"Brother, please explain... what does 'instinct fights to survive' mean? I don't get it..."
A snowy-white-haired girl asked.
"Then I'll give you an example..."
Fayros's voice — yet not quite his—answered.
Lira, watching from a distance, blinked wide. The Fayros she knew never referred to himself as "I" in such a formal way.
But somehow... it felt oddly familiar, like her heart was calling out.
"If the mind decides to end its own life..."
"At the very last moment... the body resists, like drowning in darkness underwater, struggling desperately to reach the surface..."
Fayros said, twisting the corner of his mouth in an unnatural way—not like himself.
Lira, observing quietly, noticed something off:
His personality had shifted.
From silent and emotionless, now a smirk played on his lips, and a faint red glow leaked from his left eye.
The ten-year-old girl sank down, quietly sobbing.
"So that's why... I refused to die from the start... right?"
Lira rushed over to check on her, even though she wasn't responsible for the child.
"Are you okay...!?"
"I'm... fine. Thank you."
"What just happened?" Fayros snapped back to himself.
His face lacked any smile, letting Lira know this was the real Fayros, not the cold-smiling version from before.
"Fayros, what happened to you just now?" Lira shook the powerless boy.
"What's going on...?" The little girl's amber eyes rolled with confusion.
"I... I lost control of my body just now..." Fayros tried to explain.
"I didn't hurt anyone, right!?"
He gripped Lira's hand tightly, his black eyes trembling slightly with worry.
"P-please... answer me!" his voice shook with desperation.
Before Lira could respond, a rough voice came from behind.
"What's going on, Darneth?"
Max appeared, his usual hoarse voice cutting through the tension, his green eyes sharp with curiosity.
"What now, you code-less freak?"
Kaen, following the light-brown-haired boy, chimed in.
"It's... pitch dark. Darker than anything... but I don't know why... I can see them..."
Fayros struggled to piece together his explanation.
"Them?" Lira repeated.
"Yeah, all of them... They all look like me, just with different hair and eye colors. Even their personalities..."
His voice cracked.
"It's like a mirror... reflecting different versions of myself."
"You might have DID," Kaen guessed.
"No...!" Fayros denied.
"Then what are you?" Lira pressed.
The snowy-haired girl rolled her eyes between Fayros and Kaen.
"I don't have any traumatic past." Fayros said firmly.
"Then what exactly... are you?" Kaen frowned.
"Oh right...! They call me the Black Rose."
"Black Rose?" Max repeated, confused.
Lira's sapphire eyes flickered as she recalled a dream from last night—two people lying under stars, a man and a woman.
"What does that even mean...?" Lira wondered, confused.
Suddenly, a survivor girl's voice interrupted, lightening the mood.
"I think... maybe we should change the subject?"
Everyone instantly turned to the little girl.
"Oh, I forgot to properly introduce myself... Haha, I'm Iris."
She smiled, hiding her nervousness.
Fayros was about to introduce himself out of courtesy, but when their eyes met, a pain worse than a thousand hammer blows or a thousand knife wounds struck him, wanting nothing more than to disappear underground.
It was deeper than any image or voice merging in his mind.
His dark eyes trembled and faded slightly, revealing a faint blood-red glow in his left eye.
"W-why...? Your blood-red eye... I swear I've heard about it from someone before?"
Iris asked innocently.
Fayros flinched, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Slowly, he touched the fading corner of his left eye.
"Hey! Black-eyed guy... you okay!?"
Kaen hurried over, noticing Fayros's strange behavior.
"I'm... fine."
"Fine...? Yeah, right, Darneth." Max teased.
Fayros, mana-less, ignored the banter and turned to properly introduce himself to Iris.
"I'm Fayros... Fayros Darneth."
After the introduction, he handed her a boxed milk.
"Huh...? Are you the one rumored to carry old-school guns to school?" Iris tilted her head.
Fayros nodded and pointed one by one at his friends.
"That's Lira, and those two are Max and Kaen..."
"Nice to meet you."
The little girl spoke with a clear voice despite her nervousness.
She knew well this was the enemy's academy, so making friends was the smartest move right now.
