Artha was sitting quietly, reading a book.
Suddenly—
Knock… knock…
Someone knocked on his door.
Startled, Artha stood up and opened it.
Standing outside… was Vikar.
Vikar looked at him and said,
"Can I sleep in your room tonight?"
Artha paused, thinking for a moment—
But before he could answer,
Vikar pushed past him and walked straight inside.
Artha's expression turned irritated as he snapped,
"Hey! Why did you come in without asking? Don't you understand basic manners?"
Vikar turned and stared at him in silence.
Then—
He calmly closed the door.
And suddenly—
He struck Artha across the face.
Artha froze, anger rising instantly.
He was about to shout back—
But then he stopped.
A thought crossed his mind—
If I don't study… I won't be able to train properly tomorrow.
Clenching his fists, he held himself back.
The room fell into a tense silence.
Vikar was lying comfortably on Artha's bed, fast asleep.
Artha tried to wake him up—
but no matter what he did, Vikar didn't move.
Annoyed, Artha snapped,
"Hey, you idiot—get up! I need to study too!"
But Vikar remained completely relaxed, lost in his sleep.
Sighing in frustration, Artha took his book and sat down on the floor, starting to read.
Soon, his voice grew louder as he read aloud,
"What kind of question is this? The answer should be energy!"
He paused for a moment, then shouted again,
"What is knowledge?!"
Suddenly—
Vikar's eyes snapped open.
He shot up from the bed and stared at Artha.
In the next instant, he grabbed the book from Artha's hands.
Artha immediately reacted,
"Don't you dare touch that book—or you're done for!"
Without another word—
The two of them clashed.
They didn't realize…
the one they called their guardian—
was the very one manipulating everything from within.
In a quiet room, Ajina lay on a bed.
A window beside him stood open…
and his gaze was fixed outside—
—but in truth, he was lost in thought.
A faint trace of dark liquid slipped from his lips,
as if something poisonous still lingered within him.
Then suddenly—
It stopped.
In his mind, he whispered,
"Forgive me… Aloka."
And just like that—
his thoughts drifted into the past.
He saw it clearly—
Three young men, around twenty years old,
stumbling out of a shop, laughing—drunk and carefree.
One of them spoke,
"Hey, Aloka… do you remember? Tomorrow we have to go buy those materials."
Aloka laughed and replied,
"Yeah, Ajina. All of us are going to get something."
Another boy smiled and said,
"Do you know what we'll have to give in return?"
Ajina looked at him and smirked,
"Of course I know, Akar…
We'll have to donate our blood."
He paused for a second, then added with a laugh,
"Though I doubt you even have enough to give."
They all burst into laughter.
Back in the present—
Ajina slowly closed his eyes.
And then—
A single tear slipped from one eye…
falling silently onto the ground.
Ajina slowly opened his eyes—
Only to drift once again into another dream.
He saw it—
A graveyard.
The air felt strangely fresh… yet heavy with silence.
A few people stood near a grave.
Among them…
Aloka and Ajina stood quietly.
On the gravestone, it read:
R.I.P. Akar
—
Suddenly—
Ajina's eyes snapped open.
His voice was low… almost breaking,
"I wish I could bring you back…"
He paused.
"This… this is my fault."
His gaze hardened, yet pain lingered within,
"I came to the Red Moon again…
but I still couldn't bring you back, Akar."
Outside the room where Ajina lay—
Alpha Core stood still, lost in thought.
Then—
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
There was something unusual about them…
a strong sense of confidence in every step.
Alpha slowly turned his gaze toward the sound—
And saw Torisa approaching.
A faint smile appeared on Alpha's face,
as if he was… pleased.
Seeing that smile, Torisa thought to himself,
"So… he's satisfied.
Maybe he believes peace has been achieved… after striking Ajina."
But—
Alpha's smile held something else entirely.
Something deeper…
something unreadable.
Torisa quietly stepped into Ajina's room.
Hearing his footsteps, Ajina slowly opened his eyes.
In a low, uneasy voice, Torisa said,
"Forgive me… I'm not worthy of being a teacher.
This… is my greatest mistake."
Ajina let out a faint laugh and replied,
"No… you just fired an arrow at Aloka…
and it ended up hitting me instead."
Torisa lowered his gaze.
"You should rest now."
He turned to leave—
But Ajina's eyes narrowed slightly.
In his mind, a thought echoed,
It feels like he intends to kill me…
I won't spare him.
His expression grew colder.
And as for Aloka's death…
I shouldn't regret it.
The Mophugo have only one rule—revenge…
and achieving the goal at any cost.
Torisa walked toward the door, his thoughts equally sharp.
I will uncover every secret you're hiding…
I've been suspicious of you for months…
and I will find the truth.
The room fell silent—
But beneath that silence…
a silent wTorisa stepped out of the room.
Waiting outside, Alpha looked at him and said,
"Can we talk… somewhere outside?"
Torisa gave a slight nod.
A few moments later—
Both of them began walking forward,
descending the stairs in silence.
Each step echoed softly…
but neither of them spoke a word.
The strange part was—
Both of them were hiding something from each other.
And yet…
The truth they concealed…
was the same.ar had already begun.