Darkness.Not the simple darkness of a moonless night.
Not the comfortable darkness behind closed eyelids, This darkness was different.
It breathed.
It watched.
It existed.
An endless abyss stretched in every direction, swallowing all traces of existence. No stars. No sky. No earth beneath his feet. No sound. No sensation.
Only emptiness.
Cold.
Absolute.
Edward drifted within it like a forgotten soul cast adrift upon a shoreless sea.
How long had he been here?
He didn't know.
Couldn't know.
There was nothing to measure time against.
No sunrise.
No sunset.
No heartbeat.
No hunger.
No fatigue.
Time itself seemed to have dissolved into the void.
An hour.
A day.
A month.
A year.
Perhaps centuries.
The concept felt meaningless.
For all he knew, he had already died.
The thought surfaced within his mind without emotion.
No fear followed.
No panic.
No desperate struggle for survival.
Only a hollow numbness.
As if even his emotions had been consumed by the darkness surrounding him.
He floated.
Alone.
Silent.
Forgotten.
Then—
Something stirred.
A ripple.
A disturbance within the endless void.
"...Edward..."
The voice was so faint he almost missed it.
Like a distant echo carried across an immeasurable ocean.
Soft.
Fragile.
Trembling.
A woman's voice.
For a brief moment, Edward thought he had imagined it.
Then it came again.
Closer this time.
"...please..."
His empty consciousness trembled.
Silvia.
The realization arrived instantly.
Even here, buried beneath layers of darkness and silence, he would never mistake that voice.
He wanted to answer.
Wanted to tell her he could hear her.
That he wasn't gone.
That he was still alive.
Still fighting.
Still here.
Edward opened his mouth—
Nothing happened.
No words emerged.
No sound escaped.
His body refused to obey.
The sensation was terrifying.
It felt as though invisible chains wrapped around every inch of him.
His limbs.
His chest.
His throat.
Even his thoughts felt sluggish.
The darkness held him prisoner.
Then another voice echoed through the abyss.
Older.
Calmer.
Filled with authority.
"...condition remains unstable..."
"...continue monitoring..."
"...maintain the seal..."
Grandmaster Altheon.
The words arrived fragmented, distorted by unimaginable distance.
Edward strained to listen.
But the voice faded once more.
Then came another sound.
A quiet sob.
Someone crying.
Trying desperately not to be heard.
The sound was small.
Weak.
Yet it pierced the darkness more effectively than any scream.
The grief hidden within those muffled breaths squeezed at something deep inside him.
Who was crying?
Why?
What happened?
The questions stirred his stagnant mind.
He searched his memories.
At first, nothing came.
Only darkness.
Then—
Light.
Blinding.
Violent.
A flash so intense it felt capable of tearing reality apart.
Pain.
Unimaginable pain.
A sensation as though every nerve in his body had been ignited simultaneously.
Then—
Something else.
Something vast.
Something impossible.
A presence.
Ancient.
Boundless.
Watching.
Waiting.
The memory sent a ripple through his consciousness.
And then—
Nothing.
The recollection shattered before he could grasp it.
Darkness reclaimed everything.
Again.
Silence.
Again.
Yet something had changed.
He could feel it.
A distant pull.
Like a current dragging him upward.
His awareness began rising through the void.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Like a drowning man struggling toward the surface after sinking too deep.
The voices grew clearer.
The darkness weakened.
His senses slowly returned.
Weight.
Temperature.
Sound.
His body.
And then—
Pain.
Agony exploded through his skull.
Edward's consciousness snapped back into reality.
It felt as though a giant hammer had smashed directly into his head.
A violent shockwave tore through his mind.
His throat burned.
His muscles screamed.
Even breathing felt like lifting a mountain.
The sudden return of sensation nearly made him lose consciousness again.
With immense effort, he forced his eyes open.
White.
Blinding white.
The brightness stabbed into his vision like countless needles.
"Ugh..."
A weak groan escaped his lips.
Instinctively, he squeezed his eyes shut again.
Pain pulsed behind his eyelids.
His breathing became uneven.
Several seconds passed.
Then several more.
Eventually, Edward gathered enough strength to try again.
This time, he opened his eyes slowly.
Very slowly.
Shapes emerged from the blur.
A stone ceiling.
Smooth and polished.
Soft silver light illuminated the room from several floating mana crystal lamps embedded into ornate fixtures overhead.
