Morning came too quickly.
Noir woke to Piers already dressed, tying back his maroon hair.
"Morning," Piers said quietly. "Sleep okay?"
Noir sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Better than the night before."
"That's something." Piers offered a small smile. "Ready for day two?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
They left the room together, navigating the corridors until they found Soo Ah waiting near the stairwell leading down to the training grounds.
She grinned when she saw them. "Look at you two, all synchronized already. How cute."
Noir felt his face heat slightly. "We just walked here together."
"Sure, sure." She fell into step beside them. "Sleep well, Crimson Seer?"
"Stop calling me that."
"Why? It's your title now." Her grin widened. "Better get used to it."
Piers glanced between them, amused. "You two seem... familiar."
"We bonded over near-death experiences," Soo Ah said cheerfully. "Nothing brings people together like almost dying."
They descended into the training complex. The space was already occupied—seers running drills, sparring, practicing techniques. The same whispers followed Noir, but he ignored them.
Shin Jin stood near one of the sparring rings, arms crossed.
But he wasn't alone.
Beside him stood a figure that made Noir stop mid-step.
The man was completely covered in black bandages—face, neck, hands, every visible inch of skin wrapped in dark fabric. Only his eyes showed through narrow gaps, sharp and observant. His hair was snow white, stark against the darkness of the bandages, tied back loosely.
He wore a white combat suit instead of the standard black, and on his right shoulder was a bold red symbol: A.
The bandaged man's gaze locked onto Noir.
Noir quickly looked away, then immediately felt stupid for doing so.
"Staring problem?" the man asked, his voice surprisingly smooth despite the bandages muffling it slightly.
"I—no, I wasn't—"
"He's not used to seeing people wrapped up like mummies," Soo Ah said bluntly. "Cut him some slack."
The bandaged man's eyes crinkled slightly. Amusement, maybe.
Shin Jin sighed heavily. "Don't worry about him. He's just here to spectate training methods. Apparently, he's 'bad at mentoring' and wants to learn."
The bandaged man turned sharply toward Shin Jin. "I never said I was bad at it. I said my methods are unconventional."
"You made your last student cry."
"He was too soft. I did him a favor."
"He quit the Order entirely."
"Exactly. Saved everyone time."
Shin Jin pinched the bridge of his nose. "See what I have to deal with?"
Noir noticed the symbol again. The red "A" on white fabric.
The bandaged man followed his gaze and straightened slightly.
"Ah, yes. Introductions." He placed a hand over his chest in a mock-formal gesture. "I am Mr. Ace. Elite rank seer. One of two direct students under Head Priest Yuusha Yurikabe."
Soo Ah leaned toward Noir, whispering, "Both of Yuusha's students use code names. Specific reasons. Don't ask."
Mr. Ace's eyes shifted to her. "I heard that."
"Good. Saves me from repeating it."
Mr. Ace turned his full attention to Noir, and despite the bandages, Noir felt the weight of that stare.
"So," Mr. Ace said slowly, "you're the new Crimson Seer."
"Yes."
"Interesting." He circled Noir slowly, like a predator assessing prey. "I'm curious to see what power level you're operating at. The Crimson Seer position isn't given to just anyone."
"It wasn't given," Noir said. "I chose it."
"Even more interesting." Mr. Ace stopped in front of him. "Tell you what. If you impress me today, I'll give you some tips. Techniques that could boost your abilities significantly."
Shin Jin groaned. "Your presence here is not wanted, Ace."
"And yet, here I am." Mr. Ace ignored him completely, still focused on Noir. "Let's start simple. Extract your spiritual energy."
Noir hesitated.
Extract... what?
He'd heard the term. Spiritual energy. The power seers used. But he didn't actually know how to access it. Where it came from. How to pull it out.
The hesitation must have shown on his face.
Shin Jin's eyes widened. He spun toward Soo Ah.
"Soo Ah! What were you doing with Noir this whole time? I told you to go over the basics with him!"
Soo Ah chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "I was... kind of swept away by everything yesterday. It slipped my mind?"
