As he fell from almost sixty metres up into the water below, Frost understood why this particular portal seemed to be desolate and abandoned despite its proximity to a large population centre. He also realized just how lucky he'd gotten on that night, falling into the portal rather than simply falling to his death. Finally, he was aware that the city's guard had tried to kill him for little reason other than his ignorance.
He barely had time to get upset before he hit the water and his whole world succumbed to the freezing cold. Frost, enhanced with new abilities, didn't take this hit as hard as he should have. He flailed around for a moment, but regained his bearings and immediately started swimming desperately for the shore.
[GreatGadfly30: He got you good, kid.]
[Checkpointer20: That guard has an interesting sense of humour.]
Frost gripped the concrete on the edge of the nearest pier and threw himself up, immediately flopping onto his back and spitting out a mouthful of water. "It's not very funny," he stated the obvious with a voice full of malice. "I'll kill that guy if I see him again."
[GreatGadfly30: I don't think he was counting on seeing you again.]
Frost placed his palm on the ground and pushed with the remainder of his strength just to get onto his feet. He was immediately greeted by a family of four staring at him like he was some sort of sea monster. The younger child even stepped back to hide behind his mother.
"Boo!" Frost boomed, stomping forward quickly.
The child yelped and jumped back, and the mother took a defensive stance.
"I'll call the police, honey," the father said, placing his hand out towards Frost as if that would ward off an attack.
"That's alright," Frost said. "I was just going." He started limping away from them with little care, giggling to himself. This was an interesting way to come back to Earth. Just how long had it been since he'd left? Did time work the same way in a different world?
Too many troublesome questions, and many troublesome answers. As if that wasn't bad enough, now he had to walk his sorry ass back to university, hope his room was still his, and do the walk of shame across campus while looking like a swamp monster. He wiped a piece of rogue kelp from his shoulder.
[MasterOfTheFlute: This, too, will pass.]
"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less miserable right now," Frost said.
[MasterOfTheFlute: True.]
Frost arrived back at the university, which was fairly close by. His dormitory in particular was one of the closest to the edge of campus. His injuries made him extremely grateful for this. Walking across the city in this state wouldn't have been enjoyable, and he'd lost all of the things that were on him that night, most notably his wallet. His phone was probably still in the room. Still, that meant no bus tickets and no money on him at the moment. He limped and limped, babying the leg that hit the water first in particular. The rest of his body also hurt, but he did his best to ignore it.
Just as the dormitory was in sight and he began to let his guard down, the last person he wanted to see right now showed his face. Professor Graka was walking down the laneway from the dormitory, and he was coming straight towards Frost. What the hell was he doing here? Frost thought about ducking away, but they locked eyes.
"Well, if it isn't Direshard," Graka said. He looked dishevelled and smelled of a mix of alcohol and perfume.
I haven't gone to class for a whole month. It's over for me, dammit! "Professor," Frost said.
"You look like you got hit by a truck," the Professor noted as he got closer.
"Ah. Well it was something like that," Frost lied. "I'm fine though. Promise."
Graka took that statement in for a few seconds. "Well, so long as you're fine enough to go to class tomorrow, it makes no difference to me."
Tomorrow?
"I'll be there," Frost said with confidence.
"Right. And take off that fake beard. It looks ridiculous." Graka swiped his hand and then walked past without another word.
Frost stood in stunned silence. Could it really be that he was gone for so long and yet only a little over a day had gone by? He'd grown a full beard of white hair in what was only a single day to the people of Earth? So he still had his room, and he was still enrolled. Hell, he might even make it in time for his afternoon class today if he really tried.
[GreatGadfly30: To affirm what you're clearly thinking…
[GreatGadfly30: Time is dilated in different locations across the Void.]
[TheConquerer356: Time has not conquered you yet, boy.]
He'd gone through so much, and the world he knew had barely moved. He didn't know if that was something to be heartbroken or happy about.
Frost hadn't broken his promise yet.
He ignored the pain and started running, feeling so elated that his body became light and the pain vanished from his senses. He flung himself through the front doors and sprinted past the old lady at the front desk with such haste that she likely only saw a flash of white. Someone was coming out of the doors and frantically moved out of the way as he shot past. Lucky, too, since Frost no longer had his keycard. A problem he could figure out later.
He skipped the elevator and took the stairwell up to the fourth floor, huffing and puffing his way down the hallway until he at last reached his door. He'd spent so long in a different place that home looked strange now. Just a day ago he'd killed two men, caused the deaths of many more, and thrown a wyvern into the peak of a mountain. Reality and fiction were intertwined now. Or perhaps he'd just been trapped in a long dream?
He didn't know the answer to these questions, but he was certainly glad to be home. Frost reached out his hand and knocked on the door.
"Coming!" A familiar voice called. And sure enough, Krista opened the door looking like… Krista. His face immediately changed when he saw Frost, though. It was a mix between horror and confusion. "Frost?" He asked. "Where did you get off to?"
[Checkpointer20: …]
[GreatGadfly30: Telling him what actually happened is a ruleset violation.]
Damn. Not like he would believe me. "I… Was with a girl," Frost lied.
Krista looked even more confused hearing that. He didn't know about Vera, so he seemed to accept the answer regardless. "A troublesome one, I take it? Christ, man. You look like you've aged a hundred years." He gestured inside and allowed Frost in before closing the door. "Did you lose your key or something?"
Frost sighed. "Listen. It's a really long story. I'll tell you all about it later." I need time to construct a lie elaborate enough to cover this excursion as well as future ones. If I were to accidentally create a distortion here…
Krista waved the controller in his hand carelessly. "Sure man. Get some rest. Let me know if you need coffee. I've practiced a bit more."
"Thank you," Frost said sincerely. Determined to get away from him as soon as possible, he shuffled past and disappeared into his room, locking the door immediately. As soon as he'd done that, he placed his back to the door and slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. Strange emotions were close to overcoming him.
[Checkpointer20: It's been hard, hasn't it?]
Frost didn't respond. He bit his lip and tried to stop the tears from coming out. In moments like these, his brain liked to remind him that he was a human being with limits like any other. In the last month, he'd gone through more than any one man should ever have to go through. The beatings, the mining, the slop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All just to be told that he'd done something wrong by killing the bastard behind it.
But the man that put him there was still walking free. There wasn't time to cry. Frost clenched his fists and stood up tall. With the apparent time dilation in the Void and beyond, the situation had changed. Frost could go hunt down Ren and be back for dinner. But was he ready to throw himself back into that again?
Did he have a choice anymore? So long as he retained his energy, the Void would supposedly follow him wherever he went. Frost checked his belongings to ensure he still had some weaponry left over, and then stepped up to the window to look over campus. It was noon hour, a busy time around here. He could count at least a hundred students walking below, totally unaware of the world beyond this one.
A world that he was no longer a part of.
He didn't care if it was noon. Frost Direshard only had one priority. He turned to his bed, took a mighty step, and leaped high before slamming down into its softness. He remembered the month of sleeping on straw or not sleeping at all. Just as quickly, feeling the warmth of his bed, he could almost forget the pain.
Frost was home, even if only for a little while.