08.00 A.M. , Lockdown Classroom — Nexus Academy
The metallic scent of Fayros' blood lingered in every corner of the classroom.
The stench of death unsettled every nose that breathed it in, a haunting reminder that death was always lurking nearby.
"Hmmm... Too many witnesses have seen this symbol..."
REASOPER murmured softly beneath his mask.
The atmosphere immediately grew heavy, like lead crashing down on their chests.
"W-What do you mean?"
Iris' voice trembled, still unable to accept losing Fayros.
"It means... everyone in this room is going to die."
The masked man said calmly.
"Except Princess Lira, of course — I have no right to kill her~"
Lira clenched her teeth and spoke through gritted jaws.
"If you're going to kill everyone... kill me too...!!!"
Her violet-pink eyes shook with unwavering resolve.
"Oh no no~ That's impossible for me~" REASOPER teased mockingly.
Riu pursed his lips tightly and demanded,
"You said if we send a representative, the rest would be spared! Keep your promise, damn it!"
The students nodded in agreement, voices rising,
"Yeah, keep your word!"
"Otherwise, you're no better than a stray dog!"
"Adults bullying kids, seriously...!"
Kaen and the others tried to calm the rising tension.
"Calm down, everyone...!" Max urged.
Riu shouted. "It's because of cowards like you that Teacher Braenia had to die!!!"
His words stabbed Kaen and Max deep in the heart.
"Ugh~ I'm annoyed already. Fine... I won't hold back."
REASOPER sighed and lunged forward.
He appeared in front of a female student.
"Is this your knife? I'll give it back."
He handed her a folding magic blade.
The girl laughed softly, thinking REASOPER was just bluffing about killing everyone. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with mischief, though a cold sweat trickled down her back.
"You're kidding, right?"
Swish—!
The blade stabbed swiftly into her stomach, blood gushing out.
"Agh...!" She collapsed, trying to steady herself.
Thud—!
The masked man stomped harshly on her head.
"It's not my fault... You refused to send a representative, so I have the right to kill everyone~"
After speaking, REASOPER dropped the knife, which plunged deep into the student's lifeless body.
Squelch—!
Blood spilled like a crimson flood.
Lira's eyes widened at the horrifying scene.
"Everyone... gather together!" she ordered.
The remaining students rushed to form a group, some casting protective spells against the masked man.
[Globus igneus, erumpe et inimicos tuos dele.]
A fireball shot toward REASOPER like a gust of wind.
[Aestus crescat, et flammam extinguat.]
REASOPER extinguished the flames by controlling their heat.
"Hurry...! Quickly!" Max waved the others over.
REASOPER wasted no time and cast an invisible wall to block them.
[invisibilis murus]
A student slammed into the invisible wall so hard their skull cracked.
"Everyone, calm down first!" Iris tried to keep everyone focused.
The students split into two groups — outside and inside the invisible barrier with REASOPER.
[Frange circulus in magica]
The masked man cast a spell disrupting the magic circuits in every student's system.
He walked slowly, choosing not to kill with magic, but with Max's folding magic knife, slaughtering dozens swiftly.
"Aaargh...!!!"
Screams echoed as the assassin's lightning-fast strikes sliced through flesh.
Blood splattered on the invisible wall, making Ryu vomit from nausea and horror.
"No! Please... stop...!!!"
Iris screamed, haunted by visions of war — piles of corpses, countless screams from her ten-year-old memories.
Bloody hands clawed at the invisible wall desperately, pleading for help.
"Help...! Somebody, please help!" a girl cried before life faded away in torment.
She was dragged and repeatedly stabbed by the masked man.
Lira covered Iris's face, her eyes trembling.
Thud—!
Kaen kicked over a chair in frustration.
Sweat dripped down his fiery red hair.
"Damn...!"
"That damn magic... it's blocking our spells." Max staggered, barely keeping balance.
