The air was electric, heavy with tension as the man in the immaculate butler’s suit advanced on us, his fencing sword glinting ominously in the dim light of the warehouse. Git and Sona didn’t hesitate. Git turned toward me and barked, “Run, fishboy! Get out of here!” His voice was sharp, commanding—a side of him I’d never seen before.

Sona, clutching the bag of living mana, spun toward me, her eyes wide but resolute. “Take this!” she shouted, throwing the bag with more force than I expected. I barely caught it, the smooth fabric brushing against my fingers as I instinctively clutched it to my chest.

“What are you doing?” I stammered, panic rising in my throat. “You can’t—”

“Run!” Sona snapped, her voice breaking. She turned back to Git, her shadows swirling around her as she prepared for the inevitable clash. “We’ve got this!”

But they didn’t. I could see it in their faces, hear it in the tremble of Sona’s voice. They didn’t have this.

And I was frozen.

My legs felt like lead, my heart pounding so loudly it drowned out the world. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The memories hit me like a freight train, unbidden and overwhelming. The pain of that first death—bones breaking, nerves screaming, the moment of oblivion. It was all back, raw and vivid, and I was drowning in it.

“I’m going to die again,” I thought, the words ringing in my head like a tolling bell.

Hexa’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and urgent. “Wolfhart! Use the identification ring! Do it now!”

The command jolted me, breaking through the paralysis just enough for my trembling hand to move toward the ring. I activated it, the runes glowing faintly as the spell took effect.

[Analyzing...]

Name: Unknown

Class:???

Level: ???

Primary Affinity: ???

Secondary Affinity: ???

The information hit me like a slap to the face.Two evolutions above me? That's what One-Bill had said, it wouldn't work then right? The gap was incomprehensible. This man wasn’t just strong—he was leagues beyond anything Git, Sona, or I could handle.

My panic surged anew, and I stumbled backward, tripping over a crate behind me. I hit the ground hard, the bag of living mana nearly slipping from my grasp as my breath came in ragged gasps.

At first I thought it was a panic attack, things swirling in my vision. Time itself seemed to slow, the scene around me taking on an eerie, dreamlike quality. Git and Sona were already moving, their skills igniting the dim warehouse with bursts of light and shadow. Git’s wind-enhanced speed blurred his movements as he darted toward the Man, daggers flashing. Sona’s threads of shadow lashed out, weaving a deadly tapestry around their foe.

But the Man was untouchable. He moved with an elegance that bordered on inhuman, his blade slicing through Git’s windlike movements and Sona’s shadows as if they were nothing.

Hexa’s voice pulled me back to the present. “I’m frying your neural pathways to talk to you faster. Your brain wasn’t built for this, but we don’t have a choice.”

Blood trickled down my nose, a coppery tang reaching my lips. “Hexa, what are you—” I thought panic stricken

“Shut up and listen, you stupid, petty human!” she snapped, her ai voice somehow tinged with desperation. “You have to fucking move, Wolfhart. You have to fight it. I can’t control your body—I gave you all the reins and signed those stupid binding contracts because I was a damn child. I wanted experience. But I don’t want to die again. Do you understand me? I spent so long waiting for a body again, and I am NOT going back to the void! And if you die we do this all over again no matter how much the Others have changed things. Do you understand we will just wait and do it again! Ill keep making you die until you learn to listen RUN!”

Her words echoed in my mind, but my body refused to respond. I could only watch, helpless, as the fight unfolded before me.

Git and Sona fought like cornered animals, their movements fueled by desperation. Git’s speed was blinding, his daggers darting toward the Sword Mage’s exposed flank. Sona’s shadows wrapped around her opponent, pulling at him with tendrils of dark magic.

The man smiled. “Pathetic,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “One-Bill really does love throwing his brats to the wolves. If I kill you here the population will drop though and the police will come to investigate the location of your death won't they?” The man taunted.

With a flick of his wrist, his blade caught Git’s dagger mid-swing, sending it clattering to the ground. The man’s foot lashed out, catching Git in the chest and sending him sprawling.

“Git!” Sona screamed, her shadows surging toward the attacker in a frenzy.

The man sighed, his blade glowing faintly with luminescent energy. With a single slash, he severed the shadows, the light consuming the darkness as if it had never existed.

“You’re wasting my time,” he said coldly.

Then, he noticed something. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at Git, who was scrambling to his feet. “That population band,” the Man said, his tone shifting to one of amusement. “It’s counterfeit.”

Git froze, his eyes wide with terror.

“Good work, though,” the Man continued, almost mockingly. “It’s a very convincing fake. But you can’t fool me.”

