10.40 P.M. — Teacher's Office
A dim yellow light seeped through the steam rising from a porcelain teacup. The mist reflected in the sharp golden eyes of a middle-aged man.
"Professor Halien... I..."
Max's voice was unusually soft—devoid of its usual playfulness or sarcasm.
"If I had realized sooner... if I had a sharper sense of danger... Professor Braenia wouldn't have died, right?"
His fists clenched so tightly that his veins bulged—eyes burning with the powerless grief of someone who should have been strong enough, someone who should have known.
Halien said nothing. He simply placed a gentle hand on Max's shoulder.
"It's okay, Max... anything can happen in this world."
"But she's still dead, Professor... She won't come back. And that guy Darneth... he acted like nothing happened, said something weird like he wasn't even aware...!"
"Last week... he accidentally cast an ice spell just by snapping his fingers. And he still doesn't know who he really is!"
Halien sighed quietly and paused before speaking with firm conviction:
"Even I don't know who he really is. I dug into his past and found almost nothing."
"And that—that is the scariest thing in this world. Not monsters. Not Voidframes. Not even rogue AIs."
"It's humans... who don't yet know what they truly are."
A spoon lightly clinked against a saucer.
Halien took a slow sip of tea and set the cup down.
"That's why... I need you to stay close to that 'Code-less' kid."
Max flinched. His green eyes twitched slightly, hands trembling.
"You want me to spy on him?"
"No... I want you to be his friend."
Max went silent. No words, no protest.
"And if he ever changes—if he becomes something even you don't recognize..."
Halien's golden eyes bore into Max's.
"Then kill him."
The room fell silent.
Max didn't respond. His eyes widened slightly before his hand swiped Harlian's saucer off the table.
CRASH!
The loud shatter echoed like the tearing of a young boy's trust.
Even Halien's usually composed expression wavered.
"Are you insane!?" Max roared.
"You really think someone like me... could just kill someone!?"
He choked back a sob.
"I'm human, not a tool... You're the one who taught me that, remember?"
Halien stepped forward and placed a hand on Max's light brown hair.
"I'm sorry for pressuring you."
The gesture calmed Max. He looked up, a faint smile forming.
"Yeah... If it wasn't for you that day... I wouldn't be the 'Max' I am now."
Max remembered clearly: as a child, he was shunned and bullied constantly.
He especially remembered that day.
Heavy rain. He'd been kicked out of the dorms for losing control of his power. A nine-year-old boy sat shivering by a fence post, soaking wet. The rain drowned his sobs.
But someone had heard them.
"Can you stand?"
A calm, unfamiliar voice. A warm hand. A shared umbrella.
That man — was Halien.
He cared. He taught. And so, to Max, Harlian became more than a mentor—he was a father.
But tonight, Harlian's words shattered Max's heart:
"If Fayros changes... you have to kill him."
Max smiled faintly, but it was anything but peaceful.
"If that guy changes... I'll do everything I can to bring him back."
He paused, whispering like he was talking to himself.
"Please... don't let the day come where I have to choose between killing my friend... or myself..."
Then he walked out, leaving Halien alone.
Outside, Max spotted Fayros staring at the night sky alone.
"Darneth... not going back to your room yet?"
Fayros turned. His left eye flickered—a flash of apocalyptic fire—before fading back to black.
"Max... Have you ever felt like justice... never really existed?"
That chilling tone struck Max. He breathed unevenly, already understanding.
Fayros wanted to kill the one who murdered Professor Braenia.
Back in the teacher's lounge, Halien stood still despite the air conditioner's cool breeze. A chill ran down his spine.
He murmured to himself:
"I don't want you to kill anyone either, Max... But sometimes, the ones we love most... become the greatest danger."
He pulled out a document from a locked file.
A photo of Fayros, taken seven years ago in a lab.
"Fayros Darneth..."
Harlian traced the photo's edge, voice grave:
"If you're no longer 'human'... then I'll end this—so Max doesn't have to."
10.52 P.M.
Max's footsteps echoed as he approached Fayros.
"If you're going to kill the one who took Professor Braenia's life..." Max whispered, only for Fayros to hear.
