08.10 P.M. Room 7-ZEX PRIME, Nexus Dormitory
Tio stepped out from the kitchen carrying a cup of tea.
Her light golden-brown AI hair fluttered gently.
"Hot tea is ready." she said.
Lira took it and sipped slowly, serene and relaxed like a goddess.
Tonight, Fayros had vanished without a trace all night long.
Lira decided to ask Tio,
"By the way... have you seen Fayros?"
"I have no idea, Your Highness." the AI replied.
Lira fell silent for a moment, quiet enough to hear her breathing and the soft sipping of tea.
Ding!
The doorbell rang.
Tio immediately looked toward the door, and Lira raised her head, hoping it would be Fayros.
But to her surprise, it was Iris who entered, carrying a messy bag full of belongings.
"Hello, Sister Lira." Iris greeted with a bright smile.
"How did you get here?" Lira frowned.
Normally, Iris, who survived the war, should be at the camp. Yet here she was, knowing the location of Lira and Fayros's room.
"Brother told me to come here." Iris replied, her eyes shining with hope, though PTSD was still evident.
Lira noticed a letter beside Iris.
"A letter? Nobody uses those nowadays."
"Oh…!? This? Brother sent it." Iris said, pulling out the letter.
"Fayros told me not to sneak a peek… but it's okay if you read it, haha… kinda weird, right?"
The snow-haired girl handed over the letter, her amber eyes trembling with nervousness.
Lira slowly took the letter from the girl's small hands.
"Take care of this, Tio."
Tio approached and began showing Iris around the room, organizing the girl's things neatly.
Once Tio and Iris moved away, Lira opened the letter and read:
I'm going out to explore outside for a bit. Don't worry about me, Lira...
Fayros
Lira frowned, her violet-pink eyes flickering with confusion.
"Fayros... what exactly are you thinking?"
08.19 P.M. Underground Station, Nexus Authority Headquarters (Undetected)… Elysium Echo
A dimly lit, almost overcrowded place — a secret gathering spot for shadowy groups working behind the scenes, keeping a low profile.
Fayros wore a golden half-mask, blending with the crowd. On his wrist, he gripped a Voidframe tightly.
"Still crowded as ever, huh." the jet-black-haired youth observed the lively surroundings.
The smell of engine oil mixed with gunpowder fumes made him slightly nauseous.
Announcements in a secret language crackled over old speakers.
Fayros walked deeper into a zone he thought he'd never return to… Ghost Coders.
"Do you still remember me?"
He asked the gatekeeper, who looked like a homeless man.
The old man squinted, his eyes mechanical devices scanning some arcane codes.
Suddenly…
Beep!
The screen in his eye flickered, as if the system was being hacked internally.
[Warning: UNKNOWN — ERROR 404: NOIR.RES-N1.EXE NOT FOUND]
"What the hell...!?"
the old man shouted in alarm before both mechanical eyes shut off.
"What a shame… only been gone two months… forgot already?"
Fayros sighed lightly, then passed through the heavy iron door.
"Guess the old man just fainted from age."
08.27 P.M. Deep inside Elysium Echo — Central zone of Ghost Coders
The clang of metal footsteps echoed down the old tunnel walls.
The flickering pale lights pulsed irregularly, like a heartbeat out of sync.
The Voidframe in Fayros's hand glowed faintly, as if preparing to "awaken."
The youth passed dozens of people and shady shops.
Every pair of eyes cast wary glances at the figure in the golden mask. No one knew who he was.
"Welcome back, Fayros… or should I say, Avel Darkdemon."
A voice called out.
A woman in a black leather cloak stepped out from the shadows.
Wine-purple hair and glowing pale green eyes.
"Nysa..." Fayros whispered.
Nysa was a woman in her mid-twenties, a former fellow experimental forbidden-magic user with him.
The only one in this underground organization who knew his real name.
A woman who believed that "the world's system should be erased" by untraceable magic.
"Oh please~ no need to be so formal. To me, you're just like a little brother."
Nysa smiled faintly, her pale green eyes sparkling with hope at Fayros's return.
"Alright, alright… no offense, Nysa."
"Hmm." Nysa nodded.
Fayros swallowed hard and said,
"How many times do I have to say I'm Fayros… not Avel, sis?"
Smack!
A sudden thwack on his head.
"Call me whatever you want, just don't call me 'sis'."
Nysa forced a smile, hiding her anger.
"Sorry."
It wasn't the first time Fayros got hit on the head like this for months. That's why he left this business two months ago.
"You call me Avel because of your black hair and eyes… and fragile self."
"Darkdemon because of my black hair and eyes? And Avel because I'm soft-hearted?"
