This... is the story of a girl.
She knew everything others tried to hide, yet could not see the one thing she longed for, light. It was just life.
She came from a loving middle-class family. Her childhood was filled with joy compared to others, yet she could not help but wish to do more for her parents, because they deserved more.
Her hobby was fencing, and she hoped that once she passed her first Nightmare, she would carve her own path with it and give her parents a better life.
Before falling to the temptation of the Spell, she looked at her parents one last time as she held their hands. Their hands shook with fear of losing their daughter, yet she held them firmly with a small smile, hiding her own worries as she fell asleep surrounded by the ones she loved.
...
..
.
When she woke, her hands shook as they rose to her head and her body dropped to her knees.
A broken cry escaped her before it turned into something louder, something desperate, as she screamed and begged without understanding what had been taken from her.
Her parents rushed to her, both of them reaching her at the same time, her mother dropping to her knees beside her while her father steadied her from the other side, their voices overlapping as they called out to her, trying to make sense of what was happening.
Tears filled her mother's eyes as trembling hands cupped her daughter's face, trying to make her look at her, only to stop when her daughter's eyes never met hers,
Her father froze for a fraction of a second beside them, his breath catching as he noticed it too, something in his expression shifting before he forced himself to move again.
Not understanding what was happening, instinct took over as her mother pulled her into a tight embrace.
Her father's hands hovered for a moment before settling against her back, holding her from the other side.
As if the two of them could keep her from falling apart between them.
The girl flinched violently, her body recoiling as if she had not seen it coming, her nails digging into her mother's shoulder with sleeper's strength that drew blood.
Her father stiffened at the sight, his hand tightening slightly as he fought the urge to pull her away, knowing it would only make things worse.
She felt it, and slowly, understanding began to settle in.
Her mother endured the pain, because whatever her daughter was feeling had to be far worse, tightening her embrace instead of letting go, while her father remained close, one hand still on her back, the other clenching at his side, his silence heavier than words.
"Cassie, tell your mother what happened."
Understanding did not come all at once.
Cassie shook as she clung to her, crying into her shoulder, the words caught in her throat.
Her head sank deeper into her mother's shoulder as her cries broke apart, tears mixing with the blood that seeped from the wounds she had caused.
Her father leaned closer, his hand rising again before hesitating, then finally resting gently against her arm, as if grounding himself as much as her.
Her mother only tightened her hold, one hand cradling the back of her head as she pressed a trembling kiss against it, forcing herself to stay steady, to listen, no matter what came next.
"C-cassie... look at me, please."
Her mother begged.
Cassie, hearing the pain in her mother's voice, tried to gather the strength to reply, to say anything... she did, but it came out in hiccups, in broken bits.
***
A few days had passed since that moment, and although nothing in the house had changed, it no longer felt like the same place they had lived in before.
Cassie slept in her room with the door slightly open, while her parents sat together in silence, unable to remember how long they had been there.
The warmth that once filled their home had faded into something distant, leaving behind only a quiet stillness that pressed down on every thought they tried to form.
Her laughter used to echo through the halls without effort, reaching every corner and making even the smallest moments feel alive, but now that sound had disappeared completely.
The mother sat with her hands resting in her lap, her fingers loosely intertwined as her gaze remained lowered, slowly blurring with tears she had not noticed forming.
The father saw it, hesitated for only a moment, and then stepped forward before pulling her into an embrace that lacked strength but held everything they could not say.
They stayed like that, holding onto each other because neither of them had anything else left that could keep them from breaking apart completely.
They had never had much in life, no wealth or connections to rely on, only each other and the quiet belief that it would always be enough.
The father's jaw trembled before he forced it still again, holding himself together through habit, while the mother pressed her face into his chest as her tears soaked through his shirt.
It was not only her flaw that had done this to them, because if it had ended there, they would have endured and found a way to give her a life worth living.
But the Dream Realm did not forgive weakness, and that truth remained between them, shaping every thought they tried to push away.
The mother's voice finally broke through the silence, fragile and uncertain as her fingers loosened slightly against his shirt while she asked.
"Is there nothing we can do?"
The father did not answer immediately, his hand moving slowly over her hair while his gaze drifted toward the hallway and the faint opening of Cassie's door.
He thought of the calls they had made, the questions they had asked, and the answers that never came, each attempt ending without hope.
'We have already submitted her name to the academy,' lingered in his mind, and it was a truth that made everything feel final in a way he could not change but just hope.
"There..." he began quietly, but the word faded before it could become anything more, leaving only the weight of what he could not say.
"There's nothing we can help her with any longer except just being there." he finally said, his voice steady only because he forced it to be.
The mother's grip tightened again as her shoulders shook, and for a moment the house returned to that same heavy silence that had settled into it days ago.
