Nella lifted a hand, and the last of the mist stirred. Silva instinctively stepped back as pale fog surged toward them from every corner of the arena, not drifting aimlessly this time but spinning—around Silva, around Nella—faster and faster until they vanished behind a whirling wall of white.
"Silva!" June's voice sounded far away. Julie lunged forward, but the mist sealed shut before she could reach him.
Then—everything stopped. The shouting was gone, the clash of wooden weapons silenced, even the wind stood still.
Silva glanced around. The arena remained, as did June, Julie, and the principal on the observation platform—but no one moved. A wooden sword hovered midair, dust hung suspended above the ground, and Julie was frozen mid-step.
Slowly, Silva turned to Nella.
"What did you do?"
Nella lowered her hand.
"Welcome to the Dream Realm."
"The what?"
"A place between consciousness and reality."
She stepped through the frozen mist.
"Time works differently here. A moment outside could be a whole day in this place."
Silva stared.
"So everyone's frozen?"
"No. From their perspective, we're the ones standing still."
That only made less sense.
Noticing his confusion, Nella said, "Don't think about it too much."
"Hard not to, when you've apparently stopped time."
"I didn't stop time."
For the first time, Nella almost smiled before her expression turned serious.
"This gives us enough time to talk."
Silva's grip on his staff tightened.
"About what?"
"You."
Silva sighed.
"Of course."
Dealing with Nero had been strange enough. Now an elf had pulled him into some bizarre dream world in the middle of an academy exam. His life was getting far too complicated.
Nella paused a few steps away.
"I came to this academy looking for you."
Silva's expression changed.
"You've said that before."
"And now I'll tell you why."
She met his eyes.
"Something is sleeping in your soul."
Silva's grip tightened.
"Something?"
"A dormant soul—an existence from another era."
Nella lifted her hand.
"I came to awaken it."
Silva's eyes went wide.
"Wait—"
But it was already too late.
Nella's palm lit up, and the Dream Realm shuddered.
A crushing force Silva had never felt before pressed down on him, nearly driving him to his knees.
The mist around them turned pitch-black, swallowing the pale fog entirely. Nella's eyes shifted past Silva, her face suddenly cautious.
"She's awake." Silva turned slowly—and froze.
Behind him loomed something massive: a dragon, towering over the arena like a living mountain. Its black scales devoured the light, vast wings folded at its sides, and two immense eyes—darker than the scales—looked down at him, endless and void-like. He couldn't breathe.
The dragon's eyes widened as a voice rumbled through the realm.
"Hmm… What is happening here?" Nella stayed still, but Silva edged closer to her.
"That's inside me?!" She glanced at him. "Yes."
"WHY?!" The dragon lowered its head, first fixing Nella with a look of recognition, then staring at Silva in silence for several long moments. Finally—
"Such a fragile soul."
Silva's fear was temporarily replaced by offense.
"Excuse me?"
The dragon ignored his tone.
Nella stepped forward.
"Pandora."
The dragon's gaze returned to her.
"You ..are..her."
Nella gave a nod.
A deep rumble rolled from Pandora's throat—not quite anger, but close.
Silva glanced between them. "You two know each other?" No one replied. Silva shifted focus to the dragon. "Actually, never mind that. Who are you?" Pandora lowered her massive head until a single enormous eye filled Silva's view.
"I am you."
Silva stared.
"...What?"
Pandora's eye narrowed.
"But I am also not you."
"That somehow made even less sense."
Pandora let out what could only be described as an irritated sigh, the gust of it nearly knocking Silva off balance.
"Then I'll explain it in words your young mind can grasp."
Silva frowned.
"I feel insulted."
"Good, at least you're listening."
Nella quietly turned away as Pandora went on.
"I died, a long time ago." Silva's expression turned serious. "Death doesn't erase everything. Mana doesn't just vanish. The laws of this world return what's lost to the world itself."
Dark specks gathered around Pandora, drifting through the Dream Realm like tiny black stars.
"When my body died, all the mana I'd spent a lifetime collecting returned to the world."
The specks scattered wide,
then slowly drew together around Silva.
"For ages, it stayed scattered."
More darkness gathered.
"Until you were born."
Silva looked down at himself.
The black particles sank into his chest.
Pandora's voice softened.
"The mana that once belonged to me gathered within you."
Silva glanced up.
"So, you're saying I'm your reincarnation?"
Pandora paused to think.
"Close enough."
She lowered her gaze.
"You're not just me reborn. You have your own mind, your own memories, your own soul. But the core of who I once was lives on in you."
