Arin rushed into the infirmary, his voice echoing in the silent hall.
"Healers! We need healers, now!"
An old man, the head healer, emerged from a back room, a look of annoyance on his face that quickly turned to horror. He froze, his eyes widening at the sight of Aeren's mangled body.
"What in the name of the goddess?" the man stammered, his face paling. "Who did this to him? He looks like he's on the verge of death!"
Arin looked at the healer, his breath coming in short gasps.
"I don't know who did it, but his condition is getting worse."
Aeren's eyes, wide open and devoid of all emotion, stared blankly at the two men. The healer felt a shiver of ice run down his spine. He had seen countless dying people, but he had never seen a pair of eyes so empty, so utterly detached from a body on the brink of death.
"Prince," the healer whispered to Arin, "why are you helping him? Do you know him?"
Arin, whose full name was Arin Verya, the Second Prince of the kingdom, looked back at him.
"You don't need a reason to help someone. I saw him in a critical condition, and my instinct take over and I started moving on their own. I'm here before I even knew it. So please, stop with the nonsense and treat him as soon as possible."
The healer, whose name was Dr. Alistair, bowed his head in a gesture of respect and pride for the prince's character.
"Prince Arin, we need two or three more healers to help him. If you know any students with healing properties, please ask them to come here."
Arin nodded, then rushed back to the main hall. He grabbed a communication orb and projected his voice across the entire academy.
"Hello, everyone, I am Arin Verya, the Second Prince of this kingdom. Someone is in a critical situation, and we need healers. If anyone here has healing properties, please report to the infirmary immediately!"
He finished his announcement and let out a tired sigh. He had seen death before. In his past life, he had battled for his kingdom and known the pain of loss. In that life, he had also had to protect the ones he loved. All of this had happened in his past, a past that had been erased by a skill he thought was useless.
He had a skill called Regressor, a gift he'd thought was pointless because it was an SSS-rank skill that only activated upon death. In the end, it did him no good. But after his last breath, he had returned to the past, to his younger body, with the same skill.
But this new timeline was different. His sister, Elenya, who had been kidnapped and suffered terribly in his past life, was now safe. The existence of a genius like Renn was also a major anomaly, someone he had never heard of before.
And Lira, who had been the most terrifying person in his past, was now even more dangerous and unsettling, with eyes that seemed to see through him.
Arin sighed again, a quiet thought in the back of his mind.
"I came back, and still, nothing is the same. It's like I'm in a completely different timeline."
His memories felt like a useless map to a city that had changed beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, at the Academy dorms, Isolde was where Aeren's body had been seen. Her joy at seeing his mangled corpse had left a manic smile on her face. She ran to Renn's room, throwing the door open with a slam that rattled the very foundations of the building.
"Renn!" she shouted, her voice shrill with glee.
"He's dead! He's dead! I saw his body. His limbs were broken, and there was blood everywhere! Hahahaha!" Isolde began to laugh like a madwoman, unable to control the hysteria. She doubled over, her body shaking with a wild, triumphant joy.
Renn's expression barely twitched.
"Isolde," he said, his voice calm and firm. "First, calm down. Tell me what happened."
Isolde's laughter subsided as she grabbed his arm and began to jump up and down. "That bastard is dead, Renn! The one who ruined our lives and killed our friends and family! Someone killed him!"
Her happiness was blinding her to the fact that Aeren's body had been taken to the infirmary.
"Do you really think someone has the power to kill him?" Renn said, his voice cold and serious, bringing her back to reality.
"You saw what he was capable of. How can you say he's dead? He might just be acting to find a new target. Don't get involved with him, Isolde. He's too dangerous for us to handle. Just wait a little longer, and I will be the one to kill him with my own hands."
Isolde's frantic joy turned to a sob as her head fell to his chest.
"Why won't he just die and leave us alone?" she cried. "Liora's grandfather was killed by him in that incident, and Liora hasn't been the same since. She even left the house. W-why did this happen?"
Renn placed a hand on her head and patted it gently.
"Everything is going to be fine. If it's not, then I'll just have to make it fine. Don't worry, Isolde. We just need to be patient."
Renn's room fell into a quiet silence, filled with the soft sound of Isolde's sobs.
At another part of the Academy, Princess Elenya felt a strange sense of happiness as she heard the rumors spreading throughout the school. She never thought that someone would be able to harm him so badly. Maybe he would finally die. Her steps quickened as she looked for Lira. She found her and hugged her tightly. Lira was the only person she had ever truly trusted.
Lira looked at her and smiled, a cold, knowing expression on her face.
"What happened, little princess? You look excited."
Elenya let go of her and said, "Didn't you hear? Aeren is going to die! Someone attacked him, and his body looks like trash. He's definitely going to die, Lira. We are finally free!"
Lira patted her head.
"Elenya, you are too naive. Do you really think someone could even sense him, let alone kill him? That's a pipe dream for others. My body was also a mess before, and you still see me alive, don't you?"
"If you truly want to be free from your darkness, you must not seek the light. You must become darkness itself. The day you find a light, it will only betray you."
Elenya didn't understand her words, but one thing was clear: Aeren couldn't be killed.