They just stayed there in the quiet embrace of each other, Filling the pain they felt...
...
..
.
As they held onto each other, trying to gather what little comfort remained, a sudden sound broke through the silence of the house.
Thud. Thud. Thud. THUD.
The noise echoed sharply, each impact heavier than the last, until fear took hold of them before either could form a single thought.
The mother tried to move, her body reacting first, but the father had already rushed past her, driven forward with everything he had left.
He did not slow down, his steps uneven and hurried, his breathing losing rhythm as something deeper than reason pushed him forward, his eyes trembling with fear he could not control.
The mother followed close behind, her pace breaking into a run as her chest tightened with every step, dread building faster than she could contain it.
They moved through the house without seeing anything around them, down the stairs without feeling their own steps, until the sight before them forced everything to stop.
Cassie was on the ground.
Her hand reached out, searching for something to hold onto, but it closed around empty space before slipping again, her balance failing her in a place she once moved through without thought.
There were no bruises on her skin, no sign of injury, her body unharmed, yet the absence of pain only made the moment harder to bear.
She lifted her head at the sound of their footsteps, recognizing them instantly, and a small smile formed on her lips, gentle and carefully maintained.
"I just fell, Mom, Dad. It didn't hurt."
The mother stopped where she stood, her body refusing to move any closer, her hands trembling faintly as her throat tightened, her voice unable to come out without breaking.
The father kept walking.
Each step slowed, but he did not stop until he reached her, the distance between them closing in a way that felt both too fast and far too late.
Cassie heard it, the difference in his steps, the weight behind them, and she tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke again.
"I am fine, Da-"
She could not finish her words.
He had already dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, his grip firm in a way that did not allow distance to exist anymore.
Cassie stiffened for a brief moment, caught off guard by the sudden embrace, and her smile remained, held together by effort alone.
She tried to pull back slightly, still smiling, still trying to reassure him, still trying to keep everything from falling apart in front of them.
"I'm really fine," she said again, softer this time, the words losing strength as they left her lips.
Her hands moved uncertainly before resting against him, not pushing him away anymore, but not fully holding on either, caught between what she wanted to show and what she could not hide.
The effort did not last.
Her breath broke first, followed by the trembling in her hands, and then the tears came without restraint, slipping past everything she had tried to hold together.
Her grip tightened suddenly as she clung to him, her composure collapsing all at once, the fragile strength she had built over the past days breaking beyond repair.
"I'm really... fine..."
The words fell apart as she tried to repeat them, her voice breaking into pieces that no longer carried meaning, her tears falling uncontrollably as she gave up trying to hold them back.
The father held her closer, one hand pressing gently against the back of her head, keeping her near as his own control slipped in silence.
His eyes burned, then blurred, and the tears he had forced back for days finally fell, quiet but unstoppable as he held his daughter in his arms.
Seeing her like this shattered whatever he had left to hold onto, leaving only the raw weight of what he could not fix.
Behind them, the mother finally moved forward, her steps unsteady, one hand covering her mouth as she reached them, unable to remain where she was any longer.
She knelt beside them and wrapped her arms around both of them, holding them close, her own tears falling freely now, no longer held back by anything.
They stayed there together, held within each other's arms, where nothing could be fixed and nothing could be undone, yet neither of them let go.
***
The blind seer sat in her room with a smile so gentle and polite that no one would have guessed what the past few days had done to her.
She sat on her bed, facing forward without focus, her gaze resting on nothing.
From beyond the walls, she could hear her parents almost every day, their voices breaking when they thought she would not notice, their grief never fully hidden.
She listened, and she smiled.
Her world had been ruined.
She had carried so many dreams within her, small and simple, yet precious, and more than anything she had wanted to give her parents a better life than the one they had struggled to build.
That wish had not only failed, it had turned against her, leaving her behind as something they now had to bear instead.
She had become a liability.
Yet she continued to smile.
At night, when everything grew quiet and her body finally lay down to rest, she used to cry herself to sleep, burying her face into the pillow to keep the sound from reaching beyond her room.
That did not last.
Sleep no longer brought her that escape.
The moment her mind slipped, the visions came.
Dragging her into scenes filled with violence and ruin, forcing her to witness things no one should ever have to see.
Blood, broken bodies, mysteries meant to decipher... that did not fade even when she tried to shut them out, all of it pressed into her mind with a clarity she could not escape.
She would wake without tears, her breath uneven, her hands gripping the sheets, the remnants of those visions lingering long after they were gone.
Even her ability to cry had been taken from her.
So she remained there, sitting quietly, her smile unchanged, her composure held together for anyone who might see her.
She had already accepted it.
When the winter solstice will come, so will her death, in a world where she could not even see what stood before her.
There was no path forward that led to survival.
