10.45 AM, Classroom A-6, Fire Magic Class, Nexus Academy
Professor Braenia, a specialist in fire magic, flicked her white hair and raised the Nexus Tab on the board. She looked stern but was kind to everyone — except Fayros.
Today's basic magic class required everyone to "create a fireball the size of a palm."
"Though each person's Arcane Code differs, magic power is something any race can train."
she paused briefly, then glanced at Fayros with a barely concealed mocking tone. She did it to fit in with the other students because Braenia had tried many times — if she didn't tease or mock the boy, the others would gossip and disrespect her. So she'd already warned Fayros before.
"Except for those with no Arcane Code."
This made the classmates burst out laughing.
"You know how to cast it, right?" Lira asked Fayros with concern.
"Hmph... like I don't know." Fayros replied with a slight sarcastic tone.
There was no fixed incantation; it depended on the caster's intent.
[Ignis Minor]
One by one, fireballs the size of palms appeared after each student finished their casting.
While everyone was excited about their fireballs...
[Lux Ignis]
Lira's quiet chant produced a glowing flame in her palm — an ancient magic no one in this era used.
"What kind of magic is that?"
"Ancient magic!? Fits a princess!"
The room buzzed with curiosity.
"This is an ancient spell from the lost Soul War era," murmured Professor Braenia, disbelieving.
"I just... tried to release it from my dreams and feelings," Lira said softly.
"Dreams!?" Kaen, who was eavesdropping, gasped.
Then...
[Flamma Ardeat Absolutum]
Whoosh!
A gigantic fireball suddenly burst from Riu.
"Wait, wait! You chanted it wrong! I can tolerate 'Ardeat' but 'Absolutum'? No way!" a friend cursed.
"W-Wait! Stop! You'll burn the room!" Braenia shouted.
"I-I can't stop! I don't know how!" Riu screamed, the fireball growing bigger.
"Huh!? Do you even pay attention in class? That's why you can't release magic properly?" Max frowned.
Chaos erupted. Many tried to flee but the door was locked.
"Damn! It's locked!? Someone break the window!"
"Everyone calm down! Stay focused! Anyone who can use water magic—" Braenia tried to control the situation but was immediately shoved to the floor.
Many tried to break doors and windows without magic, but it was useless.
The surfaces were enchanted to absorb mana and magic when attacked. Normally, Nexus AI locks windows and doors, letting only teachers out after class by verifying through Arcanium Access.
So students could only leave during breaks or after class.
Sssss—!
The emergency fire system activated.
Water sprayed from the sprinklers calmed some, but the fire kept growing bigger due to the Absolutum chant meaning "the ultimate" — water alone couldn't douse it.
"Damn it…!"
[Flamma Exiduim]
Kaen cast a massive fireball to counter the first fireball, doubling its size.
The room panicked as Braenia struggled to stay upright and control the chaos.
"Fight fire with fire!" Kaen shouted irritably.
"What kind of logic is that!?" Max snapped.
"You know I can't use water magic—" Kaen argued but was interrupted.
Bang!
"But you cast the wrong spell to attack!" Max slapped Kaen.
Before more could happen, Lira's voice rang out:
[Ignis Cessa. Aqua Simplicitate, Oblitera.]
Water waves surged and hit the giant fireball.
Ssss!
The water partially evaporated the fire, but it was barely enough.
"No way! There's too much fire!" Lira exclaimed.
"Everyone, focus! Let's combine mana and magic, maybe we can..." Lira shouted but no one calmed down.
"Teacher! Please help calm everyone!"
"I'm trying... but no one's listening!" Braenia sighed amid the chaos.
Her eyes caught a calm black-haired boy sitting still — Fayros.
"Fayros! Help the princess! I'll try to manage the situation!" Braenia yelled.
"Such a mess... Am I worthless? No mana at all — how could I help Lira?" Fayros spoke apathetically.
"I'm tired... Enough..." his voice faded.
Kaen frowned, understanding Fayros's words.
"You worthless! If you're conscious, then help! Just find a fire extinguisher! If you die, we survive, you know!"
