Kaien woke up before his alarm.
He stared at the ceiling.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then his phone buzzed.
7:02 AM.
He sighed.
"Why am I awake?"
Another notification appeared.
A message from Mira.
Mira: Sheep.
Kaien stared at the screen.
"...She really committed to this."
He typed.
Kaien: What?
The reply came immediately.
Mira: Breakfast.
Kaien: That's not a sentence.
Mira: Come eat.
Kaien sighed and got out of bed.
After getting dressed, Kaien glanced at the small room beside his.
It was supposed to become his private workspace.
Weapon storage.
Training equipment.
Research.
Everything he needed.
He grabbed a marker and wrote on a small piece of paper.
MSG
He stuck it onto the door.
He stepped back.
"...My Sweet Gluttony."
He nodded.
"Yeah. That's stupid."
He smiled.
"I like it."
For now, it was just the name of his room.
Someday, it would mean something much bigger.
Kaien met Mira outside the cafeteria.
She immediately looked at him.
Then at the paper in his hand.
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Then back at him.
"What is that?"
"My room sign."
She read it.
"MSG?"
"Yep."
"What does it mean?"
Kaien hesitated.
"My Sweet Gluttony."
Mira stared at him.
Then burst out laughing.
"That's terrible."
"You don't understand the vision."
"No, I understand it perfectly."
She pointed at him.
"Sheep."
Kaien sighed.
"Don't start."
"You literally named your room after yourself."
"It's a temporary name."
"Mhm."
She started walking toward the cafeteria.
Kaien followed.
After a few steps, Mira looked back.
"You know..."
"What?"
"It actually suits you."
Kaien paused.
"...I'll take that as a compliment."
"It wasn't."
"Too late."
Neither of them noticed the small camera mounted above the hallway.
Or the person watching the footage from somewhere else.
After breakfast, Kaien headed toward his first class.
Everything seemed normal.
Students talking.
Teachers preparing lessons.
People rushing through the halls.
Then Kaien noticed a group gathered around one of the academy's public terminals.
Someone had posted a new article.
Kaien walked past.
Then stopped.
The headline caught his attention.
UNKNOWN GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECENT DUNGEON INCIDENT
Kaien's expression hardened.
The article described an incident from the previous night.
A dungeon team had disappeared.
Seven adventurers.
No survivors.
The strange part wasn't the disappearance.
It was the message left behind.
A symbol.
A black crown.
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
"The Veiled Crown?"
A student beside him shook his head.
"No way."
Kaien looked over.
"What?"
"The Crown is just some internet rumor."
Another student joined the conversation.
"My brother says they're real."
"Your brother also thinks he can become an S-Rank by drinking energy drinks."
"That was one time."
Kaien slowly stepped away.
His phone vibrated.
Seraphina.
Seraphina: Don't react.
Another message arrived.
Seraphina: We didn't leave that symbol.
Kaien stopped.
His eyes returned to the screen.
Then another message appeared.
Seraphina: Someone is pretending to be us.
Kaien's expression became serious.
So there was another group.
Someone had discovered the Veiled Crown.
And they were using its name.
He typed.
Kaien: Who?
No response.
Kaien put his phone away.
The bell rang.
He headed toward class.
His mind was already racing.
The original story never had this.
Another change.
Another unknown variable.
And this one wasn't small.
That evening, Kaien met Darius at the edge of the eastern warehouse district.
Darius looked at him.
"You ready?"
Kaien checked his weapon.
"Yep."
Darius nodded.
"Stay close."
Kaien raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not a child."
"I know."
"Then why—"
Darius pointed ahead.
A warehouse light suddenly flickered.
Then went out.
The entire street went dark.
Kaien immediately became alert.
Darius slowly clenched his fists.
Kaien summoned his pistol.
Blue mana gathered around his hand.
Then—
A sound came from inside the warehouse.
Metal scraping against concrete.
Kaien looked toward the building.
"That doesn't sound like thieves."
Darius stepped forward.
"No."
The warehouse door slowly opened.
Kaien raised his weapon.
Something moved inside.
Not fast.
Not threatening.
Just enough to be noticed.
Then a voice echoed from the darkness.
"You're late."
Kaien froze.
Darius looked at him.
"You know them?"
Kaien shook his head.
"No."
The voice laughed softly.
"That's disappointing."
A figure stepped into the light.
Kaien's finger rested against the trigger.
The stranger looked directly at him.
Then smiled.
"Kaien Arclight."
Kaien's expression changed.
The stranger knew his name.
Not Gluttony.
Not the Veiled Crown.
His real name.
Darius stepped in front of him.
"Who are you?"
The stranger didn't answer.
Instead, they looked at Kaien.
"You really shouldn't be digging into things that aren't part of your story."
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
"...What did you say?"
The stranger smiled.
"Nothing."
And then—
The lights came back on.
The warehouse was empty.
Kaien stood frozen.
Darius looked around.
"Where did they go?"
Kaien didn't answer.
His mind was racing.
Someone knew his name.
Someone knew about the changes.
And worse—
they knew enough to talk about the story.
Kaien slowly lowered his weapon.
"This isn't good."
Darius looked at him.
"No."
He stared into the empty warehouse.
"It isn't."