She endured it the same way she had came to endure everything else life had offered her.
Silently.
And beneath that quiet understanding, one truth remained, settling deeper with every passing moment.
Sooner or later, she would be overwhelmed.
Cassie said as she smiled.
"I have to go to academy starting Tommorow."
***
Abandoned by fate, yet still loved dearly by her parents, the one chosen to see what others never could sat alone on her first day at the academy, placed quietly at the far corner where no one needed to acknowledge her presence directly.
That was how her life had settled into something she never chose, sitting among others while never truly becoming one of them, existing in the same space yet always held at a distance that no one openly admitted but everyone seemed to understand without words.
Students passed by her seat from time to time, some slowing with curiosity and others even beginning to speak, yet the moment their attention lingered on her and understanding took hold, something within them withdrew in a way that felt almost instinctive rather than deliberate.
Their voices lost certainty, their steps shifted away from her, and they left without meaning to do so, guided by a discomfort they could neither explain nor resist even if they wanted to remain.
She noticed it every single time, not through sight but through the way their cores reacted, the faint waves that pulled back before ever reaching her, leaving behind a hollow space where connection should have been.
The blind seer could not see the world as others did, yet her own perception was far from empty, filled instead with something that felt sharper and far more unforgiving than simple darkness.
She turned her attention across the room, where there was no absence of light but rather a quiet field of glowing cores held within forms she could not fully perceive, each one revealing itself through presence alone.
They burned white at the center while colors shifted around them without restraint, revealing emotions that others tried to hide but could never truly contain beneath their surface.
Each movement sent out faint waves that spread outward and brushed against the boundaries of others before fading, carrying something she could recognize even if she could never feel it herself.
Those waves were touch, and yet they never reached her.
She watched them in silence as understanding formed on its own, patterns revealing meaning without guidance, as though the world had simply decided to explain itself to her in the cruelest way possible.
A dull bluish orange clung to those weighed down by anxiety, while blue carried sadness, red burned with anger, and yellow shimmered with something lighter that she knew must have been joy.
The waves followed those emotions as they rose and fell, brushing against others in quiet exchanges that everyone seemed to sense yet never truly see, a connection that existed everywhere except where she stood.
Except her.
She remained still, her expression unchanged, her faint smile resting in place even as everything around her continued to prove that she existed just outside something she could never reach again.
Her attention drifted until it settled on a presence that refused to remain still, its core shifting between hesitation and resolve while its waves stretched outward only to pull back again before making contact.
She focused on it just long enough for meaning to form without effort, the understanding settling into her mind with a quiet certainty that no longer surprised her.
'[Strong Will.]'
She accepted it without reaction, the same way she accepted everything now, letting it pass through her thoughts without resistance or attachment.
Her focus moved again, drifting across the room until it found another presence that stood apart without trying, its form suggesting a girl whose presence did not waver even for a moment.
Her core burned brighter than the others, its light sharp and overwhelming in a way that made it impossible to ignore, as though something within it refused to yield to anything around it.
The waves around her were stronger as well, pressing outward with force before settling back, carrying a presence that felt alive in a way that made everything else seem distant by comparison.
Cassie watched her longer than she should have, her focus deepening as something beneath that brilliance drew her attention, something that remained untouched despite everything that surrounded it.
The light was undeniable, yet it did not fill everything.
There was space within it, something quiet, something that remained beyond even that overwhelming presence.
The understanding came again, forming without hesitation.
'[Dreamspawn.]'
'[Nephilim.]'
'[The Fire.]'
She did not react, though her awareness lingered for a moment longer before drifting away, because even something that burned that brightly still carried a silence she understood all too well.
***
Tap. Tap.
Cassie had been absorbed in her thoughts when the sound reached her, tapping against her table, close enough to belong to someone standing beside her, and the interruption pulled her attention away at once.
She turned toward it, expecting a presence, yet no core had approached her, not even a faint ripple, and that absence made unease settle quietly in her chest as she found nothing where someone should have been.
Her focus remained on the empty space before her as uncertainty tightened its hold, because there was no outline, no glow, no trace of life, only a hollow that should not have existed so close.
She pushed her perception further, forcing herself to look deeper into that emptiness, her eyes trembling slightly as she strained, unwilling to accept that something could stand before her without being seen.
At first there was nothing, then slowly something took shape.
A core.
Small and condensed.
Gray.
Her thoughts paused, because that was not how it should be, every sleeper carried a white core, yet this one stood apart without explanation.
A chill ran through her as she continued to look, because it did not feel wrong in a simple way, it simply existed outside what she understood.
She focused again and saw it more clearly, the core beneath was white, but something gray wrapped around it, thin and suffocating, something that should not have been there.
The tapping came again.
Tap.
