Glass Sano, who had lived his life following the path of Yossi Sano, had become nothing more than a puppet without a soul.
He trained because of the orders of his family's elders.
Whenever he tried to escape...
Or tried to end his own life...
Yossi would take control of his body and make him experience countless forms of suffering.
Until Glass began to feel that nothing in life was worth his attention.
Swordsmen.
Mages.
Heirs.
No one possessed enough talent to defeat him.
And the idea of abandoning his own life for Yossi became more realistic in his mind.
When he entered Karath Academy, he discovered that everyone there was below his level.
No one deserved even a glance from him.
He received praise from teachers and instructors.
Many nobles attempted to approach him.
But he grew tired.
He no longer cared.
Until he heard some news.
"There is a boy named Kin from the Light Family who obtained the Master of the Moon's heritage!"
"Really?! That boy secured his future!"
"Kin Light is extremely handsome!"
Curiosity took over Glass.
He wanted to know what was happening in the academy.
Why had a boy from a family that was not among the first-rank families gained such attention?
When he saw Kin, he noticed his handsome face that attracted many women.
But Glass was still not convinced.
When he decided to leave, he felt an enormous energy coming from him.
He looked back.
Kin was challenging an older student.
What caught Glass's attention was that Kin defeated him quickly and easily.
Just like Glass always did.
A strange feeling began moving inside him.
A feeling that was not comfortable.
It became stronger when he discovered that the Moon Sorceress Lily was Kin's guardian spirit.
She was kind toward him.
She helped him.
She did not try to control him.
This intensified two feelings inside Glass.
Yossi's feeling of challenge.
And Glass's jealousy.
Jealousy toward seeing a kind guardian spirit helping his companion instead of trying to dominate him.
Glass felt suffocated.
He wanted to confront him.
But what he received was rejection.
"I apologize, Young Lord Sano, but I recently obtained my heritage."
Kin smiled softly.
"I have not learned anything yet."
Kin's answer carried a little embarrassment.
However, Glass felt slightly calmer.
He realized that Kin was not a threat.
Yet this was Yossi's feeling.
As for Glass's jealousy...
Even Glass himself did not care about it.
...
As time passed, many pieces of news spread.
"His Majesty has announced the race for the throne!"
...
"Kin Light is the face of the humble nobles!"
...
"Kin Light surrounded Shion Ranus under the orders of Her Highness!"
...
"Shion Ranus will be expelled from his family because of what happened with a girl!"
...
The news reached Glass's ears.
Until he grew tired of everything.
He decided to attend the academy.
On the first day of the opening matches, he noticed two talented children.
Baro Ferrer.
And Fiore Tai.
Both of them managed to push Kin into a difficult battle despite being at the same level.
That feeling returned again.
And the reason was those two.
But soon...
It was Shion Lan's turn.
At first, Glass did not recognize him.
Until he heard whispers that attracted his attention.
"Wasn't he expelled by his family?"
"Yes, but he changed his name and obtained a heritage!"
Glass focused on those words.
He listened more carefully.
Honestly, he did not know whether his interest came from himself, hoping that someone capable of defeating him existed...
Or from Yossi, who wanted to destroy every talented person.
But Shion's matches were simply elegant and simple.
His sword flowed smoothly.
His control over magic was precise.
He was simply interesting.
Out of curiosity, Glass decided to approach him.
However, an order from a member of the royal family, who was a follower of Jayden at the time, asked him to sit near him.
And indeed...
He sat with Shion the next day.
Yossi tried to sense his heritage.
But both Glass and Yossi were shocked.
They could not detect anything inside Shion.
...
One day, Glass was thinking about Shion.
He wondered why he could not sense anything from him.
All he felt was one star...
And one magic circle.
Although Yossi did not know the reason, he felt an overwhelming power coming from Shion.
Glass felt nothing but shock.
Because Yossi had been thinking about someone for this long.
...
Then his sister, Beliza Sano, came to him.
She was smiling unusually.
The Rain Battalion participated in difficult missions.
But she surprised both Glass and Yossi with her question.
"My dear brother, do you know someone in your class named Shion Lan?"
Glass did not know why his sister cared about him.
But she quickly began telling him what she saw during the battle against the Dark Crows.
How Shion was like a disaster that descended upon them.
How he reached two stars and two magic circles.
Glass could not help but be shocked.
Especially when he learned that Shion slaughtered fourth-level Dark Crows and faced one at the fifth level.
Glass thought,
'Doesn't that mean Shion is more talented than me?!'
Suddenly, he felt something strange inside his chest.
Glass realized that this thought was not his own.
For a moment...
His consciousness became clear.
Yossi sensed it as well.
And his eyes showed disbelief.
Because Yossi was considered a genius for defeating opponents one level above him.
But Shion?
He gained power beyond his original level.
He faced someone two levels above him.
Meaning the original difference was three levels.
At that moment...
Glass felt something he had abandoned long ago.
Something that came to fill his frozen heart again.
Hope.
...
After Shion returned, Glass continued watching him.
He followed his news.
He memorized his face.
And he saw a different kind of handsome.
Not the kind that attracted everyone.
Not the kind that made people cautious around him.
Something else.
As if people simply could not reach him.
...