"Oh~ don't worry, I'm coming for you. I prefer knives anyway, much more fun."
REASOPER turned, smiling under the bloodstained mask.
[SYSTEM ERROR : Resonance Out-of-Bound Detected]
[Subject Code 00 : FAYROS DARNETH — Status : ???]
The AI embedded in the masked man's glove announced, drowning out all sounds.
Even REASOPER froze for a moment.
"Hmm!? Don't tell me..."
His eyes behind the mask focused on one figure.
The center of the spreading blood was the body of Fayros Darneth.
Though unconscious, pulseless, the waves of "non-magic power" began trembling.
Tick... Tick... Tick...!
The system went haywire.
The floating magic display flickered, letters melting like eternal flames.
[??? Unknown Syntax Detected]
[Analysis: Failed]
[Linking to source code — Access denied]
"Don't tell me this is a true 'wild variable'..."
REASOPER chuckled softly, tension thick in his voice.
BOOM!!!
The floor beneath Fayros cracked open.
A curtain of dark energy erupted like infernal mist, coiling like a giant serpent.
"Sister Lira...!" Iris clung to her tightly.
Fayros's body slowly rose, eyes still shut, yet a power gnawed at the world's laws.
Multiple voices of Fayros merged as one:
"A will needs no commands, for this resolve shall be eternal..."
Suddenly, Nexus Academy's AI screamed in madness:
[Magic System is Cut Off]
[Control of Magic Power Throughout the Room: Loss of Control]
[Magic Origin: Not in the Central Registry]
"Don't tell me... that's magic lost since the Spirit Wars...!?"
REASOPER furrowed his brows, sensing a power beyond all others this age had seen.
A power needing no magic incantations.
A power requiring no air, magic circles, or elements.
A power of pure "meaning" and "will."
Fayros' right hand slowly rose.
No chant, no light, no flashy spectacle.
But...
REASOPER was slammed hard against the wall.
Crack—!
His bones broke; blood leaked from his mouth corner.
"Hey... You didn't even move a finger...!?"
He laughed through the blood.
"Haha... what the hell is this...? Amazing..."
Fayros' eyes still shut, but everyone knew... he was no longer the same Fayros.
He had become something "outside the system."
Even this world couldn't script him anymore.
Suddenly, Nexus AI sent an alert:
[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE ACTIVATED]
[ARCHIVIST-Ω Special Controller has logged in]
[Name : Felicia Wardwell]
[In Progress : Dealing with Abnormality — CODE 00]
"So you finally came... my rival," REASOPER spat blood again, smiling coldly.
Clack
The sound of high heels striking the bloodied classroom floor.
The lockdown door, impregnable until now, swung open as if no lock in the world existed.
Professor Felicia entered, calm and collected, her pale gray eyes behind thin glasses radiating sheer boredom.
Her tight black suit bore the silver NEXUS emblem on the high collar.
White gloves freshly worn completed her elegant presence.
"REASOPER... you again? Enough already."
Her voice was flat but final — a sentence of judgment.
Her sharp tone silenced all.
"P-Professor Felicia, Fayros is..." Lira dared to hope.
"Do what you want... but leave my students alone. You've crossed the line." Felicia glanced at the students're corpses.
"Everyone, step back..."
"Zero Control Zone activation commencing."
Suddenly, a supreme energy shield spread across the room — transparent silver that reflected even elemental magic instantly.
No student spell could penetrate this zone.
"Never thought you'd waste energy to show up here."
REASOPER laughed, his shoulder dislocated.
"I didn't come for you. You're already doomed."
"I came to stop him."
Felicia pointed at Fayros, whose power shook the ceiling.
Cracks spiderwebbed the floor. Gravity warped.
Every spell in the room ceased.
Even the AI's thoughts began to glitch.
"Darneth... can you hear me?"
Felicia's tone softened, reaching out a hand.
"Come back... before you truly lose your humanity..."
