The night was unusually quiet.
An eerie silence spread through the corridors of the Shadow Academy, as if even the walls were afraid to speak after what had happened.
What occurred in **Sector C**… had changed everyone.
Arata was sitting in the corner of his room.
His knees pulled to his chest, head lowered… and his eyes empty.
Time felt as if it had stopped.
The same scene kept replaying in his mind—
Mira's face… her eyes…
and that moment when life was taken from her.
"If I had been… faster…"
his voice barely came out.
"If I had just…"
He clenched his fists.
Blood started seeping between his fingers, but he didn't feel any pain.
*Why didn't I save her…?*
A soft knock sounded on the door.
Arata didn't respond.
The door slowly opened, and **Ren** stepped inside.
His footsteps were slow—for the first time, without arrogance.
For a few moments, silence filled the room.
"If you keep sitting here… nothing will change,"
Ren said quietly.
No response.
"That girl… Mira,"
Ren paused, as if searching for the right words,
"she wasn't weak. We all were."
Arata lifted his head. His eyes were red.
"You don't understand," he said coldly.
"I could have done it… I saw that attack—I could have stopped it!"
Ren's eyes hardened.
"And then?"
Arata fell silent.
"Do you think you can save everyone?"
Ren's voice became sharper.
"Or will you keep blaming yourself every single time?"
The room fell into silence.
"This world…"
Ren said quietly,
"won't run according to your rules, Arata.
Either you learn to understand it… or it will break you."
Ren turned and walked toward the door.
"Training is tomorrow morning. If you come… maybe you still want to fight."
The door closed.
The same silence returned to the room.
Arata slowly opened his hands.
On his palm, the same **red mark** was faintly glowing.
Suddenly—
A sharp pain shot through his head.
"Ah—!"
His breathing became heavy.
The world changed again.
---
## **The Inner World**
He was standing in that place again—
a floor of black glass… a golden wheel… and endless silence.
"You have returned."
The same voice.
The ancient entity emerged from the darkness.
Its chains were still there, but this time… they seemed slightly looser.
Anger filled Arata's eyes.
"This is all because of you!"
The entity remained silent.
"If this power wasn't inside me…"
"Mira would still be alive!"
Suddenly, the ground around them began to crack.
The entity slowly stepped closer.
"You are looking for the truth in the wrong place,"
it said calmly.
"The truth?" Arata shouted.
"The truth is that I'm weak!"
"No,"
the entity replied instantly,
"the truth is that you are incomplete."
Arata froze.
"The power has been given to you,"
the entity said,
"but understanding it… is your responsibility."
"And until you understand it—
every death will repeat before your eyes."
Arata's breathing became heavy.
"Then tell me!"
he shouted.
"How do I stop it?!"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then—
For the first time, the entity extended its hand toward him.
"Accept your fear."
"Embrace your pain."
"And then… turn it into strength."
Arata's heart began to pound.
Slowly… he raised his hand.
Just as his fingers were about to touch the entity—
---
## **A New Beginning**
The next morning.
All the students were standing on the training ground.
This time, the atmosphere was different—
more serious… more rigid.
Arata slowly walked forward.
Ren looked at him.
"So you came."
Arata nodded slightly.
"I'm not going to run,"
he said.
Ren smiled.
"Good. Because today… we're going to fight again."
Kaito stood on the high platform.
"From today…"
he announced,
"training will become even harder."
"Because now… all of you know the price of defeat."
Arata clenched his fist.
There was no fear in his eyes anymore—
only a calm, cold fire.
---
## **Far Away… In the Darkness**
Inside the base of the Dark Organization, a meeting was taking place.
The same leader stood there.
"That boy… has broken,"
one member said.
The leader smiled.
"No,"
he replied,
"he is being forged."
He looked into the darkness.
"The next step—
is to awaken him completely."
⚡ To be continued…