The silver mist lingering on Avin's bed faded slowly, dissolving into thin threads of shimmering light that drifted toward the window before vanishing completely. The room turned silent again—but the silence felt thick, alive, coiled tight like a question waiting to be answered.
Kai stood behind Avin with a trembling hand raised in a dramatic gesture.
"Bro… should I scream? Because I feel like screaming."
Rei clutched his chest.
"Don't. If you scream, I will. And if I scream, the entire floor will."
Avin didn't respond. He stepped closer to the bed, staring at the faint shape the mist had taken—like the silhouette of a sigil, or the ghost of a symbol he had seen before.
He reached out.
The air trembled.
Thump.
The second heartbeat pulsed.
Avin's breath hitched. Kai noticed instantly.
"Bro? BRO?! Did the mist touch your soul?! Do we need a healer? A priest? A blacksmith?"
Rei blinked.
"Why would we need a blacksmith?"
Kai whispered, "To forge courage."
Rei smacked his head. "Please be normal."
Avin finally spoke, voice lower than usual.
"It said something."
Both of them froze.
Kai: "WHAT. DID. IT. SAY."
Avin swallowed.
"'You are not alone, Heir.'"
Rei's face lost color.
"E-Heir? As in heir of what?"
Kai jumped.
"Heir of trouble! Heir of doom! Heir of—"
Avin glared.
"Stop."
Kai sighed. "…Okay."
Rei pushed up his glasses.
"This is… big. Bigger than awakening anomalies. This is… something ancient. Something bloodline-related."
Avin felt cold.
Bloodline.
Heritage.
Identity.
Three things he had none of.
"I don't know what I am," he admitted quietly.
Kai stopped joking. His face softened.
"Bro… we'll figure it out. Together."
Rei nodded firmly.
"You're weird, Avin. Powerful. Maybe dangerous. But also… good. And you saved people today. That counts."
Avin looked away, unsure how to reply.
But deep inside—
Thump… …Thump.
The second heartbeat slowed, like it was listening.
Knock. Knock.
All three froze.
Rei whispered, "Don't open the door. What if it's the mist back for revenge?"
Kai nodded. "Yes. Mist ghosts knock politely before killing."
Avin rolled his eyes and opened the door.
Outside stood a girl with dark green hair tied neatly in a bun, wearing an officer's-style academy uniform with crisp emerald lines. She held a clipboard in one hand and stared at Avin with judgmental calm.
"Avin Renn?"
"Yes."
"You are requested in the South Administrative Hall. Now."
Kai squeaked.
"The… the teacher hall? DID YOU GET ARRESTED—"
Rei whispered, "I told you not to touch the mist."
The girl's lips twitched in irritation.
"It is routine. For evaluation."
Avin nodded. "I'll come."
Before he could ask who she was, she spoke again.
"I'm Elara. Assistant to Instructor Kael."
Her eyes flicked to Kai.
"And no, he's not arrested. Not yet."
Kai fainted dramatically onto Avin's bed.
Elara ignored him and walked away briskly, heels clicking softly.
Avin glanced at Rei.
"Stay with Kai."
Rei saluted. "Yes, sir."
Kai raised a hand weakly from the bed.
"Bro… if you don't return… remember me as a hero."
"I won't remember you at all," Avin replied flatly.
Kai gasped. "That hurts my soul."
Avin left, shaking his head.
The South Hall was quieter and darker than any other part of the academy. Polished obsidian walls reflected faint lanterns; the air felt colder, heavier.
A large emblem—an open book pierced by twin stars—was etched onto the main door.
Avin pushed it open.
Inside, Instructor Kael, Professor Meyra Lunet, and another unfamiliar teacher sat around a circular runic table. All three lifted their heads the moment he entered.
Professor Meyra's violet eyes narrowed slightly.
"Avin Renn. Sit."
He obeyed.
Instructor Kael leaned forward, steepling his fingers.
"Your test results today were… contradictory."
Avin remained silent.
Kael continued.
"You scored low, yet moved like someone with combat muscle memory."
Professor Meyra added, "Your mana output was weak, but the crystal reacted in a way we have never recorded."
Another teacher, an older man with silver-rimmed glasses, cleared his throat.
