Liam woke up with no idea how he ended up in that room. His body was covered in wounds, his clothes were torn in several places, and the classroom looked like it had just been hit by a riot. Chairs were overturned, broken glass was scattered on the floor, and the smell of iron-the smell of blood-was faint in the air. The sky outside the window was already dark. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious.
His breath was choked. With difficulty, he tried to gather his senses, enduring the spreading pain as he slowly rose to his feet. Her legs were shaking, but she forced herself to step towards the door. The sound of the wind in the hallway made her hair stand on end. Peeking out, her gaze was immediately fixed on the figure at the end of the hallway.
The figure stood still. Not moving. But his gaze pierced like a dagger-cold, full of hatred.
Panic began to overcome Liam. He hurriedly tried to close the door again, but-BRAK!-a hand stuck out from the outside. The nails were long, the skin pale. With one powerful push, the door flew open and Liam's body was thrown backward, hitting the floor hard. His head throbbed with pain.
He wanted to move, to escape, but his body seemed paralyzed. His breathing was ragged. The figure now stood in the doorway-tall and thin, his face expressionless, but his smile made Liam's blood freeze.
...The steps were slow but sure. Every footstep echoed in Liam's chest. When the figure stood right in front of him, her cold hand touched his shoulder.
Then came the voice-a gruff, deep, and angry voice.
"You think you can run away from me, Liam?"
Liam was stunned. The voice was like an echo of his nightmares from childhood
"You've been hiding for too long. It's time you remembered who you really are..."
The figure lowered its head slightly, its face getting closer. Cold breath touched Liam's skin, making his body tremble without being able to resist.
Suddenly, his voice erupted in a shout that shook the room:
"THIS IS MINE!!!"
The pale hands gripped Liam's shoulders harder, and instantly the symbols on his skin began to glow faintly. A burning sensation spread along with a sharp pulse that pierced from the inside.
"That mark... that power... your body-it's all mine!"
Her smile grinned, sickeningly, then her dark eyes flickered strangely-as if something was alive in them. In an instant, the world seemed to turn upside down, and Liam's consciousness was pulled into a vortex of darkness.
And then... darkness.
He woke up with bated breath. Sunlight streamed in through the classroom window, dazzling his eyes. The sound of the students' footsteps and laughter could be heard from the corridors during recess.
Her back ached, her nape felt stiff, and there was a strange cold sensation in her left shoulder. When she felt it, her fingers found a mark. A symbol. Not a cut or a bruise, but as if her own skin had formed the pattern-smooth, painless, yet very clear.
The symbol resembled an eye with circular lines around it. For some reason, Liam felt that it wasn't just a random shape. It was... his.
He looked around the classroom. Everything looked normal. But his heart knew, this was not just a dream.
He had returned... and left something behind.
The mark-the strange symbol now engraved on Liam's skin-was proof that it was real. And not just proof, but also... something else. Power.
Liam didn't know what exactly yet. But his body began to show unusual signs. Things that were once impossible now seemed possible. He was determined to try to prove it after school. It wouldn't be the first time.
"This time, what other power is waiting for me?" he muttered to himself.
Soon, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching. She quickly straightened her clothes and sat up straight while pretending to read a book. Some students began to enter the classroom, and the atmosphere became lively again. One of them approached.
"Yoo, Liam. Can I call you that?" greeted a student with slightly messy hair with a casual expression.
"I'm Vilerri Elric. But just call me Levi. People here usually call me that too."
Liam held back a small smile. So far from his real name, he thought.
"Oh, okay. Wilian Louren, usually called Liam. Nice to meet you too."
"Nice. I'm the class president here. Ask for your number, so I can add it to the class group." Levi handed over his cell phone.
"This is my number," Liam replied.
"Sip, you're in. If there's any info, just check the group."
Their short chat ended. But other voices started coming from the corner of the classroom near the window. It was faint but quite clear-a lively conversation with a secretive tone.
"Seriously, he said the organization actually exists. It's not just a myth from the dark web," a student whispered excitedly.
"Crazy, the one that says it can track people who have... abilities beyond logic, huh?" said another.
Liam looked up slightly. The words "organization" and "strange abilities" instantly put his ears on alert.
"What was it called?" someone asked.
"NE-NEX... is that so? NEXA... NEXARIS, huh?"
"NEXARIS. Yes. I found a little info about it on an outside forum. They said they were looking for people like-you know-who can heal faster than normal humans, or who are unreasonably strong."
"Like in anime?"
"Yes, it's true. But they say there was a real incident in one of the industrial cities last week. A worker fell from the fifth floor, bled badly... but got up again two minutes later. The CCTV... is gone."
Liam's body stiffened. His breath was held. Outwardly, he still looked calm. But his mind was spinning fast. That name-NEXARIS-wasn't foreign to him.
Someone tapped his shoulder lightly.
"Liam, are you listening to them too?" Levi's voice sounded from the side.
Liam turned his head, a little too late to hide his wary expression.
"A little," he replied simply.
Levi squinted. "Interesting, right? But I guess you're no stranger to topics like that."
Liam only replied with a faint smile. Didn't answer.