"I'll stand by you. But don't you dare become someone I don't recognize. Got it!?"
Fayros didn't answer. He kept staring at the stars.
Then, in a tone Max had never heard before:
"Maybe... I was never the 'Fayros' you thought I was to begin with."
Max froze. Cold sweat slid down his temple.
"W-What do you mean...?"
Fayros slowly turned.
Half his face hidden in shadow. His left eye glowed a deep red.
"I see it less now... the shadows, the other versions of myself."
His voice cracked. Fingers twitching.
"And that voice... it's louder, sharper... it cuts deeper than ever."
Max staggered back.
"Darneth...! What are you talking about!? Tell someone! You can't expect us to guess—"
"What do you want me to do!? I don't even know if it's a memory or a hallucination! All I know is... I feel blood and death every single night..."
Silence fell again.
Only the night insects and wind remained.
"Right now..." Fayros whispered. "I don't even know who I am anymore."
Max gritted his teeth.
"I don't care what your past is, where you're from, or what you really are!!!"
"To me, you're still Darneth — the moody Code-less kid who's my friend!"
He turned away, voice low.
"Even if you become a monster... I'll drag you back myself."
Fayros smirked, but it wasn't a familiar smile.
His left eye gleamed crimson. The black eye turned blood-red.
"Then I hope you're strong enough to pull me back from hell... before I destroy everything and consume it into that abyss~ Kehehe..."
11:10 PM
Max stared at Fayros, uneasy.
The phrase "consume everything into the abyss" echoed in his mind.
But that raspy laugh... wasn't Fayros's.
"Kehehe..."
It came from Fayros's throat.
His hand rose. He pressed his index finger to his lips. His face remained completely still.
Max froze.
"That voice..."
Suddenly, a dark vortex rose from the ground.
No incantation. No runes. Just raw, terrifying power.
It was formless, yet radiated death and dread—an assault on the subconscious.
Max immediately realized:
"I can't stop him on my own."
He lunged forward, grabbing Fayros's collar.
"Wake up, Darneth! This isn't you!"
"Listen to me! You're the guy who never leaves anyone behind!"
Fayros forced a smile.
His voice wavered—low, cryptic, filled with pain. As if denying his own light.
"Never leaves anyone behind? Yeah... unless they're no longer useful~"
WHOOSH!
Black roses burst from the vortex, flying at Max with force.
One slammed into his stomach, knocking him back.
"Ugh...!"
Fortunately, Fayros's magic was still weak. It caused little damage — just knocked Max off balance.
A hundred voices screamed inside Fayros's mind:
"Kill him!"
"Bring him down!"
"Let him join us!"
"Yes... this is who you really are."
Thud! Thud!
Footsteps.
"Fayros!!!" Lira's voice rang out.
She hadn't seen what happened.
"It's late! What are you doing out here!?"
The crimson in Fayros's eyes wavered.
The vortex and black roses slowly vanished.
"So... fia..."
"Princess! Help me carry him!" Max shouted.
"Huh!?" Lira was confused.
The echoing voices in Fayros's head stopped. His left eye faded back to black.
Fayros collapsed.
Lira caught him.
"Lira..." Fayros looked at her, exhausted.
Max approached slowly.
"Max... you..." Fayros murmured.
"Yeah, it's me... the guy you constantly call the most annoying guy in class..."
Max smiled weakly.
SMACK!
Lira slapped Max on the head.
"Watch your mouth!"
"Sorry, Princess." Max muttered.
Fayros went quiet, then whispered hoarsely:
"I'm scared... scared that if I forget who I am... I'll become a demon you'll have to kill."
Lira's pink-violet eyes trembled.
"How many times do I have to say it...? I'll be the first one to pull you back."
Max bit his lip.
"Then promise us... if you ever start to forget even one of us..."
"Kill yourself before I have to do it."
Fayros's eyes widened.
"W-What the hell!? Are you insane!?"
"Told you... I'm gonna drag you back. Not your corpse!"
Lira still looked confused, but picked up on enough.
"Whatever... Let's just go back to our rooms."
She began dragging Fayros away.
"W-Wait! Lira!"
"You've been gone for a week! Of course I'm worried! You're coming with me!"
Max watched them go.