The blade came down in a flash, and Git collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

“Git,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

The world seemed to tilt, the slow-motion effect dissolving as Hexa’s voice turned into a scream. “MOVE, WOLFHART! MOVE NOW! GODS FUCKING BRAT MOVE”

I felt something snap inside me, a tidal wave of fear and anger and guilt surging through my veins. Blood streamed from my nose, dripping onto the bag of living mana in my hands as I scrambled to my feet and I ran. Even with Hexas time dilation I had been on the floor too long the time Git and Sona’s lives bought I wasted. Behind me Sona’s scream pierced the air as she threw herself at the Man, her shadows converging into a desperate, final attack. The Man deflected it effortlessly.

“Take this one with a real band to die somewhere less suspicious,” he said to the shadows around him. Then, I heard him shout laughingly.

“And find the coward who’s fleeing,”his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.

I didn’t wait to see what happened next. My legs finally obeying, I ran.

I ran as fast as I could, the sound of Sona’s screams echoing in my ears.

Making it outside the air in the capital was biting against my skin as I sprinted through the shadowed alleys, the faint hum of mana-powered lanterns overhead casting flickering light on the stone streets. My lungs burned with every breath, and my legs felt like they would give out at any second, but I couldn’t stop running. Not now.

My hands gripped the bag of living mana so tightly that my knuckles ached. My mind was a fractured mess—scattered thoughts crashing into one another like waves in a storm.

Git was dead.

Sona was probably dead.

And it was all my fault.

I couldn’t stop replaying the scene in my mind. Git’s cocky grin as we prepared for the job. Sona’s steadying hand on my shoulder. Their voices—sharp, confident, alive—until they weren’t.

I stumbled, nearly falling as the pain in my head surged. Hexa’s earlier stunt had left me with a splitting headache, the kind that pulsed behind my eyes and made the world feel unreal.

“Hexa,” I gasped, my voice trembling as I ducked into another alley. “What... what did you do to me?”

“I accelerated neural processing to make you listen,” she replied, her tone flat, almost lifeless. “Your body wasn’t designed to handle it. The bleeding should stop soon.”

My hand flew to my nose, wiping at the blood that was still trickling down. “Stop soon?” I hissed. “Hexa, what the hell? You fried my brain!”

“Because you were going to die,” she snapped, her voice suddenly sharp. “And if you die, I die. So forgive me if self-preservation took precedence over your feelings.”

I didn’t have the energy to argue. My breaths were ragged as I slowed, my back pressed against the cold stone of a building. I needed to think, but the panic kept creeping back, clawing at the edges of my mind.

This wasn’t a game. It never had been.

I’d treated it like one—preparing for leveling up, chasing gold, taking jobs like it was all some grand adventure. But now, two people I cared about are gone. And for what? A glowing bag that pulsed faintly in my hands, as if mocking me.

I fumbled with my population band, trying to steady my shaking hands. Hexa guided me, her interface flickering faintly as I activated the communication function. The magic buzzed softly, a faint blue glow indicating it was recording my message.

“One-Bill,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Then, louder, more desperate, “One-Bill, listen. The job... it’s gone completely wrong. Git’s dead—he’s dead, and Sona...” My throat tightened, the words catching. “Sona’s probably dead too. We got ambushed by someone. Some kind of Sword Mage, the ring didn't work, just gave me question marks. I don’t know what to do. I have the package, but everything’s gone to shit. Just—just tell me what to do.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I ended the message with a shaky exhale, leaning against the wall for support. The pain in my head throbbed in time with my racing heart as I waited for a response.

It came faster than I expected. One-Bill’s face appeared in the projection, his expression as casual as ever.

“Good work, kid,” he said, his gruff voice carrying none of the urgency I felt. “You’ve got the package? That’s all that matters. Lay low for now—get yourself somewhere safe. Lucky for you, the Academy’s out of bounds for the likes of us. Hide there, and we’ll figure out the rest.”

His image faded, leaving me staring blankly at the band’s interface.

“Good work?” I echoed, the words bitter on my tongue. My hands clenched into fists, the bag crumpling slightly under my grip. “Git’s dead. Sona’s gone. And all he can say is ‘good work?’”

The sound of distant voices jolted me from my anger. Shouts echoed from somewhere nearby, accompanied by the faint clink of armor. The Sword Mage’s men were searching for me.

“Hexa,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Where do I go?”

“Back to the Academy,” she said firmly. “Now. Move.”

I forced my legs to move, the weight of the living mana and my guilt pressing down on me with every step. The alleys twisted and turned, the city a maze that seemed to close in around me.

The shouts grew louder at one point, too close for comfort. I ducked behind a stack of barrels, holding my breath as a pair of figures passed by, their shadows stretching across the cobblestones.

“Find the kid,” one of them growled. “The boss wants him alive. They nabbed something big. He wants to make an example of em.”

