Despite my slow pace on the street, my eyes kept searching for him.
Maybe this time he’d catch me.
…Or maybe not. After all, even if he was stronger—he still wasn’t faster.
“Daddy, the clouds look so big today!”
“Yes, yes, my sweet boy.”
A child with his father passed by, mesmerising the cloud above.
Following them, other people in the street gazed above—noticing the strange patterns of the clouds.
‘Sweet boy… yeah, sure.’
Welp, not like it was my business or anything, but this much sweet talk felt suffocating.
Before I realised it, my gaze lingered on the child. He seemed to be cheerful with his father. Strange, but my chest tightened a little just by seeing it.
The earpiece in my left ear echoed as Ray’s voice crackled through the earpiece.
“Yes, Ray. What’s the verdict?”
I whispered, eyes already sweeping the street.
“Roger that.”
My finger clicked on the earpiece and a sharp grin plastered on my face.
I sensed it—his energy.
“Here he comes.”
“EDEN!!! GRAAAAA!!!”
BOOOOOOOM—
The ground detonated where I’d been standing.
A giant crater bloomed as massive fists slammed into the street.
The people around us started running for their lives out of fear, obviously.
I slipped out of the impact zone a split second before it hit.
“Lucky, aren't ya punk?!”
“Shin…” Hearing his slangish tone, my lips curled into a wry smile…but shaking off that thought, a snicker escaped me, and I just snapped my fingers.
“I'm born this way, bro.”
Snap!
The surroundings finally altered as my purple energy created a barrier around us.
I believe it would be long—enough for us to spar.
“Aha! Illusioned Realm? Nothing less from my brother!”
Shin gushed, still beaming with his yellow electricity around him.
“This second tier does take an effort, ey? Where's your formal tone, brat?”
My comment may seem like complaining, but this second tier changed Shin’s entire demeanour!
Regardless, the longer this dragged on, the worse it’d get.
Shin didn’t lose control easily—
But when he did, the street wouldn’t survive it.
“Whatever! We ain’t gonna be late, Ray! Relax, aight?!”
Shin’s voice barked through his earpiece.
Ray’s words made my eyebrow twitch.
‘Oh, for god’s sake… I really thought I could beat some sense into this idiot today.’
The thought of cutting our duel short irritated me—but fine.
“Alright, alright.”
I let out a sigh and raised my right arm.
“That’s my punk!”
Shin grinned, his orange eyes gleaming brighter under the sunlight.
I could already tell—this wouldn’t end as cleanly as Ray hoped.
“Pulser,” I commanded.
The street around us warped, particles gathering in a violent spiral before condensing into a dark crimson scythe.
“Amazing! You finally absorbed all the particles in one go!” Shin whistled.
“But a scythe? Dude, you could’ve made a sword or something!”
“Nah. Boring.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, then tightened my grip.
The scythe—no, this thing was magnificent.
My first time shaping matter into something this… legendary.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Crimson energy bled from its surface, thick and heavy, distorting the air around it.
My vision wavered.
Heat flared behind my eyes.
…Were my pupils getting redder?
Honestly, no idea.
“Come!”
Shin roared, yellow electricity surging violently around his body.
In the next instant, he was above me.
From that angle, he looked like a giant—purple hair crackling with lightning—descending to crush his prey.
“…Not today, kiddo.”
A grin crept onto my face.
Not excitement. Not madness.
Certainty.
I knew it.
I wasn’t the prey.
—I was the predator.
“…?!”
Shin’s body froze mid-air.
His pupils shrank, electricity flickering out of rhythm as if his instincts had screamed something his mind couldn’t process.
Fear.
Taking the opening, my arm moved before thought could catch up.
The scythe cut through the air—
—and tore across his chest.
“GRAH—?!”
Blood sprayed as the impact sent him flying backwards.
His eyes rolled, his body crashing into the street with a dull, heavy thud.
“DAMN IT!!”
…Yeah. Figures.
This meathead wasn’t going down that easily.
In an instant, Shin sprang back to his feet, slamming his hands together in a strange, rigid pattern.
—Crap.
I knew that stance.
“Dark Scar!”
His voice dropped, rough and heavy.
The light in his eyes dimmed, turning sharp and hollow.
And then—
It happened.
A gap ripped open above him.
Yellow.
Massive.
Twisting unnaturally, as if space itself had been torn apart.
The air screamed.
It wasn’t just an attack.
It looked like something that could devour everything beneath it.
Wind snapped inward, dragging dust and sound toward it.
My coat whipped against my body as pressure crushed down on my chest.
“…Hah.”
My gaze stayed locked on the gap.
Wings—far larger than any bird I’d ever seen—emerged from it.
Not real.
More like an apparition.
“YES! YES!”
Shin laughed, thrilled. “That’s it! You feel that?! This is real—”
The wind cut his words apart.
A storm erupted around us.
I swallowed hard.
This guy… he actually summoned it.
Not a true mythical creature—
but an echo.
A massive bird’s silhouette, yet the body was unmistakably human.
‘Is that…?’
My grip tightened around the scythe on its own.
…Yeah.
This was bad.
Its presence alone was overwhelming.
A colossal form. Too many wings.
Even birds have two.
This thing had more than seven.
No wonder they called it mythical.
Something cold crept up my spine.
“…Not letting it decide,” I muttered.
Its mouth opened—
No sound.
But an instant later, an invisible roar flattened what remained of the street.
“UWAH?!”
Even Shin staggered, blood spilling from his nose.
Obviously.
He couldn’t hold this for long.
“Alright,” I clicked my tongue.
“Enough games.”
Then, I swung.
The creature flashed towards me.
Its presence crushed down—yet something strange surged up from within.