He smiled—relieved.
His hand brushed the spot where the black rose hit.
"Don't do anything stupid... Darneth, you bastard."
07:49 AM, Lockdown Classroom — Nexus Academy
Soft sunlight filtered through the magically reinforced glass, casting a faint glow on Iris's face.
The atmosphere in the classroom was tense. Everyone still remembered what happened yesterday, and they had been temporarily relocated to this safe room.
"Professor Breania..." Kaen's golden eyes flickered with a faint tremble.
He still recalled the scene of the purple bullet piercing through the skull of the white-haired teacher.
No one here knew who the real target was.
Or maybe… everyone in this room was the target.
"I really shouldn't still be alive..."
The thought slipped out of Kaen's mouth without him realizing it.
Max, sitting beside him, heard it and turned to speak to the fiery-haired boy.
"Don't blame yourself... blame me. Even though I had a sharp premonition..."
Kaen glanced sideways, seeing Max's gloomy face.
"Max..."
"When that gunshot rang out... I knew something was coming, but I..."
He took a deep breath, as if swallowing something stuck in his throat.
"I hesitated to say anything because I feared it was just an 'emotion'."
Silence swallowed the confession.
Max and Kaen exchanged a glance, then Max gently placed his hand on his best friend's wrist.
"We have to live... at least, we have to find out who exactly... killed our teacher."
At that moment, memories from yesterday crept back into Kaen's mind.
It wasn't just the bullet that killed Professor Breania...
Seconds before, someone in the classroom sent a message through the Nexus Tab to a mysterious account.
A brief message Kaen saw in the sender's eyes just before the bullet flew—
"Keep that person safe, please."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the organic magic corridor outside.
Tap... Tap...!
Iris immediately looked up, her slender finger raised to her lips in a silent signal for everyone to stay quiet. The entire room nearly held its breath.
"Professor Felicia's footsteps don't sound like that..." Lira whispered softly, loud enough for the thirty students in the room to hear.
Tap... Tap...! The footsteps grew closer.
The door was locked with five layers of magical seals—but that meant nothing if those outside were them.
The room felt bound by invisible chains of magic.
Each approaching step pressed down like molten lava boiling in their chests.
Fayros sat vacant, lifeless.
"N- no way... that's not Professor Felicia's footsteps..."
Lira's voice was barely audible, but laced with certainty—not mere speculation.
No one doubted her.
Max froze, glancing at Kaen.
Kaen nodded faintly, his right hand inching toward the folding magical knife he'd secretly tied to the chair leg.
No one should have weapons in a magic classroom, but this was no ordinary time.
Tap... Tap...!
The footsteps suddenly stopped.
The room fell silent, as if every heartbeat paused simultaneously.
Click—!
A faint touch on the door.
No words.
No knocks.
No magic signals from the duty teacher.
Just a slender hand lightly brushing the door.
"That person... is scanning the magic," Iris said sharply, clear enough for the room to hear.
In the week Fayros had been missing, ten-year-old Iris had been granted special permission to study here by Lira.
She quickly became one of the top defensive magic experts in the class.
Her words meant—
They weren't trying to break in by force, but to 'decode the magic' from outside... patiently.
"There has to be someone in this room they want...!"
Lira's voice shifted from a whisper to a serious tone.
"This isn't just a data probe... it's an assassination order...!!!"
Kaen went still. His mind screamed at him—
"'Keep that person safe, please'...?"
"If someone here sent that message... that means they knew the assassination was coming."
"So... they're in this room with us...!?"
Bang! Something lightly struck the door from outside.
No footsteps.
No magical scans.
Suddenly, every Nexus Tab screen in the room—
All went dark, then rebooted.
A single message appeared—not from the Nexus AI, not from any official.
But from an anonymous account.
"One life for all lives in this classroom... If there's only 1 minute left... I'll be waiting at the board.
Countdown: 00:05:00"
"What the hell...!!!"
Max cursed under his breath.
Kaen clenched his fists until veins bulged.
Iris slowly rose, her calm eyes hiding something beneath.
"Who sent that message..."
Lira whispered, her purple-pink eyes flickering slightly.
She wasn't talking to anyone. She was talking to herself.
