SLAM!
A loud strike echoed against the wooden desk, causing the surface to shudder.
Ersak sat up straight in his chair, breaking out in beads of nervous sweat as he stared ahead.
“Tomorrow is your first day of training.
You’ve got a lot to learn, so brace yourself,” Enmie said, standing before the teenager with her hands resting on her hips.
Ersak looked at her, his eyes full of confusion.
Why the hell did she smash the table?
he thought.
Turning around, Enmie walked toward the door.
She slowly looked back over her shoulder at him.
Ersak let out a tired sigh, shutting his eyes firmly.
He glanced up toward the exit and suddenly flinched.
Cold sweat dripped down his face.
“You haven’t left yet?…
Why’re you staring at me?” Enmie looked at the boy, the corners of her lips curling upward slightly.
With a sly glance, she turned the handle and stepped out of the room.
As the door clicked shut, Ersak sat frozen in his chair.
“U-U-Ugh!…” He shuddered violently right where he sat, as if hit by an electric shock.
Why do I feel like something terrible is gonna happen?…
he thought.
Ersak stood up, his wide eyes dazed as he took shuffling steps toward the bed next to the window.
Pale moonlight poured through the glass, casting a soft glow across the mattress.
The boy’s shadow crept closer to the frame, flickering gently against the wall.
An oil lamp on the desk illuminated the room with a warm light.
Over in the corner, a faint blue glow from the window reflected in his wide eyes as he stared up at the bright moon.
“Phew—” His body went completely limp, collapsing onto the bed.
The flame of the oil lamp gradually weakened, shrinking until everything slowly faded into pitch black.
Hurried footsteps of rushing students filled the air.
Suddenly, a massive campus materialized, completely overwhelming his vision.
The walkways were wide and open, lined with lush green trees that cast deep shadows over stone benches.
Students chatted and laughed, moving back and forth across the bustling courtyard.
Ersak stood rooted to the spot, his pupils trembling slightly as his vision locked onto the scene in front of him.
Etyna brushed right past the teenager, then paused.
She spun on her heel to look at him, turning her head back as she pondered.
“Mm…” A bell rang out out of nowhere, chiming from a massive clock mounted on the school building.
Etyna jumped in sheer panic.
She bit her nails, her eyes widening as her entire frame shook.
“Oh no…” Ersak approached from behind, asking in confusion, “Hey, you—” Before he could finish, Etyna whipped around, grabbed his hand, and dragged him along as she bolted toward the building.
Ersak flinched, shouting, “What’s going on?!” “Don’t you know I was just invited to this school?!” Etyna replied in a panicked voice.
“We can’t be late!” “W-What?…” Ersak muttered, utterly dazed.
The school doors slowly swung open, and the pair dashed inside.
Standing in the hallway, Etyna let out a heavy sigh, bowing her head slightly as sweat clung to her forehead.
“I’m gonna go to class to take attendance first, then I’ll take you down to practice with the others.
I’ll head down during the final period.” Stopping in front of a classroom, Etyna pushed the door open.
As it swung wide, the sound of loud chatter grew clearer.
The girl stepped up onto the podium, and the entire lecture hall fell dead silent.
Ersak took a seat at a desk in the front row.
The moment he sat down, the students in the row behind him suddenly scowled in disgust, scooting their chairs far away from him.
The murmurs quickly boiled over into harsh whispers.
A male student with slicked-back blonde hair smiled with pure disdain, raising his voice.
“Look, a murderer.” The entire room went quiet.
Etyna broke into a tense sweat.
“Hey!
Why would you say something like that in the middle of class?!” “He’s a death row convict whose execution was delayed by the King,” the male student continued, his tone dropping into a mocking, provocative drawl.
“And yet he dares to show his face at a hero academy?…” Ersak’s face went rigid.
His eyes stretched wide, his pupils contracting repeatedly as red veins rapidly forced their way into his eyes.
The surrounding students began trading remarks.
A pink-haired girl spoke up with heavy sarcasm, “It’s honestly ridiculous.
Why do they even let this kind of trash stay here?” “That is ENOUGH!” Etyna screamed.
She took a few steps forward, raising her voice further.
“He isn’t a student of our school, but you don’t need to speak to a guest that way!” Another male student, his eyes sharp and burning with a deep crimson light, spoke up.
“But we can’t just let this element loiter around our school.
(His gaze flicked over to Ersak) Honestly, he shouldn’t even be allowed inside the kingdom, let alone…” More and more students joined in the condemnation.
“Professor Etyna is right, this can’t go on.” “Kick him out already, miss!” “Yeah, at the very least, you can’t just let him walk around free like this.” “If he loses his mind and kills a few more people, it’s gonna be a disaster.” Etyna took a few uneasy steps back, staring at the shouting classroom, completely at a loss for words.
“Oh…” Ersak bowed his head, his hair falling forward to shield his eyes, which were trembling violently as he rapidly lost control.
Harsh whispers bombarded him from every direction.
Everything around the boy seemed to bleed into pitch black.
He sat trapped in the center of a dark void, the endless voices ringing out in a relentless echo.
Sweat poured down his forehead as he pressed his hands against his temples.
Slowly, the noise began to dim.
The words faded into a distant murmur, leaving only the sound of his own ragged breathing echoing in the absolute darkness.
His hands shook.
Between heavy, frantic gasps, drops of sweat fell into the void.
W-Why?…
Why can’t they just leave me alone?…
Ersak thought, his eyes narrowing into a tight squint.
I didn’t do anything wrong…
Why is everyone blaming me?…
What more could I have done?…
The voices continued to slice through the dark space around him.
“Murderer.” “Misfortune follows this freak everywhere he goes.” “They should’ve just executed him right then and there.” Bounding to his feet, Ersak looked around the black abyss as the accusations barraged his ears from all sides, closing in on him.
His face distorted in pure panic, and he stammered out, “N-No..
it’s n-not like that..
I didn’t do anything wrong..
It was all because…
I didn’t want…
n-no, it’s not true!” Everything went dead silent out of nowhere.
A soft, gentle voice drifted from right behind him.
“Ersak…” Flinching, the teenager whipped around to look.
A hazy, translucent figure materialized before him, her long blonde hair swaying elegantly through the empty air.
“I truly regret giving birth to you…” “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have died…” The phantom words cut off, leaving a suffocating silence.
Only Ersak’s broken, gasping breaths remained.
A layer of tears glossed over his eyes, and the entire space felt frozen in time.
The air grew so freezing cold that the sheer weight of it pressed down heavily on his chest.
He clutched his shirt right over his heart.
“Mom?…” Ersak muttered.
Suddenly, his mind locked up.
A sharp, deafening ring pierced through his ears, and his vision fractured into a chaotic, distorted blur.
A hammering headache tore through his skull.
In a flash, the illusion snapped back to reality.
The blonde-haired student sat with his chin resting on his palm, staring at Ersak with a mocking sneer.
“I wonder what kind of parents raised you,” he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.
“To turn out a murderer like that.”