The morning mist had not fully dispersed, but the Shadow Academy training grounds were already bustling. The instructor's whistle pierced the air, signaling the start of another brutal training session. Today's exercise was "Forest Assault," simulating stealth and surprise attacks in a complex outdoor environment. Rin, Ye Xue, and the buzz-cut boy, along with two other students, were assigned to a simulated dense forest. Their mission was to "eliminate" hidden dummy targets within a set time.
Rin's body operated with machine-like efficiency, every movement flowing with a seamless rhythm. He effortlessly bypassed ground traps, his toes lightly touching branches as he moved like a phantom through the intricate network of trees. When a dummy disguised as a tree stump suddenly sprang out, Rin's body reacted before his mind could process it. Without a moment's thought, without even realizing what he was doing, his arm was already raised, his wrist flicked, and the short dagger in his palm flashed with cold light. It precisely severed the dummy's sensor wire at the neck—a perfect "throat slit," clean and swift, without an ounce of wasted motion.
His movements were lightning-fast; the other team members barely saw it happen. The buzz-cut boy, who had been about to charge forward, only saw the dummy fall silently, its neck severed cleanly as if by an invisible blade. His eyes widened in disbelief, staring at Rin. Was this really the sickly amnesiac? He was clearly a dormant beast!
"Perfect!" From a short distance, the observing instructor's eyes flickered with a subtle gleam. He had initially thought Rin merely had good physical attributes, but he never expected his killing techniques to be so masterful. It didn't look like something learned; it seemed more like an instinct rooted deep in his soul, natural and flawless. He picked up his tablet and made a special mark next to Rin's name, adding him to the "Key Observation List." This kid was a talent, but also an unpredictable variable.
Rin paid no attention to the instructor's reaction; he simply sheathed his dagger calmly. The familiar motion brought forth more fragmented images in his mind: silent infiltration, the dagger's tip stained with blood, and target after target falling by his hand. This was undoubtedly the instinct of the "Blade of Demise." A contradiction gnawed at him: this body didn't remember, so how could it execute such professional killing moves?
The team continued to advance and soon encountered a second artificial trap. This time, it was a rope disguised as a vine that sprang up at a crucial moment, attempting to trip the buzz-cut boy in front. However, faster than Rin was another figure.
Ye Xue!
Her reaction was equally astonishingly fast. Almost simultaneously with the rope springing up, she lightly tapped her foot, her body drifting backward like willow catkins, evading the attack. At the same time, her right hand flipped, revealing three poisoned throwing needles already clutched between her fingers. In mid-air, she flicked her wrist, and the three needles shot out in a triangular formation with a "whoosh," precisely embedding themselves into the trap's activation mechanism, instantly disabling it. Her movements were fluid, elegant, yet imbued with a deadly coldness.
Rin's gaze fixed on Ye Xue. Her techniques were also terrifyingly precise. That coldness and precision were identical to the "Blade of Demise" in his memories. And her method of using throwing needles, coupled with her sensitivity to poisons, made the images of them fighting side-by-side even clearer in his mind. This woman, she had been his closest comrade, and his deadliest enemy.
Ye Xue also felt Rin's gaze. She didn't avoid it; instead, she turned and met his eyes. Her gaze held a hint of scrutiny and a subtle, almost imperceptible sharpness. As if to say: you're strong, but so am I. A silent competition permeated the air between them.
The daytime training was brutal and exhausting, but the arrival of night brought new torment.
Rin once again fell into a nightmare.
This time, in the dream, he was no longer the vague "Blade of Demise." He clearly saw his own face, as if captured by a high-definition lens. He lay in a crimson snowfield, blood pouring from a fatal wound in his chest, staining the pure white snow beneath him. The intense pain, and the despair of betrayal, were so vivid they were almost unbearable.
Above him, a blurry figure gradually became clear. It was a young girl, her silver hair cascading down like a waterfall, shimmering with an eerie glow under the moonlight. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, yet it carried an otherworldly coldness and detachment. In her hand, she clutched a crystal-clear ice blade, its tip still stained with his warm blood.
"Why… why…" Rin tried to speak, but only a faint gasp escaped.
The silver-haired girl leaned down, gazing at him with cold eyes. Her lips parted slightly, speaking something, but her voice was lost in the wind and snow. Rin only saw the shape of her lips and felt the complex emotions in her eyes—coldness, helplessness, and even a faint, incomprehensible hint of pain.
The ice blade, like a thousand needles, pierced his soul, the excruciating pain making it impossible to think. He wanted to grasp her, to ask her everything, but he only felt his body growing lighter, his consciousness flickering like a candle flame, until it finally extinguished.
"Ah—!"
Rin jolted awake from the nightmare, gasping violently, drenched in cold sweat, his bedsheets soaked. He clutched his chest; there was no wound, but his heart ached as if pierced by an ice blade. The silver-haired girl's face, her cold eyes, and the sharp ice blade in her hand were now clearly etched into his mind.
A silver-haired girl… not Ye Xue's ink-black hair.
So, who killed the "Blade of Demise"? Was it Ye Xue, or this silver-haired girl? Or was there a deeper connection between the two? His past life's memories were like a shattered Rubik's Cube; each fragment held a bloody enigma.
Rin felt a confusion he had never experienced before. He thought it was Ye Xue who killed him, but another silver-haired girl appeared in his dream. Was Ye Xue merely acting under orders? Or was the betrayal he faced far more complex than he imagined?
He sat up, leaning against the cold wall, replaying every detail of the dream in his mind. Silver-haired girl. Ice blade. The agony of being pierced. And that unheard sentence.
He knew these fragmented memories all pointed to an undeniable truth. He had to survive, he had to become stronger, to unravel these layered mysteries, to find that silver-haired girl, to find Ye Xue, to uncover the true cause of his death, and the deeper conspiracy of this assassin's world.
Outside the window, the night was profound. Rin's eyes became even deeper than the night, and more resolute. He would find the answers, no matter the cost.