Fayros didn't respond.
Black mist coiled tightly around him like a dimensional worm.
His eyes slowly opened.
The left remained pitch black.
The right turned an unnatural translucent white, shifting colors constantly — a sight no human eye should see.
Dark smoke shattered into thousands of black needles, aiming wildly at REASOPER.
[Tenebrae noctis, absorbentes]
The masked man tried to absorb the needles, but the storm of black needles was undeterred, as if darkness itself was unmatched.
"Darneth...!!!" Max shouted desperately.
Fayros remained unconscious, but his presence felt alien.
Severely wounded, REASOPER coughed blood, laughing softly.
"Why care for that fairy tale?"
"Darneth! Stop now!" Felicia prepared a spell to halt him.
Fayros ignored her, his left eye blood-red, the right glowing like a swirling cosmos in the void.
"Fayros is no longer here... only I remain." He said, voice icy and cryptic.
Suddenly, a black power radiating death erupted around the boy with jet-black hair.
It twisted like a giant serpent, forming the shape of a hellish demon sword.
"What the hell is that!?" Max swallowed hard.
Felicia chose not to stop him but cast a protective spell for everyone.
[Lux deorum, protegens et ducens.]
Light gathered, forming a massive armor from nothingness.
The dark demon sword charged at REASOPER with full force.
Whoosh—BOOM!!!
The explosion spread dust everywhere.
When the dust settled, Lira's eyes widened.
The emergency room walls cracked.
REASOPER's corpse slumped against the wall, drenched in blood.
In the center, Fayros stood silently, veins cracked on his arm, eyes returning to black.
"Fayros...!"
Lira and the others rushed to him.
No response came.
"Hey... deadpan! Don't you dare die!" Kaen tried to rouse him.
Unexpectedly, Fayros giggled softly before collapsing to the floor.
Something slowly emerged from behind him...
A living, shapeless black smoke floated upward, revealing a half-formed figure hovering above him.
The dark shadow's foot landed softly, like a feather.
Its smoky form thinned to reveal a faint silhouette.
"Ugh... can't handle this... it had to come to me..."
The Dusken Shade muttered softly.
"Shadow! You're controlling Fayros' body...!?"
Lira's violet-pink eyes trembled as she shielded Iris.
"Yes... just using this body temporarily. Had to fight inside the subconscious mind first... Such a waste of time... so damn annoying..."
The shadow stretched lazily.
The smoke cleared further, showing a dark ancient robe and a flowing deep blue cloth.
"Thankfully, you get three tries. Two left now, but soon you'll recover all three."
The shade whispered things only it understood.
Snap—!
A finger snapped.
Fayros' eyes flickered — a sign of revival.
"Brother...!" Iris sobbed, hugging him.
"That sulky bastard woke up!?" Kaen smirked.
Felicia and Lira turned to the fading shadow.
"Who... exactly are you? And why help the kids?" Felicia asked.
Lira bit her lip, eyes trembling.
"Why!? If you're helping, why so late...!?"
"Why let everyone die first before acting...!?"
"..."
Lira pressed for an answer, choking back tears.
"Not much longer...? Why not help sooner!? Why let everyone die like this before intervening...!?"
Her voice cracked between anger, sorrow, and fear.
The Dusken Shade clutched its neck and sighed.
"Humans are so hard to understand..."
It raised its head, pale blue eyes calm yet deeply mysterious.
"I help in my way... at the time it is 'right' to help... not too early, not too late... just appropriate."
"Sometimes pain is necessary... more than all your naïve ideals... and to restore something 'important'."
Silence fell.
REASOPER lay still, dead.
Some student corpses remained unmoving.
The metallic scent of blood still hung heavy.
But Fayros... the boy who should have been dead... sat breathing slowly, weakly, in Iris' embrace — who called herself his sister despite no blood relation.
"Pain is good...? Maybe... but he's dead! How can you say that!?"