Lira smiled at Iris, thinking. "I really care about this kid."
She gently stroked Iris's snowy hair, warmth radiating from her touch, making Iris feel as if she was wrapped in motherly love.
"So warm... just like a mom." Iris thought.
"The princess and this kid became close fast..."
Kaen whispered to Max.
Max nodded eagerly, his light-brown hair fluttering.
Fayros stepped closer, reaching out as if to stroke Iris's head again—
But then—
"Stop."
A voice came from behind.
When Fayros turned, no one else was there except... a dark shadow.
But this time... the black smoke that once obscured its form was thinning, revealing a human outline.
The scenery around faded into an empty land—no buildings, no wind, no trees, no sea—only a vast blue sky and a colorless ground.
"You have no right." The Dusken Shade spoke.
"No right!?" Fayros repeated.
"Yes..."
"No right... not even to touch them."
Click!
Fayros drew his revolver.
"Tell me... what exactly do you want?"
His dark eyes aimed the gun steadily.
"Curious...? Then come on, let's see if you can take it~"
The shadow taunted.
"Let's find out how far you can endure, heh heh."
Without hesitation, Fayros charged and fired.
Bang!
The bullet exploded loudly, wrapped in a golden swirling aura enchanted by his mind's power, flying fast and strong.
As expected, the dark shadow caught it between two fingers as before.
"16 shots left." Fayros murmured mentally.
Shiii—!!!
The boy drew his energy blade Velcradia from his waist and slashed at the shadow.
"Huh...? That's all you got?"
The Dusken Shade mocked, dodging every attack effortlessly.
"Relax... unlimited ammo, shoot all you want."
The shadow's words made Fayros hesitate.
His deep black eyes flickered with surprise.
But in a flash...
The shadow appeared right before him.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
A heavy blow hit his stomach, sending Fayros flying and rolling three times on the ground.
"Don't get distracted on the battlefield~"
The Dusken Shade touched its face, as if pointing to its lips, mocking Fayros's confusion.
Fayros slowly got up, wiping blood from his mouth roughly.
His deep black eyes, as if struck by divine erasure, trembled and faded slightly, revealing a hellish red flame in his left eye before flickering back to normal.
Glancing at his ammo pouch, Fayros noticed it hadn't decreased since before the last shot.
"Heh... alright then... let's go all out."
Without hesitation, Fayros rushed forward, slashing with Velcradia and firing his revolver simultaneously.
Fshh—bang!
His movements grew faster, tireless.
The shadow dodged every attack effortlessly, barely moving.
Bullets coated with enchantments and energy blade slashes shot back and forth, aiming for the shadow — but none landed. The Dusken Shade seemed to be playing with a child.
The fight went on relentlessly, Fayros heavily disadvantaged, while the shadow showed no signs of fatigue.
"Still the same... disgusting."
The shadow muttered.
"Who'd just accept... losing like this!!!"
Golden enchanted bullets and violet-blue Velcradia slashes intertwined like a dance.
"Getting bored now~ Time to go on the offensive?"
The Dusken Shade lunged barehanded, catching and dodging every attack with minimal effort—twisting wrists, throwing to the ground—barely using strength.
Boom—Crash!
Every bullet fired by Fayros was stopped and deflected easily by the shadow, exploding from his own enchanted bullets.
Boom!
As time passed, Fayros's resolve hardened; his strong mind amplified the enchanted bullets're power.
Bang!
The Dusken Shade dodged slightly, causing a bullet to destroy the ground behind it in a blast.
Click—click!
Wounded, Fayros swung Velcradia up and down, alternating with revolver shots.
The shadow showed no sign of fear.
Fshh!
The Dusken Shade grabbed the boy's wrist, twisted his body, and slammed him to the ground.
"Ugh!"
"Too soon to kill me~"
The shadow taunted.
Fayros refused to give up, rising with determination in his deep black eyes, flickering like erased marks.
Unexpectedly, the shadow hesitated.
"That's the way, Fayros..."
Fshh—thud!
The shadow kicked Fayros, sending him sliding.