She steadied herself and searched for the waves that followed emotion, the faint signals that others could never hide, reaching for something familiar.
There was nothing.
No emotion surfaced from him, no waves reached her, leaving only that small, silent core suspended in place.
Her breath slowed as she tried to see more, forcing her perception to shape what stood before her, yet what formed was incomplete.
There were no outline of features, no shape that matched a person, and in that absence she understood there was no touch, no presence that could reach outward.
What appeared instead was something else, dozens of eyes layered over each other, overlapping without order, luminous and shifting with colors she could not name.
They remained open, unfocused yet aware, and within that gaze she felt their attention settle on her.
A hollow ache spread through her chest as understanding took hold, because what stood before her could not belong among others.
He was alone.
Not in the quiet way she endured, but in something deeper, something that left no space for connection.
Her fingers curled slightly against her lap as that realization settled, because she knew that distance too well.
And beneath that understanding, something else rose within her, subtle yet undeniable.
A faint greed.
Because for the first time since she became a sleeper, she was not the only one standing outside everything.
As the understanding of his attributes made their way into her mind, Cassie stilled, her thoughts fading as something deeper settled in their place.
'[Embraced by Fate]'
Her fingers tightened slowly against her lap as the meaning unfolded, and a quiet weight pressed against her chest as she realized just how deep it went.
Fate had claimed him.
Completely.
He was not ruined, and he was not blessed, left suspended in between, yet bound from head to toe by something unseen that would never loosen its hold.
She could feel it.
something that clung too closely, something that did not guide gently but held, tightened, and refused to let go... Almost suffocating.
The word embraced felt wrong to her.
It was too soft.
What held him was closer to obsession, something that toyed with him while keeping him alive, shaping him into something that could only move forward.
Her breath grew quieter as that thought settled.
He was a perfect tool.
A perfect soldier of Fate.
And the path ahead of him stretched long, filled with hardship, with only small pieces of happiness scattered within it, just enough to keep him from breaking completely.
Her grip tightened further.
Because she understood what that meant.
'[Seeker of Reflection]'
The next meaning followed, and something inside her sank as she felt it settle.
Even in her own ruined state, she felt pity for him.
He was destined to be seen.
Others would look at him and want to become him, would chase after what they believed he had, seeing only the surface while never understanding what it cost.
But he did not know himself.
He did not know where he stood.
He would keep searching.
Alone.
Her lips parted slightly as a quiet ache spread through her chest, because that feeling was too familiar to ignore.
A world full of people.
And no place within it.
That thought lingered, and with it something else followed, something softer, yet sharper.
A faint greed.
Her fingers relaxed slightly, then curled again as that feeling settled deeper, because for the first time there was someone who stood where she stood, someone who might understand without turning away.
Someone that could understand her.
'[Witness of Fate]'
....
A smile escaped her, It was a little fake, A little genuine and a little filled with greed.
She smiled and nodded, Allowing him to sit beside.
Everything was too smooth and everything was too perfect.
One who could do everything but see and the other who could see but do nothing.
He must feel the eyes too, The eyes that follow you everywhere.
They must stare at him too.
They truly were... Fated to meet.
***
Cassie sat quietly in the classroom, her hands resting on her lap as she traced back everything that had happened since the moment she became a sleeper, and a faint, fragile smile slowly formed on her lips.
It had all changed too quickly, leaving her with more than she could understand.
Her fingers tightened slightly as a thought surfaced again, one she had been avoiding without realizing it.
Would Kiyotaka still stay with her now that he had his senses back, or would he finally step into the world that had always been waiting for him.
She lowered her head slightly, the smile on her lips turning thinner as the answer came to her without effort, because she had seen enough to understand how things worked.
No one chose a burden when they had a choice.
She could not see his face clearly, yet even from the outline alone she knew he stood far above others, and now that he would return to being normal, there would be no reason for him to remain beside her.
Others would gather around him, speaking with ease, walking beside him without hesitation, offering things she could never give no matter how much she tried.
A quiet breath left her lips as the sounds of students passing by filled the room, their movements brushing past her without pause, while she remained where she was, unchanged.
It had been brief, yet it had meant more than she wanted to admit.
Her thoughts drifted back to him without permission, to the steady rhythm of taps against her desk, to the way he answered every question without hesitation, never once showing annoyance or pulling away from her.
He had stayed.
And for a brief moment, she had not been alone in a world that constantly reminded her of what she lacked.
Her fingers curled slightly as the ache deepened.
She would miss that.
She would miss him more than she wanted to admit.
A presence approached her then, careful and hesitant, and she recognized it as her social worker, someone who had always watched her.
The woman paused beside her, as if unsure how to help, then slowly reached out in an attempt to comfort her.
Cassie remained still.
