Endless darkness surged in from every direction, dragging his relaxed mind into a black mire. A tight, binding sensation wrapped around his limp limbs, leaving him unable to struggle or escape.
Unable to move, Rikusei floated atop the pitch-black waves, submerged in the dark ocean and utterly lost.
The wind howled, mingling with the unceasing roar of the waves. Swept along by the current, Rikusei thought he was having a nightmare.
But how could he remain conscious in a dream? Inky seawater slapped beside his ears. His short, tousled hair drifted across the surface like black seaweed, and the deep ocean's low murmur brought his thoughts into ever sharper focus.
It was an Illusion Technique.
Wrapped in the moist sea breeze, Rikusei flared his nostrils. Amid the salty wind and waves, he clearly detected a strange, sweet fragrance. The peculiar scent seeped into every pore of his body.
His tightly shut eyes snapped open. The seawater, thick as ink, clung to his eyelids and slid from the corners of his eyes, slowly running into them as his eyes trembled.
The stinging pressure of a foreign substance in his eyes didn't bother Rikusei. The brilliant, strange clusters of black and purple stars in the sky told him plainly that it was all an illusion.
Time within the space began to race by, though in the real world, not even a blink had passed.
Having fallen under an Illusion Technique through touch for the first time, Rikusei was intrigued by how it differed from the kind cast through ocular techniques.
The caster seemed to be trying to plunge him into a deeper unconsciousness. Rikusei sensed not the slightest malice, let alone the blood-chilling urge to kill.
Instead, he felt a fighting spirit burning like a flame.
Was this the first move in