damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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"I am Xemnas." he replied calmly, offering her a smile of his own. Though, the smile seemed empty and nowhere as warm as the one Claire offered. "A pleasure to meet you, Claire."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Something about his smile sent chills down Claire's spine, but she ignored the feeling for now. Looking at him curiously, she asked, "Where are you from? It's just...I've never seen anyone like you before."

His hair and eyes seemed natural, but she'd never thought someone would have so many contradicting features.

"Anyone like me?" Xemnas echoed. A chuckle escaped his lips, yet it sounded...empty. His amber eyes watched the young girl with only the slightest amusement, as it was only how much a being like he could summon. A mere shadow of what it would have been otherwise...

"I find it remarkable that you would consider me different from anyone else."

His laugh was even colder than his smile. Claire shifted a little in her seat, trying to remain polite, but there was a small warning going off in the back of her head. Something...it just wasn't right.

Slightly less confident, she continued, "Your hair...and eyes...no one would look like that naturally where I'm from." A thought crossed her mind. "I did see someone else with odd hair like yours, though. It was red, and really spikey."

CLaire suddenly peered at Xemnas curiously. "Do you know him?" The thought of some spikey headed cult in this place seemed ridiculous, but then again, this place was ridiculous. She shouldn't have expected normality - that was something far out of her reach now.

"Ah, I assume you mean Axel? We are indeed acquaintances." Xemnas replied, deciding not to go into any details. It was hardly something that concerned her, after all.

Yet, the Superior hadn't entirely expected she had meant his eyes and hair with her previous statement. "People do, where I am from. There are, after all, plenty of differences between worlds." he replied calmly. "Of course, such differences aren't merely limited to ones hair."

Hair...this seemed more like a subject XI would discuss.

So he did know Axel! But Axel...he seemed so much warmer than this man.

Claire decided to stick with the superfical, not sure whether she should reveal how uncomfortable his cold stare was making her. Maybe it was simply his personality, and if that was the case, she shouldn't judge him.

She tilited her head in curiousity to his statment. "The way you talk, you make it sound like you have been to other worlds."

"I indeed have. Travel between worlds is indeed possible where I am from. To some extend, at least." he spoke, twirling his spaghetti around his fork.

The nonexistent had no trouble traveling to other worlds, as they had the corridors of darkness to their disposal. The Heartless broke the barriers between worlds, could travel freely. Yet, those that lived on the world of light didn't possess the liberty for such things. Unless they happened to own a Gummi ship, at least.

"I take it such travels aren't a common thing in your world?" he questioned before taking a bite from his meal.

Claire's eyes widened, all discomfort forgotten. This was incredible! She suddenly felt very small, having never been outside her town in Texas, when there were whole worlds out there she'd never heard of.

She shook her head at his question, still dazed. "We have ships that travel through space, but it's not a common thing for people to travel to other worlds. You have to be trained before you can go, and even then it's usually just for research. The planets around mine aren't habitable."

Hmm...it indeed seemed not every kind of world (or 'dimension', perhaps?) was the same. The majority of the worlds -- as strange they sometimes were -- were inhabitable.

"Then, from which world do you come from?" he questioned, finding himself mildly curious about the matter.

"Earth," Claire said. It still seemed strange to her that there were people here who'd never heard of it. "What about you? Do you have a home world, or are you always traveling?"

"Earth?" Xemnas once again echoed. It seemed many hailed from this planet, which was only fuel to the fire which was the Nobody's curiosity. Also, rumor had it this very institute was located upon this planet. How remarkable...

"I have some kind of home world, even though my world doesn't exist as worlds normally do." Xemnas began. "My world lacks the very essence that defines a world, therefore, it doesn't even exist. What is left is merely a shell, a mere echo of a world. It is a world that is, yet isn't."

A small pause, as if the Superior let the information sink in.

"I am from the World That Never Was."

Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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