Ancient runes covered the walls.
Hundreds of them.
Perhaps thousands.
Thin silver lines stretched across the stone like veins of liquid light.
Each rune pulsed with faint magical energy.
Edward blinked repeatedly.
His vision gradually sharpened.
Confusion settled over him.
Where am I?
The room looked familiar.
Yet not.
It resembled one of the healing chambers within the Academy.
But there was something strange about it.
Something wrong.
He attempted to sit up.
Instant regret followed.
Pain exploded through his neck and shoulders.
"Agh—!"
His body collapsed back onto the bed.
The impact sent another wave of dizziness through him.
Cold sweat appeared across his forehead.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
Every breath hurt.
Every movement hurt.
Even existing hurt.
"I..."
His voice sounded horrible.
Dry.
Weak.
Unrecognizable.
Like someone else's voice.
The heavy wooden door suddenly opened.
Edward turned his head.
Two figures stood near the walls.
Mage guards.
Both wore silver robes reinforced with enchanted armor plates.
The moment they noticed his open eyes, their expressions changed dramatically.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Relief.
All at once.
"He's awake!"
One of them practically shouted.
The second guard immediately straightened.
"Inform the Grandmaster!"
Without hesitation, the first mage rushed from the room.
Edward frowned.
Why were they acting like that?
His gaze slowly traveled around the chamber.
The more he observed, the more uncomfortable he became.
Runes covered every wall.
Not healing runes.
Protective runes.
Containment runes.
Warding runes.
Several glowed brightly enough to illuminate the room by themselves.
Then his eyes dropped toward the floor surrounding his bed.
His heartbeat slowed.
One circle.
Two circles.
Three circles.
Four.
Five.
Layer upon layer of magical formations surrounded him.
Each one far more complex than the last.
Sealing formations.
Edward's stomach tightened.
A cold sensation crawled up his spine.
Why are there so many seals?
Why are there guards?
Why is this room protected like a prison?
The realization formed slowly.
Uncomfortably.
He wasn't being treated like a patient.
He was being contained.
The thought lingered.
Heavy.
Unwelcome.
Then the door burst open again.
A silver blur rushed into the room.
"Edward!"
The voice struck him before he fully recognized the figure.
Silvia.
She ran toward him.
Her silver hair swayed behind her like flowing moonlight.
Then she stopped.
Only a few steps away.
Frozen.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Silvia simply stared.
Her blue eyes widened.
Disbelief filled them.
Then came relief.
So overwhelming it nearly shattered her composure.
Tears instantly gathered along her lashes.
Edward's chest tightened.
"Silvia..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
That single word was enough.
The fragile wall she had been holding together finally collapsed.
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
One after another.
Days of fear.
Days of worry.
Days of helpless waiting.
All of it erupted at once.
"E-Edward..."
Her voice cracked.
Before he could react, she threw herself forward.
Her arms wrapped tightly around him.
So tightly it almost hurt.
Yet Edward didn't complain.
He could feel her trembling.
Feel the desperate strength behind her embrace.
As though she feared that if she loosened her grip even slightly, he would disappear again.
"You're awake..."
A sob escaped her lips.
"You're really awake..."
For several moments, neither spoke.
Edward simply sat there.
Awkward.
Stunned.
And strangely warm.
He didn't know what to do.
So he carefully raised a hand and awkwardly patted her shoulder.
"I..."
His throat tightened.
"Sorry?"
A laugh escaped Silvia.
Half laugh.
Half sob.
The sound was surprisingly beautiful.
"You've been unconscious for days..."
She wiped at her tears.
"And the first thing you do is apologize?"
A weak smile appeared on Edward's face.
But it quickly faded.
Now that she stood this close, he could finally see her properly.
And what he saw worried him.
Her face was pale.
Far paler than usual.
Dark circles rested beneath her eyes.
Her cheeks looked thinner.
Her posture lacked its usual energy.
She looked exhausted.
Not the exhaustion from one sleepless night.
The exhaustion of someone carrying a burden alone for far too long.
Someone who hadn't truly rested in days.
Perhaps longer.
A painful feeling stirred inside him.
"Are you okay?"
Silvia blinked.
Then smiled.
A beautiful smile.
And an obvious lie.
"I'm fine."
Edward immediately knew she wasn't.
But he didn't press further.
Not yet.
Instead, silence settled between them.
A fragile silence filled with unspoken questions.