Silva's brow furrowed.
"So you're me."
"Yes."
"But also not me."
"Exactly."
Silva rubbed his temples.
"My head's killing me."
Pandora looked almost amused.
"Think of me as an echo—a bundle of ancient mana carrying fragments of the being who once held it."
Silva barely managed to understand the explanation. Then the darkness around them began to shift, forming images. Holding his breath, he saw a sky—not the calm blue he knew, but an ancient one. Enormous creatures swept through the clouds: Some blazed like living suns, others wielded storms, and one glided through the clouds wrapped in a golden glow.
Another streaked across the heavens, cloaked in flame. Silva spotted Pandora among them—not the shadow that stood before him now, but alive, powerful, and proud. He saw dragons soaring over mountains long gone, and creatures laughing, fighting, and arguing—a family, a civilization, his kin.
Then—
The memory shifted. The sky split apart, and Silva's smile vanished. Dark rifts spread across the heavens— not portals, but wounds, raw tears in reality. Strange shapes emerged, their forms alien, as if they didn't belong under this world's sky. The memories quickened. Cities crumbled.
Dragons poured down from the skies, giants trampled across the broken earth, and thunderbirds lit the clouds with crackling lightning. Demons and angels fought shoulder to shoulder, every race united against a single foe. The world itself had turned into a war zone. Silva staggered back. "What…" His gaze shifted to Pandora. "What are those things?" Her face went cold, all traces of amusement gone.
"Mana Devourers."
The memories lingered.
Creatures emerged from the void, magic fading in their wake, power devoured.
"They hunger for mana," Pandora said, eyes narrowing.
"Endlessly."
Silva watched as ancient armies fought desperately against them.
"Why?"
Pandora turned toward the visions.
"It's simply their nature. They consume mana wherever it exists—living beings, magical artifacts, entire lands."
Silva swallowed hard. In the memories, some creatures were being overwhelmed, while others held their ground. A few even faced dragons head-on. Pandora caught Silva's gaze. "Don't think they were just mindless beasts," she said, her tone darkening.
"Some were stronger." The memory shifted, and a massive shadow tore through the sky. Several dragons instantly turned toward it—Pandora among them. "Much stronger."
The memory shattered, and the Dream Realm fell silent once more. Silva stood frozen, just a seven-year-old boy. Yesterday, his biggest worry was finding a rock before sunset. Today, he'd learned there was an ancient dragon inside him and that monsters from beyond reality had once tried to devour the world's mana.
Pandora paid him no mind. "We stopped them," she said.
"You won?" he asked. After a pause, she replied, "We survived." That told Silva everything. Pandora's gaze drifted to the frozen academy around them.
"I remember little of what happened after that. My memories are fragmented."
She took in the buildings.
The people.
The calm world beyond the arena.
"But from what I can gather from your memories, civilization endured. The world found a way to rebuild."
Silva nodded slowly.
"So they're gone."
"No."
Nella's reply came without hesitation.
Pandora turned to face her, catching the grim look on Nella's face.
"Not for long."
A knot formed in Silva's stomach.
"What do you mean?"
Nella crossed her arms beneath her cloak.
"Decades ago, a friend of mine faced one."
Pandora's eyes narrowed, and the Dream Realm itself seemed to shift under her sudden focus.
"A Mana Devourer?"
Nella nodded.
"Yes."
Pandora looked down.
"Impossible."
"I wish it were."
Nella glanced at the frozen sky.
"My friend fought it."
Silva waited in silence.
Nella's voice dropped.
"They made it through, but just barely."
Pandora stayed quiet.
That worried Silva more than if she had shouted.
Nella went on.
"Afterward, fragments started coming back to me—memories that didn't entirely feel like mine."
She touched the side of her head.
"Names. Places. Faces."
Her eyes shifted to Pandora.
"Dragons."
Pandora narrowed her gaze.
Nella turned back to Silva.
"Mana Devourers."
Silva's expression changed as realization struck.
"That's why you were looking for me."
"Partly."
Nella nodded.
"I began traveling because I needed answers. If one Mana Devourer appeared, there could be more."
"How many?"
"I don't know. And knowing won't help you."
Silva frowned.
"You're not very good at reassuring people."
"I'm not trying to reassure you."
Nella said, then continued, "So I started searching for the dragons."
Pandora's gaze sharpened. "Dragons?"
"Those who've returned."
For the first time, Pandora looked genuinely surprised. Nella glanced at Silva.
"You're not the only one."
Silva's eyes widened. "There are others like me?"
"Yes."
