Chapter #5The worst month of the year by: Arnsley   (Spoilers for Chapter 8)
Monday 10/11, Red Wolf Moon 1180
The month had barely begun, yet for Byleth, it already felt like it had dragged on for an age. For the past week, fatigue and headaches had plagued the young professor, even ordinary days transformed into lengthy ordeals. She had much to prepare for the first day of the week’s teaching, yet she had spent all of her time since waking slumped over her desk, unwilling to face the new day.
“You are still unwell?” Sothis asked. “I am feeling the same. I can barely… Stay awake…”
Byleth still thought it odd how the mysterious young girl conversed with her in her head, but she was far from the only oddity she had encountered since that fateful day in Remire village.
Remire village is where Rhea is sending me this month. She remembered. She said there were strange occurrences there. Could they be linked to this strange feeling? Or am I merely unwell?
Groaning, she threw herself back, slumping onto the back of her chair.
I cannot remain here. I have to teach my students.
She stood, somehow nearly tripping over her own chair as she rose. Steadying herself with a hand on her desk, she took a moment to rest.
“Can you not take a day off?” Sothis asked. “You are hardly in the right state to be teaching all day.”
No, I cannot. Byleth answered. My students need me.
“Playing the model teacher again, are we?” Sothis sighed. “Very well. Just don’t expect me to give you much help…”
Strange. This is not like any illness I remember. Byleth thought. Though maybe I should stop by the infirmary later.
Feeling just slightly better, she decided to at least attempt to go outside. She shuffled to the door across the white carpet.
Byleth closed the door behind her. The air outside was crisp, the morning sun not yet risen to its apex. Taking a deep breath made her feel a little better. Her daily schedule still seemed daunting in this state; she decided to focus on one step at a time.
All right. First… I have to get to the classroom.
She took a step forward. She immediately regretted her action, a wave of dizziness washing over her mind.
Uh oh, that made things worse. Grunting, she raised a hand to her forehead.
“Did you feel that?” Sothis asked. “You must have. It was different than before, was it not?”
Byleth struggled to even think straight. She had stopped moving, yet the dizziness persisted. She somehow felt like she was still moving, despite standing still. Before her eyes, the world seemed to move too.
This is really not good. She thought as the dizziness intensified. I can’t…
“This is too much!” Sothis warned. “You need to go back inside your room! Now!”
Confused, Byleth reached out. She touched only air. She stared at her hand. Only her own limb seemed to remain still, the lines on the wall ahead slowly creeping upward and the ground moving closer.
“That’s the wrong way! Turn around!” Sothis instructed, but Byleth was distracted by her unusual observation.
The wall is moving up? No, everything is… What she witnessed was difficult to comprehend. It was a feeling of intense disorientation, like she had fallen over and not yet realized.
“You are standing still, yet moving all the same… Wait, do you see that?” Sothis suddenly asked.
She didn’t know what the groggy girl meant. Fighting the oppressive weary feeling, she looked around. Everything she saw was not just higher but appeared distorted somehow. How she did not know, lacking the words to describe what she saw.
“The steps are bigger!” Sothis observed. “No, wait… Everything is!”
She saw that Sothis was right. They were bigger, but not just because they were closer. The feet of her boots appeared smaller next to them.
Huh? Is this just a dream? She wondered, doubting that she had truly woken up this morning.
“Of course not! You’re wide awake!” Sothis angrily rebuked her, annoyed that she would even contemplate such a scenario.
That means… Everything really is bigger. Or I’m smaller somehow…
“You’re smaller? That’s ridiculous!” Sothis shouted. “Yet… It somehow rings true…”
Byleth gasped.
I’ve shrunk! And I’m still getting smaller!
“Yes, I have to agree. You’re shrinking!” Sothis agreed. “Quickly! Do something!”
Byleth looked down at herself, the contrast between her body and her surroundings growing by the second. What do I do?
“How should I know?! Just get moving!” Sothis yelled. “By the way things look, you’ve already shrunk a foot!”
Starting to feel a vague sense of panic, Byleth moved closer to the steps.
I need someone to help me. She thought. Someone who knows more about this than I do.