Eventually, Edward broke it.
"What happened?"
The change in Silvia was immediate.
Her smile vanished.
Her shoulders stiffened.
Her gaze lowered.
A knot formed inside Edward's chest.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
And judging from her reaction...
The answer was far worse than he imagined.
"Silvia?"
She took a slow breath.
Then another.
As if gathering courage.
"Let's talk about that later."
"I want to know."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"You need rest."
"Silvia."
Their eyes met.
For several long seconds, neither looked away.
Finally, she sighed.
Defeated.
"You were in a coma."
The words hit harder than expected.
Edward froze.
"A... coma?"
Silvia nodded slowly.
"For several days."
Several days.
The words echoed through his mind.
Impossible.
Inside the darkness, it had felt like mere moments.
Perhaps hours at most.
Certainly not days.
Yet Silvia wasn't joking.
Her exhausted appearance proved that.
Several days.
What exactly happened after he lost consciousness?
And why did everyone seem so afraid?
The question lingered.
Growing heavier by the second.
Then another surfaced.
"The Hall of Awakening..." Silvia's expression darkened. And for the first time since waking up—Edward felt genuine unease.
"The Hall of Awakening..."
The moment the words left Edward's mouth, the atmosphere in the room changed.Silvia's fingers tightened around the blanket.Her gaze lowered.
The warmth that had briefly returned to her face faded once more.Edward noticed every small movement.
The hesitation.
The discomfort.
The guilt.
And that worried him far more than any answer could."What happened?" he asked quietly.
Silvia remained silent for several seconds.
The soft glow of the mana lamps cast long shadows across the room, making her expression difficult to read.
Finally, she spoke.
"There was... an incident."
The choice of words immediately bothered him.
An incident?
The Academy didn't describe magical catastrophes as incidents.Not unless they were trying to minimize something much worse.
"What kind of incident?"
Silvia swallowed.
"The Awakening ritual failed."
Edward frowned.
Failed?The Hall of Awakening had existed for centuries.
Every noble mage, every elite scholar, every future Archmage in the kingdom had passed through those halls.
Failures happened.
Rarely.
But they happened.Yet they certainly didn't require five layers of sealing formations and armed guards.
"Failed how?"
Silvia looked away.
"The Hall suffered severe damage."
Edward's confusion deepened.
Damage?
How much damage?
The Hall itself was protected by enough ancient enchantments to withstand attacks from high-ranking mages.
What kind of failure could damage something like that?
And why did nobody seem willing to explain anything?
A heavy silence settled between them.Edward could feel it.The truth existed.
Everyone knew it.
Everyone except him.
The realization left a bitter taste in his mouth.
His eyes drifted toward the glowing runes surrounding the room.Toward the guards standing near the entrance.
Toward the magical barriers layered around his bed.
Questions continued piling up.Too many questions.Not enough answers.Something had happened during his Awakening.
Something important.
Something terrifying.
And everyone was hiding it.
The thought settled heavily in his chest.
Then—A sudden flash exploded behind his eyes.Edward froze.The room vanished.Reality fractured.
For a brief instant, he wasn't inside the healing chamber anymore.
He was somewhere else.
Somewhere impossible.
A crimson sky stretched endlessly overhead.
Mountains burned.Oceans boiled.Cities crumbled into oceans of molten ruin.
Countless voices screamed.
Millions.
Perhaps billions.
A symphony of despair echoing across a dying world.
Then he saw it.
An eye.
A single eye.
Colossal.
Larger than mountains.
Larger than continents.
Watching.
The iris burned like liquid blood.
Ancient symbols rotated within its pupil.
Reality twisted around its gaze.
The mere sight of it made Edward's soul tremble.
And beneath that terrible eye—
A figure stood.
A black silhouette.
Motionless amidst the destruction.
Watching him.
Waiting.
Recognizing him.
The vision shattered.
"AAAGHHH!"
Pain erupted inside Edward's skull.
The world snapped back into place.
His hands flew to his head.
Every nerve felt like it was being torn apart.
His vision blurred.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Edward!"
Silvia immediately rushed forward.
Fear flashed across her face.
"What's wrong?!"
"My head..."
His voice came out strained.
Broken.
"It hurts..."
The pain intensified.
Sharp.
Violent.
Like shards of glass grinding through his thoughts.
Fragments of impossible memories continued flashing behind his eyes.