Kaen shouted, sending mana to Lira.
"True~ But how do I find it first?"
Fayros snapped his fingers, not looking up.
Suddenly... a vision flashed in Fayros' mind:
A boy in green holding something in the hands of a blue-haired girl — ice crystals.
"This is…" the boy asked with bright brown eyes.
"It's frozen water spear magic." the girl replied cheerfully, her light blue eyes sparkling like ice.
The six-year-old boy frowned, confused.
"How can you use that? Sisters must use only holy magic, right?"
"Dumb! You're wrong. No rule says we must only use holy magic. You know holy magic drains too much mana, so it's bad to use." the blue-haired girl answered with a sweet voice, like an angel's.
Suddenly, pain shot into Fayros's left eye socket.
"Ugh!"
Creak!
Unexpectedly, an ice tsunami formed, freezing the giant fireball in place after Fayros snapped his fingers, drawing the room's attention to him and the ice.
Nexus AI briefly glitched but recovered and immediately detected the anomaly.
"Warning! Unspecified Ice Spell — Temperature: -666 °C." the AI alert blared.
Oddly, the ice emitted no cold mist, as if deliberately harmless.
"What the hell is this!?" Kaen swallowed hard.
"You're a No-Code mage, right!? No mana, so how did you cast magic!?" Braenia was at a loss.
"Fayros... who are you really?" Lira whispered in disbelief but strangely familiar.
Fayros slowly lowered his hand, revealing some blood from his eye socket that vanished with the pain.
"Huh? What's that!?" Fayros noticed the ice crystal freezing the giant fireball.
His eyes widened, trembling like a puppet.
"Y-You made that... didn't you?" Lira tried to calm him.
"I didn't do anything... just snapped my fingers." Fayros answered flatly.
"Are you crazy!? You snapped your fingers!" Kaen snapped.
"I honestly don't know." Fayros replied, then the ice evaporated into a cool mist and disappeared.
Whispers spread with suspicion about the boy.
"Who is he really?"
"No Code but can use magic? Doesn't make sense!"
"He brought a gun to school and cast ice without words... weird freak!"
"How does Lira put up with him!?"
Braching in, Braenia said:
"Any proof he really snapped his fingers? Or is all this just lies?"
"I did snap my fingers!"
"Then why were you calm when everyone else panicked, like you've faced death before?"
Fayros froze, swallowing nervously, shaking as if admitting an unavoidable truth.
"I... I don't know... maybe because I wanted to die... to escape being called worthless."
Thwack!
Kaen punched Fayros.
"What the hell!?" Injured Fayros tried to stand.
Kaen prepared to punch again.
"C-Calm down, Kaen!" Max held him back.
Golden eyes flared fiercely.
"Don't act tough! If you want to die so bad, why didn't you do it before!?"
Kaen's usual aggression was mixed with genuine concern, eyes flickering with frustration.
Fayros paused, then snapped back:
"How should I know, you idiot!?"
Smack!
Lira slapped Fayros hard, sending him flying.
"No Code, no mana, no matter what — don't ever think like that! Or I'll stop being your friend, idiot!" she said angrily, her eyes shaking with deep emotion unknowingly.
Classmates gasped at Lira's unexpected strength.
"So that's why you don't want to make a woman angry."
"The rumors about the princess being able to lift trees are true!"
"You wanna get executed?"
Braenia intervened, seeing the talk was damaging Lira's honor:
"Please remain calm and respect Princess Lira."
Her simple words restored silence immediately.
"Sorry for thinking that way, Lira." Fayros quietly apologized.
"It's okay... just don't do it again."
"What if I do?"
"You'll get slapped and don't do it a third time."
"And if there's a third?"
"You'll get punched, and a fourth time shouldn't happen, but if it does... I'll stop being your friend."
Max overheard and said.
"Enough, old joke."
Everyone refocused and continued learning with Braenia.
Though calm returned, everyone knew "peace never lasts."
"Aaaah! Stop it!" The black-eyed boy suddenly screamed, drawing all attention.