Silence swallowed the room.
Only the breath of thirty students grew more and more rapid.
The pressure of the mysterious message squeezed their throats like invisible hands, one by one.
"Is this... some sick life-or-death game...?"
Ryu, the blue-haired boy from the back row, forced a smile.
"Who'd dare walk out to get themselves killed?!"
No one answered.
Only suspicious eyes darted among each other.
Everyone began to wonder—
"Will someone 'volunteer' to save us all?"
"Or... is there 'someone' who deserves to be sent out because they're 'guilty'...?"
Tick—! Time left: 3 minutes.
Iris stood in the center of the room.
She didn't look afraid.
Not a flicker of fear in others' eyes.
But Lira and Fayros knew she was suppressing her fear and the PTSD from war.
Iris's slender finger touched her chin thoughtfully.
"The magic signature used to breach earlier... it's not high-level magic, but it definitely has 'special privileges'..."
Her words made many students look up simultaneously.
Special privileges in Nexus Academy... granted only to high-level officials and a few students.
"Meaning..." Max continued,
"Whoever did this... must be 'one of us'...?"
"And more importantly..." the snow-haired girl spoke evenly.
"The message sent before Professor Breania's death was no ordinary message."
"It used the 'Admin Ghost Protocol,' which shouldn't be accessible from a normal classroom."
Creak—! Kaen dragged his chair.
"Are you crazy...? It's right here in this room...!"
"Someone sent that message to that account... but they don't have the privileges!"
"Because those privileges are only held by the school staff and government officials..."
"Among students, only the princess and Rooter — the palace watchdog in room B-6—have such rights."
Iris gasped nervously, hiding something in her eyes.
Lira nodded in agreement with Kaen.
"Exactly... among students, only me and Rooter have that privilege..."
She paused briefly, then glanced at Fayros. Time left: 1 minute 17 seconds.
The black-haired boy, expressionless and powerless, still sat hugging his knees in the corner, trembling slightly—not from fear.
"Fayros..."
Lira's voice was soft but resolute.
"Did you hear that sound?"
Fayros sighed, his dark eyes flickering.
"Yes... I remember. DEUS NULL... my Voidframe alerted me."
All eyes turned sharply to Fayros.
Even Kaen froze.
Fayros slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were empty but carried a feeling not belonging to a fourteen-year-old.
His hands trembled, lips moving slowly.
"It probably wasn't a random kill..."
Tick—! Final minute.
Ping—! Tap... Tap...!
The iron door sealed by five magical layers—
Opened silently, without any unlocking spells.
No reflection from the pact ring.
No identity verification by Nexus AI.
Only slow footsteps, and a pressure like distorted gravity.
The entire classroom stood still almost simultaneously.
Some gripped their magical knives tightly.
Some clenched their Nexus Tabs until their nails dug into their palms.
Fayros remained seated, but something inside him had changed.
"Thanks for staying quiet,"
His voice soft, gentle... yet cold as a blade pressed against the throat.
His lips twitched into a faint smile beneath the mask.
The mysterious man entered.
Dressed in pure black, with no insignia, his cloak billowing softly in the magical breeze.
A half-face silver mask reflected the faint window light.
His right eye glowed faint purple, like the bullet from the other day.
The left eye was pitch black—playful and mocking.
No weapons drawn.
No spells cast.
But everyone instantly knew—
Their powers weren't enough to face him.
"Send one name within 30 seconds, or the system will randomly choose a life based on the lowest 'magic value level.'"
Lira immediately looked at Iris.
Kaen gritted his teeth.
Max instinctively stepped forward, half shielding Fayros.
Fayros Darneth... the first boy without a magic code... placed at the very bottom of the "Magic Value" scale.
"Hey! Magicless! Get out!" Ryu shouted.
His voice stirred the dark side of the classroom.
"Yeah! You're the most useless!"
"If you die, the rest survive... then you might be useful!"
"No... you can't send Fayros...!!!"
Lira's voice rose, as she threw a protective magic shield around Fayros.
Max pulled the folding magical knife from the chair leg.
Max prepared to use ARCTIC WRIST-CORE [Type-VF], boosting magic and mana to attack.
But then...