Fire.
Blood.
Darkness.
Screams.
The crimson eye.
Always the eye.
Watching.
Watching.
Watching.
Then, just as suddenly as it began—
The pain vanished.
Leaving behind trembling hands and ragged breaths.
Edward sat frozen.
Sweat covered his forehead.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
Silvia grabbed his hand.
Concern filled her eyes.
"Don't force yourself."
Edward looked up.
"What?"
"Your memories."
Her voice softened.
"The healers said forcing them could make things worse."
Edward slowly nodded.
But inwardly, unease continued growing.
Because he knew something.
Something deep inside him.
That vision wasn't imagination.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a hallucination.
It had felt real.
Too real.
More real than the bed beneath him.
More real than the walls surrounding him.
And somehow...
That frightened him more than the vision itself.
---
Not long afterward, the door opened once again.
This time, the room immediately grew quieter.
Even the guards straightened.
Grandmaster Altheon entered.
The old mage walked with his usual calm dignity.
Yet something felt different.
Subtle.
Almost invisible.
His shoulders seemed heavier.
His movements slightly slower.
The past few days had clearly affected him.
His white robes swayed gently as he approached.
Edward watched carefully.
Trying to read the Grandmaster's expression.
What he found surprised him.
There was no anger.
No disappointment.
No suspicion.
Only worry.
Genuine worry.
The sight unsettled him more than any accusation could have.
"Grandmaster."
Altheon nodded.
"Edward."
The old mage approached the bedside.
For several moments, he simply observed him.
Studying him.
Searching.
It felt less like a healer checking on a patient and more like a scholar examining an unknown artifact.
Finally, he spoke.
"How do you feel?"
Edward considered the question.
"My head feels like someone hit it with a mountain."
A faint smile appeared on Altheon's face.
"A promising sign."
Silvia rolled her eyes.
Edward stared.
The old man actually made a joke.
The world truly must be ending.
The smile disappeared almost immediately.
Seriousness returned.
"Edward."
The way Altheon spoke his name caused the room's atmosphere to tighten.
"I need to ask you several questions."
Edward nodded.
"Alright."
A brief pause followed.
Almost as though the Grandmaster was carefully choosing each word.
Then—
"Did you hear any voices while unconscious?"
Edward frowned.
"What kind of voices?"
"Voices that did not belong to anyone you know."
The question immediately sent a chill through him.
Edward remembered the darkness.
Remembered Silvia's voice.
Remembered Altheon's voice.
But beyond that...
Nothing.
At least, nothing he could clearly remember.
"I don't think so."
Altheon remained silent.
Studying him.
Evaluating the answer.
Then came another question.
"Did you dream?"
The crimson eye instantly appeared in Edward's mind.
A terrible pressure seemed to squeeze his chest.
Something deep inside him resisted speaking about it.
An instinct.
Primal.
Irrational.
Dangerous.
For reasons he couldn't explain, he didn't want anyone to know.
Not yet.
"I'm not sure."
A partial truth.
Not quite a lie.
Not quite honesty.
Altheon nodded slowly.
"I see."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
As if noticing more than Edward intended to reveal.
Then came the strangest question of all.
"Do you feel anything unusual inside your body?"
Edward blinked.
"What does that mean?"
Another pause.
Another hesitation.
The old mage looked almost reluctant.
"Anything different."
Edward's confusion deepened.
Different?
What exactly was he supposed to feel?
He focused inward.
Mana pathways.
Heartbeat.
Breathing.
Everything seemed normal.
Or at least as normal as someone recovering from a magical catastrophe could feel.
Eventually he shook his head.
"No."
Silence followed.
A long silence.
One that carried hidden meanings.
Unspoken fears.
Unanswered questions.
Finally, Altheon stood.
"Very well."
That was it.
No explanation.
No clarification.
No answers.
The conversation ended before it truly began.
The old mage exchanged a brief glance with Silvia.
A glance Edward didn't miss.
Something passed between them.
Concern.
Worry.
Perhaps even fear.
Then Altheon left.
Leaving Edward alone with more questions than before.
---
Night arrived slowly.
The Academy quieted.
Footsteps faded beyond the chamber walls.
The mana lamps dimmed into a softer glow.
The guards changed shifts.
Whispers disappeared.
One by one, everyone left.
Even Silvia.
Though she clearly wanted to stay.
Edward had eventually convinced her to rest.