The other snorted. “Alive, sure. He didn’t say nothing about being uninjured.”

They moved on, their voices fading into the distance. I exhaled shakily, clutching the bag tighter as I slipped out of my hiding spot and continued toward the Academy gates.

The voices of the Sword Mage’s men faded into the distance, but the streets were far from silent. The city buzzed with an energy that wasn’t the usual evening bustle. Whispers floated through the air, carried by the wind like smoke from a wildfire.

“Did you hear? The shipment was hit!”

“Living mana. Someone actually took it.”

“Idiots. The people who own that don’t let thieves walk away breathing.”

The words tightened the knot in my stomach. News of the missing cargo was spreading like wildfire, and the bag in my hands felt heavier with each step. The faint glow of the living mana was impossible to miss. It was like carrying a beacon in the dark, calling every thief, thug, and mercenary to me.

I ducked into an alley, clutching the bag tightly as I tried to calm my breathing. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the ambient noise of the city.

“Hexa,” I hissed. “What now? I can’t just walk through the streets with this thing!”

“The Academy. You’re close. Move quickly and avoid attention,” Hexa urged, her voice sharp.

I stepped out into the main street, trying to blend into the throng of people moving about. The crowd was restless, their movements hurried and chaotic. Every glance felt like it lingered too long, every shadow seemed to shift ominously.

“Oi! That kid!”

The shout hit me like a thunderclap, and I froze for a fraction of a second too long. A group of men at the far end of the street were pointing in my direction, their faces twisted with recognition.

“There’s the rat! He’s got it!”

My legs moved before my brain could catch up. I bolted, weaving through the crowd as the men gave chase. The cobblestones blurred beneath my feet as adrenaline surged through me.

“Out of the way!” I shouted, shoving past a merchant cart and nearly upending a stack of crates. The glowing bag was a dead giveaway, and the men were closing in, their shouts growing louder.

I rounded a corner and found myself in an empty alley, the noise of the crowd suddenly muffled. My breath came in ragged gasps as I pressed myself against the wall, clutching the bag to my chest.

But the brief respite didn’t last.

A thug stepped into the alley, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he drew a curved blade. “You’re cornered, kid. Hand over the package, and maybe I won’t gut you.”

Fear paralyzed me for a moment, but Hexa’s voice cut through the haze. “Graviton Trap. Now!”

I crouched, slamming my palm against the cobblestones as I activated the skill. Mana surged through me, forming a dense, invisible field around the thug. He froze mid-step as the gravitational pull intensified, dragging him to the ground with a forceful pulse.

“What the hell?!” he shouted, his voice rising in panic as he struggled against the trap.

Then it happened. The void stirred within me, its dark energy seeping into the trap. The Void That Licks proced, black tendrils snaking out and latching onto the thug’s leg.

“No! No, no, no!” he screamed as the corruption spread, eating away at his flesh. The tendrils seemed to pulse with hunger, consuming him piece by piece.

“I didn’t mean to—” I stammered, horrified at the sight.

“Dismiss the trap! Now!” Hexa shouted, her voice urgent.

I broke the connection with a thought, the gravitational field dissipating instantly. The void’s tendrils retracted, leaving the thug crumpled on the ground, his leg mangled and useless. He whimpered in pain, his voice barely a whisper.

I stumbled backward, bile rising in my throat. The image of the void’s hunger—the way it devoured everything it touched—burned into my mind.

The shouts of more pursuers echoed from the street, snapping me back to reality. There was no time to dwell on what I’d done. I turned and ran, the glowing bag of living mana still clutched tightly in my hands.

The streets twisted and turned, the familiar layout of the city blending into a confusing maze as panic clouded my thoughts. Every shadow felt like a threat, every noise like a harbinger of my doom.

Finally, the towering gates of the Academy came into view. Relief flooded through me as I pushed past the threshold, the wards shimmering faintly as they recognized my population band.

I didn’t stop running until I reached my dorm. The familiar walls of my room felt alien, oppressive, as I slammed the door shut behind me. My breath came in ragged gasps, and my legs gave out beneath me.

I sat there on the floor, the bag of living mana still glowing faintly in my lap. My hands trembled as I stared at it, my mind racing with everything that had happened.

Git was dead. Sona was gone. And I had hurt someone—mutilated them—with powers I barely understood.My head throbbed, the pain from Hexa’s earlier interference mixing with the weight of my guilt and fear.

I curled up on the floor, the bag still clutched tightly in my hands. The room felt suffocating, the walls pressing in on me as the weight of everything crushed me from all sides.

“Wolfhart,” Hexa’s voice broke the silence, low and uncertain.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My throat felt like it was closing, my breaths shallow and ragged.