Lira shouted in anger at the shadow.
The shadow turned away, smoke thinning, revealing jet-black hair like Fayros'.
"Want to know what I'm really doing...? Nothing much. Just fighting myself in the subconscious."
"Just a guy annoyed by some bratty whining... annoying but oddly soothing... so good I'd put it in my tea mix."
The Null Entity walked away, smoke dissipating little by little.
Lira rushed to block it.
She glimpsed the shadow's right half-face — almost identical to Fayros, except for ocean-blue eyes.
Her violet-pink eyes trembled — not from fear or anger, but deep subconscious recognition.
"Could it be...? You're Fayros's father?"
The Dusken Shade paused, chuckled lightly at Lira's question.
"Heh heh heh... No thought at all, huh?"
It looked up as if watching stars on a clear night.
Smoke continued to fade.
The shade bowed its head slightly, whispering tiredly.
"Sometimes... playing the villain... isn't so bad... ••e••s..."
No one heard what followed after "isn't so bad."
As if the words were cut off.
Then the shadow vanished without a word of farewell.
Leaving behind only silence, questions, blood, and corpses...
08.21 A.M. — Lockdown Classroom
The atmosphere remained eerily silent. The corpses and bloodstains lay untouched, frozen in time.
The death of REASOPER had drained his magical power, allowing the students in the room to use their magic once again.
Felicia glanced over at Fayros, her eyes narrowing with a serious look as she adjusted her glasses.
"This kid... is no longer just a 'variable'..."
Iris gently supported his body.
Tears trickled down her cheek as the black-haired boy slowly regained consciousness.
When Fayros's eyes snapped open abruptly...
The wound from the knife at his neck vanished as if it had never existed.
Everyone who saw it froze in shock, their hearts dropping to their feet.
Fayros's left eye remained pitch black.
But his right eye shimmered with a translucent silver glow, harboring a power beyond any magic in this world.
Then, the glow faded back to a lifeless black.
He murmured softly, rubbing his neck in disbelief.
"I... I'm still alive...?"
"Brother Fayros...!" Iris hugged him tighter, tears streaming.
Kaen clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Damn shadow... you nearly gave us all heart attacks!"
Max gave a faint smile and stood up to support the injured boy.
Lira exhaled with relief, then looked straight at Felicia with a pointed question.
"Teacher Felicia... why are you late? Where is everyone else?"
Felicia averted her gaze and swallowed hard.
"That masked guy has system privileges... The faculty had no choice but to let him through."
"I heard the news too late... I tried to warn and stop it, but nobody listened..."
Her calm voice was tinged with deep anger.
She clenched her fist tightly before turning to face everyone.
"Kids like you... shouldn't be left to die like this."
"REASOPER was more than just a test subject. It was a 'warning'—this institute is rotting from within."
She paused, eyes flicking to the CCTV camera in the corner, its red light still glowing...
"And right now... they're watching us."
Riu and Marine trembled with unease.
Kaen's golden eyes hardened.
"This damn system... who's gonna take responsibility for trying to kill students like this?"
Max muttered under his breath.
"Maybe... it's 'selecting' someone..."
"No...!!!" Fayros shouted.
All survivors in the classroom turned to him immediately.
"Don't forget! My Voidframe alerted me that... they're targeting me."
Fayros raised his left hand, showing everyone the prototype ARCTIC WRIST-CORE.
"Right... it's been strange ever since you got that Voidframe." Felicia frowned.
Lira raised a hand.
"Yeah... something banned by the government, sent to you like this — that's a pretty clear message."
Max and Kaen nodded quietly while the others looked confused.
"Exactly... this massacre to silence witnesses... must be connected to the government."
Felicia pressed her glasses lightly, steel-like gleam flashing in her eyes.
"Listen up, everyone."
"From now on... you're not just ordinary students anymore."
"You are witnesses... survivors... of the 'hunt for Fayros.'"
