The western club room was quiet.
Books, magical diagrams, unfinished Soul Grimoire materials, and strange experimental components covered almost every table.
At the center of the room, Nihil continued working on another experiment.
Mimi sat nearby, making a moody face.
Her ears were lowered, and her tail moved from side to side.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.
Mimi:
“Master, I’m tired with your experiments and these studies.
Let’s play.”
Seraphina smiled.
Seraphina:
“Oh, Mimi.
I thought you had grown up.”
She shook her head.
Seraphina:
“But you’re still a kid.”
Mimi immediately turned toward her.
Mimi:
“You just shut up!
Master, what are you creating now?”
Nihil continued working.
Nihil:
“I’m creating things because my clubmates haven’t finished their Grimoires yet.”
Seraphina crossed her arms.
Seraphina:
“Don’t blame me for not being extraordinary.
I’m a human, after all, unlike someone I know.”
Mimi’s ears immediately rose.
Mimi:
“What do you mean by human?”
She pointed proudly toward herself.
Mimi:
“I finished my work because I’m a lot more mature and intelligent than you are.
And Master taught me himself.”
Seraphina clicked her tongue.
Seraphina:
“Tch.
Again, he teaches me as well.”
Mimi:
“Not as much as me.”
She smiled proudly.
Mimi:
“He even taught me speaking, walking, fighting, languages, and everything else.”
Seraphina sighed.
Seraphina:
“You really like bragging about that, don’t you?”
Nihil finally stopped working.
He looked toward the two girls.
Nihil:
“For some reason, you two remind me of my mothers.”
Both girls became quiet.
Nihil looked toward the window.
Nihil:
“I want to see them.”
He paused.
Nihil:
“And my sister as well.”
Seraphina smiled.
Seraphina:
“I guess you’re almost done, then.”
She looked at the unfinished materials.
Seraphina:
“That means this is your last experiment.”
Seraphina:
“Then the Utopians will go on our first mission to craft our Soul Weapons.”
She smiled.
Seraphina:
“After that, we can finally go home.”
Mimi’s expression immediately brightened.
Mimi:
“Yes!
I want to see our new house!”
She jumped excitedly.
Mimi:
“Noctis said it’s going to be covered in gold, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires!”
She spread her arms.
Mimi:
“And it’s going to be bigger than even the royal palace!”
Seraphina laughed.
Seraphina:
“Really?
You sound more excited than Nihil himself.”
Mimi stopped.
She looked at Nihil.
Mimi:
“Oh, really?”
She tilted her head.
Mimi:
“Because I never see Master excited.”
Seraphina nodded.
Seraphina:
“Neither do I.”
The two began arguing again.
Nihil ignored them.
Instead, he placed a large amount of special mud-like material on the table.
He began shaping it with his own hands.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Perfectly.
The material gradually took the shape of a humanoid figure.
Mimi and Seraphina continued arguing behind him.
Nihil didn’t react.
He continued polishing the figure.
Its proportions became perfectly balanced.
Its physique was flawless.
Its face was carefully shaped.
Long white hair was attached to its head.
Then Nihil formed two wolf ears.
A long wolf-like tail followed.
Mimi finally noticed.
Mimi:
“Master…”
Nihil continued.
He used fire to dry the figure.
The material hardened.
Then Nihil reached for something.
A violet gemstone.
Nihil’s Heart.
He carefully inserted it into the figure’s chest.
A violet glow immediately spread through the body.
The figure trembled.
Nihil looked at his own hand.
Then he raised it.
And separated it from his body.
Mimi and Seraphina instantly stopped arguing.
Mimi’s eyes widened.
Mimi:
“MASTER!”
She rushed toward him.
Mimi:
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR HAND?!”
Seraphina stood up so quickly that her chair moved backward.
She rushed toward Nihil.
Then—
SMACK!
She slapped him.
Seraphina:
“WHAT ARE YOU?!