"Bingo!"
Nysa blinked and smiled triumphantly, then slapped Fayros's shoulder twice.
"I'm not gonna let a stubborn kid like you disappear that easily."
Fayros sighed deeply, then froze when his Voidframe suddenly sounded.
[System Update Initiated… Noir Resonance – Sync Progress: 17%]
[Warning: Unstable Resonance Detected.]
"Ugh...!" Fayros clenched his wrist. A chilling feeling like blood flowing backward into his heart.
Memories he didn't want to recall surged unexpectedly.
Nysa's expression changed immediately.
"So… the time is really coming, huh."
She stepped forward and grabbed a cable from a nearby control panel.
"What are you doing?"
"Connecting it to your mind system, so we can hear what it says to you."
Nysa knew well that the Voidframe wasn't just a tool. It was the 'core connection between soul and forbidden magic' — a second brain recording the 'past' without telling its owner.
Click! Nysa plugged the cable into Fayros's Voidframe.
Instantly, the hidden magical ring beneath the floor flashed a dim purple. Arcane lines flashed around both of them as if something was awakening.
[Neural Sync Complete]
[Loading Core Archive: NOIR.RES-N1.EXE]
[Risk Level: MAXIMUM | Unknown Stability]
A voice echoed inside the youth's head again.
"You killed us..."
"Go die... you bastard."
Before being sucked deeper into the subconscious world, Fayros struggled desperately to escape the nightmare.
"Stop...!!!"
Suddenly… black smoke waves enveloped Fayros, destroying the cable into Black Roses that violently burst out.
"Ugh...!" Nysa immediately shielded herself.
Countless black rose petals made of undefinable magic shot out like poisonous rain in flower form.
The power was so strong even Nysa, an ex-forbidden magic experimenter, had to retreat to the wall.
The Voidframe suddenly blared:
[Connection Severed – Instinct Override: Noir Mode Alpha]
[Auto-Shield Activated: Mental Overload Prevention Mode]
Inside Fayros's subconscious
Surrounded by a cracking void.
Screams of 'suppressed memories' burned within him.
"You killed us… then pretended to forget… acted like nothing happened!"
"You bastard!"
"Don't stay silent!"
Fayros clenched his teeth tight, his hands trembling.
"What do you mean!?"
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, as if something was watching him.
"That's exactly what I mean..." a cold voice of a dark shadow emerged.
Fayros's pitch-black opaque eyes trembled. He braced himself and turned around to speak.
But then…
Snap!
The Dusken Shade snapped its fingers loudly.
Fayros froze instantly, remembering what happened last time.
Whoosh — Thud!
A gigantic pillar rose from the void and slammed hard against Fayros's back.
"Ugh...!"
Another pillar burst up quickly beneath his stomach and thrust into him with full force.
Thud!
"Ugh... damn it!"
His body flew back, crashing violently against a pillar behind him.
Before he could recover, two more pillars slammed into him, breaking his ribs and spine, though not killing him outright.
"Aaargh...!!!"
Suddenly, the two pillars exploded into shards that hit and scratched the 14-year-old boy repeatedly.
When it was over, Fayros collapsed, gasping weakly.
"W-Why am I not dead!?" Fayros thought in pain and surprise.
Tuk... tuk...!
Slow footsteps of the dark shadow approached.
"You're still not ready to face the truth, huh?" it said.
"What… exactly do you mean by that truth!?"
"Sigh~ Same old questions... don't you get tired?"
The Dusken Shade crouched close to Fayros.
This time its smoke faded slightly.
It reached out slowly, like a prince.
Swish — Pop!
"Ugh!!!"
Fayros felt excruciating pain as the shadow pulled out his heart.
The Dusken Shade held up Fayros's heart, playing with it as if it were an old broken toy.
"It's red… so why are our hearts colorless?"
Fayros's eyes widened in shock that he could still hear the shadow's voice clearly, and that he was still alive.
"Huh? Don't you know this is the subconscious world?"
"Yes! B-But why am I not dead?"
"Want to die...? Whatever… I'll tell you why."
The dark shadow revealed the reason and the whole story. Fayros listened intently.
But the shadow's voice was suddenly cut off, like a mic being muted.
"What did you say!? I didn't hear!"
The dense smoke around the shadow began to fade, revealing a partially human-like mouth curling into a sly smile, as if it planned this all along and intentionally cut the sound.
Fayros gritted his teeth until blood oozed out. His opaque black eyes trembled with rage.
"What about all of you…? Just because you're dead, you think you have the right to judge me!?"
"Hehehe… I knew you'd say that~" the dark shadow chuckled softly.
