Jareth found his surroundings to be a world of darkness, with a clustering fog of two colors—violet and white.
The white was like still water, while the violet fog churned violently like a caged storm.
Jareth couldn't see his body, but he could see from a first-person point of view; not only could he see, but he also had a bizarre omnipresent vision, perceiving every side of the cluster. The sight felt natural, and he could process it all.
Suddenly, the violet fog began moving toward the white fog.
Jareth remembered Esta's warning in that instant and imagined a thick steel barrier around the violet fog.
Surprisingly, a violet, steel-like material appeared and enclosed the fog.
Jareth prepared himself for the impact, ready to reinforce the barrier, but nothing happened.
Just as he was doubting whether he was blessed or lucky, violet fog began seeping from the surface of the violet barrier, making it look like it was evaporating. But Jareth knew that was oblivium escaping the barrier and not his barrier vaporizing.
'What?'
He instantly imagined a second layer to cage it, but the violet fog passed through it as if it were nonexistent.
With his imagination, he anxiously created nine more barriers to cage the violet fog, even going as far as changing their physical appearance—from brick walls to gates and more—but it proved futile. The violet fog kept approaching the fading white fog at an unchanged swift pace.
Jareth became anxious.
Worst of all, he didn't have his physical eyes to look around to express his anxiousness, as he could see everything; nor was he outside to search for a solution.
It was just him, the fogs, and his imagination.
When he saw the speed at which the white fog was vanishing, he knew he wasn't going to make it.
He spammed barrier after barrier, but the violet fog maintained its pace like an elusive ghost.
He saw his death drawing closer, too powerless to interfere. He considered madness as death. The wide mental world now felt like a cage, trapping and suffocating him like the darkness in his nightmare.
The fog finally passed through the last barrier and entered the white fog, mixing with it in a few seconds.
Jareth, who had a clear view of it, stared at the disappearing mixture with a bleak imaginary expression.
'Hahahaha! I get it! I was using oblivium to stop oblivium. How foolish! From the beginning, it was a losing game. I always knew the answer but denied it. So this is the reason people with a high percentage of oblivium body content go mad.' His wild but deprecating thoughts echoed in his head, sounding like he was physically talking to himself… like those his nightmare, except he was in control.
His thoughts became calm. 'Well, I tried my best. I would have still done it regardless rather than joining that Grim Corps. Let's just hope it's a painless death. Well, it's just another death, and I've done it before. Come to think of it, my previous life before my downfall was beyond peak; it was epic…'
He began reminiscing about his past, ignoring all the negative things.
Time passed quickly until his vision suddenly flashed.
***
In the basement, Esta was staring at Jareth with a creased forehead and a crystal dagger hidden in her sleeve.
Jareth's eyes suddenly fluttered open, meeting her gaze.
Both of them stared at each other in silence.
Jareth slowly tilted his head in contemplation before he straightened his neck and looked around the familiar room.
"If this is what madness is, then it's not bad," he chuckled.
He turned to Esta.
"Well, look who it is, if it's not Esta with her weird fetish. The lady who forced me to my death. If not for you, I would have just lived a normal life. I don't even know why you follow the law or what you gain from pushing me to madness," he rambled, pouring out his bottled frustration.
Then he spread his arms and said with a smirk, "From your expression, you wouldn't let me live even if I groveled on the floor, so you can come kill me. I know you want to do it badly. A lunatic who gets people corrupted and kills them."
She stared at him for a few seconds before a black armor and a sheathed blade appeared in her hands.
"Congratulations, you survived. You're not mad. Here is your armor and sword. You can have the shock bracelet. Use this week to get used to your spells, and learn basic weapon mastery online and from Liana. You can ask Liana for the nexus site. Next week, you should begin hunting to take care of your needs; I don't babysit adults. And I hate lazy leeches," she said calmly, tossing them in front of him.
With that, she turned and walked toward the exit.
Jareth stood there, stunned and speechless as he watched her open and shut the door as she left the basement.
Then he palmed his face in embarrassment. He didn't know how to face her, and they were going to be housemates for a year. He wished the ground would just open and swallow him.
'What did I do? Really?! Really, Jareth?! But I expected to die and I decided to speak my mind. Wait!' His hands dropped. 'Did I just call her a—a—a lunatic!!!'
It took about ten minutes of cringing at his own words to escape the grip of embarrassment after what he had just blurted out.
'But why am I not mad?' he lowered his hands and thought.
'From everything, my immediate guess would be because of my oblivium source, but I can't be sure. All I know is…' his lips curled up in a triumphant smirk. 'I won't go mad even if I absorb the oblivium in the cores.'
Then he went to pick up the armor and sheathed sword on the ground.
He stared at them with a distant look in his eyes.
'Is she a good person? I don't know. Why is she helping me? I don't know. I won't think about it and see what life has in store for me in Arkados,' he thought.
With that, he carried them and left for his room upstairs.
Dumping them beside the bed, he lay down and exhaled.
Jareth felt something flowing in him, which he attributed to mana in his core, and he could feel its approximate volume.