Esdeath was too excited to sleep properly that night. Her mind kept spinning with thoughts of Lortell, making her roll back and forth on the bed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t calm down.

Only in the early morning did she finally drift into a deep sleep, but it didn’t last long. Soon after, she woke up, feeling groggy but still excited.

"They aren't monsters, It feels like they are just projection of my mind, They don't exists! ",

However, the academy was filled with bad news.

Many students had taken their own lives last night under Caramel’s influence. Even some teachers weren’t spared.

As teachers, they were supposed to protect the students, yet they had fallen for Caramel’s tricks. It was truly shameful. Though it wasn’t entirely their fault, punishment was inevitable. Either Lilith or Principal Elara would make sure of it.

Because so many students had died, the academy was shut down for two days.

No one was surprised.

This year had been full of disasters. So many terrible things had happened in just a single month. It was draining everyone's spirit.

The reputation of the Awakened Academy had dropped significantly, but at this point, who even cared anymore?

After waking up, Esdeath went straight to the bathhouse.

To her surprise, she found Maruti already there.

"Umm… You know, today is my date with Lortell, so help me decide what I should wear!" Esdeath said, scratching the back of her head.

Maruti grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Cool!"

Since it was a holiday, the bathhouse wasn’t as crowded as usual. People came and went at different times, so Esdeath didn’t see Lortell, and Maruti didn’t see Kaelith either.

Maruti, however, wasn’t in a rush.

She casually glanced around the bathhouse, her eyes taking in the tempting bodies of all the women present.

"The best thing about being a girl… No one cares how much or where you look at other girls," she chuckled to herself.

Esdeath, on the other hand, wasn’t in the mood to stay any longer.

"I’m going!" she announced, standing up and leaving the bathhouse.

Her heart was still racing.

Today was the day of her date with Lortell. It had to be perfect.

But things never go as planned.

Esdeath hurried back to her dorm room, quickly changing into her academy uniform. Then, she pulled out dozens of outfits, laying them on the bed, waiting for Maruti to arrive and help her choose.

Minutes passed, but Maruti still hadn’t shown up.

Esdeath started pacing back and forth, feeling restless.

Then, out of nowhere, a strange sensation washed over her.

Her movements slowed. Her eyelids felt unbearably heavy.

The world around her spun, making it hard to stay upright.

Her legs gave out.

Before she could even utter a single word, she collapsed onto the floor, losing consciousness.

---

A few minutes later, Esdeath’s fingers twitched. Then, her body slightly moved.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Her head was pounding.

Her vision was blurry, and a deep, aching pain throbbed in her skull.

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She rubbed her eyelids, then placed a hand on her forehead.

"Ouch… my head… it hurts so much," she murmured weakly.

She glanced around, confusion filling her mind.

"Mom? Dad? Where are you?" she called out in a daze.

Her eyes darted around the room.

"Where… where am I?"

Then, suddenly, strange, fuzzy memories flooded her mind.

The rush of thoughts made her head feel even heavier.

She groaned, gripping her temples in frustration, trying to make sense of the overwhelming images flashing in her brain.

And then… she gasped.

"Awakened Academy? I… got awakened?"

Something felt off.

Esdeath should have already known about this.

But the Esdeath who just woke up… wasn’t the same Esdeath from before.

She was the real Esdeath—the original owner of the body.

Her soul had never fully vanished. It had only weakened. But when Fable used the Warrior Spirit Essence Ston, it had strengthened Esdeath’s soul as well, Giving her a huge boost at once and allowing her to take back control of her body… at least for a few days.

That meant—for now—Esdeath had completely regained her body.

But her memories were a mess. Most of them were blurry and unclear.

Only a few things stood out:

First, she had somehow survived being poisoned and had awakened her powers.

Second, she had killed someone—or maybe even multiple people—though she didn’t know who.

Third, Lortell was at the academy.

Everything else was a haze.

Slowly, she got to her feet, deep in thought.

"My memories are so fuzzy… but it feels like I’ve done a lot of things… fighting… even killing."

Her chest tightened.

"It feels like I was the one doing all those things… but at the same time, it wasn’t me. Like… like I developed another personality."

A shiver ran down Esdeath’s spine as she came to that realization.

For the past few days, someone else had been in control of her body. Someone who had fought, killed, and made decisions she had no memory of.

"I need to figure out what I did during those days…" she thought, determined.

But then, a rush of excitement filled her chest.

"The main point is—Lortell is here!"

The thought made her nearly jump in joy. She clenched her fists, trying to stop herself from getting carried away.

After a deep breath, she calmed herself down.

She had to focus.

But just as she lowered her gaze, her entire body froze.

Something was gripping her ankle.

A cold, lifeless hand.

Her breath hitched.

Chills crawled up her spine as her head turned slowly, heart pounding in her chest.

And then—she saw it.

