By the time Thursday rolled around, Zeyn was running on fumes. His legs dragged him across campus as if his body were a broken marionette barely held together by sheer will.
His eyes, rimmed with dark circles, barely held open as he shuffled down the corridor toward room A45. Every step was a burden. Every breath, a reminder of the toll his sister had taken on him.
The scabbard—whatever cursed relic Ayu had stabbed into him—remained lodged somewhere in his soul. It hadn't pierced his flesh, not visibly. But inside, something had cracked. Something had changed.
"Just a few more steps," he whispered hoarsely, pressing a palm to his temple.
Yesterday's ordeal had not only shredded his physical energy but warped something metaphysical. He could still hear her voice whispering in his mind. Still feel the phantom weight of her serpentine coils wrapping around him, the pressure on his chest, the cold fog that had slithered through his veins.
The moment he reached the classroom, he instinctively pulled open the door—only to find it deserted.
"Oh... right. P.E.," he murmured, eyes narrowing as the realization settled.
He didn't bother heading to the field. His limbs felt like jelly. Instead, he slumped into a seat by the window and curled into himself, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow.
Just a few minutes. That's all he needed. Just a bit of silence.
* * *
"Hey, why are you lying down here? Wake up, Zeyn!"
"Huh?"
Someone caught him lying down in class during class hours, and it turned out to be a blonde guyn who looked familiar. Zeyn saw Kriss sitting at the table while still wearing his sports clothes.
"Here, drink this," Kriss said as he handed him a cold object, which turned out to be a can of soda.
Without commenting, he took the soda and drank it.
"Orange flavor is indeed the best to drink after a tiring activity like this, right?"
"Hn... thank you," Zeyn murmured briefly.
"By the way, you haven't answered me. Why were you able to sleep here, huh?"
Kriss narrowed his eyes as if investigating something. He carefully observed the guy in front of him who had been weak since morning. Not long after, Zeyn laid back down and hugged the cold can of drink.
"Oh, so you're actually sick, I see." Kriss said.
With a slight smile, he left and returned to his seat to change his clothes into a regular black and white uniform.
"I swear, just jogging in circles? What a joke. Why are we still being tortured with this crap in college?"
"That's just how the curriculum is."
"Curriculum says so," Zeyn replied dryly, eyes still half-shut.
Kriss chuckled. "You talk more when you're sick, huh? By the way Zen, do you play games?"
"... hnn"
"You know, fun stuff? RPGs, gacha, raids, moba, fps?"
"... hmm."
Every time he was asked, the person always answered without enthusiasm. What could possibly interest this person? Since yesterday, Kriss had been pondering hard. There must be something that could grab his attention, after all, as a human being, he must have some interests.
"Gotta say, you're a tough nut to crack, man." The class was still empty, so Kriss took out his portable console.
He booted up Dungeon Qonquest, a popular RPG game with dungeon raids, online co-op, and the ever-addictive gacha mechanics. He didn't plan to play seriously—just daily missions and log-in rewards.
One of the features of this game was interaction. So he just had to tap on the character on the home screen, and it would act like an interactive AI.
"…That voice." Zeyn looked surprised, shocked to hear a voice that was very familiar. More precisely, the voice of a character in the game.
"Yeah? What's wrong?" Kriss asked, confused.
Zeyn stood and staggered toward Kriss like a sleepwalker drawn by instinct.
He was truly taken aback when he saw the console screen being played. It displayed a main menu with red and long-haired, purple-eyed demon woman. Her head had two horns and an angel halo with one of the horns broken. The character wore an all-black dress surrounded by magma and a menacing aura.
"That character... Radiant Red!" Zeyn murmured.
"Oh?"
The blonde fell silent for a moment. How did Zeyn know the name of the character in the game? And more importantly, why did he suddenly show interest and approach him despite feeling weak earlier?
"So you know her?" Kriss raised an eyebrow.
"Are you one of those people?!"
Kriss puffed out his chest with a smirk. "You're looking at one of the thirty. Proud owner of Radiant Red, baby."
"…No way."
"Oh, it's true. I dropped more money than I care to admit. But she was worth it."
Zeyn still couldn't believe that he could see this character in person. It was a special reward from the game developers for players who were willing to spend a lot of money.
There were only 30 people in the world who owned this character, and they were also the most well-known as whalers or whales among the community, and Kriss was one of them.
Kriss leaned back smugly. "So, what level are you at?"
Zeyn hesitated. "260."
"What?! How is that possible? What character are you using?"
His level was even higher than the average, which was still at 250.
"Just a regular Demonic Warlord," Zeyn replied.
"Where's your account? I want to see it!"
"Um... it's at home. I didn't bring my console when I'm out."
" "IGN then. Gimme your username. Maybe I can add you as a friend."
"Uhh..."
Actually, Zeyn didn't really like to tell his account name to others. The real reason was that he felt embarrassed. Unfortunately, the game never provided a name-changing feature. In the end, he didn't say his IGN but instead wrote it down on a piece of paper.
"Seriously? This is your account name?" Kriss slapped his forehead.
It did sound cool, but a name like this was considered a shame in the gaming community. It felt weird and childish.
"MusangKing. Pfft~"
"Shut up!"
"Hahahaha..."
It was the first time Kriss heard of someone using the name of a durian to name their account.
"Umm Kriss, right? How does it feel to have Radiant Red?"
"Hmm? You seem very interested in this character, why don't you try it?"
Without hesitation, Kriss handed his console over, allowing his friend to admire the character. His pleased expression was entertaining to Kriss, like giving ice cream to a child.
Zeyn's behavior was now seen as very funny to him. He never thought that the quiet guy had an interest in a 2D girl.
After trying it out, it's true that the character's power is so extraordinary. Those ruby red eyes shone brightly as they watched the skill animations, all of which were wrapped in magma. Each of their attacks felt like a wide-area strike with tremendous impact, causing immense damage to both the enemy and the surrounding environment.
Although Zeyn's expression remained flat, it's undeniable that he was indeed fascinated.
"I heard that Dungeon Qonquest will be adapted into an anime. What do you think?" Kriss asked.
"Don't expect too much..."
"Huh?"
"Anime adaptation of a game is usually less exciting"
Kriss chuckled. "Spoken like a true gamer."
Slowly, Zeyn pressed the screen to interact and listened to the girl's voice. In the end, he could feel what it's like to have the character he desired even though it wasn't his own account. Just knowing what it feels like already made him happy.
"If you like this character, why don't you just buy it?"
"... That's not funny."
"Hahahaha~"
He spoke as if the cost of acquiring this character was cheap.
But as the screen dimmed and the moment of comfort faded, Zeyn caught his reflection on the black screen of the console. The redness in his eyes shimmered—no longer just from fatigue or illness, but something else. Something inside him... pulsing.
He gripped the console tightly, his mind flashing back to the scabbard, to Ayu's voice whispering like a curse.
Even if talking to someone helped lighten his thoughts, it didn't change the reality he carried. He was still a vessel. Still marked.
Still hunted.
* * * *