Dex slowly opened his eyes.
The ceiling of his dorm room appeared cracked by the morning shadows. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, creating diagonal silhouettes across the gray walls. He blinked several times, his breath still heavy. His heart seemed not yet fully returned from last night's dream—a vague yet disturbing dream, as if something had been trying to speak through it.
Today—classes were resuming.
With slow movements, Dex put on his academy uniform. The cold buttons touched his skin, fully bringing him back to reality. He took a deep breath and walked toward the door. But before he could touch the handle...
BAM!
The door swung open violently, hitting him in the face. A sharp pain instantly spread from his temple to his nose.
"Lazybones! Wake up, oi!" a very familiar voice called from behind the door.
Van entered with an energy inappropriate for someone at this hour of the morning. He didn't even seem to notice that his action had just left a red mark on his friend's face.
When he turned around, his eyes widened. "Huh? What happened to your face?"
Dex took a deep breath, his voice low and calm… too calm.
"Vannn…"
The voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make Van take half a step back.
"Eh? Wh-what?" Van mumbled, smiling awkwardly and slowly backing away, like a rabbit realizing it stood too close to a hungry wolf.
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dorm...
Rachel sat on the edge of her bed, her gaze empty as it pierced through the window. The morning sunlight couldn't erase the dark shadows under her eyes. Her eyes were swollen, and her pale skin further emphasized that she hadn't slept all night.
Not out of fear.
But because of something deeper—an existential unease.
She was fixated on one thing.
"Who is he?"
The mysterious figure who had appeared in the Arena broadcast yesterday. Not just appeared—but marked his existence as if he had always been part of this world. As if destiny itself had quietly inserted him into the cracks of reality.
But the more Rachel investigated, the more anomalies she found.
Everything had changed.
Not just the guy who called himself Dex. But half of the academy's students had also changed—their identities, their backgrounds, even their life histories seemed updated.
And what was more terrifying—"Does no one else notice, or am I the one trapped?"
The population of the world of Larion had drastically increased. New territories emerged like forgotten yet familiar dreams. Empires that weren't even recorded in history books—now held strong and real political influence.
Rachel stood up and walked to the bathroom. Cold water splashed on her face, but it couldn't wash away the confusion behind her eyes. After getting dressed, she gripped the door handle.
But as the door opened...
—cling
A strange, dazzling, and painful light greeted her. Rachel's eyes were forced shut, but before she could say anything, her body was pulled from the dorm and thrown into an unfamiliar place.
Green grass stretched out like a heavenly carpet. The air was fragrant, yet too perfect—like a engineered dream. The sky was a crystal clear blue, without a single cloud.
Rachel slowly stood up.
"Where… am I?"
"Welcome."
The voice came from ahead.
A woman sat on a garden bench. She held a porcelain cup. Her hair was as white as snow, her eyes covered by a smooth black cloth that seemed tightly fitted to her face. Her appearance was flawless, like a character from an aristocratic novel.
Rachel reflexively tried to summon her sword from her magical storage.
But… there was no response.
No magical echo.
No sword.
It was as if the very foundation of her existence had been pulled out from under her.
"Who are you?" she asked calmly, though in her chest, her heartbeat echoed loudly.
The woman continued sipping her tea. Five minutes passed without a single word. Rachel remained standing, her body alert, her breath slowly regulating its rhythm.
As the cup was set down...
The world changed.
The garden melted away like a glass illusion, and as cracks tore open the sky, she saw hell.
A sea of blood. A battlefield. Billowing smoke. Corpses littered the ground, filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh and rusted iron.
Rachel stared at a small child lying helpless beside her, his hand outstretched in plea. The child's breath was ragged, tears streaming down his face.
Her hand trembled, but she reached out.
The moment she touched the child...
—FWOOSH!!
Magical flames burst from the ground, devouring the child alive. His scream pierced her ears, shaking the world in tragic silence.
Rachel fell to her knees. Her body couldn't stand. Tears fell not out of fear, but despair. Whatever this place was, this dream was too real. And the suffering… wasn't just an illusion—it stirred guilt in her heart.
The events happened so quickly she couldn't react. The memories of repeated deaths didn't make her numb—instead, they made her suffer even more from the guilt.
"How could someone be dressed so cleanly on a battlefield?"
A voice came from behind.
Rachel turned.
Someone stood there.
Jet-black hair. Sharp blue eyes. Covered in wounds. His left arm missing, dried blood covering his entire body. Yet Rachel recognized him as if it were just yesterday.
Dex.
But not the Dex she knew.
The man looked at her as if she were a foreign creature. When Rachel called his name, he only smiled faintly.
"Dex, huh? It's been a long time since I've heard that name."
His hand rose to the sky. Dozens of lightning swords appeared, hovering. The air hissed.
"I don't know how you know that name. But one thing is certain—you will die here."
Dozens of swords merged into one. Thunder roared as the weapon shot forward.
Rachel remained silent. No resistance. No protection. Not even fear anymore—just emptiness.
And just before the sword reached her—
White light flooded the world.
***
Rachel opened her eyes again.
The sky was clear. The air warm. She sat on the garden bench.
The woman was back in front of her, sipping tea as if nothing had happened.
"...You..."
"Sit."
Rachel stared at her. This time, she didn't try to run. Didn't try to ask. She sat.
"My name is Soneta."
Rachel remained silent.
"Don't you want to know why I brought you here?" Soneta asked.
Rachel looked at her sharply. "I don't care who you are. But I want to know just one thing..."
Tension thickened. The air seemed to stop moving. The wind didn't dare blow.
"Are you… the cause of all the strange things happening in my life?"
Soneta set down her cup slowly.
"Yes."
The answer felt like a knife slowly slipping into Rachel's heart. She hadn't expected her to answer so easily.
Repetition after repetition she had endured, wondering what she would do if she ever met the person behind all this.
"...Why?"
Soneta touched her chin. "Hm… where should I begin?"
She smiled faintly.
A smile that shouldn't belong on the face of someone who had destroyed another's world.