With a clear heart, Zachary summoned the Witness' Testament. He remembered the mantle Dahrio had worn—the same one depicted on the statue of the First Witness.
It was an open dark blue robe, almost black, with white embroidery along the edges, reaching below the knees. At its back was a design of black lightning that vanished into the dark fabric, only becoming visible when the starlight struck it just right.
That mantle, once a ceremonial robe steeped in tradition, had become a robe made for battle and rebellion. The cloth appeared silently and reverently, sparking faintly as it enveloped Zachary's body.
It was heavier than it looked—both physically and emotionally. With a faint smile, Zachary turned to the mirror in his room to contemplate his new Memory.
He couldn't help but whistle in admiration at his new fit. If he had to compare it to something, it reminded him of the martial attire from the Martial webtoons he used to read in the other world. The inner garment was a high-neck compression shirt, snug against his form, while the Witness Mantle draped over him like a cloak of quiet defiance.
The upper piece fell from his shoulders down to his shins, cut with clean lines and a slight flare toward the hem. Its edges were faintly patterned, crossing diagonally at the chest. The folds sealed downward, leaving the upper sternum exposed—just enough to reveal the hollow between his collarbones. He couldn't see it, but he was sure the black lightning motif adorned his back as well.
A broad belt cinched itself around his waist, formed from overlapping folds and secured with twin knots. Several cords hung from it—some plain, others decorated with delicate ornaments resembling Korean norigae. Despite its new purpose, the Mantle had retained some of its ceremonial grace. The sleeves, unlike the wide ones Dahrio had worn, narrowed sharply at the wrists, fastening without ties. The fabric gripped his forearms with precise tension—like bandages, but smoother, almost seamless.
The pants were layered close to the skin, tight but never constricting. The upper section was wrapped beneath the robe and secured under the belt, leaving no gaps or shifting seams. From there, the material tapered along his thighs and narrowed past the knees. Each fold aligned with his movement, not stiff, but held in place with tension—as if the fabric had memory, designed to move with him, and stay exactly where it was meant to. Strips wrapped tightly around his calves, forming a reinforced weave just above the boots.
There was no armor plating, no visible reinforcement—just cloth. But Zachary knew: this Mantle would not be breached easily.
"Now that I think about it, why is the Memory ranked Awakened when Dahrio was a Transcendent?"
Zachary asked himself as he unsummoned the Memory. Then he quickly recalled the description: [...At the same time, he yearned for him to meet hardship to temper his resolve. This new Mantle will serve both as protection and challenge to the Witness of the New Future. A beautiful wish.]
"Shit, he didn't want me to have it that easy, I guess."
Zachary let out a low laugh, but suddenly, an overwhelming fatigue washed over him. The calm that followed the stressful hurdle had only made him more aware of just how much effort he'd exerted in such a short time. All he wanted now was to collapse into bed and sleep for a week—but there was still one thing left to do.
Without hesitation, he entered his Soul Sea.
The Broken Sunset welcomed him immediately. But something had changed. In the distance stood a pillar of light, connecting the eternal sky of dusk to the ever-reflecting sea—like a bridge between Heaven and Earth.
Zachary understood at once: this was the [Penance of Truth].
He noticed something else. The section of the sunset where the pillar touched the sky had been healed of its cracks—but elsewhere, new fractures had appeared, spiderwebbing across the horizon. He understood the meaning at once, and with a heavy heart, sighed.
'The darkness beyond the cracks... it's the manifestation of my Flaw. And the new cracks mean that no matter how many Penances I take, I'll never be rid of it.'
But Zachary refused to fall into pessimism. With steady steps, he walked toward the Pillar. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the pillar was indeed made of light—ethereal and radiant. But when he reached out to touch it, he felt something solid beneath his fingers.
Salt.
This paradoxical substance—both immaterial and material—made perfect sense to him. The Penances, at their core, were nothing but oaths. They carried no real weight. If he chose to, Zachary could break them at any moment. He gained nothing tangible from them. His Flaw still remained, lurking. Its sealing had been a byproduct of circumstance—perhaps a placebo effect, a fleeting moment where his Ego gained just enough leverage to push back the darkness.
With these thoughts, Zachary returned from his Soul Sea. And with heavy eyelids, he finally fell into the sands of sleep.