"Fayros! Stay calm!" Lira steadied him.
Fayros held his head, haunted by voices and visions growing stronger.
The vision showed dead soldiers everywhere, a lone man in black with a dark blue sword standing amid corpses.
Voices echoed, not for the man, but for Fayros himself:
"Finally, you used your power."
"At last... I get to see you kill again."
"Yes... drag them to the ashes of despair."
"Kill them... rip them apart..."
Hundreds of voices overwhelmed him until the vision shifted to a dark room with a man sitting on a throne.
Clink!
"Used it, huh? Well... good that you did. Better than wasting it, right?"
A white-haired man around sixteen poured blood-red wine into a golden cup.
"Heh heh... Want to know who I am and why I sound like you? Figure it out yourself... heh heh."
The man with crimson eyes sipped wine coldly.
"But some things are better forgotten, because some truths hurt more than a thousand bricks falling on you."
His words snapped Fayros back to reality.
"Fayros! What did you see?" Lira asked worriedly.
"I saw dead soldiers... and a silver-haired man sipping wine, saying... strange things."
"Strange?"
"Yeah..."
Before Fayros could continue, he noticed thick black smoke on the rooftop opposite the school building — a faceless, shadowy figure staring right at him.
"Fayros, what's wrong? What's there?" Lira asked.
"D-Don't you see it?" he trembled.
"I don't see anything." Lira replied.
Creak!
Kaen dragged a chair loudly.
"Kaen, please calm down!" Braenia scolded.
Kaen ignored her and approached Fayros' desk.
"What did you see?"
"A black shadow... like a person... standing... there." Fayros pointed toward the door.
Kaen, Lira, and everyone turned but saw nothing.
"We don't see anything." they said together.
"I really saw it!" Fayros insisted.
"You're hallucinating." Max said.
"Maybe... I am." Fayros murmured.
He calmed down but still saw it — as if only he could see Dusken Shade.
In a secret laboratory, a silver-blue hexagonal shield emblem surrounded by a digital ring, with three layered magical circuits and a glowing "Eye of Wisdom" at the center pulsing white light.
"Warning! Special Unspecified Ice Spell lost since the Spirit War era is awakening!"
The AI named TAC-9 alerted.
Bang!
Someone slammed a table.
"What!? How is this possible!?" a scientist yelled.
"Who can still use magic from that era!?" a professor shouted in disbelief.
TAC-9 hacked Nexus Academy's data and displayed Fayros' info:
"Fayros Darneth, No Arcane Code"
"What!? That No-Code kid!?" a colonel exclaimed in shock.
Before they could react, the screen started loading, showing CCTV footage.
"He cast this spell with a snap of his fingers." TAC-9 explained.
"No magic should be beyond our understanding." a soldier said.
"This kid might be a threat." a magic researcher added.
"This kid threatened my nephew with an old gun!?" a voice shouted — George Eldran, deputy commander and Ruther's uncle.
"What next, Commander Karvell?" someone asked.
Amid the chaos, a man in the organization's commander uniform, John Karvell, ordered:
"Keep watching! Wait for further orders from Cuias. If the kid becomes dangerous, kill him immediately!"
"Understood!"
"All of us at Data Sanctum, remember the motto!!!"
"All Magic Must Be Measured."
Everyone dispersed to their duties.
In a dark room faintly lit, a brown-haired man sat alone on a sofa, slowly sipping liquor, calculating his next move.
Suddenly, a soft blue glow from Mana Echo appeared, projecting a message from John Karvell to him...
Cuias Novarion
"Fayros Darneth?"
Clink—!
He jumped up, accidentally knocking over his glass, covering his face with his hands, then chuckling quietly.
"Damn... that him?"
Cuias tapped the palm-sized Mana Echo, and a clear hologram appeared.
The brown-eyed young man immediately sent a message to the whole organization:
"Keep a close eye on that kid... But if 'that thing' appears, eliminate everyone around him. Do not harm the princess at any cost... then kill him..."
11.05 AM — Just before lunch break, in the Fire Magic Theory class.
"How long do you plan to keep running?"
