The Room of Bygone Days

Evan suspected that there was something wrong with those expired healing potions. Why else would he have such a crazy idea?

Try out everything that book says? There were no chants, no scrolls, and there wasn’t even anyone out there who knew who that so-called God was. Even the preparation of sacrifices was no more than a suggestion added by someone out of caution.

There was a warm itching feeling in Evan's abdomen, and he didn't need to look down to know that the potions had finally taken effect. In other words, he no longer needed to press his palm against his stomach in fear of his intestines escaping from that long and narrow wound. Despite that, he still maintained his current posture for a little while longer to allow the wound to heal completely.

Why not take a closer look at that book? That evil voice rang out in his mind again.

“At least the jokes in it will keep me entertained”, Evan thought.

It wasn't until a long, long time later that Evan finally realized that he really shouldn't have had that thought.

He held the limp book between his thumb and forefinger, and started flipping through its pages. The blood on his fingertips left dark red stains on the book.

Please construct that room in your mind.

That exquisite, delicate, and sturdy room.

With your own soul as the antipode, construct that room in the distant cluster of stars.

Evan saw a line of small characters. They were identical to the ones he’d seen earlier when he had been skimming through the book.

However...

Evan frowned, feeling that the page he turned seemed to be not quite right. He stroked the edge of the page with his fingertips, and separated two sheets of paper that had been tightly pressed together.

He saw an illustration he had never seen before.

It consisted of a few rough circles arranged on the page in an overly regular way. A strange intuition told Evan that this was a star map — one that had never been recorded before.

Evan didn't know why he had missed this illustration earlier, but his instincts told him that the location marked on this star map was the area where the "room" should exist. Frankly speaking, this matter was a little strange, because from a rational point of view, the arrangement of those stars was ridiculous.

Evan's eyes were fixed on the rough circles and he closed his eyes as per the book’s instructions before he even realized it. Following that, he began to imagine the other side of the universe — a dark star field that his body and soul struggled to touch.

Unsurprisingly, Evan failed in his first few attempts. The circles in the book remained circles in his mind. The thought of constructing a room was even more ridiculous.

For a hapless lad like Evan, the only room he could clearly visualize in his head was the disgusting dormitory he lived in. Even if it would only be limited to his imagination, he still refused to make the “room” in his mind take after it.

(Oh, Goddess of Magic, what foolish things have I done...)

Evan felt as if a corner of his soul was mocking him.

Looking at the book in his hand, rationality returned to Evan. He even found it a little funny. Why did he try something as stupid as going through with the heretical ritual in a book of jokes?

He was ready to give up.

However, right at that moment, Evan found that the extremely simple star map in the book in his hand had undergone a strange change.

Black ink seeped out from the lines of the image, soaking the entire paper in an instant. The star map turned pitch black, and the parts that originally held the simple circles turned into clusters of light emitting turbid red and dark yellow flames.

In the darkness between the spots of light, something was wriggling.

Wriggling.

Wriggling.

...

"Ugh..."

Evan involuntarily groaned under his breath.

A strong sense of nausea and agitation swept over him. Like a sharp sword, the emotions directly pierced his heart.

The strong sense of crisis almost made him vomit. Even if he multiplied the fear he felt when the tri-horned demon pierced his belly three-fold, it still could not compare to how he felt at that moment. 

However, that indescribable discomfort only lasted for an unusually short time.

It was no longer than the blink of an eye. When Evan looked at the book again, the strangeness on the star map had long since disappeared. The book was as limp and musty-smelling as always, and the random circles remained unchanged.

However, Evan knew that something had gone wrong. What he’d seen in that single moment was already imprinted in his mind.

The darkness between spots of light.

The subtle gap between the indescribable wriggling things.

There should be a room.

Cold sweat drenched Evan's hair and rough mage robe, but he did not notice it.

The room was slowly taking shape in his mind.

It was a simple but sturdy stone room with a rounded arc at the top, polished from a single block of stone. The window was long and narrow, and the frame was made of exquisite beech wood. 

A thick blanket covered the whole window, preventing the room’s inhabitant from seeing anything outside. The room was rather cramped. A fluffy woolen rug lay on the floor. 

A rather comfortable rocking chair sat beside the fireplace, where a coal fire burned with crackling sounds. Several black iron hooks were inlaid upon a wall made of stone bricks.

This is the instructor's room...

Evan finally realized this when he saw the iron hooks.

Of course, compared with the instructor's room in reality, the room he’d envisioned was much more comfortable and warm.

Perhaps this was because Evan had once thought about how he would arrange that room when he reached the position of instructor. Strictly speaking, this was Evan's room after he became an instructor.

In his own mind, he constructed his own room.

It was a strange but amazing feeling.

Evan wandered in the room curiously. Everything here seemed quiet and stable. Time and space were static and controllable in this room.

Evan looked at the carpet under his feet. He had never liked wool carpets. He felt that they always had a strange fishy smell — and the moment he thought so, the carpet under his feet was replaced with thick and rustic woven rugs, just the type he liked.

“Phew...”

Evan felt his galloping heart slowly calm down. (Just now, before the room had been fully constructed, waves of abnormal panic had swept over him, as if there was something intangible chasing him.)

The room made him feel safe and secure.

He walked to the window, carefully opened a corner of the curtain and looked out. Dark red and yellow lights greeted him.

Evan felt as if he’d seen something; something other than those red and yellow spots of light.

But that was no more than a "feeling".

If there really was something there, his body would be bigger than the stars, and the spots of light would be no more than freckles dotting his body.