***
Zachary had never slept better. He awoke the next morning feeling refreshed—his mind clear and focused. So he changed into the Academy uniform and made his way to the cafeteria for a subtle breakfast.
'It seems I slept longer than usual. Everyone's already here,' Zachary thought as he entered the cafeteria—when he suddenly felt it.
{^}
All the gazes in the cafeteria turned toward him with apprehension. It appeared that yesterday's incident had gotten out.
'Shit,' Zachary thought, grimacing slightly as he made his way to the food bar. 'In the end, I ended up being ostracized just like Sunny… Well, at least they don't think I'm a pervert.'
Zachary smiled with a strange sense of comfort as he filled his tray with eggs, sausages, and a bowl of stew, then made his way to the empty seat at Cassie's table.
"Good morning, Cassie," Zachary greeted the blind girl lightly. It seemed she had noticed his presence—she hadn't flinched like yesterday.
"Hello, Zachary," she replied in a low, distant voice. She seemed to be 'looking' at Zachary in a strange way.
"You… you look better than yesterday," she said with something he recognized as worry.
'What is she worried about?' Zachary wondered, but he answered casually.
"I certainly am, thanks for noticing. I finally had a peaceful night of sleep—God knows how much I needed it."
At his words, Cassie flinched a little, then asked with a slightly trembling voice, "D-did something happen yesterday… for you to sleep that peacefully?"
'What a strange question.' He chuckled softly. "Well, I guess you could say so. If it serves as an answer, you might say I came to terms with myself."
Despite knowing Cassie as a character, he ultimately chose to keep a certain distance. If the opportunity arose, he would treat her as a friend—but he still wanted to keep some things to himself: his origin, his knowledge of this world, his Flaw, and more importantly… his ultimate goal.
The seer's next words pulled him back to his breakfast. "Do you… do beating fellow Dreamers to a pulp bring you peace?" she asked, 'looking' straight into his eyes with a worried expression.
"Oh fuck."
The words slipped from Zachary's mouth. "No, no, no. Fuck. Yesterday's outburst was purely an accident—believe me. I can assure you, beating Sleepers doesn't bring me any kind of joy," Zachary confessed.
Cassie looked at him for a moment, then let out a small breath of relief as a light smile returned to her lips.
"Really? I'm glad."
She picked up her spoon and resumed her breakfast.
"Although, I won't say he didn't deserve a little bit of it," Zachary added with a sardonic smile.
The sound of her spoon falling back into the bowl was the only answer he received.
***
After breakfast—and a long time spent trying to reassure Cassie that his last comment was only a joke—Zachary walked through the Academy hallways toward Teacher Julius's class. But his mind was elsewhere.
'I failed to notice it at the time... but my Penance acts differently than Sunny's Flaw.'
He realized this while reflecting on their earlier conversation. Despite Cassie having asked him a direct question, he hadn't felt the pressure Sunny had described feeling in similar situations.
Zachary quickly arrived at the correct conclusion. 'I see... the difference between a Flaw and a Penance is that the Flaw follows the Law of Imperfection. You gain strength in exchange for a handicap. But a Penance grants nothing. The sealing of the Flaw is the result of causality—and sheer luck.'
Zachary continued his train of thought. 'That's why I felt no pressure. The Penance doesn't force me to do anything. At the end of the day, it's still me who chooses to follow it or not. But if I go against it… Mara's Whisper will return. Thank God I was honest with Cassie.'
With that thought, he stepped into the Wilderness Survival classroom. Teacher Julius was already waiting, urging him to hurry up. It seemed the old man didn't care one bit about the rumors spreading around the Academy.
The class was long and tedious. The first hours were spent learning to navigate using the stars, while the remaining half of the day was devoted to having an uncountable number of runes shoved into Zachary's head.
But this part, at least, was what intrigued him the most. After some time studying the different methods of reading the word 'wine cup', Zachary came across two particular runes.
The first was straightforward: "Heaven." It had many possible interpretations, but at the end of the day, they all carried the same connotations: Divinity, Authority, or Sky.
But the next rune was far more interesting—the one used in his True Name: "Equal."
Its reading was complex. It wasn't the common word used in this world's language. Instead, it meant "standing on par," referencing one's level. But it was the second meaning that sent a chill down Zachary's spine:
"Bringing down."
So, his True Name could also be read as:
"Bringing Down the Heavens."
Truly… a Blasphemous Name.