Levi shook his head.

"Not really." he said, looking at her.

By this point, the markings in his eye had spread out... to the point where his entire eye was black, with a purple iris. And he had HEAVY bags under his eyes.

"The tests they're doing on me don't seem to be doing a whole lot, other than slowing this process down, and it seems I've taken to uttering nonsense and drivel that nobody can understand, though I can't recall ever doing that." he explained.

"I came to see if you had any suggestions, ideas, or advice." he finished.

Levi took a seat, and sighed.

"Some." he said. "Not much, admittedly." he then said further.

"Seems that THIS is some kind of side effect of the influence of THEIR mana." he told her. "And by THEY, I mean what the people here refer to as 'The Ancient Ones'..." he continued.

"Really old and powerful God-like beings that were... banished, or left, or something. I don't think anyone knows." he mumbled.

"Anyway, it seems this is because my body can't handle the mana that's seeping into me, so it's reacting this way." he continued, before twitching slightly.

"Can you help?" he asked her.

"At this point, I don't care." Levi responded.

"I'll gladly feel like death warmed over if it means it'll lessen the chances that I'll hurt someone." he told her.

"Seriously. Ally is my roomie and best friend, and this place is the most amazing place, with the most amazing people." he went on. "I don't want to do anything to harm anyone or anything here." he assured her.

"So please. Anything." he went on.

"Anything at all will be accepted." he told her, desperation in his tone.

Levi nodded and accepted the cup.

"Thank you." he said.

He then immediately emptied the cup into his mouth... and then almost just as immediately, looked like his face was going to withdraw into itself from sourness, and like he was going to instinctively spit the liquid back out.

However, after some (overly) dramatic arm movements, he swallowed the drink.

"GAH!" he then exclaimed, exhaling loudly.

"Wow, that was... well, it was bad." he said, pausing a moment. "But it has a REALLY nice aftertaste, though." he then said further, licking his lips a bit.

That's when Angela noticed that the blackness in his eye hadn't gone away, but the purple iris was starting to shift back to its original shade of blue.

"Uh..." Levi stammered, before shaking his head.

"Not... really." he said.

"Actually, that's a lie." he quickly corrected himself. "I feel like I could just collapse in bed right now and sleep, which is already an improvement." he told her. "Previously, I was too scared to even consider going to bed, which was... well... not a good way to live." he mumbled.

"Also, fae mana?" he asked.

"Like... what some people call fairies, fae?" he asked further.

Levi was silent, and blinked a few times, before he did something he hadn't done in quite some time.

He yawned.

It was wide and loud, and he looked like it was something he'd needed to do for a LONG time.

"...that might be nice." he admitted.

"Yeah, I haven't had any restful sleep in some time." he said further, before smiling at her.

"Thank you." he told her, the relief in his tone matching the relief in his expression.

Levi looked at the glass orb in the wall, and nodded.

"Cool." he said.

"I'll remember that." he told her.

He then yawned once more, and scratched his side.

"Man, I feel like I could just sleep forever, y'know?" he commented. "Just pass out and drift off into an endless dream." he went on, before making his way to the bed and sitting down on it.

"...comfy." he murmured.

"Thanks again." he told her, yawning yet again.

After about a minute, she received a response.

Duly noted. I can only guess why he's there, though I have a decent idea. If he's there for the night, I can only hope it means he's finally getting some sleep.

Poor boy... he has a lot happening to him right now, and we're doing all we can to try and help him.

Be sure to do all you can for him. it read.

Angela could almost see the sincerity in the words before her. Sharp really wanted to help Levi, but was that even possible, given the forces that were invading and influencing him?

On a related note, how are YOU doing?[

The few times I've seen you, you've been looking... tired and distant.

Is everything all right? Anything you want or need to talk about?

That's what the next email read.

And it came from a concerned Sharp, as she could probably tell.

In his office, Sharp sat at his desk, silent.

He was staring at the screen, sighing.

Very well. was all he sent back.

"...Angela..." he said quietly.

"Have I saddled you with too much?" he asked aloud.

'...no... no, that can't be it.' he then thought. 'The pen has no power. Not without the book. And while we have no idea where the book is, last we heard, it was on the other side of the country.' he thought further.

He then shook his head, and stood up.

"I need a drink." he told himself, as he started to head to the cafeteria.