The voice slithered into his mind, chilling his spine.
It came from the Dusken Shade, a presence lurking like an omen of death, speaking without moving its lips — directly through his nerves.
SCRAAAPE!
Fayros jerked so hard that his chair screeched across the floor, making everyone in class turn their heads.
"W-What do you mean!? What are you talking about!?"
Fayros shot back in panic.
"Fayros! What's wrong with you this time!?" Lira's voice was filled with concern.
"Fayros… what's gotten into you!? Please respect the class!"
Professor Braenia scolded, unaware of the creeping dread taking over the room.
"I mean…"
The Dusken Shade's voice dripped with a bone-chilling tone that seemed to coil around his soul.
"How long will you keep running from the truth?"
"The… truth?" Fayros frowned, pulse hammering in his ears.
"Yes… that Ice Spell you used."
"I didn't cast it! I don't even have Mana! How the hell would I do something like that!?" Fayros roared at the Shade.
"Fayros… what did you see? Tell me this isn't another hallucination…" Lira pressed, her voice trembling.
Before he could answer, a sound sliced through the tension.
Clink—Ssshhhhk!
The delicate sound of tea being poured echoed from the teacher's desk.
"What the hell is that!?" Kaen's voice cracked with disbelief.
"T-This is insane... what the hell is going on!?" Max muttered, pale as a sheet.
Because what they saw was beyond comprehension.
A teapot and cups floated gracefully in the air, steaming liquid pouring flawlessly into porcelain.
No magic circles.
No mana trails.
Nothing — just the impossible, unfolding before their eyes.
To them, it was some unknown long-range spell.
But who cast it?
Only Fayros knew. He saw the black silhouette lounging on Professor Brawnea's desk, sipping tea like royalty.
"What do you want?" Fayros asked, his voice low, each syllable sharp.
"Hm? What was that? Care to repeat that for me?"
The silhouette's tone was playful, mocking.
"I said, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?" Fayros roared from the back of the classroom.
"Floating teacups… does this have something to do with you, Fayros?" Lira asked softly.
"I… I can see it… a black shadow." Fayros pointed at the figure, who continued sipping tea, utterly unbothered.
Clink!
The sound of the teacup being set down pierced the air.
Then the unthinkable happened. The silhouette spoke aloud — and everyone heard it.
"Well now~ The answer is everywhere, all the time… it just depends on whether you choose to see it or not."
Gasps erupted across the classroom.
"Who!? Whose voice is that!?" Professor Brawnea demanded, eyes darting wildly.
"You didn't say anything, right!? Hey — black eyes!"
Kaen barked at Fayros.
"Whose voice was that!? It sounded… like Fayros."
Max whispered under his breath.
"What the hell is happening…!?" Lira muttered, pale as snow.
The black silhouette ignored the chaos, its tone dripping with mockery.
"Wow~ You sealed me with your own hands… and now you let these maggots brand you as worthless? A code-less freak? Pathetic~ How hilarious! Hehehe…"
The laugh sent shivers crawling up spines.
"Sealed…!?" Lira repeated, her breath hitching.
Click!
Fayros didn't hesitate. He yanked out a revolver and leveled it at the shadow, finger tense on the trigger.
"Hm? How interesting… That gun's a century out of date, isn't it? But hey, might even be better than the new models~"
The silhouette chuckled without a hint of fear.
"Fayros! Calm down this instant!" Professor Brawnea snapped, panic flaring in her voice.
"What the hell are you doing!? Shooting at air? You can't even see him!" Max shouted.
"No! If he's pulling that out, it means… he's done holding back. He sees something we don't." Kaen growled.
"Fayros! Stop! Don't make this worse!"
Lira pleaded, clutching his arm.
"You talk too damn much… Shut. The hell. Up!" Fayros growled, voice like a blade.
"Oh my~ That gun is quite special indeed… but if you think you can kill me with that, you're two thousand years too early~"
Then light bloomed.
A swirling torrent of golden radiance erupted around Fayros, spiraling into intricate sigils that burned across the revolver like living scripture.