"Your affinity resonance triggered all spheres, then shut them down. That has happened only once in recorded history."
Avin frowned. "…Once?"
They exchanged glances.
Kael answered quietly,
"A thousand years ago."
Avin stiffened.
The older teacher pushed a small crystal tablet toward him.
"Place your hand here."
"What for?" Avin asked.
"To detect mana abnormalities."
Avin hesitated.
The second heartbeat pulsed.
Don't.
Not yet.
He looked up.
"I'm… tired. If I force more mana now, I might collapse."
The teachers exchanged looks again.
Professor Meyra finally nodded.
"Fine. You may go."
But her gaze lingered on him with a sharp, unsettling curiosity.
By the time Avin stepped outside, the academy lamps had dimmed to soft evening glows. The Night Garden, which connected the South Hall to the dorms, shimmered with luminescent flowers that opened only after sunset.
He walked slowly, letting the cool breeze touch his face.
His thoughts echoed:
Two flows of mana.
The mist knew me.
Teachers are suspicious.
Sarene sensed something.
What am I?
He clenched his fist gently.
The second power stirred faintly.
A whisper brushed him again—
"…When the seal breaks… your memory will return…"
Avin stopped sharply.
Memory.
Return.
Did he… forget something?
Forget who he was?
Forget a past that wasn't supposed to be lost?
His head throbbed.
He exhaled shakily.
"…Not now..."
As he crossed under an arch, soft footsteps echoed behind him.
Three students stepped out—older than him, wearing the insignia of the Advanced Combat Department on their sleeves.
One smirked.
"Avin Renn, right?"
Avin didn't answer.
The second boy cracked his knuckles.
"We heard you're the anomaly who made the library orb freak out."
The third, a taller one with spiky black hair, pointed at Avin's chest.
"You made our instructors talk about a first-year. That annoys me."
Avin sighed. "I don't want trouble."
The tall one grinned.
"Good. Then stand still."
Avin stepped back.
A few students on the path stopped and whispered.
"Hey—what's happening?"
"Is that Avin?"
"He always attracts trouble."
"Three upperclassmen? That's unfair!"
The tall boy raised a glowing fist—
Before he could swing, a sudden voice cut through the garden like a blade.
"Touch him, and I'll freeze your eyelids shut."
Everyone froze.
Sarene stepped out from behind a moon-pine.
Her frost aura billowed gently, making her hair shimmer. Her eyes were cold, sharp, and more dangerous than any spell.
The tall boy paled.
"P-Princess Sarene—this is a misunderstanding—"
"No," she said simply. "It isn't."
A thin layer of ice formed over the ground at their feet.
The three upperclassmen stepped back in fear.
"We were just—leaving!"
"Yeah—no harm!"
"Bye!"
They ran so fast Kai would've been proud.
Sarene turned to Avin.
"You need to be careful."
"I don't need protection."
Sarene raised an eyebrow.
"You absolutely need protection."
"…From what?"
"From your own talent."
He stared at her.
"You think I'm talented?"
Sarene stepped closer, voice low.
"I think you're dangerous."
Avin didn't know how to reply.
Sarene brushed past him, freezing a stray leaf that fell near her hair.
"Come on," she said, walking toward the dorms.
"I'll take you back."
Avin followed silently.
Behind him, students whispered:
"Is she… protecting him?"
"Why?"
"There's something between them."
"No way—seriously?"
"Avin's life is a mystery novel."
Kai and Rei were waiting near the door.
Kai jumped when Avin returned.
"BRO! YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Rei sighed in relief.
"Did you get expelled? Detained? Tortured?"
"None."
"Then what happened?" Kai demanded.
Avin hesitated.
Should he tell them about the whisper?
About being called Heir?
About losing memories?
"…Nothing," he lied.
Kai stared for a long moment, then sighed.
"Fine. But if you die without telling me secrets, I'll haunt you."
Rei added, "I will too."
Avin smirked faintly.
He climbed into bed, pulling the blanket up.
But as he closed his eyes—
Thump.
The second heartbeat pulsed once.
Then again.
Stronger.
And a whisper echoed softly:
"…Your chains loosen at dawn…"
Avin's eyes snapped open.
Something would happen tomorrow.
Something he wasn't ready for.