The hand stopped midway.
A moment passed in silence before the woman withdrew slightly, a small.smile forming on her face as she chose not to interrupt whatever Cassie was holding onto.
Tap.
Cassie flinched as the sound broke through her thoughts, her head turning sharply toward it as her breath caught, disbelief rising before she could control it.
She searched for the presence and found it.
That same core, small and condensed, unmistakable even among everything else that surrounded her.
But this time it was different.
It stood there with form, with shape, with waves that spread outward, carrying sensation, carrying touch.
Her lips parted as a quiet, unsteady laugh escaped her, because she understood what that meant without needing to question it.
He had come back.
Around them, the classroom shifted as students began to notice, their attention drawn instantly toward the one who had once gone unnoticed.
Kiyotaka now stood fully visible among them, his presence no longer hidden, his form complete in a way that made others pause without meaning to.
They stared at him, not out of confusion, but because he drew their attention without effort, their gazes lingering longer than they should as whispers quietly spread.
He did not react to them.
His attention remained where it had always been.
"Let's go, Cassie."
His voice carried through the room, calm and even, cutting through the noise without effort.
Cassie stood without hesitation, moving toward him as her steps steadied, the heaviness in her chest easing in a way she could not fully explain.
A small smile formed on her lips, softer now, real in a way it had not been before.
She stopped beside him and tilted her head slightly.
"Your voice is really monotonous."
There was something quiet beneath her words, something lighter that had returned without asking, something she had thought she had already lost.
And as she stood there beside him, the space around her no longer felt as empty as it had just moments before.
***
As the blind seer stepped outside her classroom beside someone who stood apart in the same quiet space she did, a warmth settled in her chest and stayed there.
Being near him eased something she had carried for too long, and for once her thoughts did not feel distant or heavy, leaving her with a quiet sense of ease she had almost forgotten.
Her fingers curled slightly at her side as that feeling deepened, because there was so much she wanted to say, questions that had been waiting now rising all at once.
She wanted to understand him, to know what he felt when he realized he was not alone, and whether that moment had felt anything like this.
She waited for him, her attention fixed beside her, expecting the taps that had always guided her, something she had come to rely on without thinking.
The silence lingered, and it did not come.
Her expression shifted into confusion as she turned toward him, only to find his core directed elsewhere, engaged with her social worker.
Gene's core brightened with warmth as her outline leaned closer, her hands moving carefully toward his eyes, and Cassie paused as she tried to understand what they were doing.
He stepped away soon after, his presence brushing against the wall as faint waves spread outward from his touch, and he moved along it slowly, measuring something with quiet focus.
Cassie remained still, following his movement through those faint traces, noticing how he stopped ahead of her as if marking a position.
She straightened slightly, expecting him to call for her, expecting the signal that had always come before.
It did not.
A quiet uncertainty slipped into her voice, though it carried a softness she could not hide.
"Are we not going?"
He returned to her, stopping close enough for her to follow, his presence steady, grounding her confusion without removing it completely.
"Uh it's almost done, Just walk where I am standing."
She hesitated for a moment, uncertainty brushing against her thoughts, yet she stepped forward anyway, guided by trust rather than understanding.
Gene's core brightened further as she moved, the warmth in it growing, and Cassie stepped into place beside him while her attention remained fixed on what would come next.
He moved again, a few steps ahead, then paused, guiding her once more into position, and she followed without questioning him this time.
Each movement carried purpose, forming something she could not yet grasp, yet she allowed herself to follow it.
"Your social worker will be covering your eyes for a second."
The words made her still, confusion surfacing more clearly now, because the meaning did not fit when she had already lost her sight.
A faint hesitation passed through her, quiet but real, because she did not understand what he intended to do.
But she trusted him.
She gave a small nod.
Gene's hand moved gently over her eyes, blocking the faint glow she had grown used to, yet nothing truly disappeared.
Her world remained, the cores still present, the space around her still holding shape through the only sense she had left.
Cassie let out a quiet breath as she realized that even this could not take that away from her, and the confusion within her softened into something calmer.
He stepped closer then, his presence settling beside her before lowering toward the ground.
Her focus fixed on him as something began to form along his hand, lines appearing one over another, layered and dense, carrying the impression of something repeated many times.
She saw more lines appear on it made of essence.
She did not understand it fully, yet she knew it held meaning, something important enough for him to show her like this.
A hand touched her fingers and Cassie flinched, as the sudden contact broke her calm, sending a tremor through her chest that refused to settle.
It came from the side where he had lowered himself earlier, and before she could react, her hand was guided forward with quiet certainty that left no room for resistance.
Her fingers trembled as they were placed against something flat, and the moment her skin met it, she understood what it was without needing to think further.
A page.
Then something entered her.
