The scent of sun-fruits from Elian and Mina’s visit still lingered in the Zero-rank dorm, a ghost of a warmth Kaelo didn’t truly understand. But as the door clicked shut, that warmth was suffocated by the cold, metallic hum of the blade leaning in the corner.

  Kaelo walked toward it, his hand trembling as he reached for the hilt. As his fingers closed around the leather wrap, his breath hitched. The sword felt… different.

  In his 999 past lives, this blade had been an extension of his rage, a sharp, singing instrument of death. Now, it felt heavy. Drained. The once-shimmering edge looked dull, as if the steel itself had become emotionless. It wasn't just a weapon anymore; it was a hollow shell that felt like it was aching—a physical groan of iron yearning for a purpose it had forgotten.

  "I won't leave you," Kaelo whispered, his thumb brushing the flat of the dull blade. He couldn't explain the attachment. To the Academy, it was just a hunk of metal. To him, it was the only witness to his thousand-year silence. "Sola... I can't carry this through the hallways. They're already looking for reasons to lock me away. How do I hide it?"

  [ SYSTEM INITIALIZING... ]

  [ ACCESSING ARCHIVAL STORAGE: "THE VOID" ]

  [ HOST, I CAN STORE THE ARMAMENT WITHIN YOUR SOUL-SPACE. ]

  A ripple of distorted indigo air appeared in front of Kaelo. He pushed the sword into the rift, watching as the shadows swallowed the metal.

  [ STATUS: DORMANT / HUNGRY. ]

  Kaelo exhaled, feeling lighter but strangely empty. He walked toward the window, intending to watch the dual suns set, but as he leaned against the frame, the hair on his neck stood up.

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  The air didn't just turn cold; it turned sour.

  The golden-blue light of Soluna began to flicker, not like a candle, but like a dying television screen. A thick, oily fog started to crawl over the garden hedges below. It wasn't natural mist. It moved with a rhythmic, pulsing hunger.

  Then, he heard it. A sharp, terrified gasp.

  "Master Kaelo...?"

  Kaelo’s heart plummeted. He looked down into the courtyard. Mina, the maid who had just brought him kindness, was backed against the stone wall. Standing before her was a creature that defied every law of Soluna’s biology.

  It was a Souls-like nightmare. A mass of pale, translucent limbs stitched together in a chaotic spiral, dragging a heavy, rusted iron cage where its head should be. Inside the cage, a single, oversized human eye rolled wildly, weeping a thick, black ichor that hissed when it hit the grass.

  The eerie silence was broken by the sound of the creature unfolding. Its bones cracked like dry wood, echoing through the empty courtyard. It didn't belong to this world. It was a fragment of the Abyss, a horror that felt like it had been vomited out by the Divine Spectator just to see if Kaelo would bleed.

  "Mina!" Kaelo shouted, but his voice felt muffled, as if the monster was eating the sound itself.

  The creature’s cage-head swung toward him. The eye locked onto Kaelo. A high-pitched, discordant screech tore through the air—a frequency so jagged it made Kaelo’s ears bleed.

  [ ALERT: UNKNOWN ENTITY — "THE JAILED SORROW" ]

  [ TYPE: ABYSSAL ECHO ]

  [ WARNING: THE SPECTATOR IS WATCHING. SILVER RESONANCE IS TRIGGERING. ]

  Kaelo didn't wait for Sola to finish. He didn't care about his rank. He didn't care about the mask. He saw the monster raise a long, bladed limb toward the girl who had given him the only "family" feeling he knew.

  With a roar of silent fury, Kaelo reached into the air.

  "Sola! Give it back!"

  The indigo rift tore open, and the aching, dull sword flew back into his hand. It was still emotionless, still blunt, but as Kaelo leaped from the window, the blade began to vibrate with a terrifying, silver desperation.