"Ugh!"
Fayros spat blood, eyes blurry but still standing strong.
"I... have to know..."
"Do you know why villains in stories don't kill the hero right away...?"
"Because if they killed them right away, what fun would that be~"
The Dusken Shade said.
"Hmph... Your logic sucks."
Fayros cursed, wiping blood from his mouth.
The shadow ignored the insult.
"Like ants, crushed and dead already. But if they're stronger... it's exciting, not boring, watching their futile efforts... Enjoying their suffering when they realize it's all meaningless!"
Fayros froze — not because of the words but the tone.
"You talk like... you're just pretending to be the villain...?"
The shadow froze instantly, legs stopped as if time halted.
Its steady hands began trembling slightly.
It lowered its head silently, then lifted its empty gaze.
"Shut up...!"
The voice was decisive but bitter and painful—signaling Fayros had struck a nerve.
Whoosh—!
Before he could react, Fayros felt the shadow behind him.
Bang!
The shadow spun, kicking Fayros flying.
The ground split violently like an earthquake.
Snap!
The Dusken Shade snapped its fingers.
The colorless ground transformed, raising a huge wall instantly.
Fayros, mid-air, spun, slashing Velcradia at the wall to avoid crashing.
[Anti - Resonance Cut]
The boy shouted his energy blade's command to sever the enemy's magic briefly.
Screech—Boom!
Blue-purple light shattered the wall.
"Ugh...! Aaah!"
Debris exploded everywhere, some hitting Fayros.
Then... another snap.
Screech!
"Eh...!?"
Fayros's eyes widened.
Multiple walls erupted from the ground, some emerging from the void.
Thud!
A colorless pillar slammed into Fayros from behind unexpectedly.
They attacked mercilessly — pummeling, smashing, and crushing him quickly and powerfully.
"Aaaah—!"
"How do you like that~"
The shadow appeared silently next to Fayros's ear.
Grabbing his hand, it threw him away.
Whoosh—Thud!
The ground cracked loudly.
"W-why am I not dead...?"
Thump — thump, thump...!
Almost silent footsteps approached.
The shadow loomed close, just out of reach.
"Hmm... must be why you're still alive~"
Thud!
The shadow stomped hard on Fayros's head.
"Aaaah!"
Fayros writhed in pain but to no avail.
"You still refuse to accept and fear the truth... that's why you'll never beat me... even in your subconscious."
"That's good... savor it... the pain you've forgotten... The deeper the subconscious, the easier it is to taste~"
The faceless shadow spoke coldly.
"Why stomp on me...? Why destroy my hope...!?" Fayros begged.
"Huh...? That? It's simple..."
The shadow paused to let him listen closely.
"Because from despair... humans can adapt and grow stronger—though only a few."
"Bullshit!!!"
Adrenaline surged; his eyes gleamed fiercely.
Thud!
He pushed the shadow back with all his might.
"Oops...!"
Fayros didn't hesitate, firing his enchanted revolver with his strong will.
Shing—!
He closed in, preparing to finish the shadow with Velcradia.
But Fayros immediately sensed the shadow's cold, carefree smile—like it had died countless times before.
"Too weak..."
Fshh!
The shadow grabbed the boy's wrist.
Fayros's eyes widened.
Thud!
He was slammed hard onto the ground, his senses fading.
He saw the black smoke around the shadow begin to dissipate.
"Hah~ stubborn as ever... I..."
Fayros's last conscious sight was the shadow's faint smile before it merged back into smoke.
Then, the mana-less boy passed out...
"Fayros...! Fayros...!"
"Looks like he's not waking up... Might have to stomp him a couple times."
"Don't even think about that, Kaen."
Fayros slowly opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a hospital bed, with Lira, Max, and Kaen in front of him.
"Did I... faint?" the young man asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yeah... you've been out for 15 minutes." Kaen explained.
Fayros' eyes flickered for a moment, remembering the words of the black shadow.
Then a small hand gently touched his—It was Iris's hand.
"Brother... your eyes... they look like something I've seen before."
"F... Fayros, your eyes..." Lira spoke with a trembling voice.
