*Knock* *Knock*

Levi, as he was about to prepare his dinner, heard a knock on his door. He looked through the peephole to see a woman with chestnut hair dressed in a maid outfit. Looking closely, he could see the logo of the academy on her outfit.

Levi opened the door and, with an innocent smile, asked,

"What can I do for you?"

The woman felt a slight flush seeing someone like him, even though she liked older men.

"The lady, your teacher, Miss Fiona, has called you to her office."

"Now?"

"Yes,"

The woman said with a bow and left, her steps quicker once she turned a corner.

Levi turned off the cooking stove, locked his door, and headed to the office. On his way, he felt the hall to be emptier than usual. 'After hearing so much backbiting, I could get used to this.'

Once he reached the office, he knocked two times.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Professor, it's Levi."

In a monotone, Fiona replied,

"Come in."

Levi hesitated to hear her say that. It was her usual way of giving permission but it sounded a bit,

'She's definitely angry at me.'

He opened the door and forgot to close it. The figure of Fiona, with her green hair tied in a ponytail, her shoulders and chest resting on the table. Those green eyes and that sculpted face shone under the moonlight, mesmerized Levi. He couldn't feel things, but not appreciating such beauty was impossible.

Levi stood in front, forgetting to close the door, which Fiona closed using her magic. Pointing at the seat, Fiona ordered,

"Sit."

It wasn't a request but an order, Levi dared not to defy. He unconsciously gulped and sat on the chair. For a few minutes, both looked at each other without speaking. Fiona rested her chin on both of her hands, and Levi sat as if he was getting interrogated. Fiona didn't even blink an eye.

Levi's palm got sweaty, and he had to ask now,

"Professor, did you need me for something?"

Fiona kept her straight face and replied,

"Have you ever gone to a slaughterhouse, Levi?"

"Slaughterhouse? Uhh....no."

Levi wondered why the professor was curious about this stuff.

Fiona nodded.

"I did once. Seeing those animals getting killed by a machine in a second. Humanity really is cruel, me too, because even after that, I didn't feel sympathy for those animals. Those lifeless eyes meant nothing to me. After all, even those creatures knew what their life was. Being born, fed until their stomach exploded, and then getting killed. They just existed, not caring for their life, waiting for the day a blade slates their flesh into pieces."

She brought her face closer, and the smell of rosemary made Levi's nose its cabin.

"But now that I look back, I found something similar to those pigs. Their gaze now reminds me of something."

Levi didn't know how to respond. How could he? How would he talk back if someone without any notice started talking about such a bleak topic? For the first time, Levi felt speechless.

Fiona clenched her fist and brought her face closer, now inches away from Levi's.

"Your eyes…they are similar to those animals. The colours are marvellous, but that part of them and you look alive."

Levi stepped back along with the chair. Now he too had an idea of what the conversation was going to end at, and like usual, he decided to act dumb.

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"What are you on about, professor?"

Fiona stood up and walked in front of Levi.

"I never paid attention to you. I tried to get you to pay attention, and learn something, but you never lifted your head. How was I meant to help someone who didn't want to be helped? So I gave up and stopped consoling you and doing whatever you wanted. Sleeping in my class or doing badly in my class, I stopped caring. But now I know why you did that, it hurts me."

"What?"

Levi immediately lost his grip on the topic. At one time, she was talking about butchering animals, and the next time, she said some other thing.

Fiona couldn't keep her cool anymore, nor her straight face. Breaking down, she looked at Levi, eyes filled with tears and sympathy. "You could have told me you needed to sleep, just so—just to live a little longer."

Fiona wiped her tears and looked at Levi.

"Don't ever use that power, Levi. Never again. Those animals, don't have a reason to live nor do we humans give them their freedom, but you are different. You have freedom and dreams to run to."

She lowered herself and grabbed Levi's hand.

"As exhausting as it may be, it is the one chance for you to chase after that. Life has given you the opportunity, Levi, so don't ever think of it as a sacrifice for power. Your life matters."

"Ah…"

Levi finally realized what was going on. The lie he created had come back to bite him. He trusted Roman, but the headmaster's mouth had other plans.

"Professor, that power—"

Levi wanted to tell the truth. He wanted to assure it was a lie, but the truth refused to spill out.

