Clank

I was still in a daze as I came out of the office and walked past the corridor that led toward the exit of the building.

As I walked, I could hear the rhythmical echo of my steps.

They were soft, and yet, they powerfully rang within my mind.

'....Upgrade my potential?'

It wasn't as though I didn't understand what he was trying to imply.

After going through the memories of the few members of the Dragon Charred Unit, I was able to get a better idea of how things worked within the organization.

It was unfortunate that they had never been in the main headquarters. Otherwise, I would've been able to go myself.

There seemed to be a special requirement for one to be able to enter the main headquarters.

Or maybe there wasn't? It could just be that the group was too unimportant for the organization to have them enter the main headquarters.

It was a bit of a pity considering that I wanted to see how it looked.

Still...

I thought back to Atlas's words.

"Crazy "

It was because I knew what his words meant that I thought the entire situation was crazy.

'What rank even am I...?'

Nothing within the memories of the four members of the Dragon Charred Unit told me anything about what the previous Julien's potential rank was. Was he planning on upgrading my potential to 'Fiend' rank?

There was still so much that I didn't know.

".....I'll need to figure things out better."

"What do you need to figure out?"

A soft voice reached me from the front and I stopped. Looking up, my brows jumped up slightly.

"Chancellor?"

Delilah.

She was standing before me. What was she doing here...? No, that was a stupid question. She most likely had some important business to attend to. This was after all where Atlas and a few other important figures's offices were.

"....."

As expected, Delilah didn't answer me and just stared at me.

She didn't need to say a thing for me to understand what her gaze meant.

'What are you doing here?'

I pursed my lips for a brief moment before answering,

"I was called here by the Vice-Chancellor."

"Atlas?"

"Yes."

"....."

For a brief moment, her eyes turned inky as they stared straight into me. In that short moment, it felt as though I was being sucked right into her eyes.

An unknown and desolate world flashed in my vision briefly before her figure reappeared before me.

"What did you do?"

".....I answered his questions."

I answered shortly after as I took a moment to adjust my mind.

It wasn't a lie. I was really answering his questions.

"He was interrogating me regarding the incident that took place in the Labyrinth."

"....And?"

"I am done. I was just about to go back to the dorms."

"....."

Yet again, Delilah didn't say a thing. She simply stared at me for a good moment before resuming her steps.

As she passed me, she glanced at me before mumbling,

"Get some rest."

Tak. Tak. Tak.

The sound of her heels clicking against the corridor's pavement echoed in the air. I stood still for a moment and stared at her departing back.

For some reason...

....Her back looked extremely tired.

***

That night, Aoife and Evelyn were just coming back from the arena grounds. Overall, their group managed to rank second. It was a fairly good result. However, neither of the girls spoke while walking back to the dorms.

They both seemed to be immersed in their own thoughts.

".....It's strange."

Perhaps not realizing it, Evelyn let her true thoughts out. Aoife's steps paused and she turned to look at her

"What is?"

"Uh, ah?"

Evelyn looked around stunned and her steps similarly paused. Then, as if realizing what she had done, she covered her mouth.

"Ah."

"...."

Aoife stared at her for a brief moment. She could more or tell what she was thinking about.

"Is it about Julien?"

"....!"

As expected. Evelyn's reaction told her all that she needed to know. And it was her reaction that made her curious.

"What do you mean by strange?"

"Ah, no, it's..."

Evelyn fumbled over her words. However, under Aoife's intense gaze, her face scrunched up and she eventually relented and shared her true thoughts.

"Julien. He's strange."

"As in?"

"He... He wasn't that strong before."

"....."

"Like, he was okay. He was supposed to be okay. Every time I see him, he changes. I don't know how to explain it."

Evelyn tried to find the right words to articulate herself. However, in the end, she could only look at Aoife with a helpless smile.

It seemed a little sad too.

"....I just don't think he's the Julien that I know. Whenever I see him, I see someone completely different. Even when he changed I could tell slightly it was him, but now?"

Evelyn shook her head and scoffed slightly.

"Ha. I don't know. I really don't know."

"...."

"...."

Noticing Evelyn's expression, Aoife didn't pursue the matter further. Rather, her words echoed deep within her mind. 'Someone completely different? Every time I see him, he changes...?'

Evelyn's words lingered in her mind, nagging at her even after they parted ways and she returned to the room.

Laying down on her bed, Aoife blankly stared at the ceiling.

"Changes..."

Muttering to herself, she closed her eyes. In the darkness that suddenly overtook her vision, a figure appeared.

He stood in the middle of a large chamber, his appearance seeming to eclipse that of everyone around him with his cold expression. Threads covered the entire space, with a gigantic creature standing not far from where he was.

