NEXIS OVERLOAD
Chapter 10 — The Northern Hall
Roy stood silently in Kenneth Void's office.
The principal's usual relaxed expression was gone.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Roy finally broke the silence.
"You asked me where I heard about the Northern Training Hall."
Kenneth nodded.
"Yes."
"I can't tell you."
Kenneth's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Because I don't know who I can trust."
That answer surprised Kenneth.
He leaned against his desk.
"That's a dangerous mindset."
"Maybe."
Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out the old pendant.
Kenneth's eyes immediately locked onto it.
The change was subtle.
But Roy noticed.
Kenneth stared at the pendant for several seconds.
"Where did you get that?"
"Someone gave it to me."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Kenneth's expression became serious.
"Roy, listen carefully."
He stepped closer.
"Do not meet that person again."
Roy frowned.
"Why?"
"Because whoever they are, they know things they shouldn't."
Roy held up the pendant.
"Then tell me what this is."
Kenneth didn't answer.
Roy's frustration grew.
"Everyone keeps telling me that I'm not ready."
Kenneth looked at him.
"Because you're not."
"Then make me ready."
Kenneth was silent.
Roy continued.
"I've spent my whole life knowing almost nothing about myself. I don't know where I came from. I don't know who my real parents are. I don't even know why I can use Lightning the way I do."
Kenneth's eyes narrowed slightly.
Roy clenched his fist.
"And now someone suddenly appears and claims they know something about my past."
Kenneth slowly walked toward him.
"Roy..."
"I want answers."
Kenneth stopped.
For a moment, he looked less like the principal and more like someone who was carrying an old burden.
"Some answers are dangerous."
Roy stared at him.
"Then I'll deal with the danger."
Kenneth sighed.
"You sound like someone I used to know."
Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
Kenneth didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward a large bookshelf.
He moved several books aside.
Behind them was a small metallic panel.
Kenneth placed his hand against it.
A Nexis signature scanned his palm.
ACCESS GRANTED
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was an old file.
Kenneth removed it.
Roy's eyes widened.
"You kept records?"
"Of course."
Kenneth placed the file on his desk.
"Everything that happens within this academy is documented."
He opened it.
Several pages were inside.
Most of them were old.
Very old.
Roy noticed a large red stamp on the first page.
NORTHERN TRAINING HALL — RESTRICTED
Roy looked at Kenneth.
"What happened there?"
Kenneth turned the page.
"The Northern Hall was originally one of the academy's most important training facilities."
"For combat?"
"Yes."
"Then why was it abandoned?"
Kenneth paused.
"Because of an incident."
"What incident?"
Kenneth looked at him.
"An experiment."
Roy's expression changed.
"What kind?"
"An experiment involving Nexis."
---
Years Earlier
The Northern Training Hall had once been one of the busiest places in the academy.
Students trained there every day.
Advanced combat exercises were conducted inside its enormous chambers.
But there was one room beneath the hall that students weren't allowed to enter.
A research facility.
Only the academy's highest-ranking instructors had access.
Kenneth continued reading.
"Researchers were studying whether Nexis could be artificially amplified."
Roy frowned.
"Amplified?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To increase the amount of power a person could produce without increasing their natural capacity."
Roy stared at him.
"So they were trying to make stronger Nexis users."
"Exactly."
Roy looked at the file.
"Did it work?"
Kenneth's expression darkened.
"Yes."
Roy's eyes widened.
"Then what's the problem?"
"The process worked."
Kenneth closed the file halfway.
"But the results were unstable."
Roy waited.
Kenneth continued.
"The first successful subject generated an enormous amount of Nexis."
"How much?"
"Enough to destroy the entire testing chamber."
Roy's expression changed.
"What happened to the subject?"
Kenneth didn't answer immediately.
"Nobody knows."
Roy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The subject disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes."
Kenneth looked toward the window.
"After the explosion, there was no body."
Roy stared at him.
"Then what happened?"
"The academy shut down the research."
"And the Northern Hall?"
"Sealed."
Roy looked at the pendant.
"Does this have something to do with it?"
Kenneth looked at the pendant.
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
Kenneth sighed.
"I don't know."
Roy didn't believe him.
"You recognized it."
Kenneth remained silent.
Roy stepped closer.
"You recognized this symbol the moment you saw it."
Kenneth looked at him.
"Yes."
"What is it?"
Kenneth's expression became extremely serious.
"A symbol belonging to the research division."
Roy's eyes widened.
"The people who ran the experiment?"
"Yes."
"Then why would someone give it to me?"
"I don't know."
Roy looked down at the pendant.
Something about it bothered him.
It felt familiar.
Not logically.