After enough arguing, she reluctantly agreed.
Now he was alone.
Finally.
The silence should have been comforting.
Instead, it felt oppressive.
Edward stared at the ceiling.
Sleep refused to come.
Too many thoughts churned within his mind.
What happened during the Awakening?
Why had the Hall been damaged?
Why was he being monitored?
Why had Altheon asked those strange questions?
And most importantly—
Why did he feel as though something inside him had changed?
The sensation was difficult to describe.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
Like standing near a storm before the first thunderclap.
A feeling that something was waiting.
Something dormant.
Watching.
His gaze drifted downward.
Absentmindedly, he lifted his left hand.
Then froze.
A faint glow appeared beneath his skin.
Red.
Blue.
His heartbeat stopped.
The light intensified.
Slowly, a symbol emerged across his wrist.
An eye.
A divided eye.
One half crimson.
One half sapphire blue.
Ancient lines curved around its shape.
The mark looked alive.
It pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Like a heartbeat.
Like breathing.
Edward stared in disbelief.
The room suddenly felt colder.
The hairs on his arms stood up.
"What..."
His voice barely emerged.
The symbol shimmered.
For several seconds it remained visible.
Then—
Gone.
The glow vanished.
The mark disappeared completely.
No scar.
No trace.
Nothing.
As though it had never existed.
Edward touched the spot.
His fingers trembled.
His pulse raced.
What was that?
A curse?
A blessing?
Something left behind by the Awakening?
The questions came faster than answers.
Then exhaustion crashed into him.
Without warning.
Without mercy.
His eyelids became impossibly heavy.
His thoughts slowed.
The room blurred.
Darkness crept inward.
And before he could resist—
Sleep claimed him.
---
This time, however...
It was not ordinary sleep.
The moment consciousness returned, Edward knew.
He stood in darkness.
Infinite darkness.
The same void from before.
Yet now it felt different.
More tangible.
More real.
There was no floor.
No sky.
No stars.
Nothing.
Only endless blackness stretching beyond imagination.
Edward slowly turned.
Left.
Right.
Behind him.
Empty.
Completely empty.
A terrible stillness lingered in the void.
Then—
Tok.
A footstep.
Edward froze.
The sound echoed unnaturally far.
Tok.
Another step.
Slow.
Measured.
Deliberate.
A chill crawled up his spine.
Someone was here.
He couldn't see them.
But he knew.
Instinct screamed it.
Something was approaching.
Tok.
Tok.
Tok.
The footsteps continued.
Drawing closer.
Closer.
Closer.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
This wasn't a dream.
Every instinct inside him rejected that explanation.
Dreams weren't this vivid.
Dreams didn't feel this real.
Dreams didn't terrify him like this.
Then—
He saw them.
Two crimson lights.
Floating within the darkness.
Motionless.
Watching.
Eyes.
Ancient eyes.
Predatory eyes.
The moment they focused upon him, Edward felt his entire body lock up.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
It felt as though a mountain had suddenly appeared atop his shoulders.
The eyes grew larger.
And larger.
And larger.
Not because they moved.
Because he finally understood their scale.
They weren't distant lights.
They were colossal.
Monstrous.
Something incomprehensibly vast stared back at him from the darkness.
Then a voice spoke.
Deep.
Ancient.
Heavy enough to shake the void itself.
The sound came from everywhere.
Above.
Below.
Behind.
Inside his mind.
Inside his soul.
"So..."
The darkness trembled.
The crimson eyes narrowed.
A terrible amusement entered that ancient voice.
"You finally woke up."
Edward's blood turned cold.
Fear unlike anything he had ever known erupted within him.
Not anxiety.
Not nervousness.
Not dread.
Fear.
Pure.
Primal.
Absolute.
The kind of fear prey felt when standing before an apex predator.
The kind of fear ancient humans must have felt staring into the eyes of gods.
The eyes continued watching him.
Unblinking.
Patient.
As if they had waited a very, very long time for this moment.
Then the voice spoke again.
And this time—
Edward felt his soul tremble.
"I have been waiting for you..."
The darkness behind those words seemed endless.
Ancient.
Hungry.
And in that horrifying instant, Edward realized something.
This wasn't the first time that thing had seen him.
Nor would it be the last.
Because whatever existed beyond those crimson eyes...
Already knew exactly who he was.
And somehow—
That was the most terrifying revelation of all.