It was the same scene from The Labyrinth.

Even now, it had been deeply imprinted in her mind, making it impossible for her to forget.

How could she forget?

Aoife doubted anyone could forget that moment.

'Someone completely different? Every time I see him, he changes.'

Yet again, Evelyn's words rang in her mind. They echoed over and over and over again. Almost like the buzz of a mosquito. One that she couldn't kill regardless of what she did. Eventually, opening her eyes to reveal her golden pupils, Aoife sat up.

Looking around, she reached out for her communication device.

"Ehwew."

Taking a deep breath, Aoife fiddled with the communication device in her hands.

She didn't really know why she was doing this, but it was starting to become impossible for her to sleep.

Therefore, pressing on the communication device, she started to speak.

"Hey, uncle~"

As she spoke, her voice came out rather coy. Were anyone to see her like this, they'd be stunned out of their minds.

But her uncle was an exception.

Besides her brother, he was the only person she respected.

"....Is it possible for you to check something for me?"

***

The next day.

News of the incident had been kept hushed by the Academy. For some reason, the Academies involved didn't utter a single thing about the missing cadets. In the end, the situation seemed to have been resolved by the higher-ups.

The details of how they had done it were not something that I was keenly aware of. However, I could more or less imagine what had happened.

'He's probably done something to them.'

Atlas.

Not only was he powerful. He was also a member of the royal family. If he wanted to keep a situation quiet, then he had the capabilities and resources to do so.

It was scary when one thought about it.

That being said, I didn't really understand why he had decided to cover up the matter when his goal had been to make this situation as big as possible. Did he think it was going to be a waste of time?

Perhaps.

"It's unfortunate that the collaboration with the other Academies has to be halted here. I'm not sure about what happened, but from what I've heard, the individual performance will be paused."

Currently, I was sitting in the lecture room. Everyone was present. From time to time, I would get an occasional glance, but I ignored it and kept my attention focused on Professor Bridgette.

She was currently detailing us on the situation.

"....I know that you are all disappointed by this. I am too."

As she said this, I looked around. Eventually, my gaze fell on Kiera. She was wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen her wear in a long time. She almost seemed to be gloating. No, rather, she was gloating.

I could more or less tell why she was like that.

'She hates studying.'

It became obvious to me from the moment we became team members. Even though we weren't meant to be a study group, there were times in between breaks that we took as a chance to study.

Kiera was the only one that refused to do any of that. I could still picture the look of scorn she gave us back then.

"...."

No, I didn't have to picture it.

Turning my head, I could see Kiera looking at me with that same expression of the past. It was as if she was telling me, 'See? You should've listened to me and just rested.'

That gaze was followed by a subtle laugh.

"On the bright side, however, I have great news for all of you!"

The Professor's bright words attracted my attention yet again. The same was true for the other cadets who all turned to look at her.

"We will be going on a trip!"

"...."

"...."

I blinked my eyes as the classroom fell silent. Everyone was having a hard time understanding what was going on.

Professor Bridgette went on to explain,

"After all that hard work, it's about time we all relax, no? While this excursion won't exactly be a vacation, we will allow you all to take some time to visit the place that we're visiting. It's a nice change of pace after all the time you've spent at the Academy."

The sudden news took everyone by surprise. However, shortly after many of the cadets waved their fists in the air in celebration.

I couldn't blame them. I too felt the same way.

....Well, maybe?

Was there ever a thing like a break for me?

'I hope I don't get a quest.'

Although I hated to say it, I needed a break. Not only because of the injuries in my body which had yet to heal, but also because I needed time to adjust my mental state.

Though I was able to keep myself from showing it on the outside, I was starting to pick up certain habits that weren't mine.

Like...

Scratch. Scratch.

'Damn itchy.'

The more time passed the more obvious it was becoming to me that the other personalities that I had tried to integrate with me were starting to take over if even slightly.

I needed time to focus on myself and separate my real self from the other personalities that were within my body.

That being said, I knew that I had to discard a few.

It was impossible for me to keep my sanity with the amount that I had. That was simply too much of a burden for my mind.

I needed to let go of a few.

'I'll find some time to do that later.'

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Professor Bridgette clapped her hands. Clap. Clap! In doing so, the classroom once again quieted down.

Sporting her trademark smile, the professor looked at us before taking out a sheet of paper from behind the podium.

"That being said. Just because the individual examinations have been postponed, that doesn't mean the written ones have. Please take out your equipment. The test will be-"

Bang!

A loud banging sound echoed from the distance before the Professor could even get her words out.

It was followed by a high-pitched curse.

"Fuck!!"

This time, turning my head, it was my turn to laugh.

"Ha."