"And Nexus won't let you live."
Riu froze, his blue-gray eyes trembling as he lunged forward, grabbing Fayros's collar.
"Because of you... Voidless... you bastard!"
His blue-gray eyes, once bright, now filled with rage and vengeance.
"Because of you... everyone had to die...!"
His shout shook everyone's hearts.
His hands clenched Fayros's collar until the fabric wrinkled.
Those blue-gray eyes, once full of hope, now looked mad, like an abyss ready to swallow everything.
"Because of you... that damn cursed Voidframe!"
His voice cracked—not just from anger, but from fear, grief, and self-blame directed at another.
Fayros stood silent, not because he lacked strength.
But because his eyes saw something no one else could.
"Riu..." Felicia's voice dropped cold and low.
"Let him go now, before it 'awakens' again."
Her words made everyone hesitate.
Riu's hands trembled as he still gripped Fayros's collar.
"Awakens? What the hell is she talking about?"
Lira asked softly.
Felicia didn't answer right away, her gaze fixed on Fayros's eye, faintly glowing silver.
"Sorry, Darneth... I guess it's time to reveal a secret about you all."
"Darneth was once experimented on with a Voidframe that connects not just with the body..."
"But also the mind... and the fears of those around it."
"And now, it's reflecting Ryu's hatred back into Fayros."
A faint silver light began to form on Fayros's left hand, twisting like a serpent's coil.
No one noticed that Fayros was no longer himself.
"Take your hand away."
Fayros's voice was cold, calm—but not the voice anyone knew.
It chilled the bones, mysterious and filled with the scent of massive death.
Swish—!
The sound of his hand brushing away.
Before Fayros's hand touched Riu's, Riu suddenly felt a sharp cut on his skin.
He pulled his hand back instantly, eyes fixed on his wrist, where blood slowly oozed out.
"You..."
Before he could say more, Fayros's expression was eerily calm.
Suddenly, his eyes returned to normal.
"W-What is this?" Fayros stammered.
He raised the bloodied hand and stared at it.
"I didn't do this... I didn't..."
"Calm down, Fayros...!"
Lira rushed forward and grabbed his hand.
Fayros shook with confusion, as if another presence had taken control moments ago.
Then, a chilling cold spread through him.
The silver light on his hand expanded, forming a serpent coiled around him.
His voice quivered, a faint whisper from deep within.
"Don't interfere...! Stop blaming others! Look at your own shadow...!!!"
Meanwhile, the blood on Riu's wrist began to dry quickly.
His blue-gray eyes flickered between fear and anger.
"Riu! Are you okay!? I'll heal you!"
Marine ran over, her purple hair swaying wildly.
[Lux sanescat et restituat.]
A soft light appeared on Riu's wrist, healing the wound instantly.
"Th-thanks, Farvin." Ryu whispered.
He looked toward Fayros, who now clutched his head, as if something inside was devouring him.
The memories of dozens of children in the dark room—the musty smell of rotting wood, the stench of decay, the salty sea air—all the cruel laughter echoed relentlessly inside Fayros's head.
"Come on...! Eat up, this is all I've got."
"Haha... share it among yourselves."
"Why struggle...? In the end, you're just filthy slaves."
The black-haired boy screamed in pain, clutching his head.
"Enough...! Stop it!!!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the floor.
Gung—Zoommm...!
Everyone fell silent.
All the CCTV cameras slowly rotated, their red lights flashing faster.
"Hey... what's that sound!?" Kaen grabbed a knife from a masked corpse, ready to defend.
But instead of an enemy, a strange blue light appeared in the center of the room.
Thud—!
The ground trembled like an earthquake.
The floor beneath Fayros glowed with strange geometric symbols.
Felicia's eyes widened as her glasses trembled.
"It's not just Fayros... that Voidframe is hacking the Nexus system...!!"
The shockwave threw a light-haired boy back.
Max cursed under his breath.