A notification appeared on the Nexus Tab—
[Proposer: Unnamed]
[Proposed Name: Lira Velmira Valientear]
[Reason: The magic level is too high, it might be a threat later.]
The room fell silent.
Lira froze, eyes trembling.
Everyone's gaze snapped to one another.
Suspicion flooded, turning trust into poison.
"Just kidding... kidding...! How could I dare kill the princess? Right~"
The masked man raised a finger.
"If you can't decide... I'll choose for you~"
Whether good or bad—when he raised his hand,
Fayros saw the hexagonal shield emblem, silver with a blue tint, surrounded by three layered magical circuit rings.
At its center was the Eye of Wisdom, surrounded by glowing Arcane Circuit code lines in soft white light.
Fayros's dark eyes flickered with immediate hatred.
Click—Bang! The revolver fired.
The enchanted bullet shot out, wrapped in golden magical lines, driven by a strong will.
The masked man immediately raised a protective spell.
Zoom—!
The iron bullet pierced through the magic barrier effortlessly.
"A magic-destroying enchanted bullet...!?"
The masked man dodged quickly.
Boom! An explosion rocked the room.
Smoke billowed, obscuring sight.
When it cleared, the man was slightly wounded on his wrist.
"Fayros, are you okay!?" Iris helped the boy.
Fayros slowly lifted his head, coughing up a little blood from the shot.
"How did you get that emblem!?"
The masked man tilted his head, teasing—but his purple eyes flashed with anger.
"Hmm...? Familiar?"
Fayros exhaled coldly.
"Your target is me, isn't it...? Otherwise, why set the condition that the lowest magic value would be randomly selected?"
Everyone froze, except the masked man, who chuckled.
"Heh heh heh... You know well~ Fayros Darneth."
Then the Voidframe on Fayros's wrist beeped.
[WARNING: ENEMY SIGNAL TRACE DETECTED - CODE "THE REASOPER"]
[CLASSIFIED AGENT IDENTIFIED – TARGET: FAYROS DARNETH]
[THREAT LEVEL: 95]
Fayros's left dark eye flickered, then shifted to a blood-red hue.
"Ah... I see? You took the codename from the word Resonance mixed with Reaper, huh?"
The masked man grinned.
"Hoho... You know too much~ Didn't you know the more you talk, the faster you die?"
"Hmph...! Enough with the talking already!" Fayros spoke coldly.
The deep black eyes of the young man shifted slightly.
"Where did you get that symbol from!?"
THE REASOPER, the masked man, chuckled softly.
"If you ask like that... do you think I'm dumb enough to answer you~?"
Fayros's hands trembled slightly as images flooded his mind...
Memories that belonged to no one else but himself
8 years ago, in the year R.R. (Resonant Rebirth) 2102 — The era of Resonance Restoration.
Fayros was brought by a soldier to an orphanage in the city of Neurea.
When he stepped inside, it looked like any other orphanage — nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Soft pastel neon lights flickered gently, as if designed specifically for children.
The place was controlled by an AI, though Feyros had long since forgotten its name...
On the right side, there were countless new toys and playground equipment.
On the left, various gaming devices with RGB and LED lights that dazzled and excited.
Behind was the cafeteria, serving food equally to all the children.
A crystal magic-powered elevator led to the second floor, where transparent glass revealed the rooms below — individual quarters for each child.
The main hall was filled with floating bookshelves.
At the center was a chocolate fountain that endlessly spouted, making this place feel like paradise on earth.
Most importantly... on the ceiling of this orphanage hung a painting from an ancient fairy tale — The Legend of the Blonde Princess and the Nameless Knight.
Curious children, including young Feyros, asked the caretakers to tell them the story, as it was one they had never heard before.
The caretaker picked up a book and began the tale...
Once upon a time, in a distant past... there was a beautiful lady named Freya, a highborn princess with long blonde hair that enchanted everyone.
One day, deep in a vast, silent forest, Freya was tending to a wound by a small stream when suddenly a voice spoke from the bushes nearby.
"Who's there!?" The young woman asked in surprise.
"Calm down... I don't mean to harm you." A young man stepped out and crouched to scoop water to drink.
Freya met a knight with silver-white hair.