Essence moved into her mind, spreading fast without warning, and her breath hitched as a tingling sensation rose through her thoughts until it filled everything she could feel.
Her eyes began to burn, the pain striking all at once, forcing her to pull back instinctively as her body reacted before her mind could catch up.
"Don't step back, Cassie."
His voice reached her, steady, close, and she froze as the panic in her chest faltered, leaving just enough control for her to remain where she stood.
Her breathing turned uneven as she held herself in place, clinging to his voice while the sensation continued to rise inside her without slowing.
Then something changed within the darkness she had grown used to.
Faint lines appeared.
They were thin, uncertain, shifting slowly as her mind struggled to understand what she was seeing after so long without it.
Her breath caught as those lines began to form something real, something her thoughts could not ignore no matter how much she tried.
A hand.
It appeared in front of her, tan in color, covering her eyes, and for the first time she was not sensing it through her usual perception.
She was seeing it.
***
The blind seer who had already accepted her end felt light return as a warm tan filled her vision, and for a brief moment she did not understand what she was seeing or why it felt so familiar.
She stilled where she stood, her breath catching as that color remained instead of fading, and something fragile began to rise within her chest as recognition slowly took shape.
It was the same color she had known before everything was taken from her, the quiet warmth of her father's presence, the soft shade of the tea she used to hold between her hands during calmer days.
Her fingers trembled as that thought settled, because this was not something her current world should have been able to give her, and yet it remained, clear and undeniable.
More shapes began to form.
Edges followed.
Depth returned.
Her vision struggled to steady itself as details forced their way into her awareness, each one sharper than the last, each one breaking something she had already accepted.
Tears welled in her eyes before she noticed them, her breathing turning uneven as the weight of it pressed against her chest in a way she could not contain.
She had prepared herself for darkness.
She had accepted it.
She had learned to live within it.
Yet now it was being taken from her again, and the sudden return felt almost cruel in how easily it shattered everything she had built to endure.
Her lips parted as a sound nearly escaped, but she held it back, her hands trembling at her sides as she forced herself to remain still.
Because something felt different.
This light did not belong to her.
It did not move with her.
It did not respond the way sight should.
The realization came quietly, settling into her thoughts with a certainty she could not deny.
She was not seeing again.
She was seeing through him.
Her breath slowed, though her chest still ached, because even that truth could not take away what she was experiencing in this moment.
Kiyotaka stood at the center of it.
Not just as the one who gave her this, but as someone she could not understand fully, someone who existed beyond what she knew, yet had still chosen to reach toward her.
Her fingers curled slightly as that thought settled deeper, something warm forming beneath the ache that had not left her yet.
He did not turn away.
Even now.
A faint smile formed on her lips, fragile yet real, as tears continued to fall without restraint.
If this was not truly hers, then it did not matter.
Because for the first time since everything was taken from her, she was not alone in the darkness she had learned to endure.
***
Tears continued to fall from Cassie's eyes as a voice reached her, not spoken directly, but unfolding around her in a calm, even tone that carried no change.
'You know, when I got my… senses back, I spent a while trying to figure out how to approach this without making it unnecessarily strange, and simply walking up to you and saying hello to you felt like a remarkably poor decision, I am just so socially awkward.'
A quiet, unsteady laugh slipped through her tears as her lips curved, because something warm spread through her chest before she could stop it.
The hand remained over her eyes in both what she felt and what she saw, and her voice came out softer than usual, carrying something she could not hide.
"Yeah… it would have been awkward if you acted like nothing happened."
She paused, her breath trembling slightly as her fingers curled faintly at her side, holding onto something she did not want to lose.
"But I would have understood, you coming back was already more than enough for me."
The words left her before she could stop them, and for once she did not try to take them back, even as a faint embarrassment lingered beneath the warmth...
She just wanted a pillow right now to bury her head in.
'Like I had to prepare something like a party, not that I know much about it since I have never really been part of one, and then I realized I do not even have that many friends, just you and him.'
Her fingers tightened slowly as that settled, a quiet reaction she did not notice at first, while something in her chest shifted in a way she could not ignore.
"Me neither… I do not know anything about that either."
Her voice softened further, almost thoughtful, while a fleeting idea passed through her mind, She wanted to ask him what if they experience it togethe... she did not allow herself to hold that.
She was gonna die in dream realm.
'I was thinking… if we could experience such things together, a strange thought, isn't it.'
Her breath caught as her thoughts stilled completely, leaving only that sentence echoing while something within her wavered without direction.
She wanted to say yes, and she wanted to hold onto it, but she had already seen too much to believe it would remain.
"Y-yeah… it is a strange thought."
Her voice came out quieter this time, the hesitation slipping through despite her effort to remain composed.