The hair on the back of Evan's neck stood up again.

Those chaotic and turbid lights caused him discomfort. He quickly walked away from the window.

When he lowered the curtain in his hand, its fabric became thicker and heavier.

Evan returned to his seat.

***

For the next few days, Evan spent almost all his free time in that room. After all, compared to his hellish life as a mage apprentice, the time he spent in that imaginary room was so serene. 

He didn't know what the reason behind all of this was, but it was evident that the book did not only contain jokes and ravings.

Evan would spend long periods of time pacing aimlessly in the "room", resting, or flipping through the books on the bookshelf — the books would change every time he came.

Sometimes, the books would be classic magic books that Evan had read but did not have the time to take down. Other times, it would be ordinary pulp novels. To date, Evan had not figured out the principles of the emergence and changing of these books, but he was definitely enjoying his rare leisure time.

However, even the “room” had its flaws. Occasionally, Evan would sense a strange silence while reading or pacing around.

He would get random chills. The hair on his back would stand on end, his stomach would shrink to a small ball inside his body, and his nerves would tense to the point of breaking.

Something had noticed him.

Something had noticed this room.

Evan didn't know what this imaginary room floating in the starry sky looked like to Them, but he did sense that unusually sinister atmosphere.

Even the center of the altar of the most vicious voodoo god would not give Evan such a feeling.

Sometimes, Evan would think about his unlucky former roommate. The gods in this patch of starry sky had definitely played a role in the other’s insanity.

Each time Evan left the room, he’d tell himself that he should stop this bizarre ritual of imagination.

But not once did he do what he said.

Evan did not know when it had started, but he would feel an inexplicable uneasiness whenever he left the room.

It was similar to the unease you’d feel when you forget a few delicate strokes on a magic circle, or when you accidentally drop some dust into mermaid blood while sprinkling toad eyeball powder. Your brain might not have noticed these little details, but your subconscious mind would have.

Danger—

Evan’s soul was sending alarm signals to his body non-stop.

Evan became thinner. The time he spent pacing in that room became longer.

He had also noticed that the curtains covering the windows had become thicker and thicker and now looked more like tapestry — though he did not know when the changes had taken place. 

When Evan lifted the heavy fabric, he was not surprised to see that the place where the window was originally had been covered by a thick lead plate, and a circle of rivets was holding the lead plate in place.

Neither the lead plate nor the rivets fit in with the serene atmosphere in the room, but Evan felt a sense of relief from their presence.

He had no doubt that when he lowered the curtains in his hands, those lead plates would become even thicker and stronger under his unconscious drive.

It was at this moment that Evan heard a slight knock on the door.

Knock... knock knock...

At the beginning, Evan had not even realized that the sound came from the door of his room.

Of course, his room did have a door.

Evan’s eyes opened wide, and he looked towards the door in shock.

It was an unusually thick oak door. Steel plates and magical arrays were embedded between the planks, just like the door in his instructor's room. It had been there when the room first appeared, but Evan had never truly used it.

That door had not been knocked on thus far. It wasn’t something that should be knocked on...

But what had the book said? As long as this room exists in this place, he will always welcome his visitors.

Evan didn't want to open the door.

It went without saying that he didn’t want to open the door. The intense fear of being spied upon struck him once again.

But the knocking sound from the other side of the door remained unhurried.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock.

Hearing that sound, Evan knew that he had no choice but to open that door. He wanted to leave his room immediately and return to his hellish reality, but he dared not.

This was a rule.

He hadn’t heard any voices or instructions, but a part of his mind... the part that had accepted the rules and guided him in building this room, was clearly issuing instructions.

Walk forward, grab the doorknob, and open that door. Greet your visitor with courtesy and humility.

Evan did as he was told, despite the screaming in the other parts of his mind.

Evan’s hand landed on the freezing doorknob. He felt that the metal part of the handle was emitting a special smell.

A little like blood, but also a little like rust.

The knocking on the door stopped the moment he grabbed the handle.

Creak...

Evan felt as if he wasn’t exerting any force, but the door still opened (it should have felt heavier).

A shadow — one that was incredibly dense — entered the room.

Bang—

The next second, Evan felt the doorknob leaving his hand.

The door slammed shut in front of him.

Evan heard the sound of the bolt turning, and the door was locked. (Evan didn't even have time to look outside the door.)

The visitor had entered the room.

Evan turned his head and stared blankly at the shadow.

It was difficult to describe the appearance of the shadow in words. 

Its original size should be larger, Evan’s intuition told him, but it was condensing itself into a suitable size.

Its appearance changed constantly. At that moment, as Evan stared at Him, he realized that He looked like a creature made of countless black miniature tornadoes.

And at the very center of His body, two clusters of light — one red, and one yellow — were inlaid.

These spots of light reminded Evan again of the distorted stars he’d seen beyond his window. Nausea and agitation overwhelmed him once again, and he shook so badly that he could barely get up.

Thud... thud thud... thud...

A sound that seemed to be caused by friction came from all directions of the room.

The moment he heard that sound, Evan collapsed to the ground, trembling. All he could think of was his ex-roommate who had gone crazy.

He didn't know how to describe what he was currently feeling.

All he could feel was the sensation of something lifting open the top of his skull and scooping tiny bits of his pink brain with a spoon, squeezing out the thoughts and ideas contained within.

Evan had never felt such intense pain and stimulation.

Vomiting and convulsing, that split second seemed as long as a century.

Thud thud...

The sound continued on.

But it seemed to have softened a bit.

In his trance, Evan felt something unusually cold gently caress his cheek.