Something deeper.
As if he'd seen it before.
---
Kenneth closed the file.
"Forget the Northern Hall."
Roy frowned.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Why?"
"Because you're a student."
"I'm also the person being targeted."
Kenneth's eyes narrowed.
"You're assuming you're being targeted."
"Someone knows my past."
"That doesn't prove anything."
"They gave me this."
Roy held up the pendant.
"And they told me to ask you about the Northern Hall."
Kenneth became silent.
Roy noticed.
"Exactly."
Kenneth looked away.
"Go back to your dorm."
"I'm not done."
"Roy."
"I want to know what happened."
Kenneth's voice became firm.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
"Then why not explain it."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I don't have the complete information."
Roy paused.
Kenneth continued.
"There are records missing."
"What records?"
"Everything involving the final experiment."
Roy frowned.
"Who removed them?"
Kenneth looked directly at him.
"I don't know."
Roy stared at him.
That was the second time Kenneth had said those words.
Roy didn't like it.
"Fine."
He turned toward the door.
Kenneth spoke.
"Roy."
Roy stopped.
"If someone contacts you again..."
Kenneth paused.
"Tell me."
Roy looked over his shoulder.
"Why should i?"
"You clearly don't want to tell me anything about the northern hall
"Because whoever is behind this may be dangerous."
Roy nodded.
"I'll think about it."
Kenneth sighed.
"That's not exactly reassuring."
Roy left.
---
The corridor outside the office was empty.
Roy walked slowly.
His mind was filled with questions.
Artificially amplified Nexis.
A missing subject.
The Northern Hall.
The symbol on the pendant.
And now Kenneth's reaction.
Roy reached the stairs.
Suddenly—
"Roy."
He stopped.
Leo stood at the end of the hallway.
Roy's expression changed.
"Leo?"
Leo walked toward him.
"I've been looking for you."
"Why did anything happen?"
"You disappeared after class."
"I had something to ask the principal."
Leo frowned.
"About what?"
Roy hesitated.
He remembered the note.
He remembered the mysterious person.
He remembered Kenneth's warning.
"Nothing important."
Leo stared at him.
"You're lying again."
Roy sighed.
"Can we not do this bro?"
Leo crossed his arms.
"Fine."
He turned around.
"But I'm still your friend, you can tell anytime you are ready."
Roy looked at him.
Leo smiled.
Then he walked away.
Roy remained still.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Idiot."
---
That evening, Roy returned to his room.
He placed the pendant on his desk.
He stared at it.
Then something strange happened.
The symbol began glowing.
Roy immediately stood.
"What?"
The pendant emitted a faint blue light.
Then—
CRACK!
Lightning jumped from Roy's fingers into the pendant.
Roy instinctively tried to pull away.
But the pendant remained attached to his hand.
His eyes widened.
"What the—?"
The room suddenly became silent.
Then a voice echoed inside his head.
Not a real voice.
Something more like a memory.
"Run, Roy!"
Roy froze.
His vision blurred.
The room disappeared.
He was somewhere else.
A dark corridor.
Smoke filled the air.
Someone was holding his hand.
A woman.
Roy couldn't see her face.
"Don't look back!"
They were running.
Roy heard footsteps behind them.
Then a loud explosion.
The woman pushed him forward.
"Run!"
Roy turned.
"Mom!"
The memory suddenly shattered.
Roy fell onto his knees.
The pendant dropped to the floor.
He breathed heavily.
His heart raced.
"Mom..."
He hadn't called anyone that in years.
He looked at the pendant.
"Was that...?"
A knock suddenly came from the door.
Roy immediately stood.
"Who is that?"
No answer.
Another knock.
Roy slowly approached the door.
He opened it.
Nobody was there.
He looked down.
A small black card had been placed outside.
Roy picked it up.
There was only one sentence.
"Now you remember."
Roy's expression hardened.
He looked down the corridor.
Empty.
But this time...
He wasn't confused.
He was angry.
Someone was playing with his memories.
And Roy wasn't going to let them continue.
---
Far away, in a dark room beneath the academy...
A figure sat in front of a large monitor.
The screen displayed several pieces of information.
ROY
AGE: 16
ELEMENT: LIGHTNING
NEXIS OUTPUT: ABNORMAL
The figure smiled.
"He's beginning to remember."
Another figure stood behind them.
"Should we eliminate him?"
The first figure shook their head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because we still don't know what he is capable of."
The room fell silent.
Then the figure looked at the screen again.
"Let him grow."
A faint smile appeared.
"When the time comes..."
They touched the screen.
"...we'll see whether Roy becomes our greatest weapon..."
The screen went black.
"Or our greatest threat."