'When I had none of the senses, along with my Flaw, I assumed it was only a matter of time before I was overwhelmed, being with you made it slightly more manageable, I even began to think that we are really similar.'
Cassie froze as her breath faltered, because something deeper settled into her chest, heavier than before, yet impossible to push away.
'He felt it too…'
The realization came without resistance, and with it came a quiet ache she could not ignore, because she had felt the same and never expected to hear it spoken.
Her lips parted, but no words came, because everything she wanted to say felt too much to fit into anything simple.
'Consider me a door right now, I am not here, take the steps you usually take with me the moment the hand moves away.'
Understanding came at once, and her fingers trembled as she realized what he had been doing, what all of this was meant to be.
He had prepared this for her.
Every part of it.
Slowly, the hand covering her eyes lifted, yet the light remained, and her vision expanded as the corridor appeared, white and endless.
Tears fell faster.
She took a step forward, then another, each movement matching what she saw, her body following it without hesitation.
Her vision shifted with her steps, slightly taller, slightly different, yet close enough that it made her chest tighten.
He had learned the way she walked.
He had remembered it.
Her breathing turned uneven as she continued forward, her fingers trembling while her steps remained steady.
'Why… would he do this for me…'
She reached the wall.
"Now put your hand forward the way you usually do."
Her hand lifted slowly, almost hesitantly, as if afraid that something would break if she moved too quickly.
In the vision, the hand moved as well, larger than hers, yet following the same motion without delay.
She extended it.
Her fingers met the wall, cold and solid, and her skin pressed against it in reality while in her vision it remained unchanged.
That difference settled into her mind without resistance, and she understood what it meant without needing to think further.
This was not her sight.
This was his.
And even knowing that, she did not pull away.
***
She walked through the corridor with [Divine Ledger.] held carefully in her hand, while Kiyotaka's finger rested against the page and allowed the flowing words to guide her borrowed sight.
Before this moment, the corridor had only ever been a field of drifting cores and scattered emotional waves that brushed past her without form, but now walls stood tall, light stretched across the floor, and people moved as complete figures she could finally see.
Her steps slowed without intention as she adjusted to the unfamiliar clarity, because seeing like this no longer belonged to her, and every detail carried a sharpness that made her chest tighten with quiet emotion.
Students passed by them, and she could now see their faces clearly, their gazes lingering openly on the shared book and the way their hands remained on the same page.
A faint heat rose to her cheeks as her lips pressed together, and a small pout formed despite her effort to stay composed, because she could now fully understand how strange they must appear to others.
'I... Don't even blame them at this point.'
Her fingers tightened slightly against the page, yet she made no effort to pull away, because even embarrassment could not outweigh the fragile warmth of being able to see again, even if the sight did not truly belong to her.
Kiyotaka walked beside her with the same measured steps she always used, and seeing it so clearly made her chest tighten in a way she could not ignore, because it was not similar but nearly identical.
The slight hesitation before each step, the careful placement, and the quiet rhythm she had never thought anyone would notice were all reflected perfectly, and the realization settled deeply within her.
'How much did he even notice…'
They reached the cafeteria, and her breath caught as the space opened before her, filled with movement and sound that no longer felt distant or unreachable like it had only hours before.
Before this, the cafeteria had been nothing but overlapping cores and restless emotional waves pressing against each other without form, but now she saw tables, trays, and students sitting together, living in a world she had already accepted she would lose.
Her chest tightened faintly as she took it in, because this was not something she expected to experience again, even if only for a short borrowed moment that would eventually slip away.
Kiyotaka moved ahead and picked up a tray with steady, unhurried movements, then chose food in a way that made her fingers tremble slightly as recognition settled without needing confirmation.
He chose the same things she used to eat.
The same portions.
The same order.
'I can't endure this…'
They moved to a table, and he pulled the chair back with a small pause before sitting, adjusting himself in a way that mirrored her habits so closely that it made her chest ache.
She lowered herself as well.
He adjusted the tray neatly in front of him, making small corrections that she used to make without thinking, and that simple action made something inside her tighten again.
'Why… would he remember this much…'
He picked up the utensils, and the way his fingers held them matched hers perfectly, the angle, the pause, and the quiet control behind each movement reflecting something she never realized could be seen.
Her vision blurred slightly as he took the first bite, and a memory surfaced without warning, close enough to hurt and impossible to push away once it appeared.
A small table.
Her mother speaking gently about eating properly.
Her father watching quietly with a soft smile.
Warmth that no longer existed.
Her fingers tightened against the page as tears gathered again, slipping down without resistance as she continued watching him eat in the same careful rhythm she once followed without thought.
Through his eyes, every motion felt deliberate, not forced or exaggerated, but remembered in a way that made her chest ache with something deeper than simple sadness.
And even then, she felt nothing from him.
