Maxi's maid tilted her head to the side, confused.
"Who needs you, Young....Master?"
He blinked rapidly, realizing he had spoken out loud. Clearing his throat, he quickly muttered,
"No… no one. It's nothing, don't worry about it. And I don't need anything."
The maid nodded, recomposing herself, while Maxi returned to his book. But his mind was elsewhere. Why did she need me? he wondered. What was it she needed from me that made me love her so much?
Then, suddenly—pain.
A searing, stabbing pain shot through his head and eyes as though needles were piercing through them. His right arm burned like fire, and from the corner of his vision, he saw the topmost eye in his three-eyed symbol shift—turning from its usual upward gaze to stare straight ahead.
His book fell from his grasp, hitting the floor with a dull thud as he clutched his head, thrashing in agony. A scream tore from his throat.
The maid rushed to his side. "Young Master! Are you okay?! Is this the doing of one of your siblings again?"
Maxi shook his head violently, unable to form words. The pain grew unbearable, his vision darkening—until suddenly, he wasn't in his room anymore.
He was somewhere else.
A towering, lanky figure stood before him, his back turned. The man's long, flowing fabric draped over his thin frame, moving as though caught in an invisible breeze. The robes covered every inch of his body except for his head, where long black hair cascaded down, nearly touching the unseen ground.
Then, the man turned.
His face was veiled, but the cloth was unlike anything Maxi had ever seen. It wasn't fabric—it was an endless expanse, filled with galaxies, universes, multiverses. MEGAVERSE. The word surfaced in his mind, though he didn't know it, a term long forgotten.
The man reached up, pulling his veil slightly aside, just enough to reveal his mouth. His skin was pure white, impossibly pale. He smiled.
He spoke, but no sound came out.
Maxi tried to read his lips, though he was never particularly good at it. He caught fragments.
"…you're nearly… few… years… introduce… this… I wish you the best…"
Then, agony. His muscles spasmed violently, his body shaking as if rebelling against the act of understanding.
The man's smile widened. He raised a single, long finger, wagging it from side to side in warning—Don't try that again.
Then, he extended his arms outward, making his somehow impossibly paler hands.
From behind him, eyes began appearing. A single eye at first, then more, rapidly multiplying. Different colors, different shapes, staring at him. Some were near. Others were impossibly far, watching from across universes, multiverses—realms Maxi couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Yet he felt them.
They weren't just looking at him inside his mind.
They were watching him in reality.
Then, the man clapped his hands.
Maxi woke up.
A warm, wet towel rested on his forehead. His breaths were heavy, his body weak. Turning his head, he saw his maid placing a tray of food on his bedside table.
When she noticed he was awake, she rushed to him, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
Maxi barely registered it. His mind was still reeling. He asked not directly to her but to the university, and this realm in general
"What the hell just happened?"