~Tummy grumbled.
Soren sat upright.
He needed to think—really think—before panic swallowed him whole.
After all, it was not like he could go and report that Instructor Marcus was planning to kill him.
To do that, he would have to explain what Chronovore was and could do.
Also, who was to say that the order had not come from someone else?
No. He should not be having such thoughts. There were other more pressing questions.
The problem now was not who killed him. But rather why it happened.
As far as he knew, he had but a short encounter with Instructor Marcus. There was absolutely no reason whatsoever for the instructor to kill him.
Or what if there was?
Tommy did say that Soulbound knights as a whole were fractured by their statuses and ideology.
Soren understood this. Soulbound knights could either be nobles or former commoners.
Considering the way he had observed the treatment of commoners by nobles, it was easy to see that nobles would be mad about the status elevation.
Regardless, it was not enough reason to murder him.
Besides, were there not more creative ways to end him?
Did it have to be public?
Soren looked up. The train did have a security system.
Meaning that such an extreme public display of aggression was going to cause trouble for Marcus, even though other Soulbound Knights had left the train at that time.
Then why did he do it?
Soren's eyes suddenly fell on the chocolate cake.
He looked up at the door. It was unlocked. Below, Tommy was still sleeping.
From the previous loops, he had found out that Tommy was not the person that left him the cake.
Tommy came back late to the room last night and forgot to lock the door.
The doors to the rooms on the upper decks were the only places that did not automatically open and close when people were close.
They had to be done manually. If the door was left open, why did Instructor Marcus not just sneak in at night to finish the job?
Why was there cake instead?
And it was already halfway eaten.
Soren thought to wake Tommy and ask him. But if Tommy knew, he would have said so in the previous loop.
Someone else left it.
Who was that person?
Soren immediately jumped down from his bed.
He hurried for the door. The moment he opened it, he heard the rush of footsteps down the hall.
Of course. What use was there in giving someone a present if you did not make sure the person got it?
Soren looked below, chocolate cake crumbs on the ground.
He followed after the person. Past the corner.
~Thud
Soren bumped into someone.
"Ah... sorry, I—"
He froze.
Instructor Marcus?
Soren's pulse spiked so sharply it felt like his heart was trying to flee without him.
How am I already meeting him this early in the loop?
He braced himself. Any moment now, the dagger would flash and—
However, Marcus grunted. "Watch where you are going, cadet." He sidestepped, walking away.
"Eh... Yes, sir." Soren replied, equally making way for him to pass.
He could not help but look at the receding figure of the instructor.
He did not kill me?
Soren was baffled. Or maybe it was not time for the man to kill him.
Also, there was something strange about him.
Something different from the time he killed Soren.
Instinctively, Soren wanted to follow after him. But he couldn't. Instructor Marcus made his way to the instructor's lounge, which was not a place cadets were permitted to enter.
Ring~
"This is to inform all cadets to be present in the lecture area by 18:00 this evening for evaluation of their First Form technique."
The announcement again.
Soren was getting really tired of hearing it. Of course, he had temporarily shelved the idea of learning the First Form technique.
But it was still a problem he would have to overcome.
Soren massaged his forehead. This was a matter he would have to treat later.
"One thing at a time." Soren nodded to himself.
That feeling again.
He turned sharply. There she was.
He rushed for her. He was close. He could hear whispers.
He hurried past the next corner—
—the world changed; scene, atmosphere, sound, even the smell of the air.
Soren stood frozen in place. Soulbound knights ran around the place, attending to the people of the town.
"No... no... no." His lips muttered shakily.
There he was, Machos, bleeding through the gaping hole in his chest.
"Sor... Soren." Machos' bloody hand reached for him.
The unbearable sight of Machos, in the weakest state Soren had ever seen him, brought hot tears to Soren's eyes.
Instinctively, Soren took several steps forward, knees falling to the ground, hands attempting to hold him.
But when his fingers touched Machos, he scattered like smoke.
Soren's eyes darted about, searching for Machos, but he was gone.
And then a voice arching with remorse from behind.
"I'm not sorry, I'm not sorry..."
Soren slowly turned about.
Standing there, tears streaming down her cheeks. Bloodshine muttered again and again.
"I'm not sorry, I'm not sorry." She shook her head, as if begging her tongue to say otherwise.
Slowly, the world changed, like the clearing of foggy clouds to reveal the truth—they were within the train.
"This..." Soren observed angrily, "you did this."
He frowned.
How... how could she do that? Bring back that painful moment.
His fist molded in his rage. He took a step forward —
"Wait!" A familiar voice held him back.
Pencil rushed forward, hands stretched out to stop Soren, but in truth, it was his huge tummy that acted as the real barrier between Soren and Bloodshine.
"Wait! She is sorry. She is truly sorry. She did not mean to do it."
Soren paused.
Pencil explained that Bloodshine meant no harm. In fact, she was literally not capable of it. At least not with her D-rank Shade.
After what happened the previous day between Soren and Bloodshine in the cafeteria, she had been meaning to apologize to Soren.
Luckily, Pencil and Bloodshine had become friends back at the Emergency Station due to their love for cake.
Pencil suggested the chocolate cake as an apology. Besides, he also wanted to apologise to his friend.
However, Bloodshine was too curious and wanted to know if Soren had enjoyed the cake regardless of the delivery boy, Pencil, taking a taste.
That's why she was following him.
"I'm not sorry." She whispered shyly from behind Pencil, wrapping her beautiful red hair around a finger.
She still had tears in her eyes.
Pencil further explained that Bloodshine had the ability to create illusions. However, they were based on the most prominent emotions of the individual involved.
She had innocently assumed that Soren would be thinking about her; after all, he had followed her.
Instead, she ended up bringing out a very painful memory.
Unfortunately for her, while inducing an illusion, she also felt the individual's emotions.
Soren looked at her. He gave a huge sigh, holding back the well of emotions.
"You want to make amends?" Soren asked. "Then there's something I need you to do for me."