No embarrassment from the stares around them.
No hesitation from their closeness.
Only that same empty stillness she had seen when she first looked at him.
Her pout returned faintly through her tears.
'At least pretend to be embarrassed…'
"You should not get used to this too much, I will not be able to use [Divine Ledger] for long, and you still have to travel through the Dream Realm, so it would be better if you do not rely on this more than necessary."
"I am only doing everything this way because it is the first day I got my senses back, so it felt more natural to follow what I already understood, which happens to be how you move and how you do things."
His voice remained even as always, carrying no change in tone, yet the words lingered longer than they should have, settling somewhere deeper than simple explanation.
Cassie stayed still for a moment, her fingers resting against the page as her gaze remained fixed through his eyes, yet her thoughts did not follow what he had said at face value.
'That is not the real reason…'
The realization came quietly, without resistance, because she had already learned how to listen beyond what was spoken, especially when it came from someone like him.
Her lips pressed together faintly as her grip tightened just a little.
'You just do not want to say it directly…'
The thought carried no accusation, only a soft understanding that settled into her chest, because saying it outright would have made it way more embarassing, and he chose not to place that weight on her.
Her shoulders eased slightly as something warm spread through her, subtle and quiet, yet strong enough to push back against the lingering ache inside her.
'You noticed everything… and you remembered it…'
She lowered her gaze slightly, even though she still saw through him, the cafeteria stretching out before her in a way that felt too vivid to belong to her anymore.
The light.
The movement.
The ordinary life around her.
All of it pressed gently against her awareness, reminding her of something she had already accepted long ago.
Her fingers curled faintly.
The Dream Realm did not forgive weakness, and she knew that better than anyone else, because she had already seen enough to understand how things would end for someone like her.
A blind girl did not survive there.
That truth had never changed, no matter how much she wished it would bend, even a little.
Her chest tightened, but she did not look away.
'This is not mine… and it will not last…'
The thought came without bitterness, only a quiet certainty that settled into her bones, the same way every vision had done before.
And yet.
Her grip did not loosen.
'Still… you chose to show me this…'
Her breathing steadied slightly as she lifted her head just a little, her expression softening in a way she could not completely hide anymore.
She did not need him to say it.
She understood.
"I understand… I will not rely on it too much."
Her voice remained gentle, steady despite the quiet weight behind it, because she would not pretend she did not know what awaited her beyond this moment.
She paused briefly, her fingers tightening again against the page.
"But for now… please let me keep this a little longer."
She did not move her hand away.
She did not break the connection.
Because even if she knew this would end, she wanted to hold onto it just a little more before everything returned to darkness again.
And as she finished her food, She buried herself on her own hand not willing to look towards him any longer.
He is too much.
***********
Alright, hear me out.
HEAR ME THE FUCK OUT.
Originally, this was supposed to be one of those big brain chapters where everything builds up that happened from the beginning nicely and then BOOM, massive reveal at the end, everyone loses their minds, peak fiction achieved.
But… yeah… I dragged this shit way too long.
Like genuinely, if any of you died from secondhand embarrassment while reading this, I completely understand and I take full responsibility for your suffering. (Not really.)
I even managed to self insert my own pain into the chapter through this line:
"She just wanted a pillow right now to bury her head in."
JUST TO CLARIFY, I am a he, but at that moment I spiritually transcended gender and just wanted to suffocate myself with a pillow after writing some of these scenes.
Romance writers though? I respect you now.
I don't know how you people write this level of embarrassing shit with a straight face and then just go about your day like nothing happened, because I was fighting for my life the entire time. I ain't writing romance centered chapter ever again.
Gosh I am so dissapointed with this chapter, I talked so big Like I am gonna reveal something big but I made it... Way too big to continue.
Anyway, I could have continued this chapter, BUT it would have suddenly shifted into a completely different plotline and felt abrupt as hell, so I am cutting it here before I commit further crimes... I might just as well quit if I dissapoint like this again.
So yes, this marks the end of Dramatic Irony (7) there will be total (9) parts.
NOW IMPORTANT PART.
THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS.
THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS ARE THE FINALE OF THE ACADEMY ARC.
AND THEY WILL REVEAL EVERYTHING.
LIKE ACTUAL EVERYTHING. SO MUCH YALL MIGHT THINK HOW I EVEN THOUGHT OF IT. FIRST NIGHTMARE WRITING? FUCK THAT WE ARE GOING BEYOND, EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED.
This is not me coping, this is me PROMISING peak.
Like genuinely, these might end up being the best two chapters in this entire fanfic so far.
Unless I fumble again.
Which is… you know… possible.
But TRUST ME.
Peak is coming.
Probably.
Hopefully.
God this chapter was a fucking disappointment.