When the incident of the Neumann Family mansion happened, Glass was asked to attend with Kin because both possessed guardian spirits and could be useful if they encountered other spirits.
Although Glass wanted to avoid the mission...
He heard his sister say,
"It seems Shion is there."
She was enthusiastic.
"I will go with Uncle to check on him."
Without hesitation, Glass decided to go with them.
There, he met Kin.
Kin had trained seriously.
He felt that his strength had improved.
Glass felt a threat from Yossi's emotions.
But he also felt the hope he decided to hold onto.
And a smile appeared on his face.
...
When they reached the mansion entrance, they saw Shion.
He was standing calmly before a blood spirit.
Its level was seven.
Yet Shion managed to resist it using his Spirit Sword.
Although it possessed an artifact like his...
He did not retreat.
He endured again and again.
This increased Yossi's interest in him.
And Glass learned another thing.
Shion had lived inside a sealed time space for fifteen years.
Everyone wondered about his current condition.
Yossi felt pressure and anxiety.
While Glass felt more freedom.
A thought appeared in his mind.
'What kind of guardian spirit protects him?!'
He was jealous.
'Why does everyone have an amazing guardian spirit except me?!'
...
However, as the situation developed...
The guardian spirit Glass had envied appeared.
Yet his jaw tightened when he saw Shion being possessed by Shiu Won Lan.
Holding artifacts.
Facing everyone.
Director Tim Air.
Brad Sano, the head of the Sano Family.
Miral Flair, the head of the Flair Family.
And the existing corps.
His skills were terrifying.
Even Yossi and Lily themselves intervened.
But it was useless.
While being possessed, Glass thought,
'This spirit...
It is worse than mine.'
He was shocked.
'More disastrous.
Yet it was trapped inside Shion's body?!
Was Shion fighting alone all this time?!'
...
With guilt inside him, Glass saw Shion fight again.
Using a form he had never seen before.
But had only heard about from his sister.
The forbidden spell:
(Death of the Stars).
Shion was filled with darkness.
And he defeated his own guardian spirit.
That moment affected Glass deeply.
Because he saw his own desire becoming reality.
'Me too...'
He wanted to do what Shion did.
'I also want to get rid of my spirit.
Can I do it?!'
He eagerly waited for the day he would become free.
From that day onward...
He opposed Yossi.
Whenever Yossi forced him to train, Glass became more stubborn.
'I have no one in this world who will save me from this trial except myself!'
He resisted.
'I must resist!'
Although many times he eventually surrendered after exhaustion...
He began adapting to Yossi's pressure.
And he became indifferent.
He wanted to become closer to Shion.
But he thought of something important.
'I have never had a friend before.'
He rubbed his head.
'How should I act?'
...
However, when Yossi was with Shion and Kin during the investigation of the Shi Family head's information...
It became a secret between the three of them.
The first bond they shared.
As they spent time together in the academy...
Glass began interacting with them naturally.
They were different from everyone else.
They did not treat him as:
"The greatest genius among the Six Great Families."
They treated him as:
A friend.
A rival.
...
Time passed again.
Then came the trial of the Ranus Family.
What caught Glass's attention was not the trial itself...
But Shion's family.
The Ranus Family.
They were never fair toward him.
From beginning to end.
Especially that father...
The one who called himself family.
Shion was punished.
Tortured.
Mistreated.
As if he had been born as nothing more than a servant's child.
But he never stopped.
He never fell into despair.
He never allowed anyone to chain him.
When Glass saw his soul...
A soul that had been torn apart and crushed countless times...
He could only swallow.
'Was that his childhood?!
How could he still be fine?!
Didn't he...'
Glass could not understand Shion at that time.
But Shion did it.
He survived.
He became stronger.
He created his name.
And he faced the family that had made his life miserable.
...
Glass tried again to oppose his guardian spirit.
He tried to expel him.
"Yossi!"
He shouted.
"Get out of my body!"
Yossi was angry.
"You ungrateful child!
I made you the Glass Sano that everyone knows!
And now you try to bite the hand that helped you?!"
But Glass advanced.
Inspired by Shion.
He made his move against the talented arrogant spirit that tried to control him.
Glass said,
"If I cannot defeat you today...
I will someday."
A thought struck him.
'Just like he did.'
...
In his heart, Shion occupied the greatest place.
He was the guide who pulled Glass away from the fate he thought was inevitable.
And now...
He was dominating the academy championship.
His calm and elegant sword style passed through everything.
Glass was the same.
His cold, sharp movements destroyed every opponent.
Creating his name:
The Winter's King.
But this time...
He felt like he was doing everything by his own will.
He swung his sword.
He unleashed his power.
He dominated the matches.
He fought Braj Torano.
And used his heritage by his own choice.
He fought his first rival, Kin Light.
Both were far too powerful to be second-year students.
But he never expected that...
All the control.
All the dominance.
All the hopes he had.
Would end because of one ultimate truth.
He could not defeat Yossi Sano.
He defeated Kin.
But he was not victorious.
He was a great loser.
A loser who lost a game he was never truly part of.
He reached the fourth level.
But he lost against his enemy.
On the final day.
The final match.
He faced the most admirable person he had ever met in his entire life.
But he fell in despair.
'Shion Lan...'
He thought with pain.
'I'm sorry.
But I will defeat you.'