In the real world
Nysa still leaned against the wall, her body trembling slightly from the earlier impact of the Black Rose magic.
Fayros's Voidframe continued to vibrate with Resonance—a sign of unstable magic.
The veins of mana floating around him were fracturing, as if his body was about to explode from within.
"Damn it…!"
Nysa growled under her breath and rushed toward the semi-conscious Fayros.
She pulled out a spare tether, tipped with a Synaptic Override connector.
"Even if you don't want to come back, I'm dragging your soul back whether you like it or not!"
Meanwhile, in the void of the subconscious world…
A dark shadow was walking away, holding Fayros's still-bleeding heart.
But then—
Whoosh!!!
A crimson magic circle erupted behind it.
A girl's voice echoed through the hollow world:
"Fayros… Come back right now!!"
A red beam tore through the memory realm.
Nysa's figure appeared, her wine-purple hair floating in the gravityless space as she walked across the air toward them.
The shadow turned sharply, its body fading until one-quarter of its face was visible—revealing the right eye.
Its gray eye began to shift — becoming the pale green of Nysa's.
"…Heh. An imposter? So you forced your way into this world."
The shadow sneered and crushed the heart in its hand mercilessly.
But Nysa didn't even blink.
She stepped forward and grabbed Fayros's limp wrist.
"I'll ask just once…"
"Do you still want to live?"
Fayros was trembling. Blood still stained his face. His body was beaten and bruised. And in his mind, the voices echoed again…
"Just die already."
"You're a burden."
"Trash."
"You already killed us… You have no right to go on living!!"
But then… one voice pushed back:
"Why didn't any of you ever ask me… if I wanted to kill anyone? Why I did it!?"
"There was no reason… None at all…"
"Disgusting… utterly disgusting…"
Suddenly, another voice rose above the rest:
"Live… at least for yourself."
The rest of the voices faded into silence.
Fayros's dark eyes glowed faintly. Slowly, he looked up and gripped Nysa's hand tightly.
"…Take me back."
Nysa gave a slight smile, placing her palm on his forehead.
"Sorry, Fay… This might hurt a little."
Fayros looked at the fading shadow. Its smoke-thin form revealed one-fourth of a face, with black hair flowing gently. It smiled… as if freed.
The Voidframe blinked frantically.
The magic rings spun wildly, barely containing the power.
Then—
Whoosh…
The black rose petals vanished.
The soul-consuming magic stopped.
Fayros's body went still — but his dark eyes slowly opened. This time, the left eye glowed faint red… then faded back to black.
Nysa panted hard, her body covered in magical burn marks.
She forced a tired but relieved smile.
"…You're back, you little bastard."
One week later, 08.48 A.M. — Nexus Academy, Room A-6
Lira placed her book on the desk. Seeing the empty chair beside her, she sighed softly.
"…You're really not coming back, Fayros?"
Around her, students whispered.
Some glanced at the empty seat, some just murmured to one another.
"He's been gone for a whole week…"
"Maybe he got expelled?"
"Maybe that blonde princess knows something…"
"Show some respect, idiot!"
"S-Sorry…"
Lira glanced at the table of the whispering students—but before she could act—
Clack!
The door opened.
"Sorry… I'm late."
The room fell silent.
Standing at the door was Fayros—messy black hair, dull eyes with a cold aura, a faint bruise visible under the collar, like he'd been through hell.
He still wore the standard uniform.
But one sleeve had a faint stitch line—barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
"Fayros!?" Lyra gasped.
"You idiot… You just came back, and you're already going to class!?"
Fayros gave a faint smile.
"Otherwise, I'd lose points."
Professor Breania's voice called from the front:
"Darneth… You're eight minutes and ten seconds late… And you've refused to cooperate with the faculty."
"…Yes, ma'am."
"Give me one reason not to report you right now."
Silence fell over the room.
Iris, seated at the front, looked up at Fayros—the one she thought of as an older brother—and whispered:
"…You're back… but why do you feel different?"
Fayros flinched slightly. His hand trembled.
"Just sit already, ghost-boy." Kaen muttered.
Even Professor Breania's eyes showed a flicker of concern—despite how she once dismissed the boy without mana.
"Darneth, I—"
Bang—!
A violet energy bullet tore straight through her skull.
Her white hair fell over her shoulders. Her eyes dimmed—the light of life gone.
The teacher collapsed to the ground before the stunned students of Room A-6.
Everything fell silent.
Dark red blood pooled beneath her.
Her lifeless eyes stared—no longer seeing the future she once believed in.
A girl screamed in pure agony:
"Professor Breania!!!"
Students jumped from their seats. Some fled. Others dropped to the floor in tears or screamed in shock.
