Afternoon light streamed in through the large windows of the Zephyrus library. The room was quiet, filled with only bookshelves, a few study tables, and chairs.
Damian, Lucien, Elric, and Nero sat in a circle.
No one spoke. The only sound was the faint breeze from outside and the ticking of the clock on the wall.
They stared at each other. Silent. Full of questions, but no one knew where to begin.
Finally, Damian spoke up.
"We're all… from the same world, aren't we?"
Lucien nodded slowly. His face was calm, but his eyes were serious.
"Too many strange things to be coincidences," he replied.
Elric leaned back in his chair and grinned halfheartedly.
"Yup. We were in the same class," he said lightly. "We even… fought over each other's seats."
A faint smile appeared on Damian's face. But his gaze quickly shifted to Nero, the only one who hadn't spoken.
"Nero, you too?" he said quietly.
Nero opened his eyes slowly. He was silent for a few seconds, then answered in a calm voice.
"...Yeah. Me too."
Silence fell again.
But this time, it wasn't due to confusion, but rather to a new reality that had finally been accepted.
They were no longer strangers from a different world.
They were... truly friends from a previous world.
The atmosphere returned to silence.
Lucien finally sat back more relaxed, one hand raised to massage his temple.
"That means… we all got a message from that dream," Lucien said quietly. "We were all… 'chosen.'"
Elric leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. His expression was a mix of confusion and amusement.
"It's like an isekai anime scenario, isn't it?" he commented, half-jokingly.
Damian chuckled at that. It was a light laugh that wasn't entirely relieved, but enough to break the tension.
"But the difference is, we actually live in this world," Damian said.
Nero remained silent in his seat. But slowly, he nodded once.
It didn't take much.
It was enough to show that he, too, acknowledged everything.
Damian looked at his three friends one by one. His voice was calmer as he said:
"Then all we have to do is find out who the other two who haven't shown up are."
The night sky was covered in gray clouds. A cold wind blew gently, rustling the leaves at the edge of the forest behind Zephyrus.
In the middle of his hidden training area in the woods outside the school, Nero Valtzreid stood alone. This had long been his training ground, far from the eyes of others, far from the crowds. The only place where he could be himself.
He gazed out at the academy from behind the trees.
The lights in the dormitory buildings still flickered dimly. Some students might be laughing together, while others might be asleep. But Nero wasn't there. And he didn't want to be there.
He spoke softly, his voice almost drowned in the night wind.
"Back then... when I was accused of kidnapping Kyle, none of you knew me."
He lowered his head slightly.
"Damian... you were kind to me, yes. But you also... still had doubts."
He took a deep breath. His hands clenched into fists.
"Lucien, Elric... you didn't even say anything."
A thin shadow rose from beneath his feet, creeping like a living mist.
His eyes remained fixed on the distant campus, but now there was a hint of resentment in them. His tone remained calm, yet deep. Full of unhealed wounds.
"Don't forget… our old life. You… all of you… made me miserable too."
He looked up at the dark sky.
"I won't forgive you."
There was a moment of silence. Then his final voice came, almost a whisper.
"And some of us… still haven't shown up."
A small smile formed on Nero's face. Not a happy smile, but a serious one.
"Just wait, I'll get even with you all."
The shadows slowly merged with his body. The air around him turned cold.
And as he disappeared… the forest fell silent again.