"Huh...?"
Fayros didn't understand what was happening.
He turned to look at the nearby mirror and saw that his left eye was starting to fade, revealing a faint red color.
"Th... this is..."
Unconsciously, Fayros touched beneath his left eye.
The red color gradually appeared like ink spreading in water—
It was the color of eyes that didn't belong to the boy.
Then it returned to solid black as before.
Lira took an involuntary step back, her heart trembling and beating fast as if recalling something.
She had seen it — not just in a dream—
But in "some images" she didn't know when she had seen them before,
The image of someone... who had those eyes — Not Fayros.
Iris's hand, still holding the boy's palm, trembled slightly but didn't let go.
"I really have seen eyes like this..."
"That place was silent... but warm."
"There was long braids, and I heard laughter too."
Her big amber eyes stared intently at Fayros's face, as if trying to search for something from a past no one talked about.
Fayros flinched slightly; his deep black eyes flickered like awakening from a deep sleep.
He didn't say anything, just lowered his gaze.
His other hand, the one not held, slowly moved to touch his own forehead.
Bang! The hospital room door slammed open, pulling everyone back to reality.
"How are you feeling now?"
A nurse came in to check on Fayros, asking professionally.
No one answered immediately.
Lira tried to suppress her feelings, then said to the nurse,
"He just fainted... probably from exhaustion."
The nurse nodded softly and moved to check the monitors at the foot of the bed.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the room remained tense, as if an invisible shadow hovered above.
But no one mentioned the "eye color" again—at least for now.
"What the—!? N... no pulse!?"
The nurse's shocked scream shattered the silence.
Her shout was like a thunderclap in the hospital room.
Everyone immediately turned to look, especially Fayros.
But strangely...
The one lying on the bed... was still breathing.
His breath was faint but steady.
The nurse's wide eyes were full of confusion.
"Wh... why...?"
"But the monitors all show zero... no heartbeat, no temperature, not even brain waves!"
Kaen jumped up immediately.
"Wait, wait! If this pulse-less thing has no pulse... how can it still be sitting here talking to us?!"
Lira turned pale.
She glanced at Fayros who was still motionless—
What scared her was how still he was.
"An... answer me, damn it!" Max tried to snap the boy's attention.
Iris still held his right hand, but suddenly her eyes widened.
"Brother... why are your hands... so cold like ice..."
She trembled as she looked up.
"Brother Fayros... please answer me..."
But there was no reply.
His lifeless eyes remained open,
This time, even more vacant, as if hollow inside.
Max swallowed hard.
"Wait...! What the hell is this...? It's like... the 'body' is still here, but the 'self' is gone."
The nurse hurried to press the emergency alarm.
The machines flashed but showed no change at all.
Around Fayros, the humidity suddenly dropped sharply.
The temperature plummeted.
Everyone's breath began to turn into white mist.
The lights flickered wildly.
The reflection in the mirror trembled softly,
Then the "shadow" of something formed from the void—
It stood beside the bed...
The Dusken Shade.
It wasn't the shadow of anyone in the room,
Because it had no physical form for anyone to compare or see—usually only Fayros could see it.
But this time, it was clearer than ever, and everyone could see it, as if it wanted to be seen.
It just stood there—
A shadow taller than Fayros's head,
Faceless,
But now with faint red glowing eyes in both sockets.
It stared at everyone in the room and raised a finger to its lips.
"Shhh..."
Whoosh—!
The lights went out completely, as if commanded.
Darkness swallowed everything instantly.
No sound, no light.
Even someone's breathing vanished as if erased from existence.
For a moment... everything froze—
Even time itself.
Iris's eyes, which had just trembled moments ago...
Now looked like a statue.
Tears hanging from her eyelashes hung frozen in midair like a work of art.
Only the boy with black eyes could move.
He slowly opened his eyes again.
Not waking up—
But like "awakening" from something sealed inside.
Inside the room that should have been pitch dark, like a death abyss,
A faint blood-red light seeped up slowly from cracks in the floor like veins spreading everywhere.