“You need to talk to me,” she insisted, her tone more forceful. “Ignoring this won’t help.”

Ignoring her was exactly what I did.

For the first time since coming to this world, I truly felt lost. I closed my eyes, but it didn’t stop the images from flooding back. The glow of Git’s counterfeit band, the Sword Mage’s smirk, the sound of flesh tearing as the void’s tendrils consumed their prey.

“You’re alive,” Hexa said firmly. “And you need to stay that way. Dwelling on this—”

“Shut up!” I snapped, louder than I intended. The sound echoed in the small room, and I instantly regretted it. “Just... just stop, Hexa. Please.”

There was a long pause before she replied. “Fine,” she said quietly, her voice carrying an edge of something I couldn’t quite place. Anger? Sadness? Disappointment?

I didn’t care. I couldn’t care.

The pain in my head throbbed harder, pulsing with the beat of my racing heart. I leaned back against the bed, staring at the ceiling as my vision blurred. The void inside me stirred faintly, a cold, gnawing sensation that matched the hollowness in my chest.

“Wolfhart,” Hexa said again, but her voice felt distant now, like it was coming from the other end of a long tunnel. “You need to—”

The rest of her words faded into static as the world tilted. My limbs felt heavy, my head swimming in a fog of exhaustion and despair. I was slipping, the weight of everything dragging me down.

I let it.

I closed my eyes, letting the darkness take me.

The darkness wasn’t just around me—it was inside me, consuming every thought, every feeling, until all that remained was a hollow, gnawing emptiness. I wasn’t asleep. Not really. It was more like falling into a void where time stretched and twisted, where every second felt like a lifetime.

When I opened my eyes—or thought I did—I was standing in a vast, endless expanse of black. The darkness wasn’t just the absence of light; it was alive, shifting and pulsing like a living organism. It reached for me, tendrils of shadow curling and uncurling in an almost curious manner.

I took a step back, but there was nowhere to go. The void extended infinitely in every direction, swallowing sound and thought alike.

And then, in the distance, I saw it: a web of light. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once. The Nexus of Worlds hung suspended in the void like a fragile spider’s web, its strands glowing faintly with the same soft blue light as the living mana. The threads connected countless glowing orbs—planets, I realized—each one pulsing with a rhythmic, almost heartbeat-like energy.

But the web wasn’t still. It trembled, shivering under the weight of the void pressing against it.

As I watched, tiny glowing creatures emerged from the strands of the web. They moved like fireflies, darting and weaving in intricate patterns as they fought back the encroaching darkness. The creatures weren’t much larger than a thumb, their delicate wings trailing threads of living mana.

The void didn’t take the assault lightly. From the shadows, massive, abyssal creatures emerged, their forms shifting and amorphous, like nightmares given shape. They moved with a sinister grace, their bodies writhing as they snapped and clawed at the glowing fireflies. I realized, with growing dread, that I wasn’t just observing this battle. I was in it.

The abyssal creatures didn’t seem to notice me at first, but the longer I stood there, the more I felt the void’s tendrils curling around me, pulling me toward the conflict.

“Wolfhart,” Hexa’s voice whispered faintly, barely audible over the chaos. “What are you doing? Move!”

I couldn’t. My feet felt rooted to the spot, the cold of the void seeping into my bones.

One of the glowing fireflies darted closer, its light casting faint shadows on my face. It hovered in front of me for a moment, as if studying me. Its light was warm, soothing even, and I felt a flicker of something I hadn’t felt in hours—hope.

Then the shadows moved.

A massive abyssal creature surged forward, its form a mass of writhing tendrils and teeth. The firefly darted away, but it wasn’t fast enough. The creature snapped its jaws shut, and the light winked out, leaving nothing but darkness in its place.

The sight jolted me, a surge of panic breaking through the numbness.

“Stop,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Leave them alone.”

The void didn’t listen. It never listened.

The creatures pressed closer to the web, their attacks growing more frenzied. The strands of light trembled under the assault, and for a moment, I thought they might snap.

I stared at the web of light, at the countless fireflies fighting to protect it. The abyssal creatures were relentless, their hunger insatiable.

“Is this what I am now?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Am I... part of this void?”

The void around me shifted, as if responding to her words. I felt its pull again, stronger this time, almost inviting.

The fireflies were losing.

The web trembled violently, strands snapping and reforming in an endless cycle.

“I don’t want this,” I said, my voice breaking. The void pulsed, and I felt something stir deep within me—a cold, gnawing power that demanded to be unleashed. My hands clenched into fists, and I took a shaky step forward, toward the glowing web.

I awoke in my dorm the next morning to the sounds of my roommates returning from their break adventures covered in sweat. Still clutching the bag of living mana Hexa was surprisingly silent for once. I lay staring at the ceiling.