Silva exhaled. "Of course."
"But I've felt them," Nella added, her eyes drifting to the far horizon. "Ancient souls beginning to awaken."
Pandora froze, something unreadable flickering in her massive eyes—hope, perhaps fear, maybe both.
Nella turned toward her. "That's why I awakened you."
Pandora's voice became quieter.
"You are gathering us."
""If the Mana Devourers return in force, this world will need protection."
Pandora gazed down at Silva, who met her eyes.
"And now you're saying I might have to fight creatures that almost destroyed everything?" he asked. "Hopefully not," Nella replied.
Silva blinked at her. "That's your comforting answer?"
"It's the best I can give." He dragged his hands over his face.
"Grandpa's never going to believe this." Pandora lowered her massive head. "You will not tell him." Silva let his hands fall. "Why?" "Because until we know why the Mana Devourers are back, revealing anything would be reckless."" Nella nodded.
Silva glanced at the frozen figures of June and Julie, then back at Nella. "So what happens now?" Nella turned her gaze to Pandora.
"Now that she's awake, she'll be staying with you."
Pandora narrowed her eyes.
"You say that like I'm happy about it."
"You called my soul fragile!"
"It is."
"You're living in it!"
"Then make it stronger."
Silva opened his mouth. "Then you should pay me rent… you oversized lizard."
He glanced at Nella.
"Can you put her back to sleep?"
Pandora's huge eyes widened.
Nella laughed—just once—but Silva caught it. Pandora's voice rumbled through the Dream Realm.
"Impudent child."
Silva pointed at himself.
"Sounds like you're insulting yourself."
Pandora fell silent. Nella glanced away. Silva grinned. Finally, he'd scored a win.
Unfortunately, the ancient darkness within him seemed to be dredging up thousands of years' worth of remembered insults.
The mist around them began to shift once more, drawing Nella's gaze.
"Our time is ending," she said.
Silva's smile disappeared.
"Already?"
The Dream Realm started to dissolve, Pandora's massive form fading into darkness. Before vanishing, her eyes locked on Silva.
"Grow stronger."
Silva's expression turned solemn as her voice echoed in the void.
"If those creatures are truly returning, the peaceful age you were born into won't stay peaceful forever."
Silva glanced at the ancient dragon.
"Will you help me?"
Pandora hesitated.
Then—
"I am you."
A faint smile crossed Silva's face.
"Right."
Pandora's form faded away.
"Unfortunately."
Silva's smile disappeared.
"Hey!"
Nella seized his wrist, and the Dream Realm shattered.
The sound came rushing back in an instant. Julie finished the step she'd begun what seemed like hours ago, though to everyone else, barely a second had passed. Silva stumbled, and June quickly grabbed his shoulder. "Silva?" Julie glanced between him and Nella.
"What did she do?" Silva just kept staring at Nella.
The mist surrounding Nella suddenly began to twist.
Silva stepped back as the pale fog curled around her small frame, swallowing her from sight.
Then something shifted within her.
Her outline began to stretch, the young girl's figure growing taller, her proportions changing as the disguise she had worn throughout the examination dissolved. As the mist drifted away, the child vanished, and in her place stood Nella's true form.
Her long hair spilled down her back, golden-blonde mixed with deep black strands, while her pointed ears were now clearly visible.
Yet far above the arena, someone else recognized Nella immediately.
Emperor Darius stood in one of the academy's private observation chambers, his gaze locked on the elf below. He wasn't alone—beside him was the enigmatic woman who had accompanied him, silver hair framing her face as her golden eyes stayed fixed on Nella. Unlike the others, she wasn't surprised; she had been waiting for this. A faint smile touched her lips.
"There," she said softly.
Darius shot her a quick look as her eyes narrowed. "That's her."
He stayed silent, but her next words made it clear. "The one I mentioned. The key to making your revenge happen."
Darius's expression darkened, his grip tightening on the railing.
Below, Nella suddenly raised her head, her eyes drifting past the instructors, over the observation platform—straight to the private chamber. For a heartbeat, her gaze met the golden eyes of the silver-haired woman.
Silva noticed Nella's attention shift upward, but before he could follow her gaze, the last wisps of mist dissolved.
No one realized that something ancient, long lost to time, had awakened within the academy.
No one knew that beings once banished beyond the edge of their world had begun to return.
Deep within his soul, in an endless sea of darkness, two colossal eyes slowly opened.
A low, ancient voice rumbled through the void.
"What a troublesome era to awaken in..."
The darkness shifted.
Pandora had awakened.