The black shadow still stood in place; it didn't move closer,
But the atmosphere grew heavier and heavier.
"You've seen it many times, haven't you?"
The shadow's voice echoed—not from its mouth, but shaking in his heart.
Fayros froze, his deep black eyes flickering.
"Those images... she... that child... the golden-braided one... you do not forget."
Fayros remained silent, no words escaping his lips,
Only his breathing grew heavier.
Not because he didn't want to speak,
Not because of confusion,
But because he couldn't—as if his vocal cords and mouth were forced shut.
"Heh heh heh... Relax~ I'm just here to ask, not to tear you apart."
"The question is..."
"Will you accept the truth or refuse... until it's too late?"
Then... the boy's vocal cords and mouth were released.
"So what is your truth...?"
"Go find the answer yourself~"
"You..."
Fayros hadn't finished speaking before the black shadow interrupted.
Snap!
The shadow snapped its fingers.
Time resumed, the lights came back on, but the shadow... vanished without a trace.
"Fayros... is that the black shadow you were talking about?"
Lira shook Fayros.
"Yeah..."
"So it's real." Max sighed in relief, green eyes showing calm.
Bang!
The table slammed loudly,
Making the boy's fiery red hair flutter wildly.
"Damn it... I still haven't punched that psycho shadow yet."
Kaen muttered in frustration, golden eyes trembling with suppressed anger.
In a school building, teacher's lounge
Teacher Breania met Teacher Halian as scheduled.
"Why did you call me here?" Breania asked directly.
Halian sat cross-legged on the sofa, his golden eyes reflecting light from the large window behind.
"You felt it too, didn't you... just now?"
Halian's voice was calm but carried a rare hint of concern.
Breania was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"The sudden drop in temperature, the strange frequency sounds that leaked in... and the emptiness that seemed to 'swallow' something from this world for a split second."
She stopped and looked Halian straight in the eyes.
"What exactly happened? Please explain."
Halian looked at his antique pocket watch. The second hand stopped briefly moments ago and just started again a few seconds ago.
"That child... Fayros Darneth,"
"He might not be just a 'magicless kid' like we thought..."
Breania raised her eyebrows slightly.
"You mean...?"
"I'm not sure, but from what I've seen, it's like..."
Halian paused, then continued in a quieter tone.
"It's like the 'entire magic system' temporarily rejected his existence... No! To be precise, he and the magic system existed on separate layers for a moment."
Breania's eyes widened.
"Meaning... he switched outside the system?"
Halian nodded softly.
Breania swallowed hard, feeling a strange chill in her neck even though the air returned to normal.
"But that's impossible..." she murmured to herself.
"Even the 'record room' couldn't detect him?"
Halian picked up an oval crystal about the size of his palm and placed it on the table.
It was the school's Magic History Crystal linked directly to the central system of the student council and magic library.
He tapped it lightly once.
But the image on the crystal...
Was empty—like it never existed.
No magical energy lines, no brainwave graphs, not even a normal student photo.
"His data was deleted or... it never existed from the start."
Halian swallowed, his golden eyes trembling despite his calm demeanor.
"Just a middle school kid... who got in by guessing every answer on a test, yet the school system can't pull up any information about him at all."
Breania crossed her arms tightly.
"Or... the school's Nexus AI system... was hacked?"
Halian shook his head slowly.
"I checked. The system is normal. No signs of intrusion, no delay, no bugs, no 'data seams' at all."
"N-No way...! That's even scarier!" Breania whispered.
"That means... he might never have been in the system at all, like 'someone' hid his identity with something beyond the system..."
Halian met her gaze.
"And that means..."
"Everything we call a 'system' might have no power over anyone with an existence like that kid."
Breania was silent for a moment before speaking seriously.
"I request access to the school's zero-level raw data room."
Halian appraised the white-haired woman in front of him.
"Are you sure? No one has entered there since 2063..."
"Even I need triple signatures."
"I'm not asking for admin rights, just permission to scan that kid's data."
"Something inside that kid... is slowly swallowing what we call the 'system world' little by little..."
Breania took out a reserve headmaster's magical seal.