A decaying hand, its skin grayish-green and covered in deep wrinkles, was wrapped tightly around her leg. It belonged to an old woman with long, messy black hair. Her flesh was rotting, her veins dark and twisted, and worst of all—her eyes were completely hollow.

Esdeath felt a scream build in her throat.

She yelped and jumped back out of reflex, but in her panic, she tripped over herself and crashed onto the floor.

Her breathing grew uneven as she scrambled back.

"A ghost! An anomaly class Monster!" she gasped, eyes wide in horror.

But before she could process anything—another hand shot out from the ground.

This time, it grabbed her other leg.

Her body stiffened. She wanted to scream, to yell, to kick, but her voice wouldn’t come out.

Slowly, another corpse emerged from the floor.

It was an old man with a slightly fat belly, his clothes tattered and his skin as rotten as the woman’s. His cloudy, dead eyes stared straight at her, filled with an eerie sorrow.

Then, he spoke.

“My son… why did you kill us?”

Esdeath felt her heart drop.

“We did everything we could,” the old man continued, his voice filled with agony. “We gave you food, shelter, education… and this is how you repaid us?”

The old woman clutched her chest as if she was crying.

“We were a happy family… why did you do it? Just why?”

Esdeath’s face turned pale.

"W-What?! What are you talking about?!" she snapped, trying to shake them off.

“What son?! Who’s son?! I’m female! Can’t you see that, you idiots?!”

But her protests meant nothing to them. They just kept staring at her with sorrowful, lifeless eyes.

Then—

A soft, haunting voice whispered in her ear.

"Fable… I loved you so much. Why did you kill me?"

Esdeath’s blood ran cold.

Her body turned stiff, her breath caught in her throat.

Slowly, she turned her head.

Standing behind her was a tall woman with long, silky black hair tied in a braid. Even in death, she was beautiful. Her pale face was delicate, but her hollow eyes were filled with deep sorrow.

“We could have been happy together,” the woman whispered.

"I only love lortell, Who the hell are you? " She thought in panick.

Esdeath’s instincts screamed at her.

"I need to scream! I must inform everyone!"

She clenched her fist and swung a punch straight at the woman’s face.

But—

Her fist passed right through.

“Huh?!”

She stumbled forward, completely baffled.

These things weren’t real.

Her gaze darted to the old man, the old woman, and the black-haired lady.

They were repeating their words again. The same sorrowful cries. The same accusations. The same pain.

Like a recording stuck on repeat.

Esdeath frowned.

"What the hell…?"

All the fear she had felt moments ago vanished.

Instead, it was replaced by confusion.

She waved a hand in front of them. No reaction. She took a step back. They followed, but their grip on her legs didn’t tighten. They weren’t actually harming her.

No matter where she moved, they remained attached to her, repeating their desperate words over and over.

It was as if they were nothing more than a projection.

Esdeath took a deep breath, forcing herself to think clearly.

"I think… they don't exist," she told herself. "They’re just projections of my mind!"

She clenched her fists, trying to steady her heartbeat.

It all made sense now.

The voices, the illusions—they weren’t real. It must have been the result of her other personality.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Even though these ghosts looked terrifyingly real, now that she knew they weren’t, she decided to ignore them completely.

She acted as if they weren’t even there.

But there was still one big problem.

"Their voices are so irritating!"

No matter how hard she tried to ignore them, their sorrowful cries and accusations echoed in her ears.

She groaned in frustration and decided to clear her mind.

Walking toward the window, she pushed it open.

A cool, gentle breeze brushed against her face, making her long black hair sway.

She took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill her lungs.

Her eyes wandered outside, taking in the peaceful view of the academy gardens. The trees, the neatly trimmed hedges, and the open courtyard all looked calm and beautiful.

Then, her gaze shifted downward to the ground floor hallway.

There, a group of students walked and chatted happily, their laughter filling the air.

A small smile appeared on Esdeath’s lips.

Her tense shoulders relaxed a little.

But her peace didn’t last long.

Her smile disappeared in an instant.

Her expression twisted into pure disgust.

Her eyes widened so much they might pop out of her skull.

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, not from fear—but from anger.

Because right there, standing in the hallway—

Was Lortell.

But she wasn’t alone.

A girl was standing beside her.

Esdeath's hands trembled slightly as she gripped the window frame.

The girl was much shorter than Lortell, barely reaching her chest.

But what infuriated Esdeath the most—

Was how close they were standing.

They were chatting like they were old friends.

The girl’s face was lit up with a bright, joyful smile. She looked so happy, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

And Lortell—

Lortell was smiling too.

Even though it was just a small, faint smile, it was still there.

Esdeath's breath hitched.

Her fingers dug into the wooden window frame.

Her mind buzzed with questions.

"Who is that girl?"

"Why is she talking to my lady like that?"

Her blood boiled with rage and jealousy.

She stared at Lortell’s soft smile, the one that should only belong to her.

And then, in a whisper filled with possessiveness, she muttered:

"That smile… That smile is mine."