He never introduced himself.
The knight looked into her eyes and smiled faintly.
He seemed to read her mind, as if he knew where she was going and why.
He stood, donned in armor, and offered to lead her to eternal happiness.
Freya, hearing this, was overjoyed, hoping to find endless joy.
She immediately agreed.
They journeyed together through hardships, with the knight caring for her as if she were his most precious treasure.
She noticed he rarely spoke or smiled at others, but with her, he smiled without even realizing it.
After nearly seven months, Freya was finally delivered to the handsome prince.
Amid the happiness, she sensed something strange. She looked back and saw the knight kneeling respectfully but eerily still, as if holding back something inside, before walking away alone from the celebration.
Leaving behind only emptiness and memories etched into the princess's soul.
Years later, Freya lived beside the handsome prince, but still longed for the knight more than the prince.
The man who cared for her in hardship, the quiet man who wouldn't easily give in to her whims no matter how much she pulled at him...
She didn't understand this feeling. It hurt more than anything else in life. Yet thinking of the past warmed her strangely.
And then the final day arrived... she slowly closed her eyes to peacefully leave this world, becoming a star that would forever shine down seeking that man...
After the caretaker finished, a boy's voice rang out.
"I think the knight was dumb... for not holding Freya back..."
The children agreed with the words,
"Yeah... if he had held her back, it might've ended happily"
"For real... why was it so hard for them to just run away together?"
Amid the noisy chatter, the caretaker had to stop them.
"Hey hey... don't take it so seriously. It's just a story, okay?"
But when she looked at young Fayros, she found him chuckling quietly since the story ended —
But that laugh was too bitter to be a true laugh.
"Ha ha ha... The prince didn't smile at her... not because of her, but because of that stupid golden chain..."
"He didn't smile because he was holding back tears..."
The caretaker grabbed Fayros' hand to face him.
"Are you alright!?"
What she saw was Fayros' black eyes trembling, tearless but as if tears were endlessly flowing, though he didn't even realize it himself.
"Stories are written by the victors... not by those left behind..."
His eyes flickered dimly as the boy collapsed to the ground, his mind slowly shutting down from the overwhelming emotions.
The next day, the nameless boy, now called Feyros, was assigned the code 00 instead of a name.
Fayros noticed fewer children around than the day before, as if some had vanished.
The powerless boy who could not wield magic and with those deep black eyes remained friendless.
No matter how much this place was a paradise or how loved it was, Fayros felt the opposite and always sought a way out.
There were three iron rules here, stamped with a silver-blue hexagonal shield emblem, surrounded by a digital ring and three layered magical circuits, with the Eye of Wisdom at the center.
The three rules were:
1. No leaving the premises without permission.
2. Everyone must strictly follow the set schedule.
3. Everyone must obey the adults're orders.
These strict rules raised many questions in Fayros' mind:
"Why is leaving forbidden?"
"Why must we follow the schedule exactly?"
"What if the orders are wrong? Must we still obey?"
Then his instincts screamed —
"This place is too abnormal...!"
He should have realized it long ago. This was a paradise for children, but it was... too perfect.
The caretakers' tone, the simple yet intricate structure, some children disappearing without a trace...
In nature, the more beautiful and perfect something is, the more dangerous it hides beneath
That night, Fayros sneaked into the room of a missing child. The room was empty, no signs of struggle — suspicious.
Suddenly, warm hands touched young Fayros' hand — the caretaker who told him the story.
"Get out of here, now...!" She whispered.
"Children like you... children who don't see the world through rose-colored glasses... shouldn't see this..."
Her eyes trembled with sincerity and determination to help him escape.
Zzzzzt—! An electric shock sounded.
Her body convulsed and she collapsed instantly. The ones who shocked her were men in black suits, wearing gloves with the same emblem as the orphanage's shield.
They dragged the boy and caretaker away.
In the basement of the place, they found the silver-blue hexagonal shield symbol surrounded by digital rings and magical circuits with the Eye of Wisdom at its core.
They put the unconscious caretaker in a room and injected something into her.
When she woke, she had no memories to help Feyros escape and was controlled like a machine.
Feyros instantly knew — this was... memory erasure and mind control.
