found himself at the pool and cave that represented his source of mana and the well that stored it.
"Wasn’t there more here before?" He wondered but found he couldn’t quite remember. "I should talk to Kiryu."
He readied himself to dive through his well, but just before jumping he realized the water wasn’t moving. Reaching out to dip his tail in it, he found it frozen like clear ice, caught in a pattern of roiling wavelets.
"Kiryu?" he yelled at the pool. "Did you do this?"
There was no response.
Kir took a deep breath to forestall the sense of panic inside him. After three breaths he tried to sit and meditate his way out, only to find himself in the exact same spot when he opened his eyes.
"Alright, don’t panic. What was I doing before winding up here?"