AN IDIOT?!
WHAT HAVE YOU—”
She suddenly stopped.
Nihil’s hand was already regenerating.
Bone.
Skin.
Everything returned exactly as it had been.
There wasn’t even a scar.
But the severed hand was still lying on the table.
Mimi stared at it.
Seraphina stared at it.
The sight reminded both of them of Nihil’s battle with the Student Council President.
Everyone had witnessed the president apparently attacking himself.
Yet Nihil had remained completely unharmed.
Now they were witnessing something similar.
Nihil had separated his own hand from his body— and not even a scar remained.
Nihil calmly moved his fingers.
Nihil:
“Don’t worry.
I’ll be fine, as I said before.”
Mimi:
“But your hand!”
Nihil:
“It regenerated.”
Seraphina stared at him.
Seraphina:
“You could have warned us!”
Nihil:
“You wouldn’t have allowed me to continue.”
Seraphina became silent.
She couldn’t deny it.
Nihil turned back toward the figure.
Suddenly—
The figure moved.
Its fingers twitched.
Its body slowly began to rise.
Before the figure even opened its eyes, Nihil picked up his severed hand.
He held it toward her.
The figure opened her mouth.
She consumed the entire hand.
Mimi and Seraphina froze.
The figure’s eyes slowly opened.
She looked directly at Nihil.
Nihil calmly looked back.
Nihil:
“See?
I said everything is fine.”
He turned around.
But before he could take another step—
Mimi and Seraphina hugged him tightly.
Mimi:
“Master, never do that again!”
Seraphina:
“What was that?!
And what is she?!”
Nihil remained calm.
Nihil:
“Fine.”
He looked at both girls.
Nihil:
“I won’t do it in front of you again.”
Seraphina pointed at him.
Seraphina:
“You better not do it again, or else I’ll hit you again.”
Nihil nodded.
Nihil:
“Okay.”
He looked toward the newly created girl.
She stood silently beside him.
Nihil studied her.
Nihil:
“Now I have to think of a name for your race.”
He thought for several seconds.
Nihil:
“What about…
Zhilkai?”
The girl looked at him.
Zhilkai:
“Father.”
Mimi’s ears immediately stood straight.
Zhilkai:
“That’s a fine name.”
Mimi:
“HEY, WAIT!”
She pointed at Zhilkai.
Mimi:
“He’s not your father!
He’s still thirteen!”
Seraphina stared at the two.
Then she laughed.
Seraphina:
“Now that’s something I never expected to hear.”
Nihil simply looked at Zhilkai.
THE BIRTH OF A NEW RACE
Nihil introduced Zhilkai to the Academy.
The teachers examined her.
Researchers recorded her characteristics.
The guild received the official report.
A new race had appeared.
Not discovered.
Created.
Created by Nihil Mora.
The records officially listed:
Race: Zhilkai
First Individual: Zhilkai
Creator: Nihil Mora
Origin: Artificial Creation
Because of her connection to Nihil, Zhilkai remained near him almost constantly.
When Nihil studied, she remained nearby.
When he trained, she watched.
When he experimented, she observed.
And eventually, she began staying inside Nihil’s room.
That created an entirely different problem.
TWO RIVALS
That night, Mimi entered Seraphina’s room.
Seraphina looked up from her book.
Seraphina:
“Mimi?
What happened?”
Mimi walked inside with a deeply annoyed expression.
Mimi:
“That’s not fine.”
Seraphina:
“What isn’t?”
Mimi crossed her arms.
Mimi:
“Zhilkai.”
Seraphina immediately understood.
Mimi:
“Nihil is my master.
How can she replace me that easily?”
She became increasingly frustrated.
Mimi:
“Now she wakes him up.”
Mimi:
“She feeds him.”
Mimi:
“She helps him.”
Mimi:
“And Master teaches her!”
Seraphina looked at her calmly.