"I said… SHUT! THE! HELL! UP!!!"
BANG!
The shot thundered like a cannon, recoil hurling Fayros backward as the bullet screamed through the air —
— toward the silhouette.
Snatch!
The slug halted mid-flight.
Pinched between two fingers wreathed in smoke and darkness.
"Oh? An enchanted bullet? Cute… but like I said, you're far too early to kill me."
"Ugh…! What the hell… are you!?" Fayros coughed blood, crimson staining his lips.
"Fayros!!!"
Lira bolted forward, pressing a handkerchief to his mouth, chanting softly —
[Sanare, per Lux]
Warmth surged through his veins as her healing spell mended him.
"Don't be reckless!" Lira scolded.
"Sorry." His voice was barely a whisper.
The classroom had gone deathly silent. Students sat frozen, their minds shattered by what they'd witnessed. Even Professor Brawnea was pale as chalk.
"A bullet that strengthens with the wielder's will? Fascinating. Go on then — shoot again. Seventeen rounds left~"
The silhouette's voice dripped venomous amusement.
"Show yourself, bastard! Stop tormenting him!" Kaen roared.
"Oh dear~ So rude, Kaen."
"H-How do you know my name!?"
"Oh, I might just be someone closer to you than you think."
"What the hell did you just say!?" Kaen snarled, only for Lira and Max to restrain him.
"Let go of me! If I don't pound this bastard, I'll never sleep tonight!"
"You're gonna fight something you can't even see!?" Fayros spat.
"So what!? I've got the guts for it!"
"You saw what happened, didn't you!? That antique bullet — frozen mid-air!" Max hissed.
"He stopped it with his fingers!" Fayros barked.
"Fayros… you can really see it?" Professor Brawnea whispered, trembling.
"Yeah… and it looks just like me. Only taller. Even the voice—" Fayros lowered his gaze.
"Aww, are we done chatting? If so, I'll just go brew another pot of tea… the kind she likes."
"She…?" Fayros echoed.
"Yes. Sofia, of course."
Both Fayros and Lira froze, their eyes widening.
"Wait! How do you know that name!?" Lira demanded, her voice sharp as steel.
The silhouette fell silent for a heartbeat.
Then, in a voice so soft, so heavy with weariness, it spoke:
"…It's been a long time… sleepyhead."
Lira's breath caught. Her lips parted — only to feel something invisible press gently against them. A ghostly finger. Silencing her. Tender. Almost… protective.
"I'll keep watching… and watching… until you remember."
"Remember…?" Fayros and Lira whispered in unison.
But the silhouette didn't answer.
"How long do you plan to stare? You voyeurs watching through the hacked cameras."
And with that… it vanished.
Meanwhile, in the underground base of Data Sanctum…
BANG!
A fist slammed against the steel table.
"Impossible! How the hell does it know we exist!? It's aware of us—but we can't even see it!"
The scientist's voice cracked with panic.
"The fact that only that code-less brat can see it… means there's a connection."
Notes were scribbled hastily on glowing Arcane tablets, the researchers' eyes fever-bright with obsession.
"What about the scans?" George barked at the mage-technician.
"No matches. Nothing in the archives."
"Then what the hell is it!? Could it be… something that shouldn't exist?" he muttered under his breath.
And then—
CRASH!
Papers and books scattered as someone toppled down the archive stairs.
"Ow… damn it!"
A young cleric in a white and silver robe winced, clutching her bruised hip. Selene Varnis, age eighteen.
Priestess. Analyst. Spy.
"Miss Selene! Are you alright!?" George rushed over, concern etched on his rugged face.
"Do I look fine to you!? Idiot!" she snapped, cheeks flushed.
"The files… only say that boy's Ice Magic disappeared since the Spirit War Era. And back then… almost no one could pull that off."
"Anything else?"
"That… thing the boy calls a black shadow? No records. None."
"I see… Then we'll have to uncover it ourselves."
No one noticed the single chilling line on the last page of the report—
"The Shadowless Demon."