Chapter 66 - Strange World

The grand elder was just enjoying his time in the chair when he heard footsteps coming from outside as he raised up his head to look outside before calling Austin over.

"I want you to stop them from coming inside" said the grand elder after Austin's arrival.

Bowing before walking outside as he waits for the newcomers to come close.

"This is where your journey ends, the grand elder is not in the mood to see anyone right now" said Austin as he spread his hand wide up to stop their advancement. 

"Please Austin we really have to see the grand elder before things get worse" pleaded the library attendant who was very familiar with Austin.

"I am sorry I can't let you in since that was the order that was given to me by the grand elder" replied Austin with a stern face.

"This matter has to do with a young kid who has a close tie with the grand elder" said the guard that was carrying Jason on his shoulder.

Seeing that Jason was laying on the guard's shoulder, Austin couldn't help but put his hand down as he took a step forward to take a closer look at him.

After verifying that it was really Jason, Austin turned to the guard as he asked him with a frown on his face.

"What happened to him, did he cause you guys trouble to the extent that you have to beat him into losing his consciousness".

"That's not what happened Austin, he was found laying on the ground cold and we have to rush him here for the grand elder to take a look at him since there was nothing we can do" replied the library attendant with a fearful look on his face.

"What do you mean by he was found on the floor, someone must have attacked him" said Austin.

"We already checked if he was attacked but there was no trace of him being attacked and his pulse seems to be getting weaker" replied the guard.

"Wait here let me go get the grand elder" said Austin seeing how dire the situation is.

Austin was just about to run back to the alchemy room to get the grand elder but before he could take a step, the grand elder had already arrived before him as he said.

"There will be no need for you to go look for me. Let me take a look at him".

Seeing that the grand elder has arrived, the group that came let out a breath of relief since the grand elder would be able to help the young man. After getting to the guard that was carrying Jason, the grand elder instructed him to put Jason down before he placed his finger on his neck to feel his pulse and let go after he was done.

"You can go back to what you were doing now" said the grand elder to the group before instructing Austin to take him inside.

Seeing the grand elder acting calm to the matter they all thought he must have found out what was wrong with him as they began to leave one after the other until it was only Austin and the grand elder that was left.

Carrying the body into the alchemy room, Austin gently lays him down as he turns to look at his face still in confusion on how someone could just go unconscious without being attacked or exhausted. Seeing the way Austin was looking at him, the grand elder couldn't help but let out a sigh as he said to Austin.

"Don't worry about him. I am sorry he won't die although he seems to be getting weak, I can still feel the strong life force in him".

"What if he didn't wake up ever again and just stay like this" asked Austin with a concerned look on his face.

"I doubt he won't be able to gain consciousness based on his stubborn nature but there is a problem here and I want you to look into it" replied the grand elder.

"What is it that you want me to do, grand elder" asked Austin.

"I want you to head to the library and see if you can find anything that will help us to know what happened to him" replied the grand elder.

"Right away, I promise to return with evidence" said Austin as he ran out of the alchemy room towards the library.

"It won't matter if you came back with nothing. Now let me try and see what is truly wrong with you" mutter the grand elder as he places his hand on the body of Jason while performing a check-up.

Meanwhile, in an unknown world that is filled with destroyed plants and buildings, Jason could be seen laying on the ground. Waking up from a long dream Jason sat down as he began to massage his neck as he turned to look at where he was only to see that the place was destroyed.

"Where am I? How come the fox family has been reduced to this state? The last thing I remembered is losing my consciousness right after coming in contact with that book. Hey did you think the book had anything to do with this" asked Jason as he turned to the bracelet for an answer only for him to get silent as a reply.

"That is strange, how come he is not answering, or is it also taking a nap and has not woken up" said Jason before getting up as he began to take a look at the place.

Coming out of the building that he woke up from, the first thing he saw was a skeleton that was sitting on the ground while resting its back on the wall. Ignoring the skeleton, Jason continued to look around him as more skeletons could be seen with some being destroyed and he was getting confused about the place he is right now.

"Am I really in the fox family or is this just a dream" said Jason with a frightened look on his face.

Walking back into the building with a skeleton sitting on the ground, Jason felt at ease as he believed he could take care of the skeleton. After waiting in the building, Jason's head began to run wild as he thought to himself.

"Is this a dream" said Jason as he started to pinch himself and the pain was three which cleared his doubt of being in a dream but then again if it is not a dream then where is he and how in the world did he get now.

Walking around once more in hope of finding someone, Jason came across a giant statue of a man which was covered in weed and some parts were missing from the statue. Going through his memory as he tried to remember if he has seen the statue in the fox family but there was no memory of it and Jason proceeded to give it a touch but the moment his hand came in contact with the statue, it crumble to the ground and Jason quickly took a step back as he prepared himself for a battle but to his surprise, nothing happened apart from the statue falling apart everything seen to go smoothly.

"What is happening here, why is everything so out of place. And is that lazy bracelet spirit going to wake up" said Jason with a sigh as he sat on the ground.

Looking at what's left of the statue, Jason suddenly caught sight of a green light coming out of the statue and before he knew it, the figure of the being that was made into a statue was now standing before him with a sad look on his face as he turned around the place.

Jason was just about to call out to him but then he began to feel dizzy and lost consciousness. After some time Jason could hear the voice of people talking as he opened his eyes only for him to see the grand elder and Austin standing before him while discussing something but suddenly stopped when they saw him gaining consciousness.

"Hey man, you finally made up your mind to wake up huh" said Austin with a smile on his face as he slapped him lightly on his shoulder.

"What happened, why am I laying on the bed" asked Jason as he looked around him in confusion as to why he was in a strange world sometimes ago and now back to the world he was familiar with.

"You went unconscious in the library and were brought here by the guard boy now tell me what really happened in the library" replied the grand elder with a serious look on his face as he waited for Jason to speak up.

"I don't remember much apart from picking

up a book after I was done with my research and everything else became blank" replied Jason as he rubbed his hand on his neck.