He looked around instinctively for a way out — only to see children trapped in test tubes.
Now over 90% were dead inside — some frozen in time, others rotting and grotesque.
Before he could do anything, the boy was caught and sealed inside a test tube, connected to a Voidframe.
It was colder than being frozen alive, utterly hopeless to escape.
He didn't know how long he was in there, but when he woke, he was in another orphanage. He later heard the city of Neurea — over 200 square kilometers — had been wiped off the map. Everyone died with no bodies left.
This event was called Black Manaflaut.
Fayros swallowed hard, speechless, realizing he was the sole survivor.
And the Black Manaflaut event was directly linked to him.
He guessed that while unconscious, the disaster happened, but he didn't know why or how he survived.
Checking the calendar, he found out he had been in that test tube for almost a whole year.
Still, he chose to keep this secret hidden until now, when he finally revealed it to Professor Felicia.
Present day, at Nexus Academy
The tense atmosphere tightened, only heavy breathing was heard, legs almost frozen in place.
Kaen swallowed nervously, focusing on the escalating tension.
"Fayros..." Lira gently pulled Fayros back.
"Calm down, don't lose it, idiot." Max added.
"That mark... I have a grudge to settle."
His pitch-black eyes flickered with anger.
Suddenly, REASOPER interrupted with a wider smile under his mask.
"All children were raised on lies." He said, lightly rubbing the edge of his mask.
"To keep them obedient... so they wouldn't question the 'Guardians'"
"And to forget the 'Outlaw Knight' who disappeared from every history book."
Fayros froze, realizing the masked man's involvement in those experiments.
"Do you know why that fairy tale only exists in that orphanage?"
"Because it was designed... to drown out her cries for help."
At REASOPER's words, Fayros' dark eyes trembled with volcanic anger. Somehow, instinct took over.
A voice that was his but not his own spoke:
"Don't you dare call her that so bluntly...!"
Whoosh—!
A wave of pitch-black energy bloomed, transforming into a black rose that surged toward the masked man.
"Oof...!" REASOPER raised his hands to block.
But the black rose tore through flesh, disrupting the masked man's magic violently.
"Fayros!!!"
Iris tried to pull him back, but failed.
His behavior was unlike the Fayros they knew. His left eye dimmed to a blood-red ocean.
Friends hesitated to approach, fearing collateral damage.
"Is that... magic!?" Riu gasped.
"He's been gone for so long...!?" Marine was stunned.
Kaen and Max rushed to grab him.
"Hey! Darneth... get a grip!"
It didn't work.
Lira took this chance to attack REASOPER with [Nocturne Bind] — a silent binding spell.
The masked man briefly stopped moving.
Lira lunged with Max's magical folding knife.
Just as she was about to close in... REASOPER grinned, whispering barely audibly:
"Test successful. This magic has never been recorded or seen in this era... magic outside of the system."
[Mors visitare venit]
REASOPER vanished from Lira's sight.
"W-what!?" Lira trembled, her magical knife gone.
REASOPER reappeared behind blood-faced Fayros.
"Mission complete... goodbye."
Fwoosh—! The magical knife flew swiftly toward Fayros' neck like lightning.
Just before it struck, a voice echoed inside his mind:
"You still have something to protect... or will you let 'it' erase her from history again?"
Stab—!
The knife pierced the boy's neck.
Fayros collapsed in a pool of blood.
Silence fell immediately.
REASOPER casually wiped blood off the knife.
"Sorry... but REASOPER isn't from Resonance and Reaper..."
"It comes from Reaper plus Operator instead."
"Brother!!!" Iris ran to his bloody body.
"You..." Kaen's golden eyes blazed with fury and hatred.
Max held Kaen back from causing more trouble: "Kaen! Calm down!!!"
Lira knelt, struggling to stand.
Memories flashed through her mind —
A six-year-old girl hiding and watching a black-haired boy without family being brought to the palace by soldiers, under orders from the queen, Lira's mother.
But when the fortune teller predicted something, the queen reluctantly ordered the boy to be sent to an orphanage.
One soldier volunteered, but Lira heard his sly smirk.
She overheard the fortune teller's single word clearly:
"Eternal..."