AGAIN, NOX'S ROOM
Nox wiped his tears, and after lying still on the bed for a moment, he thought to himself—sad, yet feeling no regret whatsoever—"From now on… I'm one of those soulless dogs too, but the price of my soul will never be equal to some simple anger! Today, I'll finish Akuon…" Then, moving slowly, he got up from the bed, grabbed his bag, and started walking—step by step—examining every corner of the house as if he was looking at it for the last time. When he reached the door, he looked at a paper hanging on the right side of it for a few seconds; on that paper, written in beautiful handwriting, were the words: "Take care of yourself, 'The Light Within the Night…'"
Nox touched the note with his right hand for a few seconds, then, with a calmness mixed with anger, stepped outside, closed the door, and headed toward the school.
⸻
NOON HOURS, 3 CLASSES BEFORE THE LAST CLASS
"And afterward, our Great King taught the beasts in the south their place."
Right after the teacher said this, the bell rang and everyone went out for recess.
"Nox." said a graceful voice… A voice that hadn't said "Nox." in a long time—and instantly triggered him.
Nox began trembling with anger. The classroom was empty; trembling, he slowly turned his head toward the direction of the voice.
Yes. It was Akuon.
Before Nox could say anything—not that he could, since he was completely stunned—Akuon continued speaking, "Why are you so tense, bro? I just wanted to say hi…"
The moment Akuon said that sentence, the word "bro," the exact word he had just used, started echoing loudly and painfully inside Nox's head: "Bro, bro, bro, bro…"
It was coming from everywhere, stabbing into him like a knife.
How could this traitor Akuon speak so casually?
Nox still couldn't move—this sudden Akuon-interaction had literally frozen him. Meanwhile, Akuon slowly scanned him from head to toe, as if checking something… and then Akuon's eyes focused on Nox's fingers—the ones he was trying but failing to hide.
Yes. Those markings pointed to only one thing: Shinyubi.
Calmly, Akuon thought, "So he awakened it too…? Whatever. Only two fingers are marked, it won't be a problem."
Nox took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, then with a tone that still clearly carried his anger, said, "Fuck off."
Akuon let out a short, sly giggle after those words, then spoke:
"Oh my orphan Nox, my dear friend… Isn't it time I told you who killed your precious teacher?"
Nox snapped.
This time, he was truly unable to hold himself back. He shot up from his seat and yelled, "WHAT—WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!? SAY IT RIGHT NOW!" and tried to punch Akuon.
But just as he threw the punch, Akuon casually opened the fingers of his left hand, letting Nox's fist land directly onto his palm—as if catching a child's punch with ease. The moment the punch landed, Nox felt something sticky, something strange on his right hand. He looked—and… the palm that his fist had hit had completely turned into sludge!
Nox stared at Akuon in shock, but at the same time, he noticed something glowing on Akuon's other hand.
Yes—the marks on Akuon's fingers, representing Shinyubi, were shining.
Akuon began speaking,
"You're not stronger than me, Nox, bro… You awakened Shinyubi just to kill me, didn't you…? You really went that far… Well, I went far too. I awakened Shinyubi as well… But don't worry. I'll tell you who it is… soon."
Seeing marks on all of Akuon's fingers, only one thought entered Nox's mind:
"Did he… sacrifice four of them…? No! Impossible, there must be a trick! Some method I don't know… Unless that book series had more books and… the fingers increa—"
While these thoughts raced through his mind, Akuon suddenly spoke again, this time with a calm yet deadly serious tone:
"At midnight, at the abandoned old port… let's end this… bro. And I'll also tell you the killer of your one-person family."
At that moment, the voice of Lilliane (Lilly) could be heard from the classroom doorway. The second Akuon heard her, his hand returned to normal, and in a low voice he whispered to Nox,
"My girlfriend's here… bro, I gotta go." he said, smiling.
Nox's failed punch was still clenched—tight… His anger was still burning, and he wanted to kill Akuon right there. But he had to hold back—because this involved his teacher.
Even if he suspected this was a bluff to lure him into a trap at the old port, both his desire to kill Akuon and that lingering curiosity within him…
Could his teacher—who disappeared suddenly, leaving behind nothing but a note suggesting he was dead—actually have been murdered?
Nox would go to the port and end this.
His decision was final.
⸻
MIDNIGHT, THE ABANDONED OLD PORT
Akuon, with his bright yellow hair, was waiting calmly at the meeting point…
There was no one around. It had been about 10 minutes since midnight had passed.
The weather was nice, warm even… The silence of the night grew heavier by the minute.
Akuon thought,
"Damn it, isn't Nox coming…? Is he scared of being lured into a trap? Or is he just scared of me? Whatever… if he doesn't come in five minutes, I'll go to his house myself… What a shame. I invited him here because I didn't want him to die in his precious little home."
He let out a bored sigh.
Even though he knew that a fight of life and death was about to happen… he looked like the calmest person in the world.
Five minutes passed.
Just as Akuon was about to leave the port and head toward Nox's house, slow footsteps echoed from afar.
Nox had arrived.
A calm smile appeared on Akuon's face—but the Nox standing before him was nothing like the one at school.
Nox took a deep breath and started talking—or rather… shouting.
"HEY HEY HEY, YOU TRAITOR FUCKER-BRO! I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU RIGHT HERE."
Nox held a long, thin sword in his hand. His finger markings were glowing—his Shinyubi was fully active.
Akuon was a little surprised when he heard that, but it was a strange, calm kind of surprise. Then he shouted back:
"ALRIGHT THEN, LET'S BEGIN… BRO!"
Midnight.
A dark and silent port…
In just a moment, either the soulless dog would reach the bone he desired, or the traitorous friend would reach the peaceful, riskless life he wanted so badly.