Seraphina:
“Now you feel how I feel when Nihil treats you like that.”
Mimi blinked.
Seraphina:
“I’m used to it.”
She smiled.
Seraphina:
Mimi shook her head.
Mimi:
“No way!”
She sat beside Seraphina.
Mimi:
“Why is Master so good?”
She looked genuinely confused.
Mimi:
“Everyone starts loving him at first sight.”
Seraphina sighed.
Seraphina:
“Now I have two rivals.”
She leaned back.
Seraphina:
“Poor me.”
THE NEXT MORNING
Morning arrived.
Seraphina was walking through the academy hallway when she noticed Zhilkai approaching from the opposite direction.
She stopped.
Seraphina:
“Hey.”
Zhilkai stopped.
Seraphina:
“You and Nihil never told me your name.”
Zhilkai looked at her.
Zhilkai:
“Zhilkai is my name.”
Seraphina frowned.
Seraphina:
“No.
That’s your race name.”
She crossed her arms.
Seraphina:
“What’s your actual name?”
Zhilkai remained silent for a moment.
Zhilkai:
“I don’t have a specific name like humans have.”
She continued walking.
Zhilkai:
“I don’t need one.”
Seraphina followed.
Zhilkai:
“Names are meaningless.
I don’t require one.”
She paused.
Zhilkai:
“But if you still want to call me something…”
She looked at Seraphina.
Zhilkai:
“Call me Alpha 1.”
Seraphina stared at her.
Seraphina:
“What kind of name is that?”
She sighed.
Seraphina:
“We’re not on an assassination mission.”
Zhilkai didn’t react.
Zhilkai:
“Maybe you should give me a name, then.”
Seraphina smiled.
Seraphina:
“Maybe I will.”
Zhilkai nodded.
Zhilkai:
“Do as you wish.”
She turned around.
Zhilkai:
“I have to go and see if Father is ready for more training.”
Before she could leave—
Mimi:
“STOP!”
Mimi came running down the hallway.
Mimi:
“He needs breakfast first!”
She pointed toward Zhilkai.
Mimi:
“And you need to eat as well!”
Zhilkai looked confused.
Zhilkai:
“We don’t need to eat.”
Mimi stared.
Zhilkai:
“Eating is meaningless and wastes time.”
She continued calmly.
Zhilkai:
“Father and I can survive for a month without eating anything.”
Seraphina put a hand over her face.
Seraphina:
“She’s just like Nihil.”
She sighed.
Seraphina:
“We can’t leave either of them alone.”
Mimi nodded.
Mimi:
“Yes.
I suppose so.”
Mimi grabbed Zhilkai’s hand.
Seraphina took the other.
Zhilkai looked between them.
Zhilkai:
“Where are we going?”
Mimi:
“The cafeteria.”
Zhilkai:
“Why?”
Mimi:
“Because you’re eating breakfast.”
Zhilkai:
“I don’t require—”
Mimi:
“No arguments.”
Seraphina laughed.
Seraphina:
“Come on, Alpha 1.”
Zhilkai sighed.
The three walked toward the cafeteria together.
And somewhere ahead of them—
Nihil was already waiting.
Completely unaware that his two closest companions had just gained a new responsibility:
making sure his newest creation actually ate breakfast.
BILLIONS OF YEARS LATER
The ancient library was silent.
The curious student slowly turned the final page of the chapter.
The lazy student stared at the illustration of Zhilkai.
Lazy Student:
“So…
Nihil created an entire race because he was bored?”
The curious student shook his head.
Curious Student:
“Not exactly.”
Lazy Student:
“And now he has two girls fighting over him and a new race following him around?”
Curious Student:
“Apparently.”
The lazy student sighed.
Lazy Student:
“This story gets stranger every chapter.”
The curious student smiled.
Curious Student:
“That’s why we’re still reading it.”
He turned the page.
Curious Student:
“Let’s see what happened next.”