Fortunately, the dizzy feeling had subsided, replaced by a sinking sensation. It felt like she was standing in a muddy bog, the top of her head slowly moving downward constantly. Her first step was clumsy, the back of her foot sliding against the step. She wobbled forward to stabilize herself, narrowly saving her from falling down the steps.
“Quickly, quickly! Keep moving!” Sothis urged inside her head.
“Ah!” Byleth cried out as she stumbled down another step. There was something different about her voice, but she did not dare to stop to dwell on it. Instead she focused on descending the steps, a task that grew more challenging by the second as her legs became shorter. She now had to shuffle slightly on each step, bringing her small feet closer to the edge before she attempted to descend.
Which way? Byleth glanced left and right as she reached the bottom of the steps. She was calm and collected, even in life-or-death situations, but this little experience had rattled her in a way she had not expected.
She moved right, though she wasn’t sure why. She followed the path next to the wall.
“Argh, can’t you go any faster?” Sothis complained. “You’re already the size of a child! At this rate, you’ll have disappeared before you find anyone!”
I’ll disappear? Byleth hadn’t thought about the potential end point of her sudden shrinkage. Could I really shrink small enough for that to happen?
“I don’t know!” Sothis argued. “I know about as much as you do!”
Byleth appeared to be covering less distance as she ran, even though she was sure she was running at the same speed. She would have easily reached the gate by now were she normal. Instead, it felt like her own size was burning away as she ran.
I don’t feel like I have changed, but everything is much bigger than before. Am I really smaller?
“Unless everything else grew, you are!” Sothis answered.
Byleth had to agree. Her shrinking somehow made more sense than everything else in the world growing. There were also signs that her presence in the world was diminished, like how her footsteps made less noise, how she made a high-pitched noise when she gasped for breath and how the wind felt a little stronger on her face. All of her senses combined to make her feel very little.
I’m so small now… She glanced at the bench to her right. Her eye-level was below the top of the back of the seat. A foot tall, maybe?
“Probably a little more than that.” Sothis commented. “But you’re still shrinking! Will it not stop?!”
Sothis’ theory sent panic sparking through her heart. Byleth hastened her pace still further, but she didn’t appear to be covering any more ground.
Left! Byleth turned as she reached the wall ahead, following the path towards the officer’s academy. She couldn’t believe how big everything was, and how much smaller she had become.
“Wait! Hold still a moment!”
She stopped when she heard Sothis, wondering what the girl had noticed.
“You feel it too, right?”
I don’t feel… Anything. It was strange, but she was somehow feeling better than she had done all week. Not only that, but she felt still. Like she was no longer sinking into the ground.
“Yes! That’s it!” Sothis enthusiastically agreed. “Look! You’re not shrinking anymore!”
You’re right… She was getting no smaller. Yet, when she looked around, she felt pathetically small. Nearly everything she set her eyes on easily dwarfed her.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over. You may be no bigger than a mouse, but at least you aren’t shrinking any further.”
Byleth shivered. She hadn’t noticed it while she was running, but the air felt much colder on her smaller body. What was a fresh breeze had become too chilly for her liking.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting this today!” Sothis said. “You shrinking to such a small size. Wait, since I’m in your head, does that mean I’ve shrunk too?”
Oh, that’s right! Sothis! Can you rewind time to before I started shrinking?
“Aha! Yes, that’s a good idea! Maybe we can figure out what caused this! Here we go!” Byleth waited, allowing Sothis to invoke her mysterious power.
…
“Oh, darn it all. I am somehow… Unable to use my power.” Sothis said wearily.
What?!
“Yes, another… Mystery. Now, I’d really like to stay and help you figure a way out of this, but I suddenly… Feel rather sleepy…”
No, Sothis wait!
There was no response. Byleth let out a little sigh.
Now what do I do? Byleth wondered. I should get some help… My students!
Perhaps out of instinct, she had headed towards the Officer’s academy.
They will try and help me. Or at least, keep me safe…
She gazed up towards a bird in the sky, a reminder of the dangers she faced at her new size. Deciding to linger no longer, she headed towards where her students were surely waiting…  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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