Chapter 47
A few days before the forty-fifth day, precisely when Erietta's training was still ongoing amid exhaustion and perseverance, the night at the Rediona dormitory complex was shrouded in thick dew hanging like a glass curtain.
In front of Ilux's room window, at a height no human should tread, stood Theo Vkytor.
His body rested on a large tree branch that pierced the sky, while the shadow of his face reflected faintly in the glass, meeting the reflection of the girl who slept inside.
In his left hand, a small yellow-covered book lay open.
Its pages swayed gently in the wind, reflecting the pale glow of the moon.
He ticked several columns that had previously been left blank, as if each mark were a small validation of someone's achievement—or perhaps a silent prayer that everything would unfold according to the destiny he had designed himself.
'Arc one, episode five has ended.I still remember clearly when Ilux was surrounded by nine low and middle-ranking nobles.It all began with a small mistake, a death he had never planned.'
Huuuuuuh!
'An unavoidable domino effect; it turned out that the friend who suffered that tragic fate was part of their circle, and now they came to exchange life for life.'
Fooooossh!
'Indeed, Ilux was pressed.Each swing of their swords nearly took his life.Even from afar, I felt the impact.Repeatedly, his stomach poured blood without a visible wound, followed by my hearing vanishing as if swallowed by silence.'
Fufu!
'Yet in the end, the boy prevailed.He defeated all nine of his enemies, absorbed their power, and transformed it into fuel for the Parameter continuously developing within him.It was all over.'
Tsraaak!
At the end of the fifth arc, the sky above Rediona Academy's field felt heavy, as if holding its breath before a storm broke.
There, Ilux stood in the center of a narrow and silent circle, surrounded by nine low and middle-ranking noble children.
Their faces tensed, not solely from hatred, but from loss.
One of them had once had a friend who was now lifeless—and behind all the clouds of unresolved misunderstandings, Ilux's name became the point they collectively despised.
There was no room for conversation.
Only cold gazes sharpening the air, only small steps marking the beginning of something that could no longer be stopped.
The battle erupted without warning.
Light from basic techniques and blood energy collided in the air, creating sparks of dark red merging with the shadows of dusk.
Ilux endured, breathing heavily, his body scratched, yet each wound seemed to guide his strength in a new direction.
When his blood touched the ground, something moved—a mechanism within that had long awaited this moment.
Meanwhile, far away, Theo Vkytor felt the surge.
He stood on the edge of a cliff, noting something in his yellow book, when suddenly his stomach burned and blood flowed out without cause.
The sounds of the world vanished instantly; his hearing was cut off in an instant.
He knew what was happening, and that every pulse of suffering he felt was a reflection of Ilux's battle tearing the limits of human and creator.
Ilux did not surrender.
Within the encirclement that continuously closed in, he broke the boundaries that had long confined him.
He twisted his body, reversed a slash, exploiting gaps in every enemy attack to counter with a strength growing wild.
The energy around him vibrated, condensed, then absorbed.
The bodies collapsing before him were no longer enemies, but part of the energy absorbed unconsciously—one by one, the nine nobles transformed into faint flames, vanishing into Ilux, becoming additional strength within his Parameter.
In that moment, there was a strange silence beyond explanation, as if the world itself paused to witness how a child who once remained silent now devoured the storm without hesitation.
At his place, with ears not fully recovered and blood still dripping from the corner of his lips, Theo slowly opened his book.
Among hundreds of neatly lined notes, he drew a small line in one column and wrote a simple mark beside it: "Completed."
No additional comment, no exclamation, no capital letters.
Just a single word enough to close an event that might one day shake the balance of their world.
And when he closed the book, the light in the sky shifted again—as if reality itself bowed to the pen that had recorded it.
'Arc one, early episode six opened the bitterest chapter for the boy named Ilux Rediona.The bullying intensified.Every step he took in the academy corridor felt like an unwelcome prayer.Nine out of ten gazes saw him as a childlike killer, and even the teachers no longer pretended to be neutral.Almost the entire academy agreed to remove him, if not for the headmaster restraining the decision with a single condition.He had to prove himself in the hunting event designated by the academy's leaders.'
Huuuuuh!
'Then, midway through the episode, Ilux came to me with innocent intent, wanting to bring Erietta along.With all his arrogance and confidence in his grand plan, I naturally blocked his intent.I more or less threatened him—not with bluff, but with a blood oath.If he dared disturb my student training in the Realm of Darkness, even his arms and honor would be cut mercilessly.The boy finally withdrew and turned his intent to Aldraya, who silently and without objection accepted the invitation.'
Hihi!
'Then, at the end of episode six, only Erietta and I did not participate in the hunt.Not because we were cowards, but because I knew that interfering with Ilux's path would alter his destiny.And that was not my duty—for now.It was better to remain silent behind the training curtain, focusing on forging Erietta Bathee in the quiet of the Realm of Darkness.'
Haaaaah!
'The academy permitted it, because the Bathee family name was still too prestigious to reject, on the condition that Erietta must conquer the realm in less than fifty days.'
Fufu!
'Thus fate turns, and I simply marked it with a tick in my yellow book.'
In arc one, episode six, the air was thick with hatred too dense to conceal.
Every step Ilux Rediona took in the academy corridor was accompanied by cold stares, whispers that became invisible wounds.
From start to finish, the entire place seemed like a silent courtroom, where almost ninety-six percent of teachers and students had delivered a verdict before hearing a defense.
He was branded a killer, accused of possessing a childlike soul rotted by sin, and no one truly knew the truth behind the tragedy that claimed a life by accident.
The morning bell, usually signaling the start of lessons, now sounded like a judge's gavel, confirming that Ilux's days at Star Academy were no longer about learning, but surviving the hatred growing like mold on damp walls.
Yet behind the suffocating pressure, the final decision came from the peak of authority.
The headmaster—a figure whose face was hard to read—intervened and issued a decision no one expected.
Ilux was allowed to remain at the academy, but only on one condition.
'He must participate in the hunting event, a survival test held in a remote location chosen directly by the leaders of Star Academy.'
To be continued…