"Hey, wake up!"
"I said… WAKE UP!!"
Dean's eyelids swung wide open as his body jolted in shock.
The moment he regained consciousness, he was hit with a throbbing sensation around his eyes as the mild beams of the sun hit his pupils.
The pain was followed by intense aches in his head, neck, hands… eventually circulating around every muscle and tendon in his body.
"I can see you're finally awake, freak!" a student said.
"Did your roomies chase you out or something? Get up from the ground and piss off!"
Dean couldn't concentrate on what the young celestial said as every sound that hit his ears was accompanied by a loud, stinging ring.
"What is happening to me? Why am I feeling this way?" Dean thought frantically.
Dean looked around. He could see several students staring at him like he was a homeless person. With a look of anguish on his scathed face, he slowly lifted himself up from the ground, bearing the immense amount of pain that burned through his body.
The student stared at Dean as he struggled to move.
"Such a miserable being… that's what you get for being a rankless being."
Dean staggered towards his dorm room, collapsing on the floor before he could even reach his bed.
He stared at his hands as they vibrated rapidly. He noticed a red hue seeping out of his skin continuously.
Each wave of red energy that crept out of his skin left a red scorch mark behind, intensifying the pain that Dean felt. It felt like his whole body was covered in layers of lava that burnt through his innards.
"Wha… what is this?" Dean said in a low grunt.
Before Dean could try to comprehend what was going on, he felt the pain in his body increase tenfold.
Suddenly, a violent burst of deep crimson energy exploded out of him. The recoil sent Dean flying across the room as he crashed roughly onto the floor. Dean felt a trickle of blood flowing down from his nose.
The next instant, another explosion occurred as the crimson energy inside him shot out at an unimaginable speed.
Dean breathed heavily, his heart pounding intensely, the pain in his body worsening.
He tried to understand why an red glow was pulsating out of his body… an energy that shouldn't even exist in the celestial realm.
Until it finally hit him like a raging storm.
Slowly, Dean began to recollect the memories of what happened the previous night. He remembered the loud bang that he heard outside his dorm building, followed by the overwhelming sense of unease.
The more events he started to recall, the more his heartbeat quickened.
Dean eventually recollected the red wave of energy that he found hovering about. He remembered how destructive, and negative its embrace was, and how deadly it felt.
Dean gasped in horror. Putting two and two together, it didn't take much time for him to realize the dire situation he was in.
"I came across demonic energy… in the celestial realm. But how is that possible?"
"demonic energy… isn't supposed to exist in this realm."
Dean stared at his palms in a daze. He could see red lines of energy flowing slowly through his fingertips. The pain remained persistent, unwilling to vanish.
Dean felt a chill run down his body as he stared at the energy in fear. The demonic energy that he came across was now somewhere inside him, raging its way through and causing unknown effects that he couldn't fathom.
He thought in absolute horror and confusion, unable to grasp what phenomenon was occuring.
demomic energy was supposed to be extremely fatal when it came in contact with a demon, but all Dean felt was unending pain and anguish.
He didn't feel like he was dying or on the verge of destruction.
"What is happening to me!!! I can't live like this," Dean thought, almost pulling the hair from his head. "I'll get executed if anyone finds out about the energy… I'll die!"
Amidst his raging thoughts, Dean could hear the sound of his doorknob twisting. He stood up quickly in fear, running back to the far end of his room.
The door opened slowly as two figures walked in with heavy steps.
Dean's breath slowed down as he recognized their faces. They were his roommates.
A tall student with dirty blonde hair walked forward with authority, staring at Dean with a suspicious look.
"Is there any problem, D?" he said in a concerned tone.
Dean spoke in a low tone, "Uhm… it's nothing, Razz. I'm just feeling a bit drowsy."
Razz stared at him for a moment before brushing it off. He knew that Dean was a rankless celestial who got pushed around, so he thought that it was probably another bully.
"You know if there's anything you need…" Razz said.
A small curve formed on Dean's lips. Razz was an alpha-ranked celestial who always tried to protect those weaker than him, and Dean was grateful for a friend like him.
But even still, he found it hard to tell Razz about his encounter with the demonic energy. The existence of demonic energy was an taboo, and there was no telling what he would do if he ever found out about it.
Dean could feel the pain lessening by the second, but the crimson energy was still flaring out in an unstable manner.
"Man, I'm really tired right now," Sale, Dean's other roommate, said.
"Razz and I spent all night training in the field, but I managed to unleash a few skills," he said in a proud tone.
Dean forced a smile on his face. "That's good. You'll get to increase your celestial rank in no time."
Dean desperately wanted to tell them about the fact that a foreign energy was residing inside his body, and somehow instead of consuming him to oblivion, it stayed there… not reacting to his celestial nature.
But he knew better. Exposing the existence of the demonic energy was going to put him in great danger, so he had to keep it a secret from everyone around him.
Sale walked up to Dean while taking a glance at the yellow wristband on his left wrist.
"I think it's time for us to head to the training hall. Li doesn't accept lateness."
Dean felt reluctant about heading to the training hall due to how unstable the demonic energy was. He didn't know how it worked, or how it manifested, but he couldn't take the risk.
What if the demonic energy exploded again while he was at the training hall? What if it pulsed out of him once more?
Dean stared down at the red particles emitting from his cold palms.
But attendance wasn't optional. He had to be at the hall, as attendance was mandatory. A new feeling of fear and horror entered his mind.
"Alright, let's head over to our hall," Dean said with a shaky voice.
But deep down, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of fear, and if by any chance his secret got exposed…
It meant instant death.