"Please approve me... I'll go myself."
"Hmph... fine..." Halian smiled faintly.
West wing of the school, Basement level -3
A rusty spiral staircase descended into darkness.
Teacher Breania held a cyan magic lantern in one hand, the other gripping the headmaster's seal tightly.
The blue light wasn't bright enough to clearly show the path ahead.
But she didn't stop walking.
A massive iron door, almost unknown to anyone, appeared before her.
A level "Zero" magical seal adorned the door, an ancient magic from the school's founding 127 years ago.
She pressed the headmaster's seal against the door.
Click... click... whir—!
The magical mechanism spun with a loud echo.
The heavy iron door slowly opened, revealing a room filled with various sized crystal shards embedded in every wall.
In the center was an octagonal control pedestal emitting a faint silver-gray glow.
She walked closer slowly, her white hair swaying neither too fast nor slow.
"Connect data of student named Fayros Darneth."
"Access level: Special, per reserve headmaster seal."
The control pedestal processed the command, but time dragged on so long Breania had to pace around to kill time.
Finally, the control showed:
[Not found]
Breania wasn't surprised because she already expected this.
She reached out and touched the control pedestal, murmuring an almost unused incantation:
[Inversa vestigatio. Profunditas nulla. Permissionem fragmenti supera.]
The pedestal trembled slightly.
The gray light began to flow backward like a current pulled from the shore.
Some crystals on the walls changed from clear to black, then glowed faint red—similar to what had appeared earlier in the hospital room.
"Cough cough"
She coughed up blood because the magic drained more mana than expected.
Then...
What didn't exist began to "emerge" bit by bit.
A distorted shadow appeared mid-air.
A boy's laughter.
A girl's voice calling "Brother."
The laughter faded.
Replaced by sounds of magic explosions, screams, and something being erased.
For a moment,
Breania saw "lines" tangled into a dark knot—
Like Fayros's data was "redundantly erased" by power far beyond the system,
And also 'sealed itself.'
"What... who... would do this to a child...?"
Breania murmured shakily, her eyes trembling.
Suddenly...
An alarm sounded from the control pedestal:
[Warning: Zero-level data access detected] [Initiate risk containment measures]
The control began leaking electricity and heat, producing steam and smoke as if about to explode,
Then stopped...
"Phew..." Breania sighed in relief.
Whoosh!
A silver power barrier surrounded the room, sealing it tight.
But scarier than that was...
A shadow appeared inside the barrier—
It "was with her" in the room...
The Dusken Shade...
It was taller than a human, emerging from a black mirror on one wall.
No eyes, no mouth,
But its voice echoed in Brennia's mind...
"We meet again~ Breania... but you shouldn't see me."
Breania gritted her teeth,
But her body wouldn't move as ordered.
Her legs were locked by dimensional pressure unlike anything she'd felt before.
"What exactly do you want...!?"
The black shadow chuckled lightly.
"Heh heh... Asking that like I'd tell you... Every person asks the same question, no new ones~"
"What you call 'magic system' is just a network trapping humans in illusions, to serve the controllers' whims..."
"But I get it~ Big fish eat little fish, and smart fish eat stupid fish... hehe."
"You...!" Breania tried to speak but was cut off.
"Magic is commanding all forms of nature to get desired results... yet you dare to control it as you please? Heh heh..."
"Ridiculous."
Its voice chilled her to the bone before it leaned close.
"Then will you believe what you see... or what the 'system' allows you to see?"
Suddenly...!
A sound from the control pedestal interrupted:
"Data lock successful... Confirm ID: Fayros. Code 000X-null."
"Access key: 'Bloodless Soul Resonance'"
The shadow faltered.
"Tch...!"
Then suddenly vanished like smoke.
The power barrier dissolved.
Brennia gasped for breath.
The image floating in midair...
Was of a black-haired young man standing in a collapsing city
Under a sky filled with power lines, purple lightning, and shattered magical shadows.
The man looked like Fayros, but was not him—he looked like Fayros's ancestor.
The caption beneath... was not Fayros Darneth,
But...
The Shadowless Demon.