'This is really confusing. Am I afraid to say the truth?'

"What about that power?"

"Nothing."

His mouth moved on its own to fabricate that lie even more.

Fiona intertwined her pinky finger with Levi.

"I am sure you used that power to save Irene. That is brave of you. I truly mean it, but no need to be a hero, Levi. Live for yourself and yourself only. Can you promise not to use it ever again?"

'I shouldn't hurt her anymore.'

"That power isn't—"

Levi couldn't finish the sentence. He felt the urge to vomit. Without thinking about it, he pulled away his hand and rushed towards the door.

"Levi,"

Fiona called him, but he didn't stop. He slammed the door and ran to the nearest men's restroom. The urge to vomit had been so much that he could not hold it in even before reaching the toilet and had to puke in the sink.

*Blarghh*

*Cough* *Cough*

Levi had only drunk water and no food, and still, every bit of water he had consumed was pushed out of his mouth. Once it stopped, he turned on the sink and used the tissue paper to clean it.

'I am vomiting a lot since coming to this world, but why now?'

Levi turned on the sink and washed his face. He looked in the mirror and noticed a change in his eye. From the mix of red and silver, it had turned to full red. Only the eye had changed, but Levi knew something was wrong. His face was wet with water, and the reflection didn't have a single droplet.

"You must be confused about your weird behaviour."

The Levi in the mirror spoke, with a smile.

The Levi outside the mirror, couldn't believe his eyes or his ears. He turned his head, but the reflection didn't.

"I am not a reflection. I am you or was "

Levi wasn't scared. He was calm but bewildered. He knew the wonders of life but not to this level. And why now?

"Why are you here and why now?"

The mirror Levi sighed.

"That is forbidden maybe later, and I don't have the time to explain more. All I can tell you is: Don't tell anyone that the life-sacrificing power is a lie. Just don't tell about the power itself to anyone."

"Why?"

"Because it's true."

Levi put his hands on his head. Everything the mirror spoke seemed so absurd. The mirror speaking was already absurd, but the information it gave made Levi question his existence.

The mirror just smiled seeing Levi like that.

"I had that power with me, even before you took over my body. You had no idea but the body still knew. You subconsciously made it a lie, trying to deceive the headmaster."

Levi felt the words to be somewhat true because when he lied about it, the lies he said had come out flawlessly. It was hard for him to process the information, but he had accepted it. Not just accepted but tempted to use it.

The mirror Levi noticed and shook his head.

"You have a mindset of winner, to reach the finish line."

"Didn't you use it in the past for that purpose as well?" Levi asked.

"No, me…I lost sight of my finish line long ago."

The mirror Levi said bleakly. It quickly got back on track and started speaking.

"But you got one thing wrong. This power doesn't increase your strength or any of your attributes. It won't make you an S-rank within a second."

Soon, the mirror Levi started getting washed away. Its lower body seemed to be getting drowned in an invisible ocean.

"Not this fast. I wanted to talk in detail, but—"

He pointed at Levi and exclaimed,

"Listen carefully. I may never get a chance like this. That power is meant to kill but only works when you use a bow and arrow. The ability takes two seconds to activate. Say: A life for life, and a red screen will appear on the screen asking if you want to use it. The screen will also show you the time you have left to live. Don't use the power in front of others, cause anyone can see it."

"I won't say don't use it because you definitely will, just use it wisely. I just know you will. I did waste my life and yours too now…sorry. But even if I didn't use it well doesn't mean you can't. You are stronger and cleverer than me. All I can say is sleep, a lot."

"The power takes lives, but I am sure you will use it to save it…because that is who you are. I wonder how someone like you gets called a psycho."

After saying all that, the reflection got washed away, and the image of Levi shocked was reflected. Getting out of his thoughts, Levi analyzed what he had just received.

He had many questions to ask, but time didn't serve him right. After the reflection vanished, he wanted to know the countdown for the inevitable.

"A life for life."

He waited for two seconds and, unlike his usual blue screen, a red screen appeared right in front of his face.

Levi didn't look all through it and just stared at the number displayed in big bold letters. He let out a small chuckle. Life never seems to love Levi. Not in this world nor in the past. After all he had only,

7 years and eight months to live.