I couldn’t see it clearly.
Couldn’t name it.
But it was mine.
My energy took form as a warped apparition.
Cold snapped through my arms as my shadow tore itself free—winged, wrong—barely holding shape as it surged upward to meet the rift.
In the next heartbeat, they collided.
No warning.
No delay.
The ground slammed me flat as pressure detonated outward.
“I WILL WIN!!”
Blood spilt from Shin’s mouth as his eyes rolled white.
“As if!” I shot back.
“SHUT UP!!”
We roared in perfect unison—
BOOOOOOOOOOM—
The explosion swallowed us whole.
Light twisted.
Sound vanished.
Then—white.
No weight.
No pain.
Just silence,
closing in.
*******
“You seem lively, don’t you?”
—Who?
I couldn’t remember where I was. All I could see was someone’s lips.
But whose?
“You grew up fast.”
The voice was melodic—too gentle for the darkness around me.
“Today, you finally—”
When I what?
Speak—
“Hehe~”
A soft giggle. A few words I couldn’t make out.
Then darkness folded over me again.
*******
“Ugh…” A groan slipped out before my eyes even opened.
Everything hurt.
Everywhere.
If I’d known the spar would end like this, I would’ve backed out—no question.
“No—sorry!!”
SLAM!
“Ywouch?!”
I tumbled off whatever I’d been lying on.
…Yeah. A bed.
Guess we’re back in the dorm.
“Ray’s yelling, huh?” I muttered, pushing myself up.
Well—if you sin, you deal with the consequences.
The same goes for me.
I mean… us.
Carefully, I crept out of my room and peeked around the corner.
“You guys never listen!” Ray snapped. “We’re already an hour late! How could you do this?! It’s our first day!”
“S-sorry…”
Ray looked furious.
And poor Shin—
He was sitting on the floor like a scolded puppy, finally admitting his mistake.
Yeah, he shouldn’t have wasted time like this. He got what he deserved.
“But hey,” I said casually, “lecturing him just wastes more time, doesn’t it?”
Oops.
That one slipped out.
A moment of silence before—
“…you…”
Ray’s almond eyes—burning like live charcoal—snapped toward me.
Okay. I’m dead.
“Eden Crestfall!!”
Ray adjusted his glasses and immediately launched into a lecture.
I dropped down beside Shin without thinking. Habit, really.
And just like that—
Another half hour vanished, sacrificed to Ray lecturing both of us.
*******
Flying at our maximum speed, we did everything we could to reach the academy in time.
At worst, we’d miss the opening ceremony—and maybe a period or two.
No big deal.
At least, not for us.
Unfortunately, it was a very big deal for one certain someone.
“Oh God—oh God—!”
Ray skidded to a stop in front of the academy gates with us, panic written all over his face as he dragged a hand through his brown hair.
“If you battle junkies hadn’t indulged in that idiotic spar, we wouldn’t be late!”
Shin and I didn’t say a word.
Our lips stayed sealed, but the same thought echoed clearly in both our minds:
‘If you hadn’t lectured us for half an hour, we might’ve made it early.’
Yeah.
Definitely not saying that out loud.
I’m not suicidal.
Anyway, we entered the academy.
The Academy of Mystic Walkers.
An institution renowned across the world—arguably the pinnacle of mystic education.
“This is it…”
Ray finally exhaled, stretching his arms like he’d conquered the world.
“My destiny.”
“Dramatic,” I said flatly.
“Yes,” Shin nodded with complete sincerity. “Very dramatic.”
“Oh, shut up, both of you!” Ray snapped.
“Hey—you three!”
A sharp voice cut through us.
We turned to see a professor already striding our way, brows knitted together.
“I-I’m terribly sorry, sir!” Ray blurted out instantly, bowing a little too hard.
“We were delayed due to unforeseen circumstances—”
“Sparring,” I muttered.
Ray’s elbow jammed into my ribs.
Shin, meanwhile, wasn’t listening at all—his eyes wandered across the campus, gleaming with excitement.
“…Wow,” he breathed. “So many people. I wonder which one’s the strongest.”
I sighed.
First day in the academy—and he was already planning his next fight.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
…Huh?
My attention shifted left at the sound of crows.
Not one.
More than twenty.
They were perched atop a statue.
And the moment my eyes met one of theirs—
My breath hitched.
It… stared back at me.
CAAAW!
The crow screeched, and in the next instant, the entire flock took off, scattering into the sky.
“What the…?”
But it wasn’t the crows that unsettled me.
It was what they had been sitting on.
His statue.
Zero’s statue.
For a brief moment, it felt as though something unseen was pulling me toward it—
Or maybe that was just my imagination.
CREAK.
“Huh—?!”
My voice caught in my throat.
The statue’s eyes… moved?
??????????????,????????????????
A strange chant echoed inside my head.
My skull throbbed—
like it was about to split open.
“D…Deni…gro—”
The word slipped from my mouth on its own.
Sweat poured down my face.
N-no—
I’ll die at this rate.
I need to stop—thinking—
“You okay?”
“Ha—?!”
I sucked in a sharp breath as Shin’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“Y-yeah,” I replied, forcing a smile while struggling to steady my breathing.
“Let’s go,” Ray said, already heading inside with Shin.
I lingered for a few seconds longer before following them.
My gaze drifted back to the statue—
Then I tore it away and faced the gate.
Yet the sensation remained.
A strange, crawling awareness.
Like someone was… watching me.
[Subject ID: ???]
[Anomaly Type: ZER?-ECHO — ACTIVE]
[Secondary Response: UNKNOWN SHADOW INTERFERENCE]
[Timeline Sync: FAILURE]
[Threat Level: UN??WN]