The academy was already alive before sunrise.
Students filled the courtyard, their movements sharp, controlled, practiced.
Kashikari stood apart from them.
Still.
Unmoving.
But something about him had changed.
His aura was unstable.
His breathing uneven.
And inside—
Something burned.
It's coming.
And this time… it won't pass without taking something.
Nyari approached him during the break.
Careful.
But determined.
"Kai… can I ask you something?"
"You can ask. Doesn't mean I'll answer."
She hesitated.
"Your eyes… they change sometimes. It feels like… you're not the same person."
Kashikari didn't deny it.
"I'm not."
Nyari swallowed slightly.
Then said it anyway.
"I'm worried about you."
That—
Hit.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
Kashikari's expression tightened just slightly.
"Don't be," he said. "Worry about yourself."
He walked past her.
Didn't look back.
Jinwi's voice followed him.
"She sees you. The part you're hiding. If you leave that wound open… it will destroy you."
That night, Kashikari found himself standing in front of Dorum's house.
He hadn't planned to come.
But his body had already decided.
The door stood in front of him.
Closed.
Silent.
He didn't knock.
Something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
He turned—
Then froze.
A sound.
Low.
Unnatural.
A shadow slipped across the rooftop.
Kashikari moved instantly.
But he was late.
The door was already open.
The moment he stepped inside—
He knew.
The air was wrong.
Burn marks covered the floor. The walls were cracked, torn apart. Furniture lay shattered.
And in the corner—
Dorum.
Lying in blood.
Still breathing.
Barely.
"Kai…"
Kashikari dropped to his knees.
His hands trembled.
For the first time—
He felt it.
Helplessness.
Jinwi didn't whisper this time.
It roared.
"YOU WERE TOO LATE."
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT."
The words hit harder than anything else.
Then—
Footsteps.
Nyari rushed in.
"Kai—?!"
Her voice broke the silence.
She froze for a split second when she saw Dorum.
Then moved instantly.
Dropping beside him, her hands began to glow.
"Light… respond to me… reach his veins…"
Her voice shook.
"I'm syncing with his heartbeat… stay with me… don't—please don't…"
Golden light spread across Dorum's body.
Soft.
But desperate.
Kashikari didn't move.
Didn't speak.
He just watched.
And for the first time—
He felt it clearly.
He wasn't enough.
Jinwi whispered again.
"She replaced you."
"She saved him."
"And you… only watched."