The library had always been a place where time moved differently.
Not slower. Not faster.
Just… quieter.
While the rest of the academy buzzed with preparation, ambition, and noise for the arrival of Senjonng, the Sovereign Champion, the library remained untouched by urgency. Dust floated lazily in thin beams of sunlight that slipped through tall windows. Rows of books stood like silent witnesses to a world that had forgotten how to listen.
And in one corner
Almost hidden behind a leaning shelf and a stack of neglected volumes
Arin found it.
He hadn't been searching for anything in particular.
That was the strange part.
It was as if the book had been waiting for him.
He bent down slightly and pulled it out.
The cover was rough, almost brittle. Dark brown, faded unevenly, with cracks running across it like old scars. No title was clearly visible—only fragments of worn letters that had long surrendered to time.
He brushed the dust off gently.
A faint symbol emerged.
Not a word.
Not a known mark.
Something older.
Arin frowned slightly.
Who would even keep something like this here?
He opened it just a little.
The pages inside were yellowed, some curled at the edges others partially torn. It didn't feel like a book that belonged in a place of learning.
It felt like something that had been forgotten on purpose.
He glanced around.
No one was watching.
Without thinking too much, he carried it to the issuing desk.
The librarian barely looked up, stamped it and pushed it back toward him.
No questions.
No hesitation.
As if the book didn't matter.
As if it didn't exist.
Arin held it for a moment longer than necessary.
Then quietly walked away.
He didn't take the main path out of the academy.
He rarely did.
Instead, he slipped toward the back gatethe one most students ignored.
It was quieter there, almost abandoned, leading to a narrow road that curved away from the crowded streets.
He stepped out.
And disappeared into his usual silence.
But he wasn't alone.
From the shadow of a distant corridor, a figure stood still.
Watching.
It was Mio.
The teacher's expression did not change, but his eyes followed Arin carefully.
There was something different today.
Not in what Arin did
But in what he carried.
Mio's gaze lingered for a moment longer.
Then he turned away.
The rest of the academy was alive.
Students gathered in groups, practicing their abilities.
Sparks of fire lit the air. Small gusts of wind twisted leaves into motion. Water floated in controlled arcs, shimmering under the sun.
Everyone was preparing.
Everyone wanted to be seen.
To be chosen.
To be acknowledged by the king.
Everyone—
Except Arin.
He walked alone through the quieter streets.
The book felt heavier than it should have.
Not physically.
Something else.
Why did I take it?
He didn't have an answer.
The world around him moved as it always did people talking laughing, rushing but Arin felt distant from all of it.
Like he was walking through a place he did not belong to.
A world of known peopl
He thought quietly.
Where I am the only unknown.
The thought didn't hurt as much as before.
It simpl existed.
By the time he reached home, the sky had begun to dim slightly.
He didn't waste time.
Didn't sit.
Didn't rest.
He placed his bag aside, sat on his bed, and opened the book.
The pages made a soft, fragile sound.
The first few were damaged.
Words missing.
Lines broken.
But then
The text became clearer.
At the top of one page, written in uneven ink:
"The Study of Strange Powers"
Below it
A section title:
"The Soul Controller"
Arin's eyes narrowed slightly.
He leaned closer.
The writing was old, but readable.
"There exist powers that do not belong to the elements."
"They do not burn like fire, nor flow like water."
"They are not seen. They are not easily understood."
"They are feared."
Arin's breath slowed.
"The Soul Controllers are those who do not command the world…"
but command what exists within it.
He paused.
A memory flashed.
Yuto.
The quiet boy in the corner.
"Soul," he had said.
Arin sat back slightly.
Then why didn't Mio react openly?
He remembered the teacher's face.
That moment.
That brief flicker of fear.
What are they hiding?
Arin turned the page.
The next sections spoke of other powers.
Rare ones.
Unusual ones.
Powers not commonly taught.
Time Manipulation
Few have ever touched it. Fewer have survived it.
Time does not obey. It allows."
There were small notes of individuals who could slow moments barely perceptible but enough to change outcomes.
One story described a man who could see a second ahead.
Just one second.
But in battle
That was enough to become untouchable.
Space Manipulation
Distance is an illusion to those who understand it.
Users of this power could bend space slightly shortening distances, redirecting movement.
One could step forward
And arrive where he should not.
Another could twist space in defense, making attacks miss by a fraction that felt impossible.
Light Manipulation
"Light is not only what reveals… but what blinds."
These users could bend light to hide themselves or create illusions.
Not illusions of mind
But illusions of sight.
Things that existed… and yet didn't.
One note spoke of a woman who walked unseen in daylight.
Not invisible
Just… unnoticeable.
And light can melt can thing
Arin body shimmered
Arin read everything slowly.
Carefully.
Absorbing each word.
These powers felt different.
Not flashy.
Not loud.
But deeper.
More dangerous.
Then—
He reached a damaged section.
Pages were missing.
Torn out.
Only fragments remained.
But one half-torn page stayed.
Barely holding on.
Arin carefully lifted it.
The ink was darker here.
As if written in urgency.
At the top:
The Dark Matter Master
Below it
Nothing.
No description.
No explanation.
Just blank space.
As if the rest had been removed.
Or erased.
Arin stared at it for a long time.
Why remove this part?
His fingers tightened slightly around the page.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
What if…
this is not meant to be known?
He leaned back slowly.
The room was quiet.
The world outside felt far away.
For a moment—
Arin closed his eyes.
And imagined.
What if he had power?
Not just one.
All of them.
Time bending at his will.
Space shifting beneath his steps.
Light hiding him from the world.
And something deeper…
Something unknown.
Something like
Darkness.
A power no one understood.
For a moment, it felt real.
Too real.
Then—
His body relaxed.
His thoughts slowed.
And without realizing it
Arin fell asleep.
The book still open beside him.
The torn page resting under his hand.
And somewhere
Far from the quiet room
A presence stirred.
As if something ancient had been touched.
The night deepened.