"M-Mom…?"
Iris trembled, tears pouring. Her PTSD triggered again by the sight—reminding her of her mother's death in war.
"Get a grip!" Max covered Iris's mouth.
Kaen stood frozen, teeth clenched, tears flowing despite trying to act indifferent.
"Who… Who the hell shot the professor!?"
Fayros stood still as a statue.
Blood had splattered across his cheek.
No sound. No emotion.
But in his eyes… a fire was starting to burn.
His left eye turned a bloody crimson—like hellfire—before fading to black once more.
Lira rushed to the body.
"She's gone… The bullet went through her skull, right to left," she murmured.
She looked toward the shattered glass.
"That must've been a high-level magic firearm… to break our school's glass."
"C-Can't we heal her?" A student asked.
"…Too late. The bullet destroyed her brain. And more importantly…"
Lira noticed a magical disturbance in Braunea's head.
"It's an anti-magic bullet."
Fayros clenched his fists, drawing blood as he fought back the overwhelming rage.
Still… the memories kept coming.
Professor Breania always spoke sternly—but with kindness.
She had once been a magic researcher, though she could only use fire spells. And she was one of the few who still gave opportunities to someone like Fayros, who lacked a magic code.
"Darneth, look at me when I talk to you."
"…Yes, ma'am."
She once handed him his handwritten spell notes.
"These… Even without mana, you wrote volatile structure spells better than some students with power."
Fayros raised an eyebrow, confused.
"You're… not disgusted by me?"
Breania sighed softly.
"This world already has enough fools… If a powerless kid still uses their brain, I won't look down on them."
She hadn't realized how deeply her words had etched into his heart.
08.51 A.M., Room A-6, Nexus Academy
As the screaming quieted, the security force of Nexus Academy burst in.
But no one had seen the shooter—or where the bullet came from.
It was as if it had no origin.
Students gathered in tears around the corpse.
Iris spoke softly:
"Professor Breania… I didn't even get to apologize… or say anything…"
Fayros stared at the body being taken away. His eyes trembled—as if vowing to kill whoever did this.
He whispered hoarsely:
"I'll find whoever did this… No matter who they are!"
Kaen grabbed Fayros's sleeve.
"Now's not the time for badass talk. You got something you're not telling us?"
His golden eyes wavered with deep pain and understanding.
Fayros, trembling with rage, spoke in a voice full of intent:
"When I find them… I'll carve them open slowly. Rip their flesh, let them scream, stab them, peel their skin, and pull out their guts~"
Whap—!
Lira slapped him hard, snapping him back to his senses.
"Don't let vengeance consume you… or it'll eat away what's left of you…!"
Suddenly, Nexus AI announced:
[Red Alert: Violent incident at school — Students are prohibited from moving!]
The school's defense system activated.
A glowing blue barrier sealed off the exits.
A few students ran to emergency terminals—only to be blocked by the barrier.
Lyra looked up sharply.
"Everyone stay in position! Don't act recklessly!"
Her voice was sharper and more commanding than ever before.
Iris clung tightly to Lyra's sleeve, trembling.
Fayros stood silently—expressionless.
Kaen growled under his breath.
"What the hell is happening now!?"
Then… the Hunt Mode activated.
The sirens shifted to a deeper tone, signaling high-level lockdown.
The barrier glowed soft purple.
"Hunt Mode… targeting someone in this room."
Lira muttered, instinctively turning toward Fayros.
"…It's not me" he said softly.
But in his eyes—a spark had returned.
Lira narrowed her eyes.
"Then tell me… what is the person behind this really after?"
Fayros fell silent.
No answer.
But then… a low, secret frequency from Fayros's Voidframe whispered:
[WARNING: ENEMY SIGNAL TRACE DETECTED — CODE "DEUS NULL"]
[CLASSIFIED AGENT IDENTIFIED – TARGET: FAYROS DARNETH]
[THREAT LEVEL: ∞]
Fayros's eyes widened.
"…Deus Null?"
08.52 A.M., West Rooftop, Nexus Academy
A woman in a black suit stood with a magic gun—gray mist still swirling from its barrel.
Her black mask bore scratch marks.
She tilted her head slightly as she watched the flare of power from the central tower.
"…Your aim's still perfect."
Another woman's voice came from the shadows behind her.
"Not really." said the gunwoman calmly.
"I just memorized the target's routine.
Same walk every morning at 8:48.
Pauses a fraction to place the book… That's all."
The second woman stepped out.
With bright teal eyes and shoulder-length green hair, she asked:
"Isn't that going to get you arrested?"
"…No."
The masked woman smiled beneath her mask.
"Because no one knows I even exist."