Shin Jin stared at her. "It slippedyourmind."
"In my defense, there was a ripper outbreak and—"
"Unbelievable."
Mr. Ace raised a bandaged hand. "I'll handle it."
"You don't need to—"
"I'm volunteering." Mr. Ace's tone left no room for argument. He turned back to Noir. "I'll explain in simple terms."
He stepped closer, his voice taking on a more instructional quality.
"Every human is born with the urge to sin. This urge corrupts their humanity. But if one resists this urge—actively chooses virtue over sin—they accumulate energy throughout their spiritual being. This energy can be extracted and used to execute spiritual techniques during combat."
He lifted his hand.
Thin wisps of almost colorless energy began to seep from his bandaged fingers, faint but visible. The air around his hand shimmered.
Then, without warning, the bandages on his arm moved.
They unwrapped slightly, extending outward like living tendrils, and wrapped around a massive metal pillar at the edge of the training ground.
The pillar groaned.
Then it crumbled.
Not shattered. Not broken.
Crumbled—reduced to fine dust that scattered across the ground.
Silence fell across the training ground.
Noir felt a chill run down his spine.
Yuusha really had mercy on me, he thought, his hands trembling slightly. If he'd used a spiritual technique like that, I'd be completely dead.
Mr. Ace's bandages retracted smoothly, wrapping back around his arm as if nothing had happened.
"Understand?" he asked.
Noir swallowed. "I... think so."
"Good. Now, close your eyes."
Noir obeyed.
"Feel inward," Mr. Ace instructed, his voice steady and calm. "Your spiritual being exists within you. Not in your body—deeper. Past muscle, past bone. In the space where your soul resides."
Noir tried to focus.
"Breathe slowly. Let everything else fall away. The noise. The people. Your thoughts. Just... sink."
Noir's breathing slowed.
The sounds of the training ground faded.
And then—
He felt it.
A shift.
Like stepping through a doorway he hadn't known existed.
Suddenly, he wasn't standing anymore.
He was floating.
His consciousness drifted in a vast, endless expanse. No up. No down. Just... awareness. Pure and infinite.
Like a vast sea of pure awareness.
It was calm. Peaceful.
And then—
Something moved in the distance.
A shape.
No.
Shapes.
Dark. Shifting. Wrong.
Noir's breath hitched.
The shapes drew closer, and he felt wrongness radiating from them. Like they didn't belong. Like they were hungry.
His chest tightened.
What is that? What—
One of the shapes lunged.
Noir's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, staggering backward, then doubled over, coughing violently. His lungs burned. His hands shook.
"Noir!" Soo Ah rushed forward, gripping his shoulder. "What happened? What's wrong?"
Noir couldn't answer. He just coughed, trying to pull air into his lungs.
Shin Jin's expression darkened. "Noir. What did you see?"
Noir straightened slowly, still breathing hard.
"I..." He blinked, trying to recall.
But the images were already fading. Slipping away like smoke.
"I don't remember," he said quietly.
Shin Jin and Mr. Ace exchanged a look.
Then Shin Jin stepped forward, raising one hand. His fingers moved in a complex pattern, and faint golden light began to glow around them.
"Spiritual Technique: Seer of All."
The light expanded, washing over Noir like warm water.
Shin Jin's eyes widened.
Mr. Ace leaned forward slightly, his posture shifting. "What is it?"
Shin Jin didn't answer immediately. He stared at Noir—or rather, through him—his expression unreadable.
Finally, he lowered his hand. The golden light faded.
"His spiritual being," Shin Jin said slowly, "is blurred."
"Blurred?" Piers echoed.
"I've never seen anything like it." Shin Jin looked genuinely unsettled. "It's like... looking at something through frosted glass. The shape is there, but the details are wrong. Distorted."
Mr. Ace moved closer, his bandaged hand reaching toward Noir as if to touch him, then stopping just short.
"Fascinating," he murmured.
Noir's stomach twisted. "What does that mean? Is something wrong with me?"
Shin Jin met his gaze.
"I don't know."