"Damn…!!! This is at the level of a spirit war magic...!"
"That magic has vanished!" Kaen tried to support Iris.
"Fayros, calm down! Get a grip now!" Lira ran up, trying to hold the black-haired boy.
Lira's violet-pink eyes widened at what she saw.
Fayros's eye glowed blood-red, emanating a chilling death aura.
At that moment, everything in the room went black except for one thing: Sound.
Echoing voices...
Radio interference...
A man talking to himself...
"If I were a demon... I wouldn't have to suffer anymore... right?"
When the light returned, the black-haired boy was gone.
He was now levitating several centimeters above the floor.
His left hand transformed into a transparent mechanical structure, with black spikes resembling shadowy tentacles.
Some of his hair had turned silver-white, curling like snakes.
"Everyone, back off!! That's not the Fayros we all know!"
Marine shouted, voice trembling.
"Teacher Felicia! What do we do!?"
"We can't do anything..." Felicia said coldly, analyzing.
"Right now... only he can decide to be human or demon..."
Suddenly, the silver light from the Voidframe blazed, illuminating the room so brightly everyone shielded their eyes.
Suddenly, memories exploded in everyone's minds—
...Pain.
...Forgotten memories.
...Even nightmares buried deep in their subconscious.
The Voidframe began to absorb those fears one by one.
Then, a cold, eerie laughter invaded their minds.
But it wasn't Fayros laughing—it was another voice inside him.
"Hehe... I'm a demon, right?"
The laughter faded briefly, then a sad voice spoke, projecting images into everyone's mind—
A man with sky-blue hair like the open heavens.
A man with blood-red hair stained with gore.
A man with silver-white hair like feathers.
All had the same face as Fayros, stepping out of the void into reality.
"Yes... I am a demon."
Everyone froze at the sight.
Lira stepped back, her violet-pink eyes trembling, feeling an inexplicable connection to the three men.
Iris stood stiff, confused and trapped in a maze of no escape, sensing faint familiarity.
Kaen began silently casting magic with a tense expression—but no magic appeared, as if he were controlled.
Max whispered,
"Are these the split personalities of Fayros...!?"
"Or... is this the Voidframe taking human form?"
The silver-haired man approached Fayros.
But Fayros suddenly collapsed to his knees.
His mind flickered with shaking images and dozens of screaming voices from all dimensions.
"Awaken me."
"Breathe for me."
"Devour me and you won't hurt anymore..."
"Give up, Fayros... no one wants you..."
Then the blood-haired man interrupted coldly, radiating death and assassination.
"Shut up..."
At his command, the screaming voices from all dimensions burst into agonizing shrieks.
Felicia saw the danger and quickly pulled out her magic staff.
"Everyone, fall back behind me!"
She cast Dispel Dimension Distortion with the ARCTIC WRIST-CORE, channeling her mana.
[Remota dimensiva corruptelam]
Multiple layers of white magic rings formed around Fayros and the three men.
But the silver-haired man chuckled softly.
"Your magic won't affect me..."
He walked right through Felicia's spell like smoke, wearing a mischievous smile.
"Ugh... no way... that guy sealed us with his own hands, you know."
Snap—!
The blood-haired man snapped his fingers sharply.
Felicia's spell disintegrated instantly, like dust in the wind.
"Your magic is too weak."
The man said coldly, no trace of a victorious smile.
The blue-haired man lightly touched Fayros's shoulder, sobbing softly.
"Please... don't hurt yourself in front of her... she has a heart too."
Suddenly, Fayros convulsed.
The magic rings vanished, his hair and eyes returned to solid black without explanation, and he slowly collapsed.
The three mysterious men disappeared without a trace from everyone's sight in an instant.
"I... don't want to be a demon... never."
The boy's voice was weak, exhausted.
His black eyes trembled slightly.
"But if being the light means getting trampled on... I'd rather be eternal darkness."